This past March in Baltimore and College Park, the Council on Competitiveness brought together leaders from industry, academia, government, and the entrepreneurial community for the 11th edition of its series of “Competitiveness Conversations Across America.” The presidents of Morgan State University and the University of Maryland convened this conversation to share perspectives on a set of transformative forces – namely, AI and quantum sciences and computing – shaping the state’s innovation-driven economy. And, in doing so, they shed light on many of the best and “next” practices the most competitive regional innovation ecosystems are deploying to build the country’s next great engines of innovation, productivity and economic growth, security, and prosperity.
Few regions possess Maryland’s concentration of research assets, federal laboratories, universities, and national security capabilities. Within a relatively compact geography sit the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institutes of Health, National Security Agency, Food and Drug Administration, etc. — alongside over 100 accredited institutions of higher education, a growing venture ecosystem, and an expanding base of AI, quantum, and biotechnology companies.
Yet what struck me most was not the density of these assets, but the intentionality behind their alignment. Maryland is strategically leveraging these assets across government, academia, federal laboratories, and the private sector to build a next-generation innovation ecosystem designed to power competitiveness for the coming century — one that builds on longstanding strengths while creating new capacities and capabilities in emerging technologies. As Maryland Governor Wes Moore put it during the Competitiveness Conversation, “We have gone from being asset-rich and strategy-poor to being asset-rich and strategy-aligned.”
What is happening in Maryland is ambitious: focusing research strength, commercialization pathways, workforce development, infrastructure investment, manufacturing capacity, and public policy into a coordinated innovation-driven economic strategy. We call this “place-making innovation” — the deliberate integration of innovation assets across sectors to build durable engines of growth.
Two Days, Two Campuses, Two Technologies, and Two Leaders
At Morgan State University, discussions centered on AI governance, talent development, and inclusive innovation. Morgan State President David K. Wilson captured the stakes for the nation succinctly: “There is no competitiveness without inclusion.” That principle shapes the university’s leadership in responsible AI development, including its work benchmarking AI systems across diverse populations and the launch of the nation’s first Ph.D. program in advanced ethical computing.
At the University of Maryland, College Park, conversations shifted toward quantum and the challenge of translating frontier science into scalable economic capability. Emerging around the College Park Discovery District — a 150-acre mixed-use research and innovation park — and the broader “Capital of Quantum” initiative is an effort to build a full-stack quantum ecosystem linking laboratories, specialized infrastructure, manufacturing capacity, venture capital, housing, transportation, and workforce development into a connected innovation corridor. As University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines noted during the Conversation, “We are building on a legacy of discovery to lead in what comes next.”
Maryland’s Lessons for America
The lessons we learned are not just for Maryland. Several broader insights emerged for leaders to consider in developing policies and infrastructure — hard and soft — to advance U.S. competitiveness.
- Research strength must translate into market impact. Maryland’s volume of research output and federal funding is formidable, but the real enhancement for U.S. competitiveness lies in expanding the commercialization of those ideas.
- The trajectory of companies such as IonQ, headquartered in the Discovery District, demonstrates how the Maryland ecosystem is translating frontier research into globally competitive firms. Highlighting the accelerating commercialization of quantum technologies, IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi noted that the company has raised $3.4 billion in 2025 alone. “This is exactly what exponential curves look like,” de Masi said. “It’s not just the pace of technological progress, but investor recognition that this is a real business now.”
- Patient capital is essential for quantum commercialization, but it is insufficient without robust infrastructure. Breakthrough fields require long-term, risk-tolerant investment, as well as robust physical infrastructure — from specialized facilities and supply chains to advanced energy systems, etc. — to translate innovation into real-world capability and profitable companies.
- Diverse perspectives are a source of technical strength. AI systems that do not perform across populations are fundamentally flawed. Morgan State’s work in benchmarking AI in diverse contexts is helping build more robust, reliable systems that better reflect — and serve — the full breadth of the populace.
- AI and quantum innovation are creating unprecedented demand for skilled talent. Meeting this moment will require a sustained national effort to expand and strengthen the talent pipeline.
- AI must augment, not replace, human judgment. Throughout discussions of national security, productivity enhancement, and workforce applications, speakers returned to a common principle: the goal is not autonomous systems operating beyond human oversight but, rather, human-machine collaboration that enhances decision-making. This distinction will shape governance frameworks, public trust, and the future of U.S. competitiveness.
- Governance, done well, enables innovation. Standards and regulatory clarity are not obstacles to progress; they are prerequisites for scale. Those who define the rules for emerging technologies often shape the markets that follow. Leadership in standards-setting, coupled with thoughtful regulation, enables competitiveness.
- Data sovereignty will define institutional power. As AI systems become repositories of institutional knowledge, control over data becomes a strategic asset. Morgan State’s “Obsidian Core” framework — an effort to maintain full control over its data and AI infrastructure — offers one model for navigating this emerging terrain.
- Place-making innovation creates a durable advantage. Maryland’s dense concentration of innovation assets creates a powerful network effect that accelerates collaboration, knowledge transfer, and commercialization. However, while the state’s strategy is anchored in AI, quantum, and biotechnology, the larger opportunity lies in the convergence of these and other adjacent technologies, whose overlapping capabilities are reshaping how innovation ecosystems drive research, deployment, manufacturing, workforce development, and long-term economic growth.
In the 20th century, America’s great industrial ecosystems transformed scientific and manufacturing leadership into broad-based prosperity and geopolitical strength. Today, a new generation of regions is building the platforms that will power the next century of innovation.
Maryland, along with a growing number of emerging hubs across the country, offers an important example of what place-making innovation can look like: tightly connected networks linking and aligning universities, federal laboratories, industry, labor, infrastructure, talent, investment, and policy to translate leadership in next-generation technologies into long-term economic strength and national security advantage.
As Governor Moore concluded, “We are here to design for growth. We must operate with speed, intentionality, and focus.”
