Virginia Tech joins Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance

Group includes 24 universities, labs, agencies and businesses

Published March 19, 2021 by Kate Andrews

Virginia Tech has joined a group of universities, government agencies and national labs in the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance, the university announced this week.

Led by the University of Maryland, the 24 members of MQA “are building a vibrant and diverse ecosystem designed to foster U.S. and regional leadership in the coming quantum technology revolution,” including developing technologies, science discovery, entrepreneurship and workforce building, particularly in the growing quantum computing industry. Virginia Tech faculty in chemistry, mathematics, physics, computer science and engineering will join the effort.

“Joining the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance will enhance Virginia Tech’s prospects of forging closer partnership with national labs, industry leaders, and other academic institutions that are currently active in research related to quantum science and engineering,” Dan Sui, vice president for research and innovation at Virginia Tech, said in a statement. “Continuing to support Virginia Tech’s quantum collaboratory is a top priority, and I am confident that our quantum information science and engineering faculty will benefit from this exciting new membership.”

The association with MQA, which was launched in January 2020, could help Virginia Tech doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers find jobs in private companies or national laboratories, said Vito Scarola, an associate professor in Tech’s physics department. Other members include George Mason University, Booz Allen Hamilton and McLean-based Mitre Corp.