ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Deborah Frincke, associate laboratories director of national security programs at Sandia National Laboratories, has been appointed to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee.

Deborah Frincke, the associate laboratories director of national security programs at Sandia National Laboratories, has been appointed to the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. (Photo by Lonnie Anderson) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.

As a member of this presidential advisory committee, Frincke will help provide an independent assessment of the National Quantum Initiative Program, which was established in 2019 to maintain U.S. leadership in quantum information science and its technology applications and to make recommendations to the nation’s highest offices for future revisions to the program.

President Joe Biden announced the appointment in December.

“Quantum science and technology are believed to have enormous potential in a wide variety of sectors,” Frincke said. “Quantum computing, imaging and sensors are among the areas where important breakthroughs may lead to significant advances. It is an honor to be part of the NQIAC, designed to both advise the president and to represent the needs of industries, universities and federal laboratories.”

Frincke is a seasoned leader in national security research. At Sandia, she steers and oversees projects for the Department of Defense, the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Energy in areas such as hypersonic flight systems, cybersecurity, advanced radar, microelectronics, threat intelligence, machine learning and quantum science. She also recently concluded a term on the NATO Advisory Group on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.

Formerly, she served as the associate laboratory director for national security sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and held several senior executive positions at the National Security Agency, including director of research, where she also served as a past co-chair of the White House committee on the Economic and Security Implications of Quantum.

Frincke is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and holds a doctorate in computer science and security from the University of California, Davis.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.

Sandia news media contact: Troy Rummler, trummle@sandia.gov, 505-249-3632