Volgenau School of Engineering

At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers demonstrate the power of VR in physical rehabilitation

Sarah Holland — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:54:47 +0000

At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers demonstrate the power of VR in physical rehabilitation Sarah Holland Wed, 02/14/2024 - 14:54

As a capstone to the bioengineering program at ��AV, senior students complete a team-based, two-semester design project developing solutions to real-world biomedical and/or clinical problems.

At the topping off ceremony for Fuse at Mason Square, Rebecca Schuetz, Gavin Smiga, Lana Hashem, Kirubel Tadesse, and Rasil Alamri presented their group’s project on a virtual reality-based physical rehabilitation system.

Tell us about your project.

Many people around the world need lower limb rehabilitation to regain function, including more than 101 million stroke patients and many athletic injury patients. Despite the vast number of people needing rehabilitation, only 36% of these patients complete their plans of care and achieve maximum results. Virtual reality has proven to be more effective at improving gait and balance in stroke and rehabilitation patients when compared to traditional therapy. VR also is considered to be more exciting and engaging for patients. While some virtual reality rehabilitation tools currently exist, they are often inaccessible due to size, cost, and complexity. Therefore, our goal is to create a portable, inexpensive, and engaging virtual reality lower-limb rehabilitation platform that can be set up in a range of locations and used by patients in their own homes to regain mobility, muscular strength, and balance.

What inspired you to select this topic?

As a team, we talked about our interests, strengths and weaknesses, and passions, and settled on this project. We all had a strong background in coding, and we loved the idea of using code and virtual reality in a way that would improve patient outcomes. Through our interviews with rehabilitation patients and physical therapists, we were inspired by the need to make rehabilitation more engaging.

What has been your greatest success thus far?

Our greatest success so far has been leveraging clinical information to engineer critical aspects of our virtual reality rehabilitation platform. Through interviews with a diverse group, including physical therapists and patients undergoing physical therapy for lower limb rehabilitation, we gathered invaluable insights. The information encompasses aspects such as initial patient assessments, patient monitoring metrics, exercise efficacy, range of motion requirements, patient engagement strategies, and challenges faced in physical therapy. Armed with this comprehensive data, we enhanced the design of virtual environments and refined the overall design, marking a pivotal success in our project.

What is one thing you’ve learned while working on this project that will be useful to you in the field?

One significant takeaway from working on this project is the importance of brainstorming and prototyping. We started with five different designs and continued to test to narrow down our options to one design that met all our requirements. In addition, we valued feedback from experts who have used this technology as it helps us understand the strengths and weaknesses that we should address in our project. This will be very useful in the bioengineering field since it requires lots of testing and prototyping to ensure that our product meets the specific user needs of our stakeholders.

How would dedicated research space, such as the plans for Fuse at Mason Square, help sustain your project?

Finding a space large enough to base our project and one that was secure and quiet enough to allow for an optimal development environment was one of our great challenges. We have repurposed a room that was intended for storage space. A dedicated research space would equip us with all the tools we truly need to have a successful final design, as well as a testing space. With Fuse at Mason Square in particular, the fact that it has been purpose-built for research and will provide a space for all departments to come together is very exciting. For instance, once we have developed our device, we could collaborate with kinesiology or Psychology Department researchers to conduct studies where we test the viability of our product and improve it further. Then, we could collaborate with the Costello College of Business on the possibility of bringing our product to market.

The capstone group poses with their project designs. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Read about the recent celebration at Fuse at Mason Square

Pioneer solutions with Mason's bioengineering major

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At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers predict malicious intent from drone flight patterns

Sarah Holland — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:54:24 +0000

At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers predict malicious intent from drone flight patterns Sarah Holland Mon, 02/12/2024 - 09:54

With today’s use and demand for all-access video, small Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), colloquially known as drones, are commonplace tools in everything from defense contracting to filming backyard barbeques.

While useful technology, UAVs can pose a serious security risk. ��AV systems engineering and operations research undergraduates Dyar Aziz and Markus Garretson are working with professor Ali Raz to develop a methodology for inferring UAV intent based on sensor data.

Tell us about your project.

UAVs are becoming ubiquitous for commercial, defense, and hobbyist operations, but pose a serious security risk to various defense and state installations (such as airports and military bases). While sensors can provide detection and tracking information for UAVs, it is vital to infer any potential malicious intent of the UAV so that counter measures can be put in place in a timely manner.

