Insider Brief:
- The atomic clock embodied quantum principles long before “qubit” was a household term, laying quiet groundwork for the second quantum revolution.
- In the mid-1990s, NIST’s ion trap work for clocks unintentionally mirrored the architecture needed for quantum logic gates, catalyzing the first demonstration of entangled qubit control.
- Proposed funding reductions to public science threaten the continuity, mentorship, and institutional memory that have made long-range progress like this possible.
- This July, the Quantum for Good: Industry Leadership, Innovation, and Real-World Impact workshop at AI for Good will gather global voices to explore what it takes both to build quantum technologies and sustain the ecosystem around them.
Our reality is ruled by one enigmatic entity: time. Time is a double-edged sword, measured quickly in anticipation of good things and excruciatingly slowly during dread. As Einstein taught us, time is relative depending on your position in the universe. But here on Earth, we’ve found ways to measure it with remarkable precision.
Today, most of us rely on our phones to schedule meetings and calibrate appliances. But beneath this daily tool, oft taken for granted, is a deeper mechanism, the atomic clock–strict keeper of time arguably one of the most practical quantum systems in existence. Long before we had quantum computers or even a name for qubits, we had atomic clocks in a quiet lab at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The atomic clock is engineered based on an elegant principle in physics, which is that atoms behave as exquisitely reliable timekeepers. Take cesium, for example. A cesium atom vibrates at a known, constant frequency, exactly 9,192,631,770 times per second. This unwavering behavior allows scientists to define the second and, by extension, every measure of time we rely on.
While atomic clocks weren’t built with quantum computation in mind, they embody some of the same physical characteristics. The atoms involved, usually cesium, beryllium, and ytterbium, can occupy multiple energy states simultaneously, exist in superposition, and be coherently manipulated. That makes them, in retrospect, quantum bits. They were the first qubits, before the term was ever commonplace.
And so, before there were quantum computers, there were clocks. And before the second quantum revolution took off, NIST was already unintentionally building the foundation.
From Clock to Computation: The Path to Quantum Logic
In the mid-1990s, a small group of researchers at NIST’s Ion Storage Group were experimenting with ions to improve the precision of atomic clocks. According to a post from NIST, they weren’t thinking about quantum computing. But that changed.
As Chris Monroe, then a young physicist in Dave Wineland’s lab, later recalled: “The field of quantum information sort of fell in our laps.” They had the atoms, the laser systems, the vacuum chambers. What they didn’t yet realize was that their clockwork setup mirrored many of the requirements for a quantum logic gate.
In 1994, Peter Shor published his now-famous algorithm showing that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break classical encryption. Around the same time, NIST physicist Charles Clark organized the first Workshop on Quantum Computing and Communication in Gaithersburg, Maryland, an event that brought theoretical ideas into practical orbit.
As noted in the post from NIST, the lab’s internal interest in quantum information had been sparked by a talk delivered by Artur Ekert at the International Conference on Atomic Physics, held that summer in Boulder. Ekert, then a postdoc, expected blank stares. Instead, he found a room full of atomic physicists who not only understood but were eager to apply his ideas. Among them were researchers who would go on to define the next era of quantum experiments.
Shortly after, inspired by Ekert’s talk, theorists Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller proposed the use of trapped ions as qubits. When Wineland’s group read the paper, the pieces clicked into place. Their lab setup was practically a ready-made prototype.
By 1995, they had built the first quantum logic gate using individual beryllium ions. With this, they demonstrated coherent control over two entangled qubits, effectively laying the foundation for gate-based quantum computing. This was the first step toward building a new type of computer, one governed by the rules of quantum mechanics rather than classical physics. For this and related work, Wineland would later share the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics.
What NIST Means to the Quantum Ecosystem
The story of NIST’s contributions to quantum science doesn’t end with atomic clocks and logic gates. Over the past three decades, NIST has been one of the more consistent and catalytic institutions in the quantum ecosystem. It’s been a proving ground, a training hub, and a launchpad.
