Introducing Dean John Lach Contents

In this issue of Synergy magazine, the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) is delighted to introduce the school’s new dean, Dr. John Lach.

Dr. Lach began his role as dean of SEAS last August, at the beginning � of the 2019-2020 academic year. He joined SEAS from the University of Virginia, where he served most recently as the director of cross-cutting initiatives at the university’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and as a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He previously served as the chair of the department.

Throughout his 19-year career at the University of Virginia, Dr. Lach worked extensively with departments, schools, and initiatives to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and he has a long-standing interest in NASA promoting partnerships between engineers and others in the academic, �� business, and research communities. “I see the future of engineering as being something that’s more integrated with other disciplines,” he states. COVER STORY: This key interest of Dr. Lach’s extends back through his own education, SPRING 2020 particularly his undergraduate education at Stanford University, where Engineering at the Intersections EDITOR � Dean John Lach Outlines a Strategic Plan for the School he studied in the Science, Technology, and Society program. It was there Joanne Welsh

that he developed a keen understanding of the fact that engineering is DESIGN practiced most effectively when it integrates and synthesizes multiple Brian Cox – Brian Cox Design Service PHOTOGRAPHY 2 SEAS DEPARTMENTS disciplines and perspectives. Eleanor Kaufman Khan 12 STUDENT PROFILE: Allegra Farrar SYNERGY IS PUBLISHED BY After studying at Stanford, Dr. Lach went on to UCLA, where he received THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE 13 FACULTY PROFILE: Tom Mazzuchi his Master of Science and PhD degrees in electrical engineering. Over Science and Engineering Hall, 2885 800 22nd Street, NW 14 NEWS the course of his career, he developed a research focus on wireless 202-994-6080 • www.seas.gwu.edu

technologies in health, working primarily in cyber-physical systems, PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY 18 FACULTY embedded sensor systems, smart and connected health, and body Thomas J. LeBlanc 22 STUDENTS sensor networks. At the University of Virginia, he worked with faculty DEAN John C. Lach across several schools to innovate wireless sensor technologies for 24 ALUMNI ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS health and wellness applications, becoming one of the founders of the Rumana Riffat 28 CLASS NOTES field of Smart and Connected Health. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH AND GRADUATE STUDIES 31 VOLUNTEERS Can E. Korman

Dr. Lach brings to GW this same interest in integrating engineering ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR UNDERGRADUATE AFFAIRS & PROGRAMS with other disciplines, and he looks forward to developing more Bhagirath Narahari

opportunities for collaboration between SEAS and other GW schools DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING and partners. We invite you to read about his plans in our feature article, Murray Loew, Chair “SEAS: Engineering at the Intersections.” DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING Majid T. Manzari, Chair

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Robert Pless, Chair

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING Suresh Subramaniam, Chair

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING Thomas A. Mazzuchi, Chair

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL & AEROSPACE ENGINEERING Michael W. Plesniak, Chair

SYNERGY SPRING 2020 1 DEPARTMENTS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS

PROFILE PROFILE Civil & Environmental Engineering Chair: Murray Loew Material Progress Chair: Majid Manzari 202-994-3740 Dr. Tianshu Li’s ultimate research goal can be stated quite simply: to understand materials 202-994-4901 www.bme.seas.gwu.edu and develop better materials. The research itself, however, is anything but simple. www.cee.seas.gwu.edu Undergraduate students: 196 Undergraduate students: 91 Graduate students: 63 Dr. Li uses computational modeling to try to understand the behaviors of materials, and Graduate students: 40 Annual research expenditures: $3.1 million Annual research expenditures: $2.6 Million his current research explores primarily two interest areas: anti-icing materials and sensing FAC U LTY materials for infrared imaging. FAC U LTY Igor Efimov,PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF HRS, AHA, Arzhang Angoshtari, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Anti-icing technologies are important to the transportation industry for both safety and AND AIMBE Sameh Badie, PROFESSOR economic reasons, whether for airplanes, ships, or cars and trucks. Existing technologies Emilia Entcheva, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF AIMBE Leila Farhadi, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR tend to be very costly and have significant side effects, such as corroding roads. To find better Matthew Kay, PROFESSOR Samer Hamdar, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR David Lee, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE solutions, Dr. Li is looking to nature. Tianshu Li, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Zhenyu Li, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Xitong Liu, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Murray Loew, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE, SPIE, “It turns out that nature has already developed an efficient anti-icing strategy that we can Majid Manzari, PROFESSOR AND AIMBE learn from,” he remarks. “Fish can survive in very cold environments. Their bodies have Rumana Riffat, PROFESSOR Luyao Lu, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR developed a special anti-freeze protein that prevents ice from growing, and the nice thing Kim Roddis, PROFESSOR Anne-Laure Papa, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR about the anti-freeze proteins is that you don’t need a lot of them to do their job.” Danmeng Shuai, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Chung Hyuk Park, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Pedro Silva, PROFESSOR Biomedical Engineering Kate Schunke, ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR Dr. Li wants to develop a material that mimics the function of the proteins and is much Jason Zara, PROFESSOR cheaper than current technologies, so he is leading a multi-disciplinary team of other RESEARCH AREAS Vesna Zderic, PROFESSOR researchers who hope to study the issue from the molecular to the microscopic level. ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING Farhadi, Liu, Riffat, Shuai RESEARCH AREAS He also is a member of a new MURI (Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative) grant MATERIALS BIOMEDICAL IMAGING team, led by the University of Arkansas, to develop a new material for infrared imaging. Li, Liu Efimov, Entcheva, Kay, Li, Loew, Lu, Zara, Zderic A Promising Therapy While this Department of Defense-funded research focuses on military applications, it also MECHANICS CARDIOVASCULAR ENGINEERING Cancer metastasis, the process of cancer spreading to different parts of the body, is much- has a number of civilian applications, such as improving geological surveys, chemical sensing, Angoshtari, Manzari Efimov, Entcheva, Kay, Schunke feared because it can make cancer ‘incurable.’ For a cancer patient at high risk of metastasis, and self-driving cars. STRUCTURAL/GEOTECHNICAL/EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING CELL AND TISSUE ENGINEERING time is often a critical issue in the treatment options that the doctor and patient consider to Badie, Manzari, Roddis, Silva Entcheva, Lee, Papa slow down the cancer spread and prolong the patient’s life. The infrared imaging industry currently is dominated by a semiconductor compound that is expensive and not high-quality. Dr. Li hopes to develop a new material called silicon TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ENGINEERING MEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION Dr. Anne-Laure Papa and her team are focusing their efforts on developing innovative germanium tin alloy (SGTA), which has better performance than the existing compound Hamdar Efimov, Entcheva, Li, Lu, Zara, Zderic solutions to target this spread, called “metastatic dissemination.” Her lab concentrates on cell- and is significantly cheaper. One of the sensing applications that uses the semiconductor ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION based diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer, and in her current research she is looking at the compound is lidar, a survey method that measures the distance of an object by illuminating a Entcheva, Li, Park potential for using platelets to slow cancer metastasis and buy patients more time. laser toward the object and measuring the feedback—the wavelength of the laser—to make THERAPEUTICS AND DIAGNOSTICS 3D representations of the object. Shifting the material in the sensors from the semiconductor Papa Cancer spreads in a body when the cancer cells escape the primary tumor and travel in the compound to SGTA could bring the cost of the sensors down dramatically. blood stream to distant tissues. Dr. Papa explains that while the blood stream is not a natural environment for cancer cells, platelets in the blood stream help them survive by cushioning Dr. Li hopes that the team’s work will fundamentally change the understanding of SGTA and them from the shear stress in the blood vessels and by shielding them from recognition by the its possible applications. “We call it a disruptive technology. It will completely revolutionize body’s immune cells. the infrared imaging field,” he claims.

Given the role of platelets in protecting cancer cells, Dr. Papa and her colleagues decided to modify the platelets by inactivating them, so that even though they would still interact with cancer cells, they would not protect them anymore. The team published their results last year in a paper in Science Translational Medicine, demonstrating that the modified platelet therapy they are developing slowed the metastatic dissemination in mice.

“It was extremely encouraging,” she recalls. “If a patient is not responding to chemotherapy, having a window of time where spread could still be controlled would be invaluable. More potent therapy started at this time could control the disease at the cancer’s primary site.”

Dr. Papa believes that more research should be done in the area of metastatic dissemination, and she and her team are continuing the promising work they have begun.

“Some people are developing interesting strategies in this area, but I think what makes our work unique is that we are trying to design a solution based on a natural interaction in the blood stream between circulating tumor cells and the platelets,” she explains.

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PROFILE PROFILE Electrical & Computer Engineering Chair: Robert Pless Fresh Data Chair: Suresh Subramaniam . 202-994-7181 “Freshness” of data is a vital need in all modern systems that depend on wireless communications. 202-994-6083 www.cs.seas.gwu.edu From environmental and health monitoring to smart grid, from transportation systems to social www.ece.seas.gwu.edu Undergraduate students: 267 media, users need the data to be as close to real-time as possible. Undergraduate students: 84 Graduate students: 448 Graduate students: 328 Annual research expenditures: $4.1 million Annual research expenditures: $4.9 million In modern wireless communication networks, engineers have the difficult task of maximizing FAC U LTY the flow of fresh data while also making the systems as energy efficient as possible. Dr. Omur FAC U LTY Ozel thinks energy harvesting is a very promising way to support this task. Adam Aviv, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Gina Adam, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Aylin Caliskan, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Shahrokh Ahmadi, TEACHING PROFESSOR “It’s now a key technology for energy efficient, sustainable, and green systems that make Xiuzhen “Susan” Cheng, PROFESSOR Amir Aslani, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE up the Internet of Things,” he notes. Hyeong-Ah Choi, PROFESSOR Lawrence Bennett, RESEARCH PROFESSOR AND Mona Diab, PROFESSOR FELLOW OF APS James Hahn, PROFESSOR Most traditional systems use devices that are battery powered and, therefore, are limited due Payman Dehghanian, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Computer Science Computer Rachelle Heller, PROFESSOR EMERITUS to finite lifetime and maintenance needs. Energy harvesting systems—which capture energy Milos Doroslovacki, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Lance Hoffman, DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH PROFESSOR from external sources such as solar power or thermal energy and store it for future use—can Tarek El-Ghazawi, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE AND FELLOW OF ACM alleviate the problem, as the devices have unlimited but rather intermittent life. Kie-Bum Eom, PROFESSOR Bhagirath Narahari, PROFESSOR Robert Harrington, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE Gabriel Parmer, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR In a typical application scenario, multiple sensors could be distributed in an area taking Hermann Helgert, PROFESSOR Robert Pless, PROFESSOR Asking the Right Questions measurements from the environment, performing computations and sending their syntheses Howie Huang, PROFESSOR Rahul Simha, PROFESSOR to a fusion center through a static access point or a mobile drone that is connected to the Mahdi Imani, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Poorvi Vora, PROFESSOR When Dr. Adam Aviv dons his professional hat, he is first and foremost a computer scientist, cloud. If a particular sensor senses a drastic change in the property it is measuring, it would Can Korman, PROFESSOR Timothy Wood, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR but he sometimes also must think as a social scientist. perform computations and send them to the cloud. Otherwise—to incur less energy—it John Lach, PROFESSOR Arkady Yerukhimovich, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR would not. It is critical to maintain data freshness at the fusion center under hard energy Tian Lan, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Abdou Youssef, PROFESSOR Dr. Aviv, who joined GW this year from his previous position at the US Naval Academy, is limitations on the device side. Roger Lang, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE a cybersecurity expert. He is interested in protecting users’ privacy and making computing Ahmed Louri, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE RESEARCH AREAS systems secure, and he is perhaps best known for his work on mobile authentication. Researchers must understand the time dynamics of energy to develop schedules for sensing, David Nagel, RESEARCH PROFESSOR ALGORITHMS AND THEORY computing, and transmission tasks and to determine when the devices in a network “sleep” Omur Ozel, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Cheng, Choi, Yerukhimovich, Youssef He divides his research across a number of interesting areas within cybersecurity but has been and “wake up.” With the emergence of new computing capabilities in devices, it is now Volker Sorger, Suresh Subramaniam, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING concentrating more of his efforts recently on human factors in cybersecurity. Specifically, he possible to run learning and analytics tasks in devices powered by energy harvesting. The Guru Venkataramani, PROFESSOR Caliskan, Cheng, Diab, Pless wants to find answers to questions such as, “How do users understand systems from a security challenge then is to maintain data freshness while allocating time for different tasks and for Mona Zaghloul, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF IEEE BIOINFORMATICS AND BIOMEDICAL COMPUTING and privacy perspective, and how do their choices and actions affect the security of those determining their associated energy needs. Cheng, Hahn, Simha systems and their own privacy?” RESEARCH AREAS Dr. Ozel is working with his students and collaborators on this puzzle. He is using a new metric COMPUTER SECURITY AND INFORMATION ASSURANCE “I’m fascinated by how the user can both improve the security of a system but also make called Age of Information (AoI) to understand the fundamental performance limits of such APPLIED ELECTROMAGNETICS Aviv, Cheng, Choi, Hoffman, Narahari, Simha, everything terrible, how the best intentions of the system designers can fail miserably because systems and devise provable results that provide insights into their core data freshness issues. Bennett, Korman, Lang, Sorger Vora, Yerukhimovich of a single user’s actions,” says Dr. Aviv. “People will always be people, so how do you design COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKS DIGITAL MEDIA around human actions?” “We use the AoI metric to analyze the data freshness requirements of new-generation Doroslovacki, Helgert, Lach, Lan, Ozel, Hahn, Heller, Pless, Vora, Youssef communication systems under dynamic energy constraints. This research pursuit will Subramaniam NETWORKING AND MOBILE COMPUTING One of the behaviors he would like to better understand is how users authenticate on their unveil novel data freshness principles of such systems and will pave the way for the modern COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE Cheng, Choi, Narahari, Simha mobile devices, which includes what PINs or Android patterns users select to unlock their engineering practice of energy self-sufficient, intermittently connected networks of the AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING PERVASIVE COMPUTING AND EMBEDDED SYSTEMS smartphones. He recently received a National Science Foundation CAREER award to study future,” he argues. El-Ghazawi, Huang, Louri, Venkataramani Cheng, Narahari, Simha this behavior—and how it might change over time as people move between devices and have ELECTRIC POWER AND ENERGY opportunities to update their devices—and how to encourage users to select more secure SEARCH AND DATA MINING Dehghanian, Harrington authentication. Pless, Youssef MEMS/NEMS, ELECTRONICS, AND PHOTONICS

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AND SYSTEMS Adam, Ahmadi, Korman, Louri, Nagel, In one recent study, Dr. Aviv compared user selection of six- and four-digit PINs used to Sorger, Zaghloul Narahari, Parmer, Wood unlock smartphones. “It turns out that it doesn’t seem to be a huge advantage for a person to SIGNAL AND IMAGE PROCESSING, SYSTEMS, AND CONTROLS use a six-digit PIN over a four-digit PIN. What’s interesting is that because attackers get only Doroslovacki, Eom, Harrington, Imani, a certain number of attempts to break into a phone, the security benefits of using a six-digit Lach, Ozel PIN actually may make things worse for users. We are unsure why, but it may have to do with people having less imagination for six-digit PINs,” he explains.

Dr. Aviv’s interest in how people make choices with respect to security and privacy adds depth to his cybersecurity research portfolio. “The challenge is to measure how people make choices,” he says. “In some part, you have to be a social scientist, and in another part you have to go into the engineering task of designing and building that experiment technologically so that people can participate in it. It’s one thing to ask how people choose passwords; it’s another thing to create a study to collect data that’s meaningful.”

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PROFILE PROFILE Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Chair: Thomas Mazzuchi At the Leading Edge Chair: Michael Plesniak 202-994-2353 Dr. Lijie Grace Zhang is used to being at the leading edge of research. She recalls, for 202-994-6749 www.emse.seas.gwu.edu example, presenting a paper on 3D printing of blood vessels to her peers at an academic www.mae.seas.gwu.edu Undergraduate students: 92 conference in 2015. No one in the audience asked a question about her research, because Undergraduate students: 192 Graduate students: 1040 they had never heard of it. Now, five years later, many researchers in the biomedical Graduate students: 114 Annual research expenditures: $1.5 million Annual research expenditures: $5 million engineering field are working on this issue.

FAC U LTY Dr. Zhang’s primary research focus is 3D and 4D bio-printing and nano-technologies to aid tissue FAC U LTY Hernan Abeledo, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR and organ regeneration. “Our long term goal is to repair damaged tissue or even organs,” she says. Elias Balaras, PROFESSOR Joseph Barbera, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Lorena Barba, PROFESSOR David Broniatowski, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Specifically, her team uses bio-printing and nano-materials to fabricate vascularized cardiac Philippe Bardet, PROFESSOR PROFESSOR ASSOCIATE RESEARCH PROFESSOR Jonathan Deason, tissue for heart regeneration and neuro-guidance conduits to repair the spinal cord after Kartik Bulusu, Royce Francis, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Ken Chong, RESEARCH PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME, injury. She hopes her methods and ideas will help overcome some of the limitations that Erica Gralla, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AAM AND SEM current approaches to complex tissue and organ regeneration have. For example, transplants John Helveston, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Andrew Cutler, PROFESSOR are widely used to replace damaged tissues and organs, but there simply are not enough Thomas Mazzuchi, PROFESSOR David Dolling, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF AIAA AND tissue and organ donors, and donor transplants often have attendant complications. Joost Reyes Santos, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY (UK) Shahram Sarkani, PROFESSOR Charles Garris, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME Ekundayo Shittu, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Bio-printing artificial tissues and organs would help eliminate this shortage and the Stephen Hsu, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME Zoe Szajnfarber, PROFESSOR complications of transplants, but traditional bio-printing techniques also have their own M. Ashraf Imam, RESEARCH PROFESSOR AND J. Rene van Dorp, PROFESSOR challenges. Dr. Zhang’s team, however, improves on these traditional bio-printing techniques FELLOW OF ASM INTERNATIONAL Beyond Environmental Regulation by using nano-materials and advanced 3D and 4D printing techniques to create complex Michael Keidar, A. JAMES CLARK PROFESSOR OF RESEARCH AREAS tissues. With these materials and techniques, her team attempts to mimic the nano-features ENGINEERING AND FELLOW OF APS CRISIS, EMERGENCY, AND RISK MANAGEMENT Dr. Jonathan Deason was a very young man when the environmental movement began in of native tissue in the human body, thereby improving the tissue’s performance of its functions. Saniya LeBlanc, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Barbera, Broniatowski, Gralla, Santos, van Dorp the 1970s, and he has been a part of it ever since. “I’ve grown up with it,” he reflects. James Lee, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME “We want to see how to create a really functional tissue or organ. For example, we can Taeyoung Lee, PROFESSOR ECONOMICS, FINANCE, AND COST ENGINEERING At SEAS since 1996, he has continued his efforts on behalf of the world’s environment, create the shape of the heart but how do we make it functional?” states Dr. Zhang. Megan Leftwich, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Helveston, Santos, Shittu, van Dorp working to build the school’s environmental and energy management program, and more Yongsheng Leng, PROFESSOR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT recently co-leading GW’s Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) To try to answer that question, her lab is pioneering 4D bio-printing by trying to create Michael Plesniak, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME, Deason, Helveston, Sarkani, Shittu, Szajnfarber with Research Professor Joseph Cascio. a novel smart biomaterial suitable for printing and biocompatible with cells. 4D printing AIAA, AAAS, AIMBE AND APS ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT creates a three-dimensional object but adds the dimension of transformation over time, Kausik Sarkar, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF ASME, ASA, Deason, Francis, Helveston, Shittu The EEMI was chartered by GW’s Office of the Vice President for Research in 2015 which allows researchers to create a type of programmable matter that can grow and AIMBE AND APS Yin-Lin Shen, PROFESSOR KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT to conduct research, education, and service activities related to the implementation of change over time, as tissue and organs need to do to function properly in the human body. Murray Snyder, PROFESSOR Broniatowski national and international environmental and energy management standards. Referring to Santiago Solares, PROFESSOR the institute’s mix of activities, Dr. Deason observes, “It really brings people together. Her team is still gathering data for heart tissue and neuro-guidance conduits, but they have OPERATIONS RESEARCH Peng Wei, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR It’s synergy; the whole is larger than the sum of the parts.” multiple patent applications so far and many possibilities for future commercialization. Abeledo, Gralla, Mazzuchi, Sarkani, Lijie “Grace” Zhang, PROFESSOR AND FELLOW OF AIMBE Shittu, van Dorp Dr. Zhang attributes their success to their innovative thinking and to collaborative colleagues Although the institute is still young, Dr. Deason is proud of its achievements on all fronts. and university support. “Our support at the department and school level is excellent,” she SYSTEMS ENGINEERING RESEARCH AREAS On the research side, the EEMI has racked up an impressive number of awarded research remarks. “And our research staff is excellent and efficient. This is critical, because they don’t Broniatowski, Gralla, Mazzuchi, Santos, AEROSPACE ENGINEERING grants, with nearly half of its proposals receiving funding. The institute also offers several slow down the speed of our research.” Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Engineering Management & Systems Sarkani, Shittu, Szajnfarber, van Dorp Cutler, Dolling, Garris, Keidar, T. Lee, graduate certificate programs and has held 15 professional short courses and 12 symposia Plesniak, Wei since it was chartered. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING An important focus of the EEMI is to fill a niche role in the broader environmental Balaras, Bulusu, Keidar, J. Lee, Leftwich, movement by influencing environmental self-governance, especially in the private sector. Plesniak, Sarkar, Zhang Institute faculty, for example, work to encourage and induce corporations and other DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE SYSTEMS organizations to voluntarily adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s Garris, Leng, Shen 14000 Environmental Management Series and 50000 Energy Management Series standards. FLUID MECHANICS, THERMAL SCIENCE, AND ENERGY “We want companies and other organizations to do more than minimally complying with Balaras, Barba, Bardet, Bulusu, Cutler, Dolling, government regulations, so we’re heavy into environmental self-governance and changing Garris, Hsu, Keidar, LeBlanc, Leftwich, Plesniak, corporate cultures,” Dr. Deason explains. “It’s been really quite good. A lot of companies Sarkar, Snyder have been trying to do what they think is right.” MECHATRONICS, ROBOTICS, AND CONTROLS J. Lee, T. Lee, Wei

Simultaneously, Dr. Deason and his colleagues also are taking advantage of their SOLID MECHANICS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE Washington, DC, location, working with government agencies, the non-governmental Chong, Hsu, Imam, LeBlanc, J. Lee, Leng, organization community, and the consulting industry to try to influence environmental Solares, Zhang policy. “In terms of the nexus between technology and public policy, we clearly are among the leaders, and I think we have a special role because we are here in DC,” he asserts.

