PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As the dawn of the quantum computing age nears, Brown University scientist Brenda Rubenstein urged members of Congress to support the American economy and national security by investing in quantum science research at the nation’s universities.
“Critical to realizing advances in the quantum sciences is establishing and securing a well-educated quantum workforce,” said Rubenstein, an associate professor of chemistry and physics at Brown, and incoming director of the University’s Data Science Institute. “As with all great endeavors, American ambitions of leading in the quantum sciences rest on ensuring that we have a large and renewable pool of talented, motivated and dedicated people educated not only in quantum mechanics and computing, but also in important adjacent fields such as electrical engineering, chemistry, biology and mathematics.”
Rubenstein’s remarks came during a Tuesday, June 24, hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Government Innovation. The hearing focused on the security implications of advances in quantum computing.
Quantum computers are expected to be exponentially faster than today’s machines in performing many computations, with the potential for calculations that would take centuries on even the world’s fastest supercomputers to take mere seconds. While that new computing power promises tremendous advances in drug development, weather forecasting and myriad other areas, it would also render today’s encryption and cybersecurity measures obsolete. Researchers across the country, including at Brown, are racing to create new encryption algorithms that are quantum safe.
The hearing panelists, which also included representatives from government and industry, all stressed the importance of keeping the U.S. at the cutting edge of quantum research. At the heart of that endeavor, Rubenstein said, are American universities, which are the critical training grounds for American scientists and researchers.
“Although industry and the government unquestionably contribute invaluable training through internships and other tools, they cannot practically scale to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of students that pass through our institutions of higher education,” Rubenstein said. “Thus, most trainees interested in the quantum sciences receive their first practical introduction to the field in basic science laboratories throughout this country. Our institutions of higher learning can therefore be thought of as incubators that grow the future quantum workforce that supplies industry and the government.”
Though scientific training in American universities is envied around the world, that system is threatened by plans for dramatic cuts to the National Science Foundation and other federal research funding agencies, Rubenstein argued.
“Recent reductions will substantially reduce our quantum preparedness and competitiveness,” she said. “It is crucial to think fruitfully about how we will sustain our long-envied training pipeline through the combined resources and brain trust of industry, government, academic and other partners, including through cross-institutional fellowships and internships as well as consortia that bring industry, government and academia to bear on the greatest quantum and regional challenges of the day.”
Other panelists at the hearing were Brown alumnus Scott Crowder, vice president for quantum adoption at IBM; Marisol Cruz Cain, director of information technology and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office; and Denis Mandich, chief technology officer at the cybersecurity firm Qrypt. A full video of the hearing is available on the website of the House Oversight Committee.