CNM Quantum Technician Bootcamp Graduates Help New York Startup with Cutting-Edge Security Project

Current online security is based on complicated math that takes supercomputers to break. The problem is, math won’t hold up forever and can eventually be hacked. That’s where a company like Qunnect comes in.

Qunnect is a Brooklyn, New York-based startup that’s using cutting-edge quantum technology to take online security a big step forward. And, as part of their product development, they’ve been working with recent grads from CNM’s first Quantum Technician bootcamp to set up infrastructure at a new satellite office in downtown Albuquerque.

“Initially, we were only focused on building the open access network and an R&D facility to support work with our design partners,” said Noel Goddard, CEO of Qunnect. “After learning about CNM’s program, we were motivated to expand our operations and establish a manufacturing facility in our Albuquerque space.”

“The partnership with CNM has been awesome because normally when you think quantum you think PhDs locked in a lab. But really quantum is emerging into a commercial and marketable field and there’s a huge need for technicians like the ones coming out of the bootcamp,” said Shane Andrewski, a Field Engineer with Qunnect who’s helping to set up the New Mexico office.

In basic terms, Qunnect is advancing online security by using something called entanglement, a phenomenon where you have two particles that are linked together in a extraordinary way. Once entangled, these particles can be separated by long distances but anything that affects one, instantly affects the other.

Entanglement is important for security purposes because if someone is trying to eavesdrop or hack into a system that uses these particles as a passkey, the instant one particle is measured or affected, the entanglement falls apart, creating an immediate alert.

For the recent graduates of CNM Ingenuity’s Quantum Technician bootcamp, the partnership with Qunnect gave them the opportunity to see the theory and techniques they learned in class applied in a real-life setting.

“The skills I gained in the class were immediately applicable to the work we helped the Qunnect team,” said Brandon Sessions, a Quantum Bootcamp graduate. “We came into the Qunnect office, and I was able to follow along with the work that they were doing right away, which is really impressive considering I knew almost nothing about quantum when I started the bootcamp in October.”

Brandon was recently hired by Qunnect to manufacture quantum networking components at the Albuquerque location. He will start his new role February 1, and is the first graduate from the first Quantum Technician Bootcamp that ended in December to land a job in the industry.

Qunnect chose Albuquerque as a satellite city because New Mexico has a long history with quantum at the National Labs, UNM, and the Air Force Research Labs, but also because CNM was able to provide help via the quantum students. Inside Qunnect’s building off Central Aveneu there’s already Qunnect-made infrastructure that can tap into the city’s existing fiber optic system to conduct testing. The plan is to start building the Qunnect modules in Albuquerque so that they can also be shipped elsewhere.

“There is definitely significant overlap in what we’ve taught in the bootcamp and what Qunnect needs to run their business,” said Brian Rashap, the lead Quantum Bootcamp instructor. “As quantum is moving out of the labs and into companies, New Mexico is already a hot spot for commercial growth, thanks to our history with the technology and the investments that the city and state have made.”

As Qunnect continues to grow and develop its product, it sees a long future in Albuquerque, thanks in large part to CNM’s workforce training.

“The students have exactly the type of skills we need so that we always have trained boots on the ground,” Andrewski said.

“The future of quantum is here in Albuquerque,” said Tommy Rael, another bootcamp graduate. “I feel really excited to be here in the right place at the right time as I take the next step in my career.”