Our project focuses on predicting the state and intent of UAVs from uncertain sensing data. This work shows how an inference engine for UAV state-estimation and intent can be built by exploiting sensing and tracking data from a multisensor installation, using state-of-the-art, high-level information fusion and systems engineering tools. We are applying model-based systems engineering techniques to simulate multisensor fusion and determine a UAV’s (specifically drones) movement and behavior.

What inspired you to select this topic?

We were introduced to the project by our former professor Raz and decided to work on it as we are both interested in aerospace.

What has been your greatest success thus far?

We have been able to develop multiples models and scenarios simulating both drones and real-world use cases of drone tracking such as a radar installment at an airport.

What is one thing you’ve learned while working on this project that will be useful to you in the field?

We have developed our knowledge and ability to apply model-based systems engineering (SysML), as well as building simulations in MATLAB. Additionally, we have learned about data fusion, fusion techniques, sensor types, and potential uses for them. Finally, we have been able to gain insight into the future of counter drone system development and high-level data fusion as it is at the cutting edge of technology.

How would dedicated research space, such as the plans for Fuse at Mason Square, help sustain your project?

A dedicated research space would enable us to collaborate amongst our team and with other teams with similar experience and knowledge, as well as with teams from other disciplines.

Read about the recent celebration at Fuse at Mason Square

Discover the Systems Engineering and Operations Research program at Mason

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Volgenau School of Engineering

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In This Story

Ali K. Raz

Ketul Popat

Tama Moni — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 17:49:38 +0000

Ketul Popat Tama Moni Tue, 01/09/2024 - 12:49

Chair, Professor, Department of Bioengineering

Contact Information

Building: Peterson Hall, Room 3101
Email: kpopat@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-1345

In the News

How nano roughness could smooth out clotting risks
September 5, 2024

Biography

Surfaces that contain micro- and nanoscale features in a well-controlled and “engineered” manner have been shown to significantly affect the cellular and subcellular function of various biological systems. Our research is focused on using the tools of micro- and nanotechnology for applications in biomaterials and tissue engineering. The goal of current research is to design implants that induce controlled, guided, and rapid healing in cardiovascular implants such as stents and heart valves; and orthopedic implants such as hip and knee joint implants. In addition to the acceleration of normal wound healing phenomena, these implants should result in the formation of a characteristic interfacial layer with adequate biomechanical properties.

To achieve these goals, however, a better understanding of events at the tissue-material interface is needed, as well as the development of new materials and approaches that promote biointegration. Our work proposes the use of well-controlled nanostructured interfaces to enhance implant integration. We hypothesize that controlled biomimetic nanoscale architectures can promote cell differentiation and matrix production and enhance short-term and long-term integration. Moreover, the ability to create model nano-dimensional constructs that mimic physiological systems can aid in studying complex tissue interactions in terms of cell communication, response to matrix geometry, and effect of external chemical stimuli. By understanding how physical surface parameters influence cells, we can more effectively design material surfaces that can be used in a clinical setting.

Research

Titanium Nanomaterials for Orthopedic Implants
Blood-Contacting Biomaterials for Cardiovascular Medical Devices
Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces for Blood-Contacting Materials
Polymeric Nanostructured Surfaces for Tissue Engineering Applications
Novel Alloys and Surface Treatments or Implants Applications

Degrees

PhD, Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago (2003)
MEng, Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology (2000)
BEng, Chemical Engineering, Maharaja Sayajirao University (1998)

Publications

Google Scholar

Ethan Ahn

Tama Moni — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 20:14:42 +0000

Ethan Ahn Tama Moni Thu, 08/03/2023 - 16:14

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Contact Information

Building: Nguyen Engineering
Email: eahn7@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

Mason Nanoelectronics Lab

In the News

New Mason Nanofabrication Facility will help drive innovation in the commonwealth
January 17, 2024

Biography

Ethan Ahn is currently an associate professor of Electrical Engineering (EE) at ��AV. Previously, he served as an assistant (2016-2022) and associate (2022-2023) professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a senior panel process engineer at Apple, and a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University. He received his PhD in EE at Stanford University in 2015 under the supervision of Prof. H.-S. Philip Wong. He worked as a spintronics research scientist at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) from 2007-2010.

