Table of Contents
- Mason physicist receives university’s first DOE Early Career Award
- Innovation Awards celebrate Mason researchers
- Mason Science empowers the next generation of women scientists
- College of Science demographics overview
- AJEDI continues to make great progress
- Annual Celebration of Success recognizes excellence
- In Memoriam: Maria Dworzecka
- Luchini honored by SCHEV with Outstanding Faculty Award
- Mason Cosmos Scholar focused on peripheral nerve regeneration
- Mason first in the United States to offer FARO Forensic 3D Laser Scanning Certification academic course
- College of Science enrollment overview
- New course gives a tasty spin to chemistry education
- 2022 College of Science Distinguished Alumni: Walter L. McLeod
- Birds of a Feather: Alum’s detective work can improve flight safety
- Support Mason Science
Also in this issue:
Mason physicist receives university’s first DOE Early Career Award to advance quantum technologies
by Laura Powers
Assistant Professor for Physics and Astronomy Fereshte Ghahari Kermani recently received the highly competitive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Award. She is the first faculty member at George Mason University to receive this honor, one that highlights the significance of her contributions to the field of condensed matter physics. This recognition supports scientists across the county whose work pushes the boundaries of scientific advancement and helps solidify the U.S. as a driver of science and innovation around the world.
Ghahari’s study, "Probing Correlated Phenomena in Graphene Constrictions," seeks to discover new pathways that will advance the development of novel quantum computing devices. To propel quantum technologies forward, Ghahari will look specifically at quantum electronic properties of charge carriers in graphene (a single atom thick layer of graphite) nanostructures. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Innovation Awards celebrate Mason researchers
by Colleen Kearney Rich
In May, Mason celebrated its research enterprise with Innovation Awards that included honors for dozens of Mason Science faculty. Mason scientists received two top honors, the Mason Start-up Award and Mason Lifetime Disclosure Award.
Director of Mason’s Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience and School of Systems Biology Professor Saleet Jafri, received the Mason Start-up Award for his company Pathodynamics. Pathodynamics has licensed three Mason patents and is developing a technology that solves the problem of cancer drug resistance, which is responsible for more than 90 percent of cancer deaths.
University Professor Lance Liotta, co-founder and co-director of Mason’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, was recognized with a Mason Lifetime Disclosure Award. During his career, Liotta has filed more than 120 patent disclosures. Disclosures are the first step toward a patent by making a public claim about an invention or discovery. Liotta has 100 inventions to date, with one prototype—Laser Capture Microdissection, a method to procure subpopulations of tissue cells under direct microscopic visualization—in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection.
Participants of the Virginia SBDC ICAP and national I-CORPS programs and Mason researchers who have patented or licensed a technology or invention were also recognized.
Mason Science empowers the next generation of women scientists
In May 2022, Assistant Professor of Biology and STEM Accelerator Program Coordinator, Tina Bell received a Dean’s Fellowship for her proposal aimed at conceptualizing, structuring and launching a Women Leaders in STEM program. More than 100 women joined the program that hosts regular seminars and provides networking and wellness opportunities for participating students, faculty and staff.
With an overall theme of Finding your Fit, previous seminars encouraged ‘Empowering yourself and others,' 'Confronting glass ceilings and pursuing ambitions,’ ‘The importance of mentorship and how to create community,’ and ‘Becoming an undergraduate researcher.' Photo by Zander Leon/Marketing and Communications/College of Science.
AJEDI continues to make great progress
The College of Science established the Office of Access, Belonging, and Community Engagement (ABCE) in 2022 to advance efforts related to access, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the STEM community. The office’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (AJEDI), Paula Danquah-Brobby, has made great strides in moving these efforts forward—both establishing the College’s primary goals and leading the charge towards achieving them. Below shows the status of these efforts. For details on progress to date, visit science.gmu.edu/abce.
Annual Celebration of Success recognizes excellence
Mason Science Dean Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm joined more than 80 faculty and staff at the college’s Celebration of Success, an end of year community building activity where 12 faculty and staff were honored for their exemplary service during the 2022 calendar year. These individuals were selected out of the more than 50 nominees. In addition to public recognition and a certificate, each recipient received $1,500 as a thank you for their impactful efforts. See the full list of award recipients and the efforts they contributed.
