Upcoming ISE Events

Workshop: Incorporating Systems Thinking within Environmental Curricula

Friday, November 11, 2022, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Registration
Potomac Science Center

Systems thinking is often described as a core capacity for understanding sustainability and a critical skill for the 21st century. As such, this workshop is part of a George Mason University Curriculum Impact Grant-funded project that seeks to convene faculty and graduate students to examine the current state of systems thinking pedagogies and explore how they are being incorporated within two undergraduate degree programs–the BS in Environmental Science offered by the Department of Environmental Science & Policy (ESP), and the BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies offered jointly by the School of Integrative Studies and ESP. Faculty and graduate students from other departments who teach related courses are also welcome. Workshop participants will share their own best practices in teaching students about systems and identify opportunities to integrate systems thinking within courses and throughout program curricula. The event will be held at Mason’s Potomac Science Center and will include a catered lunch for participants. The first half of the workshop (9:30-11:30 am), comprised of introductory talks and a curricular review, will be live-streamed for those who wish to attend but are not available for the full day. Please register HERE and email organizers K. L. AkerlofAndrew WingfieldJeremy CampbellTed Chen, and Meaghan Caruso with any questions you have about the event.

In the News

Featured News: Mason researchers partner with Indigenous nations to promote environmental resilience

The George News, September 12, 2022. 
It’s common to think of Indigenous peoples as living in the past. We may think of them around Thanksgiving or in old films and books. But Native Americans are very much here and now, said ISE's Jeremy Campbell, and after decades of struggle, that’s starting to be recognized.
Announcements

University Global Coalition Annual Gathering 

Monday, Oct 3, 2022, 10:00 AM – Friday, Oct 7, 2022, 12:00 PM EDT
Registration
The University Global Coalition will host its 2022 Annual Gathering, with sessions held virtually throughout the week of October 3-7, 2022. These deep dive sessions on selected topics focus on innovative partnerships for Sustainable Development Goal innovation, with actionable outcomes leading towards the 2023 SDG Summit.

Visit UGC 2022 Annual Gathering or follow UGC on twitter (@uniglobalco) or LinkedIn (University Global Coalition) for updates.

Register today! Please save the email and password information used to register; you will need these to access the session links.

Pitch and Pilot: Fairfax County Innovation Challenge 

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 1pm - 3:30pm ET
Registration to Compete

Registration is now open for an innovation competition to develop smart city solutions centered on carbon neutrality & climate action.
Smart City Works Innovation Hub and Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives (DEI) and Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC) in partnership with George Mason University's Office of Sustainability and Institute for Sustainable Earth, announce the launch of the Pitch and Pilot: Fairfax County Innovation Challenge.
The goal of the challenge is to find innovative solutions that improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable electricity, and accelerate the use of electric vehicles to shift from a carbon-based economy to a carbon-neutral community. The deadline for accepting applications is October 3, 2022, at 5pm ET.

    MITRE Capstones Project Portal 

    As part of its University Innovation Exchange (UIX) initiative, MITRE is partnering with universities to offer technical advisors and capstone project ideas that reflect real problems facing the United States government. The MITRE Capstones Project Portal is a web-based platform for university faculty and students to browse, select, and execute capstone projects with a MITRE technical advisor. There are several exciting opportunities currently on the Project Portal. You can review the full list here.

    25Live Guide – Feature Your Sustainability Events


    The Office of University Events, the Institute for a Sustainable Earth, and the Office of Sustainability collaborated to develop this 25Live Guide to increase the visibility of and engagement with your sustainability-focused events at Mason. 25Live is Mason’s institution-wide event and academic scheduling system which dovetails with unit calendars such as Today@Mason. Please use this 25Live Guide to ensure your sustainability-focused events, whether they are in-person or virtual, are featured on Today @ Mason and through ISE and the Office of Sustainability.

      ISE Faculty Profiles 


      The ISE faculty directory is a tool for you to find others with complementing expertise and for external and internal audiences to find you! If you haven’t yet submitted your research profile information for the directory, please complete your profile here.
      Upcoming Mason Events

      Cross-Sector Collaboration with the Public Health Department: A C-RASC Lunch & Learn Series Presentation with Dr. Brie Haupt

      Wednesday, September 21, 2022, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET
      Registration

      Presenter: Brittany “Brie” Haupt, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness Department with research interests of cultural competency, emergency and crisis management, crisis communication, and community resilience. She has published in Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Disaster Prevention and Management, Risk, Hazards, and Crisis in Public Policy, Journal of Emergency Management, and Frontiers in Communication section on Disaster communications. Dr. Haupt‘s award-winning book with Dr. Claire Connolly Knox on Cultural Competence for Emergency and Crisis Management: Concepts, Theories, and Case Studies offers educators a roadmap for successfully engaging participants in various aspects of cultural competency knowledge, skills, and abilities. This text received the American Society of Public Administration’s Section on Democracy and Social Justice’s 2021 Book of the Year Award. See attached flyer for more details.

