Research

George Mason’s first Grand Challenge Exchange Day builds connections across disciplines

ckearney — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:41:51 +0000

George Mason’s first Grand Challenge Exchange Day builds connections across disciplines ckearney Wed, 09/16/2026 - 13:41

91�� held its first Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) Exchange Day on Tuesday, September 15, bringing together more than 200 faculty members from across the university to talk to about the GCI-related work being done and invite collaboration as the call for proposals in second year of funding launches.

Board of Visitors rector and George Mason alumnus Sumeet Shrivastava and Aurali Dade, interim vice president of research, innovation, and economic impact. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

George Mason launched GCI in 2025 to align university resources, faculty expertise, and educational programs around six interconnected solutions addressing what George Mason President Gregory Washington describes as “humanity’s ultimate grand challenge”—securing a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future.

Supported by a five-year, $15 million investment, GCI awarded funding to two large and five small catalysts projects in the first year, and those projects were highlighted throughout the half day.

Hosted by Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact (ORIEI) and Aurali Dade, interim vice president, the program included a fireside chat with George Mason alumnus Sumeet Shrivastava, rector of George Mason’s Board of Visitors and CEO of Unissant, and a panel discussion with the associate deans of research from four George Mason colleges.

President Washington opened the day talking about how GCI is transforming George Mason from a collection of strong units into a unified research engine capable of competing at the highest levels and how this investment in faculty talent, research development, and cross-campus infrastructure is positioning George Mason for long‑term competitiveness.  

“The Grand Challenge Initiative signals to federal agencies and foundations that George Mason is organized, coordinated across disciplines, and strategically focused on areas of national priority,” Washington said. “Government, industry, and NGOs are increasingly seeking universities that can integrate expertise across sectors. And 91��, today more than ever, is viewed as a partner of choice.”

In the fireside chat with Dade, Shrivastava talked about his connection to the university and his work not only with the BOV, but with the Costello College of Business, the 91�� Foundation, and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation.

From left, associate deans of research—Anya Evmenova, Amarda Shehu, Michele Schwietz, and Patrick Gillevet Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“This was so exciting for me when I first heard this,” he said of GCI. “Through this process we are putting a framing on everything we do. This is the North Star for George Mason going forward.”

Shrivastava said that five years from now George Mason will not only be an exemplar in this work, but “we're going to be showing the nation how you do this right.”

During the research panel, "GCI as a Catalyst for George Mason," moderated by Institute for Digital Innovation Executive Director Massimiliano Albanese, the associate deans of research—Anya Evmenova of the College of Education and Human Development, Patrick Gillevet of the College of Science, Michele Schwietz of College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Amarda Shehu of College of Engineering and Computing, who is also vice president and chief AI oﬃcer—discussed the challenges of putting together those first GCI proposals and figuring out how to collaborate across units.

Schwietz emphasized how all this coordination was important to moving forward on the six bold solutions. “Even if you don’t get the seed funding, you know you’ve started something important.”

In the last session of the half day, Dade kicked off Year 2 of the GCI funding with a call for research proposals. They expect to again award up to two large catalyst grants—up to $750,000 in GCI funds for up to 36 months, and up to five small catalyst grants—up to $100,000 in GCI funds for 18 months.

New this year, research teams are expected to file a Letter of Intent to the lead school/college dean’s office by December 4, 2026. Final proposals are due February 15, 2027, by 11:59 p.m. Award decisions are expected to be announced by April 30, 2027.

Dade also announced that the next GCI convening will be a networking event for faculty looking to collaborate on GCI-related research.

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NIH R01 grant funds study of physical activity and binge eating in children

Heather Carroll — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:12:51 +0000

NIH R01 grant funds study of physical activity and binge eating in children Heather Carroll Mon, 09/14/2026 - 14:12

Early signs of binge eating can emerge as children enter adolescence, signaling risk for eating disorders. 91�� researcher Tyler Mason is investigating whether physical activity could improve self-regulation and, in turn, reduce that risk.

Tyler Mason, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. Photo provided.

With a five-year, R01 grant from NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health, Mason will use wearable technology and other real-time assessments to study children during a pivotal developmental window, with the goal of better understanding how eating disorders develop and how to intervene earlier.

Mason, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at the College of Public Health, is leading the project with co-principal investigator Kathryn Smith, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“Many people overeat, but we’re focused on what is called ‘loss of control eating’—that sense that you can’t stop eating and feel like you have to continue,” Mason said. “The loss of control is the part that can be distressing and associated with eating disorders.”

Previous research has linked physical activity with improved mood and cognitive functioning, aspects of self-regulation that can influence eating behavior. “If physical activity improves aspects of self-regulation, then perhaps it could reduce overeating because of loss of control,” Mason said.

