Artificial Intelligence

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

GCI-Education

School of Integrative Studies

Costello College of Business

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

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

Electrical and Computer Engineering

data centers

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.”

In This Story

Thema Monroe-White

Explore AI at George Mason

Topics

K-12 Partnerships

Schar School of Policy and Government

GCI-Education

Preparing students for an AI-enabled future with ERA-NOVA

Katarina Benson — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:16:02 +0000

Preparing students for an AI-enabled future with ERA-NOVA Katarina Benson Wed, 08/19/2026 - 09:16

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms the way people learn, work, and communicate, educators are facing a new challenge: not whether AI belongs in classrooms, but how to prepare students to use it responsibly, ethically, and effectively. Education leaders from across Northern Virginia convened on 91��’s Fairfax Campus for the Educational Research Alliance of Northern Virginia's (ERA-NOVA) to answer this question.

Hosted by the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the event brought together school district leaders, CEHD faculty, and community partners to explore the evolving role of AI in PK–12 education.

Participants at the ERA-NOVA convening discuss AI questions. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

"This convening is not ultimately about artificial intelligence," said Ingrid Guerra-López, CEHD dean. "It's about preparing educators to create the kinds of learning experiences that develop critical thinking, sound judgment, creativity, and the ability to solve complex problems. Artificial intelligence simply raises the urgency of that work." That perspective framed the day's discussions and was reinforced by keynote speaker Tara Nattrass, managing director of innovation, partnerships, and learning at Lenovo, who explained that conversations about AI in education are ultimately conversations about people.

Rather than focusing exclusively on emerging technologies, Nattrass challenged attendees to think about how schools can preserve the human elements of learning while equipping students with the knowledge and skills they will need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Drawing on research in learning sciences, workforce trends, and digital citizenship, she emphasized that technology should strengthen, not replace critical thinking. "The question isn't whether they'll use it," Nattrass said. "The question is whether anyone taught them how."

Discussions revealed that Northern Virginia school divisions are at different points of the AI journey. Some districts are still establishing policies and answering foundational questions about what AI is, which tools are appropriate, and how they should be used in schools. Others have begun implementing professional learning, developing governance structures, and introducing AI literacy initiatives for teachers and students.

Despite these differences, participants found common ground around a shared challenge: preparing educators with the confidence and knowledge to guide students in using AI thoughtfully instead of simply restricting its use.

"How do we teach teachers?" emerged as a recurring question during the discussions, with participants emphasizing the need for professional learning that helps educators establish classroom expectations, teach effective prompting strategies, and foster responsible AI use among students.

Participants also explored how educators can design learning experiences that emphasize critical thinking, authentic assessment, and responsible decision-making. Several groups discussed shifting away from blanket bans toward clear expectations for when AI is appropriate, when it should be limited, and when students should demonstrate their own understanding without technological assistance.

The convening also featured industry perspectives demonstrating how AI is transforming professions well beyond education. Representatives from Micron Technology and X Factor Volleyball shared examples of AI supporting semiconductor manufacturing, predictive maintenance, athlete wellness, and performance analytics.

Across industries, speakers emphasized a consistent theme: AI is augmenting human expertise rather than replacing it, enabling professionals to analyze complex data more efficiently while still relying on human judgment, experience, and decision-making.

Participants also explored broader societal implications of AI, including workforce transformation, student well-being, digital citizenship, and the importance of maintaining opportunities for productive struggle. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly sophisticated, they discussed the growing importance of helping students evaluate information critically and navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.

"One of ERA.NOVA's greatest strengths is creating space for school divisions and university partners to wrestle with these questions together,” said Audra Parker, director of the Office for Teacher Preparation at CEHD. “AI is evolving rapidly, and no single organization has all the answers. By learning from one another and grounding our work in both research and practice, we can better prepare educators and students for what's ahead."