      **This event is FREE and Pre-registration is required!

      Who should attend: All Mason Faculty, Staff, Students, and those interested in the research areas of Emergency Management, Public Administration, Public Policy, Public Health, Community Resilience, Cross-Sector Collaboration, and Cultural Competency

        Bring Down Counterfeiting 2022: Policy Hackathon

        August 5 – November 5, 2022
        Registration
        George Mason University’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) is pleased to partner with Amazon to co-host the 2022 Bring Down Counterfeiting Public Policy Hackathon, which is now accepting registrants. Tickets are finite so register now!

        Annually, counterfeiting and piracy are a $464 billion problem, or 2.5% of global trade, according to the OECD. Counterfeiters deprive brand owners of the value of their intellectual property, compete unfairly with honest entrepreneurs, and may place the health and safety of consumers at risk. Additionally, counterfeiting may intersect with other nefarious activity such as illicit trafficking in narcotics, arms, persons, and wildlife. The methods counterfeiters use and the channels they aim to exploit continue to evolve, and there is wide variability in the investments and impact that different industry stakeholders are having to prevent counterfeiters.

        Organized by Blue Clarity, Bring Down Counterfeiting invites teams to register between August 5th and October 7th. This event will challenge teams from U.S. academic institutions, companies, and other affiliations to develop innovative ideas to improve public-private collaborations in the United States against the industry-wide, global challenge of counterfeiting. The final round of the public policy hackathon will be held in-person on November 5th, when teams will compete for more than $20,000 in prizes.

          The Beck Environmental Lecture: Michael Mann

          Thursday, October 6, 2022, 7:30 pm
          Registration

          Michael E. Mann is back with his new book The New Climate War, which reveals the thirty year campaign major polluters have run to deflect blame for climate change onto individuals, and away from their own toxic practices. Bill Nye says, “Mann shows that corporations and lobbyists have been successful in convincing us that climate change will be fine, if we just recycle our bottles and turn out the lights. Instead, he says, global warming is a problem way too hot for any one person to handle. He’s optimistic though, because he sees what we really can and will do.” Mann combats climate doom-saying with practical steps to save the planet. Sponsored by Robert & Lucy Beck.

          This event is part of the Fall for the Book Festival, which runs from October 12-15. View the full schedule at fallforthebook.org/schedule.

          Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Conference

          Monday, October 24, 2022, 8am - 6:30pm ET
          Mason Square, Arlington, Virginia
          Save the date for George Mason University’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Initiative, hosting its first-ever conference featuring panels, workshops, and conversation groups with researchers and changemakers from across the country. 
            Other Upcoming Events

            Trans-Atlantic Economy at the Local Level: The Case of Northern Virginia & Hamburg, Germany 

            Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 11am ET
            Registration

            Join the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung USA and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission for an online event that will explore the dynamic of economic engagement between the United States and Germany at the local level through the work of Hamburg, Germany and Arlington County, Virginia
            The United States and Europe remain each other’s most important markets: the transatlantic economy is the largest and wealthiest market in the world with strong ties in foreign direct investment. While there are well documented metrics at the national and state-levels concerning global trade and investment, jobs and tourism, there is practically nothing at the local level. This void make strategic planning and regional marketing difficult for regional and local governments. This discussion will help shed light on experiences in Northern Virginia and Hamburg with foreign direct investment and subnational cooperation.

              Green Jobs Forum 

              Thursday, September 22, 2022, 3:30pm - 7pm ET
              Registration

              Our urgent need to become a more sustainable and equitable world, and to stop and reverse climate and biodiversity impacts, is clear. It is also creating widespread new opportunities for people of all ages, skills, and interests to come into green jobs and businesses.  If you are interested in learning more about how you can make a difference by working in a green job, we invite you to attend our upcoming Leaders in Energy (LE) annual Green Jobs Forum. It's coming up soon - on Thursday, September 22, 2022 from 3:30 to 7:00 pm EDT. The event will be virtual and there will be a recording if you can't attend live. 
              This year's Green Job's Forum features three panels. Each is an hour-long including Q&A.
              • The first panel is "Green Job Opportunities" which will highlight myriad current openings and green business development resources.
              • The second is "Educational Pathways" which will cover familiar and newer ways to gain the skills and knowledge that employers need.
              • The third is "Landing the Job" where you'll discover the paths others have taken successfully.

