JQI Career Seminar

Tom Wong is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Creighton University, and recently completed two years serving in the National Quantum Coordination office at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he coordinated workforce and outreach activities and international cooperation efforts in support of the National Quantum Initiative; during this time he was also on detail from the Department of Energy, where he was a Program Manager in the Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research program.

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan is a science writer reporting on physics, materials science and quantum technology for New Scientist. Karmela earned a PhD in theoretical condensed matter physics and atomic, molecular, and optical physics from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and her research has been published in peer reviewed journals including Physical Review Letters and New Journal of Physics.
 

Coming from the academic environment of graduate school, it is hard to guess what a career in industry might be like.  Though every industry and company may be a little different, I will share both a general perspective on a career in industry, provide some personal anecdotes from my experience, and answer your questions.

An industry is emerging to develop practical applications of the quantum computing, communication and networking concepts that have emerged during the past 25 years.  We will hear of opportunities and challenges in this field from two industry leaders: