Bioengineering / en George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  /news/2025-08/george-masons-summer-camps-introduce-k-12-students-stem-fields-and-life-college-campus <span>George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  </span> <span><span>Shayla Brown</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-08-04T15:49:58-04:00" title="Monday, August 4, 2025 - 15:49">Mon, 08/04/2025 - 15:49</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">summer camps, programs, and workshops</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US"> are dedicated to </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">inspiring the next generation of scientists and researchers with STEM-focused curriculum and hands-on learning experiences.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0 intro-text">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The camps, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">offered to K-12 students,</span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> are run by George Mason faculty, staff, and students from the </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://cec.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">College of Engineering and Computing</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> (CEC) and the </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">College of Science</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> (COS). </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">In addition to hands-on experience </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">and</span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> mentorship, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">attendees experience</span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> life on a college campus, preparing them to enter the higher education environment</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <h4><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong>Aspiring Scientists</strong></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></h4> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The College of Science’s Aspiring Scientist Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) is one </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">of the longest running summer STEM programs at George Mason. Nearly 400 students are participating in ASSIP this year both in person and remotely.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“ASSIP is an amazing eight-week program designed to give students more experience in the advanced labs. It runs every summer with different mentors from all over George Mason,” said </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/directory/rosa-isela-gallagher" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Isela Gallagher</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, PhD </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/systems-biology/biosciences-phd" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Biosciences</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> ’19, senior research scientist, </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://capmm.science.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> (CAPMM) affiliate.  </span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2025-08/assip_isela.jpg?itok=b0UYUhaf" width="560" height="383" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Isela Gallagher (right) working with ASSIP students. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding.</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Gallagher is an ASSIP faculty mentor working with local high school students </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Alex Simmonds and Yelyzaveta "Liza" </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">Kalchenko</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">.  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0" lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The rising seniors attended the </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="/news/2025-05/governors-school-innovation-park-offers-high-school-students-pathway-college-george" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Governor’s School</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> at Innovation Park, which allows</span><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong> </strong></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">high school juniors and seniors to spend part of each school day experiencing life as George Mason</span><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong> </strong></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">students, where they heard about this opportunity to work alongside faculty mentors on a research topic of their choosing. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0" lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“We're learning different lab techniques and working with laser capture microdissection, or LCM, and reverse phase protein arrays, or RPBA. We're doing this work to isolate cancer cells from breast tissue samples to better research them,” explained Simmonds, who attends Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Simmonds and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">Kalchenko</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> are working out of the </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://ibi.gmu.edu/biomedical-research-laboratory/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Advanced Biomedical Research Building</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> at the Science and Technology (SciTech ). The students will share their findings at the end of summer presentation for the program on August 7.  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <h4><strong><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span></strong><span class="TextRun Highlight MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong>FOCUS </strong></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></h4> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/academics/special-study-options/k-12-stem-programs/focus" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">FOCUS</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> camp is a five-day residential camp geared toward helping middle and high school students</span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> better understand career options. It also utilizes alumni and community partners.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">FOCUS was started in 2014 with four cofounders, including </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">mathematics professor </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/directory/padmanabhan-seshaiyer" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Padmanabhan Seshaiyer</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, forensic science professor </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/directory/kelly-knight" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Kelly Knight</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, former biology professor Claudette Davis, and George Mason alumna </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://chss.gmu.edu/alumni/alumni-spotlights/meet-a-chss-graduate?profile_id=1711" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Highlight Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Danielle Craddock</span></a><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, MA Integrative Studies ’11, founder of Girls Inspired and Ready to Lead Inc.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">This summer, FOCUS took place from </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">July 14-18 with</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> Craddock serving as the FOCUS program manager, while Knight serves as director of the program.  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">FOCUS provides positive role models and experiences with STEM that will increase students’ confidence level in their knowledge, skills, and competencies in the respective fields. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Each weekday of the camp focused on a different letter of STEM: Monday is science, Tuesday is tech, Wednesday is engineering, and Thursday is math, and on Friday, STEM professionals speak to the students through an interactive panel as well as do a poster presentation. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/2025-08/assip_lab.jpg" width="800" height="533" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>ASSIP students working in the lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding.</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“The students do all types of workshops from coding robotic arms to crime scene investigation, to building rollercoasters,” Knight said. “They also engage in team sessions where we focus on team and community building as well as reviewing content covered that day or content to be covered the next day.” </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“The high school students have an additional workshop before that focuses on college prep, confidence building, or specialized skills such as entrepreneurship,” she added. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The camp builds students’ relationships with George Mason by prioritizing returning students in the registration process and as a result, the high school program is almost always sold out by alumni of the program within minutes, explained Kelly.</span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The middle school program also has a significant number of alumni and also sells out within minutes.  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">In addition to staying in the residence halls to get taste of campus life, camp participants learn more about the college experience from George Mason Admissions representatives and tour the campus. