Shayla Brown

From George Mason to Capitol Hill: How environmental policy training shaped one graduate’s path

sbrown79 — Fri, 29 May 2026 17:49:45 +0000

From George Mason to Capitol Hill: How environmental policy training shaped one graduate’s path sbrown79 Fri, 05/29/2026 - 13:49

During her final semester at 91��, Sophia Colby put her environmental policy training into action.

Colby traveled to Capitol Hill as part of the Rachel Carson Council's National Environmental Advocacy Day, where she met with federal lawmakers to discuss climate legislation and community resilience. For Colby, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies '26, the experience was a direct extension of the analytical and communication skills she developed at George Mason.

"When I first came to George Mason, I was interested in studying law, but I decided to concentrate specifically on environmental law and policy," Colby said. "My coursework helped me understand how policy decisions affect both ecosystems and communities, and that gave me the confidence to speak about real legislation with lawmakers."

Sophia Colby on Capitol Hill. Photo provided.

From case studies to Congress

Colby credits courses such as EVPP 361 Introduction to Environmental Policy, EVPP 362 Intermediate Environmental Policy, and EVPP 432 Energy Policy with preparing her to evaluate and discuss complex legislation. Through case-study assignments and applied policy analysis, she examined existing laws, identified gaps, and proposed solutions to environmental challenges.

"My professors showed us how to examine real legislation and policy initiatives related to climate change and other environmental topics," Colby said. "The case study format made me much more comfortable articulating what policy changes are needed and explaining both the human and environmental stakes involved."

On Capitol Hill, she discussed the Opportunities in Organic Act, the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, and concerns about the wood pellet industry with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

"It was a great [opportunity] to discuss how issues like pesticides, wood pelletization, and deforestation impact human health as well as the environment," Colby said.

Building experience beyond the classroom

Colby's preparation also included hands-on research. During an internship with the U.S. Geological Survey, she analyzed species range shifts, conducted literature reviews, and navigated scientific databases to support climate research.

"At USGS, I learned how to conduct scientific research that can be used to inform the policy decisions that shape our responses to environmental change," she said.

The interdisciplinary structure of George Mason's Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program, jointly offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science, emphasizes cross-sector collaboration—an approach Colby said mirrors the real-world complexity of environmental work.

Colby also presented her research at the 2026 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, held in Chicago in April.

Sophia Colby with her mentor Younsung Kim. Photo provided.

Her faculty research mentor Younsung Kim, professor of environmental science and policy, talked about the skills Colby acquired during her time at George Mason. "[These skills] will help her become an environmental advocate who does not create conflicts, but instead brings peaceful and constructive resolutions to them," she said. "I believe she will be a strong force for environmental policy and sustainability, as well as a future leader in the field."

Colby, who was in the Honors College, said she found community during her time at George Mason through Alpha Kappa Chi, a fraternity focused on professional development and environmental stewardship, where she connected with peers committed to sustainability and advocacy.

Preparing for what's next

The Rachel Carson Council's Advocacy Day included policy briefings, advocacy workshops, and direct engagement with members of Congress. For Colby, the experience reinforced that the tools she developed at George Mason translate directly into public impact.

"Communication is a big part of advocacy and climate resilience," she said.

Colby hopes to pursue a career focused on how environmental policies disproportionately affect marginalized communities. "Getting involved in this kind of work is powerful and eye-opening," she said. "Knowing how environmental policy impacts communities really motivates people."

For Colby, meeting with lawmakers was more than a culminating moment of her senior year—it was a preview of how her George Mason education has prepared her to contribute to building a future in which communities are better prepared to face environmental change.

In This Story

Younsung Kim

Learn more about the Honors College

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Building a strong foundation one course at a time

sbrown79 — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:26:49 +0000

Building a strong foundation one course at a time sbrown79 Fri, 05/15/2026 - 13:26

As one of the key focal points of 91��’s Grand Challenge Initiative, building a climate-resilient society requires not just innovation in sustainable infrastructure, but innovation in how the university prepares future leaders in sustainability.

Assistant professor Xijin “Emma” Zhang recently launched CEIE 499/619 Innovations in Civil Engineering Materials, a first-of-its-kind special topics course in George Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing that aims to give students—undergraduate and graduate alike from any degree program — a strong foundation in the emerging technologies that are reshaping the future of civil engineering.

Emma Zhang presents to her students. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

The course was developed after Zhang submitted a proposal to the Institute for a Sustainable Earth’s Creating Impactful Research Connections Through Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) program. Following panel review, the proposal was selected for development, an outcome that underscores George Mason’s emphasis on translating research into real-world solutions.

“My hope is that the course helps students understand how climate issues impact material properties and how we can improve material properties [when designing] future infrastructure,” said Zhang.

