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High schoolers explore renewable energy engineering at Mason Square summer camp

Teresa Donnellan — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:39:36 +0000

High schoolers explore renewable energy engineering at Mason Square summer camp Teresa Donnellan Mon, 08/26/2024 - 12:39

Fourteen local high school students from six school districts spent a week in August delving into renewable energy engineering at ��AV’s Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp, held at Mason Square. Liling Huang, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Dominion Energy Faculty Fellow, led the camp sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS) from August 5 to 9.

Students learn about solar panels during the Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp. Photo courtesy of the Power Grid Lab.

Throughout the week, students engaged in activities designed to spark their interest in environmental stewardship and engineering excellence. The camp offered a mix of interactive sessions, hands-on labs, and group projects, all aimed at providing a foundational understanding of renewable energy engineering. Industry professionals from organizations such as Dominion Energy and the Solar Hands-On Instructional Network of Excellence (SHINE) contributed their expertise, giving students real-world insights into the energy sector.

The camp culminated in a two-part event on the final day. First, a panel of renewable energy professionals shared their experiences and advice with the campers. Panelists represented a broad spectrum of the industry, including AES Corporation, AWS, Dominion Energy, Hispanics in Energy, MPR Associates, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC), and SHINE.

Students work on model town during the Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp. Photo courtesy of the Power Grid Lab.

"You all are choosing a field that's very exciting, and there's really an opportunity for you to have huge impact, whether it's here or abroad," said George Mason’s Liza Wilson Durant, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement, addressing the campers as she introduced the panelists.

The panelists discussed the future energy landscape, the integration of renewable resources with traditional power grids, and the various career paths available in the power and energy sector. They also highlighted the importance of continuous learning and flexibility.

SHINE Executive Director David Peterson summed up his advice with a lyric by the Avett Brothers: “Decide what to be, and go be it.” He emphasized the importance of committing to a path without being overly concerned with immediate decisions. Nicholas Lee-Romagnolo, program lead of workforce and economic development at AWS, agreed, explaining that careers are more like jungle gyms than ladders: There are many different paths upward.

Industry panel closing GMU Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp. Photo courtesy of the Power Grid Lab.

Lee-Romagnolo also advised the campers to pay attention to the culture of their environment throughout their academic and professional careers.

“It's very difficult to change the culture that you go into. Often you as an individual change and become more like that culture, so be aware of and thoughtful about those groups that you enter into,” he explained, adding, “None of us learns or works individually, and the team that you choose will matter every single time.”

Following the panel, the students presented their main project—a model town powered entirely by renewable, clean energy. The model featured working offshore wind turbines and small solar panels that powered a lamp and fans inside the town's model houses and data centers. The students took on various roles in planning the town, addressing engineering, financial, regulatory, and social challenges. The model town was designed as a coastal Virginia community, with considerations for local population dynamics and environmental sustainability.

The campers expressed pride in their work, noting how much they had learned during the week. When asked who was planning to study energy engineering in the future, twelve of the fourteen students raised their hands.

CEC Dean Ken Ball with staff and campers of Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp. Photo by Bonnie Crews.

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George Mason’s startup incubator puts CEO on path to developing accessible electronic health care records

Sarah Holland — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 19:23:15 +0000

George Mason’s startup incubator puts CEO on path to developing accessible electronic health care records Sarah Holland Mon, 07/15/2024 - 15:23

Jourdan Saunders is a licensed speech-language pathologist and CEO of The Resource Key, which she founded to assist organizations in developing accessible marketing solutions for people with disabilities and facilitate compliance with regulations related to accessibility.

Saunders met Toni Andrews, senior associate director, Community and Local Government Relations at ��AV's Mason Square, via the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Education and Workforce Development Committee, who connected Saunders with Paula Sorrell, associate vice president, innovation and economic development, Mason Enterprise.

Sorrell suggested that Saunders participate in the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), which helps Virginia’s inventors and entrepreneurs take the right steps in bringing new technologies and innovations to market. ICAP is part of Virginia’s Small Business Development Centers at George Mason and one of the many entrepreneurship programs offered at the university.

