Rigetti Hires NIST Quantum Processing Group Leader David Pappas

(GlobeNewsWire) Rigetti Computing announced that it has hired David Pappas as Senior Principal Scientist. Pappas joins the company after 25 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he most recently led the Quantum Processing Group.
“Dr. Pappas has made seminal contributions to the development of quantum computing hardware,” said Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing. “He is a global expert in the detailed scientific and engineering aspects of this transformative technology.”
Pappas has had a broad impact on the field of superconducting qubits, the technology that powers Rigetti quantum computing systems. Beginning with his early work on Josephson junctions—a key building block for superconducting qubits—his achievements have spanned materials research, quantum-limited amplifier development, qubit design, and quantum algorithm research.
Building on the company’s recent announcement that it had demonstrated the industry’s first multi-chip processor architecture, Pappas will apply his expertise to the development of next-generation architectures for scalable superconducting quantum computers. This work leverages Rigetti’s distinctive manufacturing capabilities at Fab-1, the industry’s only dedicated captive quantum fab.
“Rigetti is a leader in the design, fabrication, and commercialization of superconducting quantum hardware,” said Pappas. “The company’s rapid progress and breadth of innovation is underpinned by its world-class research and development capabilities. I’m thrilled to join the Rigetti team at such an exciting inflection point for both the company and the industry.”
Pappas is the latest in a series of key senior hires at the company. Earlier this year Rigetti also added former Google quantum research scientist Josh Mutus to its hardware development team as Director, Quantum Materials.