In the course, students study the fundamental physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of major construction materials, including aggregates, steel, concrete, asphalt, and wood. This course also introduces students to analytical techniques for assessing material performance and explores how advancements in civil engineering materials are influencing modern design, construction, and sustainability practices.

“I noticed that there was an opportunity to further expand students’ exposure to civil engineering materials within the CEIE program, and I really wanted to help students become more familiar with this topic,” Zhang said. “While developing this course, I spoke with government agencies and community partners that specialize in sustainability design in the Northern Virginia area and beyond to better understand the skills and knowledge communities and industries are seeking from future professionals in terms of sustainable infrastructure techniques and materials.”

One of Zhang's students presents his work. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

Those conversations also highlight another defining strength of George Mason: its close connections to government, industry, and regional partners. Zhang engaged with organizations including Northern Virginia Regional Commission, Federal Highway Administration’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. 

 Discovery interviews with these partners helped shape the course around real-world priorities such as safety, cost efficiency, and sustainability maintenance. In turn, students’ semester projects focus on analyzing the life-cycle of construction materials, encouraging them to think critically about how engineering decisions affect both infrastructure performance and environmental outcomes.

In preparing the course, Zhang also worked with George Mason’s University Sustainability to learn more about sustainable materials and practices already being implemented across campuses.

“I ask students to think about how materials are produced. For example, we need to consider their manufacturing process and the amount of carbon emissions associated with it,” Zhang said. “Also, I encourage students to think about what happens at the end of the materials’ life cycle, how can we recycle or re-utilize it for another project?”

Zhang said she hopes students will carry this mindset into their future careers in the civil engineering industry.

Senior civil engineering major Andres Lozano already sees how the course connects classroom learning to real-world impact Lozano hopes to enter the civil engineering field, specializing in structural and water resources engineering.

“I see this class as an opportunity to learn about innovations in materials and to contribute to the industry with new applications that are not yet widely used in current practice,” Lozano said. “There is still a gap between research and field implementation, but in Professor Zhang’s class, we’re working toward filling that gap by analyzing the performance and sustainability of current material applications and exploring potential improvements for future practice.”

Lozano, a Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s student, also works as a research assistant in George Mason’s Flood Hazards Research Lab revising projects for real-world clients from jurisdictions such as Fairfax County, Arlington County, the City of Petersburg, the City of Emporia, and the Town of Jarratt in Virginia.

Zhang and her students in the Engineering Building. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

“The bridge infrastructure in Virginia and throughout the country is facing challenges related to aging, durability and rehabilitation,” Lozano said. “I see myself contributing to the development of rehabilitation strategies, that strengthen infrastructure resilience and protect the communities that depend on it. This course’s focus on materials and construction methodologies is such a good fit for me, and I now feel more prepared to take on these challenges in a professional setting.”

Through courses like Innovations in Civil Engineering Materials, George Mason is equipping students with the technical expertise, collaborative mindset, and community-connected experience needed to lead in a rapidly changing world. In doing so, the university continues to advance its mission of producing knowledge that matters—and solutions that strengthen communities locally and globally.

In This Story

Emma (Xijin) Zhang

Explore Sustaintability at George Mason

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Sustainability

College of Engineering and Computing

Community Engagement

Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s

innovative classes

Students

From Cambodia to Carter School: Avery Butler builds a future in peacebuilding at George Mason

sbrown79 — Tue, 12 May 2026 17:56:30 +0000

From Cambodia to Carter School: Avery Butler builds a future in peacebuilding at George Mason sbrown79 Tue, 05/12/2026 - 13:56

When 91�� senior Avery Butler was 16 years old, his family traveled to Cambodia to visit the Killing Fields, the massacre sites associated with the country’s brutal Khmer Rouge era. The experience would change Butler’s perspective on life and inspire him to pursue a professional career in peacebuilding.

“I walked in and came face-to-face with a giant wall of human skulls,” said Butler, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution in May. “It was such a jarring moment, and I asked myself how human beings could do this to one another and how we could prevent something like this from happening again.”

At George Mason, Butler found a place where he could turn those questions into action and has taken advantage of experiential learning opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. 

Butler’s work at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution highlights George Mason’s emphasis on career-connected learning and real-world impact. Through hands-on learning, global experiences, and leadership opportunities, he has built an academic and professional path centered on dialogue, empathy, and impact. 

As part of the Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program, Butler plans to continue his education at George Mason this fall.

Avery Butler. Photo provided.

During his time at George Mason, Butler had an internship with the university’s Dialogue Across Differences initiative where he coordinated multiple workshops, including an all-women’s discussion and a session with international students. 

“It was a fantastic experience because by the time it was done, I really felt like I understood what it takes to be a facilitator for discussions on important life topics,” said Butler.

“I was able to strengthen the skills that are central to my work: listening across differences and creating space for multiple perspectives.”

