Presented by IonQ
Interest in quantum computing is growing, but organizations need to connect that interest with the problems they want to solve. Recorded at Quantum World Congress in College Park, Maryland, this conversation brings Dr. Gretchen Campbell, Associate Vice President for Quantum Research & Education at the University of Maryland, and Masako Yamada, Senior Director of Quantum Applications at IonQ, together with Fed Gov Today Host Francis Rose to examine how agencies can begin preparing for quantum applications.
Their discussion explores the connections among research, customer needs, access to hardware and workforce development. Both emphasize that progress depends on bringing different kinds of expertise together so organizations can investigate where quantum technology could help—and develop the skills to use it.
Companies need an environment that supports startups while helping established businesses grow. Early customers are also essential, providing the challenges and opportunities that connect technology development with practical applications.
Federal agencies participate in several parts of that ecosystem. Campbell describes them as partners with universities and companies, as well as prospective early customers for quantum technologies. Those relationships can help connect research with the mission problems government needs to address.
Yamada approaches the same issue from the customer’s perspective. She works with organizations that are interested in quantum but may not yet know where it fits their needs. Her team connects research and innovation with the business, research and industry challenges customers face.
For Yamada, the starting point is understanding an existing challenge. Customers may be running computations on supercomputers or in the cloud that take too much time or cost too much money.
Those difficulties provide a basis for assessing whether quantum computing could be useful. Her team examines the problem, evaluates its suitability for a quantum approach and considers how relevant algorithms might help address it.
That process gives an organization’s interest in quantum a specific direction. It also requires collaboration between people who understand the customer’s work and those who understand the technology.
Campbell explains that quantum’s workforce has expanded as the field has developed. What began largely as a discipline of physicists increasingly involves computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
It also needs domain experts in areas such as finance, chemistry and aerospace engineering. These specialists understand the problems within their fields and can help identify where a quantum approach might be relevant.
Campbell describes the value of people who can bridge disciplines. Someone working on a biochemistry problem, for example, needs enough subject knowledge to understand the challenge and enough quantum knowledge to help translate it into something a quantum computer can run.
Building the hardware requires another set of abilities. Campbell points to high-speed electronics, vacuum technologies and fabrication as skills that overlap with other advanced technology fields. That overlap creates opportunities for professionals whose experience is already relevant to developing and scaling quantum systems.
For agencies considering how to prepare, Campbell recommends building connections with researchers and companies around important mission problems. The appropriate starting point will depend on the agency and its responsibilities.
She highlights the National Quantum Lab, or QLab, as a way to gain practical access to the technology. Established through a partnership between the University of Maryland and IonQ, QLab initially gave researchers access to quantum computers for early experiments and trial runs.
Campbell says that access now extends to industry, federal agencies and users around the world. Organizations can explore potential applications, test ideas and begin understanding how quantum computing might relate to their work.
That experience can help make discussions about quantum more concrete. Access to hardware and expertise gives agencies a place to investigate possibilities while the technology continues to develop.
She points to a yearlong program with EPB fellows in Chattanooga, Tennessee, designed to help prepare the next generation of quantum application scientists. Such efforts connect learning with practical experience and sustained interaction with the technology.
The pathways into quantum are changing as well. Yamada notes that many professionals in her generation learned quantum after beginning careers in other fields. Students are now entering the workforce with formal quantum degrees, while tools such as agentic AI are changing how development and upskilling can happen.
Campbell describes the planning challenge this creates. The field has unmet workforce needs, but it remains relatively small. Education programs must address current demand while preparing people for the skills that may be needed five or ten years ahead.
Yamada closes with an invitation that extends beyond technical specialties. Finance, marketing, sales, engineering and physics all have roles in quantum’s growth. For agencies and professionals, the conversation points toward preparation through specific problems, practical learning and partnerships that bring the right expertise together.
This interview is part of The Quantum Advantage: From Breakthrough Technology to Mission and Market Impact, presented by IonQ. Watch the full series at QuantumAdvantage.TV.