innovative classes

Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)

Breaking down the composting process

Lauren Reuscher — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 14:46:23 +0000

Breaking down the composting process Lauren Reuscher Thu, 01/23/2025 - 09:46

Cindy Smith, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, took her EVPP 302 Biomes and Human Dimensions students to a composting facility last fall to give them a front-row seat for food and yard waste recycling.

Photo by Cindy Smith/College of Science

In the course, students examine human impacts on ecosystems. Because human activities often have a harmful effect on ecosystems, Smith also aims to show students positive, real-world examples of how humans can help mitigate these impacts.

“I want students to experience successful programs that are doing positive work, like keeping yard and food waste out of our landfills where the breakdown would produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,” said Smith.

The field trip also offers insight into a career path for those interested in sustainability.

The Convertus composting facility, located in Manassas, Virginia, produces certified compost, mulch, and soil amendment products in bulk. The facility can process 80,000–100,000 tons of organic waste per year. This includes yard waste, tree branches, and food and restaurant waste.

A milk hauler dumps excess or expired milk products, which Convertus uses in the composting process. The students noted that it made the area smell like vanilla creamer. Photo by Cindy Smith/College of Science

During the field trip, students watched stages of the composting process, from the delivery of waste to the grinding, mixing, aerating, screening, and composting. They observed the different effects of various materials.

“The students were surprised to see a red tint in the leachate pond [during our visit], which resulted from red wine waste being processed,” said Smith.

��AV sends compostable scraps from multiple sources to the Convertus facility. Food waste is collected from campus dining and retail locations and Bigbelly Solar Zero Waste Stations. Two pilot programs collect compost materials in the form of paper towels from restrooms at the Facilities complex at Fairfax, and food waste from Katherine Johnson Hall at the Science and Technology Campus.

“It's great to see all this organic waste getting recycled into an economically viable product, rather than buried in a landfill or sent to a waste water treatment plant,” said Smith.

Learn more about sustainability at George Mason

More about the Department of Environmental Science and Policy

Topics

Sustainability

College of Science

New Course Creates Ethical Leaders for an AI-Driven Future

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 19:04:10 +0000

New Course Creates Ethical Leaders for an AI-Driven Future Andrew J Schappert Tue, 12/10/2024 - 14:04

Jesse Kirkpatrick: ‘The interdisciplinary approach ensures that participants develop insights applicable across public and private sectors, enabling them to lead responsibly in the AI-driven future.’ Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

While the debates continue over artificial intelligence’s possible impacts on privacy, economics, education, and job displacement, perhaps the largest question regards the ethics of AI. Bias, accountability, transparency, and governance of the powerful technology are aspects that have yet to be fully answered.

A new cross-disciplinary course at ��AV is designed to prepare students to tackle the ethical, societal, and governance challenges presented by AI. The course, AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society, will draw expertise from the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS).

The master’s degree-level course begins in spring 2025 and will be taught by Jesse Kirkpatrick, a research associate professor in the CEC, the Department of Philosophy, and codirector of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC).

The course is important now, said Kirkpatrick, because “artificial intelligence is transforming industries, reshaping societal norms, and challenging long-standing ethical frameworks. This course provides critical insights into the ethical, societal, and policy implications of AI at a time when these technologies are increasingly deployed in areas like healthcare, criminal justice, and national defense.”

Debates about bias in AI systems, the governance of autonomous decision-making, and the risks of misinformation “underscore the urgency of equipping students and professionals with the tools to address the opportunities and challenges responsibly,” he added.

This course is designed for students and professionals from diverse fields, including policy, computer science, engineering, law, philosophy, and business.

“Occupations such as AI developers, policymakers, ethicists, legal advisors, and technology strategists will benefit greatly,” Kirkpatrick said. “The interdisciplinary approach ensures that participants develop insights applicable across public and private sectors, enabling them to lead responsibly in the AI-driven future.”

The course is open to George Mason students and is a core component of the university’s new graduate certificate in Responsible AI, making it an essential step for those pursuing advanced study or leadership roles in ethical AI design and governance.

In addition to critical readings and written assignments, the course incorporates hands-on components such as workshops, interactive discussions, and practical tools includes algorithmic audits, ethical toolkits, and risk management frameworks.

“Students will also engage in scenario-building exercises and present collaborative projects that apply ethical AI principles to real-world challenges,” Kirkpatrick said. “The course also features distinguished guest speakers from academia, industry, and government, providing students with diverse perspectives on AI.”

