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George Mason researcher gets CAREER award for quantum leaps in computing, with the help of AI

Nathan Kahl — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:55:11 +0000

George Mason researcher gets CAREER award for quantum leaps in computing, with the help of AI Nathan Kahl Thu, 02/13/2025 - 12:55

Weiwen Jiang, an assistant professor in the ��AV's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is an expert in quantum computing, having recently received nearly $1 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to study “noise” that impacts quantum computing and to work on training the next generation of quantum experts.

Jiang’s research is all about pushing the mysterious world of quantum computing into the mainstream. “We are at the quantum utility era, which means we are going to have computational applications that can be implemented with and utilize the power of quantum computing,” he said. But Jiang knows that researchers need a boost in understanding the full quantum capability.

In January he received an NSF CAREER award for $641,778 for his work on quantum-centric computing cyberinfrastructure (QuCI). A combination of quantum computers, classical computers, and AI accelerators, QuCI is set to revolutionize

Weiwen Jiang. Photo provided

software applications handling everything from geophysics, chemistry, finance, and life sciences, because it can outperform classical computing with its speed, accuracy, and the ability to handle large, data-heavy problems. For example, the success of processing geoscience data on quantum computers can enable real-time decision-making on natural hazards, which leads to cost savings, reduced environmental impacts, and improved safety.

Jiang’s project includes three thrusts. One is using what’s called an AI-powered quantum performance predictor, which leads to an innovative and efficient ability to allocate computing resources in the moment. Jiang said, “When a batch of jobs comes into the system, we need to allocate the jobs into different quantum nodes and we want to distribute the jobs effectively.”

Another focus is bridging a knowledge gap between experts who want to run software applications but are not experts in quantum. “In order to fill this gap we do not want the expert to learn quantum computing from scratch,” he said. “We’ll find opportunities to fine-tune the configuration for quantum control optimization,” helping a non-expert user harness the power of quantum computing by combining classical central-processing unit computing with quantum. Current QuCIs require complicated decision-making to ensure correct computing results are obtained, but this can fall into the hands of users who lack quantum knowledge. Jiang’s project automates QuCI deployment, making decisions and optimizations at different stages without human interference.

A third element is to develop what’s known as fault-tolerant quantum computing, which means allowing quantum computers to operate even when encountering errors. Jiang said, “Before we submit the job, we will add fault-tolerant protocols to ensure the functional correctness and boost performance.”

The NSF CAREER award is reserved for the nation’s most talented up-and-coming researchers. From the NSF website: “The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers NSF’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.”

Beyond the scientific impact, the project builds an easy-to-understand quantum education program, which includes building a visualization platform to make quantum computations visible. This is significantly important for beginners who easily suffer from the counterintuitive concepts of quantum computing. In addition, Jiang will create workshops, tutorials, and competitions for different research communities, contribute to a George Mason-led quantum immersion program for K-12 students; and redesign a quantum curriculum at George Mason with outcomes from this project.

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Unlocking privacy with encrypted ingenuity: Security expert receives NSF CAREER award

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:32:18 +0000

Unlocking privacy with encrypted ingenuity: Security expert receives NSF CAREER award Nathan Kahl Mon, 01/27/2025 - 12:32

Evgenios Kornaropoulos, an assistant professor in ��AV’s Computer Science Department, focuses on computer security and applied cryptography, where he stays ahead of changes in the field. "The needs of everyday users have grown, and our technology's privacy expectations must advance accordingly,” he said. “We've moved beyond simply communicating sensitive data securely; now, we need technology capable of performing computations on sensitive data without compromising privacy.”

Evgenios Kornaropoulos. Photo provided

He recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for $648,811 for his work on privacy and data security under the title “Encrypted Systems with Fine-Grained Leakage.”

The tension between the privacy of sensitive data and the functionality that users demand from their data is the focus of the NSF CAREER funding, and it has been among Kornaropoulos’ research areas for several years. He said, “The new technology that we are developing allows the user to never expose any information in the clear to the cloud while maintaining functionality. You want the cloud to do interesting computations for you without decrypting your information. If you don't decrypt, the cloud never gets to see what you are processing.”

