Genya Crossman is a lifelong learner passionate about helping people understand and use quantum computing to solve the world’s most complex problems.
So, she is excited that quantum computing is in the spotlight this year. UNESCO declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. It’s also the 100th anniversary of physicist Werner Heisenberg’s “On the Quantum-Theoretical Reinterpretation of Kinematic and Mechanical Relationships,” the first published paper on quantum mechanics.
Crossman, an IEEE member, is a quantum strategy consultant at IBM in Germany. As a full-time staff member, she coordinates and manages five working groups focused on developing quantum-based solutions for near-term problems in health care and life sciences, materials science, high-energy physics, optimization, and sustainability.
Genya Crossman Employer IBM in Germany Job title Quantum strategy consultant Member grade Member Alma maters University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Delft University of Technology and the Technische Universität Berlin
She attended the sixth annual IEEE Quantum Week, held from 31 August to 5 September in Albuquerque. This year’s event, also known as the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering, marked the first time that the IBM- and community-created working groups’ experts and collaborators publicly presented their research together.
“We got great feedback and information about identifying common features across groups,” Crossman says. “The audience got to hear real-life examples to understand how quantum computing applies to different scenarios and how it works.”
Crossman understands the importance of sharing research more than most because she works at the intersection of quantum computing research and practical application. The quantum field might seem intimidating, she says, but you don’t need to understand it to use a quantum computer.
“Anyone can use one,” she says. “And if you know programming languages like Python, you can code a quantum computer.”
The basics of quantum computing
IBM has a long-standing history with quantum computing. IEEE Member Charles H. Bennett, an IBM Fellow, is called the father of quantum information theory because he wrote the first notes on the subject in 1970. In May 1981, IBM and MIT held the first Physics of Computation Conference.
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