Through a Peacebuilding Fellowship, Butler also works for the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR), a nonprofit associated with the Carter School. After previously serving as a research and administrative officer, he now works as the center’s communications manager.

“The center does such amazing work supporting both peacebuilding and mental health,” said Butler. “We’re working with psychosocial support practitioners from all around the world and our main focus is East Africa right now.”

In that role, Butler has planned multiple events for Carter School’s Political Leadership Academy, including the inaugural Global Insider Reconciliation Summit held last year at George Mason’s Point of View Retreat Center in Lorton, Virginia.

Butler said working with Carter School PhD student and MHCR insider reconciler research lead Nick Sherwood was instrumental in helping him understand the role of insider reconciler. “I’ve learned from my time working with him  that an insider reconciler is someone who is connected to one or more stakeholders or groups of stakeholders in a conflict and is actively attempting to facilitate reconciliation processes within those communities.”

He described the concept this way: If a fight breaks out between two teams at a football game, a team captain who steps in to calm tensions and encourage resolution is doing more than stopping the conflict in the moment—they’re helping preserve relationships and rebuild trust.

“So long as you have a personal stake in one or more of the communities and understand them at an identity level, anyone can be an insider reconciler, from village elders to civil servants,” Butler said.

Butler’s commitment to cross-cultural understanding also led him abroad. Through the Global Education Office’s Global Gateway program, Butler studied in Madrid, Spain, for a semester.

He later served as a peer advisor for the program working with professor Leslie Durham, undergraduate academic advisor and program coordinator in the Carter School, to help other students navigate the experience.

“I have witnessed Avery jump in, lend a hand, and be a servant leader, not only as a peer advisor, but as a Carter School Ambassador,” said Durham, who had Butler as a teaching assistant in the Global Gateway Spain course. “Avery is empathetic, with a deep sense of cultural humility, and he has a great way of allowing people with varying perspectives have a voice.”

She added, “Avery is the kind of person who isn't afraid to reflect and do the hard work for personal and professional growth. His good nature and positive stance on life have and will serve him well.”

Butler said he enjoys reflecting on his time in the program so far and looks forward to finding out what more it has to offer.

“I have a lot of love for the Carter program,” Butler said. “It's rare to find such a program in any university where it's built upon values of mutual understanding and compassion, and I’m so proud of the important work that we will continue to do.”

In This Story

Leslie Durham

Learn more about Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

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George Mason secures grant to expand high school cybersecurity internships in Northern Virginia

sbrown79 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:57:14 +0000

George Mason secures grant to expand high school cybersecurity internships in Northern Virginia sbrown79 Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:57

91��’s Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Northern Virginia (NoVa) Node recently received a $150,793 grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority for “CCI Scholars—High School Experiential Learning Program FY26,” a seven-week high school summer internship program for rising seniors and recent graduates of Northern Virginia public high schools.

The program provides hands-on experiential learning opportunities for high school students with local STEM and cybersecurity industry partners, addressing workforce gaps in the commonwealth.

“Given the gap between the number of cybersecurity-related job openings and the number of skilled graduates, creating opportunities for younger learners to spark that interest is critical,” said Liza Wilson Durant, director of the CCI Northern Virginia Node and associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement at George Mason.

CCI 2025 at CGI Bootcamp. Photo provided.

CCI is partnering with the Children’s Science Center Lab and STEM programs, operated by the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization delivers STEM education at its Fairfax-based museum facility and to schools and community venues across the region and will support program administration for the CCI Scholars program.

“We are proud to collaborate with 91�� in growing the next generation of cybersecurity talent through the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Internship Program,” said Nene Spivy, Chief Executive Officer at the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation. “Together we provide students with practical workplace skills and direct exposure to industry and careers that are critical to our nation’s future.”

“The Children’s Science Center is exemplary and has been running high school internship programs for many years. The center understands the challenges younger learners face and provides support to help overcome obstacles,” Wilson Durant said.

The program also acts as a pathway opportunity for the students who get to meet George Mason faculty and learn about the different community engagement opportunities that the university presents.

Students are selected through a competitive process that includes written responses, recommendation letters, transcripts, and in-person interviews conducted by industry professionals and Children’s Science Center staff. Selected students are matched with host organizations such as CGI Federal, ManTech, Leidos, and Chainbridge Solutions.

CCI 2025 at CGI Bootcamp. Photo provided.

Before starting their internships, students complete a professional skills bootcamp covering workplace etiquette, time management, teamwork, communication, and public speaking.

Once students are placed, they engage in cybersecurity-focused projects, that include addressing emerging cyber threats related to AI agents and digital twins, investigating cybersecurity incidents in the context of satellites, and expanding the technical capabilities of a host company’s product.