When users store sensitive information, such as health records or financial data, with common cloud-based providers, the provider gains full access to the document's contents—essentially exposing the data in plain text to the cloud. A potential remedy is to encrypt the data before uploading it. However, this approach comes with a drawback: whenever users need to access or compute something from the encrypted data, they must download all the scrambled files locally and perform the computations on their own devices.

So how can the user still process the information but know that the cloud didn’t learn anything? “We believe that the answer is the notion of ‘cryptographic leakage’, he said. “The cloud provider still sees some accesses on encrypted data, that is, the leakage, but these observations are confusing. Our designs scale to today’s needs and come with provable guarantees that these observations cannot be meaningfully stitched together by the cloud provider to infer the sensitive data.”

Kornaropoulos said, “Searching on encrypted data is one of the biggest functionalities and we have a research thrust in which we will collaborate with industry leaders and local organizations on this problem. Specifically, we have an active collaboration with the Mason and Partners Clinics (interprofessional clinics which serve the uninsured and refugee community within Prince William and Fairfax counties in Northern Virginia) to explore the application scenarios of our technology to that setting.”

"Privacy-preserving data storage and data use is an important problem in computer security that is of critical interest to organizations that must trust their sensitive data to third-party data storage facilities," said Computer Science department chair David Rosenblum. "Evgenios is an internationally renowned leader in addressing this problem, and his NSF CAREER award will afford him the opportunity to explore novel solutions that balance strong security guarantees against practical needs for efficiency."

The award is the most-recent of several distinctions Kornaropoulos has earned. He was elevated to IEEE Senior Member in 2024, his paper was among the finalists for the “Best Cryptographic Attack” category at Pwnie Awards 2024, and his latest work at the intersection of AI and security has gained significant media attention.

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Using robotics to introduce AI and machine learning concepts into the elementary classroom

Colleen Rich — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:52:02 +0000

Using robotics to introduce AI and machine learning concepts into the elementary classroom Colleen Rich Thu, 01/23/2025 - 12:52

��AV researcher Erdogan Kaya is part of an interdisciplinary research team that is planning to introduce elementary students to the foundational concepts of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning using educational robotics.

George Mason professor Erdogan Kaya with some of the educational robots his team will be using with elementary school students. Photo provided

Kaya, an assistant professor in George Mason’s School of Education, and his collaborators—Hasan Deniz of University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Ezgi Yesilyurt of Weber State University; and Refika Turgut of University of South Carolina—have been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) “Computer Science for All” program for their project, “Cultivating Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Linguistically Inclusive Integrated Elementary Curriculum via Educational Robotics.”

“Over the years, I have seen firsthand how robotics can captivate and inspire students, making complex STEM concepts accessible and more engaging,” said Kaya. “Students gain insight into how AI systems work and develop a deeper understanding of the power of AI, which promotes foundational AI literacy.”

Approximately 600 elementary students in grades 4 and 5 from schools serving underrepresented populations in Clark County, Nevada, will participate in this study. The goal of this project is to provide the students with hands-on learning opportunities that will allow them to develop an understanding of AI and its application in science and technology.

The study will also offer professional development to 25 in-service educators to equip them with the foundational knowledge of AI and machine learning needed to teach an AI-integrated STEM curriculum.

Kaya emphasized that it is essential for young learners to acquire a level of AI literacy that includes an understanding of how AI algorithms work, how AI applications are developed, and how they can be used responsibly and creatively. He hopes that by being exposed to AI and machine learning at an early age, students will develop skills that may lead them to pursue careers in STEM.

“This project is about opening doors to AI literacy for young students, especially those from multilingual backgrounds who may not see themselves represented in tech fields,” said Kaya, who grew up in Turkiye and began learning English in middle school.

After working with multilingual learners in Title I schools in Arizona, Kaya discovered that his perspective as someone who has navigated education in multiple languages gave him insight into serving this population of students effectively.

“By integrating AI and robotics early on, we are providing a foundation in STEM that not only builds skills but instills a belief in students that they can be part of AI-intensive fields,” he said.

Educational tools, including Birdbrain Technologies’ Hummingbird Robotics®, Teachable Machine, and Snap!, a visual block-based programming environment, will be used in this study. Students will be tasked with designing automated solutions to real-world challenges that exist in their home communities, such as how to make smart homes more energy-efficient or how to develop farming robots capable of harvesting strawberries. Kaya said that projects like these will allow the students to apply AI concepts in ways that they will find more culturally relevant and meaningful.