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Building a Strong undergraduate engineering schools. SEAS J has worked to create an environment that SEAS: oundation promotes gender diversity, but we’re also MADISON HALEY A well run school: SEAS is in extremely really thinking about how we can build good shape. I give my predecessor, on the strength of gender diversity at the AT Dr. David Dolling, and his team a lot of undergraduate level to achieve broader ENGINEERING credit for creating a strong foundation diversity and true equity and inclusion for SEAS. When I was interviewing, I in all of its forms for SEAS students, THE was being prudent and looking for the faculty, and staff. school’s problems and for the red flags, and I just couldn’t find any of them. If we are successful in doing so, SEAS INDeanT JohnE LachR OutlinesS A StrategicEC Plan forT the SchoolIONS Then I got here and I realized, will be positioned to become a leader in no, this is a really well run school. diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field We have a great community of of engineering in general, not just in faculty, staff, students, and alumni, academia but also in industry. We still see and we have a world-class facility. attrition of women and underrepresented minorities in many high tech fields, and I’m also happy to add that we had an ABET I would like to see SEAS partner with SEAS students participate in an assessment trip accreditation visit last fall, which the school companies, government agencies, and to Rajasthan, India, through the GW chapter of passed with flying colors. The ABET team’s other universities to help them make Engineers Without Borders exit report showered praise on the school’s their own cultures more inclusive and programs, noting many strengths, including equitable. That kind of broader impact Of course, I started to answer this question the New Student Getaway, the unique could be really transformative for the by asking our current best and brightest experiential and internship opportunities we field of engineering. why they chose to come to GW. Most offer, the personal touch of our programs, started their answers with “DC,” followed the input students have in shaping our “Engineering and”: The landscape by their interest in engineering as it relates programs, our facilities, and the wonderfully for engineering and computer science is to those things that Washington, DC, large percentage of women in our changing, and engineering schools will is most well-known for, including public undergraduate programs. I’ve been through need to change, too, in order to attract and policy, international affairs, human health, many ABET reviews in my career, and I’ve graduate the professionals the private and environmental preservation, social justice, never seen such a glowing exit report! public sectors need. There is a long list of and other areas. excellent engineering schools out there: A strong communtity: Most of the what will make the best and brightest This led us to develop what we call an strengths that the ABET reviewers want to come to GW? “engineering and” approach to education. recognized are fed by our strong SEAS “Engineering and” means a number of community. It all begins with us and the things in practice, but the idea is that we way we work together. In fact, as I spoke provide a range of opportunities for our to people last semester, what I heard from students to integrate into their education everyone was their deep commitment to, those experiences and perspectives that and an appreciation for, that strong sense are traditionally outside of the engineering of community we have here at SEAS. curriculum. It means that we provide an Our community reflects well on us and outward-facing engineering education creates so many opportunities for us to that engages with the university, with all engage profitably with each other and that Washington, DC, has to offer, and with the world outside SEAS. with the wider world.

With this foundation in place, the question For example, did you know that began as the new dean of SEAS in August The faculty, staff, and I have been building for SEAS now becomes, what’s next? What approximately 25 percent of SEAS of last year, and I spent much of my first a strategic plan for SEAS based on what I’ve are the opportunities ahead of us? undergraduate students participate in study abroad and still graduate in four years? semester just listening, to SEAS faculty, learned from these conversations, and based on Using Differentiators That’s very unusual for an engineering staff, students, and alumni, and to others the school’s existing strengths and the changing school, and it reflects our community and to Create Opportunities its engagement with the world. Study abroad throughout the GW community. I asked as many landscape of 21st century engineering. I’m happy Diversity, equity and inclusion: SEAS experiences give students the chance to Iof you as I have met what you love about SEAS. to share an outline of the plan here in Synergy, is a diverse community with a commitment learn how to communicate and work with I also asked you what you see as the school’s most and I hope this introduction will give us—you to equity and inclusion. For example, 40 people from cultures different from their percent of our undergraduate students are own. That’s a valuable skill, and we are exciting opportunities for the future and what and I—the chance to start a conversation and women; that is almost twice the national exploring how to help even more SEAS things we could do better. share ideas about the school’s future. average and is 10th in the country for students study abroad. We’re also exploring

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This is “engineering and” and it is an example of how GW and SEAS are poised

SHUTTERSTOCK to tackle a societal grand challenge.

Retaining our character: All of these opportunities I’ve outlined also will bring challenges. As we move forward, I’m dedicated to making sure that SEAS will retain its character and strengths, foremost among them our strong sense of community and our focus on excellence in all that we do.

I always tell the faculty and staff that my job is to help them do their job; and for the students, my job is to help make sure their Washington, DC, is part of our identity and the experiences are everything they should be at experiences we provide for SEAS students a great institution like GW. I look forward to doing that and to helping SEAS grow as how to bring the world to students on a community toward our goal of being a campus through partnerships with foreign preeminent engineering school that prepares embassies and GW’s world-class Elliott engineering leaders for the mid-21st century. Research continues to grow at SEAS, led in part by National Science Foundation School of International Affairs. SEAS faculty and students conduct interdisciplinary research that focuses CAREER Award winners such as Saniya LeBlanc (left), Leila Farhadi (center), and I also look forward to meeting more and on societal impact Ekundayo Shittu (right) In addition, we will adapt our curricula more of you in the coming months and and will encourage our students to get years and to hearing about your ideas and involved in extra-curricular activities that Engineering at aspirations for SEAS. I’ve learned so much help develop their communication and international affairs, and/or business will into practice. I forged collaborations with first ever school-wide research retreat. from so many of you already, and if you have leadership skills. Technical depth is and help our graduates differentiate themselves the Intersections faculty in UVA’s Medical School, Nursing We went out to the Mount Vernon campus ideas for SEAS and how we can take things always will be a must for all engineers and from graduates of other engineering A pre-eminent engineering school: Our School, and Psychology Department to for the day, and a number of SEAS faculty to the next level, I’d like to hear from you. computer scientists, but company executives schools, thereby distinguishing SEAS engagement with the wider GW community, innovate wireless sensor technologies for members presented ideas for cross- are telling us that they need employees in higher education. Surely, part of why the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, health and wellness applications, becoming collaborative research initiatives in which Approximately 40 percent of our undergraduate who have mastered communication and Amazon decided to build its second and regions and countries beyond is one of the founders of the field of Smart to invest. We’re in the cultivation and students are women, which is almost twice the leadership skills, too. headquarters right outside Washington, important not only for our students but and Connected Health. Through these winnowing process now and will be national average for an engineering school DC, is that they understand that the for our faculty, too—and critical for our trans-disciplinary collaborative projects, my making significant investments soon. I had a conversation recently with one of future of their company depends as much research. In recent years, SEAS research students and I learned to navigate not only our graduating seniors who epitomizes the on public policy and international affairs has grown tremendously, and our faculty the technical challenges of innovating such We will work with external partners, concept of “engineering and.” She wants to as it does on their core technologies. are justifiably proud of this success. We are sensor systems but also the “engineering too, such as corporations, government be a transportation engineer and is in our As such, they will be interested in hiring looking to grow it even more and establish and” context—human factors, clinical agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil engineering program. She realized “engineering and” GW graduates to lead SEAS as a pre-eminent engineering school. practice, health policy, economics, etc.— and foundations that want to support this if she truly is going to become a leader in them into the future. I believe our future lies at the intersection in which these systems must operate. mission. One example of a partnership transportation engineering, she needs to of cutting-edge research interests, where and project already underway is the understand public policy, urban planning, Our unique location: What also innovative and interdisciplinary teams can Cross collaboration: We are doing Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics and social justice, in addition to the will differentiate SEAS is our ability focus on societal impact. that here at SEAS, too, but we plan to (IDDP) funded by a $5 million investment technical concepts she is learning in civil to capitalize on all that our location in do so even more fruitfully by focusing our from the John S. and James L. Knight engineering. She was able to find courses in Washington, DC, affords us. I know that I have spent my entire career—from entire school’s energies and resources on Foundation. This new research institute at those areas and then petition to have them you, as alumni, recognize the benefits of my undergraduate education to my strategic areas of cross-collaboration. GW will be a hub for tracking the spread count toward her degree. She’s interviewing attending college or graduate school in own research and teaching as a faculty We can and will do this by building more of distorted information online and will for jobs now, and employers are recognizing an urban setting, but we also want more member—at the intersections of disciplines, cross-campus and external partnerships. work to educate national policymakers how valuable her broad education is. employers and prospective students to because I believe that the most interesting GW and Washington, DC, offer such and journalists on strategies to grapple see the advantages that Washington, problems lie at these intersections and that fertile ground for this. With potential with the threat to democracy posed What I took away from that conversation DC, gives our students. That means the solutions to society’s grand challenges partners in public policy and international by digital propaganda and deception. is that we have the opportunity to be the internships with government agencies, require the integration and synthesis of affairs, law and business, medicine and Some of our researchers in artificial engineering school that gives students with non-governmental organizations, multiple disciplines and perspectives. health, and other disciplines, we can intelligence, machine learning, and data a really strong technical education, but and with the high tech companies that explore and find solutions to some of analytics will join researchers in political also exposure to other disciplines and line the Dulles and Rockville Corridors; At the University of Virginia (UVA), society’s grand challenges and position communication, media studies, experiences that will position them to be it means research experiences with federal where I served for 19 years as a professor SEAS for pre-eminence. law, physics, and international affairs leaders when they get out into the world. labs; and it means the chance to speak of electrical and computer engineering and in this effort. The IDDP also will Combining technical expertise with and interact with public figures and also as a department chair and director of We are on the path to doing that already. collaborate with external partners knowledge of public policy, law, health, public policy experts. cross-cutting initiatives, I put this belief At the end of the fall semester, we held our Poynter Institute and PolitiFact.

10 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 11 PROFILES THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE PROFILES

Allegra Farrar Tom Mazzuchi Keeping A PROMISE The Heart of A TEACHER

hen Allegra Farrar was place in his and his wife’s home for admitted to GW four students who went through a rough years ago, she originally patch and needed time away from campus. planned to study in the He is a parent himself and understands Columbian College that parents appreciate their sons and of Arts and Sciences. daughters getting the support they need. During the summer Worientation program, however, she What he most enjoys about mentoring discovered that SEAS offers a mechanical is watching students grow up. “I enjoy engineering degree with an aerospace it because I get to watch them go from option—and that changed everything. children to adults. And we still keep in touch,” he notes. “When I travel to “I called my mother and said, ‘I gotta different cities, I look up [my former get into the engineering school,’” she students] who now live in those cities.” recalls. “I called the admissions office and said, ‘Please, I promise to be a student Dr. Mazzuchi doesn’t mentor only worth investing in if you invest in me undergraduates. He also makes a point and allow me to follow my dreams.’” to mentor both his on-campus and off- campus doctoral students. His off-campus GW gave Allegra the chance, and she students are generally older and require less has made the most of it. “I remember mentoring, but he enjoys advising them as thinking, ‘This is your chance, don’t mess they work to formulate their dissertation anything up. Make the most of it.’ I’m study and publication. He works more pretty sure I have,” she pronounces. “I really wanted to learn how things In addition to all of this, Allegra closely with his on-campus students and orbit,” she says. “They put me on a NASA also has won a number of awards, gets to know them on a more personal level, By anyone’s account, Allegra has made the program to simulate an orbit from Earth most recently the Universities Space due in part to their proximity. most of it. She has sought out opportunities, to the Psyche Asteroid, and my mentor Research Association’s Distinguished taken risks, worked diligently, and pushed me to stretch and work through Scholar Award, and the Walter and Dr. Mazzuchi is understandably gratified exceled. Her achievements begin in the the task, which has been pivotal in me Christine Darden Scholar Award. by his work with students, but he is proud classroom, where she has performed being able to perform research.” f you’ve graduated with a systems “My philosophy,” he says, “is to make my of other efforts and achievements, too. exceptionally well, earning the 2020 Looking ahead, Allegra plans to pursue engineering degree from GW in the courses challenging but to try to be available SEAS Distinguished Scholar Award. During the summer following her junior a PhD in aerospace engineering at MIT. last 30 years, the chances are good to help people as much as possible. I’m not “I was proud of being the interim dean year, Allegra worked at an internship with She hasn’t yet decided whether she wants that you know Dr. Tom Mazzuchi, the easiest professor, but I’m the easiest from 1997 to 2000 and getting the school In part because of her academic promise, Northrop Grumman, where she conducted to stay in academia or move into industry a professor of systems engineering professor to work with.” back on track. I’m also proud of rebuilding Allegra was selected as a Clark Engineering telemetry data analysis for the James following her PhD, but she is very certain and the long-serving chair of this department with good young people, Scholar her freshman year. Through Webb Space Telescope program. She of what she wants to do along the way. the Department of Engineering Word spreads, of course, and students of starting the undergraduate program in the program, she’s benefited from a also did research throughout her junior IManagement and Systems Engineering. know that Dr. Mazzuchi is someone they systems engineering and watching it grow number of opportunities, including and senior years in Dr. Taeyoung Lee’s “I know for the next little girl like myself, If you studied in another SEAS department, can trust. He maintains an open door policy and be successful, and I’m proud of helping study abroad, research experiences, Flight Dynamics and Controls Laboratory, I want to get involved with or initiate a you still might remember the gregarious and tells students that he has a “Las Vegas to grow the off-campus program and seeing internships, and learning from where she worked on integrating program to help students develop their Dr. Mazzuchi. philosophy.” “Whatever people discuss in how successful it’s become, too. But all the mentors and fellow Clark Scholars. proximity sensors into the control goals and dreams. There have been people here, stays in here,” he says. “I try to be things I did that I’m proud of, I didn’t do system of a drone. who have given me such knowledge, Dr. Mazzuchi’s roots at SEAS go deep. trustworthy and give them the best on my own. I did them with some really She credits the program with helping her encouragement, and opportunities, so He first came to GW as a master’s student, advice I can.” good colleagues,” he concludes. understand how important internships On campus, she has found engineering I want to do that for someone else.” receiving his master’s degree in 1979 are and with introducing her to other leadership opportunities as a teaching followed by his doctoral degree in 1982. That advice often includes a directive student leaders. “I wanted to be part assistant for Dr. Lee’s orbital mechanics He left after graduating, came back as a to learn from mistakes. “Everyone has of a group of peers who want to be and spacecraft dynamics course, as a visiting professor in the mid-1980s, and problems, but you can get over the leaders in engineering,” Allegra says. volunteer in the SEAS student-run Atoms returned for good in 1991 as an associate problem and bounce back. Just learn to Astronauts after-school education professor of operations research. from it,” he counsels. Allegra honed her research and engineering program, and as a team leader for the skills in a number of internships and GW chapter of the American Institute Over the years, he has held academic In addition to providing counsel, he research positions, beginning with summer for Aeronautics and Astronautics’ positions from graduate research assistant has gone to great lengths at times to help positions at MIT Lincoln Laboratory Design, Fly, Build competition. to interim dean, but the role he loves most students bounce back. He recalls hospital after her freshman and sophomore years. is that of teacher and mentor. And it shows. visits, student dinners, and even providing a

