Director

The University of New Mexico (UNM) seeks a dynamic, innovative, results-oriented, and proven leader to serve as the inaugural permanent Director of the recently launched Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I), one of UNM’s premier strategic research centers and the home of an innovative partnership with Sandia National Laboratories. Reporting directly to the Vice President for Research (VPR), and as a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering, the Director will advance research, business development, and workforce development initiatives. The Director will join QNM-I near its founding, with significant momentum towards its ambitious vision of making New Mexico’s quantum technology ecosystem one of the finest in the world on the eve of the next revolution in quantum information science.

UNM provides education to nearly 29,000 students, more than 80 percent of whom are New Mexico residents. The University has one of the most diverse student bodies of any major research university in the nation and is one of only 22 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in the U.S. that has a Carnegie Classification of Highest Research Activity (R1). UNM is ranked among the top 100 Research and Development-Performing Institutions in the U.S., with expenditures of over 350 million dollars annually. UNM provides an excellent environment for research-university education and training and produces a unique demographic of superbly trained researchers for our nation.

Launched in January 2024 as a joint venture with Sandia National Laboratories, QNM-I builds on the strengths in quantum information science at UNM, Sandia National Laboratories, and across New Mexico. New Mexico has a rich history in the development of quantum information science and Sandia National Laboratories is a global authority on benchmarking quantum systems and designing and manufacturing ion traps. QNM-I maintains a creative and entrepreneurial faculty from the UNM Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemical and Biological Engineering.

As the inaugural permanent Director of QNM-I, the Director will have the opportunity to establish a strategic vision and plan for the new Institute, ensuring its sustainable growth, expanding extramural funding, and developing new partnerships with a range of stakeholders. They will bring a deep understanding of the needs of researchers in quantum-relevant fields as well as a facility to communicate with a variety of audiences, from government officials to industry leaders to top researchers. In doing so, the Director will lead the Institute towards achieving its mission of accomplishing transformative, long-lasting breakthroughs in quantum information science and engineering and the shared vision of creating an ecosystem within New Mexico that provides a home for quantum companies and scientists from around the world.

UNM has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search. For more details, including the full position profile and to submit inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications including CVs and cover letters, please see the Isaacson, Miller website for the search:
https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-new-mexico-quantum-new-mexico-institute/director.

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