Participants identified several priorities for future collaboration, including modular professional learning, AI literacy for educators and students, train-the-trainer models, and stronger alignment between policy and classroom practice. Many also emphasized that AI should not be treated as a standalone initiative but should be integrated into broader efforts to prepare graduates with the technical, ethical, and interpersonal skills needed for an evolving workforce.

That challenge lies at the heart of ERA-NOVA's work. As school divisions, university faculty, and industry leaders continue learning from one another, the focus is on preparing students with the skills they will need to thrive in an AI-enabled world.

Explore Artificial Intelligence at George Mason

Topics

Campus News

College of Education and Human Development

partnerships

High school students build AI solutions at College of Public Health summer camp

Heather Carroll — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:34:46 +0000

High school students build AI solutions at College of Public Health summer camp Heather Carroll Mon, 08/17/2026 - 11:34

Key Takeaways

Through the AI in Health Camp, the College of Public Health helped high school students develop a practical understanding of artificial intelligence and how it can be used responsibly to improve health and health care.
Through hands-on projects, students created their own AI agents and applied what they learned to real-world challenges ranging from healthy sleep habits to athlete recovery and braces care.
The camp gave students confidence using emerging technology while introducing them to career opportunities at the intersection of health, technology, and public service.

Through hands-on projects and mentorship from experts, high school students learned how to use artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly, create an AI agent, and explore how AI is used to improve health care.

Students attending the AI in Health Summer Camp
Photo by Mary Cunningham

At 91��'s College of Public Health, 30 juniors and seniors spent a week doing what few adults have done: building their own AI agent. While many high schools restrict the use of AI, the AI in Health Summer Camp—hosted by the Department of Health Administration, Policy, and Informatics—showed students how AI can be used responsibly to solve real-world problems and improve lives.

By the end of the week, students could explain how AI works, build and customize their own AI agents in Microsoft Copilot, identify health care applications of AI, and better understand careers at the intersection of technology and public health. Students reported learning about the growing role of AI in health care, the complexity of hospital systems, the importance of responsible AI design, and how to apply AI skills to healthcare and future career opportunities.

"We're not allowed to use AI in school. I haven't learned anything [about AI] in school, which is why I'm here," said a participant.

Abdul Hafeez, Assistant Professor in Health Administration, Policy, and Informatics, works with students at the AI in Health Summer Camp
Photo by Mary Cunningham

For many students, the camp challenged their assumptions about AI.

“I learned a lot about how AI is used in health care. One of my favorite parts was programming AI agents and seeing how they could be used to solve specific healthcare problems. The camp was engaging, informative, and a great learning opportunity,” said a participant in the post-camp survey.

Others left with greater confidence in their ability to use emerging technology.

"Before, I thought AI would be complicated, but it's really simple to figure out," said a participant.

Working in teams of two, students created customized AI agents designed to address specific health-related needs. Their projects ranged from tools that encourage healthy sleep habits among students to AI assistants that support athlete nutrition and injury recovery, as well as chatbots that answer questions about braces and agents that help users learn essential cooking skills.

“Learning about chatbots and AI through the AI in Health Summer Camp was a rewarding experience and something I will carry with me as I continue exploring my interests. I am grateful to the professors and teaching assistants who made the camp such a meaningful learning experience,” said a participant in the post-camp survey.

Student learning about a chatbot during the AI in Health Summer Camp
Photo by Mary Cunningham

In addition to working with the college's faculty, students learned directly from health care professionals who shared perspectives on AI, technology, and the changing health workforce. Guest speakers included Jim Borda, public health informatics and IT manager at the Fairfax County Health Department; Jessica Rocca Czelusniak, associate vice president of applications and CNIO at VHC Health; and College of Public Health alums Kate Rzucidlo, Claire Leonard, and Iqra Chaudhry.

For the College of Public Health, the camp represents an investment in the next generation of leaders who will help shape the future of health care. For students, it offered something just as valuable: the knowledge and confidence to begin imagining their place in that future.

