Quantum for International Features:
The Quantum for International (Q4I) Workshop, happening June 23 & 24, 2026, at the Innovare Advancement Center in Rome, NY, is the premier quantum gathering in the Mohawk Valley focused on quantum science and its transformative potential! This event is presented by Griffiss Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory Information & Spectrum Warfare Directorate and includes key features such as:
Diverse Presentations & Keynote Speakers:
Hear talks from quantum experts covering the latest advancements in quantum information science and emerging technologies.International Participation:
Connect with experts from across the globe to foster meaningful partnerships and knowledge exchange.Networking Opportunities:
Engage with thought leaders, researchers, and professionals throughout the event.
Poster Session:
Showcase your work or discover cutting-edge research in quantum technologies.Lab Tours:
Explore innovative quantum research first-hand during tours of the Innovare Advancement Center.- Meals & Food Trucks:
Savor Mohawk Valley cuisine with breakfasts, lunches, snacks, an espresso bar, a catered dinner, and food truck options (additional cost for food trucks & no they will not be available for the entire workshop). - LIVE Music:Â
Enjoy live music from Juliane Price throughout the workshop at select times such as check-in and dinner.Â
Meals
- Snacks/Drinks: Stay energized with our selection of snacks, coffee, and refreshing non-alcoholic beverages. Whether you need a quick pick-me-up or a moment to recharge, we’ve got you covered to help you stay focused and engaged throughout the day.
- Breakfasts: Start your days with hearty breakfasts designed to energize and prepare you for a full day of learning and collaboration. With a variety of options to suit different tastes, our breakfast spread ensures a nourishing start to your journey into quantum technologies.
- Lunches: Enjoy a variety of lunch options every day, with a unique selection each day to cater to different preferences.
- Catered Dinner on Night 1: Enjoy a sit-down catered dinner, featuring exquisite local cuisine crafted from the finest ingredients. Savor delectable dishes and unwind with fellow attendees in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
- Espresso Bar: Recharge throughout the day at an espresso and beverage bar, featuring flavored lattes, matcha, and chai teas, with a variety of milk options and seasonal favorites.
- Food Trucks: These trucks will offer a variety of different meal options, but they are subject to change depending on truck schedules and availability.
2026 Q4I Agenda
Please note the agenda is subject to change without notice. All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time. Speakers will be added to the agenda as they are confirmed. Due to the nature of this event and coordination with the Air Force Research Laboratory, some speakers may not be confirmed or publicly announced until closer to the event dates.
For a look at the Q4I workshop from 2024, visit griffissinstitute.org/q4i-2024!
Tuesday, 23 June: Operational Timing & Sensing Applications
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Check In & Morning Social
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Welcome Message
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM: Keynote 1
Dr. Kathy-Anne Soderberg, Acting Chief Technology Officer & Quantum Technology Lead, Air Force Research Laboratory – USA
Topic (Tentative Title):Â Air Force Operational Considerations
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM: Keynote 2
Dr. Don Towsley, Director of the Quantum Information Systems Institute & Distinguished Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst – USA
Topic (Tentative Title):Â Quantum Networking
11:00 AM – 11:20 AM: Networking Break
11:20 AM – 11:50 AM: Speaker
Dr. Cyrus Hirjibehedin, Technical Staff, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Quantum-Enabled Computing Group – USA
Topic (Tentative Title):Â SCQ User Facility
11:50 AM – 12:20 PM: Speaker
Dr. Gushu Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania – USA
Topic: Quantum Compiler for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing
12:20 PM – 1:20 PM: Lunch
1:20 PM – 1:50 PM: Speaker
Dr. Samah Mohamed Ahmed Saeed, Associate Professor, City College of New York & Director, Secure & Reliable Systems Laboratory – USA
Topic (Tentative Title): Classical Networking Protocols
1:50 PM – 2:20 PM: Speaker
Dr. Todd Stievater, Lead of Integrated Nanophotonics Section, Optical Sciences Division, Navy Research Laboratory – USA
Topic (Tentative Title): Chem & Bio Sensing in Deployed Environments
2:20 PM – 2:40 PM: Networking Break
2:40 PM – 3:10 PM: Speaker
Dr. David Meyers, Research Physicist, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory – USA
Topic (Tentative Title): Rydberg Sensors
3:10 PM – 4:40 PM: Poster Session/Rotating Lab Tours
4:40 PM – 5:00 PM: Networking Break
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Dinner
Wednesday, 24 June: Photonic Integrated Circuits and Quantum Networks
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Check In & Morning Social
9:00 AM – 9:20 AM: Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:20 AM – 10:05 AM: Keynote 3
Dr. Dirk Englund, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – USA
Topic (Tentative Title): Photonic Integrated Circuits for Quantum
10:05 AM – 10:35 AM: Speaker
Dr. Robert Stockill, Co-Founder & CTO, QphoX – Netherlands
Topic (Tentative Title): Optomechanics for Transduction – Application of Optomechanics
10:35 AM – 10:55 AM: Networking Break
10:55 AM – 11:25 AM: Speaker
Dr. Tian Zhong, Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago – USA
Topic (Tentative Title): Quantum Networking Using Photonic Integrated Circuits and Spins
11:25 AM – 11:55 AM: Speaker
Xanadu – Canada
Topic (Tentative Title): Collaborations with AIM Photonics
11:55 AM – 1:25 PM: Lunch
1:25 PM – 1:55 PM: Speaker
Dr. Thomas Jennewein, Associate Professor, University of Waterloo, Institute for Quantum Computing – Canada
