TIME100 AI 2026 · Thinkers
Darío Gil
Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy
He came to the U.S. from Spain as an exchange student, led the IBM team that put the first quantum computer on the cloud, and is now DOE's Under Secretary for Science.
- Born
- El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
- Now
- Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy
- Studied
- MIT, Stevens Institute of Technology
Interesting facts
- First
His IBM team launched the world's first cloud-accessible quantum computer in May 2016.
energy.gov - First
Became the first member from industry to be elected chair of the National Science Board in 30 years.
energy.gov - Connection
Was the force behind the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and the AI Alliance while at IBM.
energy.gov - Numbers
Now oversees DOE's Office of Science, the largest federal funder of physical-science research, which supports all 17 national labs.
energy.gov - Before AI
Spent 22 years at IBM Research working on semiconductors, AI and quantum computing after his MIT PhD.
energy.gov
Career
- U.S. Department of EnergyUnder Secretary for Science2025 to now
- IBMSenior Vice President and Director of Research, IBM Research2003–2025
Education
- PhD, Electrical engineering and computer science, MIT, 2003
- BE, Electrical engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1998