Topics

Summer Camps

Health Informatics

College of Public Health

Students

Digging out from disaster by digging into data

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:52:30 +0000

Digging out from disaster by digging into data Nathan Kahl Mon, 08/10/2026 - 12:52

In This Story

Hemant Purohit

In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, the world turns its attention to the affected region, watching search-and-rescue teams race to save lives, supplies pour in, and journalists talk to impacted residents. While the focus usually only lasts for several days, for those at the Humanitarian Informatics Lab in 91��'s Department of Information Sciences and Technology, another phase begins after the cameras leave.

"The response is critical, but recovery continues for months and years," said ab director Hemant Purohit, co-director of the Center for Resilient, Adaptable, and Safe Communities (C-RASC). That's where he feels he and his colleagues can make the greatest contribution.

Purohit’s approach builds on decades-long collective expertise of C-RASC colleagues and nearly a decade of work on human-centered AI technologies by the Humanitarian Informatics Lab, which develops technologies that transform large volumes of data into practical decision-making tools for disaster response and humanitarian operations.

A man and dog search through earthquake rubble. iStock photo.

For example, within days of the June 2026 earthquake in Venezuela, Purohit and colleagues at C-RASC began asking how George Mason could help organizations that will be rebuilding communities long after the immediate crisis passes. The answer became the Venezuela Earthquake Recovery Initiative, a collaboration between George Mason's C-RASC and the Gulfstream Foundation that is developing artificial intelligence and data-driven tools to support governments, nonprofit organizations, and humanitarian agencies during the long-term recovery effort. The team will soon approach the U.S. State Department about using their tools to assist the South American country as it recovers.

Lin Wells, executive advisor to C-RASC, noted that George Mason has much to offer. “From our years of experience, we’ve found that those who want to help must recognize technology alone is never enough. They must build trust with local people and develop solutions along with them. Sociology always tops technology. Also, rebuilding efforts should empower the damaged communities to keep developing on their own after the aid ends. Don’t just bounce back, bounce forward better.”

“Information is essential as interventions remain dynamic and earthquake visible effects are static,” said Gilberto Guevara, a humanitarian expert affiliated with GulfStream and C-RASC, with over 35 years of work in the humanitarian world. “One hopeful sign is to track progress and share the joy of constant activity. Information flows, validated and verified, are what make the difference and keep the momentum going.”

Rather joining the crowded emergency response underway, the team chose to focus where its expertise could have the greatest impact. "Showing up without the right capabilities during the response phase can be counterproductive," Purohit said. "Instead, we asked how research and technology could provide information for the organizations leading recovery."

One technology is Citizen-Helper, a platform launched in 2016. Originally developed through National Science Foundation–supported research, it uses social media and citizen-generated information to identify needs emerging in disaster-affected regions. During the Venezuela recovery effort, Citizen-Helper is being adapted to understand what people are requesting, where those requests originate, and how needs vary across different communities.

"If people are talking about shelter, clothing, medical care, or volunteers, we want to be able to identify those patterns quickly," Purohit said. "That kind of citizen-generated information can provide valuable information."

The team is also developing the AI-powered Recovery Intelligence and Support Engine (RISE), combining geospatial mapping with conversational artificial intelligence. The platform solves disaster recovery's persistent challenge of having too much information spread across too many sources.

"Our goal is to make complex information easier to access for the people making important decisions," Purohit said. "Instead of searching through scattered datasets, they can interact with the vast amount of information in a much more intuitive way."

The project grew out of ongoing collaboration with the Gulfstream Foundation, an organization with extensive experience supporting resilience efforts in Puerto Rico. During a regularly scheduled meeting the week of the earthquake, participants shifted from discussing existing projects to exploring how they could support recovery in Venezuela.

The team brings experience from multiple major disasters, including crisis mapping efforts, Puerto Rico recovery initiatives after the 2017 hurricane season, and humanitarian relief coordination since the Haiti earthquake in 2010. The informed strategy focuses on practical tools rather than theoretical research.

