Introductions and Panel Discussion

Moderator

Celia Merzbacher Executive Director SRI International / QED-C (United States)

Celia Merzbacher is the Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a global consortium of nearly 250 stakeholders from industry, academia and government that aims to grow the quantum industry and associated supply chain. Dr. Merzbacher has two decades of experience leading technology initiatives and partnerships. Previously, she was Vice President for Innovative Partnerships at the Semiconductor Research Corporation and in 2003-2008, she was Assistant Director for Technology R&D in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she led the National Nanotechnology Initiative. At OSTP, she also served as Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Dr. Merzbacher began her career as a research scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. She is a Fellow of the AAAS and serves on the Innovation Policy Forum of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), as well as advisory boards of several quantum technology centers and incubators.

Panelists

Scott Faris CEO Infleqtion (United States)

Scott Faris is the CEO of Infleqtion. Mr. Faris is an experienced technology company executive with over three decades of operating, venture-financing, and scaling experience. Mr. Faris’ management and entrepreneurship expertise includes a diverse track record in new venture investment, technology company start-up and scaling operations, innovation process management, technology commercialization, corporate development and strategy, strategic alliances, and federal and commercial business development. Prior to joining Infleqtion, Scott served as Chief Business Officer for Luminar, a company in the emerging autonomous vehicle industry. Scott built and managed the company’s global business operations, supply chain, and business development organizations and was instrumental in leading Luminar through its IPO.

Carmen Palacios-Berraquero CEO and Co-Founder Nu Quantum (United Kingdom)

Carmen Palacios-Berraquero is co-founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, and an award-winning Quantum physicist and inventor, listed in Forbes magazine as a "Founders Forum Rising Star 2021." In 2018, Carmen was awarded the Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize for her work on 2D materials and Quantum optics, and for discovering and patenting the unique single-photon source technology which became the foundation for Nu Quantum.

Denise Ruffner Business Development and Strategy Executive (United States)

Denise Ruffner is an experienced business development executive with extensive experience in the quantum technologies sector. Most recently, Denise was Chief Business Officer at Atom Computing, an emerging start-up company building quantum computers out of optically trapped neutral atoms. Here she was responsible for the company’s strategic customer and partner ecosystem and business development engagements. Denise previously led business development at IonQ where she was responsible for all customer development and corporate sales strategy worldwide. Prior to that, she was the Chief Business Officer at Cambridge Quantum Computing. Recognized for innovation, sales leadership and strategic planning, Denise held a variety of leadership roles at IBM, including being part of the IBM Systems Quantum computing team where she developed and headed the IBM Q Startup Program and led the worldwide IBM Quantum Ambassador team. Denise has a Master’s in Neurobiology and Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from UC Irvine.

Dan Dries Head of Legal and Lead IP Counsel PsiQuantum Corp. (United States)

Dan Dries is Head of Legal and Lead IP Counsel at PsiQuantum Corp. He is a legally trained experimental quantum physicist, and has a PhD in experimental physics from Rice Univ, as well as a J.D. in Law from Univ. of Houston Law Center.