亚洲AV鈥檚 (ISE) has named its first cohort of ISE Faculty Fellows.
Celso Ferreira of the Volgenau School of Engineering, John Qu of the College of Science, and Cher Weixia Chen of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are the first three faculty members chosen for a two-year term as fellows. They begin their work this month.
"I am delighted that Drs. Ferreira, Qu, and Chen are taking on these very important leadership roles for the university,鈥 said Aurali Dade, interim vice president for research, innovation and economic impact. 鈥淗undreds of Mason faculty from across all of our colleges have come together to co-create and contribute to this institute. Their collegiality and dedication to solving the world's most pressing challenges is truly extraordinary."
The goal of the fellowships, as well as the institute, is to 鈥渉elp build connections across academic units and disciplinary boundaries,鈥 said ISE Executive Director Leah Nichols, who joined Mason in March 2020 to lead the institute after eight years at the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The ISE community consists of more than 550 faculty who conduct research within all areas of the outlined in the .
Nichols said she expects each fellow to serve as a community-building catalyst and lead the development of transdisciplinary communities of research and practice around one of six . To maximize Mason鈥檚 impact, these themes broadly align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Nichols hopes to name three more fellows in 2022 to focus on the remaining three themes.
As an ISE faculty fellow, Ferreira, an associate professor in the , will lead efforts to develop the 鈥淪ustainable and Resilient Communities and Ecosystems鈥 theme. Research in this area addresses urban and peri-urban sustainability challenges, supports development of resilient communities, and ensures the health of ecosystems. Ferreira leads the Mason ,聽which focuses on investigating and developing solutions that increase societal resilience to water-related natural hazards. He is also an affiliate of the and the .
As an ISE Fellow, will lead efforts to develop the聽鈥鈥 theme. Research in this area aims to聽mitigate atmospheric carbon emissions and strengthen adaptive capacities to climate threats in both highly industrialized and developing countries.聽A professor in the , director of Mason鈥檚 , and founding director of the , Qu focuses his research on the development of integrated early warning and decision-support systems for sustainable water-energy-food-health systems.
As an ISE fellow, will lead efforts to develop the 鈥鈥 theme.聽Research in this area focuses on fostering just and inclusive societies with strong economies and alleviating challenges鈥攕uch as violence and crime, violations of civil rights and liberties, and human displacement and mass migration鈥攑recipitated by the lack of strong institutions and justice. An associate professor in the , the founder of the , and a senior scholar in the , Chen focuses on the human rights of marginalized groups and on the well-being of social justice and human rights activists.