“We don't get a lot of hands-on experience in high school cybersecurity classes, so the opportunity of experiencing a professional workplace environment really intrigued me,” said Sridevi Annamalai, a sophomore cybersecurity student.

For her internship, Annamalai was placed with CGI Federal, a global consulting company for technology and business.

“I was assigned to make a presentation on cybersecurity basics for their nonprofit partners as well as conduct tests for different cybersecurity products,” said Annamalai, who is from Prince William County.

“There was a new product on the market, which they were considering, so I was able to help them compare the products and decide which one the company would invest in,” she said.

Annamalai credits her experience with the CCI Program for helping to prepare her for the courses in George Mason’s cybersecurity program.

“I've grown a lot more confident in myself, and my presentation skills have really improved a lot because of this internship,” said Annamalai.

Experiences such Annamalai’s prepare students for future careers both through technical and professional skills-building, as well as exposing them to the breadth of career opportunities they may not have known existed, said Wilson Durant.

Since its launch in 2021, the program has served 175 students. CCI and the Children’s Science Center are now reconnecting with alumni to track career outcomes and gather feedback.

Learn about Cybersecurity at George Mason

In This Story

Liza Wilson Durant

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education-to-employment pathways

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experiential learning

internships

Students

Cybersecurity

Special topics courses help students bridge science and communications

sbrown79 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:39:20 +0000

Special topics courses help students bridge science and communications sbrown79 Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:39

After taking notice of the growing distrust between the scientific community and the general public, 91�� adjunct professor Jennifer Lewis decided to take action by creating two special topics courses in George Mason’s Environmental Science and Policy Department (ESP)—EVPP 490 Conservation Storytelling and EVPP 490/505 Media Production for Environmental Science and Policy—that teach students how to communicate with the public about science in a way that is captivating, interesting, and easy to understand. All emphasizing the use of story, which is the preferred method to communicate for humans.

Jenn Lewis and her students in Nepal. Photo provided.

Emerging scientists enrolled in these undergraduate/graduate classes to learn how to be better communicators with the public, putting information in context for them so they can be more informed, interested, and take appropriate action.

“Communication skills aren’t traditionally taught in scientific fields, so these courses definitely give students an advantage,” said Lewis, an adjunct professor. “Audiences need to be able to understand the information you’re trying to convey, so I teach my students how to simplify complex ideas so that anybody can understand them.”

Jenn Lewis and her students in Nepal. Photo provided.

Aligned with the Global Education Office, EVPP 490 is cross listed with EVPP, FAVS, and COMM, and is open to students of all majors. The course takes students to Nepal over winter break, giving George Mason students the opportunity to learn directly about global conservation issues, and how to share these stories with the public using visual media. Film topics from past classes include climate impacts in the Himalayas, human–wildlife conflict with growing tiger populations, and the use of endangered elephants as work animals.

U.S. Army veteran Ryan Franks is a senior environmental science major who took both special topics courses with Lewis. While in Nepal, he tested the water quality of the Bagmati River in the heart of Katmandu and created social media and YouTube content about his findings for one of his projects. The river is notorious for its pollution due to the lack of municipal solid waste infrastructure and clean water regulations in the city.

“People who live there rely on this water source, so it was great to be able to address this important issue with cleanup efforts,” said Franks, who is also a certified permaculture designer and master gardener who runs a small homestead garden where he grows his own produce.

Jenn Lewis and her students in Nepal. Photo provided.

“You can inform people that this river has 10 times the acceptable levels of mercury and phthalates, but then to show a picture or video of the river with literal trash floating across the surface and an oily sheen on the water will allow people to absorb that information differently,” said Franks. “Being able to take the skills that [Dr. Lewis] was teaching us, adding that visual element to it, and turning technical research into something that the general public could not only use, but would be genuinely interested in, was really cool.”

Ryan McIntire, MA Environmental Science and Policy ’25, took the media production course in fall 2024. The course implements multiple methods of storytelling, including podcasts, films, editorials, social media, and speaking engagements. 

“I really enjoyed Jen's approach to the course because scientists are expected to be very dry and factual with our communication, so it was nice to be a little more creative. I'd never done that in an academic setting before,” said McIntire, who was a teaching assistant for two years in the ESP Department.

Rachel Kelmartin, BS Biology ’16, is graduating with a masters in ESP with a concentration in Aquatic Ecology in May 2026. Kelmartin’s video projects incorporated her research on recreational fishing catch and release mortality statistics of striped bass.

“A really great way to spread awareness about this issue is social media. It has severely changed how we consume news; people need something bite-sized and easy to comprehend while hitting all the high points, but with these different platforms we can be sure to feature visual media to bridge that gap,” said Kelmartin, a part-time lab technician and Graduate Research Assistant in George Mason’s Freshwater Ecology Laboratory. 