Jourdan Saunders. Photo provided

Saunders’ clinical experience exposed her to the need for industrial accessibility services. “As my clients transitioned into the workforce, there weren’t many opportunities due to a lack of accessibility and the perception that disabled people aren’t capable of working certain jobs.”

When Saunders met with Sorrell, they discussed the founding of her company and its next phase of growth—the development of a health care platform that would increase accessibility to electronic health records.

ICAP participants complete five three-hour sessions centered on customer discovery, conduct at least 20 customer discovery interviews, complete supplemental assignments, and meet with dedicated mentors.

Mentorship is a key component of ICAP. Each participant is paired with a dedicated mentor who provides feedback on each discovery interview, shares insight as an entrepreneur, and introduces mentees to connections that align with their goals.

“I’m grateful to have been introduced to ICAP,” Saunders said. “Having a dedicated mentor provide specific and actionable feedback following customer discovery interviews was very helpful.”

Program participants are also vital to network expansion. “Networking with my fellow cohort members expanded my reach,” Saunders said. “Many of my clients are in different states. However, through ICAP, I’ve made local connections that I can leverage as I grow my business.”

Once participants complete ICAP, they continue to have access to resources. The ICAP team stays engaged as a company progresses through its milestones, becoming a later-stage startup and eventually transitioning from a startup to a growth company and the unique needs this entails.

Since completing ICAP, Saunders has attended an industry conference and expanded her network. She expects to have a prototype of the accessible health care application ready for beta testing within the next six months.

“ICAP’s focus on customer discovery, mentorship, and resources are invaluable benefits for entrepreneurs,” Saunders said. “You become part of a community, an ecosystem, that’s continuous.”

George Mason’s Small Business Development Centers offer ICAP free of charge as part of the Mason Virginia Promise, a pathway to a bachelor's degree or help starting a business for any Virginian who wants one.

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George Mason to Launch Nation’s First Center for Small Business AI Innovation with $1M Grant

Andrew J Schappert — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 14:40:17 +0000

George Mason to Launch Nation’s First Center for Small Business AI Innovation with $1M Grant Andrew J Schappert Fri, 06/28/2024 - 10:40

In a groundbreaking move set to bolster the economic competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Virginia, ��AV has been awarded a $1 million grant to establish the nation’s first Center for AI Innovation for Economic Competitiveness (CAIIEC).

J.P. Singh: ‘Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the U.S. economy at the local level.’ Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

This pioneering initiative aims to place Virginia at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among SMEs, which often fly under the radar in discussions dominated by federal and big-tech AI advancements.

The $1 million grant, which was sponsored by Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, is directed through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The center will draw expertise from several George Mason colleges, including the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the College of Engineering and Computing.

“Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the U.S. economy at the local level,” said the Schar School’s J.P. Singh, the Distinguished University Professor serving as principal investigator. “We will work with SMEs to strengthen their efforts in AI adoption all over Virginia and learn from global cases such as Germany, where its famed SMEs have been called ‘the hidden champions.’”

“I'm excited George Mason’s Center for AI Innovation for Economic Competitiveness is receiving $1 million in federal funding, which I was proud to have helped secure in the recent government funding bill,” said Senator Kaine. “This will help prepare small businesses and Virginians to harness AI and lead to new opportunities for economic growth and jobs in the commonwealth.”

The new center promises to provide much-needed leadership, support, and training to these enterprises, ensuring they do not get left behind in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. George Mason’s interdisciplinary team, comprising computer scientists, public policy experts, economists, environmental and medical scientists, and ethicists, is uniquely positioned to drive this initiative.

“I am proud to have helped secure funding for the Center for AI Innovation for Economic Competitiveness at George Mason,” said Senator Warner in a statement. “This investment will help position Virginia as a leader in AI development by creating programs to help small businesses and communities thrive in the digital market, marking a huge win for Virginians across the commonwealth.”

The university has long been a leader in AI research, and the center aims to extend this expertise beyond academia to make a tangible impact on local businesses.

Amarda Shehu: ‘This is much needed to better position industry in an innovative and competitive environment.’ Photo by Office of University Branding

“Here is another great example of how George Mason continues to deliver on our commitment to access and community-engaged technology diffusion, partnering with diverse communities in new and innovated ways,” said Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact Andre Marshall. “What better way to broadly support our local and national economy by providing our small businesses with the disruptive tech and best practices that will shape our future?”

