Driving Responsible Digital Innovation and Sustainable Infrastructure
From artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to digital twins and quantum computing, new technologies are reshaping every aspect of life and culture at a rate faster than most of our institutions can keep up with. AI models are growing exponentially in power and complexity, and some physical infrastructures are aging, while others, like data centers, are pushing against environmental constraints to keep up with demand. George Mason is researching and applying technologies that improve human life and a peaceful coexistence in increasingly digital societies by enhancing democratic connectivity, economic opportunity, and reducing disparities through public services while also protecting the planet. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, workforce education, and public–private partnerships, George Mason is helping shape a digital future that is as ethical as it is advanced.
Grand Challenge Initiative
George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative is a university-wide collaboration addressing humanity’s most pressing challenges through six interlocking strategies, supported by a $15 million investment over five years.
Year 2 Call for Proposals Now Open
George Mason University invites proposals for small and large catalyst projects advancing one or more of the university's six bold solutions under the Grand Challenge Initiative. As a key next step in translating bold ideas into action, proposals are encouraged to leverage George Mason's talent, programs, and infrastructure to create scalable, sustained impact. Interested researchers should submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the lead school/college's dean's office by December 4, 2026. Proposals are due February 15, 2027, and awards will be announced by April 30, 2027, with funding beginning no later than July 1, 2027.
On this page
THE GEORGE MASON ADVANTAGE
As Virginia’s most innovative university, George Mason is a national leader in responsible digital innovation—combining technical excellence, societal commitment, and unmatched regional partnerships.
George Mason is home to Virginia's first master's in artificial intelligence, the first MS in quantum science and engineering, and PhD in robotics, the nation's first Responsible AI Graduate Certificate, and the only Virginia university in the National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Safety Consortium.
George Mason is establishing the first Virginia Quantum Hub (VQH), with support from a $3.7 million GO Virginia grant. We also serve as the Northern Virginia Node of the statewide Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and collaborate with industry leaders like Google, AWS, and Dominion Energy to build sustainable, secure, and inclusive technologies for the public good.
Bold AI Strategy: George Mason is the first public university in the nation with a comprehensive AI vision. Its four strategic pillars—Integrate, Inspire, Innovate, and Impact—span education transformation, workforce preparation, research leadership, and societal adoption.
Digital Innovation in Action
Building Virginia's Quantum Future
George Mason University is leading the Virginia Quantum Hub (VQH), a statewide initiative that brings together researchers, industry leaders, government partners, and emerging talent to accelerate quantum innovation. Supported by the commonwealth and public–private partnerships, the hub is creating new opportunities for research, workforce development, technology commercialization, and economic growth.
Through the Virginia Quantum Hub, George Mason is helping build an inclusive quantum ecosystem that connects discovery with real-world impact across sectors including health, logistics, energy, cybersecurity, and national security. As home to the first open-architecture quantum computing system in Virginia and the National Capital Region, George Mason is helping position the commonwealth at the forefront of the rapidly growing quantum economy.
Washington Post's Mike Dyer with President Gregory Washington and Quantum Science and Engineering Center Executive Director Patrick Vora at "Building America: Quantum Innovation" presented at Washington Post Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Mason Korea QSEC, Future Quantum Convergence Forum, and the QCI Quantum-AI Convergence Center representatives.
Photo provided
Expanding George Mason’s presence in South Korea's emerging quantum ecosystem
George Mason's Quantum Science and Engineering Center signed a memorandum of understanding with two of Korea's leading quantum organizations, the Future Quantum Convergence Forum and the QCI Quantum-AI Convergence Center (QCI).
President Gregory Washington and TreQ CEO Mandy Birch at the signing ceremony
George Mason partners with Oxford-based TreQ to bring the first open-architecture quantum computing system to Virginia
Located on one of George Mason’s Northern Virginia campuses, it will be the first U.S. deployment of a computing system based on TreQ’s proprietary Open Architecture Quantum framework. Backed by a $7.7M investment including strategic support from VIPC and TreQ, the system is planned for installation in 2027. Read more.
RESEARCH IN ACTION
Aerial view of the George Mason University Fairfax Campus, 1968
Catalyst Project: Center for Aerial Intelligence and Digital Earth Histories
With partners like the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, this project will digitize and analyze unclassified historical aerial archives into usable digital data resources for research, education, and societal impact. The project will demonstrate how this work can reveal environmental change, urban growth, and infrastructure shifts while laying the groundwork for a future full‑scale center.
Learn more about the project, the colleges involved, and the cross-disciplinary leadership team.
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.
Catalyst Project: George Mason's Quantum Leap
Quantum computers can tackle problems beyond the reach of today’s technology, opening new possibilities in health, climate research, and national security. Positioning George Mason as a leader in the next generation of computing, this project will grow the university’s expertise in quantum hardware and algorithms, expand degree and training programs, and bring industry partners into the classroom and lab. By building talent, research capacity, and real‑world collaborations, Quantum Leap will help drive Virginia’s emerging quantum economy and prepare students for high‑demand careers.
Learn more about the project, the colleges involved, and the cross-disciplinary leadership team.
STUDENT RESOURCES
Competitive Edge
From on-campus hackathons and pitch competitions to national competitions, George Mason undergraduates and graduate students have many opportunities to share their ideas and inventions and compete at the national level.
Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center
The Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC) provides students with research and educational opportunities that cross disciplines to address global needs in autonomy, embedded AI, and robotics.
PatriotAI
Co-developed with community members and Mason’s AI Visioning Task Force, PatriotAI is a suite of six specialized AI tools offering secure, university-managed access to large language models for learning, instruction, research, and administration.
NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center
With the opening of the NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Center at Fuse at Mason Square, students gain access to a state-of-the-art simulator replicating a NuScale modular nuclear reactor control room, bridging theory with hands-on practice.
Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation
A national leader in harnessing virtual reality and simulation to advance public health and improve lives, Mason’s College of Public Health is home to the nation’s first SSH-accredited Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation at a public health college.
Stanley and Rosemary Hayes Jones Networking Testbed Lab
The Networking Testbed Lab supports faculty and student research in secure communications, antenna systems, next-G and O-RAN innovations, autonomous vehicles, smart grids, and national defense applications.
FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS
Jesse Kirkpatrick, codirector of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center, is an International Security Fellow at New America and serves as a consultant for numerous organizations. His research focuses on the ethics of peace and security, emphasizing the ethical, social, and policy implications of emerging technologies.
Amarda Shehu, the university’s inaugural vice president and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO), leads the strategy and implementation of AI across research, academics, and partnerships for the university.
Elizabeth Phillips, director of the Applied Psychology and Autonomous Systems (ALPHAS) Lab and codirector of the Human-Robot Interaction Lab, studies how robots and other technologies are changing the way humans interact with the world and one another.
Massimiliano Albanese, executive director of the Institute for Digital Innovation, is a recognized expert in cyberattack modeling and detection, optimal defense strategies, and adaptive security technologies.
PARTNERSHIPS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
In addition to leading CCI's Northern Virginia Node, George Mason collaborates with federal and state agencies, industry leaders, and international partners to advance innovation in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum science, and workforce development. The university also hosts the nation's first Center for Small Business AI Innovation.
TreQ
TreQ, an Oxford-based quantum computing company, has partnered with George Mason to bring Virginia's first open-architecture quantum computing system to the commonwealth. The partnership expands research, workforce development, and industry collaboration while strengthening Virginia's position as a leader in the emerging quantum economy.
CCI Northern Virginia Node
CCI encompasses 10 Virginia universities, colleges, and community colleges. Its Northern Virginia Node, headquartered at George Mason, also engages with regional industry and local government.
Cybersecurity + AI Clinic
The Cybersecurity + AI Clinic, a partnership between the National Security Institute’s Cyber and Tech Center (NSI CTC) at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School and the Howard University School of Business (HUSB), welcomed its first cohort in 2025-26.
Tech Talent Investment Program
Virginia's Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP) is a statewide initiative to expand computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering degree production over a 20-year period. The program is expected to add hundreds of technology graduates annually.
Virginia Alliance for Semiconductor Technology
The Virginia Alliance for Semiconductor Technology is a collaborative network of industry and higher education partners advancing semiconductor research, workforce development, and access to state-of-the-art facilities across the commonwealth.
Learn more about Virginia Alliance for Semiconductor Technology
MITRE Immersive Simulation Partnership
George Mason partners with MITRE on immersive virtual reality research and training. MITRE’s SIMEX simulation labs provide government agencies with advanced facilities to test, evaluate, and refine new concepts and technologies.
FUTURE-READY INFRASTRUCTURE
Quantum Science and Engineering Center
The Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSEC) at George Mason University advances cutting-edge research, education, and workforce development in quantum computing, sensing, and materials. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships across industry, government, and academia, QSEC is helping shape the future of quantum innovation in Virginia and beyond.
Institute of Digital Innovation (IDIA)
The Institute of Digital Innovation, headquartered at Fuse at Mason Square, leads George Mason’s transdisciplinary research, innovation, and next-generation workforce development strategy for scaled sustainable growth in digital innovation.
PODCASTS
AI is a clinician’s newest diagnostic partner
On this episode of Access to Excellence, professor of health informatics Farrokh Alemi joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the unique juncture of health care, industrial engineering, and now, artificial intelligence; specifically, what AI can do for educators and clinicians. Listen to this episode
Cybersecurity and the global threats of tomorrow
In this fast-paced episode of Access to Excellence, Jaffer and George Mason President Gregory Washington discuss the U.S.'s position on the global stage, the power of the American Dream, and what we as citizens can do to start solving some of the country's stickiest problems. Listen to this episode.
Navigating AI’s risks and rewards
On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington and George Mason’s inaugural vice president and chief AI officer, Amarda Shehu, discuss AI's research possibilities and the role of higher education in AI training and development. Listen to this episode.
AI-in-Gov: Inside the Black Box explores how artificial intelligence is transforming government—from innovation to impact.
Listen to AI-in-Gov
NEWS
- September 28, 2026
- September 2, 2026
- August 21, 2026
- August 10, 2026
- June 15, 2026
EVENTS
Year 2 Request for Proposals (RFP)
Details, including an FAQ and budget worksheet, are available for George Mason University's Grand Challenge Initiative RFP to advance transformative solutions.
Interested researchers should submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the lead school/college's dean's office by December 4, 2026. Proposals are due February 15, 2027, and awards will be announced by April 30, 2027, with funding beginning no later than July 1, 2027.