Quantum Harlem 2026

Last week I had a great time attending the 2026 Quantum Harlem event at CUNY’s own ASRC. This was a great opportunity to network with and hear from leading industry and academic people in NYC’s emerging quantum ecosystem. The panel consisted of a broad array of experts from Qunnect’s Dr. Mehdi Namazi, to CUNY professor of philosophy Dr. Elise Crull. It was enriching to have such a broad discussion about the future of the quantum industry and the need for a more connected ecosystem of people working in quantum technology, however at times the breadth limited the degree to which more technical and specific discussions could be had on hardware modalities and roadmaps to wide spread quantum adoption.

I was lucky to have known several of the panelists, such as Dr. Javad Shabani, director of NYU’s quantum informnation center and the moderator CUNY’s Dr. German Kolmakov, who I had taken a statistical mechanics course with last year. It was good to catch up with Dr. Kolmakov, particularly as he and QuantumCue’s CEO Tim Dutta unveiled their newest product, a no-code multi-platform quantum interface that allows users to run quantum algorithms on hardware from many different providers. While access layers and improving usability are important goals, for me the largest challenges for quantum technology to solve are still hardware focused. Qubit quality and connectivity, circuit size and depth, and networking infrastructure between quantum devices.

A surprise to me was learning all about New York state government’s investments and partnerships with early quantum startups and academic spinoffs. It was cool to see an active role being played by local government in supporting new initiatives and supporting partnership between different sectors. State investment coupled well with the strong sense of New York spirit among many of the panelists, one of whom proclaimed that NYC should be the capital of the emerging quantum industry, which currently has less than 30,000 employees worldwide. Tavis Ezell also emphasized the local public investment going in to making NYC a quantum hub through the ASRC’s Center for Advance Technology that connects CUNY students to local industry, providing mentorship, start-up fund matching and access to ASRC resources. The CUNYverse, as President Josh Brumber called it last week, really is full of so many opportunities and resources that I am constantly discovering.

The perspectives of Dr. Norma Padron VP at J.P. Morgan, and Matt Cimaglia founder of Quantum Coast Capital, were very refreshing. I particularly liked their expressed caution when it came to techno-hype, something that has been emerging within the quantum industry such as in Microsoft’s claims of topological qubits last year. Hearing investors without technical knowledge be able to articulate informed and critical views was welcoming, especially the point made by Dr. Padron on affording optionality. As the hardware race is still open, optionality in terms of hardware paradigms is definitely crucial.

What I’m Taking Away

Networking is important, and it doesn’t always come naturally but the only way forward is to keep showing up. I’m enjoying getting to meet other people in the quantum industry and hear about the latest developments and applications. Keeping a warm and communial atmosphere among different sectors that recognize each other’s roles to play in shaping the quantum ecosystem is definitely something to hold on to in the years to come.