Charles W. Clark

Dr. Charles W. Clark joined QLab as a Fellow in January 2026. A distinguished physicist with decades of leadership in the quantum sciences, Dr. Clark also serves as a NIST Fellow Emeritus and a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) at UMD. His career spans basic and applied research, executive management in government and industry, and extensive service to the professional physics community. He held senior leadership roles including Co-Director of the Joint Quantum Institute (2011–2016) and Chief of the Electron and Optical Physics Division at NIST (1990–2010). He also served as a Program Manager for Atomic, Molecular, and Quantum Physics at the Office of Naval Research. Currently, he holds executive positions in the private sector as Executive Vice President at ScienceCast, Inc. and Chief Research Scientist at Aspen Quantum Consulting.

Dr. Clark's research focuses on the intersection of theoretical physics and advanced quantum technologies. His primary areas of technical expertise include:

• Quantum Information & Computing: Developing theoretical frameworks for quantum algorithms, communications, and standards.
• Artificial Intelligence: Exploring applications of AI and machine learning to solve complex problems in quantum systems.
• Matter- & Light-Wave Interferometry: Investigating structured waves and neutron physics for precision measurement.
• Ultracold Matter: Studying Bose-Einstein condensates and superfluidity in optical lattices.

Dr. Clark received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago (1979). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Optica (formerly OSA), the Institute of Physics, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His accolades include the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal, the NIST Edward Uhler Condon Award, and the Government Computer News Award for Information Technology Achievement.