The center will both train and encourage students at George Mason to work with SMEs in Virginia, Singh added, highlighting the initiative’s educational component.

Co-principal investigator Amarda Shehu, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and a longtime AI researcher, emphasized the practical benefits the center will offer.

“As an AI researcher, I see firsthand how fast AI is moving,” said Shehu, who is also associate dean for AI Innovation in the College of Engineering and Computing and associate vice president for research at George Mason's Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA). “I also get to see through my various interactions with industry that such a pace can be challenging, particularly for small businesses. So, we thought about how Research 1 universities, such as George Mason, can unlock the power of AI for small and medium enterprises.”

This center will do that, she said.

“To respond to AI technologies and regulatory requirements moving rapidly, the center will develop an AI toolkit to help small and medium enterprises capture and operationalize the value of AI for the enterprise,” she said. “This is much needed to better position industry in an innovative and competitive environment.”

The center is a collaboration between the Schar School, IDIA, the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and the Center for Regional Analysis (CRA). These four entities will leverage their existing collaborative connections to jointly oversee and manage the project.

Project leaders include Singh, who is also codirector of George Mason’s Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership and a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow with the Robert Bosch Academy, Berlin; Shehu; Terry Clower, CRA director; Naoru Koizumi, Schar School professor and associate dean of research and grants; and Jesse Kirkpatrick, research associate professor and codirector of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center.

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First Cohort of NEW Leadership Virginia Wraps Up Weeklong Visits with Women Leaders

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 16:48:02 +0000

First Cohort of NEW Leadership Virginia Wraps Up Weeklong Visits with Women Leaders Andrew J Schappert Tue, 06/25/2024 - 12:48

While some college undergraduates enjoyed downtime during the summer break, 16 students from universities in Virginia skipped the beach and spent six days in June meeting business, social, and political leaders in and around Washington, D.C., with a focus on women’s leadership in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is surrounded in her office by the NEW Leadership Virginia cohort. Photo by Xavier Jimenez/Schar School of Policy and Government

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer makes a point during his meeting with the NEW Leadership students. Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, the NEW Leadership Virginia Faculty in Residence, is in green. Photo by Xavier Jimenez/Schar School of Policy and Government.

The weeklong residential summer program was the pilot edition of NEW Leadership Virginia, a program designed to engage students from Virginia colleges and universities with women in prominent leadership roles and allies as they shared their experiences and insights, learn about women’s participation in American policy, politics and public life, and develop and practice leadership skills. The program, the only one of its kind in Virginia, was hosted by the Gender and Policy (GAP) Center at ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government in partnership with the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP).

"NEW Leadership Virginia is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in Virginia pursuing a range of academic majors to gain a sense of the possible in the public sphere,” said codirector Jill Deering, senior assistant dean for student and academic affairs at the Schar School. "This week is about building leadership skills, networks, and a supportive cohort that will serve the participants for years to come."

The cohort included students from George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), James Madison University, the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, and Norfolk State University. Two participants were spring graduates while the remainder were undergraduates. Events took place from June 9 to 14.

The recipients of the ‘Women Who Mind the GAP’ Leadership Awards stand with Bonnie Stabile, second from left: From left, Doorways CEO Diana Ortiz, Director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center Naomi Barry-Perez, and President of the Consumer Technology Association Kinsey Fabrizio.

The program included an “action project” in which faculty and Schar School interns helped students research a public-facing issue, imitate a legislative hearing, and defend their team's position, with the idea being to develop public speaking and communication proficiencies, among other skills.

A highlight of the week took place on Thursday, June 13, when the program descended on Capitol Hill to speak to visit the offices of U.S. Reps. Jen Kiggans (R), Abigail Spanberger (D), Jennifer McClellan (D), and Don Beyer (D), who is also a George Mason student. While the students met in person with Spanberger, McClellan, and Beyer, they were hosted by Kiggans’ professional staff in her place.

For government and international politics major Ella Duncan-High, the week was exactly what she was hoping for. “I was looking for ways to specifically get involved and gain experience and training outside of the school year, so the summer was the perfect opportunity,” she said. “And I feel like I’m learning a lot even though I’m technically not in school right now.”

