Students

Joint postdoc program develops from partnership between Statistics Department, Inova Health

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:42:25 +0000

Joint postdoc program develops from partnership between Statistics Department, Inova Health Teresa Donnellan Thu, 09/28/2023 - 14:42

In This Story

Jiayang Sun

A partnership between George Mason University’s Statistics Department and Inova Health Care Services has entered its fifth year and continues to grow. The partnership has motivated a new initiative: a postdoc program for Inova researchers interested in developing skills in statistics and data science, run jointly by George Mason’s statistics and global and community health departments. Mohamad Bahij Moumneh, MD, and Jason F. Goldberg, MD, are the program’s standing inaugural members.

“As a fresh Lebanese medical graduate interested in expanding his acquired skills in the field of research, especially cardiology, and academia, the joint program provided me with this golden opportunity,” said Moumneh. He added, “By maximizing the resources of each institute, enhancements in the overall picture and quality of research and healthcare education occur, and allow both institutions to keep, if not exceed, pace with novel technologies and healthcare advancements and institutions.”

The partnership between Mason Statistics and Inova Health was supported by a contract between the university and the healthcare system via a parent award from NIH to the iTHRIV partnership. It supported the experts in George Mason’s Statistics Collaboration Core (SCC) to work with colleagues from Inova Health Care Services on research projects involving statistics or data science. To initialize each new project, INOVA researchers visit statinova.gmu.edu.

“The Statistics Collaboration Core (SCC) is a collaboration platform that supports and facilitates statistical collaborations with internal and external investigators or seekers for evidenced-based research, or statistical, biostatistical, or data science support to decision-making,” explained Jiayang Sun of Mason’s statistics department. Sun is a Principal Investigator on the new grant establishing the postdoc program, alongside co-PI Carolyn Drews-Botsch, the chair of the department of global and community health in Mason’s School of Public Health.

“The partnership between Inova and Mason will help with our research efforts aimed at prolonging life after heart transplantation,” said Goldberg. He noted that, for his case, SCC has provided advanced analysis of mircoRNA clinical rejection scores and has used machine learning to evaluate risk modeling of adverse outcomes within the first year of heart transplantation.

“These collaborations will continue to produce meaningful cardiovascular research,” he said.

Of the five-year partnership between Mason Statistics and Inova Health, Sun noted the relationship has been fruitful, producing additional grants, publications in the health and medical sector, and new grant proposals. She added that it serves as a welcome opportunity for both tenure track and term faculty to perform original research and collaborate with colleagues dealing with real-world problems. Research projects from the partnership have covered such important topics as opioid use, sepsis, heart failure, and—before there were reliable tests—the spread of COVID-19 among children in northern Virginia.

Sun, Moumneh, and Goldberg are likewise optimistic about the new joint postdoc program.

“Researchers can collaborate on various projects that eventually might lead to medical breakthroughs. One could say that the joint program fosters an environment of innovation and growth. The joint program also allows the addressing of pressing healthcare dilemmas, an event that might encourage students to think of possible solutions and managements,” said Moumneh.

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Inova

Department of Statistics

College of Public Health

College of Engineering and Computing

School of Computing

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Students

Statistics student wins COVES Fellowship

Rena Malai — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:29:52 +0000

Statistics student wins COVES Fellowship Rena Malai Mon, 04/17/2023 - 12:29

It will be an exciting summer for George Mason University PhD student Zhenyi Huang.

As a Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Fellowship winner, he’ll begin to embark on his career path in May as he helps to foster relationships between the engineering and science community, and the Virginia state government.

“I think this will be a very valuable experience for me, and a great opportunity,” said Huang, who is studying statistics.

The 12-week program offers Huang a stipend of around $14,000 and aims to strengthen ties between the scientific community and state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, while encouraging and equipping more scientists and engineers to be effective advisors for public policy in the state of Virginia.

Huang was inspired by last year’s COVES winner who he shared some things in common with – basketball and being of Chinese descent. As he developed the connection, Huang asked his new friend questions about the fellowship process, which he said helped him with the application.