12 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 13 NEWS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE NEWS

ranked 23rd in the country and tied with the promotes interaction with our faculty. We The keynote address for the launch was Dr. James Hahn and Dr. Jane Goodall News University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign also have online office hours every day so given by Ms. Cecilia Kang, a technology on that factor. students can interact with the faculty.” correspondent for the New York Times. WILLIAM ATKINS/GW Ms. Kang directed her comments to the Speaking specifically to the online programs SEAS Launches Center for need to involve women in the design and ranking, Dr. Shahram Sarkani, the Women in Engineering creation of technology, stating that she director of SEAS online programs, said SEAS continues to break new ground in believes technology is better when it is that he believes student satisfaction efforts to support women faculty, students, created by diverse teams of people who is the primary factor in the large jump in staff, and alumni of the school and to be reflect the users and consumers of those rankings. “Satisfaction from our a leader nationwide in promoting gender the technologies. students is high, and we make sure to equity in engineering. In April 2019, the always improve,” he maintained. “We run school reached another milestone in this Since its launch, the center has focused most a curriculum that is useful and relevant; effort when it officially launched the SEAS of its programming activities on career skills SEAS Graduate Programs people perceive this and they send their Center for Women in Engineering. development and mentoring workshops. Rankings Skyrocket colleagues to us.” Its Career Toolkit Workshop series, hosted Two recent U.S. News & World Report The center—known throughout the school in conjunction with the W. Scott Amey rankings brought great news for GW’s Currently more than 1,000 students are as “WiE,” for “Women in Engineering”— Career Services Center and the GW Office graduate engineering programs and enrolled in the online programs, which is intended to serve as a model, providing of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has online engineering masters programs, include Master of Science programs programming and information to help women offered workshops on negotiating skills, showing a fast climb up the rankings for in electrical engineering, engineering reach their fullest potential in engineering. resume and cover letter writing, internship both program types over the last four years. management, systems engineering, and or job searches, and other topics. Information about both the Clare Boothe In April 2019, Dr. Goodall visited GW’s cybersecurity policy and compliance. At the launch event, the center’s director, Luce Scholars and the SEAS Center for Motion Capture and Analysis Laboratory, In January, U.S. News released its 2020 Best Dr. Rachelle Heller (Computer Science), The center plans to continue to expand Women in Engineering is available on run by Dr. James Hahn (Computer Online Graduate Engineering Programs In contrast to most online offerings, spoke of some of the disparities that are its workshops and activities, as well as the the SEAS website at cbl.seas.gwu.edu Science), where researchers were able rankings, with GW’s online masters including impersonal MOOCs (Massive pervasive in engineering and the STEM information and resources it provides. and womenengineers.seas.gwu.edu, to accurately capture her likeness and programs ranked #15, climbing from Open Online Courses) that serve tens of fields, stating, “We need to address these Dr. Heller has been instrumental in building respectively. movements. These captures will be critical #55 four years ago. In March, the media thousands of students and have little to no challenges to provide these women with the center and also in bringing other to recreating Dr. Goodall’s image on the company released its 2021 Best Graduate interaction with a faculty member, the GW satisfying careers.” opportunities to campus for women engineers. Partnering with the “Virtual Jane” platform. She also spoke Engineering Programs rankings, showing courses emphasize interaction with faculty. Jane Goodall Institute with students about the “Virtual Jane” GW’s graduate engineering programs rising Dr. Heller also said that higher education In 2018, she shepherded the school’s SEAS and other GW students are working project and her vision for its design. 25 spots in four years, now ranked #67. “We still use the approach of having a is a great place to create a pipeline to application for a Clare Boothe Luce to build a new educational platform that professor dedicated to teaching a particular eradicate such disparities and that SEAS Program Undergraduate Research grant, will use virtual reality to spread a message of The students hope to launch a minimally “What is so significant about this news,” course live each semester at a designated day is uniquely poised to help address them. helping SEAS win a $300,000 grant environmental conservation from renowned viable version of the “Virtual Jane” platform said SEAS Dean John Lach, “is that it and time,” explained Dr. Sarkani. “Students “Here at Foggy Bottom, in SEAS, we are that is providing funding for promising animal behavior expert and conservationist by the end of this year. They already have put reflects the very real trajectory of the can always watch the recorded course later if situated at the heart of policy, professional, female students to pursue research with Jane Goodall to future generations. The together the first design elements, concept school in recent years. First and foremost, they can’t log in during the live class, but we and productive national leadership,” guidance from faculty mentors, hone their project, a partnership with the Jane Goodall art, and a storyboard that explores Dr. it shows that the investments GW and really encourage them to attend live and ask she remarked, noting the school’s professional skills, and establish themselves Institute, is housed in the GW Innovation Goodall’s early field work. They also have SEAS have made in our faculty hiring, staff questions of the professor, and this approach potential influence. as university leaders. The program is Center (GWIC). been working with students at the nearby support, and facilities are paying off in very now in its third year, with nine students School Without Walls to get feedback on the noticeable ways, and that our reputation is New York Times correspondent Cecilia Kang delivers keynote currently actively involved in research with The “Virtual Jane” project was born out ideal user experience for student learners. beginning to catch up to our successes in SEAS faculty mentors. of conversations with the Jane Goodall both education and research.” Institute on how to best engage the next Ms. Annamaria Konya Tannon, executive The nine Clare Boothe Luce Scholars generation of students on conservation director of GWIC and chief evangelist for The graduate engineering programs keep a blog of their research experience, themes and Dr. Goodall’s research. innovation, entrepreneurship, and invention rankings measure research activity, faculty noting particularly what they are learning Throughout 2019, GW students who study in SEAS, said she hopes the project is just the resources, program quality assessments by along the way. Rachel Gray is a senior computer science, business, marketing, beginning of a long and productive partnership. peers and others, and student selectivity. who works with Dr. Saniya LeBlanc anthropology, art, and more worked on the “Among the factors driving the spike in (Mechanical Engineering) in her lab. Early project framework and technology. “This project will bring classroom concepts GW’s ranking are research expenditures, in her research activities, Rachel used her to life and enable students to apply what the ratio of PhD students to faculty, and the blog entry to offer advice to other students Dr. Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall they learn in the classroom in an unusually improvement in GW’s reputation among its who might also be considering doing Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, is a meaningful way,” she said. “This project peers,” said Can Korman, associate dean for undergraduate research, and to give them pioneer in wild chimpanzee behavior. Her creates an opportunity for the entire research and graduate studies at SEAS. the confidence to try it. “Research will focus shifted from research to conservation university to engage on one topic and teach you a lot about life, if you allow it,” during a plane ride over Tanzania’s Gombe advance the GWIC mission to create Research expenditures per faculty member she counseled. “For now, let it teach you not National Park in 1992, when she saw the socially responsible projects.” have doubled at SEAS over the past five to be scared of new and challenging things. rampant deforestation of the once-lush years, and the school’s PhD student-to- When you fall, and you will and should Gombe forests and knew that in order to Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from faculty ratio is unusually high for a school many times, pick yourself up, learn from the save chimpanzees she must save the forests the GW Today article “Bringing Dr. Jane not in the top 50 ranking. In fact, SEAS is fall, and keep going.” they live in. Goodall’s Mission into the Digital Age.”

14 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 15 NEWS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE NEWS