Future adaptation of these tools could help convert damage assessment data into recommendations for health care delivery, support temporary housing decisions, and provide analytics that identify communities at risk of being overlooked.

For Purohit, the initiative reflects the broader mission of the Humanitarian Informatics Lab and C-RASC: using engineering and artificial intelligence to strengthen the work of those serving communities during times of crisis.

Topics

Humanitarian Assistance

big data analytics

Katherine Scafide, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAAFS

91��’s Injury Analytics Lab receives patent for AI bruise detection system

Heather Carroll — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:11:25 +0000

91��’s Injury Analytics Lab receives patent for AI bruise detection system Heather Carroll Mon, 08/10/2026 - 10:11

Newly patented AI technology helps get bruise detection tools into the hands of clinicians, law enforcement, and researchers

Can new technology make it easier to understand bruises? That's the question researchers at 91��'s Injury Analytics Lab (IAL) are answering with a patented technology that combines artificial intelligence, advanced imaging, and clinical data to give clinicians, forensic professionals, and researchers better information about skin injuries.

This technology reflects years of collaboration among experts in nursing, health informatics, and engineering, who worked together to transform research into a practical tool for injury assessment.

How the technology works

Image by College of Public Health.

The newly patented technology addresses current challenges in injury assessment by analyzing images of the skin alongside relevant clinical and demographic information from electronic health records. Similar to popular plant identification apps that combine image data with location information, the system uses AI to detect and assess bruise lesions.

"Documenting injuries accurately is essential for both medical treatment and seeking justice for victims of violence," said Associate Professor of Nursing and IAL Co-Director Katherine Scafide. "This patent recognizes our innovative approach that combines artificial intelligence, advanced imaging, and clinical data to help professionals make more informed decisions."

The patented artificial intelligence technology is built on a dedicated injury platform, which includes a large repository of injury images used by computer vision systems, and data from electronic health records that work together to support accurate injury assessment and real-world use. Development of the platform that hosts the data and systems, and related software is led by Professor of Health Informatics and IAL Co-Director Janusz Wojtusiak, while Professor of Engineering and IAL Co-Director David Lattanzi leads development of the computer vision systems and user-centered design.

One of the most innovative aspects of the patented technology is its ability to tailor imaging conditions such as light wavelength and camera filter to each individual.

Rather than relying on a standard lighting setup, the system can determine a person's skin color and select the most effective light wavelengths, filters, and imaging conditions for capturing injury evidence. By optimizing imaging for each person, the technology can improve injury detection and assessment across a wide range of skin tones, especially for people with darker skin tones, whose injuries can be harder to identify with traditional imaging.

But the technology goes beyond simply determining whether a bruise is present.

The system can estimate characteristics such as a bruise's age, size, color, and shape while also providing information about the confidence of its predictions. By combining visual data with information such as medical history, medications, demographics, and skin color, the technology can account for factors that influence how injuries appear, resulting in more accurate and reliable assessments than images alone.

Why the technology matters

Janusz Wojtusiak and Katherine Scafide in the Injury Analytics Lab. Photo provided

Bruises and other skin injuries have traditionally been difficult to identify and assess. Factors such as skin tone, lighting conditions, and the age of an injury can affect how visible an injury appears, creating challenges for clinicians, forensic professionals, and researchers.

This patented technology helps address those challenges by providing more objective, consistent injury assessments. More accurate documentation can help clinicians make informed treatment decisions, strengthen forensic evidence, support investigations, and give researchers better data to improve future care. By improving injury detection across diverse skin tones, the technology also has the potential to reduce disparities in how injuries are documented and evaluated.

It was also shaped by the needs of the professionals who will use it in real-world settings. “This technology is the result of a user-centric research process that included countless hours of interviews and workshops with health care providers and forensic professionals,” explains Lattanzi. “These groups told us that they need easy-to-use tools that make documentation faster and more reliable. So that’s exactly what we’re building.”

