During college, Kathryn Laskey, professor of and associate director of the liked playing the guitar. Once life quickly got busy with family and career, the guitar was placed on hold.
But now, at the start of her retirement after wrapping up 32 years at 亚洲AV, the guitar might make a comeback.
鈥淚 enjoy having music in my life and I鈥檒l probably get back to that,鈥 she says.
It鈥檚 been a fulfilling time at Mason for Laskey and she says it鈥檚 been gratifying to be a part of seeing the campus grow from a small, little-known niche to a thriving, world-class research university in a major metropolis.
鈥淲hen I started, the engineering building was a parking lot. There were no parking garages. My office was in a trailer. There were few people. But over the years, I have seen such tremendous shifts in both structural growth and community and pride. Now when you walk up to a student and ask them where they go, they proudly say 鈥楪eorge Mason.鈥欌
Given its location and talented staff, Laskey knew when she first came on board that Mason would be a part of bigger and greater things. That potential was one of the reasons she wanted to be here.
鈥淚鈥檝e run into people who haven鈥檛 been to Mason in maybe a decade or two, and it鈥檚 unrecognizable to them now. The George Mason name is known worldwide as a great school,鈥 she says.
Laskey says it鈥檚 been an incredible 32 years, and just a few of her accomplishments include starting the and pioneering research within AI which was early in its explosive growth when Laskey first joined Mason. She has more than 150 peer reviewed publications and is on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Information Fusion and the Washington Metropolitan Area chapter of the International Council on Systems Engineering; she is past president of the Association for Uncertainty in Artificial听滨苍迟别濒濒颈驳别苍肠别.
She鈥檒l still keep her hand in research, she says, and is currently working on a few items. One is a machine learning project that will aid in predicting ground water levels, in order to support drilling wells for agricultural needs. Another is a project on expanding digital opportunity in Tribal communities.
Although she says she doesn鈥檛 have definite retirement plans per se, music, time with grandkids and staying involved in research projects will keep her busy for the time being.
Besides her job, interacting with her students and colleagues, Laskey says she will also miss the beauty of the Fairfax Campus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bittersweet time in starting a new chapter and there is a huge amount I鈥檓 going to miss,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 honored to have been a part of making GMU what it is today.鈥