(Top Row L-R) Stephanie Flores, Dean's Outstanding Staff Award | Dann Sklarew, Dean's Big Challenge Award | Ancha Baranova, Dean's Creative Educator Award | Gabriela Bulancea, Dean's Teaching Excellence Award
(Middle Row L-R) Rebecca Jones, Dean's Impact Award | Kelly Knight, Dean's Award for Excellence in AJEDI | Daniel Hanley, Dean's Award for Early Career Excellence | Alessandra Luchini, Dean's Research Scientist Award
(Bottom Row L-R) Natalie Lapidot-Croitoru, Dean's Award for Distinctive Service | Andrea Nikoi, Dean's Community Award | Christopher Lockhart, Dean's Research Support Award | Donna Fox, Dean's Career Achievement Award (special recognition)
In Memoriam: Maria Dworzecka
Brilliant Mason physicist, courageous leader, and outstanding mentor, Maria Dworzecka died peacefully on January 16, 2023 at the age of 81.
Champion of countless Mason female scientists and a Holocaust survivor, Maria Dworzecka was born in war-torn Poland on June 19, 1941.
Dworzecka obtained both her master's and PhD degrees in physics from Poland’s Warsaw University in in 1964 and 1969 respectively. However, in 1969, she left Poland to pursue a career in physics, first at Michigan State University, then as an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Maryland. Maria's early research focused on nuclear physics theory applied to heavy nuclei.
In 1982, Maria came to George Mason University as an Associate Professor and her focus shifted to physics education and computational physics. While at Mason, Maria co-led the CUPS project, an NSF-funded global collaboration of 30 scientists to develop software and the accompanying texts for nine upper-level physics courses. She then traveled the world sharing these curriculum materials while serving as an inspiration to female physicists around the globe. This work led to Maria becoming a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1996.
Dworzecka led the department through a significant period of growth in the early 2000s and skillfully guided it through a challenging transition time, both as a Senior Associate Dean and two-term chair. (Dworzecka served as department chair from 1999 to 2006 and also from 2015 to 2016).
Maria was consistently characterized by her colleagues as a fair, forward-thinking leader, with high standards yet never partial. All received her valuable counsel and unwavering support. Upon her retirement from Mason in 2017, Mason bestowed her the title of Professor Emerita.
She loved her work, her students, and her fellow faculty. Maria will be fondly remembered for always challenging the status-quo, while pushing for excellence – she loved learning. Photo by Creative Services/George Mason University.
Luchini honored by SCHEV with Outstanding Faculty Award
by John Hollis
Mason scientist, Alessandra Luchini was among the 12 educators statewide formally recognized by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) with a 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award.
Luchini, a systems biology professor in our college’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM), is Mason’s twenty-eighth faculty member to be so honored since the award’s inception in 1987.
Luchini’s research interests include developing technologies that improve current diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases, including cancer and inflammatory and infectious diseases. She is a co-founder of Ceres Nanosciences Inc., which was created in 2008, and Monet Pharmaceuticals, created in 2019. In 2011, Luchini was named one of Popular Science’s Brilliant 10.
Most recently, Luchini contributed to the fight against Lyme disease by help leading a team of CAPMM researchers named one of ten Phase 1 winners of the LymeX Diagnostic Prize by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Mason Cosmos Scholar focused on peripheral nerve regeneration
by Laura Powers
Peripheral nerves send messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, controlling muscle movement and involuntary functions like heartbeat and breathing. Although these nerves can repair themselves from minor injuries, more traumatic damage requires medical intervention.
Mason neuroscience PhD student Dylan Scarton received a 2023 Cosmos Scholar Grant to support research aimed at developing a biomaterial for peripheral nerve regeneration. Collaborating with Remi Veneziano, Mason bioengineering assistant professor, the study looks at novel DNA-based conductive hydrogels with finely controlled mechanical and electrical properties that can match those of natural nerve tissue.
The Cosmos Scholar Grant awards $5,000 to research needs not supported by other funds. The grant will specifically support the study’s ability to test different conductive polymers and DNA strands.” Findings could lead to optimized recovery outcomes and reduced healing time for those suffering from more severe peripheral nerve damage,” Scarton said. Photo provided.
Mason first in the United States to offer FARO Forensic 3D Laser Scanning Certification academic course
by Laura Powers
Mason’s popular Forensic Science Program established its place as one of the nation’s premier programs by partnering with FARO Technologies, Inc. to establish the first FARO-certified forensic science laboratory.
Mason now offers a dedicated FARO Forensic 3D Documentation course as part of the Forensic Science MS program. The course, which had its first cohort this spring, gives Mason students the opportunity to become Certified Laser Scanner Operators. To make this possible, Forensic Science Professors Emily Rancourt and Kimberly Rule became certified as FARO Authorized Instructors.
"FARO, the leader of the 3D laser scanning industry in forensic science merges science and technology,” Rule explained." Top law enforcement and government agencies around the world use this equipment to assist in criminal investigations so the skills obtained in this course will help propel students into the workforce, making them marketable to numerous agencies,” said Rule.
The course focuses on the operation of FARO laser scanners in conjunction with the use of the FARO scan software. This technology allows practitioners to quickly and accurately capture millions of data points of a crime scene or related object within minutes. It replaces the need for hand measurements which can take several hours and can include missing details with less accuracy. Rancourt described the learning objective, “Mason students in this course will create accurate 3D scans in indoor and outdoor scenarios, import them into the software, extrapolate critical measurements, and prepare scan projects for courtroom presentation.” Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/George Mason University.
Innovative learning: Creative course gives a tasty spin to chemistry
by Laura Powers
Chemistry in the Kitchen (CHEM 460) is a new Capstone course that uses everyday recipes to demonstrate chemical concepts taught in the classroom. Mason Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor, Rebecca Jones designed the curriculum and created the recipes for the course, while also working closely with Mason’s Department of Nutrition to secure a cooking classroom for the lab component.
“Every kitchen is a lab when you think about it,” said Jones. For example, the lecture on molecular extraction was quickly followed in lab with students using ingredients to make pour over coffee. “Students can tangibly see molecular extraction take place as the hot water poured onto coffee beans created a brown liquid,” Jones explained.
“The cooking experiments really reinforce your understanding of the topics you learn in class,” said biology major Wilson Plummer. “You’ll touch on a topic, and then get to see it in action.” Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
2022 College of Science Distinguished Alumni: Walter L. McLeod
Walter L. McLeod received the College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award in the fall of 2022. He has more than 25 years of executive experience in business development, strategy, and government relations in the energy and environment sectors. He is a recognized expert and thought leader in cleantech innovation and author of the critically acclaimed book The Carbon Creed.
McLeod is the co-founder and managing director of Monarch Strategic Ventures, an affiliate of Monarch Private Capital, a nationally recognized tax equity fund manager. Monarch has invested in more than 280 renewable energy projects generating $4 billion in development costs that have the capacity to deliver three gigawatts (GW ac) of clean power across 30 states and the District of Columbia.
Walter is the Founder and Managing Director of Eco Capitol Energy, a cleantech holding company with multiple subsidiaries and solar projects across the seven state mid-atlantic region. He has successfully developed or permitted a portfolio of utility scale solar projects with a capacity exceeding 700 megawatts (MW ac) and valued at more than $850M.
He has served on several boards and advisory committees, including the Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association, Black Owners of Solar Services, George Mason University Alumni Association, American Council on Renewable Energy, Chemical Angels Network, SURGE Ventures Accelerator, and the MIT Climate Energy Prize.
McLeod earned an MS in Chemistry from the College of Science at George Mason University, a BA in Chemstry from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completed the Executive Education Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He delivered the Commencement Address at Mason's College of Science degree celebration in Spring 2022, where he currently serves as Professor of Practice, Energy.
Birds of a Feather: Alum’s detective work can improve flight safety
by Priyanka Champaneri
Mason alumnae Carla Dove, MS Biology ’94, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’98, is part of a team that investigates 10,000 bird strike cases every year in the Feather Identification Lab at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. As program manager, the George Mason University alum identifies the specific birds involved in collisions, with samples coming to her from various branches of the U.S. military, commercial airlines, and more.
It is work that can save lives and improve flight safety. Once the species is identified, airfield biologists work to mitigate the habitat to keep those birds from being attracted to the airfield, while engineers use the data to design safer aircraft and build models to increase awareness of this aviation hazard.
Dove has done this work for decades, going back to when she was pursuing her master’s and PhD at Mason. Mason’s flexibility, she said, was ideal. “The courses being offered at night allowed me to work during the day.”
In addition to the aviation industry, Dove works on everything from crime scene investigations (think evidence from a down jacket or a pillow) to identifying the feathers used on anthropological artifacts like arrow heads, spear tips, and headdresses. Photo by James Kegley/Smithsonian Institution.
Support Mason Science
by Audrey Kelaher
Science is the key that unlocks solutions to our world’s most complex and urgent problems. At Mason Science, we’re proudly leading the way. We’re deeply appreciative of the philanthropic support from our friends and alumni, we’ve hit record levels over the past two years, and our work has been critical to recent scientific breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, we invite you to join us as we enter Mason’s $1 Billion Campaign: Mason Now: Power the Possible.
Your support of Mason Science powers student success, innovation and research, and a more sustainable future in the following areas: Environment, Climate, and Conservation Sciences; Biomedical and Health Sciences; Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Geospatial, and Quantum Science; Foundations of Science; Outreach and Special Programs.
There are many ways to demonstrate support for the College of Science and our world-class teaching and research. You choose when, how much, and where to give. Gifts of all amounts go a long way in supporting our research, programs, and people. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University.
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