Ahn received the BS and MS degrees in EE from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, Korea, in 2005 and 2007, respectively. He is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed research products. He has been the recipient of numerous awards of over $4M, including the prestigious AFOSR grant in Quantum Electronic Solids and the NSF EAGER grant in Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetic Devices (2019). He previously served on the technical committee of IEEE EDS Optoelectronic Devices and is currently serving as the editorial board member for Scientific Reports.

Degrees

PhD, Electrical Engineering, Stanford University (2015)

Tech entrepreneur Kimmy Duong to receive the Mason Medal

Colleen Rich — Tue, 16 May 2023 19:55:52 +0000

Tech entrepreneur Kimmy Duong to receive the Mason Medal Colleen Rich Tue, 05/16/2023 - 15:55

Kimmy Duong, an accomplished tech entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a refugee who has overcome countless obstacles to achieve success in life, will receive the Mason Medal, ��AV’s highest honorary award, at the 2023 Spring Commencement on Thursday, May 18, at EagleBank Arena.

Kimmy Duong. Photo provided

Born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1945, Duong earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Law from the University of Saigon in 1966. She started her career working for the Ministry of Social Welfare before joining IBM in 1968, where she worked until she escaped from the communist government in 1975. She came to the United States with just $30 in her pocket.

Despite the challenges she faced as a refugee, Duong's belief in education, hard work, and family guided her. While still in a refugee camp, she secured employment with IBM through a representative at the camp. She moved to Northern Virginia and continued her work with IBM while raising seven nephews and nieces and pursuing multiple side jobs to make ends meet.

In 1994, Duong joined Pragmatics, where she currently serves as vice chairwoman and CFO. Over the past 30 years, she has overseen finance, legal, facilities management, and human resources departments, playing an instrumental role in the significant growth of the company.

In addition to her professional success, Duong has been active in philanthropy for over a decade. In 2011, she and her husband, Long Nguyen, donated $5 million to ��AV for what is now known as the Long and Kimmy Nguyen Building, and in 2015, she established the Kimmy Duong Foundation (KDF). The KDF supports a range of health, education, and welfare initiatives in the United States and Vietnam, and has established multiple scholarship programs with endowments of more than $4 million that administered by local universities.

Duong's commitment to philanthropy is evident through the KDF's scholarship program centered in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The program has awarded 218 scholarships to date and plans to award 150 more in 2023. During the pandemic, the KDF started a program to support families dealing with economic hardship, which has benefited 160 families since 2020.

Through her philanthropic work, Duong aims to give back to the United States and Vietnam and to spread a message of service and gratitude to everyone she impacts. She believes that the investment of the United States in a refugee like her has been rewarded with a lasting legacy of good works, and she hopes to inspire others to pay it forward.

At a scholarship breakfast on campus this spring, Duong shared her story.

“Education is the cornerstone of life,” Duong told those in attendance, saying many in her generation worked multiple jobs to send their children to college. “Now, we are giving back.”

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Emma (Xijin) Zhang

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:34:29 +0000

Emma (Xijin) Zhang Teresa Donnellan Thu, 05/11/2023 - 11:34

Assistant Professor, Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: Nguyen Engineering
Email: xzhang50@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-8832

Biography

Dr. Zhang's research focuses on addressing the challenges presented by climate change and its associated impacts. Her main interest lies in designing sustainable and resilient infrastructure through the use of innovative nature-based solutions, particularly emphasizing the application of fungi-mediated and fungi-sourced materials.

Degrees

PhD, Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
MS, Architectural and Civil Engineering, Hebei University of Technology
BS, Civil Engineering, Hebei University of Technology

Catalina Gonzalez-Duenas

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:28:03 +0000

Catalina Gonzalez-Duenas Teresa Donnellan Thu, 05/11/2023 - 11:28

Assistant Professor, Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 1405
Email: cgonza31@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

Research Group

Biography

Catalina González-Dueñas is dedicated to enhancing community and infrastructure resilience in the face of extreme events and climate change. Her research interests lie in the application of probabilistic methods to assess risks under extreme hazard events, community resilience under climate change conditions, climate justice, and the interaction of built natural, and social systems. Catalina aims to develop innovative solutions for complex problems by conducting convergent research at the intersection of civil engineering, climate science, and community dynamics.