“I asked him a lot of questions about requirements, what kind of material I should prepare, what the application process is like. I learned a lot from him about all the points I needed to take care of,” said Huang.

With encouragement from his academic advisors, Huang decided to apply.

“I never thought to make the connection between science and engineering and politics. It’s a unique opportunity and will be a strong point on my resume,” he said.

Huang said he was drawn to studying statistics at George Mason because of the strong faculty and programs offered. His advice to future COVES Fellowship potential applicants is to collect any information online and ask as many questions as possible. It’s a method that helped him tremendously.

“Never be afraid to ask questions!” he said.

To return the favor, Huang is happy to answer questions for anyone interested in the fellowship. He can be reached at zhuang6@gmu.edu

The COVES Fellowship is offered through the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to graduate students and postdoctorals. Selected participants are placed in legislative, executive agency, or policy offices within a Virginia company or nonprofit.

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Statistics seniors receive award at American Statistical Association national data challenge

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 12:09:10 +0000

Statistics seniors receive award at American Statistical Association national data challenge 4429684e-ae8d-… Thu, 01/21/2021 - 07:09

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Volgenau School of Engineering

Four seniors majoring in statistics––Emily Litzenberg, Kate Lang, Nate Mulugeta, and Shannon Connor––received an honorable mention for the best use of external data at the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Fall Data Challenge 2020.

For the national competition, called Get Out the Vote, teams of high school and undergraduate students submitted their recommendations on how to increase voter turnout using voting behavior data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. High school and undergraduate students were judged separately.

Mason’s team looked at the data from 2000 to 2016 to see if there was an increase in registered voters who didn’t vote because they didn’t like either candidate in the presidential race. “We found there was a rise in people who didn’t vote over the years because of dislike for the candidates,” Connor says.

The group was then tasked with coming up with a way to improve voter turnout, and they suggested ranked-choice voting in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots, she says.

Connor says the project gave the students a chance to work closely on a statistical analysis. “I learned a lot about how to go from start to finish with a statistical group project.”

Elizabeth Johnson, an associate professor of statistics and the group’s sponsor, says, “This national competition allows students to work in teams to investigate current issues using real data, They experience the whole research process of creating a research question before collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data. I am very proud of their accomplishment in a very competitive field."

Four senior students from the Department of Statistics received an honorable mention for the best use of external data at the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Fall Data Challenge 2020. Pictured from the left are Shannon Connor, Nate Mulugeta, and Emily Litzenberg. Kate Lang is not pictured.

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Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis

Nanci Hellmich — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:34:08 +0000

Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis Nanci Hellmich Sun, 03/29/2020 - 08:34

Statistics major Brody Receveur (right) and his parents invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to live with them in Hampton, Virginia for the rest of the semester because Alshathri can't make it back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Mason Engineering students are using their innovative skills to solve more than engineering problems.

They are coming up with creative ways to do random acts of kindness, both big and small, during the coronavirus outbreak.

For example, statistics major Brody Receveur and his family invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to stay with them for the rest of the semester.

The students are friends who lived in the same residence hall at Mason. When classes became virtual after spring break, Receveur was at home with his parents in Hampton, Virginia, while Alshathri was on campus because he couldn’t get back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Receveur asked his parents if Alshathri could come live with them for a while, and they agreed. Receveur returned to the Fairfax Campus to pick up Alsharthri.

Mason Engineering students Brody Receveur (left) and Nawaf Alshathri (center) are spending time with Receveur's parents April and Tim in Hampton, Virginia, while the students finish their courses remotely.

When they’re not taking their classes online or studying, the two have been working out together, walking on the beach, and playing board games with the family.

“I taught him how to make Yankee cornbread and steaks,” says Receveur, an Honors College student. “He’s gardening with my mom (April), and my dad (Tim) is talking to him about the history of our area. My dad wrote a book about it. They talk all the time.”

