Table of Contents
- Solar scientists work with U.S. Navy to avert ‘internet apocalypse’
- Berea serves on NASA's UAP panel
- Students apply mathematical modeling to drug addiction and recovery in summer research program
- Mason’s Virginia Climate Center delivers vital research knowledge and resources
- Testing self-interacting dark matter with realistic galaxy formation simulations
- African scientists collaborate to solve global problems
- Mason researchers collaborate with National Academies, associations, and communities
- Planting the ‘seed’ to advance nanoparticle growth reactions
- Tackling climate crisis and food insecurity
- Cosmos grant to support Biosciences student seeking treatment of drug-resistant bacteria
- Canadian wildfire smoke and particulate matter blanket northeastern U.S.
Also in this issue
Solar scientists work with U.S. Navy to avert ‘internet apocalypse’
by John Hollis
A team of Mason scientists received a federal grant of $13.6 million in expenditures over five years to work with the Department of the Navy to study and better understand increased solar activity that could potentially cause an “internet apocalypse,” disrupting all electronic communications on Earth, including satellite communications.
The Mason Science and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) collaboration will incorporate state-of-the-art data mining, analysis, and scientific modeling, among other endeavors, led by Mason faculty, students and staff. Under the terms of the contract, Mason provides scientific support for a broad range of astronomy-related activities that are of interest to the U.S. Navy and the nation at large.
“The main focus is on solar activity and the way it can impact systems on Earth,” said principal investigator Peter A. Becker, a physics and astronomy professor. “This is especially important to the Navy—and more broadly the Department of Defense—because high-energy outbursts from the sun can have a strong negative impact on earthly radio and internet communications. And they can also have a detrimental effect on navigation systems and energy grids on Earth.”
Others researchers working on Becker’s team include Associate Research Professors Tyrel Johnson and Iulia Deneva; Senior Research Administrator Jessica Hanna; Research Scientists Jacob Smith, Carlos Braga, Natsuha Kuroda, Eliana Nossa Gonzalez and Craig Johnston; Senior Research Scientists Megan DeCesar and Keiji Hayashi, as well as Postdoctoral Research Fellows Sherry Chhabra, Micah Weberg, and Shaheda Shaik. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Berea serves on NASA's UAP panel
by Colleen Kearney Rich
Last fall, NASA selected Mason Computational and Data Sciences Associate Professor Anamaria Berea to participate in its independent study team on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The 16-person panel was asked to “identify how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analyzed to shed light on UAPs” and recommend a roadmap for future analysis. A far cry from the UFO visual ‘sightings’ originating in the late 1940’s, this data-driven work relies on radar and scientific methodology to analyze mysterious flying objects.
An expert in data and computational science, Berea worked closely with the panel to carefully express the possibilities—as well as the limits—to open-source data from NASA, FAA, NOAA, and other government agencies, when studying this phenomena. While she has aspirations that this could spur a new field of study with standardized data collection, she appreciates the value of scientific rigor and has cautioned against rushing to conclusions without a high standard of evidence. The team released its full report this September, noting that more data is needed and requires a unified governmental effort, including citizen science, to investigate further. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Students apply mathematical modeling to drug addiction and recovery in summer research program
by Tracy Mason
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) chose five sites across the United States for its inaugural summer SIAM-Simons Undergraduate Research Program in applied mathematics and computational science. George Mason University, and specifically the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the College of Science, was one of those sites.
Mathematical Sciences Professor Padmanabhan (Padhu) Seshaiyer served as program mentor with support from Mason mathematical PhD student Alonso Ogueda-Oliva. The two selected undergraduate students, Adan Baca from the University of Arizona and Diego Gonzalez of the University of La Verne in Fontana, California, tackled how computational science might inform the road to recovery from drug addiction.
Seshaiyer recently received the 2023 Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) Mathematical, Computing and Statistical Sciences Advanced Career Mentor Award, an annual award which honors one faculty mentor nationwide for their success in mentoring undergraduate students in mathematics and computer science research. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Mason’s Virginia Climate Center delivers vital research knowledge and resources
by Maha Aamir
The new Virginia Climate Center (VCC), which launched in 2022 at George Mason University, is leading research on tackling climate-related challenges, such as energy, vector-borne illnesses, and extreme weather and flooding in Northern Virginia and throughout the commonwealth. Funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and sponsored by U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA), this two-year, congressionally directed community project seeks to increase Virginia’s resiliency to the impacts of climate changes and variability.
“We have high hopes that the Virginia Climate Center will become the go-to resource for communities in the commonwealth to understand their climate risks and find more resilient ways to protect themselves from threats to human health, life, livelihood, and property,” said Jim Kinter, a VCC principal investigator and director of the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), a research center within the College of Science.