As a MARC codirector, Kirkpatrick is engaged in “responsible AI” initiatives. “I bring a unique blend of academic expertise and practical experience,” he said. “My work spans creating ethical AI frameworks, consulting on AI policy, and teaching at the intersection of ethics, technology, and public policy.

He adds, “This course reflects my commitment to equipping students with the knowledge and tools to address the profound ethical challenges and opportunities posed by AI technologies in society.”

In This Story

Jesse Kirkpatrick

Request Schar School program information

Learn more about the Schar School

Topics

Mason Square

Artificial Intelligence

Schar School of Policy and Government

Schar School Featured Stories

Schar School News for December 2024

Campus News

Public history students highlight local Indigenous communities

Shayla Brown — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:19:53 +0000

Public history students highlight local Indigenous communities Shayla Brown Tue, 11/19/2024 - 16:19

��AV associate professor Gabrielle Tayac’s course, HIST 397 Public History in Action, looks at how indigenous communities interact with our student population through community-based engagement and projects.

“Like anywhere in the Americas, George Mason is indigenous land, but we’re trying to get a sense of the interplay between past and present,” said Tayac, who is a member of the Piscataway Indian Nation. “My goal is to get students ready for museum work, give them accessible history, and guide them to work really deeply with communities.”

Gabrielle Tayac and her students. Photo by James Wells.

Tayac and research partner the Center for Humanities Research (CHR) applied for and received an Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) grant for their project, “IndigenoUs Northern Virginia.”

This project, completed by students in the Spring 2024 course, is in the form of an exhibit titled “Offerings for Tauxenent: Acknowledging Indigenous Place” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, another project partner through George Mason alum James Wells, BA History ’22.

Wells previously took this course with Tayac and reached out to inform her of an open space at Woodlawn, which he offered as a place for current students to look at what the indigenous reality is and what needs to be remembered, explained Tayac.

“Professor Tayac’s class was one of my first real exposures to Indigenous history and cultures. It was really eye-opening,” said Wells, who came to George Mason from Northern Virginia Community College through the ADVANCE Program and was a member of George Mason’s student organization Native American and Indigenous Alliance.

“This exhibit was the most crowded I’ve seen Woodlawn in the two years that I’ve worked here. The work the students did on this project made that possible and opened the door for us to interpret Indigenous histories at our site,” said Wells, a program assistant at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, one of National Trust for Historic Preservation’s locations.

Meghana Bandaru (left) and Odessa Lamborn with their presentation. Photo by James Wells.

For the project, the students were divided into three teams, focusing on different Indigenous communities: the International Mayan League, Indigenous Andean, and a combination of local tribes including the Doeg, Intertribal urban community, Piscataway, and Rappahannock tribes.

The groups had to collect research, objects, and images to produce interactive art and media that accurately represent their assigned Indigenous communities.

History graduate student Odessa Lamborn worked on this project during their last semester as an undergraduate student at George Mason.

“The mission of the project is about bringing awareness to the Indigenous and First Nations people in the Washington, D.C., area,” said Lamborn. “It was a really phenomenal experience being able to collaborate with Indigenous people in the area and uplift their voices.”

Lamborn is now working alongside Wells as a historical interpreter at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House.

“This project gave me great insight into the behind the scenes of creating exhibits for the public, and it also influences my current work at Woodlawn with the tours I provide,” said Lamborn. “I make sure to point out where we have a John Smith map, detailing Indigenous culture [from before] colonization.”

Some of the students in Tayac’s course contributed their original art or personal objects to the exhibit as well.

“This whole project was basically what I want to do as my professional career once I graduate,” said senior and history major Sinead Monaghan.

“I’ve gotten to take a lot of classes with Professor Tayac, and I’m so grateful for all her guidance,” said Monaghan. “What we're doing goes beyond the classroom and makes a valuable impact in the world beyond. If it just touches one person or changes the way one person thinks, then it will have done its job.”

The exhibit is being brought to George Mason’s Fairfax Campus in 2025 through Mason Exhibitions and will open on April 15 as “Offerings to the Potomac: Acknowledging Indigenous Place.”

Guests at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House for the exhibit. Photo by Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House.

Learn more about the Center for Humanities Research

In This Story

Gabrielle A. Tayac

Topics

Department of History and Art History

Alumni

Community Engagement

Native American Indigenous Alliance

Learn more about bird banding from the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

A fond, feathery farewell: Students help track wetland birds heading south for the winter

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 19:55:03 +0000

A fond, feathery farewell: Students help track wetland birds heading south for the winter Lauren Reuscher Wed, 11/06/2024 - 14:55

On a recent field trip to Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, undergraduate students from ��AV’s Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation got to view secretive marsh birds up close, including Virginia and sora rail birds.