Over three years, researchers will study 200 children in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area starting at ages 10 to 12, a phase when several factors converge: puberty begins, autonomy grows in eating choices, and physical activity tends to decline while sedentary behavior increases.

The study will capture both long-term changes and moment-to-moment shifts in participants’ lives. Garmin wristbands will measure physical activity, while smartphone-based cognitive tests and real-time surveys will track self-regulation, emotions, cravings, and eating behavior. Participants will also undergo functional MRI (fMRI) scans and clinical interviews assessing eating disorder symptoms.

The approach builds on Mason’s work as director of the BREAD Lab at George Mason, short for Biobehavioral Research on Eating and Appetite Dysregulation, within the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.

With the National Institutes of Health study, Mason said the goal is to find ways to intervene earlier in problematic eating by understanding whether and how physical activity plays a role, including how its effects unfold in daily moments.

In addition to Mason and Smith, the research team for the study—titled “Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Activity and Loss of Control Eating in Children”—includes Shan Luo, Genevieve Dunton, and Megan Herting of the University of Southern California.

Thumbnail photo by golubovy via Adobe Stock

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Nutrition Research

Childhood Obesity

CPH research

Childhood obesity prevention

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National Institutes of Health

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College of Public Health

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Key Takeaways

A five-year NIH R01 grant will fund 91�� researcher Tyler Mason’s study of physical activity, self-regulation, and binge eating in children.
The study will follow 200 children starting at ages 10 to 12, examining long-term changes and moment-to-moment behaviors in daily life.
The research could inform new approaches to eating disorder prevention, including whether and how physical activity could reduce the risk of losing control of eating.

This research supports the Grand Challenge Initiative's goal of improving human health, well-being, and preparedness

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New George Mason professor connects weather, water, and the communities they affect

Nathan Kahl — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:59:35 +0000

New George Mason professor connects weather, water, and the communities they affect Nathan Kahl Fri, 09/11/2026 - 08:59

During her postdoctoral research in Oklahoma, new 91�� College of Engineering and Computing Assistant Professor Taereem Kim was on the phone with her mother in South Korea. Her mother mentioned heavy rain they were experiencing there, while Kim was seeing similar conditions where she lived. This got her thinking about how weather patterns separated by enormous distances can be connected and, more importantly, how those large-scale atmospheric connections translate into local effects.

Taereem Kim. Photo provided

For Kim, who joined the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering this semester, weather is more than a forecast. It’s a connection between information and the people who need it and even between people living on opposite sides of the globe.

Kim’s research involves hydroclimatology, the interdisciplinary study of the interactions between Earth's climate system and the hydrologic cycle, and water resources engineering. And her focus is to make it all accessible and useful. “My goal is translating complex weather and climate information into something communities can use to support their decision-making. We live in a world with tons of information, but I want people to understand and easily get the information they need,” she said

She did not initially envision becoming a professor, but her mentors in the United States changed that. “Working with two particular advisors gave me the ambition to be a faculty member,” she said. “They showed me how to be a good mentor, how to make a positive impact on a person's life, and how to build a fulfilling career while also prioritizing family.” This semester she is teaching her first full-semester class, an experience she is greatly enjoying.

Kim's daughter starting her research early at her mother's poster session. Photo provided.

She credits her parents with helping to shape her career. They also work in water resources engineering, which made the field feel familiar to Kim from an early age and helped foster her interest in it. They have also been trusted advisors throughout her career. “They are not just my good friends, but also good colleagues I can talk with about both life and work,” she said.

Kim hopes ultimately to connect atmospheric science, which seeks to understand phenomena such as tropical cyclones, with engineering, which asks what those phenomena will mean for people and communities. “We need to care about our communities, the hazards they face, and the impact on us, our families, and our friends,” she said.

Kim is enjoying her new home in Northern Virginia, where she moved with her family. She said the diversity here, including its large Korean community, is making the transition easier. At home, Kim speaks Korean with her young daughter and hopes growing up surrounded by people from many backgrounds will help her daughter feel comfortable with her Korean and American identities.

Parenthood has transformed Kim’s life outside academia as well. Before her daughter was born, she enjoyed traveling, yoga, and drawing. These days, her answer when asked about her hobbies is singularly focused: “Parenting.”

As she “weathers” that challenge, she continues to help her neighbors prepare for what’s next.

Topics

Department of Civil Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering (CEIE)

civil engineering; stormwater infrastructure; climate variability

weather event

Climate

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College of Engineering and Computing

GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI

Katarina Benson — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:45:10 +0000

GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI Katarina Benson Thu, 09/10/2026 - 13:45

Cher Weixia Chen hopes being mindful of human rights will one day be just as automatic as looking both ways before crossing the street.