A Rich Display of Research Team: Huma Ilyas (Mechanical Engineering) real-time, heat monitoring system using a launched rockets in the competition. Nearly 130 graduate and undergraduate and Waqas Haque and Aqsha Nur (Public Raspberry Pi, environmental sensors, Python The GW Rocket Team captured First students exhibited posters of their research Health, Johns Hopkins University) programming, and an Internet of Things Place in the 10,000-ft Above Ground and competed for nearly $40,000 in prizes (Cayenne IoT project builder) application. Level Student Research and Development at the 2019 SEAS Student R&D Showcase. Third Place: Smart Stool category, and Third Place in the related The showcase was held October 25 in the Pitch: An ergonomic height-adjustable “Some of the strongest feedback I received was Space Dynamics Laboratory Payload Science and Engineering Hall and sponsored step stool for surgeons that the course expanded the students’ vision of competition. They also received the by RiVidium. Team: Yasser Althuwaini and what engineering can be. Since the micro-labs Dr. Gil Moore Award for Innovation. Phoenix Price (Mechanical Engineering); and departmental guest lectures complement This annual event celebrates and highlights Jonathon Lee (Computer Science); and each other, the students find it empowering to Dr. Murray Snyder (Mechanical and state-of-the-art research projects being Cordelia Scales (Biomedical Engineering) choose the right academic program through Aerospace Engineering) advises the conducted across the school, and includes this course,” explained Dr. Bulusu. team and is proud of its success. “We collaborative work with faculty and students Exploring Engineering at SEAS have a diverse team of students from both inside and outside SEAS. For several years, SEAS has offered Applied The course is also meant for students many majors—electrical and computer Science 1001 (APSC 1001), an eight-week who may be uncertain about remaining in engineering, mechanical and aerospace Addressing the participants at his first SEAS module to help students who enter SEAS as engineering at all. “There are several students engineering, and physics—and they’ve showcase, Dean John Lach commented, “undecided majors” find the right academic who are unsure about choosing engineering,” developed a ‘collective team memory’ “I’m glad to note all the interdisciplinary R&D Showcase winners from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering program. Three years ago—after being Dr. Bulusu said, “and I want to make sure that transfers experience and lessons research collaboration among this year’s mentored by Associate Dean Bhagirath they understand the beauty of the profession. learned from prior year students to participants. This is increasingly how great Narahari—Dr. Kartik Bulusu (Mechanical Through this course, they acquire practical those currently on the team,” he said. innovation happens, so I’m proud to see that Site Program grants to 13 students. The hours developing working prototypes and Aerospace Engineering) took over skills and embrace the exciting possibilities SEAS student researchers are collaborating AccelerateGW program is funded by such as apps, devices, systems processes, the course and redesigned it, adding an the engineering profession can offer.” The 2020 team planned to compete in the not only with students and faculty in other the National Science Foundation and and business models to solve challenges emphasis on building basic engineering competition again this year, bringing the SEAS departments, but also with colleagues managed by GW’s Office of Innovation and that ranged from a patient-doctor skills through popular hardware and Rocket Team Rocks same level of dedication and preparation to in the Medical School, the Colombian Entrepreneurship. It provides grants of up communication platform, to a family history software technologies. the Competition it as last year’s winning team. Unfortunately, College of Arts and Sciences, and with to $3,000 to GW students, faculty, and staff and genetics mobile application, and beyond. The GW Rocket Team excelled in the the competition was cancelled due to the researchers from other universities both in who have innovative technology and want to “I’ve always wanted my students to be 2019 Spaceport America Cup/International COVID-19 pandemic. the US and abroad.” explore the potential for commercializing it. First, Second, and Third Place prizes were innovators and experience what it takes to Rocket Engineering Competition, taking awarded to the following teams: be an engineer developing new technologies. First Place and Third Place, respectively, Members of the GW Rocket team pictured Prizes were awarded to the best graduate This year’s competition also featured That’s why I added several experiential-learning in two of the competition categories. below include (back row, left to right): poster, best undergraduate poster, and department seminars and Science and First Place: Heyo Solutions modules in this first-year course. The goal is Spaceport America Cup is the world’s Dr. Murray Snyder, Adrian Haber, Jeremey runner-up poster in each of the school’s Engineering Hall laboratory tours for Pitch: A system to create a cleaner and to have them learn-by-doing and also find a largest and most demanding university Waldron, James Hofer, Noah Bakr, Bryce six departments. The research presentations prospective graduate and undergraduate safer hospital environment for immune- pathway to one of the several undergraduate rocket engineering competition. Halter, Adam Brewer, Benjamin Wormuth; covered a wide array of topics and included students to introduce them to SEAS and show compromised cancer patients by forcing programs in SEAS,” said Dr. Bulusu. (front row, left to right): Tom Susi, Ariana both theoretical and applied research. the range of research options open to them. hand washing through a radio-enabled The Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Lesniak, and Colin Pate. A sampling of the winners includes: wristband system that restricts movement Dr. Bulusu described the APSC 1001 course Competition was held in June 2019 in SEAS Students Excel at around the medical center until the wearer as a “holistic experience with skills and Las Cruces, NM, and was hosted by the Dr. Snyder and the team members thank Rose Yin, graduate student (Biomedical George Hacks Hackathon uses an automated hand sanitizer machine micro-labs directly related to each major.” Experimental Sounding Rocket Association. Iridium, Kulite, and Futek for sponsoring Engineering): “Bioresorbable Wireless SEAS was very well-represented in the Team: Evan Lindeman and Yahya Aliyu Each week during the course, students Student teams from 95 universities and the GW Rocket Team. Battery-Free Pacemaker for Electrical Third Annual George Hacks Medical (Biomedical Engineering); Huzeyfa Telha participate in a micro-lab that follows a representing 15 countries attended and Stimulation of the Heart” Solutions Hackathon, held in January in the (Computer Science); and Oscar Southwell departmental lecture. In the micro-lab, a Science and Engineering Hall. Nearly 100 (Mechanical Engineering) problem representative of that particular Khyati Patel, undergraduate student students from across GW—and other local engineering field is presented to them. Using (Civil and Environmental Engineering): universities—participated in the 24-hour Second Place: Instafusion a Raspberry Pi (a single board computer) “Integrated Micro-Irrigation and Surface hackathon designed to solicit innovation Pitch: An algorithm to optimize treatment and Python (an open source programming Water Catchment System for Water solutions from students to real-world scheduling at chemotherapy infusion centers language), students get to address the Management in India” challenges facing the medical community. and provide data analytics of the infusions problem as an engineer in that field might and learn to develop a piece of technology. Justin Williams, undergraduate student Partnering organizations including GW (Engineering Management and Systems Hospital, the GW School of Medicine At the end of the course, they work in Engineering): “Engineered Coal: A New and Health Sciences, Children’s National groups on interdisciplinary projects that Green Product for the Coal Industry” Hospital, and others pitched health care Dr. Bulusu has designed for them. challenges to the students at the start of This year’s projects included a climate Pedram Hosseini, graduate student the hackathon. Students then had an hour monitoring system for the Science and (Computer Science): “Predicting Spread of to form teams and select the challenge on Engineering Hall greenhouse, a server Fake News on Social Media” which they wanted to work. room heat monitoring system, and a parking space detection system. In the The awards ceremony also included the With enthusiasm and energy drinks to server room project, for example, the presentation of AccelerateGW I-Corps sustain them, students spent the next 24 student teams developed and deployed a

16 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 17 FACULTY THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE FACULTY

Dr. Dehghanian Wins DOE Award machine learning, for developing more efficient and cost- Faculty News Dr. Payman Dehghanian (Electrical and New Faculty reinforcement effective water treatment and resource Computer Engineering) and his team won learning, and signal recovery technologies. He is also interested the Tier I, Silver ($50,000) award last fall Dr. Adam Aviv processing with in elucidating the health impacts of in the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Adam Aviv is an special interests engineered and naturally occurring first Electricity Industry Technology and associate professor in scalable nanoparticles. Dr. Liu holds a PhD in Practices Innovation Challenge (EITPIC). in the Department and risk-based geography and environmental engineering of Computer decision making in from Johns Hopkins University. The DOE awarded approximately Science. He complex uncertain $300,000 to seven teams from industry and previously was an dynamical systems. Dr. Peng Wei universities in this nationwide competition. assistant professor He received the Peng Wei is an Through the competition, it hopes to at the United Best PhD Student assistant professor identify and support ideas to make the States Naval Award in Texas A&M’s Department of in the Department nation’s electric grid stronger and more Academy. His Electrical and Computer Engineering in of Mechanical resilient. primary research 2015, and the best paper finalist award from and Aerospace interests are in computer security, where the 49th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Engineering. He The proposal submitted by Dr. he has focused on network security, applied Systems, and Computers in 2015. develops autonomy Dehghanian’s team seeks to design next- cryptography, and usable security and and human-in- generation sensors for the power grid, a privacy. In particular, Dr. Aviv is interested Dr. Xitong Liu the-loop decision technology-to-market solution that would in human factors in security and how Xitong Liu is an support tools shift the industry from sensing-only to human computer interaction interfaces assistant professor for aeronautics, sensing and actuating devices embedded with computer security with the goal of in the Department aviation, and aerial robotics. His current with advanced signal processing and designing and deploying more secure of Civil and focus is on safety, efficiency, and scalability machine learning analytics. Their project systems. Dr. Aviv holds a PhD in Environmental for decision making systems in complex, aims to enhance the power grid’s online computer and information science from Engineering. uncertain, and dynamic environments. situational awareness and resilience to the University of Pennsylvania. He Prior to joining Recent applications of his research include extremes. is also a National Science Foundation SEAS, Dr. Liu was air traffic control/management, airline CAREER award winner for his research a postdoctoral operations, and autonomous drone racing, White House Names and develops photonic integrated devices “Smart power grids are constantly subject on mobile authentication. associate in the among other areas. Dr. Wei earned his Dr. Sorger a PECASE Winner and systems such as minimalized lasers, to unpredictable hazards that not only may Department of PhD in aerospace engineering from Purdue Last July, the White House announced modulators, and detectors. His research leave customers without electricity, but also Dr. Mahdi Imani Civil and Environmental Engineering University in 2013. He comes to GW from the 2019 winners of the Presidential Early spans from emerging materials to impose critical threats to health and public Mahdi Imani is an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University. His Iowa State University, where he was an Career Award for Scientists and Engineers developing circuits and systems for faster safety, and could potentially compromise in the Department of Electrical and research interests lie at the intersection assistant professor in aerospace engineering (PECASE), naming Dr. Volker Sorger and more efficient information processing. national security,” said Dr. Dehghanian. Computer Engineering. Dr. Imani received of nanotechnology, interfacial and and the 2017 Black and Veatch Faculty (Electrical and Computer Engineering) Dr. Sorger’s latest research develops “Our proposed technologies could help his PhD in electrical and computer colloid science, and electrochemistry. Fellow at Iowa State University College as one of the recipients of this very photonic and optical neural networks reduce undesirable social, psychological, engineering from Texas A&M University His research aims to study fundamental of Engineering. prestigious award. for machine learning and cyber security and physical outcomes associated with in 2019. His research interests include interfacial phenomena to provide guidance applications, including a recent innovation prolonged power system outages.” “It’s overwhelming and a true honor, and that allows machines to extract data from it underlines the STEM momentum of photographs or electronic signals much Dr. Dehghanian conducts research on Dr. Li Receives Hegarty Aran and Fritz for their continuous GW,” Dr. Sorger remarked. faster than is possible with current systems. power systems engineering and directs Innovation Award support of SEAS.” GW’s SmartGrid Laboratory. His EITPIC SEAS congratulates Dr. Zhenyu Li According to the White House, the “Receiving an award such as this one is team includes researchers from the (Biomedical Engineering) on being named Dr. Li directs GW’s Nanophotonics PECASE is “the highest honor bestowed about scholarly novelties and celebrating SmartGrid Laboratory, as well as electric the winner of the 2019 Hegarty Award for and Microfluidics Laboratory, where he by the US government to outstanding successful teamwork,” Dr. Sorger said. “It industry partners. Faculty Innovation. Dr. Li was selected and his research group develop cutting- scientists and engineers who are beginning includes my students, colleagues, and also last October for the award. edge enabling technology for personalized their independent research careers and who facilities here at GW. For example, I heavily medicine. Their technologies range from show exceptional promise for leadership in rely on the Nanofabrication and Imaging This annual $10,000 prize was established lab-on-chip microfluidic platforms for science and technology.” Federal agencies Center in the Science and Engineering Hall. in 2015 by SEAS alumnus and National single cells and tissues to point-of-care, can nominate potential winners, who So I’m pleased to see the joint research Advisory Council chair Aran Hegarty, cloud-based wearable devices. He has won eventually are selected by the president and development enterprise we have been MS, ’97, and his wife, Fritz Partlow, to large research grants from the National and the White House Office of Science and fostering coming to fruition.” recognize one SEAS faculty member who Institutes of Health, the National Science Technology Policy. Dr. Sorger, who also had an exceptional year in innovation. Foundation, and the FDA, and he has won a Young Investigator Program award Editor’s Note: This article is adapted several patents to his name. in 2014, was nominated for the PECASE by from the GW Today article “Two “To be selected among our many talented the Department of Defense. GW Researchers Receive Prestigious faculty members is truly an honor that Presidential Award.” reflects my team and our collaborators’ He is the leader of GW’s Integrated efforts to create inventive engineering Nanophotonics Lab, where he researches solutions,” said Dr. Li. “I want to thank

18 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 19 FACULTY THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE FACULTY