The Wildlife Ecology and Conservation students learned about a long-term bird banding and radio-tracking study on sora rails and other varieties of birds. Patuxent River Park is part of the Jug Bay Natural Area and Wetlands Sanctuary.

Student Noah Beck holds a sora rail bird, the type of bird tracked for the research study at Patuxent River Park. Photo by Lauren Hughes

The students learned about the annual migratory journey of these beautiful and elusive birds and the efforts to protect them. Soras live in marshes and wetlands throughout North America, and they migrate more than 500 miles to Central and South America for the winter.

Monitoring the movement of species, particularly during migrations, is an essential part of wildlife conservation. During a thorough demonstration from Greg Kearns, senior park naturalist at Patuxent River Park, the students had a chance to watch the important skill of bird banding up close.

Greg Kearns, senior park naturalist at Patuxent River Park, holds and examines a Virginia rail bird. Photo by Lauren Hughes

In bird banding, expert scientists humanely trap the birds, record information about their characteristics, and place a unique aluminum band on each bird’s leg before releasing it. If the birds are recaptured in the future, scientists can gather important information about their migratory habits and lifespan. The sora rails are tagged with a tiny radio transmitter, and their movements are recorded by the Motus wildlife tracking system, giving detailed insight into their long journey south.

Photo by Lauren Hughes

Students receive hands-on training in innovative technologies to monitor species and habitats in the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. The institute recently set up a new bird banding station, giving students the opportunity to observe bird banding in action. The station is administered by scientists from the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center, part of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Student Elle Farina holds a Virginia rail. Photo by Lauren Hughes

More about the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Topics

Picture This

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Education policy students meet with Virginia policymakers on the Hill

Colleen Rich — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 19:12:48 +0000

Education policy students meet with Virginia policymakers on the Hill Colleen Rich Wed, 10/09/2024 - 15:12

��AV professor Jeffrey K. Grim took his HE 711 Policy Analysis in Higher Education class to the U.S. Capitol to learn about the education policymaking process.

George Mason professor Jeff Grim with students Zayd Hamid, Damaris Benton, Victoria Barrett, Charlie Kreitzer, Amanda Corso, Tim Diggins, Hannah Park, Ssu Yu (Steve) Chen, and Susan Gardner. Photo provided

The group, which included master’s and doctoral students from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development, met with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and Virginia Representative Bob Good, each of whom sit on their respective higher education committees.

The group also met with the president and staff from the American Council on Education, an organization that researches and advocates for policy change.

This is the third time Grim has offered the trip—and also his third semester teaching at George Mason in the Higher Education Program.

“Every semester I have taken my classes into Washington, D.C., to explore different facets of higher education,” said Grim. “Being so close to D.C., it is hard to pass up the opportunity to take advantage of learning about higher education from the epicenter of higher education policy.”

In previous semesters Grim has also taken classes to U.S. Department of Education, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

Graduate student Victoria Barrett said the experience reaffirmed her decision to attend George Mason. "It was an experiential learning opportunity that very few institutions can match," said Barrett, who is in the Higher Education Program. "After a quick Metro ride, my classmates and I were able to see firsthand how higher education policy takes shape.”

Barrett added that she valued the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on how federal and state governments can or should support higher education in the United States.

Topics

Capitol Hill

College of Education and Human Development

Carter School student knocks the socks off year-long internship

Shayla Brown — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 17:53:35 +0000

Carter School student knocks the socks off year-long internship Shayla Brown Fri, 08/23/2024 - 13:53

��AV senior Nathaniel Socks has had two internships in his field, and he credits a course he took his sophomore year with his advisor Jane Walker for helping him get them.

“I took Jane [Walker]’s course CONF 314 Career Development Seminar, which was so helpful because we created resumes and [practiced] interviews,” said Socks, who is majoring in conflict analysis and resolution in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Nathaniel Socks. Photo provided

“I was able to get an internship with the Department of State that spring, and then also got accepted to do this Pathways internship, which could turn into a full-time job, so I’d say her class worked exactly how it was supposed to for me,” he said.

The Pathways Internship program is designed to provide students with opportunities to explore federal careers while being paid for the work performed. Socks is interning with the General Services Administration (GSA), a federal agency that works on procurement and acquisition services, and after completing a year-long internship, he’s eligible to convert to a full-time position through competitive hiring.