Kelmartin also credits Lewis with showing her how to adjust posting news and research updates on social media when there are shifts in the algorithms.

Jenn Lewis and her students in Nepal. Photo provided.

Many of the projects in Lewis’s courses have lasting impact including the fall 2023 film “Black Peaks” about the climate change impact in Nepal, which was shown at the International Mountain Film Festival and at COP27 in Egypt.  

EVPP 490/505 Media Production for Environmental Science and Policy is offered this coming fall. EVPP 490 Conservation Storytelling will be open for applications this summer. Learn more.

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College of Science

Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP)

Global Education Office

innovative classes

Students

study abroad

George Mason partnership amplifies HBCU history and culture

sbrown79 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:09:52 +0000

George Mason partnership amplifies HBCU history and culture sbrown79 Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:09

91�� is equipping a new generation of archivists, scholars, and museum professionals with hands‑on digital preservation skills as part of a national effort to make hidden artifacts of Black history accessible to the public.

Since 2021, George Mason has been working on a first-of-its-kind initiative with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country to archive collections of century-old letters, photographs and other artifacts that document the Black experience. 

Deepthi Murali (second from right) and team outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Photo provided.

The HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium project brings together museum professionals, librarians, archivists, and higher education faculty to digitize, describe, and interpret materials. 

Initially, it was George Mason’s technology expertise that brought the university into the project. Under the leadership of then-executive director Mills Kelly, George Mason’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) helped develop and became a leading resource for users of the Omega S software, the primary software used to manage the project’s digital archival work.  

George Mason’s role was to train faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and student interns at partner institutions in digital history methodologies and metadata analysis software such as Omega S. However, as the project evolved, the university took on a broader role overseeing operations and project management.   

“We train them in broader public history writing, presenting digital public history to audiences, HTML coding, as well as how to work with AI coding,” said Deepthi Muralli, assistant professor in the Department of History and Art History and principal investigator for the project. 

Murali began her involvement as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of History and Art History.  

“The digitization itself comes from the Smithsonian,” she added. “Once the materials are digitized, we step in and teach [researchers] how to do digital archival metadata work—essentially how to interpret these materials for the public.” 

Joanna Söderberg. Photo provided.

Joanna Söderberg is a digital library project coordinator at Fisk University who is completing George Mason’s graduate certificate in digital public humanities. Her work on the project fulfills the certificate’s internship requirement. 

“Digitization is not something that many HBCUs have had access to previously, so George Mason’s program has not only helped me, it's also helped my students and peers,” said Söderberg. “I could not have taken on the responsibilities of this internship without the information and knowledge that I've gain from the program; I wish I could spend more time with it.”

Söderberg says her favorite part of the project is discovering and working with materials from the Black Panther Party. “It’s so exciting for me to see old stuff from America good and bad because it's so vastly different from where I come from,” said Söderberg, who is from Sweden.

“When you share something like this project with the community, they will reach out and engage with us as well,” she said. “Sometimes through their family history or life experiences, they will have relevant materials that they weren’t even aware of until viewing our digital archives. Finding ways to implement and integrate the community's narrative is a really important next step.”

Student intern Annabelle Spencer, MA History ’24, is a second-year PhD student in George Mason’s Department of History and Arts History and worked on the project while completing her master’s degree. Spencer credits her coursework with preparing her for the internship. 

“It was so interesting to work in a space that I had simultaneously been learning about,” Spencer said. “My coursework was basically smaller versions of this project—it combined all the nuts and bolts of archiving, collecting, and allowed me to practice analyzing and organizing metadata and thinking about design.” 

Annabelle Spencer. Photo by Benjamin Little.

“Getting to teach these storytelling skills to people from other higher education institutions is amazing,” she added. “It's a big part of what it means to be a public historian.” 

Participating HBCUs include Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, and Tuskegee University. 

“These institutions have some remarkable objects and text-based materials that have never been seen or digitized,” said Murali, who is an affiliate faculty member at the RRCHNM. “We hope to bring them to the public and make the rich collections of these HBCUs visible to the world.” 

Also on the team are Timmia J. King, a graduate research assistant, and Amber Phelman, a graduate teaching assistant and PhD student in George Mason's Department of History and Art History, whose contributions were instrumental to the project's operational success.

King, a fifth year PhD candidate in George Mason’s Department of History and Art History, has worked on a variety of tasks including creating and conducting trainings with other interns and GRAs, and doing project management tasks.

“I created an instructional design module which involves reviewing all the project documentation, its processes, methodology and all our experiences and the knowledge we have gained working on the to create a plan to approach working on the project in future cycles,” King said. “The goal is to make the project more sustainable and not dependent on any one institution to oversee it.”

King emphasized the importance of recognizing the different skill sets that contribute to the project.