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“This year we are also doing a workshop on college scholarships and introducing students to skills they will need to be successful in higher education,” said Knight. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <h4><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong>Space Exploration</strong></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></h4> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0" lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Camps such as the NASA-funded program </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/physics-and-astronomy-department/observatory/mason-space-exploration" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Mason Space Exploration Center</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> (MSEC) are spread across George Mason campuses and provide students with access to some of the university’s most notable facilities such as the Observatory. During its three years, the camp has expanded its offerings to meet demand.  </span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2025-08/msec_group_2.png?itok=OHvzcoWZ" width="560" height="315" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>MSEC students. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“MSEC started as a summer camp but has now also expanded into many different outreach activities and family events, such as Space Day, that cater to fourth through ninth grade students,” said Rob Parks, COS assistant director of MSEC. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> “We're hoping to be able to stay involved with these families as these kids age, so that hopefully we can encourage them to consider George Mason [when thinking about colleges],” said Parks. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Rising high school</span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">seniors Gwen Chaves and Gabby Whitefield and </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://science.gmu.edu/directory/james-parks" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Rob Parks</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> are Observatory tour guides. Chavs led the advanced camp on the Science and Technology . Whitefield was the lead flight director, facilitating daily Astronomy and STEM-related lectures, activities, crafts, and demonstrations. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“A lot of the kids in the advanced camp are asking me about my experience in George Mason STEM and what it's like to live on campus,” said Chaves. “They’re really curious about what kind of labs and facilities we have, which are cool questions to be able to answer. It’s exciting to teach them about what George Mason has to offer them later on in their academic careers.” </span></p> <h4><span class="TextRun MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong>Engineering Is a Growing Field</strong></span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></h4> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Camps on engineering and related topics are always popular at George Mason, and there are a variety of programs on all three of the university’s Northern Virginia campuses for students looking to be inspired. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://cec.gmu.edu/about/osse" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">CEC Office of Outreach, Student Success, and Engagement (OSSE)</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> offers outreach activities that encourage creativity and nurture a passion for STEM from an early age. Outreach activities include the Fall STEAM Fest, the Spring into STEM Event, the STEM Summer Showcase, and the Engineering 4 Us All Program. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">George Mason’s </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="/news/2024-08/high-schoolers-explore-renewable-energy-engineering-mason-square-summer-camp" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, held at Mason Square </span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">is sponsored by Amazon Web Services. This camp, led by CEC professor Liling Huang, offered high school students a range of interactive science and engineering activities</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, including building a model town powered entirely by clean renewable energy.  </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Huang’s E2 Center for Energy Exploration will host an upcoming summer camp for high school students as well.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2025-08/msec_satellite.jpeg?itok=KhgXqBYj" width="560" height="420" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>MSEC students. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <h4><span class="TextRun EmptyTextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0" lang="EN-US"></span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="/news/2024-07/local-high-schoolers-discover-bioengineering-george-masons-bioe-buzz-summer-camp" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined MacChromeBold SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"><strong>BioE-Buzz</strong></span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></h4> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Carolyn Wilson, internship coordinator for the Bioengineering Department, worked with the department’s external advisory board, called the Alliance, to increase the pipeline of students coming into the department.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Through this initiative, Wilson created </span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">BioE</span><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">-Buzz, a CEC summer camp for rising high school juniors and seniors.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0"></span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“We have a number of campers who are interested in majoring in bioengineering based on what they learned and were exposed to during the camp, so that really encouraged us to expand our sessions this year from one to two weeks. We’ve also doubled the number of campers from our first year,” said Wilson.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The camp takes place on the Fairfax and SciTech campuses. The camp’s counselors, coordinators, and volunteers are George Mason students. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“This is our second year of </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">BioE</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">-Buzz, and we have the campus structured so that students spend their time getting to know what Mason has to offer. They have access to our </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://nff.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Nanofabrication</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> and </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://edge.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">EDGE</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> facilities as well as the MIX,” said </span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">BioE</span><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> Buzz camp director Khadija Zaidi-Rashid, PhD </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu/" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Bioengineering</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> ’23. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Students will give presentations on what they learned and experienced at George Mason’s summer camps with a </span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW111624304 BCX0" href="https://cec.gmu.edu/stem-summer-showcase" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">STEM End of Summer Showcase</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> in August. </span><span class="EOP SCXW111624304 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW111624304 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW111624304 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="3d5749ef-6bfb-4d8e-a15c-ed283a8a5ad4" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="e51b95f5-de8b-4bdf-ae5c-0b798ccf9ec5" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related Stories</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-2ac1c117061839cb3f87cfed12debb7c07fe5a9773c0a99084ace3694cfc9c6e"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-08/george-masons-summer-camps-introduce-k-12-students-stem-fields-and-life-college-campus" hreflang="en">George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div 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data-inline-block-uuid="e7311562-8ae5-4c7f-928b-1edb0ab25ce1"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://scitechcampus.gmu.edu/"> <h4 class="cta__title">Visit George Mason's SciTech <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"></span> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2831" hreflang="en">Summer Camps</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/12741" hreflang="en">ASSIP</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3071" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/291" hreflang="en">College of Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20821" hreflang="en">Governor's School at Innovation Park</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/116" hreflang="en"> News</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:49:58 +0000 Shayla Brown 268021 at Engineering better vision: George Mason professors lead $1.17M NIH project /news/2025-07/engineering-better-vision-george-mason-professors-lead-117m-nih-project <span>Engineering better vision: George Mason professors lead $1.17M NIH project </span> <span><span>Martha Bushong</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-07-30T15:12:10-04:00" title="Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - 15:12">Wed, 07/30/2025 - 15:12</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/nyao4" hreflang="en">Ningshi Yao</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/qsanders" hreflang="en">Quentin Sanders</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/qwei2" hreflang="und">Qi Wei</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="intro-text">Understanding and treating complex eye movement disorders like strabismus has long been a challenge for clinicians. Now, researchers at are pioneering a new approach using robotics and artificial intelligence to engineer a better future for vision care.