IonQ Announces Co-Founder Chris Monroe to Leave The Company

Insider Brief

IonQ announced that Dr. Chris Monroe will be leaving the company.
Monroe served as the firm’s co-founder and chief science officer.
He will be returning to his academic, research and policy pursuits.

PRESS RELEASE — IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), an industry leader in quantum computing, announced that Dr. Chris Monroe, Chief Science Officer, will be leaving the company. Dr. Monroe co-founded IonQ in 2015 and his scientific contributions and leadership have played an instrumental role in shaping IonQ’s research efforts.

As Gilhuly Family Distinguished Presidential Professor of Physics and Electrical Computer Engineering at Duke University, Dr. Monroe will be returning to his academic, research and policy pursuits. He will continue to lead research in quantum computing technology, educate the quantum workforce and advise quantum institutes across the world.

“Chris has been a pioneer working on all aspects of ion trap quantum computers, from the demonstration of the first quantum logic gate in 1995 to the invention of the first scalable quantum computer architecture,” said Peter Chapman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IonQ. “Under his support and leadership, IonQ was granted exclusive ion trap intellectual property licenses from the University of Maryland and Duke University – two distinguished research universities pushing the frontiers of quantum computing. Chris has also helped guide the company to build scalable quantum computers that will drive commercial advantage. We are grateful to Chris for his many contributions and wish him the best.”

“It has been a privilege to work alongside so many exceptionally talented engineers and scientists,” said Dr. Monroe. “We have brought forward several first-in-class quantum technologies, culminating in a clear roadmap that is poised to drive commercial advantage in the future. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and want to thank everyone at IonQ.”