                 The event concludes with an optional networking session to meet fellow attendees!

                 You'll hear from a constellation of knowledgeable speakers coming from government, business, and education, plus individuals who landed a green job or created their own green business. Learn more about our speakers here.


              National Clean Energy Week 

              September 26-30, 2022
              Registration

              National Clean Energy Week is a celebration of the policies, industries, and innovations that power our daily lives while producing no or very little greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the very real technological and political challenges, a clean energy future is in our reach, and America is ready to lead the way. Whether attending the Flagship Policy Makers Symposium or hosting your own celebration, please join us in recognition of all that clean energy can bring energy independence, economic prosperity, and a more peaceful world. For more information, click here for the website.
              Join a free and virtual symposium that brings together business leaders, advocates, policymakers, and trade associations from all perspectives who are dedicated to advancing clean energy. Click here to register.
              Funding Opportunities

              Dear Colleague Letter: Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry (CAS-SC)


              The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces the establishment of the Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry Program (CAS-SC), under the CAS metaprogram umbrella. The CAS-SC Program recognizes the importance of sustainable chemistry in addressing many societal challenges and aims to encourage the expansion of the Nation’s research capacity in this topic area through submissions of research proposals. Proposals that emphasize a detailed and quantitative understanding of sustainable chemistry and include industrial partnerships are of particular interest. 

              OJP FY2022 Solicitations: Strengthen public safety, prevent gun violence, and increase community trust

              This year, the Office of Justice Programs is making significant resources available to reduce violence, including $50 million in new grant funding to support street outreach initiatives, group call-in programs, hospital-based trauma interventions, and other Community Violence Intervention (CVI) strategies designed to reach those most at risk of committing or experiencing violence. A companion solicitation from OJP’s National Institute of Justice is also available to support research and evaluation of CVI programs. We are also inviting communities to take advantage of funding opportunities designed to strengthen the bonds of trust within communities while ensuring public safety.
               
              Please click here for more information, and click on the links below to check out OJP’s other solicitations focused on:

              Dear Colleague Letter: Design for Sustainability in Computing

              This recently issued Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 2022-60Design for Sustainability in Computing encourages the submission of novel and high impact proposals that advance sustainability in all aspects of computing to the CISE Core programs (NSF 21-616). The DCL invites transformative, cross-disciplinary and potentially clean slate approaches to enable sustainability across all levels of the entire computing stack from hardware to networking to software applications. Proposals should consider diverse notions of sustainability and propose suitable metrics for quantifying impact. Traditional energy efficiency and power savings methods alone are not in scope for this DCL. Computing techniques for sustainability in other fields are not in scope for this DCL. This DCL seeks ambitious and forward-thinking proposals on Design for Sustainability in Computing along multiple dimensions that go beyond energy efficiency.  

              This DCL neither constitutes a new competition nor a new program. Rather, interested proposers should prepare and submit proposals in accordance with the instructions in the CISE Core program solicitation (NSF 21-616) and the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Additionally, to call attention to responsiveness to this DCL, the Project Summary should include "SustainabilityDCL" in the keyword list. Proposals submitted to this DCL will count towards the proposal limits imposed in the CISE Core program solicitation. 

                NSF Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Climate Change


                This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encourages the science and engineering communities to develop forward-thinking research that will demonstrably aid in the Nation's goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and developing approaches for adapting to the change that is already occurring. CAS: Innovative Solutions to Climate Change is a call to action that encourages the submission of certain types of proposals to appropriate existing NSF core programs to lay the foundation for disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and to answer fundamental questions related to novel approaches and solutions to climate change.
                • Funding source: National Science Foundation
                • Anticipated funding amount: Up to $100,000
                Student Opportunities

                Good Trouble: Supportive Community Conversation Circles for Mason Students Interested in Pursuing Positive Social Change

                Thursday, September 29th, 2022, 12pm EST
                Registration
                Are you interested in how you can spark positive social change on campus, in your local community, as well as nationally and globally? In 2020 the late great civil rights activist Congressman John R. Lewis called out﹘

                “To each and every one of you, especially you young people ... Go out there, speak up, speak out. Get in the way. Get in good trouble. Necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”

                This fall, the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning (CECIL) and a group of university faculty will offer monthly hour-long conversation circles over pizza to discuss what it means to “get in good trouble” for each of us, whether protesting in the streets, organizing a grassroots group, volunteering service, social change research, getting out the vote, or contacting your representatives. Join fellow students to talk about the issues that are important to you and how to pursue them. Find support and make new connections in these trying years that many are calling “the decisive decade.” University faculty members will help moderate the circle discussions and serve as resources.

