APL Physicist Joan Hoffman: Quantum Tech Applications Could Spur Investments

Joan Hoffman, a physicist for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said she believes quantum computing is “still very much in its infancy” and that organizations should identify potential applications of the technology to attract funding support from investors or lawmakers, FCW reported Tuesday.

"If we fail to identify some sort of medium-term applications, there's a risk of a fall-off there,” Hoffman told audience at a recent Intelligence and National Security Alliance-hosted event.

She added the government is yet to fund the National Quantum Initiative Act, which passed last year and called for $1.2B in funding to drive research in that area.

Hoffman was appointed to the Defense Science Board Task Force on Applications of Quantum Technologies in February to help discover quantum capabilities for land, sea and subsurface missions.