New Virginia Quantum Hub Launches At George Mason With $3.7M Grant

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — George Mason University is launching a Virginia Quantum Hub aimed at expanding Northern Virginia’s quantum computing industry, workforce and research capabilities through partnerships with businesses, government agencies and universities.

The Fairfax-based university said Tuesday it has been approved for a $3.7 million GO Virginia grant, pending final award, to support the hub. The funding would expand K-12 education and employer training, technical infrastructure, laboratories and operations supporting public-private partnerships.

The initiative includes organizations with ties across Northern Virginia, including Arlington-based Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College and a group of technology and defense companies. George Mason said the hub is intended to help generate research and intellectual property, attract investment and develop workers for fields ranging from health and logistics to national security and energy.

Hub To Provide Open Quantum Computing Infrastructure

George Mason previously partnered with Oxford, England-based TreQ to bring what the university describes as the first open-architecture quantum computing system in Virginia. TreQ has completed the system design and is expected to deploy and operate the infrastructure.

Unlike quantum computing systems that users access remotely without direct access to their underlying hardware, the system is intended to allow researchers, students and companies to work directly with multiple layers of quantum technology.

“The Virginia Quantum Hub gives us an opportunity to move beyond simply accessing cloud-based, black-box quantum computers, and instead open the box to study and innovate at deeper layers of the quantum computing stack,” Weiwen Jiang, co-director of George Mason’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center, said in the university’s announcement.

The hub’s founding partners and strategic investors include the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, Connected DMV, TreQ, Leidos, Aliro Quantum, Boeing, Booz Allen, MITRE, IonQ, Marymount University and Northern Virginia Community College, according to George Mason.

The initiative will center on three areas: shared quantum hardware and research infrastructure; workforce programs for students and professionals; and partnerships among industry, government and universities.

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Planned infrastructure includes a cryogenic laboratory, a quantum optics facility and TreQ-designed open-architecture quantum computers.

George Mason also plans a four-tier workforce pipeline that includes programs for middle and high school students, community college students, professional education, internships and a new master’s degree program with hands-on access to the hardware.

The university said between 80 percent and 85 percent of its graduates remain in Virginia and the Washington region for work.

“This hub provides access to the hardware and advanced research to empower a workforce to fuel the quantum economy,” College of Science Dean Cody Edwards said.

Fairfax Officials See Economic Development Potential

George D. Thomas, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said the region already has several of the resources quantum companies seek, including computing infrastructure, research institutions and workers with security clearances.

“The Virginia Quantum Hub adds a critical missing piece: open hardware companies can test on today, paired with a pipeline that keeps four out of five graduates here,” Thomas said. “For frontier technology companies deciding where to build and scale, the case for Northern Virginia just got stronger.”

George Mason said the hub builds on eight years of work by its Quantum Science and Engineering Center, which includes 24 faculty members across seven departments and several colleges.

The university has also launched what it describes as Virginia’s first interdisciplinary master’s degree in quantum science and engineering. Its broader “Quantum Leap” research effort is supported by a $2.4 million university investment that includes six new postdoctoral positions and three faculty positions.

George Mason President Gregory Washington said the university expects the hub to translate research and technical talent into business development and employment.

“We are building a quantum ecosystem for the nation, which is open to the world,” Washington said. “With the catalytic help from the GO Virginia grant, this is how a public university helps an entire region lead the future.”

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