“We wanted some form of collaboration on every aspect of the metadata creation process. The HBCUs have much to contribute to this process, as they are the experts and bring valuable institutional and subject matter expertise on metadata creation and on their collections,” King said.

The project will be featured in a travel museum and on an official website. It will also be displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture until summer of 2026.

Learn more about the College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Explore the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

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College of Humanities and Social Science

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Department of History and Art History

collaboration

Research

Smithsonian

Inside George Mason’s first VR art classroom, students build new worlds

sbrown79 — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:38:20 +0000

Inside George Mason’s first VR art classroom, students build new worlds sbrown79 Wed, 03/18/2026 - 13:38

When students step into AVT 496 Intro to VR for the Artist, they're not just walking into another studio course—they're entering entirely new worlds of their own making. 91��'s School of Art launched the course this spring, marking its first-ever deep dive into virtual reality (VR) as an artistic medium.

AVT 496 student presents their virtual reality world. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

Taught by John von Bergen, assistant professor of sculpture and expanded fields, the class meets inside the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) and previously held workshops in the visualization and virtual reality lab in Research Hall. For many students, it's their first time creating art in a fully immersive digital space.

Von Bergen designed the course to give artists hands-on experience with emerging tools shaping the future of digital art. His students primarily use Open Brush, a VR painting program that lets them draw, sculpt, and animate in 3D space using a wide range of virtual brushes.

"I imagine that there will be way more job opportunities for students who have the diverse skillset that relates to new media and potentially digital art fabrication," von Bergen said. "Exploring these tools in class helps students see what's possible."

There are 16 students in the course, which builds on the work students completed in his fall Aesthetics class, AVT 307. Five students from AVT 307 volunteered to create a pilot VR project titled "The Real Reality," now displayed in video form on the Digital Wall at Fuse at Mason Square.

Digital Wall at Fuse at Mason Square. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

The project showcases the students' first experiments with Open Brush—floating landscapes, glowing brushstrokes, and imaginative environments that stretch beyond the limits of traditional studio materials.

For sophomore art and visual technology major Ash Porrata, the course has been transformative. "This course experience has not only made me a better artist, but a better team member," she said. "It was really a group effort making something of this scale. We had to communicate constantly and work with Fuse faculty to keep everything on track."

Porrata, who hopes to become an animation director, said the VR tools opened up new creative possibilities. "Having access to the virtual world and virtual art is really inspiring. Getting to explore another side of visual art will be so helpful in the job market."

Junior transfer student Mason Caporuscio came into the course with no VR experience at all. By the end of the semester, he had built an entire virtual kitchen scene—complete with a fruit basket, a loaf of bread, a bar stool, and a wine glass.

"We each built our own world on the headsets, and the video just rotates through them, kind of like musical chairs," he said. "There was so much variety."

Mason Caporuscio presents his virtual reality world. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

Other students created fantasy forests, amusement park inspired spaces, and surreal environments that could only exist in VR.

Behind the scenes, the course has been supported by several George Mason partners. The Department of Computer Science provided much of the equipment, with faculty member Craig Yu offering guidance. MIX makerspace manager Max Kazemzadeh helped the class set up its own VR lab inside the MIX. Additional funding came from the School of Art, the Research and Teaching Support Fund, and the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research. The course will be offered again in Spring 2027.

"There are a lot of technical aspects that aren't typical for a sculpture class," von Bergen said. "Building good relationships with other colleges has been instrumental."

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Lap-Fai (Craig) Yu

Learn about George Mason's Grand Challenge Initiative

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George Mason graduate student advances theater research through yearlong workshop at Folger Shakespeare Library

sbrown79 — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:10:10 +0000

George Mason graduate student advances theater research through yearlong workshop at Folger Shakespeare Library sbrown79 Mon, 03/02/2026 - 10:10

This academic year, 91�� graduate student Samantha “Chevi” Chung has had a research opportunity that few have had by participating in a yearlong workshop at the Folger Shakespeare Library. The theme of Chung’s workshop is “Shakespeare and Black Performing Women,” which ties in perfectly with her thesis.   

George Mason is a member of the Folger Institute’s Consortium, so students and faculty have access to its wealth of scholarly resources. Chung is capitalizing on this collaboration and conducting research for her thesis, “Black Sheroic Couplets in Shakespeare, Black Female Actors Playing Eponymous Male Roles in Shakespeare's Plays from 1821 to 2025.”

Chevi Chung presents her research at the 2026 Black Lives Next Door event. Photo by Jerome Boettcher/College of Humanities and Social Sciences

“My favorite aspect of the workshop is that our conversations are just loaded with a lot of expertise,” said Chung, who is working on a master of arts and interdisciplinary studies (MAIS) in social justice and human rights degree. There is so much to glean from the amazing women I'm working with.”  

