Latest news with #IARPA
Business Wire
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
IonQ Expands Engineering Leadership Team, Hiring Rick Muller as Vice President of Quantum Systems
COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the leading commercial quantum computing and networking company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Rick Muller as Vice President of Quantum Systems. Muller, who joins this month, will lead IonQ's quantum computing systems development team. Muller will be an integral member of the team tasked with delivering on the company's intent to build the world's most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030. His deep technical expertise will also strengthen IonQ's role as a trusted partner for commercial and federal quantum applications. Muller brings decades of experience to IonQ, including his recent work at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an organization within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that conducts research to address the most difficult challenges faced by the U.S. intelligence community. Muller has also held senior positions at Sandia National Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology. 'Rick brings an exceptional blend of scientific insight and federal systems engineering experience, precisely the kind of leadership IonQ needs as we scale toward operational quantum advantage,' said Dr. Dean Kassmann, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology at IonQ. 'His track record leading transformative R&D efforts will be instrumental as we expand our quantum computing system capabilities and deepen our partnerships across both commercial and government sectors.' As Director of IARPA, Muller was responsible for implementing research programs in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, biometrics, and text analytics for the U.S. intelligence community. Prior to that, he led the Quantum and Advanced Microsystems group at Sandia National Laboratories and directed the Department of Energy's Quantum Systems Accelerator, one of the flagship centers established under the National Quantum Initiative. Earlier in his career, Muller led the drive for advanced computational capabilities for national security as part of the Joint Program Office for the National Strategic Computing Initiative. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a B.A. from Rice University, also in chemistry. 'IonQ is at the forefront of evolving quantum computing from research concepts into leading commercial applications,' said Muller. 'Joining IonQ gives me the opportunity to help scale technology that can solve meaningful problems across science, security, and industry. I'm excited to contribute to the next generation of systems that will continue to make quantum computing impactful.' Muller's appointment follows a national search led by PSIRCH, IonQ's executive search partner of record. About IonQ IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the leading commercial quantum computing and networking company, delivering high-performance systems aimed at solving the world's most complex problems. IonQ's current generation quantum computers, IonQ Forte and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results. The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world's most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ's advancements in quantum networking also positions the company as a leader in building the quantum internet. The company's innovative technology and rapid growth were recognized in Newsweek's 2025 Excellence Index 1000, Forbes' 2025 Most Successful Mid-Cap Companies list, and Built In's 2025 100 Best Midsize Places to Work in Washington DC and Seattle, respectively. Available through all major cloud providers, IonQ is making quantum computing more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words 'accelerate,' 'accelerating,' 'accessible,' 'advancements,' 'advancing,' 'aimed,' 'building,' 'can,' 'deepen,' 'delivering,' 'evolving,' 'expand,' 'intends,' 'intent,' 'scale,' 'will,' and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to IonQ's quantum computing capabilities and plans; IonQ's technology driving quantum advantage or delivering scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing in the future; the future impacts of IonQ's offerings; and the scalability, performance, impact, and commercial-readiness of IonQ's offerings. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: IonQ's ability to implement its technical roadmap; changes in the competitive industries in which IonQ operates, including development of competing technologies; IonQ's ability to deliver, and customers' ability to generate, value from IonQ's offerings; IonQ's inability to attract and retain key personnel; or IonQ's inability to effectively integrate its acquisitions of Qubitekk, Inc., Lightsynq Technologies, Inc., and Capella Space Corporation and close its acquisitions of Oxford Ionics Limited and ID Quantique, SA. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's filings, including but not limited to those described in the 'Risk Factors' section of IonQ's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and IonQ assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. IonQ does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
WIRED
03-07-2025
- Business
- WIRED
The Person in Charge of Testing Tech for US Spies Has Resigned
