Faculty News
Research:
Profs. Lance Hoffman, Rachelle Heller, and Costis Toregas (CS and CSPRI) received a $28,000 supplemental award from the National Science Foundation that, starting next year, raises stipend payments for all graduate students in the CyberCorps cybersecurity scholarship program. The program plans to award seven scholarships within the next few weeks and, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of cybersecurity, its class for next year will likely span five of the ten GW schools.
Publications:
Prof. Michael Keidar (MAE) recently published the following article: N. Recek, X. Cheng, M. Keidar, U. Cvelbar, A. Vesel, M. Mozetic, J. Sherman, "Effect of Cold Plasma on Glial Cell Morphology Studied by Atomic Force Microscopy," PLOS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119111
Prof. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) has published the following paper: J. Grahovac, G. Parker, and E. Shittu, "The Impact of Costliness, Competitive Importance, and Modularity of Investments on Outsourcing," Production and Operations Management, Vol. 24, No. 3, March 2015, pp. 421–437.
Presentations:
Prof. Danmeng Shuai (CEE) and his students Tao Ye and Qinmin Zheng attended the 2015 ACS Spring Meeting in Denver, CO, March 22-26. Prof. Shuai hosted the symposium "Microalgae: A Renewable Energy Source and a Sustainable Solution for the Environment" with Profs. Brian Chaplin (UIC) and Wen Zhang (NJIT). Tao Ye delivered the talk "Fabrication of Sustainable Pd-Carbon Nanofiber Catalysts by Electrospinning for Waterborne Contaminant Hydrogenation," and Qinmin Zheng presented his work, "Visible-Light-Responsive Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Photocatalytic Degradation of Persistent Waterborne Contaminants."
Prof Zoe Szajnfarber (EMSE) spoke at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) Festival in Austin, TX on March 15. Her panel, titled "NASA Prizes: Dream it, Make it, Win it," explained how the public can contribute to NASA's mission through ongoing prize competitions. The panel was organized by Jenn Gustetic from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and featured perspectives from two NASA programs and open innovation theory.
Other News:
Prof. Lance Hoffman (CS) moderated a debate at GW on national security and cyber surveillance on March 25. (Video)
Student News
Three undergraduate CEE students—Allison Lau, Emily Porter, and Julian Olin—recently received American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Capital Section (NCS) scholarships in recognition of their scholarly work at GW and their contributions to the civil engineering profession and to the community in general. Emily and Julian were further recognized with the Hummer Memorial Scholarship and the Williams Memorial Scholarship, respectively. The students were honored at the ASCE/NCS awards banquet held on March 24.
Other News
Graduate Recruiting & Admissions: This week Luis Acevedo and Anthony Spatola are attending the annual conference for the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP), in New Orleans, where Luis will present on cultural sensitivity in graduate programs and Anthony will present on creating a digital communication plan that focuses on academics and targeted student needs. Also this week, Anthony is holding a number of online information sessions and admitted student information sessions, and Brittany Wright is hosting a dinner for admitted SEAS graduate students and alumni in New Delhi, India. She is visiting prospective partner university Amity University in Noida and presenting at the EducationUSA/United States India Education Foundation center in Mumbai. Please save the date for an Open House in the SEH on April 30. Fall 2015 registration is now open.
SEAS Graduate Career Services: The Graduate Career Service Team had a wonderful meeting with Dottie Li, managing director of TransPacific Communications, in which they discussed opportunities to engage students in cross-cultural communications to promote professional development. In a collaborative effort to promote alumni resources and events to SEAS students, the team met with Buthaina Shukri and Michael Steelman to discuss effective communication and marketing strategies. The team also hosted International Coffee Hour on March 26.
Guest Vignette
Hydrodynamics of blood flow is an intrinsic contributor to the proliferation of cardiovascular diseases. The experimental investigation of cardiovascular flows is one of main areas of research in the Biofluid Dynamics Laboratory, which is under the direction of Professor Michael Plesniak. This research is fuelled by the desire to understand and mitigate cardiovascular disease proliferation, assess treatment risks, and develop interventional strategies. These investigations range from age- and hypertension-related studies to understanding arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis, to treatment with stent-implantation.
Non-invasive, laser-based experimental techniques such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) and laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) are used in gathering flow field data in a curved model artery test-section. A core activity of the research program is the study of vortices and vortex-induced phenomena in blood flow through a canonical curved artery model. Several cardiovascular-related pathophysiological phenomena have been linked to "spiral blood flow structures," a clinical term for secondary flow (vortical) structures; platelet residence times (RT) and wall shear stresses (WSS) are a few.
Research Professor Kartik Bulusu, Professor Plesniak and their students have developed a novel continuous wavelet transform algorithm (PIVlet 1.2) and used it to evaluate vorticity (ω ̃) fields for the detection of coherent secondary flow (vortical) structures. These studies revealed new secondary flow morphologies, which were categorized into regime maps. Pulse wave analysis (PWA) based on arterial pressure wave characteristics has also been applied to pressure and flow rate data towards evaluation of arterial distensibility.
