Preeti serves as the inaugural Chief Quantum Officer for Illinois, the latest in our commitment to growing this industry in Illinois. In this new role, Preeti will work closely with leaders within Illinois’ science, technology, innovation, government and economic development ecosystem to lead business development for quantum and microelectronics, including for the recently announces Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP).

Preeti brings over 20 years of experience in industry-academic relations, technology commercialization, intellectual property, research and education in academic, government and corporate environments. Most recently, she served as the Director of Industry Partnerships for the Chicago Quantum Exchange in a joint position with University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation where she managed a portfolio of industry partners ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups to develop strategic partnerships for research, knowledge and technology transfer, and workforce and ecosystem development with the goal of advancing development of quantum information science and technologies.  She also served as the deputy director of Duality, the first startup accelerator program in the US dedicated to quantum and enabling technologies, having helped to launch the accelerator program in 2021. Preeti has served in the technology commercialization team at UChicago, supporting commercialization of physical sciences and engineering research, including through the formation of new ventures. Prior to joining UChicago, Preeti was in the field of intellectual property where she worked on a diverse range of technologies, with clients ranging from universities and start-ups, to SMEs and multinational corporations. 

Preeti holds a BS in Applied Physics from Yale University and a PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell University where her doctoral research was in the area of spintronics.