March 11, 2025 -- Quantum computing expert Michael Manfra has been named director of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute (PQSEI), effective March 1. He is the Bill and Dee O’Brien Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and professor of materials engineering.

“We are pleased to welcome Mike and his wealth of research and leadership experience to the directorship,” said Dan DeLaurentis, vice president for Discovery Park District Institutes and Centers. “His deep understanding of quantum research and technologies will bolster partnerships across campus, industry and government that will lead PQSEI to even greater successes.”

Manfra is widely recognized as a groundbreaking researcher and innovator in quantum science and technologies. He led a team of Purdue scientists who demonstrated concrete evidence of the existence of anyons, a type of subatomic particle that is particularly important in efforts to build a utility-scale quantum computer.

In 2016 Manfra became the scientific director of Microsoft Quantum Lab West Lafayette, part of Microsoft’s global effort to build a commercially relevant quantum computer. Materials created in his lab were integrated into the development of the new qubit platform recently announced by Microsoft Quantum.

Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research said, “The deep collaboration that Professor Manfra and his team have created with the Microsoft Quantum Lab West Lafayette exemplifies the kind of powerful partnerships we envision for PQSEI under his leadership.”

Manfra has a keen understanding of the relationship between research conducted in industry and academia, having spent a decade as a research scientist at Bell Laboratories before joining the Purdue faculty in 2009. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and received the 2021 Arden L. Bement Jr. Award, the highest distinction for achievement in research given by Purdue University. In 2023 Manfra delivered the opening experimental presentation at the Nobel Symposium on Anyons in Stockholm, Sweden.

“I am eager to work with the PQSEI team and continue the outstanding progress made by the institute since its inception,” Manfra said. “The promise of quantum science and technologies is accelerating scientific discovery and its translation into useful technology. For example, if quantum computers reduce the time and cost to produce new lifesaving therapeutic drugs, that is real societal impact.”

Quantum science and engineering at Purdue, including PQSEI, is a pillar of the Purdue Computes initiative, which is focused on advancing research in computing, physical AI, semiconductors and quantum technologies.