Quantum Now: UMD President Darryll J. Pines on Turning Maryland’s Momentum into Real-World Quantum Impact
At Quantum World Congress 2025, University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines delivered a clear message: quantum isn’t a promise on the horizon—it’s here now, and Maryland’s ecosystem is built to turn breakthrough science into deployment. Drawing on decades of foundational work, Pines outlined how UMD and its partners are accelerating research, talent, and commercialization to meet this moment.
UMD’s quantum bench is deep and proven. Pines highlighted more than 35 years of research, a top-tier pipeline of Ph.D. graduates, and a community of 200+ researchers producing 200+ papers annually across 10 quantum-focused centers, including the Joint Quantum Institute with NIST—evidence of a long-range strategy that’s paying off today. He credited Nobel laureate Bill Phillips and a network of federal labs, startups, and university partners that make the region one of the world’s densest quantum corridors.
A signature theme was regional scale with global reach. Pines noted Maryland’s proximity to nearly two dozen federal agencies and labs, another two dozen quantum companies, and a growing map of university-affiliated research centers—all converging around College Park. That geography and density are key to moving prototypes into pilots and pilots into products.
He pointed to IonQ—spun out of UMD labs—as a bellwether. IonQ’s rapid system advances and its recent move to bolster quantum networking via Lightsynq (photonic interconnects and quantum memory) underscore how Maryland-born companies are expanding capabilities critical for scaling. Pines also cited work showing 9× speedups in drug discovery simulation workflows using IonQ hardware coupled with classical accelerators—illustrating near-term impact in chemistry and life sciences.
On the education and workforce front, UMD launched an undergraduate Minor in Quantum Science & Engineering in spring 2025 to blend theory with hands-on lab experience—training students to build devices and program quantum systems. Pines also invited industry to recruit at the Quantum Leap Career Nexus on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, UMD’s premier global networking and mentoring event for early-career quantum talent.
Pines spotlighted new faculty leadership anchoring Maryland’s next phase. Prof. Saikat Guha—co-founder and co-director of the NSF Center for Quantum Networks (CQN)—joined UMD to advance the full stack needed for the quantum internet, from memory and interconnects to network-level integration.
That leadership aligns with Governor Wes Moore’s Capital of Quantum initiative—$1B over five years in public-private investment centered at UMD to accelerate research, facilities, and talent. Complementing that state-level push, DARPA and Maryland launched the Capital Quantum Benchmarking Hub at UMD’s ARLIS to rigorously test and validate quantum systems for national security and commercial applications—with up to $100M over four years in matched support. Together, these efforts build the programs and infrastructure to evaluate performance, de-risk adoption, and speed deployment.
Pines closed by previewing what’s next: an integrated Quantum–AI–Cyber hub rising inside UMD’s Discovery District, co-locating research groups, startups, and facilities across 140 acres to supercharge collaboration and tech transfer. It’s a physical expression of Maryland’s strategy—pairing world-class science with proximity to decision-makers, capital, and customers—to move quantum now from stage to street.