Duncan-High said her favorite part of the week was “the session where we get to role-play a press conference and judiciary hearing. I really am enjoying the hands-on experience of being able to work with not only the professors and the assistants who have real work experience with these scenarios, but also getting to work with people my age and similar interests.”

Zateya Jackson, a rising senior at VCU studying political science with a civil rights concentration, said highlights for her were meeting Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan “and my favorite speaker was Charniele Herring, the Virginia House Majority Leader and NEW Leadership Virginia Faculty in Residence, because of their backgrounds as Black women,” she said. “They encourage me to run for office and show that women of color can overcome adversity.” (Herring, who accompanied the students on their visits, is a 1993 George Mason alum in economics.)

U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan meets the NEW Leadership members on the steps of the Capitol. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“My favorite was Abigail Spanberger,” said NVCC second-year business management student Karen Blanco. "When talking about confidence, Spanberger advised, ‘Don't think about it twice, just say it, and don't worry about what others would say.’ Since English is my second language, I often debate if I should speak up, but never do. So that inspired me.”

The insights offered to the students applied to many fields, not just politics. GAP Director and Schar School professor Bonnie Stabile, who accompanied the NEW Leadership students every step of the way for the week, made that point clear. “You don't have to be elected to office to exhibit leadership and make a difference,” she said. “Many industries need similar skills.”

That idea was on display during a dinner and networking event on June 12 featuring the three “Women Who Mind the GAP” Leadership awardees: U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center Director Naomi Barry-Perez; Doorways CEO Diana Ortiz; and Consumer Technology Association President Kinsey Fabrizio, a 2003 George Mason alumna in government and international politics and Spanish.

During the NEW Leadership program, students quickly used their new skills to pursue their political interests. Ayman Habib, a rising George Mason global affairs junior is the director of administration and logistics for No Lost Generation. She thanked Beyer for supporting Virginia refugees and invited the congressman to meet the three refugee students who will be on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus this fall through the State Department’s Welcome Corps.

NEW @ Mason: There’s no question about where the NEW Leadership Virginia program took place. Photo by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government

“I wanted to gain clarity at the policy level for our cause and expand our outreach so refugees will have federal support,” she said following the meeting with Beyer. “How fantastic would caring congresspeople be for our students?”

At the end of the week, students shared their future plans, whether academic, personal or professional, and connected on all manner of social medias with the new people they met.

The 2025 edition of the New Leadership Program Virginia takes place in June and Samantha Mendoza-Hernandez, a political science and international studies major at VCU, encourages anyone with a similar ambition to polish resumés and professional skills to apply next year.

“I think it's definitely worth it,” she said. “The program has covered ground that a lot of professionals sometimes overlook and helps with foundations like networking, rhetoric, mannerisms in the workplace, and other details. And really helps with fine-tuning and confidence going into the workforce.”

The biggest takeaway from the week for the Schar School’s Duncan-High “has been meeting people from all different backgrounds,” she said. “Everyone here has very different interests, majoring in different things that aren’t just policy and government related, and everyone is here because they all hope to be a woman in leadership in the future.

“Being surrounded by women who have big aspirations in various fields is so inspiring and is an experience I wouldn't have been able to have otherwise.”

Additional reporting by Buzz McClain

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Carter School partners with U.S. State Department for conflict prevention program

Colleen Rich — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 20:39:40 +0000

Carter School partners with U.S. State Department for conflict prevention program Colleen Rich Wed, 11/29/2023 - 15:39

��AV, led by the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, is one of seven universities partnering with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) as an Academic Center of Conflict Anticipation and Prevention.

Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Developed under the supervision of Dean Alpaslan Özerdem and faculty members Susan Allen and Karina Korostelina, this partnership will allow Carter School students to contribute to international peacebuilding efforts with actionable research, and provide valuable insight as to how the State Department considers approaches to conflict prevention or mitigation in regions around the world.

“This is an excellent partnership for building bridges between policymaking and academia on myriad topics in conflict prevention,” said Özerdem.

Undergraduate and graduate students in the Carter School will conduct research, under faculty oversight, on “current, real-world conflict-related issues” as identified by CSO offices in the interest of supporting conflict resolution and stabilization efforts.