Alshathri says he’s enjoying his time with the Receveur family. “Tough times make the best qualities of people shine,” he says. “The Receveurs have been caring and kind. They took me in during this period of uncertainty, and they are teaching me valuable life skills. I will have some vegetables that should be grown by the end of the semester, thanks to them.”

He’s also enjoying the family dog, Puzzles, and he enjoys playing with their dog when he is done with his work for the day.

Alshathri says the family living near the beach is a bonus. “You expect to be locked up during quarantine, but the beach is pretty empty, so we can go out and take walks.”

Other members of the Mason Engineering community are finding ways to show kindness to faculty, family, and others while still maintaining social distancing:

Angelica Watson, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing random acts of kindness daily, including calling to check on her grandmother.

Reaching out virtually

Angelica Watson, a mechanical engineering senior, has been calling her grandmother every day to check on her. When her grandmother asked why she was calling so often, Watson said to remind her to stay home and be safe.

Watson also has been going to the grocery store to get supplies for her family. “Today when I went looking for some cleaning supplies, there was an older lady in the store who couldn’t reach the bleach on a higher shelf, so I passed her two bottles of it,” she says.

“I also saw a lady looking for toilet paper, and I gave her a pack of wipes that I had picked up. ... It’s the little things that warm people’s hearts.”

Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, gave his entire paycheck to a Mason alumna who is struggling financially.

Paying it forward

When Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, heard about a Mason alumna/friend who was struggling financially in part due to the coronavirus outbreak, he knew he wanted to help.

“Although it wasn’t much, I gave her the money from my recent paycheck from my work at the Bioinspired Robotics and Intelligent Control Lab so that she can get by,” he says.

“I live with my mom so I don’t have many bills, except for a car payment and insurance” he says.

“I’m still texting with my friend, and we’re offering each other moral support.”

Mechanical engineering major Vineet Nair sent emails to faculty thanking them for preparing for remote classes over the extended spring break.

Sending a word of thanks

Vineet Nair, a senior in mechanical engineering, sent emails to several faculty members and staff thanking them for going the extra mile to make online learning work.

“I can’t imagine how hard it was for them to prepare to do this in a week or so,” he says. “They are trying to give us our money’s worth and give us the tools we need when we graduate.

“I’ve had two or three classes, and there have been some challenges, but overall, it’s going very smoothly. I think what they are doing right now is tremendous.”

Ivory Sarceno, a mechanical engineering major, is sending funny stories to her family in the United States and Guatemala.

Lifting up others with humor

Ivory Sarceno, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing her best to stay in touch with her family in Guatemala and the United States while practicing social distancing.

Everyone is stressed out, and during this time laughter is still the best medicine, she says.

“I’ve started a family group chat with 11 members through WhatsApp where my family can share memes and uplifting stories, and most importantly our love and support for each other.”

Systems Engineering senior Jason Nembhard shared safety tips for preventing the coronavirus with a friend who might have been exposed.

Sharing safety insights

Jason Nembhard, a senior in systems engineering, says a friend of his became alarmed when someone in his building in Arlington was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“Naturally, he was stressed about catching the virus,” Nembhard says.

“I reached out to him to talk about what he's going through and suggested ways he can keep himself safe. I was able to pass along the personal safety information I had learned from my mom, who is a nurse at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.”

“He told me thank you, and then he went to work cleaning and disinfecting his apartment,” Nembhard says.

Elizabeth Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, said it made her day when her students wished her "Happy Birthday" in their Blackboard chat.

Brightening a professor's day

When the statistics students in one of assistant professor Elizabeth Johnson’s classes found out that it was her birthday one day recently, they all started writing "Happy Birthday" in the Blackboard chat.

“It was unexpected, and it made my day,” she says.

If you’ve done some random acts of kindness for others and would like to share them, please email your story to Nanci Hellmich.

Stories from throughout the Mason community can be submitted here.