The 91�� professor is spearheading an innovative project she hopes will give educators and students, along with NGOs, government, technological, and business leaders, the tools to better approach human rights issues.

Cher Weixia Chen. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Chen, a professor in the School of Integrative Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, serves as the principal investigator of one of seven George Mason Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) catalyst research projects: “AI-Powered Human Rights Education for All: Toward a Better World.” Collaborating with faculty from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the Costello College of Business, her team is creating an AI‑driven virtual human rights classroom prototype that will provide access to practical, personalized tools to learn and apply human rights principles in daily life.

“If someday this concept could be so with us, that whenever we make a decision that affects another person, our first instinct is to ask, ‘Is this respectful of their dignity and rights?’ Then we could at least inch closer to a better world,” said Chen, who is the founder of the George Mason Human Rights and Global Justice Initiative and was recently named the 2026 Faculty Member of the Year by the 91�� Alumni Association. “So that is the idea, and I feel like the emergence of AI makes this possible.”

The 18-month project began this summer with the team recruiting a graduate student and two undergraduate students through the Office of Creative Student Activities and Research (OSCAR).

Using a built-in Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) toolkit, users of the classroom will explore interactive scenarios and receive personalized guidance to help them navigate real‑world dilemmas and assess the impact of human rights decisions, policies, and technologies.

Helping with the project’s design is a trio of professors from CEC: Ziwei Zhu and Antonios Anastasopoulos from the Department of Computer Science and Sungsoo Ray Hong in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology. CEC faculty will provide expertise in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, trustworthy AI, and human-AI interaction.

“Together, we will help develop a platform that is technically robust, reliable, culturally responsive, and easy for both students and educators to use,” Zhu said. “The project could make high-quality human rights education more accessible, personalized, and engaging for learners well beyond a traditional classroom. Over time, it can help people better understand how decisions in technology, business, government, and other sectors affect human rights, supporting more informed and responsible decision-making.”

Lei Gao, an associate professor of finance in Costello, believes human rights are impacted just as much by the decisions made in boardrooms and financial markets—through supply chains, investment choices, labor practices, and the design of new technologies.

Gao will pilot the HRIA toolkit prototype with students in his finance courses, FNAN 444 Socially Responsible Finance and FNAN 483/MSF 683 Ethical and Professional Standards in Finance. He said targeting students is key as they represent “future analysts, managers, and entrepreneurs who will actually be making these decisions.

“Some of the most consequential decisions affecting human rights are made in boardrooms and financial markets,” Gao said. “This project helps the next generation of business leaders treat human rights as part of sound decision-making, not an afterthought—and gives them a practical tool to do it.”

Also contributing input in a consulting role will be renowned human rights educator Felisa Tibbitts, who served as co-editor with Chen on the book, Disciplinary Frontier of Human Rights in Higher Education. Tibbitts is currently the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Higher Education at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and will serve as consultant on the project.

In addition to reaching higher education audiences, the toolkit can also apply to educators and students at the K-12 school levels. Chen said she aspires to work with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in CHSS to translate the toolkit for other languages. The team is looking beyond the business and technological industries, hoping to later reach international organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, and government and private sectors.

“Using human rights education as a tool, and now with the help of this, new technology—AI—it seems possible and plausible to make human rights reach as wide an audience as possible around the world,” Chen said. “This project essentially highlights the transformative power of these three factors: human rights, education, and AI. For all of us, this is something new and I think it’s worth trying. And for me, the most exciting part of this is it’s doable, it’s scalable, and it’s adaptable.”

This initiative supports the Advancing 21st-Century Education for All solution of George Mason's Grand Challenge Initiative

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Smithsonian-Mason REU helps aspiring conservation scientists find their path

ckearney — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:19:59 +0000

Smithsonian-Mason REU helps aspiring conservation scientists find their path ckearney Tue, 09/08/2026 - 14:19

For Olivia “Liv” Laurie, one of the defining moments of her summer research experience came while holding a baby bird in her hands.

Laurie, a student at Mount Holyoke University, spent 10 weeks this summer working with American kestrels, North America’s smallest raptor, at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) in Front Royal, Virginia. She helped monitor cameras in nearly 70 nest boxes, band kestrel nestlings, and analyze GPS and camera data to better understand how the birds move across the landscape and what prey they bring back to their nests.

“The fieldwork was one of my favorite parts,” she said. “It’s an awe-inspiring experience to be able to hold this raptor that’s so important for our environment.”

Liv Laurie, a student at Mount Holyoke University, spent 10 weeks this summer working with American kestrels, North America’s smallest raptor, at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) in Front Royal, Virginia. Photo by Robert Barrett/SMSC

Laurie was one of just 10 undergraduates selected from nearly 800 applicants for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation. The students came from around the country to spend the summer immersed in field- and laboratory-based conservation research at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s 3,200-acre campus.

