A quantum future awaits

A century ago, the quantum revolution quietly began to change our lives. A deeper understanding of the behavior of matter and light at atomic and subatomic scales sparked a new field of science that would vastly change the world's technology landscape. Today, we rely upon the science of quantum mechanics for applications ranging from the Global Positioning System to magnetic resonance imaging to the transistor. The advent of quantum computers presages yet another new chapter in this story that will enable us to not only predict and improve chemical reactions and new materials and their properties, for example, but also to provide insights into the emergence of spacetime and our universe. Remarkably, these advances may begin to be realized in a few years.