Topic (Tentative Title): Quantum on a Satellite
1:55 PM – 2:25 PM: Speaker
Dr. Daniel Felinto, Professor of Physics, Federal Univeristy of Pernambuco & Co-Founder, QWeb – Brazil
Topic (Tentative Title): Quantum Networking in Brazil
2:25 PM – 2:45 PM: Networking Break
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM: Speaker
Dr. Ming-Shien Chang, Research Fellow of Atomic Physics and Optical Science, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica – Taiwan
Topic: Trapped-Ion Quantum Computing: An Industrial Initiative in Taiwan
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM: Closing Remarks
3:45 PM – 4:15 PM: Networking & Closing
4:15 PM: Workshop Concludes
Quantum Alley
A Complementary Quantum Bonus
Quantum Alley offers a complementary element to our Quantum for International (Q4I) workshop. This dedicated expo space just outside of the main event area showcases innovations in quantum technology, offering mini-tech talks and opportunities for networking between the main Q4I features. Join us for insightful mini-panel discussions, engaging talks from guest speakers, and networking opportunities with quantum experts from around the world. Don’t miss out on this chance to delve into various quantum topics and connect with like-minded professionals.
Details for Quantum Alley 2026 will be revealed soon!
Poster Session
Make the most of your time at this workshop by sharing your research at the dynamic poster session!
When ordering your tickets, register to present your work to a diverse audience of industry professionals, researchers, and thought leaders. It’s a unique opportunity to receive valuable feedback, spark meaningful conversations, and expand your professional network.
Don’t miss this chance to showcase your expertise, sharpen your presentation skills, and gain visibility in the field.
Be sure to check the appropriate box in the follow up form that you receive after checkout to let us know you want to participate. Poster specifications will be provided to all participants after registration closer to the event itself!
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Kathy-Anne Soderberg
Dr. Kathy-Anne Soderberg, a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, is Acting Chief Technology Officer for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Prior, she was the Senior Scientist for Quantum Science and Technology at the Information and Spectrum Warfare Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York. She serves as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher in the research, development, adaptation and application of quantum science and technology, techniques and component development to meet Department of the Air Force needs.
Dr. Soderberg began her career with the Air Force in 2014 at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, New York. Dr. Soderberg was the Principal Investigator for the trapped ion quantum networking project and led a team of scientists and engineers working on cutting-edge quantum networking efforts focused on entanglement distribution and quantum bit interfaces. Prior to joining AFRL, Dr. Soderberg served as a technical consultant for government quantum information processing programs. Dr. Soderberg has over 20 years of experience in quantum science and technologies across academia, industry and government.
Dr. Don Towsley
Professor Towsley is the Principal Investigator of the ACQuIRE Lab. He pioneered the area of network tomography and the use of fluid models for the analysis and control of large networks. More recently he pioneered the theoretical study of covert communications and is one of the leading researchers in the area of quantum networking.
He is one of the highly cited computer scientists with over 250 articles in leading journals. Professor Towsley has been an Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, and a co-founding Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computing Systems. He has also served on numerous editorial boards and as program chair of numerous conferences.
He is a five-time recipient of the Best Paper Award of the ACM Sigmetrics Conference and has received four Test of Time Awards for his work. Professor Towsley is also the recipient of one of the IEEE’s most prestigious honors, the 2007 IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award.
He has also received Achievement Awards from ACM SIGCOMM and ACM SIGMETRICS. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the ACM. He also received a UMass Amherst Distinguished Faculty Lecturer award in 2002, a UMass Amherst College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Faculty Research Award in 2003, a Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Award in 2008, and a UMass Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity, 2008, and is a corresponding member to the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Cyrus F. Hirjibehedin
Dr. Cyrus F. Hirjibehedin is a Technical Staff member in the Quantum-Enabled Computing Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). He manages the Superconducting Qubits at Lincoln Laboratory (SQUILL) Foundry program, which enables MIT LL to share its advanced superconducting qubit fabrication capabilities with the U.S. research community to accelerate progress across government-funded projects in quantum computing. In addition, he works to develop platforms for extensible superconducting quantum circuits with applications in quantum information processing. Prior to joining MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Dr. Hirjibehedin was a Professor of Physics, Chemistry, and Nanotechnology at University College London (UCL), and before that a postdoctoral research staff member at IBM’s Almaden Research Center. Dr. Hirjibehedin is also an Editorial Board Member for the IOP Publishing journal Materials for Quantum Technology, and he holds a BS degree in both physics and computer science from Stanford University and a PhD degree in physics from Columbia University.
