Quantum Computing Experts from IBM, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and More Chart Course for the Field

Keynotes from the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering—IEEE Quantum Week—will shed light on today’s milestones and what’s coming next

(IEEE is an IYQ sponsor.)

As quantum computing continues its transformation from a foundational research endeavor to a viable commercial tool, institutions, companies, and agencies that have embraced the technology from its origins now have industrial developments to report. Quantum leaders from industry, academia, and government are convening at the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering—IEEE Quantum Week—from 31 August to 5 September in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S., to discuss the state of quantum engineering today and how its evolution is driving the next generation of computing. Nine keynotes from renowned quantum organizations will address the current quantum computing dynamic, emerging opportunities, and near-term potential. 

“IEEE Quantum Week keynotes address the most important developments in the field, and with the acceleration of initiatives we have seen over the past year, they have much to discuss,” said Candace Culhane, IEEE Quantum Week 2025 Chair and Quantum Science Coordinator at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. “From reflections on quantum engineering’s origins to its very real potential now, these renowned speakers will both challenge and inspire us to expedite our timelines and apply newfound quantum knowledge to address the world’s computing problems.”

Setting today’s foundation 

And perhaps no one would be better at providing insights into how to stay the course amidst uncertain outcomes than Nobel Laureates David Wineland and William Phillips. The recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics “for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light,” Phillips now focuses some of his research on quantum information with single-atom qubits, and Wineland, recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems” continues to find passion in research on quantum information, quantum computing, and quantum limits to measurements. The two luminaries will be speaking together in an IEEE Quantum Week keynote on the morning of Tuesday, 2 September. 

William D. Phillips
Nobel Prize in Physics 1997.

Another two of this year’s keynotes hail from the University of California, highlighting a key focus on quantum in that region. Prineha Narang, professor and the Howard Reiss Chair in Physical Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, will speak on the evening of Wednesday, 3 September, followed by a presentation on Thursday, 4 September, from Chetan Nayak, professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, and technical fellow at Microsoft. Certainly, Microsoft’s February announcement about the world’s first quantum processor powered by topological qubits will be front and center at IEEE Quantum Week, and attendees can expect to hear debate about its impacts and what’s next. 

Applying today’s technology

To that point, much has happened with quantum engineering to enable more widespread commercialization of the technology since last year’s IEEE Quantum Week event. 

Take, for instance, the idea of distributed quantum computing in silicon. Stephanie Simmons, chief quantum officer at Photonic, will be speaking on Thursday, 4 September, in the evening. Earlier this year, Photonic announced that it had developed “a new, low-overhead family of Quantum Low-Density Parity Check (QLDPC) codes that can efficiently perform both quantum computation and error correction, using materially fewer quantum bits (qubits) than traditional surface code approaches…. [to enable] cost-effective quantum computing at scale.” 

Or consider the planned Wednesday, 3 September, morning address from Peter Shadbolt, co-founder and chief scientific officer at PsiQuantum, which was awarded a contract with Air Force Research Laboratory to deliver quantum chip capabilities to the U.S. Air Force. 

David Wineland
Nobel Prize in Physics 2012

Or look no further than a Friday, 5 September, morning keynote, Sam Stanwyck, head of quantum computing product at NVIDIA, which announced earlier this year that they are building an accelerated quantum computing research center in Boston. 

“With so much momentum behind quantum commercialization, we can expect continued announcements about R&D milestones at IEEE Quantum Week and beyond,” remarked Culhane. “Quantum engineering has hit an unprecedented level of applicability, and I expect we’ll only see this focus continue to grow.” 

Preparing for the future

Because as new potential emerges, the focus on fundamental research is met with an intentionality around products and solutions. 

For instance, on Monday, 1 September, evening keynote speaker Rodney Van Meter, professor of environment and information studies at Keio University in Japan, notes that his research group is focused on “bridging the gap between theoretical algorithms and real-world experiments to accelerate the deployment of useful quantum information technology.” 

Jay Gambetta, Tuesday, 2 September, evening keynote speaker and vice president of quantum at IBM, leads the IBM Quantum initiative, which recently has been prophesying the dawn of quantum advantage, the point at which quantum computers are shown to be more efficient, more accurate, or cheaper than classical computers for a particular task. 

