Merge pull request #554 from KallieFerguson/unitaryCON_2024

Add unitaryCON 2024 blog post

src/content/blog/2024_unitaryCON.md

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+---
+title: "UnitaryCON 2024: Bringing together the open source quantum software community"
+author: Kallie Ferguson
+day: 4
+month: 10
+year: 2024
+tags: 
+  - unitaryCON
+---
+
+This September we wrapped up our second annual [unitaryCON](https://unitary.fund/community/unitaryCON/), an invitation-only collaborative workshop for the extended Unitary Fund community. The workshop is an opportunity to share ongoing projects, connect with collaborators and supporters, and work with our community to advance the quantum open-source software ecosystem with the leading contributors from around the world.
+
+With the help of Dr. Alexandru Paler, unitaryCON 2024 was hosted at Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. UnitaryCON provided a unique opportunity for Unitary Fund advisors, grantees, staff, ambassadors and friends to gather, talk, learn, and share ideas about how to move the field forward. 
+
+UnitaryCON featured talks and interactive activities revolving around various topics in open source software for quantum computing and quantum technologies, including compilers, error mitigation and error correction toolkits, platforms for quantum computing, SDKs, cloud platforms, and open hardware in quantum tech. More detailed information about the talks and slides can be [found here](https://unitary.fund/community/unitaryCON/). 
+
+Talks included sessions from companies engaged in the open source ecosystem such as IBM, Xanadu, NVIDIA, Pascal, and QBraid. This year’s unitaryCON also added sessions on open quantum hardware from Carnegie Mellon University, [Open Quantum Design](https://openquantumdesign.org/), and [OpenQuantum](https://www.open-quantum.org/). In addition, popular open source software packages such as [BQSKit](https://bqskit.lbl.gov/), [QuTiP](https://qutip.org/), [Qibo](https://qibo.science/), and [QuEST](https://github.com/QuEST-Kit/QuEST) were also featured. 
+
+On a scale of 1-10, participants gave unitaryCON an average rating of 9.36. The majority of participants found the interactions with other participants - an ongoing priority for this workshop - to be their favorite part of unitaryCON. 
+UnitaryCON participants received advance access to the annual [Quantum Open Source Software Survey](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/qosssurvey24), which is currently running through the end of October and is a chance for anyone in the quantum computing industry to share their voice in the development of our field.
+
+Thank you to our members and event sponsors for making unitaryCON possible!
+
+**Core Members:** IBM Quantum, DoraHacks, OQD, and Scientifica
+**Supporting Members:** AWS, Microsoft, Pasqal, QC Ware, SandboxAQ
+**Event Sponsors:** [InstituteQ](https://instituteq.fi/) and [Classiq](https://www.classiq.io/)
+
+A special thank you to InstituteQ for their generous sponsorship to fund travel to participate in unitaryCON.
+
+![Group Photo](/images/2024_unitaryCON.jpg)
+
+### Thoughts from participants:
+
+> *“I love the event! Thanks guys for the good work and organization in this year's event. I'm always happy to see you :)”*
+>
+> *“Unitary Fund's place in the rest of the quantum ecosystem (as an open-source focused org) attracts a great set of folks for this conference.”*
+>
+> *“[People] found this year's uCON very insightful and inspiring and that they are already excited for next year!”*
+>
+> *“One of the most valuable aspects of unitaryCON was networking with like-minded individuals in quantum. I also thought the invite only nature and a small(ish) gathering made the event more fun.”*
+> 
+> *“Getting this many quantum software people in a room is awesome!”*
+> 
+> *“I feel it is a great initiative by unitary fund and the people here are amazing. I really like the informal nature of the conference without compromising on the quality of the content and presentations. I hope it stays like this in the future too.”*
+> 
+> *“Keep doing great work!”*
+
+We can’t wait to see you all next year for unitaryCON 2025! 
+
+Make sure to follow our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/JqVGmpkP96), [X](https://twitter.com/unitaryfund), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/unitary-fund/), and our [Community Calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/[email protected]) to stay up to date on upcoming events and news!