February 4-10, 2019

Faculty News
Conferences & Presentations:

On January 20, Dr. Russell Hemley (CEE) gave an invited talk at “Plasma 2019,” which was held in Orlando, FL. His talk was titled “Near Room Temperature Superconductivity in Superhydrides at Megabar Pressures.” On January 22, he gave the talk “New Findings in Materials in Extreme Environments” at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT).

Publications:
On February 1, Axios published “China's looser rules may usher in a new era for EV and AV companies,” authored by Dr. John Helveston (EMSE).

Dr. Megan Leftwich (MAE) was quoted in the January 28 PBS NOVA article “Fish Use Physics to Avoid Running into Each Other.”

Other News:
Dr. Morton Friedman (visiting professor, BME and MAE) has been asked to serve on the organizing committee for a conference to be held this fall in San Diego, CA to celebrate the 100th birthday of Yuan-Cheng Fung. Dr. Fung is an emeritus faculty member of the University of California, San Diego, and is generally recognized as the “Father of Modern Biomechanics.”

Dr. Kelly Scanlon (senior research scientist, EMSE), working through the Environmental and Energy Management Institute, has developed five student internship projects for GW’s undergraduate sustainability minor. These projects, which will be offered to GW’s 215 undergraduate students currently enrolled in the minor, are titled “Develop Environmental Program Publication Guidelines,” “Literature Review for Novel Chemical and Material Alternatives,” “Verify and Validate Methodology for Assessing Emerging Contaminants,” “Geography, the Social Amplification of Risk, and the Military,” and “Spanish Language Translation of Environmental Program Materials.”

Student News
The editorial board committee of the Journal of Modern Power and Clean Energy has awarded ECE doctoral student Mostafa Nazemi the 2018 “Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing” for his contributions to the journal last year. Mostafa is advised by Dr. Payman Dehghanian (ECE).

SEAS Events Re-cap
At 9:00 am sharp on January 26, students began filing into the B1 Level of SEH for the 2nd annual George Hacks Medical Solutions. This year, more than 80 students formed teams to tackle some of the most challenging problem statements George Hacks has put together. George Hacks partnered with the Veterans Administration and collaborated with many local and national organizations, including Quality of Life Plus, OpenEMR, and the GW Hospital, to present students with current challenges ranging from prosthetic modification, to on-campus food insecurity, veteran health care, and much more. Teams presented their solutions in two rounds of judging, one round for technical qualifications and the other to evaluate the product in its intended market. The students exceeded expectations, making the event an absolute success and showcasing George Hacks’ mission of healthcare innovation for social impact. Awards were presented for:

Best Overall: awarded to team "We're Working On It" for the pitch “Adapting prosthetics for uneven terrain.” Their solution was designed to help a double-leg amputee who wishes to hike outdoors and needs his prosthetics to be able to better adapt to uneven and changing terrain so he doesn’t fall. Team members included: Sydney Bailes (BME), Camille Daszynski (BME), Mateusz Gierdalski (BME), and Jared Kern (MAE).

Best Pitch: awarded to team "Bioelectrics," also for the pitch “Adapting prosthetics for uneven terrain.” Team members included: Lujain Al-Khawi (BME), Karen Rius (BME), Matt Taylor (ECE), and Ji-Eun Kim (BME).

Best Demonstration: awarded to team "Prosthetic Leg Holder for Hand Cycle" for their project of the same name. Team members included: Emily Cheung (BME), Shubham Gupta (BME), Elias Ross Trupin (Anthropology), and Elizabeth Fischer (BME). The team worked find a way to help a veteran attach her prosthetic leg to her hand cycle in a secure fashion that does not get in the way of operating the hand cycle and includes an option for rain protection to protect the electronic portion of the leg.

Demo Round Runner-ups: awarded to team "Avengineers" for the pitch “’Getting Up’ alert for geriatric patients,” which is an alert system that is attachable to a bed and notifies those taking care of a patient that the patient is trying to get out of bed. Team members included: Shirali Nigam (BME), Bianca Karpinecz (BME), Trish Mikolajczyk (BME), and Jillian McGough (BME).

