Joshua Baktay is the Technical Prize Director for the Google Quantum Applications Prize at XPRIZE. In his role, he leads the technical operations of the competition: working directly with the finalist teams as they benchmark their quantum algorithms against the best classical methods and quantify their real-world impact; shaping the evaluation framework while coordinating with the judging panel; and convening milestone events that bring teams together with domain experts in health, climate, energy, and materials science.

Joshua is driven by one question: where will quantum computers deliver a real advantage over the best classical methods, and what would it take to prove it? He came to that question as a computational condensed matter physicist, using tensor-network methods to simulate strongly correlated quantum systems, work that taught him to take the classical competition seriously. As a quantum algorithms researcher at BlueQubit, a quantum software company, he focused on the classical simulation of quantum circuits and on establishing the classical baselines against which claims of quantum advantage must be measured. Now at XPRIZE, he directs the vision of the competition toward the pursuit of meaningful applications.

Joshua holds a Ph.D. in computational condensed matter physics from Northeastern University and has published in Physical Review B. His expertise spans tensor networks, quantum circuit simulation, and the modeling of strongly correlated condensed matter systems, the class of problems widely regarded as among the most promising applications of quantum computers. Across academia, a quantum startup, and now the nonprofit sector, he has built a skill set in technical evaluation, scientific communication, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.