“I am pleased that when the U.S. State Department sought out leading university research centers in conflict analysis and resolution, they approached the Carter School,” said Susan Allen, director of graduate programs at the Carter School. “Our diverse student body comes from all over the world, and our faculty focuses on peace and conflict resolution from diverse methodological approaches.”

Students will be able to advance their research skills and write policy-oriented papers and briefs, said Karina Korostelina, director of the Peace Lab on Reconciling Conflicts and Intergroup Divisions at the Carter School. “The access to vast databases and localized data is essential for the understanding of conflict dynamics and complexities of peace and justice processes.”

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IDIA launches inaugural cohort of Public-Private Partnership Faculty Fellows

Shayla Brown — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 17:46:12 +0000

IDIA launches inaugural cohort of Public-Private Partnership Faculty Fellows Shayla Brown Wed, 11/15/2023 - 12:46

��AV’s Institute of Digital Innovation (IDIA) recently welcomed its inaugural cohort of Public-Private Partnership (P3) Faculty Fellows.

The Fellows Program aims to spark research collaborations between the university and industry partners on impactful societal problems and deliver state-of-the-art digital solutions to the local, regional, or national economy.

“The IDIA P3 Faculty Fellows are coming together with industry partners into deeply collaborative teams to further scientific and engineering foundations, enable breakthrough technologies, broadly benefit our society, and constitute digital innovation for good,” said Amarda Shehu, associate vice president for research for IDIA.

Fuse at Mason Square, the headquarters for IDIA which will open in summer 2024, is expected to transform the innovation landscape in Arlington by providing opportunities for students, researchers, and commercial partners to be part of an immersive atmosphere of ideation and innovation.

“This program beautifully embodies and gives a tangible example of what we are building in Fuse,” said Shehu. “At IDIA, we are very excited to directly support Fuse activation and spark those collisions that are the hallmark of Fuse through this innovative program.”

The 2023-24 cohort includes faculty from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the Donald G. Costello College of Business (CCB).

Jonathan Auerbach

Jonathan Auerbach. Photo by ��AV

Auerbach, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, is working on the project “A Scientific Framework for Evaluating America’s Data Infrastructure” with a number of partners. His research covers a wide range of topics at the intersection of statistics and public policy. For this work, the team is developing a scientific framework for evaluating the health of data infrastructure.

“Our research unifies an extensive literature describing how data should be collected and disseminated—for example, the U.S. Statistical Policy Directives,” Auerbach wrote. “Our goal is to measure the extent to which these ideals are obtained in practice. Our measurements will be reported in an annual report on the State of the U.S. Data Infrastructure.”

Working with Auerbach are Claire McKay Bowen, statistical methods group lead, Urban Institute; Constance Citro, senior scholar and former director, National Academies Committee on National Statistics; Steve Pierson, director of science policy, American Statistical Association; and Nancy Potok, Urban Institute Fellow and former chief statistician of the United States.

Jiasun Li

Jiasun Li. Photo by Ron Aira/��AV

For the project “Organizing an Efficient and Inclusive Digital Economy: The Roles of Recent Technological Breakthroughs in Verifiable Computation,” Li, associate professor in the Costello College of Business, is partnering with Protocol Labs, one of the industry pioneers in verifiable computation algorithms.

Li said that Protocol Labs shares his research interests in modeling the underlying economics of different business models for providing digital services, as well as exploring the potential of various verifiable computation algorithms in ensuring an efficient, inclusive, and sustainable digital future. Li hopes that this collaboration will not only facilitate knowledge transfer but also open up many new research frontiers at the cross-section of business, economics, and computer science, he said.

Emanuela Marasco

Emanuela Marasco. Photo by Evan Cantwell/��AV

Marasco, an assistant professor in Mason’s Department of Information Sciences and Technology, is partnering with Karl Ricanek, founder of Lapetus Solutions Inc. and a computer science professor from University of North Carolina-Wilmington, on the project “Video-based, Secure, Accurate and Usable Contactless Fingerprint Authentication in Smartphones.” Marasco’s research focuses on the need for further device security to protect sensitive data due to the rapid growth and increased accessibility of smartphones.

