Zaira Nazario

Dr. Zaira Nazario is a quantum theorist and Director, Science and Technology at the Office of the Director of IBM Research.

She joined IBM’s quantum theory team as research scientist in 2017 and was technical lead of quantum theory and applications before joining the Office of the Director of Research. Prior to that, she worked advising the U.S. Department of Defense DARPA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence IARPA on strategic technological investments and helping formulate, build, and oversee programs focused on quantum information technologies and advanced navigation, communication, computation, and sensing technologies.

At the U.S. Department of State, Dr. Nazario helped shape science policy and launched and managed R&D programs in biological, chemical, and nuclear safety and security.

As a theoretical physicist at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany, she investigated quantum criticality and emergent physics in condensed matter systems.

Dr. Nazario earned her Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics from Stanford University, where she focused on quantum phase transitions, uncovering the physics of strongly correlated systems, superconductivity, and the quantum mechanics of materials in general.