SEAS Computing Facility
Introduction to Raspberry Pi and Arduino Workshops: SEAS Computing Facility (SEASCF) will host three, free interactive workshops on Arduinos and Raspberry Pis, which are inexpensive platforms for electronics and programming projects. The workshops will be held on the following Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00 pm in the SEH Studio Labs (SEH 1300/1400/1450):

• Saturday, February 9: Introduction to Arduino
• Saturday, March 2: Arduino/Raspberry Pi Hands-on Project Lab

Register

At the Introduction to Raspberry Pi and Introduction to Arduino workshops, attendees will learn about the basics of these technologies and how to get started, create some introductory projects with them involving sensors and LEDs, and gain experience with basic programming in Python (for Raspberry Pi) and C/C++ (for Arduino) as well as simple circuits.

Then, at the Arduino/Raspberry Pi Project Lab, attendees will have a chance to apply their new skills to one of three projects of their choice: a Raspberry Pi photo booth with social media integration, an Arduino controlled traffic signal with a Raspberry Pi speed camera, and a Raspberry Pi pong game. Self-guided project instructions and staff on hand will be available to help, and for selected projects, attendees can choose to follow along with staff in a guided format. The introduction tutorials will also be available in self-guided form for any attendees who couldn't make it to an introduction workshop or just want to learn at their own pace.

No experience is required. All equipment will be provided. You can register for as many or as few of the three workshops as you would like.

Software Carpentry Workshop
SEAS CF, in partnership with the GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, is offering a two-day software carpentry workshop on February 20-21 from 9:00 am to 4:40 pm in Gelman 201 (STEMworks). The workshop is intended for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty who want to become more productive with lab skills for scientific computing. It is free to any GW-affiliated participant.

What is it?
The workshop provides two days of hands-on learning to:

• automate repetitive tasks (Unix shell)
• track and share your code and writing (git and GitHub)
• use programming language that is especially powerful for data exploration, visualization, and statistical analysis (R)

Program
Short tutorials alternate with hands-on practical exercises in the workshops. Participants are encouraged both to help one another and to try applying what they have learned to their own research problems during and between sessions. Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system; they also should have admin privileges on the computer. The computer needs to be a “real” laptop—not a Chromebook, tablet, etc.
Register

Introduction to MATLAB Workshops:

• Monday, February 4: Programming Basics I
• Monday, February 11: Programming Basics II
• Monday, February 25: Figures & 3D Plotting
• Monday, March 4: Linear Equation & ODE Solving

MATLAB (matrix laboratory) is a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment and fourth-generation programming language used in various backgrounds of engineering, science, and economics. These workshops will cover the fundamentals of MATLAB programming. The workshops will be held from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in Tompkins 406. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
Register

MATLAB and SolidWorks tutoring: MATLAB and SolidWorks tutoring will be offered throughout the fall semester on Mondays from 8:00 to 10:00 pm in Tompkins 401. To schedule a tutoring appointment, please email [email protected]. The workshops and tutoring will be hosted by SEAS senior Keily Gleason.

Engineering Software installation on personal computers: Most engineering programs installed in the SEAS Computing Labs—including MATLAB, SolidWorks, and others—are available for install on students’ personal computers. For a complete list of applications, please visit the SEAS Computing Facility website.

Upcoming SEAS Events
CS Seminar: “Blockchain Computing: A New Era of Challenges and Opportunities”
Speaker: Dr. Xiuzhen Cheng (CS)
Monday, February 11
3:30 pm
SEH, B1220
Register
Watch the livestream

CS Lecture: “Blockchain and Smart Contracts: The Concept, Architecture, Services, and Applications”
Speaker: Dr. Sead Muftic, CEO, BIX® System Corporation
Wednesday, February 13
7:10 – 8:40 pm
SEH, B1220
This is a special topic lecture for the CSCI 6548: E-Commerce Security course. To attend, please RSVP to Dr. Hurriyet Ok by February 11.

MAE Seminar: “Unraveling the Impact of Fluid-Structure Interactions on Hypersonic Flight”
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Bodony, University of Illinois
Thursday, February 21
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SEH, B1220

The Engineers Ball
Saturday, February 23
Doors open at 6:45 pm | Dinner begins at 7:30 pm
Rennaisance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel
999 9th Avenue, NW
Tickets will be on sale through Friday, February 8. They can be purchased with cash only from the SEAS Student Services Front Desk in SEH 2500, Monday - Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Ticket prices are $40 for SEAS undergraduates, $50 for all others. Please email any questions to E-Council.

