George Mason to establish Virginia Quantum Hub. September 22, 2026 Press play to listen to this content Sept. 22, 2026 - With support from a $3.7 million GO Virginia grant, George Mason University will establish the Virginia Quantum Hub (VQH) - an inclusive quantum ecosystem, built by public-private partnerships, that generates intellectual property across research and technology, attracts capital investments, trains a highly skilled workforce, and addresses global innovation needs, from health and logistics to national security and energy sectors. A George Mason physics PhD student uses a microscope to probe nanoelectronic devices. The university launched the first master's degree in quantum science and engineering in the commonwealth earlier this year. Photo credit: George Mason University. "The Virginia Quantum Hub at George Mason positions the Commonwealth of Virginia at the forefront of this cutting-edge technology that will drive investment and economic opportunity in the decades to come," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "As home to the first open-architecture quantum computing system in the National Capital Region, this is exactly the kind of public-private partnership that keeps Virginia first. The collaboration among higher education, GO Virginia, the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), and many other critical public and private partners also represents game-changing capacity building for our innovation ecosystem." To scale partnerships already underway, George Mason has been approved for the GO Virginia grant, pending final award, to expand K-12 education and employer training programs, technical infrastructure deployment, lab buildout, and collaborative partnership operations. In addition to current research investments, laboratories, and K-12 and higher education programs and training, George Mason partnered with Oxford, England-based TreQ to bring the first open-architecture quantum computing system to the state. TreQ has completed the system design and will deploy and operate the built-to-evolve quantum computing infrastructure, collaborating with George Mason to connect Virginia and the region with companies and innovators across the global quantum technology ecosystem. "George Mason is not waiting for the quantum future - we are building it, responsibly and accessibly, with industry and government. By anchoring the Virginia Quantum Hub here, we are turning the commonwealth's research strength and our region's talent into jobs, new businesses, and opportunity for real change and impact," said George Mason President Gregory Washington. "We are building a quantum ecosystem for the nation, which is open to the world. With the catalytic help from the GO Virginia grant, this is how a public university helps an entire region lead the future." With the new VQH, George Mason will organize a fast-moving ecosystem around Northern Virginia's distinctive combination of assets - federal demand, defense and cybersecurity, cloud and data infrastructure, advanced computing, industry, research universities, and deep technical talent - to help drive the developing future of quantum. "This hub provides access to the hardware and advanced research to empower a workforce to fuel the quantum economy," said College of Science Dean Cody Edwards, who will deliver a keynote at Thursday's Quantum World Congress. "We start with bold solutions to create a better world for everyone - not a search for quantum-shaped answers. Strong ecosystems don't depend on any one dominant part; their strength comes from the interactions among talent, infrastructure, capital, research, industry, and government." "At the College of Engineering and Computing, quantum is not a single discipline - it is where computing, engineering, and science converge," said Ken Ball, dean of George Mason's College of Engineering and Computing. "Our strength lies in preparing students and researchers to work across that entire continuum, from quantum algorithms and software to the systems and technologies that make quantum computing possible while we prepare our graduates for the workforce of the future." George Mason will work with founding partners and strategic investors - including the VIPC, Connected DMV, TreQ, Leidos, Aliro Quantum, Boeing, Booz Allen, MITRE, IonQ, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College, and others to be announced - to deliver on three reinforcing pillars: * Open-architecture quantum hardware and shared infrastructure: Dual-use open infrastructure operated by George Mason - a cryogenic lab, a quantum optics facility, and one of the only TreQ-designed open-architecture quantum computers in the United States - for technology innovation. * World-class quantum workforce programs: A four-tier pipeline including middle school, high school, and community-college partner programs, quantum-related professional education, internships, and a new master's degree program with hands-on access to the accessible hardware. With 80 to 85% of George Mason graduates staying to work in Virginia and the region, this talent pipeline is positioned to meet the region's workforce needs both now and as they expand in the future. * Collaborative technology innovation: An industry-government-academia partnership program that builds critical educational programs, drives collaborative technology development, and coordinates the growth of Virginia's quantum ecosystem. "The quantum future of the United States requires we empower our citizens, no matter their backgrounds, with the skills needed to lead in the growth of this exciting technology. The VQH accomplishes this by empowering Virginians with a unique hands-on quantum technology training program, de-risking innovation by providing key high-cost infrastructure to the region and working with partners to make Virginia the destination for transformative quantum companies looking to grow," said Patrick Vora, executive director of George Mason's Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSEC). "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," said Weiwen Jiang, QSEC's codirector. "With open-architecture hardware and shared research infrastructure, our faculty, students, and industry partners can work across the full quantum stack, from applications and software to systems, control, and devices. This kind of infrastructure is essential for training the next generation of quantum engineers and advancing research toward practical quantum applications." Several of George Mason's partners weighed in on this opportunity and moment for the state: "VIPC is proud to be a founding partner and strategic investor in the Virginia Quantum Hub. Built through public-private partnership, VQH will help grow Virginia's innovation ecosystem by accelerating research commercialization, growing next-generation talent, and catalyzing company attraction and industry investment in the commonwealth," said VIPC President and CEO Joe Benevento. "TreQ is grateful for George Mason's trust and partnership in building this foundational infrastructure for Virginia's quantum ecosystem. This region brings together digital infrastructure, national security, research, talent, and the technology industry in a way few places can. That combination is shaping the frontier of computing," said TreQ CEO and Founder Mandy Birch. "The Greater Washington region has the computer infrastructure, the research base, and the security-cleared talent that quantum companies need. 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. For frontier technology companies deciding where to build and scale, the case for Northern Virginia just got stronger," said George D. Thomas, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. The new Virginia Quantum Hub builds on eight years of investment through George Mason's QSEC, where 24 faculty across seven departments and several colleges have built the university's research and education foundation in quantum. A priority within George Mason's Grand Challenge Initiative, George Mason's Quantum Leap project is research backed by a new $2.4 million catalyst investment, with six new postdoctoral positions and three new faculty positions. The university recently launched Virginia's first interdisciplinary master's degree in quantum science and engineering and signed an MOU with two of Korea's leading quantum organizations, extending the hub's reach to a strong global quantum marketplace.

MITRE specialist engineers a return to the Hill. Posted by Sean McGlinn on Sept. 17, 2026 A former government relations specialist has gone from tracking Congress to working within it. Kate Lovas has joined Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) as a senior legislative assistant after working as a government relations specialist at MITRE Corp., where she provided analysis of congressional appropriations, authorizations and other major legislation and tracked congressional activity affecting MITRE's federally funded research and development centers. Lovas previously spent more than two years as a congressional affairs specialist at the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, where she developed congressional strategies on humanitarian issues and refugee admissions. She also worked as a senior public policy analyst at Venable LLP, focusing on privacy, data security and cybersecurity issues. MITRE is a nonprofit organization that operates six federally funded research and development centers on behalf of federal agencies. The centers provide technical research and expertise in national security, aviation, homeland security, cybersecurity, health care and enterprise modernization.