The study will also promote the responsible and ethical use of AI by asking students to engage in critical thinking regarding the broader societal impact of AI and how bias can affect AI algorithm outputs.

Teachers using the AI-integrated curricular resources developed under this project will be able to incorporate them into their existing curricula.

“Our curriculum is designed to be flexible and integrative. By combining AI, engineering, language arts, and science into integrated lessons, teachers can address multiple subjects within a single lesson, making the most of limited classroom time,” said Kaya.

The importance of teaching the principles of AI and machine learning at an early age continues to gain traction in K-12 computer science education. Kaya notes that organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education and Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) are responding with programs such as Teach AI. In addition, CSTA is updating its standards, scheduled for release in 2026, to incorporate machine learning and AI.

At the state level, Virginia’s recent updates to the Computer Science Standards of Learning (SOLs) include requirements for machine learning, further underscoring the need to prepare students in this field.

It is these changes in the field of computer science education that influenced Kaya’s decision to pursue a second master’s degree—this one in machine learning—at George Mason. “Even though I have a CS background, I recognized that machine learning and AI are becoming crucial parts of CS education,” he said. “To better serve the needs of future teachers and K-12 students, I decided to further my own education in this rapidly evolving field.”

With this project, Kaya said the goal is to equip teachers to bring AI and robotics into their classrooms with confidence, even if they do not have a technical background. “By providing practical training and readily available materials, we hope to create a ripple effect where teachers inspire their students and make AI education a reality in their classrooms,” Kaya said.

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Research using AI to track Amazon rainforest species produces landmark results

Colleen Rich — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 13:47:06 +0000

Research using AI to track Amazon rainforest species produces landmark results Colleen Rich Mon, 11/25/2024 - 08:47

Thanks to the tenacity of a ��AV biology professor, animals in the Amazon have a lot less privacy these days, but that’s good for scientists who to want know what’s going on in the Brazilian rainforests.

David Luther recognizes the importance of playing the long game in research, but even he couldn’t have imagined the hurdles and roadblocks ahead of him following the approval of his 2019 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant proposal, “Species richness resilience to habitat fragmentation and restoration in tropical rainforests.”

His plan was to install recording equipment at 50 sites as part of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. These audio and video devices were meant to document and measure differences in animal community composition and the rate of animal recovery in secondary forest and forest fragments.

The proposed budget was devoted entirely to purchasing the wide array of materials necessary for the effort — cameras, acoustic recorders, and batteries—along with the international travel needed to bring the project to fruition.

In March 2020, all of Luther’s efforts came to a halt due to the pandemic. Additionally, one of the key members of the planning team, Tom Lovejoy, passed away in December 2021. Lovejoy was recognized as one the world’s leading conservation biologists and often referred to as the “godfather of biodiversity.” With Lovejoy’s passing, Luther lost a mentor and a critical member of the team.

Tens of thousands of animal images, such as this ocelot, have been collected for the project from camera traps. Photo provided

However, Luther stayed the course, revamping his team and rewriting the schedule. Finally, in June 2022, he received the green light to move ahead. Between June and October 2022, 136 cameras and 81 acoustic devices were installed across 50 sites at BDFFP.

Today, to Luther’s great delight, the results have proved far more successful than he could have ever anticipated. Tens of thousands of animal images from camera traps and audio recordings have already been collected.

To analyze the data, Luther built a team of 15 George Mason undergraduate researchers, artificial intelligence (AI) experts, and members of Arbimon, a nonprofit organization that specializes in analyzing acoustic recordings from the tropics to identify animals.

The student volunteers on this project included Alexis Lembke, Amanda Jones, Adriana Em, Madison Cheung, Morgan Ellingsworth, and Grace Carriero. Aline Medeiros, a PhD student in environmental science and policy, helped manage the undergraduate researchers working on the audio files. Medeiros will also use the captured data as the basis of her PhD research.