At SMSC, a partnership between 91�� and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute designed to educate the next generation of conservation leaders, students work alongside Smithsonian scientists and conservation practitioners while conducting hands-on research focused on endangered species and biodiversity. George Mason is one of the few universities to partner with the Smithsonian Institution in this way.

For the students, the experience offered something that cannot be easily replicated in a classroom: the chance to find out what doing conservation science actually looks—and feels—like. That was exactly the kind of experience Laurie was looking for. “One of my goals coming into this program was to explore research as a career and see if it was something I was interested in,” she said.

The REU gave her a much broader view of the possibilities. “There are tons of different fields in conservation that I didn’t even know existed before I came here,” she said.

For Laurie, that meant working with Smithsonian researcher Joe Kolowski on a project examining American kestrel movements and feeding behaviors. The findings can help scientists understand how kestrels are using the Virginia landscape—and ultimately provide information that can help protect them.

REU students Maria Cornejo and David Campos worked on reproductive technologies for threatened Przewalski's horses and whooping cranes. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

Maria Cornejo, a junior from Penn State, came to the program already thinking about a career as a wildlife veterinarian. She was initially drawn in by the REU’s title, “Saving Endangered Species and Habitats,” and the prospect of working on such projects.

While working with Smithsonian scientist Budhan Pukazhenthi on reproductive technologies for threatened ungulate conservation, Cornejo had the opportunity to interact with the endangered Przewalski's horses. Seeing the Smithsonian’s veterinarians in action brought clarity to Cornejo’s career goals. “It helped me to see this is what I want to do,” she said.

The experience also helped David Campos of Dominican University hone in on possibilities for graduate studies as well as careers. “You get to experience so many different aspects of conservation, and you're exposed to a lot of different lab techniques, scientists, different career paths,” he said. “[The REU was] definitely a fundamental step in trying to figure out what kind of scientist you want to become.”

Campos, who spent his summer working on a cryo-preservation protocol for whooping crane sperm, also found some of the most valuable lessons came when the research didn’t go as expected, and he appreciated having a mentor there—Nucharin Songsasen, head of the Smithsonian’s Center for Species Survival—to guide him.

“There can be the real setbacks when doing research,” he said. “Being with a mentor that's very open to giving suggestions and guidance was essential. I'm really glad that I had that experience now instead of experiencing it by myself on a larger-scale research project.”

These are the kinds of experiences that Elizabeth Freeman, executive director of SMSC and an associate professor in George Mason's School of Integrative Studies, and Anneke DeLuycker, professor of conservation studies, hope the students will take away.

Biology major Valerie Hernandez of Evergreen State University spent the summer exploring nutritional forage quality and tradeoffs in bird-friendly haying. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

This summer was the first of three SMSC will offer with the NSF REU funding, Freeman said, and its organization was reflective of the experiences offered in the semester-away programs that SMSC offers twice a year. SMSC has hosted students from more than 70 universities and colleges at its semester-away programs

“We try to offer a range of project types—lab-based, field-based, some are even computer-based,” said Freeman, who also served as one of the mentors this summer, sharing her African rhino behavioral research with Henry Reinke of Williams College.

The diversity of subjects extended beyond birds and mammals and included reptiles as well as plants and trees.

The REU began in June with a “bootcamp” covering such topics as how to establish a research project, writing a resume, and best practices for conservation success to get the students up to speed quickly. Then, while the students conducted their research, one day a week was devoted to professional development. On those days, DeLuycker offered lessons on the business side of being a scientist—developing an abstract, creating a poster, and communicating research, all working toward the final presentations the students gave before an audience on their last day of the REU.

Those discussions were followed by an afternoon colloquium series where guest speakers from the Smithsonian and affiliated conservation groups came to talk about various case studies in conservation, emphasizing successes and future directions, as well as highlighting emerging or innovative solutions in conservation.

DeLuycker said she was extremely impressed by the quality of the students’ presentations and the REU cohort overall. “Their talks were polished, highly professional, and insightful,” she said. “This group really bonded. It was lovely to see them relying on each other for advice and sharing exciting, fun moments over meals.”

Environmental biology major Charlie Shivers of DePauw University spent the summer studying forests' long-term responses to climate change. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

One of the challenges, Freeman said, was whittling down the 800 quality applicants to 10 recipients. For the final stage of the process, they provided each mentor with 10 to 12 applicants to evaluate. When reviewing the applicants, Freeman said they prioritized candidates who expressed a desire to engage in scientific research, but had limited access to these types of experiences that an R1 research university like George Mason can provide.