Built on years of research

The patented technology is supported by a library of more than 100,000 images of bruises and other skin characteristics collected through years of interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

The technology identifies and analyzes a wide range of skin features, including bruises, burns, scars, birthmarks, rashes, eczema, psoriasis, and other conditions. This extensive dataset helps train the system's deep-learning models and enables it to recognize patterns that may be difficult for the human eye to detect consistently.

Moving research into practice

The patent marks an important milestone in IAL's broader effort to develop evidence-based technologies that can improve injury assessment and documentation.

Beyond protecting the intellectual property behind the innovation, the patent creates opportunities for new partnerships, commercialization, and broader adoption of the technology. Researchers envision future applications that support health care providers, forensic specialists, law enforcement professionals, researchers, and patients through interfaces tailored to their specific needs.

As the technology continues to advance, the goal remains clear: transforming cutting-edge research into practical tools that improve accuracy, support equity, and help professionals make better-informed decisions when injury documentation matters most.

About the Injury Analytics Lab

Launched in 2026, 91��’s IAL brings together researchers from clinical science, engineering, and health informatics to advance ongoing research focused on injury detection, assessment, and documentation. The lab serves as a hub for interdisciplinary projects that build on years of research to improve patient care, investigations, and legal proceedings.

IAL is directed by an interdisciplinary team including Katherine Scafide (School of Nursing, College of Public Health [CPH]), who leads the lab’s clinical research; Janusz Wojtusiak (Department of Health Administration, Policy, and Informatics, CPH), who leads development of the injury platform and software systems; and David Lattanzi (Volgenau School of Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing), who leads development of the computer vision systems and user-centered design.

Key Takeaways

George Mason researchers received a U.S. patent for technology that helps identify, document, and assess bruises and other skin injuries.
The technology tailors imaging to each individual, helping improve injury detection across a wide range of skin tones, particularly for people with darker skin tones.
The patented technology is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers in nursing, engineering, and health informatics, demonstrating how expertise across multiple fields can advance injury assessment and documentation.
The patent creates opportunities to bring the technology into healthcare, forensic, and research settings, supporting better clinical care, investigations, and future innovation.

In This Story

Janusz Wojtusiak, PhD

David Lattanzi

Topics

injury analytics lab

Bruise Visibility

patent

College of Public Health

GCI-Health

GCI-Digital

George Mason computer scientist receives DOE Genesis Award for breakthrough AI–HPC research

ckearney — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 17:26:41 +0000

George Mason computer scientist receives DOE Genesis Award for breakthrough AI–HPC research ckearney Tue, 08/04/2026 - 13:26

91�� computer science professor Keren Zhou has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a prestigious Genesis Award, part of the Trump Administration’s national Genesis Mission—an initiative designed to accelerate scientific discovery through advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and high‑performance computing.

Keren Zhou. Photo provided

The Genesis Mission aims to build an integrated scientific discovery platform that unites national laboratories, universities, industry partners, and philanthropic organizations to drive breakthroughs in energy, discovery science, and national security. Nearly 300 projects were selected nationwide following what DOE described as the largest response to a funding opportunity in its history.

Zhou’s project, “An End‑to‑End AI Framework for Performance Prediction and Optimization in High‑Performance Computing (HPC) Applications,” received $750,000 in Phase I funding, supporting a nine‑month research period. His work tackles a challenge that affects nearly every field that relies on supercomputers—from climate science to drug development. Today, even small changes to scientific software can require days or months of trial‑and‑error testing to make sure programs run efficiently on different machines. That slows down research and delays discoveries.

Zhou’s goal is to remove that bottleneck. “Today’s HPC applications may need days or even months of tuning every time a parameter changes or a new hardware configuration is introduced,” he explained. “We want to eliminate that costly cycle by building a proxy model that can rapidly estimate performance—reducing simulation time from months to seconds.”

