Steering Committee

Dr. Broz has responsibility for leading IBM Quantum’s quantum-centric supercomputing programs and adoption of advanced quantum computing capabilities. Joe joined IBM Quantum in March 2021 after serving as the founding Executive Director of the federally chartered quantum economic development consortium (QED-C) under the National Quantum Initiative Act. He has supported DOE, DOD, Air Force, Army, Navy, DHS, NIH, NIAID, DOJ, and other departments through agency research, consulting contracts, and advisory boards. Prior to the QED-C, he served as Vice President of Applied Sciences at SRI, where he led laboratories in applied science, government business development, technical and business strategy. He also served as VP of Business Development and Research at Titanium Metals, and Laboratory Director of Tenneco, Inc., where he was responsible for product development, manufacturing operations, quality, technology, and environmental management across corporate divisions worldwide. He served as a White House Fellow for the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the administration of George H.W. Bush. He was a British American Fellow at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and a Senior Fellow for National Security and Energy at NORC at the University of Chicago. Broz has a B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute (ETH) in Zurich.

Dr. Jonathan Felbinger is the deputy director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C). In his career spanning academia, industry, and government, he has developed research and development (R&D) strategies, exercised oversight of portfolios, and implemented advanced R&D programs. Prior to joining QED-C, Jonathan was with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), where he led studies and managed technological aspects of reports to Congress. Previously, he was awarded a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship to explore frontiers in fundamental research while serving the Department of Defense's grants office. IEEE elevated Jonathan to Senior Member in recognition of sustained, significant scientific and engineering performance. He is dedicated to furthering the development and adoption of quantum and related emerging technologies for national and societal benefits. Outside of the quantum realm, Jonathan is an active volunteer and nonprofit board member and enjoys the outdoors.

Dr. Celia Merzbacher is Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a consortium that aims to enable and grow the U.S. quantum industry. QED-C is supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and nearly 250 industry, academic and other members and is managed by SRI International. Dr. Merzbacher is U.S. Co-Chair of the Quad Investors Network’s Quantum Center of Excellence and serves on as an advisor to several quantum research organizations. Previously, Dr. Merzbacher was Vice President for Innovative Partnerships at the Semiconductor Research Corporation. In 2003-2008, she was Assistant Director for Technology R&D in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Dr. Merzbacher is a Fellow of the AAAS and served as Chair of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine and on the Board of Directors of ANSI. Dr. Celia Merzbacher is Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a consortium that aims to enable and grow the U.S. quantum industry. QED-C is supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and nearly 250 industry, academic and other members and is managed by SRI International. Dr. Merzbacher is U.S. Co-Chair of the Quad Investors Network’s Quantum Center of Excellence and serves on as an advisor to several quantum research organizations. Dr. Merzbacher is a Fellow of the AAAS and served as Chair of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Dr. Carl J. Williams (https://www.nist.gov/people/carl-j-williams) wass the Deputy Director of the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute (http://jqi.umd.edu), the Joint Center for Quantum Information in Computer Science (http://quics.umd.edu), and Adjunct Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland. Dr. Williams received his B.A. in Physics from Rice University in 1981, his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1987, joined NIST in 1998. In 2006, Dr. Williams helped establish the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) and is the NIST lead in establishing the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Washington Academy of Science. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Quantum Information and Computation, has authored over 120 scientific publications, and has been a speaker at numerous national and international conferences.