One of VCC’s current projects is with the City of Alexandria staff to address extreme heat in the region through case studies and data collection of successful adaptation strategies in urban settings, such as cooling centers. Mason experts leading these tasks are Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences Assistant Professor Luis Ortiz, Global and Community Health Assistant Professor and Director of the Online Master of Public Health program Marybeth “MB” Mitcham, Communication Distinguished University Professor Ed Maibach, and Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Research Scholar Dan Vecellio.
Testing self-interacting dark matter with realistic galaxy formation simulations
by Elizabeth Grisham and Laura Powers
Ferah Munshi, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University, received $216,115 from the National Science Foundation for testing self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) in galaxy formation simulations. This work will result in the largest-ever suite of dwarf galaxy simulations within both the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) and SIDM paradigms, to comprehensively test both models.
Munshi will work with Mason graduate students Amber Roepe-Gier and Anna Engelhardt, as well as researchers from Rutgers University, University of Oklahoma, and the University of Washington. Their collaboration called the N-Body Shop, is an international partnership of astrophysicists—one of the few to be dominated by women. Students benefit from partnerships such as these, according to Munshi, as they are able to work alongside a more diverse group of scientists within an inclusive environment.
This summer, Ferah Munshi received the prestigious Simons Emmy Noether Fellowship in Theoretical Physics to further her research at the Perimeter Institute this fall. And congratulations to Anna Engelhardt, who received the competitive NASA FINESST graduate student research fellowship.
Background image shows SIDM versus CDM from one of the teams' simulations. Photo courtesy of Alyson Brooks.
African scientists collaborate to solve global problems
As part of the Africa Water-Energy-Food-Health (AWEFH) Nexus initiative, in both February and June, the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science (GGS) partnered with the Environmental Science and Technology Center (ESTC) to offer two UN Environmental Programs (UNEP) on mapping and monitoring Africa's natural resources using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) data.
Science and policy delegates from Kenya, South Sudan, Senegal, Botswana Uganda, Egypt, and the United States gathered on Mason's Fairfax Campus for a series of lectures. Mason scientists covered topics ranging from the processing and analysis of remote sensing data to the utilization of this data for monitoring methane emissions and land carbon levels.
Additionally, six Mason Science Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) summer interns attended the second UNEP-Mason training workshop in June 2023 and prepared their final ASSIP presentations, along with abstracts, for the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting 2023.
The workshops offered sessions featuring remote sensing and GIS experts and leaders, including Mason GGS faculty and ETSC researchers Xianjun Hao and John Qu, as well as Bouchra Taouil, the Africa coordinator. Additional experts in attendance included Charles Sebukeera and Pushpam Kumar from UNEP, Zhiliang Zhu from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and Ashbindu Singh from the Environmental Pulse Institute. Ritesh Gautam from the Environmental Defense Fund and John Wilson from Terrapulse Inc. were also present. These UNEP-Mason training workshops provide an excellent opportunity for Mason to make a global impact and foster future collaborations with UN agencies and African countries.
Mason researchers collaborate with National Academies, associations, and communities
by Tracy Mason, Karen Akerlof, and Kerin Hilker-Balkissoon
This past year, Mason Science faculty had the opportunity to influence on a broad scale, presenting research to the National Academies on how to effectively collaborate in community-based research projects and share best practices in transfer student success programs.
Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, George Mason University Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Karen Akerlof and University of Alaska Fairbanks Research Associate and Mason alumna, Kristin Timm, explored “co-production,” when researchers engage with people outside the bounds of their academic institutions, bringing together diverse groups to iteratively create new knowledge, and many times favorable community impact.
The team presented their findings in a rarely called workshop convening the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Their study, published in May, found three perspectives for how co-production should be conducted in order to ensure it is equitable, each with a different focus. The first centered on valuing different ways of knowing about the world and restructuring power relations to put communities in the driver's seat in collaborations; the second on including local audiences and designing the communicative, participatory, and interactive dimensions of co-production; and the third on the contributions that science can make in building community capacity and empowerment for collective action.
In June, Kerin Hilker-Balkissoon, Mason Science director of educational and career pathways who leads the college's transfer student onboarding and community building, was selected to speak about Mason's ADVANCE transfer programs and exciting preliminary outcomes on a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel. The talk, entitled “University-Led Action on Systemic and Student Inequities in STEM Transfer: Paving the Pathway to STEM Career Equity,” focused specifically on how investment in the STEM transfer pipeline is a sound approach to career equity and supports the development of a regional defense labor force.
Planting the ‘seed’ to advance nanoparticle growth reactions
by Laura Powers
Gold nanoparticles play an important role in some of today’s most successful therapeutic treatments for conditions like cancer and arthritis, while also supporting many medical sensory applications and the targeting of cells within the body. Though the synthesis of gold nanoparticles is a process studied and applied for more than 20 years, scientists are just now understanding how they originate.
