THE NATIONAL QUANTUM COORDINATION OFFICE

The NQCO Seal

Located in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Quantum Coordination Office (NQCO) carries out the daily activities needed for coordinating and supporting the National Quantum Initiative (NQI). The NQCO was established to:

  • provide technical and administrative support to the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittees on Quantum Information Science (SCQIS) and the Economic and Security Implications of Quantum Science (ESIX), and the National Quantum Initiative NQI Advisory Committee;
  • oversee interagency coordination of the NQI Program;
  • serve as a central point of contact regarding Federal civilian quantum information science and technology activities;
  • ensure coordination among the consortia and various quantum centers;
  • conduct public outreach, including dissemination of findings and recommendations of the NQI Advisory Committee, as appropriate;
  • and promote access to and early application of the technologies, innovations, and expertise derived from NQI Program activities in pursuit of discoveries and new applications invoking quantum systems.

The NQCO staff are federal employees on detail assignments from across the government. NQCO staff serve as co-chairs of the various interagency working groups established by the SCQIS and ESIX.

Dr. Brad Blakestad

Director of the NQCO

Dr. Brad Blakestad is the Director of the National Quantum Coordination Office within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He is on detail from the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, where he has advanced the understanding of quantum technologies as a Technical Lead and Program Manager for extramural research projects since 2013. In this role, he stood up multiple research programs in quantum information science with academia, industry, and national labs. From 2016-2020, he was detailed to the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, where he oversaw two large research programs on quantum information systems that made major advances in the understanding of quantum error correction and quantum annealing. He was the Executive Secretary and then Co-Chair for the National Science Technology Council’s Subcommittee on the Economic and Security Implications on Quantum Science (ESIX), where he has helped shape national quantum policy across the U.S. Government.

Dr. Blakestad earned a PhD in Physics at the University of Colorado – Boulder and a B.Sc. in Physics with Honors from the California Institute of Technology. From 2010-2011 he was a Joint Quantum Institute Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His career contributions have been recognized by the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Dr. Bogdan Mihaila

Quantum Policy Advisor for the NQCO

Dr. Bogdan Mihaila is the Quantum Policy Advisor for the National Quantum Coordination Office within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He is on detail from the National Science Foundation, where he serves as a program director in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Division of Physics. Since 2012, he has overseen the NSF Physics at the Information Frontier and the Nuclear Theory programs, and he has proposed and led the development of cross-disciplinary initiatives designed to promote team science, accelerate innovation, and advance scientific discovery.

Dr. Mihaila earned a Diploma in Engineering Physics from the University of Bucharest and a Doctorate in Theoretical Physics from the University of New Hampshire. Before joining the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Argonne National Laboratory. From 2006 to 2019 Dr. Mihaila served on the scientific staff of the Materials and Science and Technology at LANL. His research concerns applications of many-body theory to cold atoms, condensed matter, nuclear and high-energy physics. At LANL he worked also on topics of materials science and developed physics-based simulations in support of process modeling and engineering.

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CONTACT US

Please use the form below to connect with the NQCO on policy issues related to the National Quantum Initiative. The multiple choice categories are centered on the main policy areas of the NQI and help us insure that your comments are directed to the correct person.

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ABOUT THE NQCO SEAL

The National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 launched the National Quantum Coordination Office (NQCO) to lead the coordination of the Federal government’s exploration of quantum information science (QIS) through the National Quantum Initiative and America’s QIS activities. Each aspect of the NQCO seal is representative of key drivers of this initiative and the office’s mission:

Description of NQCO Seal

As a whole, the NQCO seal symbolizes the office’s commitment to promote scientific advancement in the Federal government and the private sector and to drive American leadership in QIS.

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LETTERS FROM THE FIRST NQCO DIRECTOR

Perspectives from the first Director of the NQCO on progress coordinating the National Quantum Initiative from across US QIS R&D activities.

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