Stats student crunches numbers to pave path to success in class and in life

Nanci Hellmich — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 17:41:01 +0000

Stats student crunches numbers to pave path to success in class and in life Nanci Hellmich Thu, 03/12/2020 - 13:41

“I am so happy I’m here. The Stats Department faculty is amazing. There are so many opportunities and contacts at Mason, and there are so many internship opportunities being close to D.C.”

— Brody Receveur, statistics major

Brody Receveur, a statistics major at Mason, is doing a statistical analysis of the needs of refugees in South Sudan for an Honors College research class.

Brody Receveur knew the odds were good he’d major in statistics at Mason, and his first statistics class confirmed it.

“I had Professor (Elizabeth) Johnson for Stat 260. Some of the first words she said were, ‘In statistics, we play in everybody’s sandbox.’

“I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I knew I had found my place,” says Receveur, who’ll graduate in the spring of 2021 with a BS in statistics.

“I am someone who loves to work in everything, and I have a general interest in helping in all ways I can. The statistics degree provides me a platform to do that on an advanced level.”

He’s going full-steam ahead, inside and outside the classroom.

An Honors College student, Receveur works as a peer mentor for Mason Engineering, serves as co-president of Mason chapter of the American Statistical Association, and in April, he’ll participate in the DC DataFest, a weekend-long data competition in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set.

He’s also doing a statistical analysis of the needs of refugees in South Sudan for an Honors College research class. His data analysis includes a breakdown of non-food needs, such as emergency shelters and mosquito nets.

To make the data easier to understand, he taught himself geographic information systems, a graphic framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data.

He says the project is still in its infancy as he works on determining what information will be the most useful for peacemaking in South Sudan. “The whole point of the project is to help as many people as possible,” he says.

Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, says, “Brody is an exceptional student scholar. He loves the research process. He will be attending a highly selective statistical genetics and biostatistics summer research program at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, and also hopes to complete a fall semester abroad at Oxford.”

Receveur’s life is so tightly packed, he has a schedule in his smartphone for every hour of his day. “I’m not someone who is a fan of being bored.”

To balance his number-crunching life, he decompresses by lifting weights, doing Muay Thai kickboxing, cooking, playing guitar, praying, meditating, and playing board games with friends.

Receveur from Fredricksburg, Virginia, says the university has been a great fit for him. When trying to decide between Mason, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech—he was accepted by all three—he set up a mathematical model to predict which would work best for him.

“I did a weighting system where I weighted different variables in different contexts. After I did the math and Mason won, I breathed a sigh of relief and said to myself, ‘If I knew I wanted to go to Mason, why did I do that?’ ”

No matter how he arrived at his decision, he says, “I am so happy I’m here. The Stats Department faculty is amazing. There are so many opportunities and contacts at Mason, and there are so many internship opportunities being close to D.C.”

Mason is giving him the chance to do what he likes best. “I’m always thinking about numbers, ideas, and big concepts, as well. My brain doesn’t stop.”

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 15:25:18 +0000

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy Nanci Hellmich Tue, 02/18/2020 - 10:25

Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, says Mason students are invited to attend a workshop that gives students insights into jobs with the Navy, as well as research opportunities.

George Mason faculty and students who are interested in naval research and civilian careers with the Navy are invited to attend a workshop on March 6 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is organizing the Workshop to Enhance Opportunities for Naval Workforce Development, as part of a related Office of Naval Research grant. Registration is free.

Students will be able to engage in dialogue with Carderock department heads, local university deans and department chairs, and rising stars in the Navy and academia as they share their thoughts on how to build the naval workforce of the future, says Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The day’s events include a keynote lecture, panel discussions, and a poster session in which faculty and students will showcase their Navy-relevant research.

The ONR grant supports efforts for students to become part of the Navy career talent pipeline and provides an opportunity for faculty to engage in cutting-edge research that supports the mission of the Navy and Marine Corps, says Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Oscar Barton, Jr, the grant’s principal investigator.

More information and the agenda are online.

If you are interested in showcasing your classroom or research projects in the poster session, please reach out to McCue.