“As an intern here, I've been providing overall general support for different projects, as well as creating a newsletter for the team on travel industry updates. A big part of what my office does is work with travel management companies to get them contracted with different agencies,” said Socks.

Rather than zeroing in on one optimal career path, Walker, director of Undergraduate Student Services for the Carter School, said she uses the Career Development Seminar to help students expand their career focus and consider a minimum of three options.

“Conflict is everywhere, our students can apply their degrees to many different career paths—we want them to fully explore those opportunities within the class,” said Walker.

“Nathaniel is an excellent student, but more importantly, he is a hard worker that approaches life with humility—these are traits that will take him far in his career as they are valued and important for advancement and success,” she said.

For his previous internship at the Department of State, Socks was a staffer for the front office at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

“As a staffer, we did everything from drafting department documents to pushing papers to get cleared by heads of leadership. I would say that, because of everything going on in the Middle East, that position was a little bit more hectic and versatile, [whereas] this job with GSA and my responsibilities are more consistent,” said Socks.

Socks, who is working on a minor in intelligence studies, said it was originally his goal to work in international relations, but his internship at GSA has opened up the possibility of working in the travel industry.

“The GSA also contracts to the Department of State, so there’s still possibilities of me being able to get more experience with international affairs there,” he said.

Socks is set to graduate from George Mason in December and hopes to continue his journey at GSA.

“I didn't always feel confident in these different positions, especially with them being federal agencies, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to just be confident in your abilities,” said Socks.

In This Story

Jane Walker

Find your own internship with the help of Career Services

Topics

internships

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Summer Internship

Costello College of Business News

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies

Greg Johnson — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:09:06 +0000

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies Greg Johnson Thu, 05/16/2024 - 11:09

When hearing the term “sustainability” in business circles, there’s often a misconception that it hinders growth. For the last three years, the MBA elective course Environmentally Sustainable Operations has offered interested graduate students from across ��AV the opportunity to work with companies from multiple industries on making the business case for sustainability.

Dominic Leone, Jordan Heisen,
Sabrena Snow (Hyde), Rachel Edwards

Each year, new companies participate, mobilized by George Mason alumni, faculty and staff, and other community members. “I only need to have one conversation with them, and then they're on board,” says Ioannis Bellos, an associate professor of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM) at the Costello College of Business at ��AV and director of the MBA Program; Bellos developed the course and has been teaching it since Spring 2022. This latest semester the course featured consulting projects with: Schneider Electric, 4P Foods, Hyde, MAXSA Innovations, and Future Acres Urban Farming.

Because of the partnership building done by Bellos and others at George Mason, this course offers an excellent experiential learning opportunity where students help real companies, gaining insight from the executives in the process. “It was an exceptional opportunity to mentor MBA students from George Mason’s Environmentally Sustainable Operations course,” says Kevin DeLeon, program manager of sustainability business at Schneider Electric. “We were excited to participate and offer students a glimpse into the practical aspect of driving sustainable improvements. This collaboration is a reflection of Schneider Electric’s mission to champion sustainability and our commitment to engaging and educating future leaders.”

MBA students Rachel Edwards and Jordan Heisen had previously participated in the Global Residency program at the Costello College of Business, where they visited Sweden and Denmark to meet with businesses in the sustainability field, sparking both of their interests in the subject. For their sustainable operations project, they joined fellow MBA student Dominic Leone to work with Hyde, a Washington, D.C., based company pioneering AI-driven solutions to combat excess inventory in the apparel industry. The three of them worked closely with Hyde representatives to examine ways they could make their practices more sustainable.

“Apparel clothing discarded in landfills is now visible from space,” says Sabrena Snow, Hyde’s vice president of partnerships and sustainability. “We began working with the Costello College of Business to really quantify the impact of excess inventory, and its disposal, on the environment.”

The team of Costello MBA students examined Hyde’s business practices to see how they could best help them.

“A lot of companies are pumping out new fashion trends,” says Leone. “If that trend is going to continue, how can we do it in a more sustainable way where we don’t overorder and have a crazy amount of excess inventory?”

Once a week, the team met with CEO Rahul Jindal and Snow. “Going through the paper with Hyde and hearing the feedback from both representatives, they were an incredible pleasure to work with,” says Heisen.

“By building a framework, and combining our EPA data, company interviews, and Hyde's proprietary data, the George Mason team was able to size the impact of producing and dumping excess apparel inventory in the United States,” says Snow. 