As noted in a recent post from FedScoop, a significant number of today’s leading figures in quantum can trace their careers through NIST. As Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium, told members of Congress during a recent hearing: “If you cut funding to NIST, you’re cutting access to those key types of experts.”
Charina Chou, COO of Google Quantum AI, echoed that sentiment, citing the foundational work in the 1990s that seeded the superconducting qubit technologies used at Google today. “We in the private sector are going to absolutely do our part. We want to make sure the U.S. succeeds,” echoed Chou. “That, being said, government expertise, in some ways, is irreplaceable.”
And NIST’s role isn’t limited to hardware. The agency leads the U.S. effort in post-quantum cryptography, developing secure cryptographic standards to safeguard information against future quantum threats. These algorithms are vital for national security, long-term data protection, and international standardization. NIST is also an essential partner in shaping global quantum standards, ensuring that emerging technologies evolve in safe, interoperable, and scientifically grounded ways.
NIST’s collaborative history runs deep. From its joint institute JILA with the University of Colorado Boulder, to its role in quantum metrology and its mentorship of early-career scientists, the institute has quietly built a respected reputation in the field.
A Warning from the Present: Cuts That Threaten the Future
Yet today, NIST faces a different kind of headline.
According to budget documents and recent congressional testimony, the White House’s proposed budget includes a $325 million cut to NIST, which is nearly 40% of its overall budget for fiscal year 2025. This comes amid a broader pattern of scientific disinvestment, including halted grants at NSF and personnel restructuring across key science agencies.
While the administration claims it will continue to “amply” fund AI and quantum, the overall takeaway for the broader community is relatively unclear. The risk goes beyond lost jobs and delayed experiments. It’s about breaking the continuity that makes long-term scientific progress possible.
As Charles Tahan, former Director of the National Quantum Coordination Office, said during the hearing, NIST is “a jewel of the federal quantum ecosystem, period.” When institutions like NIST are undercut, the entire ecosystem risks instability.
Quantum ecosystems are inherently interdisciplinary and interdependent. They rely on a delicate balance between government, academia, and industry. Within each domain, sustained investment, expertise, and vision are required. Removing one leg of a tripod an unstable structure makes.
Quantum innovation is not the product of a single development. It’s the result of decades of accumulated infrastructure, trust, and shared knowledge. Disrupting that, even for a single funding cycle, can have cascading effects across the entire ecosystem.
So how do we keep that momentum alive, across disciplines, borders, and institutions?
One answer lies in creating space for global dialogue. This July, at the Quantum for Good: Industry Leadership, Innovation, and Real-World Impact workshop at AI for Good, researchers, technologists, and policy leaders will convene to explore how quantum technologies can deliver tangible benefits—from post-quantum security and sensing to sustainable computing. The conversations won’t just focus on where quantum is going, but what it takes to get there technically, politically, and collectively.
Why This Moment Matters
There is value in science. There is value in following ideas not yet solidified, ideas that have not yet convinced the world of their worth. Often, these are the seeds of revolutions yet to come.
NIST’s story is proof. What began as a pursuit to improve timekeeping helped catalyze a technological effort on a much larger scale, one that may have profound impact on society. The ion traps that once enabled clocks now enable computation. The researchers who once measured seconds are now measuring what’s possible.
And yet, the scientific process is fragile. The journey from abstract curiosity to real-world application is nonlinear and unpredictable. It requires patience, freedom, and support.
Today’s budget discussions are more than just political decisions. They’re decisions about whether we continue to believe in the power of public science to serve as a foundation for future industry. Whether we value the role of institutions like NIST in seeding entire fields. Whether we understand that discovery, by its very nature, cannot be fast-tracked, but it can be derailed.
Because if there’s one thing NIST has taught us, it’s that sometimes, what seems like an accident of research is actually a hint of what’s to come.
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