Another set of students helped identify animals in the camera images and entered that information into a large database. Hibo Hassan, Jordan Seidmeyer, Katie Russell, Carolian Sanabria, Adrian Em, Alix Upchurch, Piper Robinson, Tristan Silva-Montoya, and Estefany Umana spent hours creating this treasure trove of records. Emilia Roberts, a master’s student in environmental science and policy, managed these undergraduate researchers.

Discussing the project, Luther explained that, for the acoustic recordings, they built templates for 250 bird species and trained AI models to automatically detect and classify songs for each.

Channel-billed toucan. Photo provided

“The model performed very well in our evaluations. We have already detected 201 of the 250 species,” said Luther, who teaches in the Biology Department of George Mason’s College of Science. “Thanks to our model, new recordings can be passed through it to automatically detect species calls, facilitating long-term monitoring and efficient analyses moving forward. We are now working with local experts in Manaus, Brazil, to apply the same platform for frogs at our study sites in the Amazon rainforest.”

The biodiversity data is being used to assess how each species responds to variations in forest structure and recovery from forest fragmentation. Luther brought on Konrad Wessels from George Mason’s Geography and Geoinformation Science Department to assist with satellite information from the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation instrument, which uses high-resolution lasers to provide detail in three-dimensional forest structure. These results will build predictive models to study how the forest structure can forecast mammal and bird diversity and individual species occurrence in tropical rainforests.

In an important finding, the team has determined that the three-dimensional complexity of the forest structure, as measured by foliage height diversity, is the biggest predictor of mammal and bird diversity at this research site, and potentially others, in the Amazon rainforest.

The project continues to gain traction. The team has created a website featuring the results of the acoustic portion of the research, which has been very well received. Some of the acoustic training models have been used by teams competing for the X-Prize, a competition designed to encourage technological developments supporting “radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.”

Building on the 4-VA funded study, Luther also received a $200,000 National Science Foundation grant to continue both the camera and acoustic research. Luther and Wessels recently submitted a grant to NASA to expand on the research findings and apply them to the entirety of the Amazon basin.

“Through 4-VA@Mason, this project is up, running, and delivering fantastic information that will help scientists worldwide better design monitoring schemes for biodiversity in remote tropical forests, as well as those interested the relationship between habitat structure and degradation and species resilience to disturbance,” said Luther.

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$1.2M NSF-funded fellowship aims to foster diversity in quantum science workforce

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:09:11 +0000

$1.2M NSF-funded fellowship aims to foster diversity in quantum science workforce Colleen Rich Mon, 10/28/2024 - 10:09

��AV received a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch a postdoctoral fellowship program that will prepare recent PhD graduates to be leaders in quantum education and workforce development research. The program focuses on addressing challenges in quantum education, particularly in building an inclusive and equitable workforce.

Jessica Rosenberg. Photo by Office of University Branding

The ��AV Quantum Education Research Postdoctoral Fellowship will be led by Jessica Rosenberg, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of education for the Quantum Science and Engineering Center.

“It’s an opportunity to bring together recent PhDs from different disciplines to think about the problem of building a diverse and equitable workforce from varying angles while also providing an environment for them to build and strengthen their careers in STEM education research,” said Rosenberg.

She will work alongside co-principal investigators Paula Danquah-Brobby, associate dean of access, belonging, and community engagement in the College of Science; Jill Nelson, an associate professor in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC); and Nancy Holincheck, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), to engage with fellows, provide mentorship, and assist in research projects.

According to Rosenberg, postdoctoral researchers occupy a unique and sometimes challenging phase in career development, where the level of support can vary significantly. They are learning to lead their own projects and take responsibility for forging their future careers, but they still need to develop additional skills. In the program, postdoctoral fellows will receive essential mentorship and networking opportunities and encouragement to develop their own projects and collaborate on existing ones. By working in a small cohort, participants will receive the guidance necessary to make the most of this critical stage in their careers.

“George Mason is a leading institution in the quantum education space,” said Rosenberg. “We are positioned well to provide a meaningful fellowship like this, to bring in folks and help them to really think through challenges and start their careers.”

“Fostering an inclusive and equitable workforce starts in the classroom,” said Danquah-Brobby. “It has been well established that diversity of thoughts, perspectives, lived experiences, disciplinarity, among others, is positively associated with scientific discovery, innovation, and achievement. To successfully rise to the myriad 21st-century challenges, centering diversity, inclusion, and equity throughout and across the STEM ecosystem is absolutely essential.”

