Converging Frontiers: Executive Orders at the Nexus of AI and Quantum Strategy
As the next administration considers executive orders to accelerate the U.S. quantum strategy, from fast-tracking the adoption of post-quantum cryptography across federal agencies to crafting a national quantum action plan, quantum and AI policy are converging. This panel will explore how national AI and quantum strategies are becoming deeply intertwined, with implications for commercial industry, defense, intelligence, infrastructure, and economic competitiveness. We’ll examine the core tenets of this executive action, coordination across agencies, risk management, international signaling, implementation, and how to align quantum initiatives with the existing momentum of AI policy.
Qrypt CTO and co-founder, Denis Mandich, focuses on quantum security, R&D, post quantum encryption (PQC) algorithms and standards bodies. He holds several patents in cryptography, cyber technologies and information processing. Denis a founding member of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a founding member of the NSF-funded Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance (MQA), founding member of the Center for Quantum Technologies (CQT), advisor to the Quantum Startup Foundry and Board member of quantum chip manufacturer Quside.
Prior to joining Qrypt, Denis served 20 years in the US Intel Community working on national security projects, cyber infrastructure, and advanced technology development. He has degrees in Physics from Rutgers University and speaks native level Croatian and Russian.
Dr. Celia Merzbacher is Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), a global consortium managed by SRI International that aims to enable and grow the quantum industry. Dr. Merzbacher has more than two decades of experience as a leader of large multidisciplinary partnerships and programs at the intersection of government and industry. She is a member of the U.S. delegation to the NATO Transatlantic Quantum Community. She serves on the board of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Foundry and on advisory boards for several quantum research institutes worldwide. She previously was Assistant Director of Technology R&D at 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.
Kristine Rezai is the Technical Pre-Sales Engineer for North America at IQM Quantum Computers. In her role, she helps people learn about quantum computing at IQM by working individually with clients to assist in integrating quantum computing into their solutions, giving product demos and other presentations, and supporting existing users. She has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Physics from Harvard. Her educational background focuses on experimental quantum science, studying quantum sensing and simulation topics with nitrogen-vacancy center impurities in diamond for her graduate work. After graduate school, Kristine worked in venture capital, helping build early-stage companies with the goal of solving important problems at the intersection of engineering and research, before joining IQM Quantum Computers.
Eric brings more than 30 years of experience in cybersecurity, helping develop and deliver many disruptive technologies to market. He has worked with early stage startup companies in security technologies such as single sign-on, identify and access management, malware sandboxing and analysis, software defined networks, and cloud access security brokers. Eric has been instrumental in the company’s efforts to commercialize quantum-safe encryption technologies including Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), guiding prospects, partners,
and customers from decision making to deployment.