                Sign up today! The fall semester conversation circles will take place on the following days and times:
                Thurs., Sept. 29th at noon 
                Thurs., Oct. 27th at noon 
                Thurs., Dec. 1st at noon 

                  2023 Next System Fellows - Applications Open!

                  Deadline: Saturday, November 15th, 2022
                  Application
                  We are now accepting application for admission to the Spring 2023 cohort of Next System Fellows. Maybe you hope for a life in which you can make a real difference in the world. You seek a career in public service, research and education, social enterprise, activism, or advocacy. You need to build your practical experience and career networks. And you also want to make a difference right now. 
                  If so, you should consider applying to become a Next System Fellow. The Next System Fellows are a part of Mason's prestigious Arlington Fellows program. 
                  A Next System Fellowship becomes your Spring 2023 semester. You study with the same students. You work closely with our core faculty. You emerge at the end of the semester having completed a transformative educational process.  This is the kind of college experience many of you are looking for.
                  We invite you to read more about our courses, internship program, and the new field of Next System Studies - a truly transdisciplinary approach to preparing for a transition to a better society that unites the social sciences and humanities, business and management, environmental and biological sciences, and technology and computer sciences. Read about last year's cohort, our first Next System Fellows. Take a look at this short video to get a sense of one of the types of activities experienced by our Fellows.
                  Consider this opportunity and --if it feels right to you-- apply soon. Your application deadline is November 15th, but our admissions committee begins formal review of applications on October 1st. Apply here: https://fellows.gmu.edu/next-system/application 

                    Bird Strikes Prevention Volunteers


                    The Office of Sustainability’s Patriot Green Fund, led by Sarah D’Alexander, is engaged with Dr. Daniel Hanley, Dr. David Luther, and Shawn Smith, among others, in the development of strategies to reduce bird strikes and bird fatalities.

                    Dr. Hanley, Dr. Luther, and Shawn Smith have a unique opportunity for students to participate in community engagement at Mason’s campuses from mid-September to mid-October,

                    Students can support bird strike prevention by volunteering as citizen scientists! Students will travel pre-selected routes and report any observed bird fatalities in the mornings and/or evenings. Reports will be made using an application designed by Dr. Hanley, Dr. Luther, and Shawn Smith. Data from the reports will be used to help develop solutions to reduce bird strikes and bird fatalities.

                    Students can email Shawn Smith at ssmit28@gmu.edu and include “bird strike volunteer” in the subject line to get started.

                      Mason's Active Leaders Program


                      Brought to you by Mason’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Office is the LEAD's Active Leaders program, which is a 10-week seminar (2 hours each week) taught by Dr. Nick Lennon (LEAD Director). The program is designed to provide a more advanced leadership opportunity for Mason students (undergraduate as well as graduate).  There is no reading and no homework. The primary focus is to provide a high-quality leadership program for active student leaders at Mason. This year, the program will be in-person again (on the Fairfax campus). We will have many interactive activities and discussions to help you learn about leadership (this is NOT a lecture-based program). 
                      To be a part of the Mason Active Leaders Program, visit our website at: https://lead.gmu.edu/activeleaders/ and complete the very brief registration form.  If you have questions, please contact Dr. Nick Lennon, Director of the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) office at nlennon@gmu.edu

                        The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Internship Opportunities


                        The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) has several intership opportunities available. Internship placement depends on finding a match between your interests and a suitable research project mentored by scientists at STRI. See currently available STRI internships and the application process here
                        The Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) aims to connect members of the Mason community with others across the Mason community–and with other communities, policy-makers, businesses and organizations–so that, together, we can more effectively address the world’s pressing sustainability and resilience challenges.

                        The ISE Newsletter provides up-to-date information on conferences, funding opportunities, and research pertaining to environmental science and sustainability. The biweekly newsletter aims to facilitate information sharing among researchers, practitioners, and relevant local, national, and international organization.
                        Subscribe to our email list.