The quantum field is rapidly evolving and expected to make significant impacts in the coming years, driven by initiatives like the National Quantum Act, which aims to accelerate quantum research and development. The U.S. government is increasing investments in quantum technologies that, Rosenberg explained, are poised to enhance various applications including communications through quantum cryptography and advanced sensing techniques. Notably, quantum sensing has already shown substantial progress, with potential uses in oil prospecting and military positioning, especially where GPS is unavailable.

Additional support of the grant will come from CEHD faculty members Supriya Baily, Sujin Kim, Shekila Melchior, and Lisa Tullo; Shá Norman, College of Visual and Performing Arts’ director of diversity; Erikca Brown, associate director for inclusive education; Christi Wilcox, CEC’s director of programs and research; Weiwen Jiang, CEC postdoctoral research associate; and Benjamin Dreyfus, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

During July 2023, Jessica Rosenberg coordinated the Pathways to Quantum Immersion Program, which helped high school students learn about the promise of quantum technologies.

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Engineering professors research impacts of Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

Shayla Brown — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:08:14 +0000

Engineering professors research impacts of Baltimore Key Bridge collapse Shayla Brown Wed, 10/16/2024 - 14:08

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Elise Miller-Hooks

Shanjiang Zhu

Alireza Ermagun

It was a day that residents in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan areas won’t soon forget: March 26, 2024, when the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, killing six and leaving many more forever impacted.

Since then, ��AV professors Elise Miller-Hooks, Alireza Ermagun, and Shanjiang Zhu have received two National Science Foundation RAPID grants to study the cause and impact of the collapse, and potential preventative methods for the future.

The Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed. Photo from Getty Images.

Miller-Hooks and Ermagun are working together on their project, “Understanding Freight Flow Adaptations and Supply Chain Logistics Impacts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse.”

“The incident took out an important link in the roadway and maritime freight and cargo shipping networks. It also took out roadways that serve local traffic, so it affects are so much more than the blocked maritime passageway,” explained Miller-Hooks, a professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing.

The Port of Baltimore is one of two main ports in the region, along with the Port of Virginia, which are critical for transportation, businesses, and network optimization.

“We're trying to understand how the disruption percolates through the links and connections of the intermodal system,” said Miller-Hooks, who is the principal investigator on the project.

Elise D. Miller-Hooks. Photo by Office of University Branding.

“For example, are goods that were destined for the port sitting on a side rail? And how is that backing up other operations in rail and trucking modes in geographically near and far locations?” she explained.

The disruption has enormous impact on local businesses and beyond—even globally, she said. The team is looking at maritime data to determine how far the disruption spread, as it could potentially affect shipments out of China, Europe, and other ports.

Miller-Hooks and Ermagun are collaborating with the Transportation Research Board’s Urban Freight Transportation Committee, where Ermagun serves as a secretary and member.

Ermagun’s interest in urban freight transportation has deepened through his active involvement with the Urban Freight Transportation Committee, where he has successfully led National Cooperative Highway Research Program problem statements, contributing insights and solutions to enhance urban logistics.

“Robyn Bancroft, a long-time member of the committee, helped us connect with the right people within the Baltimore Industrial Group,” said Ermagun, an assistant professor of Geography and Geoinformation Science in the College of Science. “We are gaining valuable insights into how trucking companies and truck drivers have been impacted by the Key Bridge collapse.”

“We’ve heard their stories and gathered important information. By advocating for them, we’re bringing to light insights that wouldn’t be readily available to the public,” he said.

Alireza Ermagun. Photo provided.

Zhu’s RAPID project, “Multifaceted Data Collection on the Aftermath of the March 26, 2024, Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in the DC-Maryland-Virginia Area,” is a collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland and Morgan State University.

Zhu studied a similar incident, the 2007 I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse. For this project, Zhu expanded on his previous research, which focused primarily on passenger cars and commuting behavior.

“I spent a few years collecting various data and then developing some models that would help us to better understand the impact of events such as this one,” said Zhu, an associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.

“The major difference is the traffic here actually is lighter. This location is unique because it serves the harbor as a major logistic hub along the East Coast. So, we’re focusing on the impact on commuters as well as the truck companies who may rely on the port,” said Zhu.

