Engineering and... News: October 2024

Greetings GW Engineering Community!

At our core, we’re a school that takes pride in our innovative approaches to developing solutions that will make our world a better place—both locally and globally. At GW Engineering, we’re highly collaborative, intentionally considerate, and welcome differing

perspectives when tackling society’s greatest challenges. This is one of the things that inspires me most as the dean of this school, and this is what continues to be a key driver of our innovation, discovery, and impact.

Our world-class faculty set the tone with this approach. Professor Tian Lan of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department is working on a new project that will develop solutions to safeguard everyday users and enhance the security of mixed reality (MR) technologies. Co-led by GW Engineering and The Pennsylvania State University and backed by $9M in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funding, this critical research will examine the vulnerability of MR systems and focus on proactive protections to keep them safe and secure.

Professor Xitong Liu of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department is leading a team to help significantly reduce the levels of contaminants found in drinking water. Contaminants in water have been linked to several health issues, including cancer, kidney disease, and high cholesterol. This research is critical and will help to inform policy at the national level.

GW Engineering students also lead innovative research. At the 2024 Autonomous Vehicle Competition (AVC) University Innovation Showcase, a team of students from the Departments of Computer Science and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering presented their autonomous air vehicle, which earned them the Innovation and Engineering on the Fly Award. The student research group’s ability to predict obstacles, quickly adapt, and integrate the necessary adjustments throughout the process of building the vehicle is a demonstration of their agility and ingenuity.

Our alumni are also shaping the world. Alumna Christine Darden was recently honored with a Congressional Gold Medal for her leadership and exceptional contributions to the space race. Dr. Darden became a NASA engineer in 1967 when she joined the organization as one of their “human computers.” She was later featured in the 2016 book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Dr. Darden is in the GW Engineering Hall of Fame and was part of the inaugural class of GW’s Monumental Alumni.

As the fall semester continues, I want to recognize everyone for all of your efforts that move us closer to our individual and collective goals. We have some of the best and brightest in our community—people who take on extra tasks, offer to help outside the scope of their normal duties, or just show up to help because they’re available, because it needs to be done, and because they want to contribute. Thank you for all you do!

Raise High!

John Lach

Dean, GW Engineering

From inducing cybersickness to diminishing trust in equipment, cognitive attacks exploit the connection between users and mixed reality (MR) systems. In critical operations, protection against adversarial attacks is vital but not offered through current MR systems on the market. These problems are under explored due to limited models available for reasoning about cognitive attacks and their potential impact on human behavior, engagement, and trust in MR systems, which prompted DARPA's Intrinsic Cognitive Security program to issue a call for innovative projects addressing this gap that researchers like Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tian Lan answered. Over the next three years, Lan will support a collaborative effort between academia and industry, backed by $9M in DARPA funding, to build tactical MR systems to safeguard human users from cognitive attacks and offer verifiable cognitive guarantees.

November 1 from 1-3pm: University Seminar on AI & Writing in the Disciplines
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November 5, 12, 19, & 26 from 12:25-1pm: Native American Heritage Month/American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month Booth
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November 6 at 7pm: Engineers' Council General Body Meeting
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November 7 from 1-2pm: HR Manager Essentials Training: Compensation
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November 8 from 12-1pm: Ace Your Interviews Webinar with the ISCAs
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November 11 & 18 from 2-3pm: GW Engineering Career Chat
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November 12 from 12-12:30pm: Employer Briefing: CNA Corporation
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November 13 from 4-5pm: Federal Interview Tips: Presented by OPM
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November 16 from 1-5:30pm: LEED Green Associate Training Webinar
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November 18 from 10am-4pm: 2024 BME Research Day
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Fostering Research and Diversity Excellence: GW Engineering's Contributions at BMES Annual Meeting

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Novel Findings Earn CEE Ph.D. Student Award at World Water Congress

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GW Engineering's Women in Tech Empowered at Grace Hopper Celebration 2024

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Transforming Macroeconomic Analysis with Hysteresis Modeling Techniques

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Virtual Sessions Expand Reach at INCOSE International Symposium

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Advanced Control Methods Highlighted at IFAC Workshop Keynote

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To eliminate per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” from groundwater, innovative technologies for destroying these chemicals must be paired with effective methods to concentrate and contain them. A research team led by Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Xitong Liu made a promising advance in furthering the understanding of polymer-coated colloidal activated carbon (CAC) in the in-situ groundwater remediation for treating PFAS contaminant. Explore the findings of this groundbreaking study, “Polymer Coatings Affect Transport and Remobilization of Colloidal Activated Carbon in Saturated Sand Columns: Implications for In Situ Groundwater Remediation,” at the link below!

As a Dean’s Fellow and a key member of the Office of Undergraduate Students Services and Advising’s co-curricular team, Amy Fehr collaborates closely with staff to ensure the success of co-curricular initiatives, including managing activities related to the Clark Scholars Program, undergraduate research, and global experiences like study abroad.

Q: How long have you been working at GW, and what is your position?
A: I’ve been at GW for nearly five years, but I’ve only been a Dean’s Fellow for the last year of that. I’m very fortunate to be working as the graduate fellow for the Clark Scholars program as I complete my Master’s here!

Q: What led you to this career?
A: During my time as an undergrad, I was a member of the Clark Scholars Program, a scholarship program at GW that emphasizes academic excellence, leadership, and community service. I was led to this position by a desire to give back to the program that gave me so much during my undergraduate experience by helping run it for my final year at GW.

Q: Why did you choose GW?
A: I chose GW because of my mom; she has been seeing a GW-affiliated doctor for years now, and I recall being so impressed by their ingenuity and compassion that I knew this was the place I wanted to study. Unfortunately, I’m far too squeamish to be in a fully clinical setting, so Biomedical Engineering felt like the perfect balance.

Kogan Plaza came alive with innovation on October 3, as students from across GW gathered for George Hacks' annual Kogan Makerspace. By fostering student innovation and design thinking through activities like 3D printing and circuit board building, this event is designed to ignite creativity and problem-solving, empowering future leaders from all disciplines to develop impactful solutions that address real-world problems. To further enrich the experience and display "engineering and..." in action, George Hacks collaborated with various university-wide groups to emphasize interdisciplinary innovation.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the GW Engineering Marketing and Communications team hosted a weekly community event to honor and recognize the incredible contributions of Hispanic and Latino engineers and scientists who have shaped the world of STEM. Throughout the month, we featured trailblazers who significantly impacted various engineering and technology fields, and we shared their inspiring stories at the table exhibits. Each week, the table saw a steady flow of visitors who engaged with these stories, reflecting their interest in learning about the contributions of these incredible engineers and scientists.

The GWU-PREP is a collaboration with GWU in Washington, DC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. GWU-PREP provides research opportunities at NIST to students, faculty, research staff, and postdoctoral researchers at GW as well as researchers at SURA-affiliated universities.

We support your ambitions by offering financial support to eligible GW community members, including a monthly stipend, hourly wage, or full tuition reimbursement for qualifying undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff.