Somewhere in Virginia, about a year from now, there will be a room where the only sound will be a low, repetitive hum, sort of like an MRI machine. That sound will be the rhythmic pulse of gas moving through tubes; gas that's meant to keep a machine colder than outer space. Inside that machine is a different approach to computing: A system built to take on the problems our best supercomputers can't even touch.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined by TreQ founder and CEO Mandy Birch and director of George Mason's Quantum Science and Engineering Center Patrick Vora to discuss establishing the Virginia Quantum Hub at George Mason: an inclusive quantum ecosystem built by public-private partnerships that will bring the first open-architecture quantum computing system to the National Capital Region.

The President's Daily Brief is arguably the most sensitive document in American government. It’s a report, delivered in person every morning, updating the President on the most dangerous national security threats facing the nation. During President Obama’s first term, the person charged with delivering that report was a decorated career intelligence officer named James "Jim" Danoy – the first officer from outside the CIA ever trusted with that weighty task.

And Danoy got his start here, as a student at George Mason University.

Danoy’s path in national security didn’t begin in a situation room. It began in a classroom – the place where a young person first learns about thinking under pressure, judging information, weighing options, and making hard decisions. Now, as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason's Schar School of Policy and Government, Danoy is teaching students who are travelling the same path he did.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, Danoy discusses his career, as well as how judgment, character, and resilience can be taught, and whether we’re doing a good job of it.

Depending who you talk to, AI – artificial intelligence – is either the cutting edge of technology that can usher in a golden age of efficiency, precision, and capability that will allow humans to shake off the shackles of drudgery and guesswork, or it’s a resources-devouring shadow that’s going to strip us of our humanity, creativity, and connectedness.

On today’s episode of Access to Excellence, College of Public Health 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.

As society navigates rapid technological advancement and escalating challenges at home and abroad, it’s up to our educators to prepare students to meet the evolving needs of the state, the nation, and the world. We call this Advancing 21st Century Education for All: one of the key pillars of our Grand Challenge Initiative.

On today’s episode of Access to Excellence, Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of George Mason’s College of Education and Human Development, joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the future of education in a rapidly changing world and why the irreplaceable human elements of teaching will define the profession's future even as technology transforms it.

The White House’s Situation Room is one of those real-life places that, because it plays such a key role in historic moments but is so rarely seen by outsiders, takes on an outsized air of mystery. And while it’s recently captured the public’s imagination again, thanks to the Netflix film A House of Dynamite, the Situation Room is just one point in a complex web of government security and intelligence operations.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined by Larry Pfeiffer—director of George Mason University's Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, and expert consultant for A House of Dynamite—to discuss his experiences in the Situation Room: both in the White House and on the sound stage.

George Mason University proudly proclaims that we are All Together, Different. We are a school where non-traditional students are traditional students. And though they face unique challenges, these students bring important perspectives and experiences to our classrooms. Nowhere is this clearer than with our population of students connected to the military.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Psychology Keith Renshaw joins President Gregory Washington to discuss the role George Mason plays in providing service members, veterans, and their families the means to find community, purpose, and fulfillment beyond their military service.

Oceans cover 71% of our Earth. Formed over 3.8 billion years ago, these vast depths could hold some of the answers to our questions about Earth’s long and mysterious history, as well as offer predictions for the future of our planet. And the key might be found in, of all places, rocks.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Washington speaks with Geoffrey Gilleaudeau, associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences Department in the College of Science, about the past, present, and future of Earth’s oceans according to the physical and chemical characteristics of sedimentary rocks.

For this special "Best Of" episode, we've compiled some of our most thought-provoking and compelling conversations between President Washington and our accomplished faculty. We'll revisit discussions that are more relevant than ever—from the vast mysteries of the cosmos to the hidden power of coffee grounds—to see how George Mason is blazing a path of innovation to develop bold solutions for our world's grand challenges.