</span><span class="apple-converted-space intro-text">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><a href="https://volgenau.gmu.edu/profiles/nyao4"><span>Ningshi Yao</span></a><span>, an assistant professor in the </span><a href="ece.gmu.edu"><span>Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,</span></a><span> has been awarded a prestigious $1.17 million R01 grant to lead a groundbreaking four-year project. The award comes from the joint</span><a href="NSF.gov"><span> National Science Foundation</span></a><span> (NSF) and </span><a href="nih.gov"><span>National Institutes of Health </span></a><span>(NIH) "Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH)" program.</span><span class="apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>The funded project, "Study Coordinated Human Eye Movement and Strabismus Using a Novel Artificial Muscle-Driven Robotic Eyes," will be conducted in collaboration with co-investigators </span><a href="https://volgenau.gmu.edu/profiles/qwei2"><span>Qi Wei </span></a><span>and </span><a href="/profiles/qsanders"><span>Quentin Sanders</span></a><span> from George Mason’s </span><a href="bioengineering.gmu.edu"><span>Department of Bioengineering </span></a><span>and consultant </span><a href="https://www.uclahealth.org/providers/joseph-demer"><span>Joseph Demer</span></a><span> in the Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2025-07/nih_eye_research_feature.jpg?itok=nDxfDCJQ" width="350" height="280" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>From leftt: Qi Wei (Bioengineering Department), Ningshi Yao (Electrical and Computer Engineering Department), and Quentin Sanders (Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments). Photo provided</figcaption> </figure> <p><span>At the core of the research is the creation of robotic eyes powered by artificial muscles that replicate the precise, coordinated movements of human eyes. “Strabismus affects more than 18 million Americans, yet current treatments often fall short, with success rates ranging from 30 to 80%,” said Yao. “Our goal is to use robotic systems and artificial intelligence to better understand how the eyes work—and ultimately improve how we diagnose and treat these disorders.”</span></p> <p><span>The research team will build robotic eyes that closely mimic human biomechanics and use them as tools to study the underlying causes of strabismus. These systems will allow for a level of control and repeatability not possible in human subjects, offering a unique window into how eye muscles and connective tissues—especially the so-called “pulleys”—work together to guide vision.</span></p> <p><span>To make the robotic system truly intelligent, the project will also apply reinforcement learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to discover how humans naturally control eye movements. By training the robots with real patient data and expert-informed objectives, the team hopes to reverse-engineer the strategies humans use—leading to better understanding and new treatment pathways.</span></p> <p><span>In the final phase of the project, the team will integrate patient-specific data into the robotic system to simulate different surgical outcomes. This will allow ophthalmologists to test and refine treatment strategies before operating, increasing precision and improving long-term results.</span></p> <p><span>The project’s impact extends beyond eye health. The robotic muscle actuators and control models developed here could advance robotics, AI, biomechanics, and even the design of soft, adaptive machines.</span></p> <p><span>In addition to scientific discoveries, the research team will build educational tools and training platforms using the robotic eyes, helping to prepare the next generation of vision specialists.</span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/19146" hreflang="en">CEC faculty research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/4541" hreflang="en">Electrical and Computer Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1161" hreflang="en">National Science Foundation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2241" hreflang="en">National Institutes of Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/271" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 30 Jul 2025 19:12:10 +0000 Martha Bushong 242236 at Engineering students in Ecuador give locals a leg up /news/2025-06/engineering-students-ecuador-give-locals-leg <span>Engineering students in Ecuador give locals a leg up </span> <span><span>Jennifer Pocock</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-06-11T14:37:38-04:00" title="Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - 14:37">Wed, 06/11/2025 - 14:37</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/kpopat" hreflang="en">Ketul Popat</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/sross20" hreflang="und">Shani Ross</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214732204 BCX0 intro-text">Sixteen students from George Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing took an early summer ROMP in Quito.</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2025-06/mireyanddarion_photosr_1_0.jpg?itok=5z3S_ECN" width="350" height="350" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Computer engineering major Darion El shapes a prosthetic as ROMP prostheticist Mireya Moreno supervises.&nbsp;<br>Photo by Shani Ross</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">It could have been just another frivolous start to the summer, full of parties and pools before kicking off internships and jobs. Instead, these students opted to change lives: those of amputees—and their own.</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">From May 16 to 26, 16 students in the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun CommentStart" lang="EN-US">BENG</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> 417 Bioengineering World Health class with trip leaders </span><a href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu/academics/bachelor-science-bioengineering/advising"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Claudia Borke</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> and </span><a href="https://volgenau.gmu.edu/profiles/sross20"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Shani Ross</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> worked in Quito, Ecuador, with the </span><a href="https://rompglobal.org/"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Range of Motion Project (ROMP)</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> to fit locals with high-quality prosthetic devices. </span><a href="/profiles/kpopat"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Ketul Popat</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, chair of the Department of Bioengineering, brought the ROMP program to George Mason after a successful run at Colorado State University.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“This was the first year that we did this,” he said. “The goal was to give more hands-on experience to students so they could see how a background in engineering could make a difference in people’s lives instantly.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2025-06/shoes_darion_1.jpg?itok=8bvJxw1G" width="350" height="350" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Different styles of prosthetics are displayed with shoes at the ROMP workshop. Photo by Darion El</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The students absolutely felt the difference. Nicolas Garcia Callejas is a rising senior who began his academic career as a pre-med nursing student, earned an associate’s degree in health science, and is now hurtling through undergrad and straight into a master’s in bioengineering with George Mason’s Bachelor’s Accelerated Master’s (BAM) program.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0"> &nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“We got to know the patients and help them through the process. Then we got to do everything from scratch in maki</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">ng </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">the prosthetics,” he said. “We w</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed" lang="EN-US">ent from taki</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">ng measurements, doing the sculpting and molding, refinements around the socket, and building the prosthetic. It was a full 9-5 job, but the time flew by because I was having fun.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">This trip, Garcia Callejas said, lit a fire in him to continue working with ROMP. Not only did he get to help others, as he wanted to do as a nursing student, but he could also make things hands-on and use his language skills to help translate. “ROMP was a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed" lang="EN-US">really cool</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> experience. I fell in love with the people there.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Andres Miguel Cruz Guzman was another student who transferred to George Mason from a community college with an associate’s degree in engineering. This mechanical engineering major wants to eventually work on solar and water technology projects, but the personal and hands-on aspect of the Ecuador program attracted him.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“I liked that we were going to work directly with the patients,” he said. “The prosthetics are going on their bodies and will be something they wear for the next three years. I was intrigued by that challenge.