Stat students can study abroad this spring

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 17:39:44 +0000

Stat students can study abroad this spring 4429684e-ae8d-… Tue, 09/03/2019 - 13:39

“As we teach statistics courses, we mention the names of historic figures in the field, but to students, they are just anonymous faces. Going out and seeing such places as Rothamsted will give them a better appreciation for where it all began, in particular, the work of Ronald Fisher."

David Holmes

This year, statistics students have a chance to learn about the history of statistics firsthand with a spring break study abroad program to England.

Participating students must take one of the six higher-level statistics courses (STAT 456, 455, 489, 462, 360, or 490) to prepare for the trip. The courses are offered this fall semester and in spring 2020. As many as 20 students can attend the trip that is organized and run by Department of Statistics Assistant Professors Elizabeth Johnson and David Holmes.

Each student will receive a grant that covers 50 percent, up to $1,500, of the cost of the trip, says Allie Wallace, the program manager for the trip in the Global Education Office at Mason.

“Statistics is a fairly young field,” says Johnson. “We want to humanize the field for the students and show them that there are people behind the theories.”

Students will explore the work of people like Ronald Fisher, British statistician and geneticist, Alan Turing, mathematician and computer scientist, and Florence Nightingale, who used her passion for statistics to save lives. The students and their professors will tour museums, visit the places where these statisticians worked, and gain in-depth knowledge about the history of their field.

“As we teach statistics courses, we mention the names of historic figures in the field, but to students, they are just anonymous faces,” says Holmes. “Going out and seeing such places as Rothamsted will give them a better appreciation for where it all began, in particular, the work of Ronald Fisher.“

Both Johnson and Holmes were able to plan the trip through the program development grant from the Global Education Office, and they spent a week simulating the trip for students over the summer.

“These (statistical) methods we use are from real people trying to fix problems,” says Johnson. “It really hit me how statistics has affected so many fields when I was there.” Johnson hopes the students will feel the same.

Both the program development grant and the global discovery scholarship, which gives students the discount on their travel, are available to all faculty to apply to create study abroad programs for students in their majors.

Studying abroad and adding supplemental knowledge to your major can give students an upper hand, and it shows they have experience working with intercultural teams, Wallace says. “Studying abroad can give them new perspectives in the classroom, and it can really make them stand out to employers.”

Bletchley Park is a nineteenth-century mansion and estate. During World War II the estate housed the British Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). Among its most notable early personnel, the GC&CS team of codebreakers included Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander and Stuart Milner-Barry. (Stock Photo)

High school students improve their odds of doing well on the AP statistics exam

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 16:49:04 +0000

High school students improve their odds of doing well on the AP statistics exam Nanci Hellmich Mon, 04/22/2019 - 12:49

“This program also allows us to show prospective students that we have great academic programs at Mason."

— Elizabeth Johnson, assistant professor of statistics

Statistics Assistant Professor Elizabeth Johnson is coordinating a mock AP statistics exam for 700 high school students in the area.

Mason’s Engineering’s Department of Statistics is offering more than 700 high school students a chance to take a mock Advanced Placement (AP) practice exam in statistics on April 27.

It’s the fifth year Mason has hosted the event for students in the Washington, D.C. area. It’s partially funded by the Washington Statistical Society.

The mock exam provides students the opportunity to take a practice AP statistics exam under time constraints, preparing them for the actual AP exam which they will take about two weeks later.

“The students get so excited to go to college for a day, and it helps high school teachers get their students ready for the test,” says Elizabeth Johnson, an assistant professor of statistics and coordinator of the event.

“This program also allows us to show prospective students that we have great academic programs at Mason,” she says. “Several of our statistics majors and data analysis minors took the exam when they were in high school.”

The practice exam is developed in cooperation with five other universities, including Clemson University, University of Georgia, University of Delaware, North Carolina State, and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. These universities offer the same exam to students in their areas.

Senior design projects lead to lessons on working as a team

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 20:42:44 +0000

Senior design projects lead to lessons on working as a team Nanci Hellmich Tue, 04/09/2019 - 16:42

Nhi Ngo, a senior majoring in statistics, says the team project improved her ability to be open-minded about new suggestions and feedback.