The team, including transportation engineering PhD student Adriana Valentina Farias, are looking at maritime data, which shows how different vessels are rerouted, some as far as different ports in New York or South Carolina, and they want correlate that data with the change of tracking traffic.

Shanjiang Zhu. Photo by Office of University Branding.

“A lot of my work is data management,” Farias said. “We use the website, Marine Traffic, which shows all the vessel traffic in all the ports of the world. It allows you to download data on all the vessels that came in and out of a port for 30 days.”

A main objective of the RAPID grants is to archive data that is at risk of perishing if not collected in time. The data collected from these projects will support future research on traffic, travel behavior, logistics, and supply chain from different perspectives.

“I think our research will be helpful in understanding how the port authority was able to manage the collapse and everything that came with it. It's not something that happens very often, so this could serve as a case study for other port authorities to become more resilient and have lessons learned,” said Farias.

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NSF grant will help enhance equity in math education through technology and data literacy

Colleen Rich — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 20:57:40 +0000

NSF grant will help enhance equity in math education through technology and data literacy Colleen Rich Tue, 10/01/2024 - 16:57

��AV School of Education professor Jennifer Suh was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant in support of her project “Framework for Integrating Technology for Equity (FIT for Equity).” Working with Suh as coprincipal investigator is Theresa Wills, also of the School of Education in the College of Education and Human Development.

Jennifer Suh. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

The project aims to strengthen teachers’ abilities to use technology in transformative ways. By developing data literacy lessons that incorporate transformative technologies, Suh and her team will address community-based challenges and humanize mathematics through culturally relevant tasks.

By combining modern technology with effective teaching practices, it is possible to create a dynamic learning experience that will inspire a new generation of mathematicians and problem solvers.

This project builds on the ongoing research that Suh and Wills have conducted in increasing teacher awareness of the importance of equity in education and their work in developing the tools and resources for teachers.

“This project aligns perfectly with our passion for educational technology, equitable instruction, and curriculum development. The FIT for Equity project expands on the Equity-Centered Transformative Technology (EqT-Tech) framework created by our team,” said Suh, who teaches in the Mathematics Specialist Leadership and Elementary Education PK-6 Programs. “It aims to enhance equity in mathematics classrooms by integrating culturally relevant math teaching principles and emphasizing data literacy, which is a key focus at both state and national levels in math education.”

Through the EqT-Tech framework, Suh and her colleagues previously developed a lesson analysis tool to help teachers choose technology for the math classroom in judicious ways. For this work, Suh and her EqT-Tech colleagues received the National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship in Mathematics award.

Theresa Wills. Photo by the Office of University Branding

“Traditional teaching methods often fail to engage students or address their individual learning needs,” Suh said. “FIT for Equity aims to bridge this gap by leveraging technology and interactive learning to make math more accessible and relevant.”

The FIT for Equity project will be implemented in phases, starting with an innovative professional development model called “Inclusive Lesson Study,” which brings together teachers, students, and community members to cocreate lessons.

“We will get to work in classrooms to understand how teachers consider equitable implementation of technology into their inquiry-based data literacy lessons,” said Wills, an associate professor in George Mason’s Mathematics Specialist Leadership, Secondary Education 6-12, and Elementary Education PK-6 programs.

The project will be piloted in Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan, in collaboration with researchers at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio), Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, Tennessee), and Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan). Each university is in a diverse school district.

University researchers will work with teachers in their respective school districts to provide them with specialized training on how to integrate these new methods into their classrooms. The effectiveness of the lessons will be evaluated through continuous feedback and refinement.

The project will explore how emerging technologies, such as dynamic graphical software, adaptive learning and collaborative platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), geographical information systems (GIS), virtual reality (VR), and others can provide access to inquiry-based learning, and foster mathematical identity and agency.

The project will examine how formative assessment tools can assist in tailoring instruction to individual student needs. In addition, it will illustrate ways in which collaborative platforms can enhance collective learning, and how technology can amplify mathematical thinking processes. The research team will also look at how data tools and GIS can provide insights into lessons around social justice issues, thus making learning more inclusive and relevant.

“We hope to contribute to the development of innovative teaching strategies that can be scaled and adapted to diverse educational settings, ultimately making a significant impact on mathematics education,” said Suh.

