Engineering and... News: May 2025

Greetings, GW Engineering Community,

Congratulations on another highly successful academic year, and a huge thank you to everyone who made it possible! At the foundation of who we are, GW Engineering believes that every individual brings value to our community and contributes to moving our school 

forward. So I want to extend my sincere appreciation to every member of our community who supported and engaged with GW Engineering this year. Your active participation contributes to our core mission of high-quality education and high-impact research – a mission we continue to pursue with excellence.

Our community includes GW Engineering alumni, representing some of the most successful executives, practitioners, entrepreneurs, scientists, and public servants in their industries. At this year’s GW Engineering graduation celebration, we welcomed Chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Chris Wiernicki (M.S. ’83) as the keynote speaker for the Class of 2025. He inspired the graduates with five key leadership principles, which he learned through his own personal and professional experiences and those of his father, a resistance fighter in Poland during World War II. Mr. Wiernicki has had an incredible career of leadership and impact in the maritime industry, and he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to GW Engineering by creating invaluable opportunities for our students and faculty.

Our student speaker, Talia Novack, moved the audience similarly. Talia graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and contributed to the GW Engineering community in a variety of ways during her student years, including serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant. She shared a message of resilience and taking chances, and of how GW engineers and computer scientists build something greater than themselves. And of course, Talia and her fellow graduates made sure that GW Engineering was the loudest school at GW Commencement on the National Mall for the second straight year!

As we close out the academic year and head into the summer months, I want to encourage all of you to consider your legacy of excellence. What do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be an instrument of change to create a better world? The successful navigation of the challenges of another complex year illustrates the exceptional quality and character of the entire GW Engineering community. It’s an honor to be the Dean of this wonderful school, and I look forward to what is ahead.

Please note that this will be the last newsletter for the 24/25 academic year. Look out for the next newsletter in September! Have a great summer and continue to…

Raise High Revolutionaries!

John Lach

Dean

GW Engineering

As artificial intelligence becomes more ingrained in our economy and society, organizations like the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI (IASEAI) and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) are convening global AI experts like Professor Peng Wei to secure a future in which AI is safe and ethical. 

June 1 from 12pm-1pm: McLean Meditation Institute

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June 3, 4 & 5 from 8:30am-3pm: GW Faculty Writing Retreat

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June 4 from 12pm-1pm: Clearance Preparedness Program 2025

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June 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20: National Security and Naval Power Bootcamp 2025

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June 19: Juneteenth

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June 25 from 5:30pm-8pm: Clara Bliss Hinds Society Annual Women in Leadership Event

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Engineering Better Care: Student Teams Showcase Design Projects at NEBEC 2025

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Xitong Liu Honored by AAEES for Breakthroughs in Water Purification and Resource Extraction

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Celebrating Immersive Tech and Student Collaboration at XRperience @ GW

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Tian Lan Delivers Keynote at Bowie State’s Inaugural AI & Data Science Conference

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Caitlin Grady to Drive Collaboration in New Energy and Tech Research Network at GW

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Global Experts in Energy and Thermal Fluids Convene at GW for 10th Annual TFEC

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In the scientific report “Coordinated link sharing on Facebook” published in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from George Washington University and Texas A&M University advance methods for detecting coordinated posting across social media networks. GW Engineering professors H. Howie Huang and David Broniatowski, along with alumnus Jordan McShan, contributed to the study.

Each department within GW Engineering has its own team dedicated to supporting its community. In the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Brian Harris assists in leading operations to ensure everything runs smoothly for students and faculty alike.

Q: How long have you been working at GW, and what is your position?

A: I have been working at GW for 3 years as the Department Operations Assistant for the MAE Department.

Q: What led you to this career?

A: I was applying for the M.S. Museum Studies Program here at GW and needed a job to financially support me through my time there. My ultimate goal is to find a job in museum collections management.

Q: Why did you choose GW?

A: I chose GW because I am a native Washingtonian, and the Museum Studies Program is one of the best in the country and perfectly located near the Smithsonian. It also helped to have tuition remission as a full-time employee.

There’s no shortage of innovation occurring at GW, and GW’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research hosted GW’s first InnovationFest to celebrate our prolific scholarly community and showcase the Revolutionaries who are building a better world. The event featured inventions, demonstrations, posters, performances, books, and art. 

As part of GW Engineering’s graduation season, undergraduate students marked two key milestones on May 14 that celebrate the transition from academic life to professional practice: the Order of the Engineer and the Pledge of Computing Professional Induction Ceremonies, as well as the Undergraduate Awards Ceremony.

At GW Engineering, we believe engineering can be seen at the intersection of everything that drives progress and innovation. At the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on May 15 and the Graduation Celebration on May 16, Dean John Lach encouraged the Class of 2025 to embrace this transformative impact as they embark on a new adventure.

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.