“Finger photo recognition represents a promising touchless technology that offers portable and hygienic authentication solutions in smartphones, eliminating physical contact,” said Marasco. “Exploiting video data holds great potential for mitigating these issues since more information is available to be analyzed by the system.”

Parth Pathak

Parth Pathak. Photo provided.

Pathak, an associate professor in Mason’s Department of Computer Science, is working with AT&T Labs on “Predicting RF Exposure in Today’s Ultra-dense Wireless Networks.” The aim of this project is to develop a novel framework for Radio Frequency (RF) exposure prediction, which embeds the environment information (e.g., 3D maps of buildings) directly into the ray tracing process using deep learning.

With a close collaboration with AT&T Labs, the models will be developed using large-scale datasets from operational networks. The project has the potential to reduce the cost of wireless network deployment and operations, making them more affordable and curbing the digital divide.

Kun Sun

Kun Sun. Photo by Ron Aira/��AV

Sun, a professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology, is working with Yan Zhai, senior director of cybersecurity at Visa Inc. on the project “Reference-based Automatic Program Repair.” Sun’s proposed research activities aim to constitute digital innovation for good by improving the quality, security, and reliability of software systems used in various industries, including health care, finance, and transportation. This research includes implementing a new automatic program repair (APR) technique that will target software bugs. Conducting this research alongside Sun are a number of Mason graduate students.

In addition to Zhai providing input and feedback to the Mason team, Visa Inc. has given $50,000 to support the research as well as two summer internships for Mason students.

Craig Yu

Craig Yu. Photo by ��AV

Yu, an associate professor in Mason’s Department of Computer Science and director of the Design Computing and Extended Reality (DCXR) lab at Mason Square, is working with a number of partners on his “Advancing Human-Machine and Human-Human Collaborations via Networked Extended Reality Innovations” project. His research aims to inform the emerging extended reality (XR) technologies industry as well as the U.S. government on strategic investments and future standards on telecommunication infrastructures.

Yu’s collaborators include Simon Su, a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Cuong Nguyen, a research scientist at Adobe Creative Intelligence Lab; Kafi Hassan, a principal technology development strategist at Advanced and Emerging Technology Group of T-Mobile USA; Hsueh-Cheng (Nick) Wang, associate professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University; Brendan David-John, an assistant professor in Virginia Tech’s computer science department; and Christos Mousas, an associate professor at Purdue University’s department of computer graphics technology. Lastly, Yu is also working with Carley B. Fisher-Maltese from Mason’s School of Education and Andrew Garavito, beekeeper of Mason’s apiary in charge of the Honey Bee Initiative, to create a VR-teleoperated beehive.

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Mason Students, Grads Claim Top Prizes in TraCCC’s 2023 Anti-Counterfeiting Hackathon

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 21:27:32 +0000

Mason Students, Grads Claim Top Prizes in TraCCC’s 2023 Anti-Counterfeiting Hackathon Andrew J Schappert Tue, 11/14/2023 - 16:27

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Trading under the team name of CyberCrustaceans, ��AV students Anthony Perry and Daniel Horvath—both Honors College students—defeated five finalist teams to win the $20,000 top prize at the Bring Down Counterfeiting Hackathon 2023 (BDC 2023). The hackathon, a nationally advertised competition that began in September, brought together individuals and teams to develop technology-based solutions for combating counterfeiting.

From left, Anthony Perry and Daniel Horvath, aka Team CyberCrustaceans, won the top prize in the Bring Down Counterfeiting Hackathon 2023. Photos by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

BDC 2023 was organized by the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) in partnership with strategy and analytic firm Blue Clarity, which administered the competition. Major sponsors included e-commerce and technology company Amazon.com Inc. and the Global Innovation Policy Center, a department within the U.S. Chamber of Commerce devoted to promoting innovation, creativity, and strong intellectual property protections.

CyberCrustaceans’ $20,000 winning entry, called Veritas Ex Machina, was deemed by a panel of practitioner judges to be a breakthrough combination of X-ray technology, optical scanning, and artificial intelligence designed to sift through enormous volumes of small parcels to detect the likelihood of counterfeit product.

The $10,000 Student Prize, SafeURL, was won by a team of Mason graduate students called Tech Titans who tackled the digital domain of counterfeiting with a system designed to uncover fraudulent websites. By employing sophisticated machine-learning algorithms, they crafted a user-friendly platform that helps users discern the legitimacy of URLs, enhancing online security and trust.