Dr. Gushu Li
Gushu Li is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania. His research interests lie in the emerging quantum computer system and span the quantum programming language, quantum compiler, and quantum computer architecture. He received the NSF CAREER Award and the Intel Rising Star Faculty Award, Cisco Research Award, the ACM SIGPLAN Distinguished Paper Award at OOPSLA 2020, and an NSF Quantum Information Science and Engineering Network Fellow Grant Award. His research outputs have been adopted by several industry/academia quantum software frameworks, including IBM’s Qiskit, Quantinuum’s TKET, Oak Ridge National Lab’s qcor, etc.Â
Dr. Samah Mohamed Ahmed Saeed
Samah Mohamed Ahmed Saeed is an associate professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the Grove School of Engineering, City College of New York (CCNY). She is the director of Secure & Reliable Systems Laboratory (SERS). Dr. Saeed is also an affiliated faculty at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She earned her Ph.D. in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. Her research interests span quantum circuit design and synthesis for reliable and secure quantum systems, quantum networking, hardware security, and testing digital integrated circuits. Dr. Saeed has received several awards, including the best paper award at IEEE VLSI Test Symposium, the Pearl Brownstein Doctoral Research Award by NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, the TTTC’s E.J. McCluskey Best Doctoral Thesis Award at the IEEE International Test Conference, and the best poster award at Quantum Computing Applications and Systems (QCAS) Workshop. Her research in quantum computing has been funded by the Department of Energy, Google, Air Force Research Laboratory and the Department of Education.
Dr. Todd Stievater
Todd Stievater is the head of the Integrated Nanophotonics Section in the Optical Sciences Division at the Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Stievater currently leads research and development efforts in integrated photonics, nanophotonics, nonlinear optics, semiconductor photonics, microwave photonics, and chemical sensing. He has authored or co-authored over 200 journal publications and conference presentations and holds nine patents and one trade secret related to this work. Dr. Stievater received the 2021 Sigma Xi award for Applied Science, the 2022 NRL Technology Transfer and Transition award, and the 2024 US Navy Dr. Delores M. Etter award for Individual Scientist. He is a Fellow of Optica.Â
Dr. David Meyers
David H Meyer is a Research Physicist with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory and leads the neutral atom team of the Quantum Sciences & Technology Branch. His research background is in experimental atomic physics, centering on quantum information science and quantum sensing. His particular focus is developing thermal-Rydberg-atom-based sensors for radio frequency electrometry and communications reception applications. His efforts have earned him two Army Civilian Service Commendations, the 2023 Army Modeling & Simulation Team Award, and the 2023 DEVCOM ARL Early Career Award. Dr Meyer received his PhD in physics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2018. Â
Dr. Dirk Englund
Professor Dirk Englund joined the MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department faculty in January 2013 as Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
On earning his BS in physics from Caltech in 2002, Dirk Englund spent a year as a Fulbright Fellow at TU Eindhoven, where he designed and built a system for ultrafast magneto-optic nanoscopy. He entered graduate school at Stanford, where he earned an MS in electrical engineering and a PhD in applied physics in 2008.  He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University until 2010.  Prior to coming to MIT, Prof. Englund was Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Applied Physics at Columbia University.
Prof. Englund’s research focuses on quantum technologies based on semiconductor and optical systems, with the goal of controlling quantum states in photons and semiconductor spin systems to address problems in communication, computation, and metrology. His major research accomplishments include the control of light-matter interactions of single quantum states in quantum dots and diamond nitrogen vacancy centers, high-brightness single photon sources, group III/V photonic crystal lasers, and integrated photonic networks for quantum information processing. Prof. Englund leads the Quantum Photonics Laboratory at MIT.
Prof. Englund has been recognized with the 2012 DARPA Young Faculty Award, the 2012 IBM Faculty Award, the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 2011 Sloan Research Fellowship in Physics, the 2012 IEEE-HKN Outstanding Young Professional Award, and a 2008 Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr. Robert Stockill/QphoX
Founded in Delft in 2021, QphoX is a leading developer of optical interfaces to scale quantum computing through novel control, measurement and networking methods. Rob is the CTO and a co-founder of QphoX. Before this he was a Marie-Curie postdoctoral researcher in quantum nanoscience at the TU Delft, which followed his PhD research at the University of Cambridge on entanglement distribution.Â
Dr. Tian Zhong
Dr. Tian Zhong in an Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Tian obtained his Bachelor of Engineering at Nanyang Technological University Singapore and received his Master of Science and PhD in EECS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009 and 2013, respectively.