MAE Seminar: “Recent Advances in Dynamic System Research”
Speaker: Dr. Weidong Zhu, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Thursday, April 18
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SEH, B1220

External Events
WOW Talk ("What's Our Work" Seminar Series)
Speakers:

• Dr. Neil Johnson (Physics), “Darker Side of the (Current and Future Quantum) Internet”
• Dr. John Paul Helveston (EMSE), “Technology Change, Sustainability and China”
• Dr. Keith Crandall (Computational Biology Institute), Topic to be announced

Wednesday, February 6
4:00 – 5:00 pm
SEH, B1220
These short talks (15-20 minutes each) are designed to introduce faculty and students to current and exciting research projects undertaken in labs in the SEH; to initiate discussion, collaborate, and share expertise; and to promote research performed in the SEH and at GW.

Spring Break Python Camp
Monday, March 11 – Friday, March 15
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
GW Gelman Library
Registration required
Learn Python and foundations of programming in this five-day, non-credit, interactive, mini-course over Spring Break. This opportunity is for beginners and does not require any programming experience. The workshop uses as its curriculum “ Get Data Off the Ground with Python,” an OpenEdX course by Dr. Lorena Barba (MAE). Learn more.

Entrepreneurship News & Events
The GW New Venture Competition (GW NVC) deadline is a few weeks away (February 6), but you still have time to enter. Who knows, you could walk away with the $10,000 clean energy prize or dozens of other prizes. At the very least you will get feedback on your idea to make it stronger. Make sure to apply by 1:00 pm on February 6.

Webinars and Workshops: New Venture Competition 101
Monday, February 4
Register for the In-Person Workshop (District House B117)
Register for the Webinars
Join the GW Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship for an info session on how you can compete with your start-up idea in one of the nation’s top university competitions! Don’t miss out on your chance to compete for up to $300,000 in total prizes!

GW Innovation Center: Inaugural Fast Fashion Textile Tech Hackathon
Saturday and Sunday, February 9-10
The GW Innovation Center (GWIC) invites SEAS students to participate in the inaugural Fast Fashion Textile Tech (FFTT) Hackathon. Interdisciplinary teams will collaborate during the Hackathon to disrupt the fashion and textile industry in the areas of: sustainable supply chains, conscious consumerism and textile waste, and wearable tech. By the end of the weekend, teams will have created and presented a solution, whether it be a product or proposal, to a panel of expert judges. The hackathon will include: food, workshops and mentor guidance, materials and resources (e.g., sewing machines, 3-D printers, Adobe Suite), swag bags, and prizes. Learn more or contact the FFTT team.

GW NVC Mentor Mingle
Tuesday, February 12
6:00 – 8:00 pm
SEH, B1 Level
Register
Are you in search of guidance on how to get your startup business up and running? Do you want to connect with former and current investors who can mentor you on your pitch? Join us for an evening of networking and matching with mentors who can help guide you in your business journey.

NVC Workshop: Business Model Canvas
Wednesday, February 13
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Gelman Library, Room 219
Register
This hands-on workshop will include a brief overview of the business model canvas, the current state-of-the-art form specifying the nine key elements of a startup venture.

NVC Workshop: Feasibility Analysis
Tuesday, February 19
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Gelman Library, Room 219
Register
GW New Venture Competition teams who are looking to get help with their round 2 application should attend this workshop! Learn more about the best method to outline your business for a potential investor and funder.

NVC Workshop: Easy Financials for Startups
Thursday, February 21
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Gelman Library, Rooms 301-302
Register
You're working on a great business plan for your business startup, to take to a bank or other lender. A key part of that plan is the financial statements. These statements will be looked at carefully by the lender, so join us for a workshop to go over some tips for making these documents SELL your business plan.

Startup Career & Internship Fair
Tuesday, February 26
12:00 – 2:30 pm
Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, 3rd Floor
Registration for GW Students | Registration for Non-GW Students
The Startup Career & Internship Fair is a big event where some of the hottest startups and hundreds of the most entrepreneurial students from the greater DC area gather to network for future internships and job opportunities.