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">O</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">ne </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">t</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">hing </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">he didn’t anticipate, however, was the emotional aspect of the work. “I saw one 12-year-old boy walk for the first time. It didn’t hit me at the moment, but at bedtime the impact that we had on his life overwhelmed me,” he said.</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Popat said that one thing that st</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">ruck</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> him was how quickly the students adapted to the work. “I went on the third </span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">day,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> and it didn’t seem like the students were new there,” he said. “They were already very comfortable with what they were doing.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW105271129 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW105271129 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">And that’s the kicker (pun intended). These programs are so valuable because they enable students to see, in a very short time, how their years of study prepared them to make a difference in the world.</span><span class="EOP SCXW105271129 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1676" hreflang="en">study abroad</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/8831" hreflang="en">Ecuador</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20866" hreflang="en">Assistive Technology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/9846" hreflang="en">Active Learning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 11 Jun 2025 18:37:38 +0000 Jennifer Pocock 117716 at New Life Sciences and Engineering Building offers the tools needed to excel /news/2025-04/new-life-sciences-and-engineering-building-offers-tools-needed-excel <span>New Life Sciences and Engineering Building offers the tools needed to excel </span> <span><span>Jennifer Pocock</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-04-03T14:11:29-04:00" title="Thursday, April 3, 2025 - 14:11">Thu, 04/03/2025 - 14:11</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">With state-of-the-art teaching labs and fabrication facilities, 's Life Sciences and Engineering Building (LSEB) lets students and faculty get their hands dirty in this brand-new multiuse active learning space. The ribbon cutting didn’t officially happen until March 27, but LSEB already experienced a housewarming.</span><span class="EOP SCXW95376807 BCX0 intro-text">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2025-04/scitech_campus.jpg?itok=dzNJe6Lw" width="560" height="374" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Students working in the aviary at the Life Sciences and Engineering Building. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The students started arriving just after the winter break, when the building opened on January 21, 2025. One of the first groups to take up residence was Patriot Motorsports, a club for any students (not just mechanical engineers!) who want to explore the inner workings of automotive vehicles. Over the past two </span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">months, mechanical</span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> engineering seniors have revved it up a notch with their capstone project designing a control system for the club’s Formula SAE race car.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW95376807 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Race cars aren’t the only vehicles in the building...there’s also room for robotics and autonomous vehicles. This new space boasts a high-bay, multistory aviary laboratory where students can test blimps, drones, and anything else that needs extra airspace to move around. One capstone project taking advantage of the lab is an Autonomous Flapping Wing Lighter-than-Air Vehicle developed by Assistant Professor Daigo </span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">Shishika’s</span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> students.</span><span class="EOP SCXW95376807 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“Our capstone teams are also using the prototyping space in room 2100 to meet and jointly work on their projects,” said Charles White, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “So far this has been through team meetings and collaboration. Once the first-floor machine shop is complete, this space will also be used for staging and constructing physical prototypes.”</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">One of the building’s unique features is the seamless blending of laboratory and teaching spaces. All of the mechanical engineering labs, including the first-floor advanced manufacturing and wind tunnel labs, contain student desks and IT lecture setups so that seminars can turn into hands-on demonstrations and practice in real time.</span><span class="EOP SCXW95376807 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">And these areas barely scrape the surface of what the building has to offer. For mechanical engineers, in addition to the wind tunnel and advanced manufacturing labs, machine shop, robotics lab, and prototype studio, there is a 3D print studio, a materials characterization lab, a sustainable energy and photonics area, and a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">thermofluids</span><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> lab. For civil engineers, a dedicated space for their ASCE concrete canoe competitions. Bioengineers have cutting-edge studios as well, including a tissue engineering lab.</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW95376807 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW95376807 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The LSEB is still warming up and getting ready for new student cohorts, but one thing is sure: This building will produce brilliant engineers and scientists for generations to come.&nbsp;</span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/dshishik" hreflang="und">Daigo Shishika</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/cwhite47" hreflang="en">Charles White</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="c5ae5057-5f94-40f6-be43-0bfee7a6a640" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related News</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-e894d9854df90aa759409119276c37c8eadf7d7fa2a0ea35c5719394ef1a6434"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-08/george-masons-summer-camps-introduce-k-12-students-stem-fields-and-life-college-campus" hreflang="en">George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">August 4, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/engineering-better-vision-george-mason-professors-lead-117m-nih-project" hreflang="en">Engineering better vision: George Mason professors lead $1.17M NIH project </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 30, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-06/engineering-students-ecuador-give-locals-leg" hreflang="en">Engineering students in Ecuador give locals a leg up </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">June 11, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-04/sea-life-defended-republic" hreflang="en">Sea life defended the republic </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">April 29, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-04/campus-greenhouse-powered-sun-and-student-innovation" hreflang="en">This campus greenhouse is powered by the sun—and student innovation</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">April 25, 2025</div></div></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/4706" hreflang="en">mechanical engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/4396" hreflang="en">Civil Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 03 Apr 2025 18:11:29 +0000 Jennifer Pocock 116456 at Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI) takes on a new focus /news/2025-03/center-advancing-systems-science-and-bioengineering-innovation-cassbi-takes-new-focus <span>Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI) takes on a new focus</span> <span><span>Martha Bushong</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-03-29T07:51:21-04:00" title="Saturday, March 29, 2025 - 07:51">Sat, 03/29/2025 - 07:51</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">Marvel superheroes use their superpowers to leap tall buildings and break through walls. Heroes at 's </span><a href="https://cassbi.gmu.edu/"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun intro-text" lang="EN-US">) heroes use their "superpowers" to break through disciplinary silos and improve human health.</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“It’s very unique the way CASSBI brought so many disciplines together,” said Amy Adams, executive director of the </span><a href="https://ibi.gmu.edu/"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Institute for </span><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">Biohealth</span><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> Innovation</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">. “Their human-centered approach has attracted faculty from all over the university, leveraging the expertise from so many fields of study.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2025-03/s._sikdar_small_image.jpg?itok=j3-UnHw5" width="250" height="350" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Professor Siddhartha Sikdar. Photo by Office of University Branding</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">CASSBI leaders have always understood research efforts don’t take place in a vacuum—the more collaboration, the better. And since its inception in 2019, CASSBI has leveraged faculty from disciplines as diverse as mathematics and social work, or kinesiology and mechanical engineering, all to improve human health.