NSF CAREER Award Winners Left to right: Chung Hyuk Park, James Hahn, Rumana Riffat (SEAS Interim Dean), that was picked up by news outlets all over This annual award is given for outstanding Mapping of the Linkages between the David Broniatowski, and Johan Rene van Dorp (filling in for Tom Mazzuchi) the world and featured in more than 310 and innovative contributions to the fields Three SEAS faculty members have won Terrestrial Water, Energy, and Carbon national and international media outlets. of computer and information science and National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Cycles.” The exchange of heat (energy), engineering or computer technology, Early Career Development (CAREER) water, and carbon between the land and Dr. Park’s research areas include assistive usually within the past 10 to 15 years. To be grants in the past year. CAREER grants the atmosphere plays a key role in the robotics, human-robot interaction, named to receive the award, the recipient’s are the most prestigious awards given by Earth’s climate. Understanding the links machine learning, haptics, computer contributions must have significantly the NSF to junior faculty. They are offered between these cycles helps us explain how vision, and tele-medical systems. He was promoted technical progress in the field. to faculty who excel at both research and the environment will respond to changing among the first researchers who recognized teaching. conditions, including climate change the huge potential of assistive robotics “This is a very prestigious award given and land use change. Currently the lack and artificial intelligence to improve out by the IEEE Computer Society, and of proper representation of the linkages interventions for children with Autism it’s a tribute to Dr. Louri’s pioneering results in a wide range of uncertainties and Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and his research work over the past decade,” said Dr. variations in simulated climate projections. already has had a significant impact on Suresh Subramaniam, chair of the school’s Dr. Farhadi will use a novel observation- using robots to develop social interactions Department of Electrical and Computer driven approach to diagnose and map the with children who have ASD. It also caught Engineering (ECE). “A glance at the past linkages at regional scales from the implicit the attention of a broader audience outside recipients of the award is enough to tell (hidden) information embedded in land of academia, gaining coverage in USA you that this puts him among the top surface state observations, available through Today, Britain’s Mirror, and the Voice researchers in the field. We’re very proud space-borne remote sensing data. of America. of the recognition it brings to him, to ECE and SEAS, and to GW.” Hosting the awards for the school, Interim Dean Rumana Riffat congratulated the For more than 30 years, Dr. Louri has done Faculty Excellence application of computer graphics, rendering, awardees and thanked them for “inspiring seminal work on the development of general SEAS honored four faculty members and motion control to medical applications, each of us in our teaching and research, frameworks for scalable, energy-efficient, for excellence in May 2019 during the particularly the use of augmented reality for inspiring our students, and building pride high-performance, reliable and secure Dr. Adam Aviv (Computer Science) 11th Annual SEAS Faculty Research and surgical training and novel treatments to in SEAS.” computing and communication systems to received a CAREER award for his project Teaching Awards Celebration. address eating disorders. After publishing important application domains and societal “Enhancing Mobile Authentication by groundbreaking work on physics-based Dr. Louri to Receive Prestigious needs. His research consists of investigating Measuring the Authentication Life-Cycle.” The SEAS Distinguished Teacher Award motion control for computer animation in IEEE Computer Society Award novel approaches that synergistically In this project, Dr. Aviv studies how users was presented to Dr. Tom Mazzuchi, who 1988, Dr. Hahn continued research that Dr. Ahmed Louri (Electrical and combine advances in technology, computer authenticate on their mobile devices, for is the chairman of the Department of pioneered the field of automated motion Computer Engineering) was recently architecture, application, and machine example using a PIN or pattern to unlock Engineering Management and Systems control, using simulation, motion capture, selected to receive the IEEE Computer learning techniques to overcome challenges their smartphones, and the impact of the Engineering (EMSE) and is known as an and genetic programming. Dr. Hahn is the Society 2020 Edward J. McCluskey to today’s computing systems. user authentication choices on security and extremely versatile teacher. Throughout director of GW’s Institute for Computer Technical Achievement Award for his privacy. The project focuses on lifecycle his career he has worked with university Graphics. “pioneering contributions to the solution “We rely on computing in the design of events, seeking to understand how users Dr. Saniya LeBlanc (Mechanical students of nearly all ages and taught an of on-chip and off-chip communication systems for energy, transportation, finance, authenticate on their devices over periods and Aerospace Engineering) received array of courses from freshman orientation The SEAS Outstanding Junior Researcher problems for parallel computing and education, health, defense, entertainment, of time and how authentication is affected a CAREER award for the project to graduate level courses. Dr. Mazzuchi Award was shared by two faculty members, manycore architectures.” and overall wellness,” said Dr. Louri. when users encounter new security features “Interface Formation in Laser Processed also has been key to developing many of the Dr. David Broniatowski (EMSE) and “However, today’s computing systems or advice. Thermoelectric Materials.” Thermoelectric EMSE department’s academic programs. Dr. Chung Hyuk Park (Biomedical are facing major challenges in terms of devices offer great potential to improve At the undergraduate level, he was the Engineering). power consumption, limited performance, energy efficiency by converting waste driving force behind the development reliability, and security. These challenges heat into electricity. However, current of the department’s systems engineering Dr. Broniatowski’s areas of expertise are if not addressed, will dramatically impact manufacturing approaches prevent these program, building it from scratch to an in system architecting, data analytics, and our overall progress.” devices from having widespread impact. ABET-accredited program with a healthy decision analysis, and he has achieved a Laser additive manufacturing offers a new enrollment. Outside of the classroom, he is degree of success that is very unusual for Dr. Louri is an IEEE Fellow and the and novel way to make thermoelectric appreciated by students for his legendary a researcher at such an early stage of his director of GW’s High Performance devices by engineeriang the devices mentoring efforts and for creating a sense of career. He is the principal investigator of Computing Architectures and Technologies from the nano- to macro-scale. In this community within the department. (Read a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health Laboratory. His research has been project, the team will investigate how the the profile on Dr. Mazzuchi on page 13.) R01 grant to study the challenges that social sponsored by the National Science additive manufacturing process changes media data pose for public health officials Foundation, the Department of Energy, the material across all these length scales. Dr. James Hahn (Computer Science) and researchers. This work also has received the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, This knowledge will enable new energy received the SEAS Distinguished significant media attention due to its far- and industrial corporations such as Intel, conversion devices that are more effective Researcher Award. He conducts research in reaching implications for public health, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Raytheon, Physical and adaptable than ones made with the field of computer graphics, augmented psychology, social media, and policy. His Optics Corporation, US West Technologies, traditional manufacturing techniques. reality, and haptics (the study of digital use of sophisticated analytical techniques to and several others. Dr. Leila Farhadi (Civil and Environmental interfaces that allow a user to feel forces.) inform policy in other areas has also gained Engineering) won an NSF CAREER In recent years, he has concentrated on the wide attention, with a paper on Russian bots award for the project “Observation-Driven

20 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 21 STUDENTS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE STUDENTS

other students host a weekly show, during Sarah Morin & Grant McClearn be cool and have a career in STEM,” Achievement which they play and discuss a variety of Monica effuses. music. Initially skeptical about being on-air, Delon has learned to really enjoy the show. Seeing the impact of their idea has been gratifying to both Caitlin and Monica. “I went on-air once and was hooked. It’s “What I personally like best is when a kid a whole lot of fun, and every week it’s my finally is able to complete the activity, and chance for an hour to turn off engineering they get that small dose of achievement. and talk about something else,” he says. They say things like, ‘Oh my gosh, I did “There’s a sense of improvisation that’s that. I’m an actual engineer.’ And they necessary when you’re on a live radio show. are. They’re doing the engineering process. I’m better at thinking on my feet now.” They’re problem solving,” says Monica.

Auditing Elections, Not Classes Caitlin and Monica are proud of the “We get to do work that is actually success of the Atoms to Astronauts making its way into the real world. It’s program and want to see it continue. so important,” says Sarah Morin. She’s They’ve already lined up two SEAS referring to the research that she and Grant students to take over the program after McClearn, both juniors studying computer they graduate this spring, and they’ve science, do with Dr. Poorvi Vora (Computer received lots of feedback from SEAS and Science). Both of them have been working other GW volunteers about how much they with Dr. Vora on election auditing for enjoy mentoring the elementary school more than a year. students. “It’s great to feel that you’re making a difference in a community,” “The goal of an audit is to confirm that the Sarah and Grant both believe they’re “When we started this program we needed concludes Monica, “but it’s also great to reported winner really did, in fact, win,” learning a lot from their research. They funding because we wanted to make it free empower other college students to do Delon Etzel explains Grant. “We do this by drawing a mention learning how to present their work for the schools and the parents,” Caitlin the same thing.” series of samples from the ballots. The audit and how to write abstracts for conferences, recalls. “The funding was very fundamental stops and confirms the reported outcome for example. But the research is “first and because it really kick-started everything.” Monica Kavathekar & Caitlin Carfano Picking Up Practical Skills When asked how the experience of being when there is convincing statistical evidence foremost, a lot of statistics,” Grants says. When Delon Etzel develops an interest in on the team and leading the team has helped that the reported winner did, in fact, win.” Sarah seconds that with a hearty, “Oh, yeah.” Needing a name for the program, they something, he’s all in. He devotes himself him prepare for the professional world, began bouncing ideas off each other to his interest, learning it, developing it, Delon ticks off a long list of skills one might The number of ballots that the auditors They also appreciate getting to hear and ultimately settled on “Atoms to and sharing it with others. expect him to name—leadership experience, have to draw for an election depends very from other people who are leaders in the Astronauts.” “It’s about potential,” Monica technical skills, applying textbook much on the margin of the winner’s victory field—people with whom Dr. Vora works explains. “The kids are small. They’re like At GW, he’s been particularly interested knowledge to solve real world problems. rather than the total number of ballots directly—as well as the chance to talk atoms, and they have the potential to grow and active in the mini-Baja team and in And then he simply sums it up, stating, cast; the bigger the margin of victory, the about their research with others. into astronauts.” Caitlin adds, “Yeah, my student radio, and he believes both “It’s priceless.” fewer the number of ballots they need to chemistry textbook was on the ground have given him skills that will help sample. Grant and Sarah had a taste of this “It is also fun to have your work make sense and it had an atom on it, and that’s how him professionally. He talks about his future plans and the last November, when they helped Dr. Vora to people outside of your field. It’s pretty it kind of came to be.” job interviews he has had, noting that he’s and her collaborators pilot a new approach easy for us to explain how an audit works, Delon joined the mini-Baja team during answered a number of interview scenario to statistical election audits in Mercer and it’s nice to be able to share it with Their idea took root, and four years later his first semester at GW. Now a graduating questions with the statement, “I did that County, PA. The state plans to deploy people,” Sarah states. the program has 30 student volunteers senior, he led the team as it prepared last week in Baja.” He’s passionate about statistical election audits with rigorous error who lead STEM activities at five public over the course of a full year to design car design and speaks with ease about the guarantees, known as risk-limiting audits, The Power of an Idea schools in Washington, DC, throughout and manufacture the off-road vehicle future of the automotive industry. all over the state in 2020. While Caitlin Carfano was working the academic year. SEAS student it planned to enter into this spring’s for a tutoring program in an affluent volunteers lead the elementary school Society of Automotive Engineers’ annual “We’re in a really cool time for the Leading up to the pilot, they each had their Washington, DC suburb during her students through projects that use foam intercollegiate competition. Unfortunately, automobile. Every car company is own research roles. Grant worked primarily freshman year, she decided she wanted to pipes and marbles for “Roller Coaster the competition had to be cancelled due to rethinking what the car is and what it can on trying to increase the efficiency of the try to provide similar opportunities for Engineering;” magnets, string, and the COVID-19 pandemic. be. I think it will look a lot different than audits, that is, minimizing the number of elementary school students in DC public paperclips for “Defying Gravity;” and it does now,” he predicts. “I’m interested ballots that elections officials have to draw schools. She pitched the idea for a free, popsicle sticks and marshmallows to Delon is very proud of how far GW’s team in the design end. That’s where my heart’s from ballots cast in order to confirm their after-school STEM education program to build “Marshmallow Towers.” has come since his freshman year, and he always been.” accuracy. Sarah converted into Python code her roommate, Monica Kavathekar, and credits the previous co-captains who led the the statistical methods that Dr. Vora generates; the two began planning. The goal of the program is to de-stigmatize team. “We’ve made some incredible leaps,” Delon’s heart is also in music, which he she then ran the methods on various elections STEM for kids at a young age and to show he observes. “We went from not competing follows by listening to bands play and then data to determine whether the methods They took the idea to the former dean of them the potential of a career in STEM. my freshman year to being 20th in the promotes as a host of a program on GW’s worked in an experimental setting. SEAS, Dr. David Dolling, who thought it “By bringing fun after-school activities to whole world last year.” student-run radio station. He and three had promise and was willing to support it. kids, we want to show them that you can

22 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 23 ALUMNI THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE ALUMNI