George Mason alumnus and former Board of Visitors Rector Jimmy Hazel established a scholarship to encourage REU participants to continue their academic experience at SMSC. The James W. Hazel Scholarship will provide $10,000 to each REU participant who enrolls in one of the semester-away programs.

The NSF- REU program helps open doors for emerging scientists—creating opportunities for students to discover the challenges of conservation work and the impact they can have in protecting species and ecosystems around the world.

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Designing deeper data center defense

Nathan Kahl — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 01:25:30 +0000

Designing deeper data center defense Nathan Kahl Thu, 09/03/2026 - 21:25

In This Story

Kai Zeng

Liling Huang

As artificial intelligence (AI) drives rapid growth in data centers, the facilities powering the technology are becoming more complex, more valuable, and potentially more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Two 91�� researchers want to help close security gaps before attackers can exploit them.

Liling Huang. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Kai Zeng and Liling Huang, a professor and associate professor, respectively, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are developing new approaches to protect AI data centers from threats ranging from insiders stealing valuable AI models to cyberattacks against the systems controlling a facility’s power and cooling.

Zeng and Huang received $100,000 from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority through the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Northern Virginia Node for “Defense-in-Depth Cyber-Physical Security for AI Data Centers.” The one-year project examines vulnerabilities that traditional cybersecurity approaches may not fully address, including the increasingly complicated intersection of information technology, operational technology, and building-management systems.

“It’s a very urgent and emerging topic,” Zeng said. “Just look at how many new AI data centers are built every year, every month.” The issue has particular resonance in Virginia, which has the world’s largest concentration of data center infrastructure and is rapidly becoming a hub for large-scale AI computing.

AI data centers present new challenges because the systems differ from conventional data centers, Huang said. Operators in traditional facilities have years of experience understanding normal activity, making anomalies easy to identify. With AI infrastructure, that baseline is still developing.

“With AI data centers, we are still learning about their operational behavior and how it affects both behind-the-meter electrical systems and the broader power grid,” Huang said. “This uncertainty makes cybersecurity more challenging because, when abnormal behavior occurs, it can be difficult to distinguish a cyberattack from a legitimate equipment or power-system issue.”

The researchers will investigate three areas. One is communication among the clusters of graphics processing units (GPUs) used for AI computing. Their extremely fast connections can make monitoring activity difficult. “It’s harder to monitor the traffic exchange there between the GPUs, which could be a kind of blind spot from a security perspective,” Zeng said.

Another focus is protecting what’s known as “checkpoints,” snapshots of an AI model’s state created during training. Training a large AI model can take weeks. At intervals, the system saves the model's current state, including what it has learned so far. That saved state is the checkpoint, which can contain valuable intellectual property, making them potential targets for tampering or insider attacks. The researchers plan to explore whether data collected from systems throughout the data center, known as telemetry, can help verify that a checkpoint is authentic.

Kai Zeng. Photo by Office of University Branding

The third area involves the boundary between IT systems and operational technology, including systems controlling power and cooling. “Someone does not necessarily have to directly hack into the server, because they can just disrupt the building management system,” Zeng said.

The project benefits from the researchers’ complementary expertise. Huang explained that cybersecurity practices have traditionally been more mature in information technology systems, while operational technology has emphasized reliability, safety, availability, and engineering performance. Zeng brings cybersecurity expertise, while Huang contributes expertise in AI data centers, electrical and mechanical systems, and the power grid. Together, they will work to strengthen cybersecurity protections for the operational technology systems of AI data centers.

The team plans to produce a data center threat model, prototype security technologies, experimental results, and at least one peer-reviewed publication. The seed project is also intended to position the researchers for larger federal and industry-funded projects.

Zeng hopes the initial investment can provide the foundation for something considerably larger. “We can apply later to turn this $100,000 project into, potentially, $1 million,” he said. “Start small, but scale up, and scale big.”

Topics

Cyber Security

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Artificial Intelligence

Research

College of Engineering and Computing

data centers

George Mason partners with Oxford-based TreQ to bring the first open-architecture quantum computing system to Virginia

ckearney — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 22:03:14 +0000

George Mason partners with Oxford-based TreQ to bring the first open-architecture quantum computing system to Virginia ckearney Tue, 09/01/2026 - 18:03

91�� and Oxford-based frontier computing company TreQ announced a groundbreaking partnership this week to bring open-architecture quantum infrastructure to the Commonwealth of Virginia beginning with the first open-architecture quantum computing system in the state and National Capital Region.