Her cohort includes actors, directors, theater practitioners, as well as theater scholars and researchers, and dives into the adaptations of Shakespeare works, Black performing women, and how people are conducting their Shakespeare-focused research. Workshops sessions also include guest speakers from different backgrounds and professions.

“Before my first semester at George Mason, I really didn't understand how to conduct my own research, but then I took Professor Rachel Lewis’s [WMST 630] Feminist Theories course. It really opened my eyes and brought so many new resources and methodologies to my attention,” said Chung, who is a first-generation student. 

Chung said Lewis helped her develop her thesis topic on the theory of gender performativity in Black women actors.  

Chung also credits faculty members Jessica Otis, associate professor of history and associate director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and MAIS Director Shayna Maskell for encouraging her to keep applying to the Folger workshop even after being rejected. 

“It was a good learning experience for me. I think failing forward is so important for growth and realizing that there will be rejections along the way,” Chung said.  

Chung (third from top left) with members of her cohort at Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. Photo provided

During her graduate studies, Chung also had a summer internship with Maskell where she conducted qualitative research for Maskell’s book on the Riot Grrrl movement. Chung researched music, photography, and fan-made videos from the era, and coded what she found for Maskell’s use.  

Chung said her experience assisting Maskell helped prepare her for time in the Folger program.  

“Chevi played a key role in using the book’s theoretical framework in performance theory and feminist visual culture and applying it directly to the lived performances of Riot Grrrl bands,” said Maskell. “[She] analyzed archival footage and accounts of different performances and helped bridge the gap between abstract concepts and the reality of the stage. Essentially, Chevi helped turn raw data into a cohesive cultural narrative.”  

“[During this internship] I learned to challenge assumptions and not just accept the information given to me, but to validate it myself,” said Chung.   

The Folger workshop will conclude this April, Shakespeare’s birthday month, but Chung’s research into Black theater will continue.  

“Sadly, there are absences and silences in the Black theater archives, and we have to break through these and start asking questions,” said Chung, who is also conducting research within the Center for Mason Legacies under the guidance of George Mason faculty Wendi Manuel-Scott and George Oberle. “I’m determined to expand my knowledge beyond what it currently was, not just regarding Black theater archives, but Black history in general.”  

After graduating in May, Chung will pursue her PhD in theater and performance studies at the University of Maryland this fall.  

“It is an honor to be a part of this group. Beyond the wealth of knowledge I’m receiving, this is also an opportunity to build long-lasting connections and relationships,” she said. 

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George Mason researchers lead statewide study on ethical use of AI in higher education

sbrown79 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:07:37 +0000

George Mason researchers lead statewide study on ethical use of AI in higher education sbrown79 Tue, 02/17/2026 - 11:07

91��’s leadership in advancing 21st-century education took another leap forward this month when several university researchers were named to a statewide project exploring the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on teaching and learning in higher education classrooms.  

Funded by a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Fund for Excellence and Innovation grant, the cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional project aims to promote ethical integration of AI into educational settings. 

The initiative, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Teaching and Learning,” involves 80 faculty, graduate students, and staff from multiple Virginia institutions including University of Virginia, James Madison University, Roanoke College, Bridgewater State University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Amanda Bryan, an assistant professor in George Mason’s Department of English and co-lead on the study, said it is “designed to test onboarding activities in increasing students’ ethical and responsible use of AI tools.”

Amanda Bryan. Photo provided.

 The study is an example of a Mega Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, or SoTL, project. It’s one of 11 projects George Mason is involved in, generating evidence of learning from multiple institutions.

“The research team designed the activities, which we then make available to other professors to adapt to their own disciplines and provide us data on how effective the activities were in increasing ethical use of AI tools for the students,” said Bryan.

The team also considered different levels of activities to accommodate students who were inexperienced with AI versus those who had advanced skills. 

“We took the task on ourselves that we’re asking students to do because we actually used AI to revise the activities in the ethical, responsible way that we would want students to be able to do,” said Bryan, who is conducting this project with data from students in her ENGH 302 Advanced Composition course. 

“We asked students open-ended questions, including whether they think they’re over-reliant or under-reliant on generative AI tools. That feeds directly into the next activity, which is all about under-reliance, over-reliance, and the harm of being either. We want students to find a cushy middle,” she said. 

The team got their first round of data from students in spring 2025, which showed that just providing these discussion spaces has increased students’ ethical thinking about AI use in college by more than 60%, explained Bryan. 

“We went to the institutional review boards at all the different institutions to get permission to do the research,” said Breana Bayraktar, an educational developer with George Mason and one of the projects primary investigators.  

Students working on their laptops in class. Photo by Getty Images.

Bayraktar said thanks to the support of the SCHEV grant, they've been able to hire graduate research assistants and get undergraduates involved in organizing the collected data. 