SEAS Inducts Four to Hall of Fame, his career, he served as senior staff at the Richard Spires, MS ’87, is the chief for National Security Systems, and he News Pays Tribute to David Dolling Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics executive officer of Learning Tree recently held the position of chairman At his first ceremony since being named Laboratory, as a program director at the International. Before leading Learning of ACT-IAC, the leading non-profit dean of SEAS, Dean John Lach inducted National Science Foundation, and as the Tree, he was appointed as the US organization dedicated to improving the four honorees into the GW Engineering Hall chairman of the Department of Mechanical Department of Homeland Security’s effectiveness of government through the of Fame last October. The 2019 honorees Engineering at UMCP. He also founded chief information officer (CIO), a use of information technology. Mr. Spires included three SEAS alumni and the school’s two consulting companies—TPI, Inc. position he held for four years. He also previously served as the CIO and then as recent former dean, Dr. David Dolling. and Iktara Associates, LLC—and The served as the vice-chairman of the the deputy commissioner for operations Neilom Foundation, whose vision is to Federal Government CIO Council and support at the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to the Hall of Fame induction help improve the lives of young people at the co-chairman of the Committee ceremony, the celebration paid special the intersection of health, education, and tribute to Dr. Dolling, focusing on his technology. Most recently, he developed decade of leadership at SEAS and a successful new program in engineering thank Dr. Rumana Riffat, who stepped in his legacy of transforming the school for social change in partnership with to guide SEAS as the interim dean during and creating a foundation for its the School of Public Policy at UMCP. the search process for our new dean. Also,

continued growth. DESIGN PARTLOW FRITZ a special thanks to Dr. Mark and Ms. Amy David Dolling was dean of SEAS from Mykityshyn for graciously hosting an NAC The tribute included a video overview 2008 through 2018, and led the school welcome reception for Dean Lach. of Dr. Dolling's legacy and the surprise through an exceptional growth period announcement of an endowed scholarship that included adding the Department The SEAS Center for Women in Engineering created in his name to honor his of Biomedical Engineering, recruiting launched in April 2019 and is dedicated to Siobhan Whittle and David Dolling commitment to increasing the number approximately 60 new faculty across SEAS providing SEAS students, faculty, staff, and of SEAS women students and faculty who subsequently secured record levels alumnae with the information and skills members (see previous article). Dr. Dolling of research funding, adding new endowed to become the best engineers they can be. Donors Establish Scholarship Hall of Fame ceremony. Siobhan is a junior also received a special video salute from professorships and scholarships, doubling Dr. Rachelle Heller, professor emeritus of to Honor David Dolling majoring in mechanical engineering. She SEAS alumna and NASA astronaut Serena the undergraduate body, increasing the computer science, directs the Center with At the 2019 GW Engineering Hall of is active in the GW chapter of the American Auñón-Chancellor, BS ’97, and a GW lapel number of women earning bachelor degrees the assistance of Ms. Taly Walsh, assistant Fame, SEAS alumni and friends honored Society of Mechanical Engineers and pin that she took to the International to more than 40 percent of the graduating director, and an external advisory board that Dr. David Dolling, former dean of SEAS, is a SEAS learning assistant for a course Space Station in 2018, when she served class, and transitioning the school into the includes NAC members Gene Colabatistto, with the surprise announcement of a in the Department of Mechanical and aboard it on a six-month mission. Dean new Science and Engineering Hall. He is Barbara Fleming, and Elma Levy. $380,000 endowed scholarship created Aerospace Engineering. Lach did the honors of pinning it on Dr. currently a professor in the Department of in his name. Dr. Dolling stepped down as Dolling in Dr. Auñón-Chancellor’s stead. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. At the 2019 GW Engineering Hall of Fame dean of SEAS in August 2018, after 10 In addition to Kevin Kelly, other lead Prior to joining SEAS, he was a professor, Aran Hegarty induction ceremony, held last October, we years of leading the school. donors to the scholarship are Mr. Nicholas SEAS congratulates our 2019 GW department chair, and associate dean honored Dr. Davinder Anand, Dr. David Paleologos, BS ’69, and Clark Construction Engineering Hall of Fame inductees: for academic affairs in the College of Dolling, Ms. Aicha Evans, and Mr. Richard The David S. Dolling Endowed Scholarship Group, LLC. Many other SEAS alumni Engineering at The University of Texas NAC Update Spires. The article on the previous page in Engineering is an undergraduate need- and friends also have contributed to the Davinder Anand, BS ’59, MS ’61, at Austin. Dr. Dolling is a graduate of summarizes their accomplishments, and I based scholarship fund to support women scholarship in Dr. Dolling’s honor. If you DSc ’65, is professor emeritus of London University (United Kingdom), Fellow Colonials, encourage all of you to read it and learn more in engineering at SEAS. Donors to the would like to make a contribution to the mechanical engineering and director where he earned a bachelor‘s degree about them. scholarship created it in his name to honor scholarship and women in engineering at of the Center of Engineering Concepts with first class honors and a doctorate, Wow, what a year it has been for GW his commitment to increasing the number of SEAS, please visit the scholarship page at: Development at The University of both in aeronautical engineering. Engineering! We welcomed a new dean, I had the honor of attending the 2019 SEAS women students and faculty members. go.gwu.edu/dollingscholarship. Maryland, College Park (UMCP). During launched the SEAS Center for Women in Spirit of GW Awards Ceremony last Aicha Evans, BS ’96, is the chief Engineering, and inducted four new members September during Colonials Weekend and “One of the most appropriate ways to executive officer of Zoox, an autonomous into the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. And was able to witness first-hand President Left to right: Richard Spires, Davinder Anand, Dean John Lach, David Dolling, and Aicha Evans recognize Dean Dolling’s leadership in mobility developer. Prior to joining one of our National Advisory Council (NAC) Thomas LeBlanc’s presentation of the attracting, retaining, and promoting female Zoox in February 2019, Ms. Evans members was awarded the 2019 GW Alumni 2019 Alumni Outstanding Service Award students in SEAS is to create an enduring worked for Intel Corporation for 13 Outstanding Service Award. to NAC member Barbara Fleming. The scholarship in his name. Once my wife, years, serving most recently as senior award recognizes alumni who advance the Monica, and I learned of the movement vice president and chief strategy officer Dr. John Lach began his role as dean of mission of the university through dedicated to create the David S. Dolling Endowed at Intel. Before that, she was general SEAS on August 15 and immediately began volunteer efforts. We are so proud that Scholarship, we knew we wanted to play a manager of Intel’s Communication and meeting with faculty, students, alumni, and Barbara is a member of the NAC. key role to help make this idea a reality for Devices Group, where she oversaw a other schools across the GW community. David, SEAS, and most importantly, the 7,000-person global organization and was Dean Lach brings a vision and demonstrated Finally, I want to thank my fellow NAC students,” said Mr. Kevin Kelly, MS ’97, a responsible for its wireless business and successful experience leveraging members for all that you do across the lead donor to the scholarship and member engineering for multi-communications cross-departmental and cross-school school, campus, and community. It is an of the SEAS National Advisory Council. products and platforms. She was collaboration. I encourage you to meet honor to serve GW with all of you. appointed to the Anita Borg Institute Dean Lach, share your GW stories, and The first recipient of the scholarship, Ms. Board of Trustees in 2016 and to the present your ideas to strengthen and grow Raise High, Siobhan Whittle, was announced at the Supervisory Board of SAP in 2017. SEAS. I would be remiss, by the way, not to Aran Hegarty

24 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 25 ALUMNI THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE ALUMNI

Expanding Opportunities at SEAS Mark Hughes, III, BS ’69, MS ’77, and his Avram Tucker, GWSB, BA ’77, and she is committed to helping future SEAS thanks our alumni and friends whose wife, Susan, made a pledge to support the provided support for the Nelson & generations of female engineering students. generous gifts support new funds or programs David S. Dolling Endowed Scholarship in Michele Carbonell Engineering Endowed that are helping to grow SEAS and expand Engineering in honor of the former dean of Scholarship for students at SEAS. Avram She later served as an alumna networker

opportunities for our faculty and students. SEAS, and they made an additional gift to is a member of the GW Board of Trustees for the annual women in engineering TODAY WILLIAM ATKINS/GW The following list includes those gifts support the SEAS Dean’s Excellence Fund. and past advisor of the GW School of event, participated in the GW Innovation received since April 1, 2019: Mark is an emeritus trustee of the GW Business Board of Advisors. Center’s 2017 “Women in STEM” event, Board of Trustees, and a member of the and devoted a full year to being a mentor W. Scott Amey, MS ’75, and his wife, SEAS National Advisory Council and the George Wellde, GWSB, MBA ’76, to a female SEAS Clark Scholar. After Deborah, continued their support of the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. provided support for the Nelson & joining the SEAS National Advisory Knowledge in Action Career Intern Fund Michele Carbonell Engineering Endowed Council (NAC) in 2016, she continued (KACIF) at SEAS and the Amey Scholarship Douglas Jones, BS ’63, MS ’65, DSc ’70, Scholarship for students at SEAS. George to help build the school’s focus on Fund. KACIF is a highly competitive and his wife, Mary, provided support for is a member of the GW Board of Trustees issues affecting women in engineering, program that provides grants of up to $3,000 the Douglas L. Jones Endowed Mechanical and past advisor of the GW School of volunteering to serve on a working group to GW undergraduate and graduate students Engineering Graduate Fellowship. Douglas Business Board of Advisors. and taking the lead on an external task pursuing internships that are necessarily is a past member of the GW Engineer force on the issue. In 2018, she was named unpaid. The Amey Scholarship Fund supports Alumni Association and a member of the Ellen Zane, CCAS, BA ’73, provided a founding member of the external advisory scholarships for children and grandchildren GW Engineering Hall of Fame. support for the Nelson & Michele board of the SEAS Center for Women of US veterans killed in action. Scott is a Carbonell Engineering Endowed in Engineering. former trustee of the GW Board of Trustees David Karlgaard, DSc ’74, and his Scholarship for students at SEAS. and current member of the SEAS National wife, Marilyn, contributed to the Ellen is a member of the Board of Trustees “Barbara’s passion and investment in Advisory Council. He is also a member David S. Dolling Endowed Scholarship and past member of the CCAS National the program was clear, and the center of the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. in Engineering in honor of the former Council for Arts & Sciences. would not be where it is today without dean of SEAS. David is a former trustee of her ardent support,” said Ms. Durriyyah Davinder Anand, BS ’59, MS ’61, DSc the GW Board of Trustees and a current GW Honors Barbara Jackson, who formerly worked with Barbara ’65, established The Neilom Prize for Social member of the SEAS National Advisory Fleming for Service as the liaison to the SEAS NAC. Impact to award annual prizes in perpetuity Council. He is also a member of the SEAS congratulates alumna Barbara Fleming, CCAS BS ’81, SEAS MS ’85, to undergraduate students at SEAS. Davinder GW Engineering Hall of Fame. who Will Alexander and Barbara Fleming is a member of the GW Engineering Hall was one of just five GW alumni honored by of Fame. Kevin Kelly, MS ’97, and his wife, Monica, the university during Colonials Weekend established the David S. Dolling Endowed 2019 for their achievements, service, and Peter and Grace Baughan, parents of Scholarship in Engineering in honor of the philanthropic contributions. Formerly Joy Nikkel (CCAS), established the Dr. former dean of SEAS. Kevin is a member called the GW Alumni Achievement Jhong Sam Lee Scholarship in Engineering, and immediate past chair of the SEAS Awards, they are now called the Spirit Leaving a Legacy Is an annual need-based scholarship with National Advisory Council and a member of of GW Awards. preference to incoming freshmen in the the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. Department of Electrical and Computer GW honored Barbara with the Alumni Engineering. The scholarship was created Anirudh Kulkarni, BS ’86, MS ’88, Outstanding Service Award for her Not Rocket Science in memory of Grace’s father, Dr. Jhong established the Kulkarni Family dedicated and persistent service to Sam Lee, MS ’61, DSc ’67. Scholarship to provide need-based the university and to SEAS. Receive a Lifetime Income with a GW Charitable Gift Annuity scholarships for female undergraduate Clark Construction Group, LLC provided students in SEAS. Anirudh is a member of Barbara first volunteered for SEAS in support to establish the David S. Dolling the SEAS National Advisory Council and 2013, as a judge for the annual school-wide With a charitable gift annuity through Annuitant’s Annuity Age Rate Endowed Scholarship in Engineering to the GW Engineering Hall of Fame. Pelton Senior Design Competition. After GW, you can support the School of support women in engineering at SEAS. her first experience serving as a judge, she Engineering and Applied Science’s work 60 4.3% while ensuring a secure financial future for David and Jacqueline Martin, parents subsequently volunteered four additional 70 5.1% Estate of Samuel Einfrank, BS ’51, of Zack Martin, BS ’19, yourself with guaranteed fixed payments The established the times to judge this and other SEAS events. 80 6.9% supported the SEAS Annual Support Fund endowed and annual Zack D. Martin for your lifetime—and that of another through a realized bequest. 2020 Scholarship Fund to provide support In 2016, Barbara participated in the person, if you wish. 90+ 9.0% to undergraduate students at SEAS. inaugural “GW Women in Engineering: Sample rates,* based on a donor’s age, * Rates are those recommended by the American Alfred Ferrari, MS ’67, DSc ’72, and Navigating Your Career” student program, are shown at right. Council on Gift Annuities and offered by GW. his wife, Evelyn, continued support of the Nicholas Paleologos, BS ’69, and his and that experience launched an unbroken Alfred and Evelyn Ferrari Scholarship Fund wife, Suellen, helped to establish the string of dedicated service to the cause of for undergraduate students. David S. Dolling Endowed Scholarship supporting young women in their pursuit in Engineering in honor of the former of careers in engineering and computer To learn more about charitable gift annuities, please visit go.gwu.edu/CGAs Frederick Gluck, MS ’72, created the dean of SEAS. Nicholas is a member of science. Barbara completed her own or contact GW’s Office of Planned Giving at 1-877-498-7590 or [email protected]. Rhodes-Gluck Family Scholarship, which the SEAS National Advisory Council career in software technology, retiring provides need-based scholarships for female and a member of the GW Engineering as a senior cyber security policy advisor DAR3809 undergraduate students. Hall of Fame. with the US Department of Defense,

26 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 27 CLASS NOTES THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE FEATURECLASS NOTES

in May 2019. Operating out of St. Lucia, Amir Faghfoory, BA ’02 (computer was ranked #15 in NJ. This is his 10th year Happenings Kristin has responsibility for assisting 11 science), is working as a psychiatrist and in a row on this list. In addition, Elliott was island nations in the eastern Caribbean tele-psychiatrist in Southern California. ranked 4th in NJ on the 2019 Forbes Best-in- to achieve the commitments expressed State Wealth Advisors List, published on under the Paris Climate Accord and their February 20th. He is a managing director of Sustainable Development Goal targets. investments at Merrill Lynch in Bridgewater, NJ, and resides in Skillman, NJ. Hitesh Dev, MS ‘02 (computer science), started Stemtree of Ashburn, a STEM enrichment center for K-12 kids in Ashburn, VA, in January 2020. Stemtree is enrolling children from K-12 for its science, software coding, and robotics after-school enrichment programs (van pickup included). Children of GW alumni will receive an additional 20 percent off on camps and birthday parties.