“The opportunity for the Commonwealth of Virginia is significant. Experts project that quantum will create a multi-trillion-dollar economy within the decade, and the states that build workforce and infrastructure now will lead in the future,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “George Mason has spent nearly a decade boldly building the foundation for this moment. Bringing an open-architecture quantum computing system to our university and making it available to our students and faculty, our partners, the region, and state is the kind of collaborative innovation that will advance Virginia’s continued successes.”

Dean Cody Edwards, President Gregory Washington, TreQ CEO Mandy Birch, QSEC Director Patrick Vora, and George Mason Rector Sumeet Shrivastava. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Located on one of George Mason’s Northern Virginia campuses, the system will be the first U.S. deployment of a computing system based on TreQ’s proprietary Open Architecture Quantum (OAQ) framework. With strategic support from Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) and TreQ, George Mason is investing in the new $7.7 million system planned for delivery and installation in early 2027, with commissioning expected by late summer 2027. The university commercialization and researcher recruitment grant from VIPC is helping to catalyze and attract strategic industry investment and additional philanthropy support for Virginia’s ecosystem.

“Open architecture widens the path for innovation, allowing for different quantum processors, software, networking, and other technologies as they mature, rather than a single integration approach,” said TreQ CEO and Founder Mandy Birch. “That gives established companies, startups, and researchers a place to build, test, and integrate, and move the field forward faster. This first deployment creates a foundation Virginia can keep building on, and we’re glad to be part of George Mason’s vision for what comes next.”

TreQ will design, deploy, and operate the new built-to-evolve quantum computing infrastructure at George Mason, collaborate on research and curriculum, and connect Virginia and the region with companies and innovators across the global quantum technology ecosystem.

Photo by Jackie Cross/TreQ

“VIPC’s mission is to grow Virginia’s innovation ecosystems through public–private partnership. This unique collaboration with George Mason, TreQ, and other partners will help attract industry investment, accelerate research commercialization, develop next-generation talent, and empower entrepreneurs and startups to advance cutting-edge quantum technology in the commonwealth,” said VIPC President and CEO Joe Benevento. “VIPC is proud to provide catalytic funding to help unlock these exciting opportunities for Virginia’s future.”

Quantum computing is expected to reshape fields including public health and medicine, emergency response, logistics, national security, and infrastructure. Quantum computing is predicted to generate up to $2.7 trillion in economic value internationally by 2035, limited only by two barriers: a shortage of trained talent and the high cost of specialized infrastructure. Alongside ambitious research and interdisciplinary quantum curriculum, the investments at George Mason will help expand access and accelerate discovery, building toward a quantum-enabled future that overcomes both those obstacles.

“The open architecture system provides needed infrastructure to work across the full quantum stack, and fuels rapid innovation that no single organization could tackle alone, advancing the region as a magnet for the quantum supply chain,” said College of Science Dean Cody Edwards. “Open architecture isn’t about being vendor-neutral. It changes what’s possible by opening the system to more technologies and innovators. With the infrastructure and curriculum to train the workforce, George Mason can help drive the advanced computing economy forward.”

This partnership builds on George Mason’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSEC), where 24 faculty across seven departments and several colleges have developed the university’s foundation in quantum. QSEC also recently signed an MOU with two of Korea’s leading quantum organizations, the Future Quantum Convergence Forum and the QCI Quantum-AI Convergence Center (QCI), establishing an international relationship with a key U.S. ally in technology and workforce.

Quantum is a priority area within George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative — a university-wide effort to focus talent and resources on problems of regional and national consequence — and the university is backing it with a $2.4 million catalyst investment, six new postdoctoral positions, and three new faculty positions. The university also launched Virginia’s first interdisciplinary master’s degree in quantum science and engineering. With 80-85% of George Mason graduates working in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the region, the university is creating a talent pipeline to meet the region’s workforce needs.

“George Mason engineering is advancing the frontiers of quantum computing through pioneering research, transformative student experiences, and strategic partnerships with innovators such as TreQ,” added College of Engineering and Computing Dean Ken Ball. “We are preparing the next generation of engineers to turn quantum breakthroughs into practical solutions that will shape the future of technology and society.”

As a top-ranked university, George Mason is already working with regional and industry partners across the state to formalize a broader quantum coalition that is shaping quantum research and workforce development. The new system will also serve as foundational infrastructure for international companies exploring expansion into Northern Virginia.

“Our partnership with TreQ gives QSEC faculty and students access to true quantum computing hardware for the first time,” said QSEC Director Patrick Vora. “We can now launch ambitious new research initiatives, build globally unique workforce training programs, and team with our industry colleagues to grow the Virginia quantum ecosystem. This will truly let Virginia take a quantum leap and drive the future.”