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Professors Siddhartha Sikdar and Parag Chitnis, both from the </span><a href="https://cec.gmu.edu/program/bioengineering-bs"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Bioengineering Department in the College of Engineering and Computing</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">, are co-leaders of the center that recently refreshed its mission and zeroed in more tightly on its translational research. They say that the new vision of CASSBI is advancing system science and integrating innovation with medical technologies.</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“Our work has always been translational,” said Sikdar, “In our earlier version, the translational focus was more on centering the priorities of our community partners and addressing their needs through research and creating and disseminating tools that would benefit them directly right now. For example, one success story is a nonprofit we created called </span><a href="/news/2023-03/mason-researchers-connect-community-members-develop-app-individuals-recovering-opioid"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">iConnect</span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed" lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US"> which works with our community partners to support individuals in recovery from substance misuse. Now we are also working on supporting translation of technologies from the lab to the marketplace, and we will prioritize that equally," he said.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">The center will emphasize spin-offs and start-ups from the technology developed at CASSBI in addition to community-engaged research.</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2025-03/p._chitnis_small_content_image.jpg?itok=0Qxw1LVj" width="250" height="350" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Parag Chitnis. Photo by Office of University Branding</figcaption> </figure> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Sikdar and Chitnis are off to a good start with a new company that grew out of a Department of Defense grant on tendon and joint injury prevention and reduction using wearable ultrasound systems. In this case, the researchers saw that what they had developed for the military had a broader use and could improve more people's lives by marketing it to a civilian population.</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">“We’re trying to pursue research of consequence in a way where we are trying to understand the entire pipeline A-Z and how the activities that can be pursued at the academic level and the research lab or center level can eventually be brought to real world,” said Sikdar.&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">To the CASSBI team, this means all aspects of translation including preclinical, translational studies, clinical trials, commercialization, development of patents, and intellectual property.&nbsp;</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Another important aim for CASSBI is to create a support structure for faculty, staff, and researchers to engage in these additional activities. Sikdar and Chitnis want to build out the enhanced support system for devise fabrication, and for navigating the regulatory pathway when working with federal agencies, or for obtaining grant funding that is not traditional academic grants. “We’re becoming more geared towards translational, entrepreneurial, and industrial activities,” said Chitnis.</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> <p class="Paragraph SCXW42868411 BCX0"><span class="TextRun SCXW42868411 BCX0 NormalTextRun" lang="EN-US">Chitnis summarizes the new direction: "We're looking at a more holistic approach and how the impact of our science, research, and development can be felt outside of the university.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW42868411 BCX0">&nbsp;</span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/ssikdar" hreflang="und">Siddhartha Sikdar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/pchitnis" hreflang="und">Parag Chitnis</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="5cadc473-438b-4cc8-a135-eb2183a38e41" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="ccd13c15-35c9-408d-8c06-dd376a186a33" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related Stories</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-772abb28636b2c82ad37c71b76a52beededc09d4ff1d5a189578c8b6ec73460b"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-08/george-masons-summer-camps-introduce-k-12-students-stem-fields-and-life-college-campus" hreflang="en">George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">August 4, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-08/fulbright-awards-expand-george-mason-faculty-and-staff-perspectives" hreflang="en">Fulbright awards expand George Mason faculty and staff perspectives </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">August 4, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/engineering-better-vision-george-mason-professors-lead-117m-nih-project" hreflang="en">Engineering better vision: George Mason professors lead $1.17M NIH project </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 30, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/college-engineering-and-computing-mourns-passing-mark-pullen" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing mourns the passing of Mark Pullen</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 15, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/school-computing-becomes-long-nguyen-and-kimmy-duong-school-computing" hreflang="en">School of Computing becomes Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 14, 2025</div></div></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/19146" hreflang="en">CEC faculty research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3071" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20776" hreflang="en">Hea</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/271" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6691" hreflang="en">entrepreneurship</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Sat, 29 Mar 2025 11:51:21 +0000 Martha Bushong 116846 at Bioengineering major pursues his career goals with internships /news/2025-01/bioengineering-major-pursues-his-career-goals-internships <span>Bioengineering major pursues his career goals with internships </span> <span><span>Katarina Benson</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-01-15T15:51:24-05:00" title="Wednesday, January 15, 2025 - 15:51">Wed, 01/15/2025 - 15:51</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="intro-text"> bioengineering student Andy Gomez is a busy guy. Not only is he working on a year-long internship with the </span><a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.energy.gov%2Fnnsa%2Fnational-nuclear-security-administration&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cckearney%40gmu.edu%7Cc197617db247499cb36e08dd359bd42c%7C9e857255df574c47a0c00546460380cb%7C0%7C0%7C638725665590145143%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=t4SJbt7b2Jcjp%2BqO2y74bF6DwwElhuUy0UwkqPp%2BTMI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span class="intro-text">National Nuclear Security Administration</span></a><span class="intro-text"> (NNSA), he is also a part-time clinical research assistant at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute.&nbsp;</span></p> <div class="align-center" style="min-width: 50%;"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-video-embed-field field--type-video-embed-field field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="video-embed-field-provider-youtube video-embed-field-responsive-video"><iframe width="854" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HL_zsSrbv4M?autoplay=0&amp;start=0&amp;rel=0"></iframe> </div> </div> </div> <p><span>For the internship with the NNSA under the </span><a href="https://www.energy.gov/"><span>Department of Energy</span></a><span> in Aiken, South Carolina, Gomez is working on classified government projects. So you might wonder how much he can say about his work.</span></p> <p><span>“What I can talk about is [my work] on nondestructive assays. We use new gamma detectors to measure nuclear material, trying to make sure there's no theft and insider threat because we work with weapons-grade nuclear material every day,” said the senior </span><a href="https://cec.gmu.edu/"><span>College of Engineering and Computing</span></a><span> student.</span></p> <p><span>“If it works accurately in our tests, then we can pretty much use that as our new base now under the NNSA,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span>Gomez hopes the hybrid internship, through the </span><a href="https://www.faa.gov/jobs/students/internships/minority"><span>Minority Serving Institution Internship Program</span></a><span> (MSIIP), will be a stepping stone to a government position with a biomedical focus. MSIIP is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) program that brings in students from minority serving institutions, including George Mason.</span></p> <p><span>Gomez works on the continuous monitoring and detection of theft and diversion of nuclear material.</span></p> <p><span>This project could revolutionize nuclear safety, security, and emergency response, said Gomez. It can also help monitor radioactive sources used at power plants, particle accelerators, and hospitals, prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism, clean up and remediate contaminated sites, and respond to disasters like the Fukushima accident in Japan.</span></p> <p><span>In June, Gomez and his team spent two and a half weeks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Sandia National Lab, which is where he met and drove Spot, a four-legged robot dog that detects and maps radiation in any environment and is in the works for providing mobile monitoring in real-time.</span></p> <p><span>They also visited the Los Alamos National Lab, well-known for being the work space of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.