Suh and Wills also hope that the FIT for Equity project will bring greater alignment to K-12 mathematics education with the new Virginia math Standards of Learning (SOL) focused on data literacy.

“This project emphasizes the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for students’ future academic and career success. By focusing on data literacy, the project also prepares students for a data-driven world, equipping them with the skills needed to navigate and analyze complex information.”

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This George Mason alum can help you sleep better

Colleen Rich — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:16:30 +0000

This George Mason alum can help you sleep better Colleen Rich Thu, 09/26/2024 - 12:16

In high school and as an undergraduate student, Dan Gartenberg, MA Psychology ’12, PhD ’16, would stay up late and struggle to wake early, a typical experience for many students. Early on in his graduate studies at ��AV, he took a course on the neuroscience of sleep and was hooked.

Dan Gartenberg. Photo provided

Gartenberg became passionate about the study of sleep, due to his own personal struggles with sleep—including delayed sleep phase syndrome and insomnia. He is now founder and CEO of SleepSpace and a scientific advisor to other companies in the sleep science field, including Wesper, Biostrap, CPAP.com, Perfectly Snug, and MDBiowellness.

“Mason is where I learned to be a scientist, constantly question things, and where I learned the scientific method. That’s an invaluable thing,” he said.

For his dissertation in psychology, Gartenberg worked with the Naval Research Laboratory to develop artificial intelligence (AI) models that could help predict when people, such as pilots, are getting fatigued doing a task for a long period of time by using eye tracking data.

“I was making models of fatigue and using different cognitive tasks to predict when errors would occur,” he said. “You don’t want a pilot to crash a $30 million aircraft, and there are ways to tell when someone is tired based on their [movements].”

Gartenberg published several papers and released his first few sleep apps around this time. He worked closely with the late George Mason professor Raja Parasuraman, an expert in the field who developed one of the main theories of vigilance.

Photo provided

While at George Mason, Gartenberg received grants from the National Science Foundation to test whether playing certain sounds during sleep could encourage deeper sleep. His research team brought people into a lab and hooked them up to polysomnography—like an EEG but used to measure multiple physiological data streams.

They played sounds on the up state of delta brainwaves and showed some evidence that it primes deeper sleep. Gartenberg and his colleagues went on to get more grant funding in that area. But he found having someone wear a device was cumbersome.

“And it wasn’t a great form factor for consumers, so I pivoted a bit toward insomnia,” he said.

Then, in 2020, he received a $2.5 million grant from National Institutes of Health to develop a new digital therapeutic for insomnia. He recently ran a randomized control trial to test this novel therapy. This is the main focus of his company, SleepSpace. He also raised $1.8 million from venture capitalists to build this sleep improvement platform.

First, Gartenberg and team created very accurate sleep trackers. Gartenberg made some algorithms on the Apple watch and using smartphone sensors to track sleep in real time for the purpose of playing sounds to augment sleep and later integrated smart lights.

Gartenberg said that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the treatment for insomnia recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and other academies. So the team built a six-week CBT course with collaborators at Penn State University and the University of Arizona. The software also integrates with sound and light devices to promote improve sleep quality, and includes meditations and interactive content driven by an AI chatbot called Dr. Snooze.

“Our software allows the coach or a sleep doctor to see their client’s data from the app and wearable devices, so they can see the perception of sleep alongside what’s happening and create customized sleep programs,” he said.

Gartenberg and colleagues showed that when people experience the treatment as usual plus the software, more people were able to avoid insomnia remission, and it was more effective at treating it on some metrics. Since launching, they have 30 therapists and coaches using the platform and have seen more than 100,000 downloads.

“We’re augmenting the therapist, not replacing them,” Gartenberg emphasized.

He’s currently working on developing a comprehensive package to improve sleep and also launching a new smart topper and bedsheet called the SleepSpace Smart Sheet that will integrate with his current software and be able to control the temperature on either side of the bed. It can help with falling asleep, hot flashes, night sweats, and navigating different temperature needs of partners.

And it all started at George Mason. Gartenberg said the university played a major role in his career as a scientist and entrepreneur.