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Greenwashing in stereo?: When benefit corporations get certified

Katelynn C Hipolito — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:09:24 +0000

Greenwashing in stereo?: When benefit corporations get certified Katelynn C Hipolito Tue, 09/01/2026 - 14:09

The term “benefit corporation” is becoming increasingly familiar as a label for companies with a hybrid commitment to the social good as well as profit-making. Interestingly, the term itself has taken on a hybrid meaning.

David Lucas, assistant professor of management at Costello College of Business at 91��.

“Benefit corporation” is a legal structure recognized by most U.S. states, but the term is often used synonymously with “B Corp,” a certification granted by B Lab, a global NGO. The confusion is understandable, given that B Lab was the principal lobbying force behind the adoption of “benefit corporation” as an official legal entity.

“The legal framework is viewed by proponents as a way to help benefit corporations ‘lock in’ their social commitments. It layers on additional requirements that traditional for-profit legal forms don’t have related to non-financial reporting and the resolution of conflicts over these goals,” says David Lucas, assistant professor of management at the Costello College of Business at 91��.

Lucas’s recently published paper in Journal of Business Research uses AI to shed light on what happens when a benefit corporation becomes a B Corp. Does the dual affiliation equate to redoubled commitment, or “greenwashing” in stereo?

The paper was co-authored by Clara Scheve of Hamburg University of Technology and Joel Gehman of George Washington University.

The researchers took advantage of Minnesota’s unusually robust monitoring regime for benefit corporations. “A few studies now have documented relatively low compliance across states, and seemingly few penalties,” Lucas says. “Minnesota is the only state we could find where the Secretary of State published every benefit report that they received, and if they don’t receive one in the annual timeframe, they revoke benefit status.”

However, Lucas emphasizes that there is a difference between reporting regularly and reporting substantively. The disclosures were by no means equally meaningful or forthcoming. “There’s huge variation,” Lucas explains. “Some of the reports are just the cover sheet that’s required and a couple of sentences. Others have long, well-structured reports with a lot of detail and quantitative evidence.”

The researchers aimed to use report quality as a signal of sincerity and effectiveness in pursuing social or environmental impact goals. But first they would have to construct a balanced and comprehensive barometer of quality, over and above very coarse criteria such as length. That is where AI came in.

Lucas and his co-authors trained large language models (LLMs) to rate the reports according to what Lucas calls “the things we really care about: how they talk about stakeholders, how they talk about impact, how transparent they seem to be, etc.” All in all, the researchers accessed 766 benefit reports uploaded to Minnesota’s Secretary of State website from 2015-2023.

The reports submitted by benefit corporations that were also B Corps were significantly longer (by approximately 1.38 pages on average), and of markedly high quality. In particular, they provided far more evidence of real-world impact, greater transparency on challenges and more clarity on next steps.

“There are at least two mechanisms behind these findings,” Lucas says. “First, benefit corporations that also pursue B Corp certification tend to be more serious about the mission. They pay fees to get certified, and they go through the actual audit and process, which is extensive and costly to retain. Second, B Lab’s certification requirements yield a lot of tools to communicate impact. The process of being audited and having to account for these things gives firms measures, both qualitative and quantitative, that speak to these issues in detailed and specific ways.” Rather than undermining or duplicating one another, the legal form and the certification appeared complementary.

For Lucas, the study serves as an example of public and private entities filling in each other’s blind spots. NGOs, after all, have little legal pull, while governments often lack resources for sharp oversight and close collaboration with companies. “Redundancy can appear wasteful, but it has a real value, not just across public and private oversight, but even across different kinds of private certifications,” Lucas says.

Viewed in this light, Minnesota’s approach may be a happy combination of compulsion and flexibility. “The healthiest thing possible is to allow businesses to say as much or as little as they want, but they have to say something,” Lucas says. “That way, all stakeholders are able to see and assess for themselves, and the process is shielded from political swings about what counts as ‘social value’.”

Lucas’s analysis implies a unique role for AI in measuring quality abstracted from politics. “There are other legal forms that are emerging across different countries that are getting at the same or similar goals,” Lucas says. “My ongoing research on these new legal forms and their role in society uses AI in a similar fashion, pulling new dimensions and insights out of this reporting.”

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George Mason researcher brings critical AI literacy program to Prince George’s County

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:18:35 +0000

George Mason researcher brings critical AI literacy program to Prince George’s County Nathan Kahl Mon, 08/31/2026 - 18:18

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms society, 91�� researcher Thema Monroe-White is helping prepare the next generation not just to use the technology, but to navigate it thoughtfully and responsibly. Her work empowers students to understand AI's opportunities, limitations, and consequences, giving them the agency to make informed choices in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Thema Monroe-White. Photo provided

Monroe-White, an associate professor with appointments in the Department of Computer Science and the Schar School of Policy and Government, is part of a new $1 million initiative aimed at helping Prince George’s County students understand not only how to use AI, but how AI works, who it affects, and when it should and should not be used.

