Bio
Josh Cunningham serves as Chief Operating Officer for the Quantum Science Center (QSC), where he provides operational leadership and coordination in support of the Center’s research mission and cross-institutional activities. In this role, he works closely with QSC leadership to support program operations, partnerships, and execution across national laboratories, universities, and industry collaborators.
Josh also serves as Operations Manager for the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility’s Quantum Computing User Program (QCUP), which connects researchers with commercial, cloud-based quantum computing resources through a proposal-driven allocation process. He previously served as project manager for the installation of the Quantum Brilliance Quoll system, ORNL’s first on-site, commercial quantum computer cluster.
In addition, Josh is the Protected Data Manager for the OLCF, supporting user projects that require secure and compliant environments for sensitive data.
Josh began his DOE career in 2017 as an intern at the OLCF and has since supported high-performance computing and national security efforts in roles at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex. He is an alum of AmeriCorps and the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program and holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems and Communication, with research and publications focused on applied artificial intelligence.
Education
Robert Morris University - PhD Information Systems & Communication
Arizona State University - MA Global Security
University of Tennessee-Knoxville - MS Communication & Information