This page contains the latest Potomac Quantum Innovation Center (PQIC) program updates. Please subscribe through our website to receive periodic updates or to contact us. Last updated September 8, 2021.
Highlights & Milestones
Welcomed David Iannucci (Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation) and Paul Stimers (Quantum Industry Coalition; K&L Gates) to the PQIC Steering Committee
Held the 2nd PQIC Steering Committee meeting on August 25, which focused on the We Are Greater Washington joint regional funding coalition efforts
Unveiled overarching PQIC Goals aligned with our mission to prepare for the future by bringing together Greater Washington’s quantum stakeholders across borders and sectors to drive innovation, talent development, economic growth, and positive social impact:
--Top 5 in 5 Years: PQIC aims to have Greater Washington be recognized as a top five quantum-ready region in five years by market size and talent pool.
--10,000 by 2030: PQIC will help prepare 10,000 women and people of color in our region to join the quantum workforce by 2030.
--50 Nodes by 2023: PQIC will industrialize quantum innovation by networking regional institutions through a shared platform to spur the next wave of applications, solutions, companies, and IP.
In line with these goals, PQIC unveiled two flagship program areas: PQIC Academy (aligning with our Education & Workforce pillar) and PQIC Labs (aligning with our Research & Development pillar). Read more about these programs in our PQIC Overview (PDF).
Progress Updates
Education & Workforce
Held two meetings of the Quantum K-12 Brain Trust with participating school districts around Greater Washington to develop a regional quantum awareness, skills, and experiential learning program for K-12 students and educators
Divided the Quantum K-12 Brain Trust into the two groups focusing on developing programs in joint curriculum building and experiential learning
Submitted a grant proposal to the Catalyze Challenge for a pilot project focused on quantum awareness raising and experiential learning at a public high school in the region
Executed a partnership agreement with Credly, a digital credentials agency, and began developing a badging program for PQIC Academy
Launched the initial version of the “Understanding Quantum” primer with information on quantum basics, technology domains, and PQIC’s focus growth sectors (life sciences, energy and environment, transportation and space tech, and national security)
Conducted an inventory of quantum education and training programs and capabilities at major universities in the region
Participated in QED-C Workforce TAC meetings
Research & Development
Forming brain trusts to advance the strategy and design for the Quantum for Life Sciences (Q4LS) and Quantum for Energy & Environment (Q4EE) industry cohorts
Conducted an inventory of quantum research assets and capabilities at major universities in the region
Developing the DMV Quantum Shared Infrastructure model with George Mason University, Georgetown University, Howard University, and other partners
Market Acceleration
PQIC participated as an Advisory Board member of the newly launched Quantum Startup Foundry (QSF) at UMD; see here for the most recent QSF updates; register for the Quantum Investment Summit (Tuesday, October 12) here
Policy & Standards
Developing framework with partners to build out a quantum supply chain and manufacturing capability
Submitted a proposal to NIST’s Manufacturing USA Technology Roadmap (MfgTech) Grant Program focused on building an technology roadmap for quantum computing, sensing, communications, and materials
Conducting discussions with regional and national stakeholders to form a quantum policy and ethics initiative
Funding & Marketing
Executing strategic joint regional funding pursuits with partners
Developing the delivery model and founding partnerships for launching an annual global event based in the region
Operations
Developed new PQIC brand, logo, website (www.pqic.org), and collateral (PQIC Overview)
Developing closer coordination with the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance (MQA) on regional operations and programs, including a biweekly webinar series to launch in Fall 2021
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Register for the Quantum Investment Summit (Tuesday, October 12), powered by UMD’s Quantum Startup Foundry