ASU’s Panchanathan to lead Phoenix Quantum Strategy Newswise — Phoenix is ready to make a leap into its economic future with quantum computing, and the city has asked Arizona State University to play a leadership role. Mayor Kate Gallego announced the Phoenix Quantum Strategy, a new initiative, during her recent State of the City address. The initiative aims to position Phoenix as a quantum hub in the United States, adding to recent efforts to grow the area’s economy through key industries — efforts that led to Phoenix recently being named one of the top four cities for gross domestic product growth. “Phoenix's targeted investments have led to enormous growth in the biosciences and advanced semiconductor manufacturing — and I want to make sure that our city, our region and our state lead the economy of the future,” Gallego said. “Quantum technology is a promising platform for new economic growth, and if we do it right, harness our assets and develop a smart strategy, we can attract investment and better diversify our economy with industries built for the future.” Quantum technology — which has applications from health to national security — uses the strange physics of particles to build new, problem-solving technologies. Quantum computers, for example, may one day solve problems that would take today’s supercomputers thousands of years. At the City of Phoenix announcement, the mayor said the city has “the very best person in the country” to lead the new quantum initiative: Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, former director of the National Science Foundation and now University Professor of Technology and Innovation at ASU. “Panch’s leadership at ASU and NSF helped shape America’s innovation agenda, and now he’s ready to lead the efforts for Phoenix,” Gallego said. Before becoming director of the NSF in 2020, Panchanathan worked at ASU for 22