Midwest Quantum Collaboratory Entanglement 2026

Tuesday, July 21

Thank you, David, for that introduction. Good evening, everyone. It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Purdue after what I know has been a full day of overviews, talks, and discussions. I also know that dinner is waiting, so I’ll keep my remarks brief.

We are delighted to host Entanglement 2026 here at Purdue. The name of this conference could not be more fitting. In physics, entanglement is what makes the magic happen, and here in the Midwest, our "entanglement" is the network of people, institutions, and collaborations we're building together.

I represent the College of Engineering. The development of quantum technologies will require both science and engineering. We often separate “science and engineering” as if they are two different things, and on the two ends they are, but the most exciting advances happen in between. Quantum is one of those areas where it's hard to tell who's the scientist and who's the engineer.

When I recently stepped into this role of Dean of Engineering, I knew there was a lot of work on quantum photonics, quantum communication, quantum sensing, going on in ECE. I was surprised by how much quantum work is happening across Engineering—from aerospace to manufacturing, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, industrial engineering, and nuclear engineering. It's becoming a college-wide strength. but I didn’t realize how much is going on across the college.

Let me close by noting that both Mike and I have similar titles. We’re both professors of ECE, but what I mean is that he currently serves as Purdue Chief Quantum Officer and I serve as Purdue’s Chief Semiconductor Officer. People’s first question is usually, “What does that actually mean?"

First, it’s a reflection of the university’s commitment to these two technologies.

When I stepped into this role, about 5 years ago now, it was not about being in charge of semiconductor research at Purdue – faculty will go where their interests and opportunities take them. The goal was not to get in the way of people doing basic research, but to work closely with a subset of faculty who wanted to play a role in the resurgence of the semiconductor industry in the U.S. That meant more focus on translational research, moving proof-of-concept demonstrations out of the lab with much stronger partnerships with industry. It meant working with our regional and state economic development people to bring some of this industry to the Midwest, and it meant talent development, to supply companies with the engineers they need to grow this industry.

And we’ve made real progress because of that model.

I’m hoping to see something similar happen in the quantum space. You have a more difficult challenge than we did. We aimed to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S., to bolster our strengths in design and manufacturing tools, and to accelerate the pace of discovery in a field that has become critical to any nation that wants to control its destiny.

Your challenge is even more difficult – it’s to creating a thriving industry that does not yet exist. That’s the kind of bold, ambitious, important challenge that is worthy of devoting your career to making happen.

Welcome to Purdue. Enjoy the evening. And I hope tomorrow’s conversations are every bit as engaging, productive, and energizing as today’s.

Now it’s my pleasure to bring back to the stage Mike Manfra.