Just over a year ago, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore launched the Capital of Quantum Initiative in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District; on Tuesday, March 24, hundreds of leaders from universities, tech firms and government agencies gathered there to take stock of how UMD’s leadership in quantum science and artificial intelligence can boost the state’s economy and bolster the nation’s welfare and security.

The meeting was the second day of a UMD-sponsored conference presented by the Council on Competitiveness, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to U.S. success in the global economy. Day 1 of the conference, entitled “Unlocking American Innovation in the AI and Quantum Era,” was hosted by Morgan State University in Baltimore.

“This convening highlights the extraordinary strength of Maryland’s innovation ecosystem and the critical role our region plays in advancing U.S. competitiveness," said UMD President Darryll J. Pines, who kicked off Tuesday’s proceedings at the Hotel at University of Maryland in a discussion with Willie May Ph.D. ’77, Morgan State vice president of research and economic development.

"By bringing together leaders across academia, government and industry, we are not only exploring the transformative potential of AI, quantum and advanced computing—we are building the partnerships and strategies needed to translate these technologies into impact for our economy, our security and our society,” he continued.

Pines spoke of how a confluence of federal funding and UMD’s world-class enterprise in quantum science and engineering—more than 200 researchers and advanced labs—has flowered outward to a quantum ecosystem around the university. It includes both scrappy startups and heavyweights like the College Park-headquartered IonQ, which in 2021 became the first purely quantum-focused company to debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

The firm arose in part from the UMD lab of computer scientist Christopher Monroe, whose fundamental discoveries in controlling atoms with lasers led to the use of ions to encode bits of quantum information, or “qubits,” leading to his co-founding of IonQ in 2015.

“You don’t need to know what qubits are—just need to know they’re going to make your lives better in the long term,” Pines said of quantum computing, which is expected to revolutionize health care, cybersecurity and other fields.

In another discussion, IonQ President and CEO Niccolo de Masi and Ken Ulman, UMD chief strategy officer for economic development and Terrapin Development Company president, discussed the company’s role both in the Capital of Quantum and the nation’s future.

Reflecting on College Park’s place in the history of aviation—the Wright Brothers established the city’s airport well over a century ago to train military aviators—de Masi said his company is a pioneer in something potentially just as big. Nations including U.S. adversaries are jockeying to be the first to wield the as-yet unrealized power of a fully capable quantum computer.

“This is a geopolitical race—it’s not just a private company competition,” he said. “I think we are running some combination of (research into) heavier-than-air flight, the Manhattan Project and the space race.”

Because of the national security relevance of the field, IonQ is increasingly working to support the broader commercial development of quantum computing, he said. Success “will deliver a century or more of advantage to our nation if we prevail, and the opposite if we do not.”

In his keynote address, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland’s 4th Congressional District reinforced how crucial quantum science and technology are to national security while warning of the potential effects of ongoing federal cuts to research.

“It’s critical for us to win this race,” he urged. “It’s critical for us to win this competition.”

Among other discussions, physicist Gretchen Campbell, associate vice president for quantum research and education discussed the progress of the Capital of Quantum Initiative and the U.S. National Quantum Initiative; Nobel laureate in physics and Joint Quantum institute fellow William Phillips and UMD Department of Physics Chair Steven Rolston discussed the “second quantum revolution,” which includes quantum computing and other futuristic applications; and National Quantum Laboratory (QLab) Director and UMD Associate Professor of physics Norbert Linke spoke about the lab’s work providing access to state-of-the-art hardware for researchers, educators and entrepreneurs.