Applications Enabled by Quantum Technology
Six networking and educational meetings including dinners
The race to quantum computing is on. But along the way quantum behavior is now being used to create new materials, ultra-sensitive sensing devices, and secure forms of communication. Attending this series of lectures will update you up on real world applications that are gradually making their appearances in our lives. We won’t entirely avoid the spooky quantum physics, but our expert speakers will give you their perspectives on where quantum applications are now and what to expect next. You will gain meaningful insight into future technologies.
Sessions are on Wednesday this year, except for October. Each session begins at 6:15 PM with a cash bar, followed by dinner at 7:00 PM and the presentation from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM.
Each of the seminar sessions will take place on the second floor of Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant. The address is 5333 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, near the Friendships Heights METRO station. Discounted parking is available in the underground garage (marked Pavilion) for up to 4 hours – entry is from Military Road or Wisconsin Avenue. Bring your parking ticket to Maggiano’s for validation. The restaurant is handicap accessible.
This Series is run by MIT Club of Washington DC.
Session 1: Creating the Capital of Quantum
Featured Speaker: Dr. Darryl Pines, SM ’88, PhD ’92, President, University of Maryland
The greater Washington, D.C., region is at the forefront of quantum, technology expected to have life-changing impact on our lives. As President of the University of Maryland at College Park, Dr. Darryll J. Pines (MIT S.B. 1988, Ph.D. 1992) has been at the center of efforts to turn Maryland and the surrounding area into the Capital of Quantum, with growing and strong relationships between researchers, startup companies, industry, government and finance. His talk will be based on decades of experience building innovation ecosystems and how he used that knowledge to create one of the world’s leading quantum environments right here. Dr. Pines will provide a foundation for the rest of our seminar series by helping us understand what is happening throughout the local quantum ecosystem, where it is happening, and how it is happening.
Darryll J. Pines has proudly served as the 34th president of the University of Maryland since July 2020. The Glenn L. Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Pines has emphasized achieving excellence in all aspects of university life while creating a diverse and multicultural community that allows everyone to reach their full potential.
He has led efforts to address the grand challenges of our time, and 50 university projects have received $30 million in university-sponsored grants to study and implement solutions in areas such as sustainability, literacy, and food, energy and water insecurity. Pines also cofounded the 120 Initiative, an effort to reduce gun violence in collaboration with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.
Other signature campus initiatives include the Terrapin Commitment, the largest single year investment in need-based scholarships in university history; TerrapinSTRONG, an onboarding program to create a shared understanding of the university’s mission, history and values; and a pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025.
Pines first arrived on campus in 1995 as an assistant professor and steadily rose through the ranks of academic leadership. He served as chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006–09 and for the following 11 years as dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering, he is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Institute of Physics; chairs the Engineering Advisory Committee for NSF’s Engineering Directorate; sits on the Board of Trustees for Underwriters Laboratory not-for-profit arm; and serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, the board of trustees for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Pines received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Purchase your Series tickets here!
Upcoming sessions in the Series:
Session 2: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Innovations in Quantum Applications, Dr. John Burke, Chief Product Officer, Beacon Photonics
Session 3: Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Quantum Sensors for Navigation, Dr. Jay Lowell, Chief Scientist for Boeing’s Disruptive Computing & Networks Division
Session 4: Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Quantum Internet: The Path to a Connected Quantum Future, Dr. Arun Jagannathan, Chief Engineer, Distributed Quantum Computing & Networking, IonQ
Session 5: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, Quantum Computing: Navigating Opportunities and Realities, Fatima Arabzada, MBA ’23, Sr. Product Manager, IonQ
Session 6: Wednesday, March 11, 2026, Quantum Application Business Strategies, Michael Bogobowicz, Digital leader across AI, data and quantum, Partner, McKinsey & Company (tentative)