{"id":584290,"date":"2026-04-14T20:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584290\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:18:09","slug":"major-gift-promises-to-accelerate-princeton-universitys-leadership-in-quantum-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584290\/","title":{"rendered":"Major gift promises to accelerate Princeton University\u2019s leadership in quantum science"},"content":{"rendered":"

A major gift from Andy Florance \u201986 and Heather Florance will support the\u00a0Princeton Quantum Initiative<\/a> and will accelerate the next generation of quantum science research and discovery at Princeton University.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy and Heather Florance truly understand the potential of quantum science to generate path-breaking discoveries and catalyze innovation,\u201d said President Christopher L. Eisgruber \u201983. \u201cThey also appreciate the unique constellation of world-class talent and expertise at Princeton that positions the University for leadership in this field. We are deeply grateful for their generous partnership in support of the Princeton Quantum Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Princeton Quantum Initiative was launched in 2019<\/a> and is an interdisciplinary enterprise involving faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics. Research teams\u2019 work ranges from laboratory experiments with materials and devices to mathematical and computational studies that provide a foundational understanding of how quantum systems work.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuantum science has the potential to solve currently \u2018impossible\u2019 problems,\u2019 and has major implications for Princeton\u2019s research enterprise as well as our nation\u2019s security and competitiveness,\u201d said Andrew Houck \u201900, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Anthony H.P. Lee \u201979 P11 P14 Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. \u201cThe Florances\u2019 gift will fuel a future for quantum science that is filled with possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houck also serves as chief scientist for the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA), a U.S. Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Center led by Brookhaven National Laboratory. C2QA is one of five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.<\/p>\n

Quantum science is a strategic priority for the University, with similar goals to enhance scientific discovery and innovation. The Princeton Quantum Initiative is led by co-directors Ali Yazdani, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, and Nathalie de Leon, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. Princeton\u2019s quantum research teams have announced\u00a0several quantum breakthroughs<\/a> in recent years, from building a new superconducting qubit that represents a major step toward practical quantum computers, to discovering new ways to study quantum materials using lab-grown diamonds.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrinceton\u2019s leadership in quantum information and quantum matter has the potential to transform not just computing, the design of new materials and secure technologies, but also our fundamental understanding of the universe,\u201d said Andy Florance. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to partner with the University to support the game-changing scientific innovation of the Princeton Quantum Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Princeton\u2019s strategic commitment to quantum science extends across teaching, learning and research; a quantum science and engineering Ph.D. program was launched in 2024<\/a>, and the program\u2019s first two cohorts of graduate students are fully engaged in the University\u2019s interdisciplinary quantum research community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andy Florance is the founder and chief executive officer of CoStar Group, an S&P 500 company and the world\u2019s leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics, online marketplaces, and 3D digital twin technology. Florance founded CoStar Group in 1986 from his Princeton dormitory room with the conviction that technology could fundamentally reshape how the world\u2019s largest asset class is bought, sold, leased, and understood. Nearly four decades later, the company he built serves millions of users across more than 100 countries, and under his leadership, CoStar Group has been recognized by Forbes and Fortune among the world\u2019s most innovative and fastest-growing companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florance has co-authored award-winning research on commercial real estate economics and serves on the board of Management Leadership for Tomorrow. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University, and his University service has also included the President\u2019s Advisory Council, the President\u2019s Roundtable, and volunteering for Annual Giving and the Princeton Schools Committee. He received his A.B. in economics from Princeton in 1986 and an honorary doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019.<\/p>\n

Heather Florance is founder and chair of the Bunny Mellon Healing Garden Dedicated to the First Ladies of the United States at Children\u2019s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 2025, she was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the board of visitors of Mount Vernon, the historic home of George Washington. She is a member of the board of trustees for the Meridian International Center, a nonpartisan center for diplomacy in Washington, and serves on their Executive Committee.<\/p>\n

Earlier in her career, Florance held positions at the American Stock Exchange in both Washington, D.C. and New York before joining the international trade consulting division of Mayer, Brown & Platt in Washington. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gift from Andy and Heather Florance is pivotal for the Princeton Quantum Initiative, said its co-directors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new era for quantum science and engineering at Princeton,\u201d said Yazdani. \u201cThis visionary support of our work is transformative at a critical juncture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrinceton is a uniquely collaborative environment that\u00a0allows researchers to make bold bets and deep contributions,\u201d said de Leon. \u201cWe are excited to imagine the next horizon for the Quantum Initiative and all that this gift makes possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major gift from Andy Florance \u201986 and Heather Florance will support the\u00a0Princeton Quantum Initiative and will accelerate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":584291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[199,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-584290","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-physics","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}