Faculty News
Research:
Dr. Kartik Bulusu (assistant research professor, MAE) and the GW Innovation Center (GWIC) have received a $21,000 Duke Energy Innovation Fund grant for the project “Reviving low-cost ejector technology for social impact: sourcing sustainable solutions with cross-disciplinary research.” The grant, which is administered by Sustainable GW, will be used to purchase equipment, software, and lab supplies to develop the proposed technology. The purpose of the larger project is to couple the technological assessment of the ejector technology with social impact analysis for sustainable low-cost energy solutions. The team simultaneously is working to raise funds to deploy the technology in Puerto Rico in the next stage of the project. Dr. Bulusu will work on the project with Ms. Annamaria Konya Tannon (chief evangelist and director, GWIC), Dr. Erica Wortham (co-director, GWIC), and Dr. Michael Plesniak (MAE).
On January 22, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Dr. Guru Venkataramani (ECE) and his former Ph.D. student, Jie Chen, US Patent #10,185,824 for the invention “System and Method for Uncovering Covert Timing Channels.” The invention identifies hardware events in computer processors behind timing channel-based information leakage attacks, and has innovative hardware algorithm designs to detect these security attacks during system runtime. These timing channels were exploited in the now infamous Meltdown and Spectre widely reported in the news earlier this year. The inventions span detection of timing channel activity in both combinational and sequential hardware structures in processor architectures. A preliminary version of the detection framework was debuted at the prestigious 47th IEEE International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO) 2014, held in Cambridge, UK.
Conferences & Presentations:
On January 14, Dr. Sameh Badie (CEE) gave an invited talk at the 2019 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. He presented his talk during Session 1256: Recent Completed NCHRP Research Regarding Accelerated Bridge Construction. In the talk, Dr. Badie gave a summary of the outcomes of his recently completed project, NCHRP Report 895 sponsored by the National Academies of Science. The presentation was attended by a large number of bridge design engineers and state Department of Transportation representatives.
Dr. Kim Roddis (CEE) participated in the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, which was held January 13-17 in Washington, DC. Dr. Roddis presented the paper “Out-of-Flatness Effect on Steel Bridge Girder Flexural Strength,” co-authored with her former doctoral student, Dr. Mahdi Asadnia.
Publications:
Dr. Aylin Caliskan (CS) was quoted in the January 23 Vox article “Yes, artificial intelligence can be racist.”
Dr. Volker Sorger (ECE) and his students Rishi Maiti, Chandraman Patil, Rohit Hemnani, Mario Miscuglio, Rubab Amin, and Zhizhen Ma have published the following article online: R. Maiti, C. Patil, R. Hemnani, M. Miscuglio, R. Amin, Z. Ma, R. Chaudhary, A. T. C. Johnson, L. Bartels, R. Agarwal, and V. J. Sorger. “Loss and coupling tuning via heterogeneous integration of MoS2 layers in silicon photonics” [Invited], Optical Materials Express, Vol. 9, No. 2.
Other News:
Dr. Zoe Szajnfarber (EMSE) has been appointed to serve on the National Academies study committee on The Role of Inducement Prizes in the US Innovation System. Her term is from January 2019 through September 2020.
Student News
BME undergraduates Brinna Cathey and Sofian Obaid, working with Dr. Igor Efimov (BME), are the first authors on a paper published January 24 in Scientific Reports. This paper presents an open-source platform for optcardiography, in which both software and hardware are open to the public via open-source license. Hardware can be printed on a 3D printer. The platform will be very useful in numerous university labs and schools, in research and education of the heart. The citation is: B. Cathey, S. Obaid, A. M. Zolotarev, R. A. Pryamonosov, R. A. Syunyaev, S. A. George, and I. R. Efimov. “Open-Source Multiparametric Optocardiography,” Scientific Reports, Vol. 9: 721 (2019).
SEAS Events Re-cap
On January 25, a group of professional engineers from the bridge design group of HNTB (Chicago, IL and Washington, DC) gave a presentation to CEE students at the invitation of Dr. Majid Manzari (CEE) and Dr. Sameh Badie (CEE). The group consisted of SEAS/CEE alumnus Johann Aakre, James Gregg, and Tony Shkurti. The presentation covered the value of internships, graduate studies, and professional certification for young engineers. The presentation also covered some of the flagship bridges recently designed and constructed by HNTB.
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 2: Introduction to Raspberry Pi
- Saturday, February 9: Introduction to Arduino
- Saturday, March 2: Arduino/Raspberry Pi Hands-on Project Lab
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.
Upcoming SEAS Events
BME Seminar: “Single Molecule Studies of Cell Membrane Remodeling: Implications for Cancer Metastasis”
Speaker: Dr. Inhee Chung (GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences)
Wednesday, January 30
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Marvin Center, Rooms 413-414
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: “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, January 28 | 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!
Panel Discussion: “Life After Shark Tank: It’s Not Just About The Money”
Wednesday, January 30
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Marvin Center, Betts Theatre
Register
The GW Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship is excited to bring in a panel of previous Shark Tank participants and current DC-based entrepreneurs to talk with budding student entrepreneurs on campus about what it takes to really get in front of an investor and how to land those imperative business deals.
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.