The sophisticated time-series analysis and coherent structure detection methods, coupled with experimental investigation of cardiovascular flows under healthy, stenotic, stented and stent-fractured scenarios, are leading to fresh insights regarding richness in the physics of blood flow, which will be useful to interventional cardiologists to develop new treatment strategies for cardiovascular diseases. (Provided courtesy of Prof. Kartik Bulusu and Michael Plesniak, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
SEAS Events
Lecture: “An Exploration of the Life and Times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel: The Engineer Who Changed the World”
Presenter: Robert Hulse, Director, Brunel Museum
Tuesday, April 7
7:00 pm
SEH Lehman Auditorium (B1270)
RSVP to [email protected]
This event is sponsored by SEAS and the English-Speaking Union. Free admission. Light refreshments will be served.
Lecture: “Nanophotonics: physics and road-mapping to merge electronics and photonics”
Speaker: Prof. Volker Sorger (ECE)
Tuesday, April 7
7:00 pm
SEH Lehman Auditorium (B1220)
RSVP
This lecture is part of the Northern Virginia/Washington Chapter of IEEE Nanotechnology Council Meeting and is co-sponsored by the Optical Society of America and the GW student chapter of IEEE. Refreshments will be provided.
MAE Seminar: “Nanoscale Optomechanical Systems”
Presenter: Kartik Srinivasan, Center for Nanoscale Science & Technology, The National Institute of Standards & Technology
Thursday, April 16
2:30 pm
SEH B1270
CEE Seminar: “Nanoparticles – Characterization at the Interface”
Presenter: Dr. Nora Savage, National Science Foundation
Friday, April 17
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
SEH 2000B
2015 Frank Howard Lecture: “Your Personal Virtual Heart”
Presenter: Dr. Natalia Travanova, Murray B. Sachs Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Thursday, April 23
6:30 – 8:30 pm (Reception to follow the lecture)
SEH Lehman Auditorium
RSVP
Heart disease is the number one killer in the industrialized world, due in large part to heart rhythm dysfunction and the development of arrhythmias. Yet, the treatment for a common arrhythmia – the fast rhythm which accompanies a myocardial infarction or heart attack – currently has a success rate of only 50-70%. The odds could be improved if treatment were tailored specifically to the configuration of the patient’s own heart, through the creation of a personal virtual heart.
External Events
GW Federal Business Technology Case Competition
Registration deadline: 5:00 pm on Tuesday, March 31st
This competition is sponsored by Deloitte Consulting for undergraduate students. It gives students the chance to experience a simulated consulting project over the course of approximately four weeks, while working in self-assigned project teams. It is designed to provide a realistic representation of a "Day in the Life of a Deloitte Business Technology Analyst." In this exercise, students act as the Deloitte team responsible for helping a federal client reach its goals. The team's mission is to recommend to the client their best course of action. To participate, please form a team of 2-3 members and contact Casey Welch with your team name, the members of your group, and your contact information. Additional information will follow after registration has ended.
GW Research Days
Tuesday and Wednesday, March 31 and April 1
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Marvin Center, 3rd floor
http://research.gwu.edu/ research-days-2015
SEAS Career Center News
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) 2015 Summer Technical College Intern Program-07251
Deadline to apply: March 31, 2015
APL seeks talented college students in the summer to help us solve challenging technical problems. The College Summer Internship Program offers practical work experience and an introduction to APL for engineering and science majors. APL seeks engineering and science majors (predominantly EE and CS), and it typically (but not exclusively) hires rising juniors and seniors. Eligibility requirements include US citizenship and a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (at the date of application). To apply, visit:
http://www.jhuapl.edu/employment/summer/ and click on the blue tab, "Apply for an Internship." After the page opens, select "2015 Summer Technical College Intern Program-07251" or go to https://jhuapl.taleo.net/careersection/4/joblist.ftl?lang=en and select the third internship listed, "2015 Summer Technical College Intern Program-07251".
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Research Information Intern
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is seeking a Research Information Intern to work with AAPM headquarters staff and volunteers on matters relating to membership informatics and computational tools for AAPM research activities. The internship location is College Park, MD/Alexandria, VA, and the pay rate is $23/hour. Essential functions include: data mining, statistics, and analytical modeling; development of software applications and documentation; data selection, extraction, and curation for corporate applications; needs analysis of AAPM researchers and technical solution design; and identification of software and tools needed to satisfy the above functions. To apply, please contact the Human Resources Division of the American Institute of Physics at [email protected].
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Summer Internship: Industrial-Systems Engineer
The NIH seeks students at all levels to complete 3-4 months of full-time internship experience before they graduate. Students will be given a project, mentor, and guidance, and will attend a number of high level meetings. Requirements: U.S. citizenship, 3.0 GPA or higher, and interest in working for the Federal Government. Interested students should contact [email protected] at NIH Corporate Recruitment.
Student Career Development Opportunities
- Google will visit GW on April 10. More details to come.
- Knowledge in Action Career Internship Fund: Apply by April 1 to be considered as part of the general application cycle. Students will be notified by May 15 of the decision for the award. For more details, visit KACIF.
- Dress for Success workshop: April 7 (hosted via WebEx by Graduate
- Crown Consulting is looking for junior developers and will hold an information session on March 23. (GWork #814739)
- DME Consulting is looking for an HVAC MEP designer as soon as possible (GWork #816643).
- Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is looking for a computer systems research lab instructor (GWork #816610).
- CAE is looking for a Training Systems (Simulation Systems) Technician.
Entrepreneurship News & Events
GW Business Plan Competition Finals
Tuesday, April 14
Register
The GW Business Plan Competition will award more than $200,000 in prizes to teams of GW students, faculty, and alumni who offer innovative ideas for new products and/or services. 10 finalist teams will present their business plans to a panel of distinguished entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, and a live audience.