Jonathan Kwolek, a physicist at the Naval Research Lab, demonstrates an atom interferometer.
Jonathan Kwolek, a physicist at the Naval Research Lab, demonstrates an atom interferometer to Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, Chief of Naval Research, in September 2020.
U.S. Navy (Jonathan Steffen)

Chief of Naval Research Talks about Quantum Tech, Lasers, Basic Research, and STEM Education

This week, Proceedings interviewed Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, Chief of Naval Research, as part of our ongoing partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School and its Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture Program.
By Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, U.S. Navy
May 2021
Proceedings
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Proceedings: Can you describe the Navy’s efforts in quantum computing and the potential implications for this technology? 

Selby: We are in a new era of change and capabilities that rivals some of humanity’s greatest epoch moments—equivalent to the advent of agriculture, or the Industrial Revolution—moments where new technologies revolutionized everything. The arrival of quantum technologies in the near future is among those groundbreaking capabilities emerging today (along with artificial intelligence (AI), autonomy, synthetic biology and more). Quantum capabilities bring enormous promise for naval applications, from improved timekeeping and navigation for GPS-denied platforms, to potential increases in computational speed in solving complex logistics problems. The application space for quantum sensing and quantum information science and technology is broad.

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Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, U.S. Navy

Rear Admiral Selby graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering and earned his commission through the Navy’s Reserve Officers Training Corps program. He also holds a Master of Science in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He commanded the USS Greeneville (SSN-772) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Following selection as an acquisition professional, he served as the program manager for both the Submarine Imaging and Electronic Warfare Systems Program Office (PMS 435) and the Advanced Undersea Systems Program Office (PMS 394). As a flag officer, he served as Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Centers (NSWC) from October 2014 to August 2016, where he led more than 17,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel, both civilian and active duty, within eight NSWC divisions located across the country. From June 2016 until May 2020, he served as the Navy’s chief engineer and the Naval Sea Systems Command Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration, and Naval Engineering (SEA 05). In May 2020, he became the 26th Chief of Naval Research.

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