“George Mason gave me, as a PhD, the freedom to pursue a lot of different interests that weren’t strictly in one field,” he said. “It was a combination of software development, science, and even intellectual property. I worked with Mason’s [Tech Transfer] team on some patents, and I got my first patent granted through that collaboration.”

Gartenberg’s advice for Mason students is to know who you are and what you want. He took the entrepreneur route, but he admits it’s not for everyone, and it can be quite stressful. However, he thinks entrepreneur skills are more important than ever, especially creative problem solving and persistence.

“If you can creatively solve problems, that can be applied to almost anything.”

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George Mason researchers collaborate on $1.5M NSF study to electrify bus fleets

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 19:02:13 +0000

George Mason researchers collaborate on $1.5M NSF study to electrify bus fleets Andrew J Schappert Wed, 08/21/2024 - 15:02

A new $1.5 million study funded by the National Science Foundation will draw on the expertise of a transdisciplinary research team from ��AV, the University of Virginia, and Syracuse University, in an effort to address the challenges involved in transitioning public bus fleets, including transit and school buses, to electric power.

Principal Investigator Jie Xu will lead the NSF study. Photo provided.

The study, “SCC-IRG Track 1: Community-Responsive Electrified and Adaptive Transit Ecosystem (CREATE): Planning, Operations, and Management,” is headed by the principal investigator (PI) Jie Xu, a professor at George Mason’s Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC).

The project team’s co-PIs from George Mason include Fengxiu Zhang from the Schar School of Policy and Government, Ran Ji from the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research in CEC; and Wenying Ji from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering in CEC. Also on the team is Jundong Li from the University of Virginia’s department of electrical and computer engineering.

Electrifying the nation’s bus fleets could significantly improve air quality and public health, especially in communities that have suffered from diesel exhaust pollution, says the Schar School’s Zhang. However, the shift to electric buses is complicated by several issues, such as limited driving range, long charging times, high upfront costs, downtime, a lack of skilled workforce, and varying priorities among stakeholders.

“Electrifying public fleets is crucial for reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, and enhancing public health, particularly in traditionally disadvantaged communities,” she said. “Our project seeks to address the complex challenges of planning, operating, and managing fleet electrification by developing comprehensive sociotechnical solutions to facilitate achievement of those outcomes.”

A key focus, she added, “is the integration of environmental and transportation justice principles, ensuring that the electrification process prioritizes communities burdened by environmental injustices while not compromising the accessibility and reliability of bus services.

Fengxiu Zhang: ‘Electrifying public fleets is crucial for reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality, and enhancing public health, particularly in traditionally disadvantaged communities.’ Photo provided

“We will adopt a user-informed approach by extensively engaging with our partners to co-develop tailored solutions that meet their specific needs and priorities to ensure the relevance, applicability, and effectiveness of our solutions.”

The goal is to create a scalable, sustainable path for public transit systems to transition to electric buses. Researchers say this will involve developing intelligent decision-support tools that help in planning and managing the fleet, while considering the unique challenges of electric buses compared to traditional ones. For instance, factors like charging capacity and locations are more crucial for electric buses due to their limited range and longer refueling times than conventional buses.

The project will bring together various partners, including local transit agencies, schools, utility companies, bus service providers, and national labs, to develop innovative technologies that meet both analytical and practical needs. These technologies will include advanced machine-learning and optimization tools to handle the complexities and uncertainties of electrifying bus fleets.

These tools will help optimize daily operations, such as maintaining the right charge levels in buses, managing charging schedules, responding to incidents, and performing maintenance—all while ensuring the buses are used efficiently and the overall costs remain competitive.

The project will also assess collaborative governance in public bus fleet electrification planning and policy-making. In addition, it aims to build a skilled workforce that can support the transition to electric buses, ensuring that the shift is sustainable in the long term.

At the end of the project, the researchers will deploy the CREATE Suite, a set of intelligent decision-support tools developed during the study in a pilot program in collaboration with public transit systems and school districts that are partnering in the project. The project will also establish an electric bus clearinghouse as a centralized platform to disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and other information to help other transit agencies and schools electrify their bus fleets.

Other experts in the project team include David Wong from the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science and Vivian Genaro Motti from the Department of Information Sciences and Technology, both from George Mason, and Professor Saba Siddiki from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

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