The project is funded by the Pull Up Fund, a philanthropic organization focused on supporting youth in Prince George’s County through its Youth AI Mastery and Proficiency initiative. George Mason is working with Ashley Griffin Gilchrist at Bowie State University and Evan Shieh at the Young Data Scientists League (YDSL) on the project. The initial award covers a one-year pilot, with the potential for two additional years of funding.

For Monroe-White, “AI mastery” shouldn't simply mean becoming proficient at using the latest AI platform. “To have or gain AI mastery requires not that you know how to prompt any given model,” she said. Instead, students should understand some of the technical machinery underneath AI, including how models generate outputs, as well as the human and social systems surrounding the technology.

That approach, known as critical AI literacy, asks students to examine issues such as algorithmic bias, labor, privacy, surveillance, environmental impacts, and the human work involved in creating AI systems. It also encourages them to question the technology itself rather than treating AI as a mysterious digital oracle.

“What does it mean? What is it doing? How is it operating? How is it affecting my life?” Monroe-White said.

The Prince George’s County initiative builds on work Monroe-White recently completed with New York City Public Schools and YDSL. Through the Exploring Equity in AI fellowship, educators explored ways to bring critical AI literacy into K-12 classrooms. The program defines AI literacy as encompassing not merely using AI, but “critiquing, researching, evaluating, (re)designing, and reimagining AI.”

The New York effort included topics ranging from AI and consent and algorithmic auditing to data centers and questions about how “intelligent” artificial intelligence actually is. Monroe-White and YDSL Executive Director Evan Shieh served as facilitators of the Critical AI component. Monroe-White is also an external research collaborator with YDSL.

After completing the New York pilot and a public showcase in June, Monroe-White saw the Prince George’s County project as an opportunity to expand the approach closer to home.

“We wanted to expand it and keep the work going,” she said. “And so that’s what we’re doing with Maryland and this county.”

Ultimately, Monroe-White wants young people to understand the technology well enough to make informed decisions about it themselves. Students, she said, should graduate “armed and equipped with the knowledge that most don’t have that demystifies AI,” allowing them to engage in meaningful conversations about when AI is appropriate and what consequences its use might have.

“It’s more of an agency-based training,” Monroe-White said. “It’s lifting up their own individual agency so that they’re empowered in this revolutionary moment.”

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Andre Marshall to join National Science Foundation; Aurali Dade named Interim Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact

ckearney — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:56:34 +0000

Andre Marshall to join National Science Foundation; Aurali Dade named Interim Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact ckearney Thu, 08/27/2026 - 10:56

91�� Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Marion Underwood today announced that Andre Marshall, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact, has accepted an assignment with the National Science Foundation (NSF) as program director, Strategic Partnerships Hub.

Andre Marshall. Photo by Office of University Branding

Since joining George Mason in 2021, Marshall has played a pivotal role in advancing the university’s research enterprise and entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthening the university's reputation as a leading public R1 institution, including launching the Grand Challenge Initiative and empowering institute-driven initiatives like Nexus234 and the Virginia Climate Center.

During Marshall’s tenure, George Mason expanded research activity and strategic partnerships, increased engagement with federal agencies and industry partners, strengthened innovation and technology commercialization efforts, and elevated the university's national visibility in several emerging areas of research and discovery, including quantum research and space exploration.

“Andre has been instrumental in accelerating George Mason’s research excellence and economic impact. He has been a pivotal partner with me in driving our investments in quantum and the innovation district anchored by the Science and Technology Campus,” said President Gregory Washington. “Through the Grand Challenge Initiative, Andre has brought together faculty, researchers, students, and external partners through interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful scholarship, helping to solidify George Mason as a leader in driving innovations that will transform lives and the planet.”

To ensure continuity of leadership, Provost Underwood has appointed Aurali Dade as interim vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact, effective August 31.

Aurali Dade. Photo by Office of University Branding

"I want to thank Andre for leading the research enterprise, central to George Mason’s mission and future, and transforming our internal infrastructure to drive excellence and increased support to local units. We remain committed to faculty research, strengthening partnerships, and advancing the discoveries that serve our students, our communities, and the world," Underwood said. “Aurali’s leadership experience and commitment to research excellence make her exceptionally well suited to guide the enterprise during this transition.”

Dade brings extensive experience in research administration, strategy, and operations and previously served as interim vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact in 2020-21. She currently serves as the vice president for enterprise risk management and chief risk officer, which she will continue in during this interim period, and recently spent 3.5 years at the NSF as a program director in the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) directorate.

The university will launch a national search for the next vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact. Additional information regarding the search process and timeline will be shared in the coming months.

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