And as quantum evolves, a highly trained workforce will be key to supporting its future applicability. Organizations like Elevate Quantum, the Mountain West’s innovation engine for quantum technology, are driving those developments on a regional scale. In fact, Elevate Quantum just announced that IBM joined its consortium with plans to “help train over 3,500 learners by 2030 in quantum software and algorithms, thereby supporting nearly 30% of the anticipated quantum workforce needed for the Mountain West.” IEEE Quantum Week attendees can expect to hear more about the future of the workforce when Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum’s CEO and regional innovation officer, gives his morning keynote address on Monday, 1 September.

From technology breakthroughs to broader accessibility and job creation, the future is quantum. IEEE Quantum Week keynotes will expound on why, and the full program will allow attendees not only to witness the dawn of a new era but also to participate in its formation. Now’s the time to get involved in shaping what’s next for quantum engineering. 

For more information on the IEEE Quantum Week keynotes and program or to register, visit https://qce.quantum.ieee.org/2025/. 

Quantum Internet, Quantum Networking, and Distributed Quantum Computing Among Key Subjects at IEEE Quantum Week 2025

IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE)—IEEE Quantum Week—reports record paper submissions from industry, academia, and government in growing technical areas

(IEEE is an IYQ sponsor.)

From August 31 to September 5, 2025, the city of Albuquerque, N.M., U.S., will be abuzz with cohorts of quantum experts, as the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE), more simply known as IEEE Quantum Week, kicks off. This year’s conference will draw a diverse crowd of global leaders from industry, government, and academia, all working toward an exciting quantum future. 

“At Quantum Week, there’s something for everyone,” says Hausi Müller, chair of the IEEE Quantum Technical Community, co-founder and Steering Committee Chair of IEEE Quantum Week, and professor of computer science at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. “Those new to the discipline walk away with as much as seasoned quantum computing experts. Quantum Week’s beauty is that it truly draws the global quantum community to shape what’s next for the field.” 

Technical Program

Reporting more than 555 paper submissions—a nearly 25% increase over the number received in 2024—the 2025 conference will explore the topics shaping quantum research and development across various topical areas. From a first read of the submissions, this year’s featured topics will include:

  • Quantum Internet and Quantum Networking – Now that researchers have unveiled the ability to carry both classical and quantum traffic on fiber optic networks, new potential continues to emerge in integrating standard networking infrastructure with quantum needs. “This development has been a game changer,” says Müller. “We are realizing this shift in paper submissions. Just a few years ago, we would only receive a handful of papers on these topics; now they make up a significant part of submissions.” 
  • Distributed Quantum Computing – In addition, now that advancements have enabled researchers to apply entanglement across two different quantum chips, quantum computing can happen at scale. With the growing demand for qubits and the limited processing power of singular systems, networking a number of chips together becomes a viable engineering solution, and one that will be explored during IEEE Quantum Week 2025. “Distributed quantum computing is key; it’s this concept of running different chips in parallel,” explains Müller. “That’s one of the fastest-growing areas of quantum computing.”
  • Qubit Technologies – Quantum hardware is rapidly evolving along various technology strands. IBM, Google, D-Wave, and Rigetti are at the forefront of advancements in superconducting processors for fault-tolerant quantum computing systems. IonQ and Quantinuum excel in trapped-ion qubits with high fidelity and long coherence times. Photonic and qubits, developed by Xanadu, Intel, and Photonic, are ideal for communication and sensing via quantum networks. Neutral atom qubits, developed by QuEra, Pasqal, and Atom Computing, are an emerging and scalable alternative that operates at room temperature. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum processor powered by topological qubits—a technology that operates at an even finer-grained scale with intrinsic error resistance. “This is a significant development for quantum computing,” Müller says. “IEEE Quantum Week 2025 is a terrific forum to discuss the evolution of logical qubit technologies with experts.”

Advancing Quantum Computing Through Community

It’s no secret that the field of quantum computing has taken a significant leap forward over the past few years, yet the technology still appears to have seemingly infinite untapped potential. And no event is better suited for tapping into that potential than IEEE Quantum Week with its workshops, tutorials, technology showcase, industry engagement, and growing community. 

IEEE Quantum Week creates a collaborative environment for information sharing that encompasses a global constituency of companies, academic institutions, national labs, and more. Perhaps more importantly, that spirit of connection continues throughout the year, strengthening the personal and professional ties that truly foster innovation. 