In addition to her research pursuits, Catalina is a passionate advocate for effective science communication. She strongly believes in fostering engineering leadership, with a particular focus on empowering women and underrepresented communities. Through her work, Catalina aims to collaborate on building a more equitable and sustainable future.

Degrees

PhD, Civil Engineering, Rice University
MS, Civil Engineering, Universidad de los Andes
BS, Civil Engineering, Universidad de los Andes

Research Interest

Risk and resilience assessment of infrastructure systems
Performance‐based assessment of structural systems under multi‐hazard conditions
Structural adaptation engineering for climate change
Climate justice

Publications

Google Scholar

Kenneth Walsh, PhD

Tama Moni — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 19:20:21 +0000

Kenneth Walsh, PhD Tama Moni Mon, 03/13/2023 - 15:20

Kenneth Walsh, PhD

Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Office: 5200 Merten Hall
Mail Stop: 3A2

Phone: (703) 993-5399
Email: kenwalsh@gmu.edu

Visit the Office of the Provost

In the News

Anne Osterman named Dean of the University Libraries
December 6, 2023
Goodbye 'Mason Shuffle': Transforming the student journey at Mason
November 8, 2023
New resources on mental health and student accommodations now available
October 31, 2023
Chief of staff and civil engineer Ken Walsh brings diverse background to his job
December 15, 2020

Biography

Dr. Kenneth Walsh joined Mason in 2020 as vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff in the Office of the President. He also serves as a professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering at Mason.

"I'm impressed with the strength and resilience of the Mason community. It has a supremely balanced perspective," says Walsh. "Teaching, learning, and personal growth are all done here more thoughtfully."

Walsh has authored over 40 articles in archival journals, book chapters, and dozens of papers at conferences. He has served as scientific chair and conference chair for the International Group for Lean Construction and the Construction Research Congress. Walsh’s research interests include lean construction and construction process improvement, residential construction, and the design-construction interface for geotechnical infrastructure. As PI or co-PI, he has been engaged in over $40M in sponsored activities over his career in academics.

Prior to joining Mason, Dr. Walsh served as senior assistant dean and chief of staff at the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. He was also a professor and chair of civil engineering at San Diego State University (SDSU), where he held the AGC-Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management. While at SDSU, he was the founding dean of San Diego State University-Georgia in Tbilisi. Walsh started his academic career at Arizona State University after a career as a consulting foundation engineer in the Phoenix, Arizona, municipal area. He holds a BSE, MS, and a PhD in civil engineering from Arizona State University.

Education

BSE, Civil Engineering, Arizona State University
MS, Civil Engineering, Arizona State University
PhD, Civil Engineering, Arizona State University

Research Interests

Lean Construction
Construction Process Improvement
Residential Construction
Design-construction Interface for Geotechnical Infrastructure

Publications

Google Scholar

Podcast - EP 46: Missy Cummings: Artificial intelligence is artificial and not intelligent

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:46:13 +0000

Podcast - EP 46: Missy Cummings: Artificial intelligence is artificial and not intelligent Damian Cristodero Wed, 01/25/2023 - 10:46

Missy Cummings, one of the country’s first female fighter pilots and director of Mason’s Center for Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and Translational AI, calls herself a tech futurist, charged with making tech work better and safer. In a conversation with Mason President Gregory Washington, Cummings is unflinching in her critique of AI’s strengths, weaknesses, and shortcomings, as well as that of humans. There is a lot to like about AI, Cummings says, but she calls out bad tech where she sees it, including in the vision systems of self-driving cars and Tesla’s Autopilot.

Listen to this episode

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Missy Cummings

Access to Excellence Podcast Episodes

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December 11, 2024
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November 18, 2024
Podcast - EP 61: Can dirty coffee grounds be the key to clean water?
October 21, 2024
Podcast Ep 60 - Marking a decade of success at Mason Korea
August 6, 2024
Podcast Ep 59 - Cybersecurity and the global threats of tomorrow
July 5, 2024

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This graduating engineer is an inventor at heart

Colleen Rich — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 16:01:45 +0000

This graduating engineer is an inventor at heart Colleen Rich Mon, 12/05/2022 - 11:01

Senior Sai Srivatsav Gutala has been busy during his time at ��AV, and he has a lot of big ideas.