In practical terms, his system acts like a “speed‑check” for scientific computing: Instead of running full, time‑consuming tests, researchers could quickly predict how their programs will perform and automatically identify faster, more efficient ways to run them. With AI systems now capable of rewriting code and suggesting improvements, Zhou’s framework could help scientists optimize their work in minutes rather than weeks.

Zhou is the sole George Mason investigator on the project but will hire postdoctoral researchers as the work advances. Through the Genesis Mission’s shared platform, George Mason students will gain access to industrial partners such as AWS, OpenAI, and Google, along with AI tokens and cloud computing resources that support hands‑on research. He is also collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

As Phase I progresses, Zhou aims to show that his approach works across different scientific applications and hardware systems, delivers significantly faster performance, and does so without requiring long simulation runs. Strong results would position his team for Phase II funding, which the DOE expects to award next year.

For Zhou, the Genesis Award marks an important milestone. “It’s a recognition of my past contributions to strengthening U.S. scientific discovery,” he said. “It also motivates me to continue collaborating with national labs and advancing this domain.” The project aligns closely with his long‑term goal of making advanced computing systems easier to program while maintaining high efficiency.

“The Genesis Mission rests on a clear premise: AI is becoming an instrument of science, not only an object of it. Professor Zhou’s framework is a clear case, a model that predicts and optimizes the systems on which discovery now depends, compressing months of tuning into seconds,” said Amarda Shehu, George Mason’s vice president and chief AI officer. “George Mason’s AI strategy is aimed precisely at this layer, the capability that makes every other field move faster.”

Andre Marshall, George Mason’s vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact, said this award underscores the university’s growing role in advancing the nation’s scientific and technological capabilities. “Professor Zhou’s project elevates our visibility in the federal research ecosystem and demonstrates how George Mason is contributing to the next generation of AI‑driven discovery.”

Zhou hopes the project will serve as a catalyst for future partnerships and position George Mason as a leading contributor to the next generation of AI infrastructure—advancing both national scientific priorities and the university’s growing research impact.

Explore Artificial Intelligence at George Mason

Topics

Department of Energy

Genesis Award

Mason Enterprise and Akiak Technology establish strategic partnership to advance innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity

Katarina Benson — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:24:14 +0000

Mason Enterprise and Akiak Technology establish strategic partnership to advance innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity Katarina Benson Thu, 07/23/2026 - 16:24

Mason Enterprise^TM, 91��’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurial development, established a new partnership with Akiak Technology LLC, an Alaskan tribal-owned, mission-driven technology firm dedicated to delivering impactful artificial intelligence (AI) solutions while supporting Indigenous communities. The collaboration is formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and reflects a shared commitment to fostering business innovation, workforce development, and mutually beneficial growth opportunities.

Mason Enterprise and Akiak Technology will collaborate on technology and business development initiatives designed to expand access to entrepreneurial resources, training, and expertise, while creating new pathways to strengthen innovation ecosystems locally and nationally.

From left, Paula Sorrell, Sharon Hamer, and Kevin Hamer. Photo provided

“This partnership with Akiak Technology aligns with Mason Enterprise’s mission to support entrepreneurs and accelerate innovation,” said Paula Sorrell, associate vice president for innovation and economic development at George Mason. “By combining Mason Enterprise’s entrepreneur support programs, tech talent, and convening power with Akiak’s technology expertise and mission-driven approach, we are adding more building blocks in the Northern Virginia innovation corridor.”

Under the MOU, Mason Enterprise will provide Akiak Technology with access to its entrepreneur programs, innovation expertise, counseling and training resources, while facilitating collaboration across the university. Together, the organizations will identify mutually beneficial opportunities and explore pathways to support Akiak Technology’s business growth in alignment with its mission, including its commitment to its tribal community.

This synergy can speed up the translation of research and discoveries into products and services, addressing complex challenges in areas such as quantum computing, AI, health care technology, and energy. Akiak Technology will also offer strategic insight and feedback to Mason Enterprise programs and help identify opportunities for revenue-generating activities that further Mason Enterprise’s mission of supporting entrepreneurs and innovation-driven organizations.

