Virginia Economic Review

In 1981, computing giant IBM collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Laboratory for Computer Science for a conference, “The Physics of Computation.”

Dr. Sophia Economou is a professor of physics at Virginia Tech and the director of the university’s Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on theoretical quantum information science, including quantum computing with numerous types of qubits.

La Vida Cooper is the communications and navigation line of business manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the deputy program manager for strategic initiatives within the exploration and space communications projects division at Goddard, and the executive director of the Washington Metropolitan Quantum Network Research Consortium (DC-QNet), a joint initiative among six federal agencies and two affiliates to operate a quantum network testbed.

The quantum age is rapidly approaching. So rapidly, in fact, that any approach to developing a workforce must account for the changes happening at the speed of light as quantum science shifts from theoretical to practical application.

In the world of financial services, time can represent both money and opportunity lost. The potential time savings from the use of quantum computing can help investors ensure they accrue more money than regret.

Inside the glass-walled headquarters of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington County, some of the nation’s most talented scientists are working fast to usher in the quantum age in service of national defense.

Once entirely theoretical, the quantum sciences have slowly but surely become applied sciences, opening the door for technologies that take advantage of our improved understanding of physics at the smallest imaginable scales — even if things can be difficult to wrap your head around at first.

The Port of Los Angeles is the largest facility for handling shipborne cargo in the United States.

As renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind become more popular, they face challenges becoming part of electric grids designed for traditional sources of power.

Recent moves from computer titans such as Google and IBM and pharmaceutical giants like Roche and Merck & Co., Inc. suggest drug research might prove to be among quantum computing’s first killer apps. The reasons? Time and money.

Modern life is shaped by electronic devices that employ many frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, from radio and television broadcasts, to cell phone, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi signals, to visible light displays and high-frequency medical imaging.

Dr. Yaakov Weinstein is chief scientist of quantum technologies at The MITRE Corporation, a major research organization that conducts and supports research from government and industry on topics important to national security and stability.

Dr. Joseph S. Broz is vice president for quantum growth and market development at IBM, where he’s responsible for driving commercial quantum applications and business adoption of advanced quantum computing capabilities.

Jay Lowell is a principal senior technical fellow at The Boeing Company, where he helps guide technical strategy and research implementation regarding disruptive emerging technologies.

Brantley Ivey, general manager of River Ridge Land and Cattle Co. and managing partner of Landcrafted Food, recalls overhearing a farmer comment at the Virginia Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade: “If you’re not selling everywhere you can domestically, don’t consider exporting.”

Beth Macy is a three-time New York Times-bestselling author. She is the author of “Factory Man,” “Truevine,” and “Dopesick,” books that tell separate stories, but all stories through which the challenges, issues, prospects, and hopes of rural America are studied in different ways.

Seth Martindale is a senior managing director with CBRE Consulting. He has extensive experience in real estate strategic planning, working with both private and public sector clients.

Ben Davenport has been a champion for economic development in rural Virginia for decades. Davenport is chairman of First Piedmont Corporation as well as Davenport Energy.