01
Open by default
Research outputs, code, data, and failure modes are public unless publishing them would harm someone. “Open” is the starting position, not a negotiation.
About the lab
A lab built to be accountable.
Ruqi Lab is a nonprofit research institute in Pittsburgh. We build quantum machines and publish everything we can, because technology funded by the public should be legible to the public.
Mission
Quantum computing as public infrastructure, not private leverage.
Our mission is to advance fault-tolerant quantum computing and its applications in the public interest, while keeping the methods, tools, and results available to everyone.
We are independent, nonpartisan, and small by design. We take public and philanthropic funding, refuse restrictive terms, and publish an annual account of what the money bought.
01 / Values
What we mean by public.
02
Public benefit is a test, not a slogan
Every program names the decision it could inform and the people who would benefit. We review those claims annually and publish what did not pan out.
03
Build for the second user
A result is not finished when we understand it. It is finished when a competent outsider can use it, check it, and improve it without our help.
04
Refuse the moat
No exclusive licenses, classified work, or publication vetoes. Some money is not worth the terms attached to it, and we say so in public.
02 / History
Seven years, one direction.
2019
Founded with one borrowed fridge
Amara Okonjo and three colleagues start Ruqi with a public-benefit charter, a small grant, and space in a former machine shop.
2020
Kestrel comes online
The lab's first dilution refrigerator is installed. The control group begins building what becomes the Kestrel stack.
2022
Open science becomes a program
Nadia Kowalski joins to turn ad hoc sharing into a licensing, documentation, and reproducibility practice.
2023
The doors open
First Public Lab Night and Quantum Classroom pilot. The lab publishes its first negative-results report.
2024
Error budgets and field trials
Groundwork for modular architectures is published. The sensing group takes its first instrument to a water district.
2025
Classroom reaches 4,000 students
The teacher fellowship expands to nine districts. Procurement guidance is adopted by two state agencies.
2026
Below threshold, in public
The lab reports below-threshold surface-code memories, releases Kestrel 2.0, and begins a public-benefit review of the entire portfolio.
03 / Governance
Who holds the keys.
The lab is led by its Principal Investigator and governed by an independent board. The board approves the annual budget, reviews the public-benefit report, and can remove the PI. It does not review papers before publication.
Board minutes are published quarterly. The scientific advisory council meets twice a year and is paid for its time.
Dr. Adaeze Nwosu
Board chair
Science policy scholar; chaired the state quantum workforce review.
Marcus Feld
Treasurer
Former CFO of a public-interest media foundation.
Ruth Iwasaki
Secretary
Civil engineer and open-data advocate; leads a civic technology cooperative.
Dr. Samar Haddad
Director
Physicist and university trustee; advises on research integrity.
Scientific integrity
Papers are reviewed internally for data availability, code, and claims. The PI does not have a veto over publication. Disagreements are recorded in the lab's public log.
Community accountability
A community advisory group of six Pittsburgh residents meets quarterly, reviews our education and field programs, and is compensated for its time.
Complaints
Concerns about research conduct can be raised anonymously with the board at board@ruqilab.org. We publish a summary of every formal complaint and its resolution.
04 / Funding
Where the money goes, roughly.
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Public research grants | $3,240k |
| Foundation grants | $1,180k |
| Individual giving | $640k |
| Earned services & other | $270k |
| Total income | $5,330k |
| Area | Amount |
|---|---|
| Research staff & experiments | $3,190k |
| Engineering & facilities | $1,120k |
| Education & public programs | $580k |
| Open infrastructure | $260k |
| Administration | $180k |
| Total expenses | $5,330k |
Audited financial statements are available on request. We publish the budget narrative every year alongside the public-benefit review.
Funding policy. We do not accept research funding with publication vetoes, exclusive licenses, classified deliverables, or restrictions on sharing calibration data. We have declined two grants on these grounds since 2023.
Current funders
Commonwealth Science FundThe Hearth FoundationRiverbend Community TrustOpen Compute FundAnonymous (2)Individual donors (1,840)
Foundation and public funders are listed with permission. Individual donors are never named without consent.
05 / Annual review
What did the public get?
Every autumn we publish a public-benefit review: which results were used, by whom, which programs reached people, and where we fell short.
2026
Public-benefit review in progress. Draft findings shared with the community advisory group in September.
2025
Reported 14 reproduction reports, 4,100 students reached, and two instruments in field use. One program was discontinued.
2024
First review. Recommended closing the lab's patent portfolio; the board accepted.
Get involved
A lab is a place as much as a paper.
Visit on a second Thursday, serve on the community advisory group, or support the work. There is no membership fee and no insider track.