He was a recipient of the NSF CAREER award and DOD ARO young investigator program grant in 2020. In 2025, he was awarded the Michael D. Sturge Prize for his seminal contribution to solid-state quantum nanophotonics.
His primary research interests lie in quantum networking, quantum communications and quantum photonics.
Xanadu
Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc. is a Canadian quantum technology company, and one of the world’s leading photonic quantum hardware providers.
Founded in 2016, Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. To achieve this mission, the company has taken a full-stack approach and builds hardware, software, and pursues state-of-the-art research with select partners.
The company is also advancing the field of quantum machine learning (QML) through the development of PennyLane, an open-source project that has become a leading software library among quantum researchers and developers.
Xanadu is bringing together exceptional minds from around the world to build something extraordinary.
Dr. Thomas Jennewein
Dr. Jennewein completed his PHD in 2002 at the University of Vienna on Quantum Key Distribution and Teleportation Experiments. After a year in the automotive industry, he was a senior scientist at the IQOQI of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2005). In 2009 he took moved to Canada to take a faculty position at the University of Waterloo / Institute for Quantum Computing. In 2024 he was awarded a Canadian Excellence Research Chair for Global Quantum Internet Systems and Professor in Physics at Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Jennewein’s research vision is to build capable and scalable quantum communication technology for long range and satellite quantum networks. He initiated and leads the Canadian Satellite mission called Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat), which aims to demonstrate quantum communication and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) between space and ground with stations across Canada and internationally. With his interest in the application of quantum technologies he also co-funded three quantum-tech startups, to develop and sell satellite based secure communication, sensing and research instrumentation.
Dr. Daniel Felinto
Dr. Daniel Felinto is a Professor of Physics at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) and Co-Founder of QWeb. His research focuses on applying optics and atomic physics to quantum information and technology, with expertise in cold atoms, ultrafast control, and quantum optics.
After earning his Ph.D. from UFPE, Dr. Felinto completed postdoctoral research at Universidade de São Paulo and Caltech before returning to UFPE as a full professor in 2006. He currently coordinates the Quantum Networks Laboratory at UFPE and oversees projects to build a metropolitan quantum network in Recife and establish the university’s Institute for Quantum Technology.
In 2024, Dr. Felinto co-founded QWeb, a company focused on developing hardware for the future quantum internet.
Dr. Ming-Shien Chang
Dr. Ming-Shien Chang is an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, in Taipei, Taiwan. His research focuses on experimental ultracold atomic physics, with a particular emphasis on spinor Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum simulation and quantum computing. Extending his expertise in the manipulation of atoms, he also investigates nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds for sensing applications and quantum optics studies. Most recently, he partnered with the Hon Hai Research Institute, Foxconn, aiming to advance Taiwan’s capabilities in core hardware technologies for trapped-ion quantum computing. The near-term goal of this collaboration is to deploy a small-scale, open-access system by 2027 as a proof-of-principle milestone.Â
Juliane Price
Juliane Price, a native of Germany, graduated from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with a Master’s Degree in Opera and Performance in 2000.
She performed the leading role of Susan B. Anthony in the world premiere of the opera Pushed Aside: Reclaiming Gage with the Society for New Music at the Carrier Theater in Syracuse, NY. She has also appeared as a soloist in the Masterworks performances of Bruckner’s Mass in D Minor and Delalande’s Cantate Domino with Symphoria at Hamilton College under Rob Kolb.
Since moving to Central New York in 2009, Juliane has maintained an active solo career, including performances with the Utica Symphony Orchestra and the Oneida Area Civic Chorale in Alfred Fedak’s For Us the Living in 2018. She is the second prize winner of the German National Voice Competition and first prize winner of the Lotte Lenya (Kurt Weill) Voice Competition held in Berlin in 2000.
Earlier in her career, she performed as a soloist and actress in theaters in Oberhausen, Düsseldorf, and Hannover, Germany. She also toured across Europe on the luxury cruise ship AROSA BLU, performing in 14 productions and solo programs throughout the Northern Oceans and Seas.
Her screen work includes productions in Germany under director Thomas Jahn, as well as projects in the United States with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Superfine Films NYC, and Aurora Film. She has also worked extensively in voice-over in both German and English and speaks Russian, Italian, and French.
Raised in Dessau, Juliane began playing violin at age five and joined her first orchestra at age eight. Her early musical influences included German, Italian, Russian, and French composers, as well as Kurt Weill, who also hails from her hometown.
She currently performs with Avec Sentiments, alongside jazz guitarist Joe Ferlo and upright bassist Matt Vacanti, featuring light jazz, French chanson, and select songs.
More speakers will be revealed as the event gets closer.
