Dear GW Engineering Community,

As we enter the autumn season, I'm reminded of what this season means. Autumn represents the harvest and abundance of fruits from seeds planted in the previous seasons.

We see this symbolic representation in the new programs that were rolled out in recent years, the strategic initiatives that are now taking shape, and of course the amazing new class of students we welcomed this fall.

In addition to the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) we launched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) earlier this year, we are excited to announce another research and workforce development program with the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The $12 million Consortium on Naval Enterprise Pathways (CoNEP) is dedicated to establishing a research pipeline to recruit engineers and scientists, including those from underrepresented groups, to join the Naval Research & Development Enterprise (NR&DE) workforce. As Washington, D.C. is a hotbed for maritime research, GW is uniquely suited to lead this nationwide consortium to help develop and diversify the NR&DE civilian workforce, address the risks of their aging workforce through the transfer of knowledge, and train future candidates in relevant skills and expertise for Navy careers. MAE Professor Philippe Bardet will serve as the Principal Investigator and lead the diverse group of co-investigators in reaching their primary goals by interviewing current members of the NR&DE workforce, proposing new course development, and improving existing education pathways through activities such as mentorship programs.

Last academic year we announced our efforts to coordinate cyber security efforts across the entire GW campus through the Cyber@GW initiative, led by CS Professor Adam Aviv. This fall we announced another new strategic initiative to coordinate Trustworthy AI research efforts across campus – GW Trustworthy AI. This new initiative will be led by EMSE professors Zoe Szajnfarber and David Broniatowski. GW’s Trustworthy AI Initiative integrates a collection of research and educational centers, institutes, programs and projects across our comprehensive university to pursue a holistic approach to the development of new technologies and institutions that realize the potential of responsible, trustworthy AI while building the foundation for widespread adoption and positive integration across the spectrum of society. This is another example of how GW Engineering continues to lead the way in academic research and educational programs with a focus on real-world impact.

We hosted our Fall GW Engineering Career Fair during the month of September. More than 30 employers from diverse industries and disciplines exhibited, and more than 500 students registered and attended the fair. To say this was a success would be an understatement. The feedback from employers about the quality and the caliber of our students was all positive. They were impressed by the preparedness and professionalism of all our students at every class level. In fact, recruiters from Dell informed us that GW was the only university whose summer 2023 interns had a 100% return offer rate, with all 9 GW Engineering students being offered either another internship or a permanent job by Dell – a wonderful testament to how outstanding our students are.

Thanks to the tremendous academic programs we offer – and the excellent recruitment and marketing teams that let the world know about our programs – we welcomed a large, talented, and diverse group of students this fall. We look forward to serving our students and providing them a world-class education that will help them achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams. We’re committed to providing our new students the support and encouragement they require as they embark on their GW academic journeys.

So the fruits of the seeds planted in the previous season are being harvested and we are reaping the benefits – making all of that hard work, creativity, tenacity, and patience worth it. There is so much excitement and energy at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and we will use it to plant more seeds and continue to grow our future.

Raise High, Revolutionaries!
John Lach, Dean
GW Engineering

Congratulations to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Professor Elias Balaras on being elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)! As an elected fellow, Balaras now joins only three percent of ASME’s membership. He became a member in 2004, and his exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the profession since made him a clear nominee to join the highest elected grade of membership ASME has to offer. He also joins 11 fellow MAE faculty members who hold fellowships in various societies and organizations.

October 2 from 3:30-6pm: GW Trustworthy AI Poster Social

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October 2 from 8-9pm: Entrepreneurial Speed Dating: Discover Your Co-Founder

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October 3 from 12-2:30pm: Pitch for Pizza

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October 3 from 12:25-1pm: National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

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October 4 from 12:30-2pm: GradConnect

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October 4 from 1:30-2:30pm: Prep to Placement: How to Identify Career Paths

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October 4 from 6-7pm: Fall Career Series: Resume and Cover Letter Writing

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October 4 from 6-7:30pm: Breaking Bread

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October 5 from 7-8pm: NSBE General Body Meeting

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Primary healtcare objectives are early, noninvasive, accurate diagnosis and effective therapeutic intervention without harmful side effects. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kausik Sarkar has been awarded a new collaborative grant by the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research to investigate the science behind the solution that will accomplish both goals without systematic toxicity, nanometer-size polymeric particles. Sarkar will do so alongside Professor Sanku Mallik of Pharmaceutical Science at North Dakota State University in the project “Design and mechanistic studies on microenvironment-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles for simultaneous contents release and ultrasound imaging.” 

Can human communications be represented algorithmically? Can computers facilitate cross-lingual dialogue? Can computers learn new words and usages from exposure to more texts? Professor Rebecca Hwa explores these questions and more in her research on the convergence of linguistics and computer science. She is bringing her expertise in artificial intelligence and natural language processing to GW as the new Chair of the Computer Science (CS) Department! Her primary goal is to facilitate the CS Department’s growth and to help it thrive by fostering a collaborative community of scholars whose curiosity and innovation drive advances in research and education.

Human Lab-on-Chip Platforms to Reveal Links Between Epigenetic Enzymes and Heart Conditions

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I-95 Bridge Collapse and Solutions, Explained by Professor Kim Roddis

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Promoting Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Address the Global Climate Crisis

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Professor David Nagel Comments on Cold Fusion's Scientific Comeback

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Can ChatGPT Co-Author Your Study? (No, But It May Help with the Research.)

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The Sloan Foundation Awards GW a Grant to Encourage Open-Source Software

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As misinformation flourished online during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of platforms announced policies and practices aimed at combating the spread of misinformation. But not all those efforts were successful. In fact, the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation policies of Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, were not effective in combating misinformation, according to a study, “The Efficacy of Facebook’s Vaccine Misinformation Policies and Architecture During The COVID-19 Pandemic," led by researchers at the George Washington University. The research published last week in “Science Advances” found that Facebook’s efforts were undermined by the core design features of the platform itself.

In the Computer Science Department, Department Operations Manager Catina DeBord works hard to ensure its students, faculty, and academic programs are well supported.

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

A: I am the Department Operations Manager for the Department of Computer Science. I have been working at GW for almost 10 years.

Q: What led you to this career?

A: My first "real job" out of undergrad was in higher education operations. I have changed universities and roles several times, but I keep coming back to higher education.

Q: Why did you choose GW?

A: My husband took a job in D.C. and I visited GW when I was in high school. So, when it came time for me to look for a higher education job in the D.C. area, GW was top of mind. 

The W. Scott Amey Career Center makes it its mission to cultivate curiosity in GW Engineering students by providing access to  professional and holistic development. They helped students supercharge their engineering careers by hosting a Career Fair & Symposium on Sept. 22 which featured Speed Appointments with a SEAS Ambassador, a career fair for STEM students, an Engineering & Industry panel, and an Engineering & Career Networking Hour.

Student organizations provide GW students with some of the best ways to get involved. Through three Org Fair Fridays hosted by the Division for Student Affairs and two GW Engineering Org Fairs hosted by the Engineers' Council, new and returning students were introduced to our diverse community of organizations and student leaders. GW Engineering offers over 20 member organizations across every discipline.

GW Engineering is supporting the discussion around how to strike a delicate balance between seizing the benefits and addressing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in systems engineering (SE) through collaborating with the U.S. Army and the SERC to host their AI4SE & SE4AI conference. Over the course of two days, they explored the intricate relationship between AI & SE through panels and research presentations.

Discover Boundless Research Opportunities with GWU-PREP

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.