In a study published by Nature Communications, George Mason University scientists, including Interim Chair for Mason’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andre Clayborne and chemistry PhD alumna Nia Pollard, partnered with researchers from John Hopkins University, Princeton University, and Rice University to identify an atomically precise “seed” that will develop into a specific nanoparticles type—opening the door for scientists to understand how to produce specific gold nanoparticle shapes based on a given application. Photo by Natasha Gilliam/Marketing and Communications/College of Science.
Tackling climate crisis and food insecurity
by Anne Reynolds and Tracy Mason
Department of Environmental Science and Policy Professor Dann Sklarew leverages his environmental science knowledge to work with Mason and elected officials to establish policies and programs to help resolve some of the world’s biggest problems—unsustainable development and food insecurity.
Sklarew researched and advocated for greater food security for an estimated 12,000 hungry Mason students and helped recruit Mason students and alumni and Swipe Out Hunger to work for greater food security for those enrolled in any of Virginia’s public universities and colleges. Sklarew became a co-author of and lead academic advocate for the Virginia Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program (2022 House Bill 629) and contributor to the SNAP access law (Acts of Assembly 2022 Chapter 483 / Code of Virginia section 23.1-409.1). SCHEV estimated the SNAP bill alone could provide millions of dollars in federal food assistance to thousands of college students at Mason and throughout the commonwealth.
Sklarew’s co-curricular support for students’ 2019 and 2022 climate rallies and Mason’s 2020 draft climate action plan segued to his co-authorship of Mason’s first University Policy (#1142) to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. He has since put policy into practice, first as the faculty representative to Facilities’ Climate Action Team, then as a member of Mason’s Sustainable Operations Plan initiative. He then volunteered to serve as Co-Chair for the Mason Sustainability Council’s Carbon Neutrality Task Force to draft Mason’s second Climate Action Plan.
Sklarew now leads development of the new Foragers’ Forest at Mason’s Fairfax campus (artist sketch below). With support from Amazon, Mason’s Patriot Green Fund and Institute for a Sustainable Earth, this 5,500 square foot outdoor living lab aims to provide the patriot community with free, native foods while sequestering carbon dioxide and restoring habitat for local wildlife. According to Dean Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, Mason Science will be this unique forest’s lead academic partner. Background image by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Cosmos grant to support Biosciences student seeking treatment of drug-resistant bacteria
by Laura Powers
The increase in bacteria capable of resisting some of the strongest medications available poses a serious threat to the health of all people. It is critical that researchers identify new ways to treat these infections and biosciences PhD student, Alena James, is up to the task. She recently received a $5,000 Cosmos Scholar Grant to support research focused on different ways to treat one of these bacteria.
James’ research is an extension of a larger study funded by the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program and led by Monique van Hoek, professor of microbiology and infectious diseases in Mason’s School of Systems Biology. Van Hoek’s study focuses on toxin-antitoxin systems in bacteria and seeks to disrupt the ability of the "antitoxin" gene to regulate the "toxin" gene—ultimately killing the bacteria. If this approach proves successful, this would be a large step towards new treatments for bacteria that are otherwise resistant to available medications.
James will use the funding received through the Cosmos Grant to apply this approach to the biothreat bacterium Francisella. According to van Hoek, “the ability to specifically target expression of the toxin gene and cause bacterial cell death is a promising strategy in the fight against multidrug-resistant and dangerous bacteria.” Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/George Mason University.
Canadian wildfire smoke and particulate matter blanket northeastern U.S.
by Daniel Tong and Tracy Mason
In June, immense Canadian fires and their particulate matter blanketed the skies causing residents across the northeastern U.S. to experience the worst air quality in recent decades. For several days, the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeded 200, indicating an "unhealthy" level and posing risks to the well-being of those residing in these areas. Mason Science expert, Associate Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, Daniel Tong provided information to major media outlets, weighing in on what actions people should take to remain safe.
Tong, who specializes in atmospheric chemistry and aerosols, and helped start the Dust Alliance of North America, also leads an Air Quality Group at Mason that actively develops forecasting capability of wildfire smoke. Their Hazardous Air Quality Ensemble System (HAQES) takes in model predictions from various federal agencies, including the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), to produce a consensus forecast, which shows superior performance during extreme events such as wildfire.
“Mason’s HAQES forecasting system accurately predicted the transport of this wildfire smoke and successfully forecast the poor air quality in the northeast U.S. and mid-Atlantic region.” said Yunyao Li, a Mason research scientist in Tong’s group leading the new system development. Such system accuracy can positively impact public health. Photo by Douglas Rissing.