The Hyde representatives took it a step further and connected the students with high-profile contacts from the fashion industry’s sustainability field. “When we started this project, Hyde was trying to get partners and funding,” says Edwards. “Being able to attach this white paper to any sort of funding that they’re trying to get later, this is their documentation of what’s going on.”

One of the community partners who worked to recruit participating companies for the course was Fairfax County Government’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination. “When we were approached about working with Professor Bellos, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for companies in our Green Business Partners program,” says Gina Weil, co-manager of the Green Business Partners program. “We know that green business is good business, and helping businesses identify both the economic and environmental benefits to adopting sustainable practices is central to our mission.  We were thrilled to be able to connect his students with Future Acres Urban Farming, and we know the experience for the students and the company was incredibly positive and beneficial for both.” The mission of the Green Business Partners program is to support Fairfax County businesses in creating a carbon neutral economy through collaboration and learning opportunities that advance climate action.

Students with guest speaker Ian Gayman,
MBA '23 (Partner at Environmental
Resources Management)

Though there was more to the course than this collaborative project, the experiential aspect brought the learning experience full circle. Bellos worked closely with the company representatives to ensure that their organizations got the most out of the projects.

Heisen appreciated how he explained case studies in the classroom. “He does a really great job of breaking down each case and ultimately getting you to thinking of another perspective,” he says. Sustainable operations lead to profit, says Edwards, “Unless it’s actually making money and it’s financially viable, there’s no reason for a company to do it.”

Recently, 68% of all prospective graduate students surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council said that sustainability is important or very important to them. This course is in direct response to this increasing market need.

If you want to learn more about how you can become a business leader with a sustainability mindset, please learn more about the Costello College of Business MBA program.

Topics

Costello College of Business Students

MBA Program

Sustainability

experiential learning

impact fall 2024

Learn more about the Costello MBA Program

In This Story

Ioannis Bellos

Art history students learn how to mount an exhibition

Shayla Brown — Wed, 01 May 2024 17:07:44 +0000

Art history students learn how to mount an exhibition Shayla Brown Wed, 05/01/2024 - 13:07

��AV students taking Art History 495/595 Curating an Exhibition worked together to take an exhibit of South African art from conception to completion this spring.

Students putting the exhibition up at the Gillespie Gallery in the Art and Design Building. Photo provided.

The class of undergraduate, graduate students, and professional artists were split into four groups: research, installation, design, and marketing/outreach, and worked with a faculty member from Mason Exhibitions to co-curate Faces and Figures: Identity through Printmaking in South Africa, which ran from March 24 to April 19 in Gillespie Gallery of the Art and Design Building on George Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

The artwork in the exhibit was from student and professional artists associated with Artist Proof Studio in South Africa. The course was taught by LaNitra Berger, an associate professor of history and art history and director of African and African American Studies Program.

“It's such an honor that we get to work with real artists from South Africa,” said art history graduate student and chief curator of the exhibition Irena Jansen, who is from Croatia. “I was really struck by the connection that it makes across countries. It spoke of my time growing up in the communist country, but here it speaks in their context.”

Chief curator, Irena Jansen. Photo provided.

Senior art history major Esther Perez-Rosales was in charge of the installation group.

“I printed small versions of the artwork and made an initial draft of what the curatorial flow would be like, which was really fun to do,” said Perez-Rosales. “It was really good to kickstart the process because it taught me a lot about curatorial work and how different aspects of it can make or break the vision.”

The themes of migration, family and community, and gender roles were emphasized using theme texts mounted alongside the artwork.

“We felt that identity was the overarching theme as the artists try to figure out who they are personally,” said Jansen.

George Mason graduate student Nicola Macdonald, who is from Durban, South Africa, was part of the research team.

“Being a part of the culture and from contemporary South Africa, I knew I could bring that to the table, so when we divided into groups, I [wanted] to be in the research group to bring this historical background to aid in putting the exhibition together,” said Macdonald, who worked with family members throughout the creative process to ensure authenticity to the South African culture.

“We got to choose most of the works that were shipped to us,” said Jansen. “Some of the works that arrived were a little bit of a surprise, but that was a great challenge for us because that's what happens in real world sometimes.”

The students hope to do more work with Artist Proof Studio in the future and potentially reinstall the exhibition at Mason Exhibitions Arlington, said Jansen.

“Our goal was to highlight South African art as elevated and sophisticated, and I hope we’ve done that,” Jansen said.

Students from the course, Mason Exhibition faculty members, and Professor Berger (far right). Photo provided.

In This Story

LaNitra M. Berger, PhD

Topics

Workforce Development

Department of History and Art History

Mason Exhibitions