The Tech Titans team, which also took home the $2,500 Crowdsource Prize, included Siva Satyanarayana Raju Pusapati, Sampath Sai Yelleti, Hemanth Kumar Reddy Tiyyagura, Chandra Kiran Viswanath Balusu, Anusha Bhavanam, and Poojasree Keerithipati.

The $10,000 CINA prize for research, sponsored by Mason’s Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis Center (CINA), went to Mason students Salem Abdul-Bak and Krishna Purohit (also an Honors College student) and for the Legitima project, which bridges technology with policy. The program uses serialized tokens and a Chrome extension that functions as a digital passport for products, enhancing consumer trust and enabling verification of authenticity. In addition to $10,000, the students receive a semester of mentoring by CINA experts and the opportunity to present their project to a wider audience.

Three other teams with promising concepts won honorable mention prizes worth $1,000 each, bringing the total prize money to $45,500.

Support and prize money came from a variety of organizations including Amazon, Statista, Mapbox, the National Crime Prevention Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center, and the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies.

TraCCC founding director Louise Shelley converses with Patrick Kilbride, senior vice president of the Global Innovation Policy Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Hackathon With Purpose

This is the second Hackathon TraCCC has hosted. The competition featured some 80 contestants—faculty and students from many different universities—registering as teams or individuals and working for more than two months to perfect their ideas. Six competitors making the finals were non-Mason.

The competition has two goals: Bringing attention to the serious harms caused by counterfeiting, and encouraging students and others to develop solutions using technology and policy to address the problem.

Counterfeiting is a global problem: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that pirated and counterfeit products make up 2.5 percent of world trade or roughly $464 billion a year. Many if not most of those counterfeit goods present a danger to the public. As an example, during the COVID-19 crisis, TraCCC researchers were able to prevent 67 million counterfeit masks for frontline workers from entering the U.S. market.

“We need the data to show how this problem operates so we can begin to address it,” said TraCCC founding director Louise Shelley of the Hackathon. “And working together, we need public, private, and research partnerships to begin to solve it.”

She added that an additional—and unexpected— benefit of the exercise is to involve technology-oriented students who discover an affinity for policy. She said the participants praised Mason and appreciated the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

Six finalist teams presented their solutions at Mason Square in Arlington, Virginia, on November 4 during Hackathon Demo Day, defending them under questioning from a panel of judges that included leading practitioners from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Customs and Border Patrol, and Amazon. While the judges deliberated, a series of notable speakers, including Summer Kostelnik, policy advisor from the White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement, offered their views on trends in counterfeiting and what needs to be done to counter them.

Hackathon 3 will be announced later in 2024.

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Building community and connections in Arlington

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 18:44:02 +0000

Building community and connections in Arlington Lauren Reuscher Wed, 11/08/2023 - 13:44

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The Movers and Shakers Mixer event returned to Mason Square in late September, connecting ��AV students with Arlington’s business, government, and community leaders.

The Movers and Shakers Mixer gave students the opportunity to connect with leaders in the local Arlington community. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Since its inception in 2019, the Movers and Shakers Mixer has become a highly anticipated networking event for the Mason Square community. This year, more than 150 students, faculty, staff, and community members participated.

Bryanna Buker, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in international security, aspires to work in transnational crime at an intelligence agency. As a new resident, Buker said the event was an ideal opportunity to engage with other community-focused Arlingtonians. Her future career prospects also motivated her to attend.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“I wanted to meet people who could help shape my ideas of potential career opportunities post-graduation,” Buker said. “I’ve been debating going to law school after I finish my program. Meeting the recruitment team from the Antonin Scalia Law School allowed me to learn how to transition to law school.”

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Caroline Wesson, a doctoral candidate in political science, regularly attends Movers and Shakers. “I always leave with several business cards and excitement about ways I can get involved and engage my community through my research and skills,” Wesson said. “I was fortunate to speak with individuals from business and government who are passionate about economic growth and inclusion in our community, and those interested in how technology is transforming our society.”