</span></p> <p><span>“It was such an exciting experience touring all of these locations and seeing places that were particularly impactful to my field,” said Gomez.</span></p> <p><span>More locally Gomez is working with computed tomography biomarkers as a part-time clinical research assistant at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax.</span></p> <p><span>“Growing up, I was captivated by the stories of physicians and researchers unveiling their latest innovations to treat illnesses and discover treatments,” said Gomez. “I felt a sense of awe at the sheer possibility of what human ingenuity could achieve, and I wanted to be part of the effort to bridge the gap between technological engineering and medical needs.”</span></p> <p><span>Ingenuity can be a “powerful reminder of the resilience of life and the importance of finding ways to support that resilience through innovation,” he said.</span></p> <p><span>Gomez has taken two biomedical classes at George Mason: Bioengineering 437/537 Medical Image Processing with Associate Professor </span><a href="https://idia.gmu.edu/faculty_directory/vasiliki-ikonomidou/"><span>Vicky Ikonomidou</span></a><span> and Bioengineering 360 Biomedical Imaging with visiting Inova physician Jason Yeo.</span></p> <p><span>Gomez credits these courses with preparing him for his work with nuclear medicine, X-rays, photoelectrons, protons, gamma and the movements of alpha-beta particles.</span></p> <p><span>“Like many students, Andy initially struggled in my class, but through perseverance, dedication and a positive attitude, he was able to overcome may difficulties and successfully complete the course,” said Juan Raul Cebral, who taught Gomez in Bioengineering 230.</span></p> <p><span>“These are necessary qualities for a good engineer and scientist—hard working, passionate about the work and learning, perseverant and focused—and they all apply to Andy,” he said.</span></p> <p><span>One thing Gomez will take with him from these experience into his future professional endeavors is the <strong>importance of communication</strong>.</span></p> <p><span>“We have to have open lines of communication constantly, especially within the government,” said Gomez. “People are contributing work to different kinds of projects, and it’s important to update our team members and others about our progress in order to make as big of an impact as we can with the work we’re trying to do.”</span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:call_to_action" data-inline-block-uuid="611bb14a-1180-4141-88e8-28b8f4209595"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://careers.gmu.edu/undergraduate-students/find-job-or-internship"> <h4 class="cta__title">Find your own internship with Career Services <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"></span> </a> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="8a91f88f-5cbe-47d5-8daa-0dd87a25df12" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="fe8479f5-2bca-49bd-9a9c-9e9b02cdf3e4" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related News</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-7710f52b034e6a1de73a529699f79e94091deb10a9bc07b5218d95ec59626294"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/summer-internship-lets-george-mason-student-help-kids-discover-joys-stem" hreflang="en">Summer internship lets George Mason student help kids discover the joys of STEM </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 31, 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<div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3071" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/20556" hreflang="en">Internship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/721" hreflang="en">internships</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 15 Jan 2025 20:51:24 +0000 Katarina Benson 115361 at CryoCrafted Innovations team wins national award /news/2024-10/cryocrafted-innovations-team-wins-national-award <span>CryoCrafted Innovations team wins national award</span> <span><span>Martha Bushong</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-10-08T19:32:10-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - 19:32">Tue, 10/08/2024 - 19:32</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:call_to_action" data-inline-block-uuid="e20470cb-59ae-4217-896f-96c19e8be604"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IOFzTc3lJZA?feature=share"> <h4 class="cta__title">Watch the video <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"> <div class="field field--name-field-cta-icon field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Icon</div> <div class="field__item"><div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-font-awesome-icon field--type-fontawesome-icon field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Icon</div> <div class="field__item"><div class="fontawesome-icons"> <div class="fontawesome-icon"> <i class="fas fa-video" data-fa-transform data-fa-mask style></i> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </span> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p>As a capstone to the <a href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu/" target="_blank">bioengineering program</a>  at , each graduating senior student completes a team-based, two-semester design project where they develop solutions to real-world biomedical and/or clinical problems. Since the program began in 2013, scores of students have garnered accolades and attention for their ingenuity and novel solutions.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/2024-10/feature_image_cryo_team.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="Three students standing with virtual image of teamate." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Image of team (from left) Karmel Webster,&nbsp;Alessandra Coogan, SuJung Rodriguez, Rachel Ometz, and Katie Harrison on the screen. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>In 2024, The CryoCrafted Innovations; Project: “Prosthetic Cooling PCM Liner with Peltier Fan Add-On” sponsored by the non-profit QL+ won a national award at the QL+ National Design Competition in May. QL+ is a national nonprofit that sponsors multiple College of Engineering and Computing capstone projects where engineering students develop personalized solutions for injured veterans and first responders to enhance their quality of life.&nbsp;</p> <p>Through extensive outreach and user feedback, the team gained valuable insights into amputees’ daily challenges. They learned that lower limb amputees often struggle with the comfort of their prosthetic devices, with temperature variance one of the biggest problems.  Heat and moisture buildup caused by the variance frequently leads to skin irritation, lesions, and slippage.  &nbsp;</p> <p>For their project, team members Alessandra Coogan, Katie Harrison, Rachel Ometz, SuJung Rodriguez, and Karmel Webster developed a unique liner for prosthetic devices.&nbsp;</p> <p>The liner incorporates a blend of silicone and two encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) that absorb and release heat as they transition between solid and liquid states within a specific temperature range. This provides passive cooling to the residual limb.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our deep understanding of what solutions would be effective and market-ready alongside our iterative design process is what made us stand out in the competition,” said team member Alessandra Coogan, now a master’s student in bioengineering.&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6476" hreflang="en">senior capstone projects</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Tue, 08 Oct 2024 23:32:10 +0000 Martha Bushong 114591 at Bioengineering alumna completes a fun(gal) summer internship with NIH /news/2024-09/bioengineering-alumna-completes-fungal-summer-internship-nih <span>Bioengineering alumna completes a fun(gal) summer internship with NIH </span> <span><span>Shayla Brown</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-13T14:07:12-04:00" title="Friday, September 13, 2024 - 14:07">Fri, 09/13/2024 - 14:07</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="intro-text"> bioengineering alumna Alessandra Coogan took advantage of all the opportunities associated with her internship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, this summer.&nbsp;That included NIH workshops and seminars where Coogan was able to tap into various institutes and branches of engineering, as well as network with professional engineers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="intro-text">“I thought interning at NIH meant that you come to the lab, work, then leave, but it's actually a huge institution and offers so many opportunities to socialize, network, and developing yourself as a professional scientist. It was really amazing,” said Coogan.</span></p> <hr> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2024-09/alessandra_nibib_400x350.jpg?itok=Jwvd1PRa" width="400" height="300" alt="Alessandra Coogan. Photo provided." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Alessandra Coogan. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Coogan’s internship through the Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program (BESIP) ran 10 weeks from June 3 to August 10. &nbsp;</p> <p>“It's a little bit more competitive for bioengineering-related lab research. There's only 24 of us [in the BESIP program] in total, and it’s a very close-knit community program,” said Coogan, an <a href="https://honorscollege.gmu.edu/" target="_blank">Honors College</a> student who graduated in May with her bachelor's in bioengineering with a concentration in biomaterials and nanomedicine from the <a href="https://cec.gmu.edu/">College of Engineering and Computing</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The lab project pertains to immuno-engineering, which combines immunology and engineering, and explores the origins and potential mitigation of autoimmune responses triggered by implants in the body.&nbsp;</p> <p>Coogan conducted research and development on drug delivery, tissue engineering, and scaffold development, which is a particular interest of hers.