Faculty News
Research:
Dr. Kedar Aras, a post-doctoral scientist working with Dr. Igor Efimov (BME), has been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) as an outstanding postdoctoral researcher to help him complete the needed mentoring and training to transition to an independent, tenure-track faculty position. This is a highly prestigious award offered to promising individuals at early stages in their career who wish to become independent investigators. The award is a five-year grant, with two years spent as a post-doc and three years as an assistant tenure-track faculty member. Dr. Aras will receive $1 million over the five-year period to support his research and starting his own lab. His research is focused on how cardiac obesity promotes ventricular arrhythmias. Dr. Aras is the first person to receive this award in the BME department at GW.
Dr. Rahul Simha (CS) and Dr. Hui Lu (Department of Pharmacology and Physiology) have received a one-year, $50,000 GW Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund grant for their collaborative project, “Bridging the gap between individual neurons and behavior: studying circuits in Rett syndrome.” The project aims to combine computational network modeling with a novel high-resolution imaging technique to understand the collective behavior of neural circuits involved in neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Simha is the co-investigator on the grant, and Dr. Lu is the principal investigator.
Media Mentions:
NBC News quoted Dr. David Broniatowski (EMSE) in the May 7 article “As ‘#Plandemic’ goes viral, those targeted by discredited scientist’s crusade warn of ‘dangerous’ claims.”
SEAS Events Re-cap
The SEAS Center for Women in Engineering hosted a webinar for SEAS alumni and others concerning how the school has been providing academic instruction and research during the coronavirus pandemic. The discussion was moderated by the Center director, Dr. Shelly Heller (CS), and assistant director, Taly Walsh, and led by Raoul Gabiam, director of the SEAS Computing Facility. Other speakers included Sierra Gabriel, technologist for the SEAS Computing Facility; Dr. Erica Gralla (EMSE); and Dawn Ginnetti, professional advisor with the SEAS Office of Undergraduate Student Services and Advising. Watch the recording of the webinar.
Upcoming SEAS Events
Please note that all SEAS and GW in-person events are canceled through the end of the Spring 2020 semester.
NEXT LEVEL: BIOMEDICAL SOLUTIONS AND GLOBAL UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS—Inaugural GW Engineering + Chalmers University Collaboration Biomedical Capstone Projects
Thursday, May 14th
12:00 – 1:00 pm EDT (6:00 pm in Sweden)
Live on GW Innovation Center’s Facebook page
Next Level is a joint celebration of the inaugural collaboration between Sweden’s University of Technology and SEAS. Designed to expose students from each university to commercialization and technical prototyping, the collaboration involved Chalmer’s Entrepreneurship and Strategy Program, GW’s Biomedical Engineering Department, and two senior biomedical capstone design teams. Following introductory remarks by the founders of this global partnership, SEAS student teams will introduce their projects, show a video, and take live questions from the audience.
CyberCorp Scholars Celebration and Launch
Friday, May 15
2:00 pm
Join via Zoom (Zoom meeting number: 832-9527-3787)
Each year CSPRI (Cybersecurity Privacy Research Institute) hosts a CyberCorps Launch to celebrate the graduation of current students and welcome incoming CyberCorps Scholars. The program this year includes talks by Victor Piotrowski, a National Science Foundation program director, and Nalani Fraser, a CyberCorp alumna, as well as student remarks, the introduction of incoming CyberCorps Scholars, and the awarding of certificates. All are welcome, but a waiting room will be established for security purposes. Please respond to CSPRI if you plan to attend.
SEAS Undergraduate Virtual Graduation Ceremony
Friday, May 15
4:00 pm EDT
The ceremony will be live streamed, and a link and more information will be provided soon.
SEAS Graduate Student Virtual Graduation Ceremony
Friday, May 15
6:00 pm EDT
The ceremony will be live streamed, and a link and more information will be provided soon.
GW Virtual Commencement
Sunday, May 17
11:00 am EDT
The GW Virtual Commencement Celebration may be viewed on GW’s Facebook page and on the Commencement website.
CSPRI Webinar: “The Benefits of a Diverse Cybersecurity Workforce”
Speaker: Sharon Smith, Principal Consultant, Governance Risk and Compliance, Verizon
Thursday, May 21
12:00 noon
This event will be held as a webinar through Webex. Please RSVP to Dr. Hurriyet Ok to register for the talk. Registrants will receive the Webex video conference details from Dr. Ok.
External Events
GW Career Services Center: May STEM Virtual Job Search Group
Fridays, May 8-29
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Register
The May STEM Virtual Job Search Group is particularly designed for students finishing their academic studies at GW who are stuck or uncertain about next steps in their career journey in these unprecedented times and who need structure, guidance, and support to move forward. The sessions are interactive and instructive. Attendance for each of the four sessions is required. Spaces are filling up quickly. In addition, students can make individual appointments through Handshake with Dr. Sonya Merrill, the STEM industry career coach for the GW Career Services Center.
The American Solar Energy Society’s annual conference, previously scheduled to be held in GW’s Marvin Center on June 23-25, has been converted to a virtual event due to COVID-19. EMSE Visiting Scholar Scott Sklar (director of renewable energy, SEAS Environmental and Energy Management Institute) will serve as the general chairman of the event, which already has over 600 registrants. More information is available on the ASES website and on its magazine website, SolarToday.
Dissertation Defenses
Please note that all dissertation defenses will be held by WebEx.
Student Name: Jaclyn Brennan
Dissertation Title: “Autonomic Control of Mammalian Heart Rhythm”
Advisor: Dr. Igor Efimov (BME)
Tuesday, May 12
1:00 – 3:00 pm
Human Resources News
This week's HR Corner includes information about GW employees' access to the Headspace mindfulness app, as well as important information regarding the paid time-off option, qualified life event changes in status, medical virtual visit costs, and other topics. Please visit the HR Corner to read these updates.