All registered attendees and exhibitors are welcomed at the opening plenary, so bring your SC conference badge and kick off your week with a dose of inspiration.
With Dr. Charles Tahan as moderator, “Why Should I Care About Quantum Computing?”, will tackle this important question along with a panel of leading experts in the field.
Plenary ScheduleMonday, November 17, 2025, 5:30–6:45 pm CST, America’s Ballroom
Keynote, Plenaries, Invited Speakers ChairRalph McEldowney, US Department of Defense HPC Modernization Program, Air Force Research Laboratory
Join us Monday, November 17, 5:30 pm in America’s Ballroom for the SC25 HPC Ignites Plenary, “Why Should I Care About Quantum Computing?,” moderated by Dr. Charles Tahan, a Visiting Research Professor at the University of Maryland-College Park and former head of the U.S. National Quantum Coordination Office.
This exciting session brings together thought leaders from universities, corporations — long established as well as startups, and government agencies, to discuss the state of quantum computing and applications today. They will also look forward to the short- and long-term impacts quantum computing will have on HPC and science in general.
Charles Tahan
Partner, Microsoft Quantum & Visiting Professor, Physics, University of Maryland-College Park
Charles Tahan currently works at Microsoft Quantum and is also a Visiting Research Professor at the University of Maryland-College Park. Formerly he was Assistant Director for Quantum Information Science and Director, National Quantum Coordination Office, at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House; and Chief Scientist and Chief of Solid-State and Quantum Information Science at NSA’s Laboratory for Physical Sciences.
Kristel Michielsen
Director, Jülich Supercomputing Centre
Rick Muller
Vice President of Quantum Systems, IonQ Inc.
Antonio Córcoles
Principle Research Scientist, IBM Quantum
Hongbin Liu
Principle Quantum Engineer Manager, Microsoft Corporation
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