Abstract: When I graduated from UIUC nearly seven years ago, I was set on the traditional academic path: finish a PhD, land a postdoc, and eventually become a professor. But graduate school—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic—challenged those assumptions. Through organizing with the graduate student union and grappling with the broader impacts of my research, I began to see science not just as a technical pursuit, but as a deeply social one. I realized that if quantum technologies are to benefit humanity, we need to think critically about their development, use, and accessibility. After earning my degree, I took a less conventional route into science policy, where I now work on science and energy issues in the U.S. Congress. In this talk, I’ll share my path from the lab to the legislature and reflect on why physicists are especially well-positioned to contribute to responsible innovation—and why we need to hear your voice today more than ever.
Bio: Rodrigo Araiza Bravo is an American Institute of Physics (AIP) Science and Engineering Congressional Policy Fellow, serving in the Office of Illinois Senator Dick Durbin on issues of science funding, STEM education, energy, and environmental policy. Before his current fellowship, Rodrigo co-founded two organizations to alert scientists about the ethical aspects of quantum technologies, helped stand up responsible quantum computing principles at IBM Quantum, and analyzed national quantum strategies around the world. Rodrigo earned his Ph.D. in quantum information theory from Harvard University in 2024, specializing in quantum variational algorithms.