“We support each of the institutional teams for their research objectives and collect data from students,” said Bayraktar. “There's a number of teams that have done presentations or have written projects that are either published or on the track to publication that have come out of the different research projects. With this data, we were able to make one coherent project with one survey.” 

Students in George Mason’s Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP), and OSCAR Research Assistant (OSCAR-RA) Program also helped in the research. 

“The students really gain professional experience and exposure to real-world research practices. It’s very much a mentoring role with the students,” Bayraktar said. 

There is an Open Educational Resources (OER) portion of the study, “so even after this study is complete, all of the research methods and activities we’re using are being compiled into OERs for future use under a creative commons license,” said Bryan.  

Under this SCHEV grant, George Mason is hosting three conferences on AI, the last of which will be in May 2026. The grant funding goes through summer 2026. 

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PhD student’s research addresses how adolescent social media use predicts in-person friendship networks

sbrown79 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:03:18 +0000

PhD student’s research addresses how adolescent social media use predicts in-person friendship networks sbrown79 Wed, 02/04/2026 - 13:03

91�� doctoral student Caroline Toth looks at how adolescents’ social media use is associated with the structure of their in-person friendship networks. Her research shows that friendships were more likely among youth with similar levels of problematic social media use and digital status seeking.

Photo by Getty Images

“This reflects a social network mechanism known as homophily, which is essentially love of the same, meaning that youth select friends who are similar to themselves in problematic social media use and digital status seeking. By doing this study, we're showing that friendships aren't forming at random, but being shaped in part by digital habits and values that are shared among friendship networks,” said Toth, a graduate research assistant in George Mason’s Applied Developmental Psychology Program in the Department of Psychology.

Her first paper on the topic was recently published at the Journal of Children and Media.

“Adolescence is a very sensitive time for social processing. Teens are very sensitive to social cues,” said Toth, who earned her master’s degree from the same George Mason program in 2021.

Caroline Toth. Photo provided.

Toth’s paper, “Problematic social media use, availability distress, and digital status seeking: Links to friendship network structure among U.S. adolescents,” explores how adolescents use social media to feel connected to others and gain social standing.

“Previous research has mainly examined links between social media use and disrupted sleep, anxiety, and depression. However, as a social networks scholar, I'm really interested in how adolescents’ online behaviors and emotional reactions to social media affect the structure of their friendship network,” Toth said.

This research is especially relevant to Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024. When adolescents select friends who engage in similar problematic online behaviors, the resulting shared emotional thoughts, reactions, and behaviors can start to feel expected and encouraged within these friendship groups, said Toth.

This can be especially harmful because teens use social media to gain popularity and approval. The normalization of problematic online behaviors within friend groups makes them appear necessary for social success, explained Toth.

An example of problematic social media use is excessive use of social media to the point that it impacts your ability to focus on school or work. Within friend groups, adolescents are likely to reinforce this problematic usage because it’s what they see their friends doing. Toth emphasizes that algorithms are becoming more sophisticated and increasing adolescents’ exposure to highly engaging, emotionally charged content, keeping them constantly active online.

“It's critical that we continue to examine the constant feedback loop between the demands of the peer group and adolescents’ own emotional reactions to their online activities, so that we can help adolescents develop better coping mechanisms and survival skills for online life,” she said.

Toth states that interventions focused on improving self-regulation of social media use and emotional regulation show promise in helping young people resist algorithmic content manipulation, and take back control of their social media usage.

Olga Kornienko. Photo provided.

Toth and her mentor Olga Kornienko, an associate professor of applied developmental psychology, are collaborating with a public school district in Arizona to understand sources the role of social relationships as sources of risk and resilience in the lives of contemporary youth.

Working out of George Mason’s Peer Networks and Development Lab, Toth and Kornienko are collecting data from ninth-grade students through a series of questions about their social media use, culture, and psychological well-being.

They are collaborating with scholars from University of California, Davis, and Arizona State University, where Kornienko earned her PhD in 2010.

“Our study is not specific to any one social media platform. We were able to capture the broader digital experience that adolescents have online that reflects their everyday life. We hope it will remain relevant to Gen Alpha and beyond because even as individual platforms go in and out of use or new ones pop up, they're still going to have those core aspects of promoting constant engagement and peer feedback,” said Toth.

Toth said that while she didn’t have much experience with academic publishing before coming to graduate school at George Mason, she hit the ground running. “We started [this research project] in my very first semester, so it was a very important part of my professional development working with Dr. Kornienko,” Toth said. “[She taught me about] so many different aspects of peer interaction and networks, social media, and how they're all interconnected.”

“It’s been such a pleasure seeing Caro grow as a researcher and academic,” said Kornienko. “She is addressing a very complex topic and contributing to more positive adolescent experiences.”

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