Quantum Computing with a Global Outlook

Mandy Birch F15 has a brain for systems. At the United States Air Force Academy, she studied mechanical engineering and French. As brigadier general in the United States Air Force, she leveraged her multidimensional thinking to lead a multinational team and deescalate a crisis in the Lake Chad Basin in 2018. Most recently, she thinks about systems in an entirely new way at TreQ, a quantum computing venture she launched in 2023. 

“I grew up knowing that there were two things that I loved and wanted to make a career of,” said Birch. “I wanted to build something, and I wanted to work internationally.”

Growing up in rural Indiana, she explored the world through books. Seeking a career path that would provide her opportunities to work with others across the globe, she completed her undergraduate education in mechanical engineering and French at the U.S. Air Force Academy. A semester at the French Air Force Academy sealed her lifelong love of international cooperation.

Following graduation, she served in the United States Air Force for almost 20 years, ascending through the ranks to become a brigadier general. By 2014, she was hungry to try something new. 

“I was an engineer, had worked internationally, and built teams. I used those skills, but only one or two at a time,” said Birch. “I wanted to find a way to bring together my strengths and skills. I realized that I needed broader exposure to do that.”

GMAP for Mid-Career Professionals

Through a colleague in the Air Force, Birch found Fletcher’s Global Master of Arts Program, which immediately appealed to her from her position mid-career.

“I went to the Air Force Academy in 1992 and was commissioned in 1996. We’ve essentially been at war since 2001,” said Birch. “I'm an optimist, but I had a pretty realistic view of the world as well. Mid-career professionals have run into the realities of the world.”

The GMAP program provided her with an opportunity to return to her interdisciplinary passions––French, engineering, international affairs––while simultaneously focusing on leadership, law, diplomacy, and economics, skills she wanted to hone for the next stage of her career. Birch found the international cohort to be exceedingly appealing, as well. 

“I didn't want to go somewhere with only other Americans. I wanted to hear other perspectives,” she said. “I wanted to be with people that weren't only in government, but also in industry and nonprofits because I didn't know what I wanted to do next.” 

Coursework to Complement Fieldwork

Through the program’s hybrid approach, Birch studied while she was mobilized for the Air Force's Central Command and coordinating infrastructure, engineering, logistics and contracting for the Air Force across the entire Middle East. 

“I had an opportunity almost every day to try out all of the things that I was learning at Fletcher from both my colleagues and the coursework.”

In 2014, the U.S. was working on a nuclear deal with Iran and had announced it would be drawing down its military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conflict in Syria had broken out. Approaching complex problems, Birch saw her orientation towards holistic problem-solving could be an asset, helping her to think about policy as it impacted national security and the economy, for example.  

“There were so many difficult, multifaceted decisions to be made,” said Birch. “Fletcher gave me the confidence to negotiate. When we were drawing down military bases, we had to think about what we were going to leave behind. What funds are we going to continue to invest? What about projects that are half done?”

“My classes helped me structure negotiations with teammates in the U.S. military, with the State Department and partner countries,” she added. “Having a structured framework to go about that, and the confidence that I could call somebody that knew about a particular issue better than I did and how it might be perceived culturally –– those resources gave me a lot of confidence.”

Still today, Birch is a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, and she credits her education with preparing her to serve as a leader during a crisis in the Lake Chad Basin. 

“When the crisis broke out, I ended up being one of few people qualified to lead a multinational team with five African nations, the U.S., United Kingdom and France. My leadership skills developed through that opportunity, and I couldn't have gotten it without the Fletcher credential and experience.”

“I was dealing with a lot of ambiguity,” she added. “Even as an entrepreneur, I deal with a lot of ambiguity, but you can make better decisions when you have a network of people that can advise you in areas where you don't have as much intuition and don't have as much experience.”

Quantum Computing Changes the Equation

In 2023, Birch launched TreQ, a multinational, high-level manufacturing company that builds and operates open architecture quantum computers. The team assembles systems that people can begin using to learn more about the technology.

“We’re working toward quantum readiness,” said Birch. “The technology is still quite immature, and there's a lot of uncertainty about which systems will be most useful.” 

Within this novel technology, which uses quantum mechanics instead of mathematical models to solve problems that are quantum in nature, Birch sees boundless potential from drug discovery to treat Alzheimer’s or working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

“I believe that this could become the most powerful technology the world has ever known,” said Birch. “No matter how hard we try, we really can't imagine the impact this technology is going to have across all sectors of the economy, for national security, global security and for our potential to discover.”

“It's going to take a lot of innovation and the strengths of allies who share our values to realize all of that potential,” she added. “Hopefully we've learned our lessons from AI to ask what we have to do early to responsibly develop this technology as well.” 

From her position at TreQ’s helm, Birch takes the lessons she learned from her military career and GMAP to build an international team that thoughtfully engages each team member. She has worked to code international thinking into TreQ’s DNA.

“With a background in national security, engineering and emerging technology, as well as having worked internationally, I think that there are very few people in the world that have this intersection of experiences and really care about building a great team that can be responsible with the technology,” said Birch. “I've been bitten by the quantum bug, and I'm not sure that I could do anything else.”

Read more about Fletcher’s Global Master of Arts program.