Attendance, exhibit, and submitted & accepted papers surpass all previous years
Quantum Week 2024, IEEE’s International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering, which took place last week, 15-20 September in Montréal, Québec, Canada, closed with record-breaking success. From the growth in technical presentations to the expansive exhibit and peak attendance, this year’s Quantum Week surpassed all previous years’ performances in every major area.
“With quantum technology demonstrating potential in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to drug discovery, we knew this year’s event would drive the dialogue and debate important to the evolution of the field,” said Candy Culhane, 2024 IEEE Quantum Week General Chair. “We are thrilled that Quantum Week continues to be the annual gathering of the international quantum community and that it reflects the important work that’s being done in this field.”
Drawing the quantum community
This year’s event boasted a career fair, a student mentorship program, nine world-class keynote speakers, 36 workforce-building tutorials, 35 community-building workshops, 222 technical papers, 16 panels, 140 innovative posters, and six Birds-of-a-Feather sessions. These program components created a well-rounded conference experience and reiterated the strengths of this evolving field.
For instance, paper submissions for Quantum Week grew 56% over 2023, resulting in 222 carefully curated presentations at this year’s conference. Complementing this new research, keynote speakers from industry, government labs, and academic institutions discussed the growing impact of quantum science and engineering across a wide range of fields including software, computing, systems, and beyond. More than 1,600 registered attendees—up 18% from 2023—were able to learn the latest on ways quantum technology is advancing work in a range of disciplines and application domains.
Industry development was also evident in foundational research and commercial applications. For one, Microsoft and Quantinuum discussed their partnership, which resulted in breaking a record in the creation of logical qubits. Microsoft also unveiled that it’s working with Atom Computing to build the world’s most powerful quantum machine. During his keynote, IBM’s Quantum VP Jay Gambetta announced the release of the Qiskit Functions Catalog, services that allow users to abstract away parts of the quantum software development workflow.
Couple those monumental announcements with the fact that the number of exhibitors, sponsors, and supporters grew to 86 this year, up 37% year over year, and industry momentum becomes all the more apparent. This expansion delivered an exhibit that featured the latest technologies not only from quantum companies, but also start-ups and research labs. In addition, the conference drew in active recruiting efforts: The Career Fair doubled in size, with 10 companies seeking new talent.
“Quantum technology continues to achieve new research and commercial milestones,” explained Culhane. “These developments warrant new skill sets and work efforts across disciplines. Seeing the full community convene at Quantum Week just further reiterated the impact of the industry’s evolution over the past few years.”
Celebrating Success
While every presentation at Quantum Week helped to advance the field, a select few were chosen as stand outs at this year’s event. These best paper awardees debuted new research that will have an impact on what comes next in this space. Curated by track, the following are the top papers awarded, with full details available in the conference program:
With such technical achievements as a backdrop, new developments and findings in the field in the next 12 months will impact what’s next in quantum and beyond. Mark your calendars now for IEEE Quantum Week 2025, taking place Sunday, 31 August, through Friday, 5 September, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. In 2025, the global quantum communities will celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. During this special year, IEEE Quantum Week 2025 will be a must-attend event.