Deena Disraelly, PhD ’12 (engineering In 2019, William Broman, BS ’14 management), is a member of an Institute (biomedical engineering), joined Bejin for Defense Analyses research team that Bieneman PLC in Southfield, MI, as a patent was recognized with an Honorable clerk. William is currently in his 3rd year Mention Award in the US General at Wayne State University Law School in Services Administration’s and the Lawrence “Larry” Huebner, MS ’86 Last May, Anthony Lyons, BS ’15 Detroit, MI, is an editor for the Wayne Law Office of Management and Budget’s (aeronautics), was recently awarded the (mechanical engineering), helped found Review, and expects to graduate in May 2021. Government Effectiveness Advanced NASA Engineering and Safety Center Washington, DC’s first independent Research Center challenge. (NESC) Director’s Award for outstanding wrestling promotion, Prime Time Pro Bruce Cazenave, MS ’79 (management achievement in upholding the guiding Wrestling, as “Tony the Intern,” a valet science), was named CEO of Bluestem principles of the NESC in leading the for his boss in the ring, and a production Mounir Alafrangy, MS ’18 (mechanical Station in 2018 and is one of two Hispanic Group in March 2019. Previously, he served Boeing Commercial Crew Program Aero- assistant in the locker room. PTPW is the engineering), was selected as one of woman astronauts in the history of NASA. as CEO of Nautilus. sciences Peer Review Team. Last year first DC-based wrestling promotion, and it four crew members of HERA’s (Human Maria has had tours of duty in Iraq and he was awarded the NASA Exceptional focuses on building a modern and inclusive Exploration Research Analog) Mission XX, Afghanistan and works for the Defense Service Medal. wrestling community. Tony writes, “Come a 45-day confined space mission simulation Intelligence Agency. Dr. Auñón left Cuba to a show and see what the hype is all about. to Mars’ moon, Phobos. The crew in 1960 as an exile. Kyle Jones, DEng ’18 (engineering The fighting may be choreographed, but the successfully completed their mission in late management), is now a principal energy in the crowd is 100 percent real.” 2019 in Houston, TX. This exercise helps solutions architect for Amazon Web researchers acquire more data regarding Services specializing in the energy sector. Samson March, BS ’14 (electrical team dynamics and behavioral health. engineering), built his own smart watch Mounir and his crew mates were selected John Kallenberger, MEA ’83, is a from scratch as a do-it-yourself project, and from applicants who have astronaut-like retired federal Navy civilian engineer. as word spread, Samson and his watch were qualities. More information is available at His current primary activities include featured in articles on the tech blogs Engadget www.nasa.gov/analogs/hera. Toastmasters and providing seminars in and The Verge, and he ended up getting chemistry, mathematics, and program job offers from Google, Oculus, Uber, and Jorge Auñón, BS ’67, MS ’69, DSc ’72 management. SpaceX. Samson designed and built every (electrical engineering), is a retired aspect of the watch, from creating the dean of the College of Engineering at Likambo Kenyi, DEng ’19 (engineering housing to 3D printing it and writing every the University of Alabama in Huntsville, management), has taken a new position line of code for it. He also made the project and received the Doctor Honoris Causa as a US Department of Defense Research open source, so anyone else can access the 2012 from the Universidad Autonoma Dean Coclin, BS ’84 (electrical engineering), Howard Eisner, DSc ’66 (electrical Development Test and Evaluation lead. files and make his own watch. Metropolitana, Mexico City in 2012. returned to GW and received a Masters in engineering), has recently written He writes that he is very proud of his four CRC Press recently published the book CyberSecurity via the online program. He is two books, both published by CRC Press. Elliott Kugel, MS ’83 (computer Dorian G. Newton, MS ’13 (systems daughters. Christine studied industrial Plasma Simulations by Example, written currently employed with DigiCert as senior The first isThinking – A Guide to Systems science), was nationally recognized in engineering), DEng ’17 (engineering engineering at Purdue University. Melissa by Lubos Brieda, PhD ’12 (mechanical director of business development. Engineering Problem-Solving, 2019, and the the April 18th issue of the Financial Times management), received the BEYA has an advanced degree in computer science. and aerospace engineering). The book second is Systems Architecting – Methods in their Top 400 Financial Advisers list; Educational Leadership—Corporate Serena, BS ’97 (electrical engineering), guides readers through how to develop Kristin Deason, PhD ’09 (engineering and Examples, 2020. He will give a tutorial this is his fourth time being recognized on Promotion of Education Award at the 34th is a NASA astronaut and NASA flight C++ computer codes for simulating plasmas management), began a new positon as on the latter for INCOSE (International this list. He was also listed in the March annual Black Engineer of the Year Award surgeon who is fluent in Russian. She spent primarily with the kinetic Particle in the regional director of the Global Green Council on Systems Engineering) in 11th issue of Barron’s magazine as one of (BEYA) STEM Global Competitiveness six months aboard the International Space Cell method. Growth Institute in the Caribbean region May of 2020. the Top 1200 Advisors in America and Conference. This award recognizes

28 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 SYNERGY SPRING 2020 29 CLASS NOTES THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE FEATUREVOLUNTEERS

individuals from the private sector who Tassos Recachinas, BS ’05 (mechanical Thank You Randolph Graves Anushka Rai demonstrate an exemplary commitment to engineering), is president and chief SEAS thanks our alumni who donated Yvonne Ha Matthew Rogers their time to GW during calendar year enhancing the opportunities for minorities investment officer of Sophis Investments Sajjad Haider Andre Rogers in technology-based careers through the LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, 2019. The following alumni volunteered Shuye Han Jelena Roljevic promotion of scientific and technical providing investment management services on campus or throughout the country or education programs. to individual and institutional investors. world during 2019: Dor Hirsh Bar Gai Guy Savage Arthur Pantelides, Tassos loves working with engineers and John Holmblad Zachary Schwartz PhD ’09 other professionals, especially SEAS Erkinay Abliz Mamoud Hosseini Traci Smith (engineering alumni, and would love to hear from you. management), William Alexander Mark Hughes Clifford Stearns says hello from Sana Al-Hajj Samantha Hurley Marija Stefanovic Eastern Europe, Dina Al-Sabah Mustafa Ibrahim Can Suer where he established Alonzo Alvarez Meola Amer Islam Mansi Talwar his own consulting Kiersten Washle, BS ’17 (systems company after engineering), MS ’18 (engineering manage- William Amey Douglas Jamieson Robert Tamaru finishing his ment), is happy to share that she and SEAS Sairan Aqrawi Kumar Jeev Jing Tao Yahya Alabbas, BS ’17 (systems PhD. He consults with small and medium- alumnus Rosa Araiza Seyeon Jeong Howard Tischler size enterprises on optimizing value chain engineering), are engaged to be married. Sofia Aschettino Shraddha Kale Comfort Uduebholo and operations as a result of Brexit. He also teaches strategic management at the Charisma Williams, MS ’14 (engineering Huda Asfour Nada Kamona Dipali Unadkat American University in Bulgaria. management), has published her sixth Amir Aslani Bryan Kane Shravalya Valet

article, “Bridging the Gap Between the Under- Paige Atkins Sassan Kimiavi Jan Visintainer Privileged and Preparedness,” in Emergency Alp Aziz Anirudh Kulkarni Zhiqian Wang Management Magazine. The article ran as the lead story on the magazine’s website. Charisma Ahmad Azizian Andrew Lacher Kiersten Washle is an emergency management consultant based Sujita Basnet Elizabeth Lacher Tezita Watts in Washington, DC. Thomas Beaulieu Sang Lee Alex Weller Abdelghani Bellaachia Renato Levy Kristen Wigglesworth On June 27, 2019, the United States Senate confirmedChristopher Scolese, MS ’82 Simon Bellemare Yaraslau Loban David Wilson (electrical engineering), as the new director Rachael Bevill Burns Anticia Macalou Jeffrey Winbourne of the National Reconnaissance Office. Zoe Bilis Toma Taylor Makoundou Jamie Yaniga Bill Varner, BS ’73 (electrical Thomas Bostick Arvin Malkani Yin Yiing Yeoh engineering), has joined corporate boards Lubos Brieda Lataunja Martin Christian Yip of directors for Novetta Corporation, Mary Brigden Josephine Mascher Abigail Yonta Cornerstone Defense, and Applied Research Luis Calma Alvarez John Mercado Yucheng Zhou Solutions. He is also on the advisory board Leah Capek Erin Mignano for ManTech International Corporation, as Phil Perconti, PhD ’06 (electrical well as the SEAS National Advisory Council Nelson Carbonell Hadi Mohammadi engineering), moved from the Army Night (Emeritus) and the Purdue University Edward Chesnut Asghar Mostafa Vision Lab to the Army Research Lab and School of Electrical and Computer Dean Coclin Hongdi Mou became its director about five years ago. Engineering Advisory Board. He was He recently was appointed Deputy Assistant awarded the Purdue Outstanding Electrical Nancy Cohen William Murphy Secretary of the Army for Research and and Computer Engineer award in 2016. Gene Colabatistto Mitchell Narins Ya-Qin Zhang, DSc ’89 (electrical Technology. This is the chief scientist Michael Cross Dick Norman position in the Army. Samuel Velázquez, DEng ’19 engineering), was inducted to the American Liam Cusack Hetal Odobasic (engineering management), has Academy of Arts and Sciences in October Sergio Ramírez-Mena, MS ’93 continued working for the Department 2019. Founded in 1780, the Academy honors Lauren DeCorte Satoe Ohoka (information management), works in of the Navy since his graduation. His excellence and convenes leaders from every Minha Do Kristy Ortiz Honduras for Education Development work responsibilities have increased as field of human endeavor to examine new Kelly Dong Enrique Pardo Center, a US education non-governmental well as his participation in an array of ideas and address issues of importance to the Lindsey Draper Arpit Parikh organization. Since April 2018, he has served engineering projects, including working on nation and the world. With his election to as chief-of-party for the Honduras Reading a technical review team as a subject matter the Academy, Dr. Zhang joins the company William Edison Akash Patel Activity project funded by USAID. He expert in risk management, earning the of notable members such as Thomas Jose Febres Cyndi-Leigh Pine has more than 28 years of experience in nickname “Dr. Risk” from his colleagues. Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Xiaofan Feng Charles Polinger international development, leading contracts He reports that he is “a proud cat parent Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, Winston Barbara Fleming Anna Gabriela Porras Santolamazza for the US government, multi-laterals, and of two wonderful kittens.” Churchill, and more than 250 Nobel and a large public-private partnership. Pulitzer Prize winners. Amit Garg Rachel Quinn

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