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I love wet lab and getting my hands dirty while working on projects and experiments, and this experience definitely solidified that for me in terms of what I hope to do professionally,” said Coogan.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2024-09/besip_alessandra_400x200.png?itok=Q_jF2aNV" width="400" height="222" alt="Alessandra Coogan in a National Institutes of Health lab. Photo provided." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Alessandra Coogan in a National Institutes of Health lab. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Coogan was also given the chance to work on a second independent project, which is pretty rare. It focused on the treatment of fungal infections in the upper respiratory tract.&nbsp;</p> <p>“A lot of treatments for fungal infections in your mouth, your lungs, your nose, especially in the nasal cavity, are aggressive and very systemic,” said Coogan.&nbsp;</p> <p>For certain treatments, medical professionals might have to inject an antifungal medication through an IV into the bloodstream, she explained.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s kind of overkill,” Coogan said. “The treatments are harmful to patients’ kidneys and liver. My research aims to provide a local application of an antifungal medication using a hydrogel, so my experiments consist of staining cells and processing tissue. It’s been a very fun but very difficult project,” she said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Coogan credits George Mason’s Bioengineering Department for preparing her to take on a role of this caliber with NIH. &nbsp;</p> <p>“Our department is small but mighty, and they really focus on creating excellent scientists,” said Coogan. “I've done a lot of research with Professor <a href="https://cec.gmu.edu/profiles/rvenezia" target="_blank">Rémi Veneziano</a> in the [Laboratory for Bio-Inspired Nanoarchitectures] for two years now, and I've learned a lot from him. His research is on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which really interested me.”&nbsp;</p> <p>“I feel that I have been very lucky to have Alessandra as a student in my lab,” Veneziano said. “She is very driven, and has the background, the knowledge, and the technical skills to become an excellent researcher.”&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2024-09/alessandra_group_photo_600x400.jpg?itok=T_PLHVli" width="560" height="341" alt="Alessandra Coogan with NIH colleagues. Photo provided." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Alessandra Coogan with NIH colleagues. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Coogan is always willing to lend a hand to her peers, training them and sharing her research, said Veneziano.&nbsp;</p> <p>“She also developed excellent [problem-solving] skills that she was able to leverage to perform complex experiments and help one of my graduate students in a very challenging project,” said Veneziano.&nbsp;</p> <p>Whenever possible, Veneziano encourages his students to attend conferences and present their work to other researchers in order to build a network and also see what other labs are doing in their fields and other fields. Earlier this year, Coogan <a href="/news/2024-02/fuse-topping-out-ceremony-student-researchers-showcase-their-novel-prosthetic-liner" target="_blank">presented</a> her work on prosthetic liners at the topping off ceremony for Fuse at Mason Square alongside her peers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Coogan returns to George Mason this fall to earn her accelerated master’s in bioengineering, and Veneziano will be her committee chair.&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/rvenezia" hreflang="und">Remi Veneziano</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="14772f5d-947b-4ce0-8aa4-f374bb804bca" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="898b638d-7e38-4f6e-adcf-573a135f8b9e" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div 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block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/721" hreflang="en">internships</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3071" hreflang="en">College of Engineering and Computing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2241" hreflang="en">National Institutes of Health</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--30-70"> <div> </div> <div> </div> </div> Fri, 13 Sep 2024 18:07:12 +0000 Shayla Brown 113876 at Bioengineering student went from Patriot to Pilgrim for summer internship  /news/2024-09/bioengineering-student-went-patriot-pilgrim-summer-internship <span>Bioengineering student went from Patriot to Pilgrim for summer internship  </span> <span><span>Shayla Brown</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-06T11:51:00-04:00" title="Friday, September 6, 2024 - 11:51">Fri, 09/06/2024 - 11:51</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span class="intro-text"> <a href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu/" target="_blank">bioengineering</a> student Berk Kasimcan spent his summer internship working on a proof of concept for what could be described as sunglasses for buildings. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="intro-text">Kasimcan is working alongside Harvard University psychology students and second-year PhD engineering and computing student Raphael Kay as they attempt to alleviate the damage that buildings experience throughout the years from radiation, heat, cold, and light. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p>“What if we create this glass system that has various liquids inside and is able to adjust the building temperature or the [impact of] the direct UV light?” Kasimcan said. “This research would be especially helpful for newer buildings that are made of mostly glass.” </p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2024-09/berkk_600.jpeg?itok=UmKCl5Qw" width="560" height="373" alt="Berk Kasimcan. Photo provided." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Berk Kasimcan. Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Kasimcan’s internship took place in two lab locations on Harvard’s campus —the Aizenberg Biomineralization and Biomimetics Lab in the Science and Engineer Complex and the Center for Nanoscale Systems. The research being conducted is fairly new and led by Kay, who is also one of Kasimcan’s mentors.</p> <p>“The environments are super-fast paced and each university has their own culture when doing research, so I get to learn a lot of different ways to conduct important research,” said Kasimcan. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>The Aizenberg lab is similar to the <a href="https://www.mix.gmu.edu/" target="_blank">MIX</a> here at George Mason, but with more of a focus on engineering. The Center for Nanoscale Systems is where students work on decomposition and microscopic materials too small to be seen unaided by the human eye and requires researchers to wear full-body clean room suits, Kasimcan explained. &nbsp;</p> <p>The team built a total of four setups this summer to measure how much light and heat is getting deflected, and how much heat transfer is present. &nbsp;</p> <p> “Our goal for this summer is to build test benches. Once we perfect our devices and formulas, we will actually be able to use the test benches to get reliable results on light and heat detection,” said Kasimcan, who is enrolled in George Mason’s accelerated master’s bioengineering program.  &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/medium/public/2024-09/berkk1_600x800.png?itok=bKivb59r" width="420" height="560" alt="Berk Kasimcan at Harvard University . Photo provided." loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Berk Kasimcan at Harvard University . Photo provided.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Kasimcan, who is in the <a href="https://honorscollege.gmu.edu">Honors College</a>, credits the mentorship he received at George Mason from associate professor of bioengineering <a href="/profiles/sross20" target="_blank">Shani Ross</a> and assistant professor of bioengineering <a href="/profiles/qsanders" target="_blank">Quentin Sanders</a>, as well as his senior design project experience, for helping to prepare him for this internship. &nbsp;</p> <p>Working with Sanders in his Intelligent assistive technology, Neuromuscular control and Physiology, Wearables and Rehabilitation Robotics (ImPoWeR) lab for a year was great experience, Kasimcan said. “I worked on research addressing rehabilitation, robotics, and developed exoskeletons and prosthetic devices for individuals that have experienced a neurological injury or amputation.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The feeling was mutual, according to Sanders. “It was a pleasure working with Berk. With his work ethic, intellectual curiosity, and general interest in the biomedical sciences, I can see him working at a top tier company within the health care industry,” said Sanders.  &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“I’m sure he’ll do great wherever he ends up. I wouldn't be surprised at all if I looked up one day and Berk was the leading scientist in the research and development division of a huge company,” he added.  &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Kasimcan, along with his peers, spent a year working on hydrogel research with the goal of creating a water filtration system in the event of an emergency so communities can access clean water.  &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s not something we can use 24/7 unfortunately, but when it comes to emergencies, it was a pretty useful device,” said Kasimcan. &nbsp;</p> <p>For their efforts, Kasimcan and his teammates won multiple awards including two People’s Choice Awards for engineering from George Mason’s Bioengineering Department and 2nd Place in a <a href="https://star-tides.net/events/tech-demos-field-experiments/2024-demo/" target="_blank">Star-Tides Poster Competition</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kasimcan graduated with a bachelor of science from George Mason in spring 2024 and is currently pursuing his master's in engineering.