Inventor Sai Srivatsav Gutala is graduating with a BS in electrical engineering. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

In 2019, as a sophomore, the electrical engineering major started a student club called the Inventors and Innovations Team (IIT) with one of his classmates, computer engineering major Nicholas Paschke.

“We wanted to give students an opportunity to build whatever it is that tickles their mind,” he said of the club that still meets in the makerspace at the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) in Horizon Hall on the Fairfax Campus. “As long as it's reasonable and innovative, we agreed to it and tried to create it. Since IIT started, our vision has been to have multiple teams working on building different projects at the same time.”

Current IIT projects include a fire-detecting drone that could help with wildfires and a sensing cane for the visually impaired. Some ideas will fail, but this doesn’t bother Gutala, who graduates with a bachelor of science this month. It is the ideas themselves and the execution that interest him.

As he approached his senior year, Gutala wanted to take things to the next level and founded the hardware hackathon, HackOverflow.

“Its purpose was all about giving students the hands-on opportunity to create something grand,” said Gutala, who recently served as the chair of HackOverflow’s executive committee and is now an advisor.

They partnered with an existing hackathon at Mason, Patriot Hacks, and Mason’s Institute of Digital Innovation's executive director Kammy Sanghera. The event took place in March 2022 at the MIX.

While many hackathons focus on coding, HackOverflow had students using the MIX’s 3D printer, soldering station, and other equipment to create prototypes of their ideas. Gutala said it is one of only a handful of hardware hackathons in the country.

“Throughout the process, Sai ensured that participants of HackOverflow had the resources and mentors to design prototypes,” said Sanghera. “From building his executive team to seeking sponsorships for the event, Sai was professional and diligent. Through initiatives like IIT and HackOverflow, Sai generated opportunities for his peers to change the world positively.”

Gutala has also started a company called Alphawave and has been one of the student entrepreneurs in the MIX’s incubator space. With Alphawave, Gutala is developing appearance-customizable apparel. He began with footwear—and he already has a prototype—but Gutala sees this as the beginning of using technology to customize personal items for self-expression.

Through the incubator program, Gutala was able to have his own space within the MIX and use of the program’s professional development resources, such as the mini Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP) program offered to Mason student entrepreneurs. Gutala said he found the mini “the most helpful thing ever.”

“ICAP focuses on finding your ideal customer that will be loyal to your company,” said Gutala. “If a business can understand their customer, everything else is easy.”

Topics

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Volgenau School of Engineering

Hackathon

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Electrical Engineering

Volgenau School of Engineering

At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers demonstrate the power of VR in physical rehabilitation

Tell us about your project.

What inspired you to select this topic?

What has been your greatest success thus far?

What is one thing you’ve learned while working on this project that will be useful to you in the field?

How would dedicated research space, such as the plans for Fuse at Mason Square, help sustain your project?

Read about the recent celebration at Fuse at Mason Square

Pioneer solutions with Mason's bioengineering major

Related News

Topics

At Fuse topping out ceremony, student researchers predict malicious intent from drone flight patterns

Tell us about your project.

What inspired you to select this topic?

What has been your greatest success thus far?

What is one thing you’ve learned while working on this project that will be useful to you in the field?

How would dedicated research space, such as the plans for Fuse at Mason Square, help sustain your project?

Read about the recent celebration at Fuse at Mason Square

Discover the Systems Engineering and Operations Research program at Mason

Related News

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In This Story

Ketul Popat

Contact Information

In the News

Biography

Research

Degrees

Publications

Ethan Ahn

Contact Information

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In the News

Biography

Degrees

Tech entrepreneur Kimmy Duong to receive the Mason Medal

Support Mason

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Emma (Xijin) Zhang

Contact Information

Biography

Degrees

Catalina Gonzalez-Duenas

Contact Information

Personal Websites

Biography

Degrees

Research Interest

Publications

Kenneth Walsh, PhD

Contact Information

Visit the Office of the Provost

In the News

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Podcast - EP 46: Missy Cummings: Artificial intelligence is artificial and not intelligent

Listen to this episode

In This Story

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This graduating engineer is an inventor at heart

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