A senior design team with the Department of Bioengineering worked together to create a software control interface for a system that could one day help doctors guide magnetic particles through the body for surgical and targeted drug delivery applications. Pictured here from left to right: Bassam Mutawak, Victor Huynh, and Minh-Quan Do. Not pictured: team member Elizabeth Ankrah.

Mason Engineering seniors refined their research abilities, polished technical expertise, and developed better communication skills during their two-semester senior design projects.

Bassam Mutawak, a bioengineering senior, was part of a team that created a software control interface for a system that could one day help doctors guide magnetic particles through the body for surgical and targeted drug delivery applications.

“I learned how to develop software with a group, which is different from writing it by yourself,” he says.

Mutawak and his three teammates taught themselves the C++ programming language for their project, sponsored by Weinberg Medical Physics in Rockville, Maryland.

His team and about 40 other groups and individuals will share their projects at the Volgenau School of Engineering’s sixth annual Undergraduate Research Celebration on Tuesday, April 16 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center.

Many engineering undergraduates work in teams on senior design projects, tackling complex research ideas that often are sponsored by companies and government agencies.

Students say the experience taught them to:

Communicate clearly. “When working quickly, I assumed everyone was on the same page on a possible software problem, but that assumption caused confusion later,” Mutawak says. “I learned that communicating the problem that needs fixing is just as important as articulating the solution itself.”
Plan ahead. There are always unexpected struggles when tackling a big project, says bioengineering senior Victor Huynh, one of Mutawak’s teammates. “Looking back, we could have saved a lot of time and been more productive if we had planned better.”
Listen to everyone. It’s important to encourage people who are naturally quiet to speak up, because they may have the best ideas, says Brandon Goodrich, a mechanical engineering senior who was part of a 14-member senior design team. The group, with representatives from three departments, worked on three experiments that are being integrated into one small satellite. “Getting everyone to speak up encourages out-of-the-box thinking and stimulates project growth,” he says.

Take feedback to heart. “The experience has helped me polish my ability to be open-minded about new suggestions and feedback,” says Nhi Ngo, a senior majoring in statistics. Her team is trying to identify which socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, unemployment, and single household rates, might contribute to an increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths in Virginia.
Stay on top of your work. Deadlines come up faster than you realize, so working ahead is always prudent. It's important not to get bogged down, says computer engineering senior Gerald Evans, whose team created a virtual reality game for the students in Mason LIFE, a post-secondary program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “Doing something every day makes the workload easier in the long run, even if it means doing something small that only takes a few minutes,"
Meet a client’s needs. “This project taught me a lot about designing with a specific client in mind, instead of purely technical specifications,” says electrical engineering senior Caitlin Fitzsimmons, who also worked on the virtual reality game project. “Usability became an important design factor.”

Mason Engineering hosts ASCE Virginia’s Conference

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 23:50:55 +0000

Mason Engineering hosts ASCE Virginia’s Conference 4429684e-ae8d-… Mon, 03/25/2019 - 19:50

On March 29 and 30, the student chapter of George Mason University’s American Society of Civil Engineers will host the annual ASCE Virginias Conference.

The student conference includes activities that provide unique experiences for civil engineering students. During the event, the students develop professionally and network by presenting papers and engaging in several popular competitions such as concrete canoe racing, steel bridge competition, multi-disciplinary competition, geotechnical challenge, blue sky competition, and more.

Student teams from other 11 regional schools will travel to Fairfax this year to participate, compete, enjoy social activities, and network. Mason Engineering's Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement Liza Wilson Durant has worked with Assistant Professor Doaa Bondok and leaders from the Mason ASCE student chapter to organize the multi-day event.

“It’s always exciting to see students from other universities and engage in friendly competition,” says Durant. “It is a special treat to host this year and have the opportunity to welcome them to Northern Virginia and the Fairfax Campus.