Dear GW Engineering Community,

Welcome to the start of the fall semester! Returning to GW Engineering full-time after my term as Interim Provost has been a wonderful homecoming and has reaffirmed how extraordinary this community is. Engineers and computer scientists are natural problem-solvers, and I missed being around that every day. A special thank you to Jason Zara for his leadership as Interim Dean this past year, and my deepest gratitude to our staff and faculty who have

continued to pursue our mission with excellence—educating and caring for our students, leading and supporting research and innovation, and keeping GW Engineering moving forward. I'm truly excited about the future of our school!

At the same time, we must be candid about the serious headwinds we face. Shifts in undergraduate and on-campus graduate enrollment present real financial and operational challenges. We cannot control nationwide demographic trends or macro policy shifts, but by focusing on what we can control—developing compelling interdisciplinary programs and collaborations with our "Engineering And..." mindset, leveraging our location to foster partnerships and experiential opportunities, strengthening the student experience and value proposition—and aligning with the priorities of the strategic framework, we can build a resilient and sustainable future for our school. Navigating these challenges will take the collective creativity, insight, and collaboration of our entire community.

Thank you for your continued dedication to our students and to our mission as educators and researchers. I look forward to working alongside all of you this semester and beyond.

Raise High!

John Lach

Dean, GW Engineering

Starting in July 2025, Dr. Jason Zara led GW’s School of Engineering & Applied Science (GW Engineering) through a complex year as Interim Dean while Dean John Lach served as Interim Provost. As Zara returns to his former role, now with the new title of Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the GW Engineering community thanks Zara for stepping up to steer our school and support all its members.

October 1, 3-4:30pm: Craft Your Career

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October 2, 9:30am-4:30pm: Teaching Day 2026

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October 2, 12:30-2pm: Highlighting Your Unique Value Proposition

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October 3, 9:30am-6pm: Civic Hack DC 2026 Part 2: From Prototype to Production

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October 6 & 8: INSPIRE Leadership Seminar

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October 8, 2-3pm: CTE Workshop on AI Is Not Inevitable: Considerations for Informed Resistance

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GW Today spotlighted the F1 Net Zero 2030 Systems Simulation Dashboard created by GW Engineering researchers to visualize how individual variables affect F1's goal of reducing its carbon footprint to zero by 2030. Developed by F1 fans Associate Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Caitlin Grady and lead researcher Sachi Nandurkar, M.S. ’25, a lab manager in Grady’s FEWslab, this passion project of theirs has already impacted the industry.

GW Engineering’s Office of Inclusive Excellence aspires to cultivate a community at our school in which all members have a strong sense of belonging and an equitable opportunity to thrive. As Program Associate, Dana Pratt is integral to this mission. Get to know September’s Local Hero, Dana Pratt!

Multiple impactful, unique convenings were hosted at the SEH this summer, bringing attendees just steps away from unrivaled experiences that extend their learning, inside and outside of the classroom. 

On June 13, GW Engineering alumni and current graduate students gathered at the school’s inaugural summer picnic, providing an environment for nurturing a lifelong connection to the GW Engineering community.

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.