A processor that handles supercomputing tasks in the blink of an eye. A battery that can be charged instantly. Accelerating drug discovery, encryption and decryption, and machine learning. These are just some of the possibilities made possible by quantum computing. Quantum computing uses the laws of physics to perform calculations much faster than the most powerful conventional computers. All of this depends on research right here in the United States, the undisputed world leader in quantum computing.
How did America become the epicenter of this technological revolution? It didn't happen by accident. Quantum computing and world-class U.S. research universities have grown hand in hand, facilitated by a policy environment that encourages the commercialization of academic research by scientists and entrepreneurs.
The secret of American ingenuity
Consider IonQ, a quantum computing company. In 2015, we, professors of engineering and physics at Duke University and the University of Maryland (UMD), used research heavily funded by the Department of Defense and the Information Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Established a company. Cutting-edge technology for the intelligence community. It also receives significant funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy.
In 2020, we opened a 23,000 square foot, $5.5 million center in College Park to house our cutting-edge quantum machines. The following year, IonQ became the first pure quantum hardware and software company to go public, with its IPO valuing it at $2 billion.
In addition to government financing, much of our success is thanks to UMD and Duke's investments in quantum research. UMD has more than 200 quantum researchers, including Nobel laureates, in joint laboratories shared by the university and his NIST, and he has awarded more than 100 quantum-focused physics Ph.D. I am. Duke recently established the world's only “vertical” quantum computing center. The center combines research and development across all stages of the quantum computing process, from assembling individual atoms and engineering electronic controllers to designing quantum algorithms and applications.
But we also owe this to a lesser-known law: the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which would not have been possible without it. Before this law was passed, the federal government owned patents for inventions resulting from academic research. Amount of federal funds. But the government lacked the capacity to build on the university's breakthroughs, so most simply sat on the shelf gathering dust.
Bayh-Dole allowed universities to own patents on scientists' inventions, which had a huge impact. Suddenly, academic institutions are encouraged to license their patents to the private sector and turn them into valuable goods and services, while also stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit of the researchers who came up with those inventions in the first place. I did.
Bayh-Dole’s legacy in jeopardy
Unfortunately, the federal government could soon undermine the Bayh-Dole system, potentially severely curtailing new advances in quantum computing. The Biden administration will use the law's “march-in” provision to impose price controls on inventions originally developed with federal funds “at the price at which the product is currently available to the public.” They just announced that they are considering it. [is] It's not reasonable. ” This concept stems from ignorance of the core values of entrepreneurship and commercialization. Ideas are conceived and tested in universities with federal funding, but it is the hard work invested by licensees that turns those ideas and patents into useful products and services.
Abusing march-ins does not make new technologies more accessible to consumers or others; in fact, it is counterproductive. Devaluing the investments needed to turn these ideas into practical products could discourage private companies from taking the risks by licensing university research in the first place.
When it comes to quantum computing, the chilling effect on research and development would seriously jeopardize U.S. national security. Our projects are well-funded by defense and intelligence agencies for good reason. Quantum computing could soon become the gold standard technology for breaking codes and defending large computer networks from cyberattacks.
Adopting the proposed march-in framework will also have a significant impact on future economic stability. Although still a nascent technology today, quantum computing's ability to rapidly process large amounts of data will revolutionize business in the coming decades. This may be the only way to capture the complexity required for future AI and machine learning, for example in self-driving cars. This could enable companies to hone their supply chains and other logistics operations, such as manufacturing, with unprecedented precision. It also has the potential to transform finance by allowing portfolio managers to create new and better investment algorithms and strategies.
Given the enormous potential of this technology, it is no wonder why China has spent what is believed to be more than $15 billion in 2022 on developing quantum computing capabilities, but this is not the case for EU countries. This is more than double the funding budget for the United States, and eight times the budget planned by the U.S. government. spend.
Thankfully, for now, the United States still has a clear advantage in quantum computing. Our universities attract far more top experts and leaders in this field than universities in any other country, including China. Our entrepreneurial startup culture, often born out of university innovation, is the envy of the world. And unlike Europe, our government encourages risk-taking and entrepreneurship through public-private partnerships.
However, if the Biden administration repeals the legislation that enables this cooperation, there is no guarantee that our nation's global lead in quantum computing will persist in the long term. This would have devastating secondary effects on our national security and economic future. Computer scientists, ordinary Americans, and the intelligence and defense communities can only hope that officials reconsider the proposal.
Jungsang Kim is a professor of ECE and physics at Duke University. Christopher Monroe is a Professor of ECE and Physics at Duke University and the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2015, they co-founded IonQ, Inc., the first publicly traded pure regenerative quantum hardware and software company.
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