“This partnership with Mason Enterprise represents an important step forward for Akiak Technology,” said Sharon Hamer, cofounder of Akiak Technology and enrolled Akiak tribal member. “Collaborating with a leading research university gives us access to world-class talent and new opportunities to expand our AI-driven innovations, while remaining true to our mission and values.”

Akiak’s CEO Kevin Hamer added, “Mason Enterprise helped us launch our first business years ago. Deepening this relationship allows us to tap into George Mason’s expansive network and innovation programming as we continue to grow as an AI product and solutions innovator.”

The public–private partnership strengthens technology transfer, supports federal research initiatives, enhances education and workforce readiness, and contributes to regional economic growth—particularly as demand for STEM talent continues to rise.

The collaboration underscores Mason Enterprise’s role as a connector between academia, industry, and community, and highlights Akiak Technology’s commitment to collaboration, innovation, and mission-driven growth.

Learn about Artificial Intelligence at George Mason

Topics

National Science Foundation

NSF CAREER award allows researcher to look under AI’s hood

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:30:48 +0000

NSF CAREER award allows researcher to look under AI’s hood Nathan Kahl Mon, 07/20/2026 - 12:30

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Ziyu Yao

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are now part of everyday life, writing software, tidying up your shopping list, and answering questions. While we know they sit on top of large language models (LLMs), we still understand surprisingly little about what happens inside these systems or what is helping them generate responses.

Ziyu Yao. Photo provided

91�� Department of Computer Science Assistant Professor Ziyu Yao received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for $674,100 over five years to peel the layers back on AI. Specifically, Yao will develop new methods for understanding the internal mechanisms of LLMs. Her research aims to make these AI systems more transparent and useful.

"We use language model–powered products every day, but we have very limited understanding of how they actually work," Yao said. Most efforts to evaluate AI systems focus on their behavior. Researchers give a model a prompt and judge the quality of its response. Yao's work instead focuses on mechanistic interpretability, an emerging field that examines what happens inside a language model as it processes information.

"If we send something to the model, we want to see how it extracts features or signals from my input and gradually performs computations before producing an answer," she said.

As language models have grown dramatically in size, that task is increasingly difficult. Today's leading models contain potentially hundreds of billions of parameters. And Yao said, "The interpretability research community has not caught up. Many traditional approaches cannot be efficiently applied to today's language models."

The project focuses specifically on AI-powered code generation, in which users describe a programming task in natural language and an AI system generates software code. Code generation is an increasingly important application of LLMs, with uses including software engineering and scientific research.

Yao's team will investigate how LLMs apply programming syntax, recall semantic knowledge, and perform deliberate reasoning while writing code. The researchers will also study how training data and learning methods influence those internal mechanisms and explore how interpretability insights can be used to improve AI coding systems.

Current interpretability studies often require researchers to manually design experiments, collecting internal model signals and analyzing the results. Yao plans to develop a framework that automates much of that process using AI itself, allowing researchers to study LLMs more efficiently.

At the same time, she wants interpretability research to produce practical benefits rather than simply satisfying scientific curiosity.

"We want to build the bridge between what we discover about language models and how that knowledge can improve them," Yao said. "Can interpretability actually help us build better AI systems?"

Although commercial AI systems such as ChatGPT are proprietary, Yao and colleagues primarily study open-weight language models that are downloadable. These models are becoming increasingly competitive with commercial systems while supporting the transparency needed for scientific research.

An expectation with the award and a hallmark of the CAREER program is a plan for broader impact. Yao hopes to expand AI literacy through outreach programs, create new curricula and open-source educational resources, provide undergraduate research opportunities, and foster collaborations between researchers in artificial intelligence and software engineering.

"I think we should encourage the younger generation to embrace AI," Yao said. "But at the same time, they should be skeptical, think critically, and be careful about what they are reading from AI."

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large language models