“From my perspective, this is what I’m most proud of,” says Müller. “Annually, we provide a platform to nurture everyone in the quantum community, and in turn, they support one another with continued growth in the field.”

For more information on IEEE Quantum Week 2025 or to register, visit our website. 

Featured image: © IEEE.

UNESCO 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology launches Quantum 100 initiative to recognize and champion the global quantum community

LONDON – April 28th, 2025 – UNESCO’s 2025 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) today announces the launch of the Quantum 100: A global snapshot of careers & community, a major global initiative to celebrate the diverse people behind quantum science and technology. 

From researchers to policymakers, educators to entrepreneurs, and students to communicators, The Quantum 100 will recognize and champion 100 quantum professionals from around the world. 

To be considered for inclusion, IYQ is asking for submissions which demonstrate important contributions to quantum science and technology or the quantum community in the fields of: 

  • Academia 
  • Arts
  • Communication
  • Education
  • Government 
  • Industry 
  • Philanthropy 

Submissions are open from today until 28th May.

Each person within the Quantum 100 will have their name and photo in an online gallery on the IYQ website with details about their accomplishments. Submissions will be reviewed by members of the IYQ Steering Committee, an international consortium of scientists and policymakers, with announcements of the Quantum 100 beginning on 29 July, to coincide with 100 years since the publication of Werner Heisenberg’s “magical” paper that led to the development of the new model of quantum mechanics.

“The Quantum 100 is in the true spirit of the IYQ ,” said Sir Peter Knight, 

Professor at Imperial College London, Chair of the Quantum Metrology Institute at the National Physical Laboratory and co-chair of IYQ Steering Committee. “ Quantum sciences and the wider quantum community is driven forward by a cohort of diverse, globally-minded individuals. With this initiative, we will celebrate the roles and contributions of these individuals, and in doing so inspire the next generation of quantum talent. One of the goals of IYQ is that anyone, anywhere can participate, and the Quantum 100 is a timely reminder of how many different kinds of people are already participating and thriving in the quantum industry around the world.”

Silvina Ponce Dawson, President of IUPAP (International Union of Pure and Applied Physics) added:

“With diversity key to scientific endeavour, The Quantum 100 represents an important and timely initiative to highlight how quantum science and technology can be tackled from different perspectives. I truly hope that Quantum 100 will inspire other activities and help increase diversity within a field that is already exerting a huge impact on human society worldwide.” 

For further information, please visit https://quantum2025.org/quantum-100/ 

About the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology: 

The UN declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology  (IYQ) to mark the 100th anniversary of the study of quantum mechanics, and to help raise public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and applications on all aspects of life. It also aims to inspire the next generation of quantum scientists and improve the future quantum workforce by focusing on education and outreach. Anyone, anywhere, can participate in IYQ by helping others to learn more about quantum or simply taking the time to learn more about it themselves. 

Europe and the Future of Quantum Science

PRESS RELEASE

(EPS is an IYQ sponsor.)

Today, 1st April 2025, the City of Göttingen is celebrated as a European Physical Society (EPS) Historic Site, recognising the contributions made by scientists working in the city to the foundation and development of Quantum Physics. On this occasion, the European Physical Society (EPS) along with its Member Societies, the Austrian Physical Society, Danish Physical Society, French Physical Society, Finnish Physical Society, German Physical Society, Institute of Physics (UK and Ireland), Italian Physical Society, Lithuanian Physical Society, Society of Physicists of Macedonia, Polish Physical Society, Spanish Royal Physical Society and the Swiss Physical Society also wish to look forward with a joint declaration on the future of Quantum Science.

Quantum Science remains a rapidly developing field, bringing with it new and unexpected results. Technologies based on these discoveries can change lives, address societal challenges, and drive scientific and economic progress.

The EPS Historic Site celebration and the EPS Declaration form part of the EPS’ activities in the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

EPS declaration

About The European Physical Society

The European Physical Society (EPS) is a not-for-profit association whose members include 42 National Physical Societies in Europe, individuals from all fields of physics, and European research institutions and physics-based companies. As a learned society, the EPS engages in activities that strengthen ties between physicists in Europe. As a federation of National Physical Societies, the EPS advocates for issues of common interest to all European countries relating to physics research, science policy, and education.

– Go to www.eps.org
– EPS Contact: anne.pawsey@eps.org