Recognizing Decades of Ground-breaking Quantum Computing Research
BROOMFIELD, COLO. - Quantinuum today honored researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for their technical achievements and contributions to the field of quantum computing.
In a ceremony at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Broomfield, President and Chief Operating Officer Tony Uttley recognized the decades of innovative research by NIST’s Ion Storage Group and the role it has played in the development of Quantinuum’s H-series hardware technology, which recently set an industry record for performance.
“It’s impossible to overstate the impact of the NIST Ion Storage Group and its research,” Uttley said. “Quantum computing has advanced to where it is today in large part because of this group and its commitment to making its work available. Their research forms the basis for the trapped ion quantum computing technologies being developed by Quantinuum and others. It is truly a technology transfer success story for the U.S. government.”
NIST’s Colorado-based ion trap group was formed in the late 1970s not long after Dr. David Wineland, demonstrated that by using lasers, it was possible to cool ions to low enough temperatures that they could be manipulated and controlled while trapped in electromagnetic fields.
This discovery and the team’s subsequent research led to the development of some of the world’s most precise atomic clocks, a technology that helps enable Global Positioning Systems (GPS) satellites.
In the 1990s, the NIST group expanded its focus to quantum information processing and quantum computing. In 1995, the NIST team successfully executed the world’s first entangling two-qubit quantum gate, an operation that is key to quantum computing.
In 2000, the group demonstrated for the first time the more robust Mølmer-Sørensen gate, entangling four ion qubits. The Mølmer-Sørensen gate is at the heart of almost all ion-trap quantum computing gates today.
In 2002, the team published an article in Nature outlining the concept of the Quantum Charged Coupled Device (QCCD) architecture for a trapped ion-based quantum computer. (Quantinuum uses this QCCD architecture in its H-Series hardware, Powered by Honeywell.)
These advancements and others led to Wineland sharing the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics with Serge Haroche for "ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.
The NIST team continues to advance trapped ion technologies. Quantinuum recently signed an agreement with NIST to collaborate on some trap design elements.
Uttley said Quantinuum’s relationship with NIST is critical to the company’s success and its ongoing efforts to build the highest performing quantum computers in the world.
“The NIST team has a deep expertise in ion trap design, which will continue to help us on the technical side,” Uttley said. “The agency also has trained a great number of students and researchers over the years to become leading experts in the field and helped bolster the current and future quantum workforce.”
“Technology transfer is an important way that NIST achieves its mission of promoting U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness,” said Director of NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory Jim Kushmerick. “We are always excited to see our research applied to develop commercial products, particularly those with great potential such as quantum computing.”
Kaniah is Chief Legal Counsel and SVP of Government Relations for Quantinuum. In her previous role, she served as General Counsel, Honeywell Quantum Solutions. Prior to Honeywell, she was General Counsel, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, LLC, and Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Energy. She was Lead Counsel before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Kaniah holds a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and B.A., International Relations and Spanish from the College of William and Mary.
Jeff Miller is Chief Information Officer for Quantinuum. In his previous role, he served as CIO for Honeywell Quantum Solutions and led a cross-functional team responsible for Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Physical Security. For Honeywell, Jeff has held numerous management and executive roles in Information Technology, Security, Integrated Supply Chain and Program Management. Jeff holds a B.S., Computer Science, University of Arizona. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of Commander.
Matthew Bohne is the Vice President & Chief Product Security Officer for Honeywell Corporation. He is a passionate cybersecurity leader and executive with a proven track record of building and leading cybersecurity organizations securing energy, industrial, buildings, nuclear, pharmaceutical, and consumer sectors. He is a sought-after expert with deep experience in DevSecOps, critical infrastructure, software engineering, secure SDLC, supply chain security, privacy, and risk management.
Todd Moore is the Global Vice President of Data Encryption Products at Thales. He is responsible for setting the business line and go to market strategies for an industry leading cybersecurity business. He routinely helps enterprises build solutions for a wide range of complex data security problems and use cases. Todd holds several management and technical degrees from the University of Virginia, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University and Ithaca College. He is active in his community, loves to travel and spends much of his free time supporting his family in pursuing their various passions.
Retired U.S. Army Major General John Davis is the Vice President, Public Sector for Palo Alto Networks, where he is responsible for expanding cybersecurity initiatives and global policy for the international public sector and assisting governments around the world to prevent successful cyber breaches. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, John served as the Senior Military Advisor for Cyber to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy. Prior to this assignment, he served in multiple leadership positions in special operations, cyber, and information operations.