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/qsanders" hreflang="en">Quentin Sanders</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/sross20" hreflang="und">Shani Ross</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="8c086504-030e-4d62-a120-baa78355b1b8" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="e6526cf7-ea71-4dd6-ac52-5b60ddeee082" 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2024 15:51:00 +0000 Shayla Brown 113736 at How nano roughness could smooth out clotting risks /news/2024-09/how-nano-roughness-could-smooth-out-clotting-risks <span>How nano roughness could smooth out clotting risks </span> <span><span>Nathan Kahl</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-05T14:39:25-04:00" title="Thursday, September 5, 2024 - 14:39">Thu, 09/05/2024 - 14:39</time> </span> <div class="layout layout--gmu layout--twocol-section layout--twocol-section--70-30"> <div class="layout__region region-first"> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:body" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasebody"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Body</div> <div class="field__item"><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span class="intro-text">When doctors and medical technicians place a device in the human body, any number of things can go wrong. Ensuring the materials used in those devices interact appropriately and safely with human tissue is a key component to positive long-term health outcomes.</span>&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2024-09/ketul_popat_240314520.jpg?itok=6Yz9qsOT" width="233" height="350" alt="Ketul Popat, chair, bioengineering department" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Ketul Popat, chair bioengineering department.<br><br> Photo by Office of University Branding</figcaption> </figure> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Ketul Popat, chair of the <a href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu" title="bioengineering department"> Department of Bioengineering</a> and a medical materials expert, has a grant from the National Institutes of Health for approximately $200,000 to address an unintended consequence of device implementation—blood clots. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>As many as 6% of the more-than one million Americans who have a stent or heart valve implanted each year face a risk of thrombosis, a potentially deadly condition occurring when a clot blocks a blood vessel.</span></span></span> <span><span><span>For Popat and his collaborators, it’s not just about what the material is made of, but the nature of the very surface of the material.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>But Popat said, “Sometimes we just put materials in the body because they work, knowing they are going to fail in several years and we’ll replace them. So it becomes really important to design the surface of the material of an implant so that when it is in contact with tissue, it is not a mismatch to the structural features of the tissue.”&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Our blood’s ability to clot is generally a welcomed response, preventing excessive bleeding following an injury and helping to start and speed the healing process. Of course, this characteristic can also be problematic, resulting in clots that can lead to strokes, heart attacks, and other dangers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2024-09/stent.jpg?itok=TU6tsiux" width="350" height="250" alt="graphic depiction of stent in a vein" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>A depiction of a stent in a vein. iStock photo</figcaption> </figure> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Popat believes a way to decrease clotting that may occur because of the devices is with surface manipulation, tricking the blood cells, in a sense. “Rough surfaces have different clotting properties than smooth surfaces. Now if we can create rough surfaces that are systematic and repeatable, the cells in the blood will sense these nano features and perform their function differently than if they move past a flat surface.” Popat says he and colleagues believe the nano rough surfaces work well at reducing blood clots because blood cells are used to it–surfaces of the blood vessels they flow through have a similar nanostructure.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <figure role="group" class="align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img src="/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2024-09/screen_shot_2024-09-11_at_4.25.43_pm.png?itok=ZdXKU7N6" width="350" height="291" alt="Microscopic image of titania nanotubes on the surface of titanium, each measuring approximately 100 nanometers across" loading="lazy"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Microscopic image of titania nanotubes on the surface of titanium, each measuring approximately 100 nanometers across. Photo provided</figcaption> </figure> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>In addition to manipulating the surface material, the researchers are coating them with a substance tanfloc, a condensed tannin that is typically used for water purification. Previous studies show that the combination of these techniques–rough nanosurfaces covered in tanfloc–reduces the likelihood of blood clots.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The unpredictability of clotting makes this research particularly important, especially in a world where approximately 20 million people die every year due to cardiovascular disease.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>“Some people get a stent, and they are fine for the rest of their lives, and some people get a stent and in the first few years they experience blood clotting. It’s very patient-specific, and unfortunately you just don’t know until you put it in,” Popat said.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Popat said the goal goes beyond simply preventing the clots. “Eventually, we want the cells around the stent to grow on top of the stent and over it. We don’t just want to control clotting, but we also want the stent to truly integrate with, and become part of, the body.”&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region region-second"> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:call_to_action" data-inline-block-uuid="8516c1fd-59a2-4e06-b7f7-503fa73fdffb"> <div class="cta"> <a class="cta__link" href="https://bioengineering.gmu.edu/"> <h4 class="cta__title">Check out Bioengineering at George Mason <i class="fas fa-arrow-circle-right"></i> </h4> <span class="cta__icon"></span> </a> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="779f9d8d-574a-40f3-b1ff-ca3a76960208" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_associated_people" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-associated-people"> <h2>In This Story</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-associated-people field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">People Mentioned in This Story</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/profiles/kpopat" hreflang="en">Ketul Popat</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:text" data-inline-block-uuid="63feecb6-ea3d-4113-9d7e-76d28aa0f78a" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocktext"> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="inline_block:news_list" data-inline-block-uuid="9cceadf1-753e-45d7-aec9-2ffbe998ba9f" class="block block-layout-builder block-inline-blocknews-list"> <h2>Related News</h2> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view view-news view-id-news view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-b17bd6363323c55bd72740ca5b645e86327361dbdad9394d626c4e6975a6a3d1"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="news-list-wrapper"> <ul class="news-list"> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-08/george-masons-summer-camps-introduce-k-12-students-stem-fields-and-life-college-campus" hreflang="en">George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">August 4, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-07/engineering-better-vision-george-mason-professors-lead-117m-nih-project" hreflang="en">Engineering better vision: George Mason professors lead $1.17M NIH project </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">July 30, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-06/engineering-students-ecuador-give-locals-leg" hreflang="en">Engineering students in Ecuador give locals a leg up </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">June 11, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-04/new-life-sciences-and-engineering-building-offers-tools-needed-excel" hreflang="en">New Life Sciences and Engineering Building offers the tools needed to excel </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">April 3, 2025</div></div></li> <li class="news-item"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/news/2025-03/center-advancing-systems-science-and-bioengineering-innovation-cassbi-takes-new-focus" hreflang="en">Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI) takes on a new focus</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-publish-date"><div class="field-content">March 29, 2025</div></div></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div data-block-plugin-id="field_block:node:news_release:field_content_topics" class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodenews-releasefield-content-topics"> <h2>Topics</h2> <div class="field field--name-field-content-topics field--type-entity-reference field--label-visually_hidden"> <div class="field__label visually-hidden">Topics</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3391" hreflang="en">Bioengineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/8851" hreflang="en">Biomedical</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/4366" hreflang="en">nanotechnology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/271" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:39:25 +0000 Nathan Kahl 113856 at