Jul 3, 2025 4:50 PM IARPA director Rick Muller is departing after just over a year at the R&D unit that invests in emerging technologies of potential interest to agencies like the NSA and the CIA, WIRED has learned. Photograph:The head of the US government's Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is leaving the unit this month to take a job with a quantum computing company, WIRED has learned. Rick Muller's pending departure from IARPA comes amid broader efforts to downsize the United States intelligence community, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which oversees IARPA. A person familiar with Muller's plans confirmed to WIRED his departure from IARPA. Born during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, IARPA is tasked with testing AI, quantum computing, and other emerging technologies that could aid the missions of spy agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. The Trump administration reportedly has been moving to cut the workforces of intelligence agencies as part of the president's broad efforts to dismantle diversity programs and streamline government operations. Influential Republicans in the US Senate also recently have proposed legislation that would cut several programs from the ODNI, though IARPA isn't among listed targets. Muller, a chemist and long-time computer science researcher, had overseen some quantum computing programs at the Department of Energy before taking the reins of IARPA in April 2024. His final day at IARPA will be July 11, according to the person familiar with his plans. He is joining IonQ, which is part of a race to commercialize quantum computing. IonQ declined to comment. The technologies used by spy agencies are often shrouded in secrecy. But much of IARPA's work is public. It has funded dozens of research projects at universities and other labs across the country, including efforts to improve systems for facial and speech recognition. In April, Muller told Federal News Network that the cybersecurity risks of large language models would be a priority for upcoming research. The Trump administration has fired workers and slashed government grants for research at several other agencies, sparking nationwide protests and jeopardizing the future of science. The ODNI is seeking a budget of about $82 billion for the coming year, an increase of about 11.5 percent over the amount requested for 2025. But Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has touted cutting her workforce by 25 percent this year. Last week, Senator Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described Gabbard's agency as an 'overstaffed and bureaucratic behemoth' at which 'coordinators coordinate with other coordinators.' He called for cuts and other changes that he characterized as 'vital to keeping our country safe from the wide range of threats that we continue to face.' Spokespeople for Cotton didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the senator's views on IARPA. The White House also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. IARPA was modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, which has long been considered one of the federal government's most advanced research and development units with successful bets on technologies for vaccines, location tracking, and language translation.
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
US scientists create most comprehensive circuit diagram of mammalian brain
The most comprehensive circuit diagram of neurons in a mammalian brain has been created by scientists, providing groundbreaking insights into the mystery of how the brain works. The map is of a speck of a mouse's visual cortex, smaller than a grain of sand, and traces the structure of 84,000 neurons linked by half a billion synapses and approximately 5.4km of neuronal wiring. The 3D reconstruction of the cubic millimetre of brain is helping uncover how the brain is organised and how different cell types work together, and could have implications for the understanding of intelligence, consciousness and neuronal conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, autism and schizophrenia. The advances are 'a watershed moment for neuroscience, comparable to the Human Genome Project in their transformative potential', according to Dr David Markowitz, former programme manager of the US governmental organisation Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), who coordinated the work. The MICrONS project sought not only to map the structure of neurons, but also investigated the electrical signalling between then, showing how they communicate and providing a better picture of the hidden conversations in the brain. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas began by using specialised microscopes to record the brain activity from the target region as the animal watched various movies and YouTube clips. Afterwards, Allen Institute researchers took that same cubic millimetre of the brain and sliced it into more than 25,000 layers, each 1/400th the width of a human hair, and used an array of electron microscopes to take high-resolution pictures of each slice. Finally, another team at Princeton University used artificial intelligence and machine learning to reconstruct the cells and connections into a 3D volume. Combined, the massive data set is 1.6 petabytes in size, equivalent to 22 years of non-stop HD video. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Inside that tiny speck is an entire architecture like an exquisite forest,' said Dr Clay Reid, senior investigator and a neurobiologist at the Allen Institute. 'It has all sorts of rules of connections that we knew from various parts of neuroscience, and within the reconstruction itself, we can test the old theories and hope to find new things that no one has ever seen before.' The findings reveal new cell types and a new principle of inhibition within the brain. Scientists previously thought of inhibitory cells – those that suppress neural activity – as a simple force that dampens the action of other cells. But the latest work found that inhibitory cells are highly selective about which cells they target, creating a network-wide system of coordination and cooperation. Understanding the brain's form and function could pave the way for a better understanding of brain disorders involving disruptions in neural communication. 'If you have a broken radio and you have the circuit diagram, you'll be in a better position to fix it.' said Dr Nuno da Costa, associate investigator at the Allen Institute. 'We are describing a kind of Google map or blueprint of this grain of sand. In the future, we can use this to compare the brain wiring in a healthy mouse to the brain wiring in a model of disease.' The findings are published in a series of papers in the journal Nature.
