Sabrina Maniscalco: the quantum physicist who is changing science and technology

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After a scientific career spanning over twenty years, which began in that Sicily recently defined by some as the "periphery of the world", Sabrina Maniscalco has two certainties. The first: she is contributing to the new great technological revolution, something epochal called quantum computing, the new computer science that allows calculations to be performed in a few seconds that would require even centuries for the most powerful silicon supercomputers. She does this with a company, a startup that already has 50 employees and multimillion-dollar investments. And from this comes the second certainty: in the laboratory, amidst the absolute zero cooling systems necessary for quantum computers, the barriers do not exist that instead exist in the meeting rooms of those who manage capital.

Maniscalco, an internationally renowned theoretical physicist and today CEO of Algorithmiq, one of the leading European companies in the field of quantum technologies, clashes with a phenomenon that goes beyond science: gender disparity. «Investors often speak to me explaining things about quantum physics. To me», she recounts with a smile that conceals a bitter awareness. It is from this paradox of "mansplaining" raised to the highest power that we must start to understand Maniscalco's story. Because while her professional journey took her from Sicily to Finland, the greatest challenge remains the cultural one. And Sicily, in this picture, comes out much better than the perhaps slightly stale rhetoric of the expatriate "by necessity" might suggest. After all, she recently returned to the Island, specifically to Viagrande (Catania), for a meeting that brought together some of the most brilliant female minds in the field of quantum physics in Italy and Europe: "Italian Women in Quantum Technologies," organized by the NQSTI consortium. There, the theme of gender inequality in universities and research emerged strongly, where women make up less than 20%. «In the startup world», explains Maniscalco, «the situation is even worse, especially for women in high positions».

The data, after all, are pitiless. «The majority of private funding from investors is given to men». The scientist's diagnosis is clear: «We live in a patriarchal society. The startup world is one where funding deals are closed on golf courses in an atmosphere of friendship among men only». For Maniscalco, these dynamics weigh more than the effort of study or geographical origins. «I have never felt, experienced, nor perceived that being Sicilian was a disadvantage from the point of view of my professional career, quite the opposite. Instead, that of being a woman, yes, certainly».

The founder of Algorithmiq is originally from Mazara del Vallo, where she was born 51 years ago. «I then graduated and also completed my PhD at the University of Palermo», she recalls. From that moment, science became her passport. «I started doing various post-docs, meaning research or non-permanent contract positions in different places around the world. Starting initially in Sofia, Bulgaria, but then I was in South Africa, I returned to Bulgaria, and then I went from there to Finland».

Then her academic career took off: «From associate professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, I became a full professor in 2014 at the University of Turku in Finland». The culmination came «in 2020: right during the Covid period, I accepted a position as Professor of Quantum Information and Logic at the University of Helsinki.» Her specialization is one of those incomprehensible to non-experts, but represents the keystone for the technological future: «I study and analyze the sources of imperfection, of errors in quantum systems caused by the interaction with everything we call the external environment.» In 2020, while the world stopped, Maniscalco accelerated. «Together with three other researchers I worked with and a first investor, I founded Algorithmiq». It is not an app or a traditional digital service. Sabrina Maniscalco operates in so-called deep tech, a frontier territory. The bet «is that quantum technologies will become "ground breaking", completely revolutionizing science, technology, and innovation». And, despite being a "more than innovative" startup, the economic results are already there. «We have about 50 people, funding of over 20 million dollars, and a final round of funding is about to close».

But how does one go from being a pure scientist to managing a millionaire company? «It was a coincidence of factors, as always happens,» she admits. «I found myself with the possibility of having initial funding at the moment when the first quantum computers started to become available online for scientific researchers, and with a group of top-level researchers who then became the three co-founders of Algorithmiq». The competitive advantage was immediate. «We were among the very first to use quantum computers at a research level». But scientific intuition is not enough to do business; one must study. «You need the humility to tell yourself: "Ok, I'm a professor, but I have to learn"».

Support from the university was also decisive. «I managed to negotiate with the University of Helsinki to dedicate myself 100% to Algorithmiq: I have practically never taught, and they are happy for me to dedicate myself to the startup». But the team is her greatest pride. «We have 21 different nationalities in a multidisciplinary group: quantum physicists, computer scientists, chemists, software engineers. It is not trivial to succeed in uniting different skills, even remotely, on a highly technical and complex problem.» The secret? «There is fun in doing science».

Maniscalco, after five years, has accumulated enough entrepreneurial experience to highlight the differences with Italy. And while on startups we are behind Great Britain, France, or Germany, also due to «mentality», the judgment on academic research is diametrically opposite. «In Sicily, we have excellence - she emphasizes with pride - in quantum physics and in many other fields. We export talent all over the world. Research is absolutely at the highest levels.» The differences emerge elsewhere. In funding («often abroad, more of it arrives in universities»), in bureaucracy («Finland is much leaner and everything is fast»), and above all in society. In Finland, for example, «there is no figure of the revered professor. When I taught, my first-year students called me Sabrina».

Despite global success, her roots remain in the Mediterranean. «For me, Sicily has always been home, and I want to return here in the future. Leaving, however, served to grow both scientifically and as a person».