George Mason University is advancing plans for the Virginia Quantum Hub, a public-private initiative designed to connect quantum computing infrastructure, research, workforce development and industry partnerships across Virginia.
The initiative is supported by a $3.7 million GO Virginia grant that was pending final award at the time of George Mason’s announcement.
Participants include TreQ, Booz Allen, Leidos, IonQ, Boeing, MITRE, Northern Virginia Community College, Marymount University, Connected DMV and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, along with economic development organizations representing Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the City of Alexandria.
The hub builds on George Mason’s separate partnership with Oxford-based TreQ to install a $7.7 million open-architecture quantum computing system in Virginia.
Installation is scheduled for early 2027. George Mason said the system would become the first of its kind in Virginia and the National Capital Region and the first U.S. deployment based on TreQ’s Open Architecture Quantum framework.
The open architecture is intended to give faculty, students, startups and industry partners the ability to work across different layers of quantum computing rather than interacting only with cloud-based systems.
George Mason’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center currently brings together 24 faculty members across seven departments and multiple colleges. The university also recently launched what it described as Virginia’s first interdisciplinary master’s degree in quantum science and engineering.
The Virginia Quantum Hub will additionally support research into advanced quantum materials, sensing technologies and manufacturing methods needed to move quantum technologies from laboratory research toward practical applications.
The initiative was highlighted around the 2026 Quantum World Congress, where George Mason leaders discussed the need to combine infrastructure investment with education, industry relationships and workforce development.
KEY QUOTES:
“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. 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.”
Weiwen Jiang, Co-Director of George Mason University’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center
“Advancing quantum technologies requires new ways to engineer and manufacture the materials behind them. My research focuses on using lasers to create and tailor quantum materials and nanomaterials, with the goal of enabling new sensing capabilities. The Virginia Quantum Hub will help connect these efforts with shared facilities and industry partners, bringing discoveries closer to practical devices while giving students hands-on research experience.”
Pilygu Kang, Associate Director of George Mason University’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center