Attendees had the opportunity to enter a raffle for one-on-one networking lunches with Arlington leaders. Amber Pittman, a graduate student in global commerce and policy, was one of the drawing winners. She recently connected with Jennifer Owens, president and CEO of Arlington Community Foundation, for their lunch meeting.

Owens expressed gratitude for the opportunity. “Thanks to the staff for creating events and opportunities, like Movers and Shakers, to foster connections between community members and students,” she said.

Building Businesses

Priyanka Champaneri — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:48:06 +0000

Building Businesses Priyanka Champaneri Wed, 11/08/2023 - 12:48

Entrepreneur Eman Pahlavani, BS Political Science ’09, says he found his time at Mason transformational and the social networking skills he developed as a student have been instrumental in his success as an entrepreneur.

Mason alum Eman Pahlavani is interested in creating purpose-driven companies that can make a positive impact.

“Attending Mason was a crash course in how to think, talk, and connect with other people,” says Pahlavani. “I was a shy person when I arrived, and I really blossomed in that environment.”

Born and raised in Loudoun County, Pahlavani attended Northern Virginia Community College before transferring to Mason. After graduating, he earned a juris doctor from the University of New Hampshire Law School in 2012.

One of his first entrepreneurial endeavors was founding LiveSafe, a personal safety mobile application that has since become a global enterprise. LiveSafe was acquired by Vector Solutions in 2020.

During development of LiveSafe, Pahlavani noticed the office staff didn’t have a lot of choices for workplace lunches. With that observation, a new venture was born—HUNGRY, a tech-enabled platform for office and event catering, connecting corporate clients to talented local independent chefs.

“I am a business builder at heart,” says Pahlavani, founder and chief operating officer of HUNGRY. “I identify a problem and find a business solution to solve it.”

Launched in 2017, HUNGRY has experienced exponential growth and now serves more than 15 major markets. In response to the pandemic and the changing office landscape, HUNGRY continues to innovate and has added a number of new options, including meal delivery and virtual chef experiences. This type of growth has earned them a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies two years in a row.

For Pahlavani, it’s not just about growth, it’s also about doing good. HUNGRY donates one meal for every two meals sold to help end hunger in the United States and, working with its partner Feeding America, has contributed more than half a million meals to date.

“HUNGRY is a purpose-driven company dedicated to improving the lives of everyone we touch,” he says. “Every business should have a component of good.”

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Mason celebrates the Fuse at Mason Square 'topping out'

Damian Cristodero — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 18:13:22 +0000

Mason celebrates the Fuse at Mason Square 'topping out' Damian Cristodero Mon, 11/06/2023 - 13:13

On Nov. 3, university officials, regional economic leaders, government partners, media, and students gathered at Fuse at Mason Square to celebrate the building's "topping out," which happens when the structural frame of the building is complete.

Mason President Gregory Washington and Liza Wilson Durant, associate provost for strategic initiatives and community, spoke at the event, and hard-hat tours were conducted. Students and faculty demonstrated some of the novel technologies, inventions, and solutions that will flourish at Fuse.

When open—tenant occupancy is scheduled to begin in August 2024—Fuse at Mason Square, the headquarters for the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA), will transform the innovation landscape in Arlington, with opportunities for students, researchers, and commercial partners to be part of an immersive atmosphere of ideation and innovation.

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Fuse Topping Out photo essay by Creative Services

Fuse at Mason Square on the rise. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

The Fuse topping out celebration was a hot ticket. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Mason President Gregory Washington addresses craftworkers at the topping out ceremony.
Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Liza Wilson Durant talks about the collaborations that will be possible at Fuse at Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

President Gregory Washington gets a tour. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Robot dog demonstration by Mason students. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Bioengineering major Gabriel Gibson participates in a demonstration of prosthetic hand.
Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Computer science graduate student Quang Vo demonstrates a work-from-home virtual reality project.
Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Bioengineering students present their capstone design project. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Fuse will open for tenants in August 2024. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

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Fuse in the Media

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Gregory Washington

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This content appears in the Spring 2024 print edition of the Mason Spirit Magazine with the title "Celebrating Digital Innovation."

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Building community and connections in Arlington

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Building Businesses

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Mason celebrates the Fuse at Mason Square 'topping out'

See the full plans for Fuse at Mason Square

Fuse in the Media

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