Quantum computing knowledgeable Michael Manfra has been named Purdue University’s first chief quantum officer. (Purdue University picture)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University introduced Tuesday (March 3) that quantum computing knowledgeable Michael Manfra has been appointed chief quantum officer, efficient Jan. 1, 2026. He is at the moment director of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute (PQSEI).
In this newly established joint position, Manfra — the Bill and Dee O’Brien Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, professor within the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and professor of supplies engineering — will strategically information Purdue’s quantum portfolio together with its engagement with trade and authorities companions, academic actions, and function particular advisor to school President Mung Chiang and Provost Patrick Wolfe to combine quantum analysis into the broader Purdue Computes initiative.
“Mike is the right person, and now is the right time, for this appointment, given the potential of quantum technologies to transform our future,” Wolfe mentioned. “A team player for Purdue and someone whose research career has consistently generated important firsts, Mike’s strategic understanding of the broad and promising landscape in quantum science and engineering will position us well to advance and integrate our growing quantum research portfolio.”
The want for extremely expert expertise in quantum science and expertise is predicted to develop dramatically within the subsequent decade. As chief quantum officer, Manfra’s wide-ranging tasks embrace overseeing Purdue’s newly launched quantum levels program. Purdue is getting ready the nation’s next-generation quantum workforce by providing an array of academic alternatives in quantum computing, communications and sensing that mix principle with sensible utility.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the Purdue teams that are advancing understanding and practical applications of quantum science,” Manfra mentioned. “We will also forge new partnerships with industry and government agencies to accelerate the translation of quantum science to useful technologies.”
Manfra is acknowledged globally as a groundbreaking researcher in quantum science and its purposes to expertise. He led a group of Purdue scientists who demonstrated concrete proof of the existence of anyons, a particle that’s notably vital in efforts to construct a fault-tolerant utility-scale quantum laptop.
He additionally has a eager understanding of the connection between analysis carried out in trade and academia, having spent a decade as a analysis scientist at Bell Laboratories earlier than becoming a member of the Purdue college in 2009. In 2016 Manfra grew to become the scientific director of Microsoft Quantum, West Lafayette, a part of Microsoft’s international effort to construct a utility-scale quantum laptop earlier than taking the PQSEI helm in 2025.
Manfra was also awarded the American Physical Society’s 2026 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize, which acknowledges excellent theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics for the experimental remark of anyons in two-dimensional electron programs.
Quantum science and engineering at Purdue is a pillar of the Purdue Computes initiative, which is concentrated on advancing analysis in computing, bodily AI, semiconductors and quantum applied sciences.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public analysis college main with excellence at scale. Ranked amongst high 10 public universities within the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys data with a high quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 college students examine at Purdue throughout a number of campuses, areas and modalities, together with greater than 57,000 at our important campus areas in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s important campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue by no means stops within the persistent pursuit of the following large leap — together with its built-in, complete Indianapolis city growth; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
