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Home My WebLink About08-30-25 Public Comment - M. Campanelli - Re_ [EXTERNAL]A warning about City “investment” in quantum computing with staff responseFrom:Mark Campanelli To:Brit Fontenot Cc:Terry Cunningham; David Fine; Bozeman Public Comment; Emily Talago; Alison Sweeney; John Meyer; Daniel Carty;kenneth.silvestri.bzn@gmail.com Subject:Re: [EXTERNAL]A warning about City “investment” in quantum computing Date:Wednesday, September 3, 2025 8:37:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hi Brit, I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, as I find the City’s pursuit/support ofquantum computing to be wishful, albeit forward, thinking and based too much on trickle-downeconomics. Nonetheless, I appreciate and thank you for your response and for explaining yourthinking and providing references. Furthermore, I hope our community can continue to findspace for open and productive discussions around such matters. Sincerely, Mark CampanelliLinkedInIntelligent Measurement Systems LLCTry PVfit today! On Tue, Sep 2, 2025 at 09:47 Brit Fontenot <bfontenot@bozeman.net> wrote: Good morning Mark, and thank you for your email, While your concerns about hype are understandable, the reality is that Bozeman cannot afford to ignore opportunities that diversify our economy beyond tourism, real estate, construction, and service work. Advanced industries like quantum computing bring in federal research dollars, attract outside investment, and create pathways for Montana graduates to stay and work here. These are not abstract benefits—this is new money entering our economy, supporting local firms, and building resilience against downturns. It’s important to stress that investing in innovation is not in conflict with investing in the trades. In fact, they complement one another. As research labs, startups, and tech facilities grow, they drive demand for construction, HVAC, energy systems, and housing. That means more consistent work for local tradespeople, not less. Moreover, these investments strengthen Bozeman’s position in attracting industries that will still be relevant decades from now, ensuring that today’s working families aren’t left behind when national economies shift. Finally, while quantum computing is still emerging, it has already produced practical offshoots—in quantum sensing, cybersecurity, and advanced materials—that are highly relevant to Montana’s defense, agriculture, and energy sectors. We would be shortsighted if we only addressed today’s visible challenges without also preparing for tomorrow’s industries. Balancing near-term workforce needs with long-term innovation is the only way to secure a sustainable, opportunity-rich future for this community. If you would like to learn about the variety of work we do in our office, including workforce development and childcare, please reach out, and we can set up a meeting to discuss. I've included a few links below for your review. Have a great day, Brit Link to the 2025 Labor Day Report https://lmi.mt.gov/_docs/Publications/LMI-Pubs/Labor-Market- Publications/25_LaborDayReport_Final.pdf City of Bozeman's ED Strategyhttps://www.bozeman.net/home/showpublisheddocument/13744/6387806717620700002024 Marker Report https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx? id=295854&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN&cr=1 Brit Fontenot | Director of Economic Development City of Bozeman | 121 North Rouse Avenue | P.O. Box 1230 | Bozeman, MT 59771 M: 406.579.1302 | E: bfontenot@bozeman.net | W: www.bozeman.net From: Mark Campanelli <mark.campanelli@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2025 11:12 AM To: Terry Cunningham <TCunningham@BOZEMAN.NET>; David Fine <DFine@BOZEMAN.NET>; Brit Fontenot <bfontenot@BOZEMAN.NET>; Bozeman Public Comment <comments@BOZEMAN.NET> Cc: Emily Talago <emilytalago@gmail.com>; Alison Sweeney <a.bernadettes@gmail.com>; John Meyer <john@meyerformayor.com>; Daniel Carty <dgc12@hotmail.com>; kenneth.silvestri.bzn@gmail.com <kenneth.silvestri.bzn@gmail.com> Subject: [EXTERNAL]A warning about City “investment” in quantum computing CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Greetings, I recently left my remote position as a software engineer with one of the smaller publicquantum/photonics computing companies (~$2.5 billion valuation on the NASDAQ). I wasthere for just over three years. I saw some things. I learned some things. It payed well enoughfor me to afford a Bozeman-sized mortgage. I quit in largely in disgust. I also recently watched a webinar on QCORE at MSU (https://www.montana.edu/news/23386/montana-state-receives-26-7-million-grant-for-facility- to-test-and-promote-quantum-technology). After listening to 20+ minutes of mostlybuzzwords, I was entirely unconvinced of any net value that this will add to the Bozemancommunity. Indeed, some very simple questions were never answered: “What real life problemis solved?” and “How do we know the ROI is better than other investments of 10s of millionsof dollars that we could choose, esp. for everyday working families and local US economies?”Rather, I saw administrators creating and funding their academic positions, and a fewprofessors trying to pursue their academic curiosities, all while promising that the military-industrial complex’s money would trickle down to a handful of Montana’s small businesses. (Iremind you that I have a Masters and PhD in mathematics from MSU, and I do have someunderstanding about how universities fund themselves with other people’s money.) Meanwhile, I am halfway through the HVAC-R program at Gallatin College, and I quite seethe direct value of the trades to the real issues facing Bozeman’s economy (inc. housing,energy efficiency, and combined economic and environmental sustainability), as well as howtradesmen get sucked away from the Bozeman community into the black hole of higherpaying, millionaire-fueled development in Big Sky, which Bozeman is now competing with! Quantum computing is probably 95% hype, and it is probably outpacing even the AI hypecycle. Is the City’s Economic Development Department at all aware of this, or is the siren songof sexy headlines and big dollar amounts too much to resist? There may eventually be somebig wins in quantum computing , but I speak from direct experience in the industry andacademia when I publicly call into question the City’s choice to hitch our staff’s precious timeand taxpayer’s limited funds to a train full of Schrödinger’s cats. Mark CampanelliLinkedInIntelligent Measurement Systems LLCTry PVfit today! City of Bozeman emails are subject to the Right to Know provisions of Montana’s Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 9) and may be considered a “public record” pursuant to Title 2, Chpt. 6, Montana Code Annotated. As such, this email, its sender and receiver, and the contents may be available for public disclosure and will be retained pursuant to the City’s record retention policies. Emails that contain confidential information such as information related to individual privacy may be protected from disclosure under law.