COVID-19-related News
The biopharmaceutical company Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with GW to develop an in vitro diagnostic device that has the potential for testing by patients anywhere to allow public health professionals to immediately detect SARS-CoV-2 via a mobile device as an aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Dr. Mona Zaghloul (ECE), the principal investigator on the project, and her former doctoral student developed the design of the device, based on prior work of other former students, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to detect and distinguish different species of gas. Dr. Jeanne Jordan (Milken Institute School of Public Health) was instrumental in recognizing the potential diagnostic capabilities of the technology. The research team’s goal is to develop an in-home testing device for COVID-19 that would be available to any person who would like to test. The team anticipates that the results will be available less than an hour from taking the test. The results would be available for public health professionals and would assist them with contact tracing.
Faculty News
Research:
Correction: A $300,000 National Science Foundation grant for the project “Service Learning Projects to Improve Engineering Students’ Civic Engagement and Capacity for Innovation,” for which Dr. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) is the lead principal investigator, was included in the wrong section of the August 31 issue of the SEAS newsletter. The grant should have been listed in the Research News section.
Publications:
Dr. Chung Hyuk Park (BME) has published the following papers with his collaborators: 1) W.H. Lee, C. H. Park, S. Jang, and H-K. Cho. “Design of Effective Robotic Gaze-based Social Cueing for Users in Task-Oriented Situations: How to Overcome In-attentional Blindness,” Applied Sciences, Special Issue on Recent Advances in Assistive Robots, 2020; and 2) J. A. Barnes, C. H. Park, A. Howard, and M. Jeon. “Child-Robot Interaction in a Musical Dance Game: An Exploratory Comparison Study between Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism ,” International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2020.1819667.
Conferences & Presentations:
On September 14, Dr. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) gave an invited virtual talk, “Improving Vaccine Access: Optimizing Storage and Hub Location in a Developing Country,” to a large audience at the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety at the University of Michigan.
Other News:
Dr. Rachelle Heller (CS) and Dr. Costis Toregas (director, Cyber Security & Privacy Research Institute) are the principal investigator (PI) and co-PI, respectively, on two grants from the National Security Agency (NSA). The CyberCorps Scholarship program has received a $276,000 award, which will support three master’s students with tuition and stipends. As part of the program, the students will be assigned to offices within the US Department of Defense (DoD) for one year for each year of scholarship support. The second award, a $176,000 capacity building grant from the NSA and DoD, is called Mind the Gap. It provides support for a working conference on the challenges to, and opportunities for, bringing returning women veterans into the workforce as cyber workers.
Student News
GW COMPASS—Invitation to new members: Is this unprecedented moment in history leaving you with a desire for intentional, meaningful professional relationships with the next generation of STEM leaders? Then we have JUST the answer for you...GW COMPASS! Compass is a networking organization for graduate students in STEM. We are looking for scholars with not only aptitude in the laboratory but also with a burgeoning hunger for community impact through advocacy policy and mentoring. Contact us to learn more!
Upcoming SEAS Events
BME Seminar: “New Approaches for Imaging Cardiac Activity In-Vitro and Ex-Vivo”
Speaker: Dr. Gil Bub, McGill University
Wednesday, October 7
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Join via WebEx
Save the date: 2020 SEAS Student R&D Showcase
Friday, October 23
1:00 – 6:00 pm
More information
Student application deadline: Friday, September 25
The 2020 SEAS Student R&D Showcase will be a virtual reality event, with students presenting their research posters to the Showcase judges within a virtual Science and Engineering Hall! Guests will be able to speak live to the student participants as they explain their research. The Showcase will include a keynote address and awards presentation, as well as undergraduate and graduate open houses and virtual tours of the Science and Engineering Hall!
BME Seminar: “Flexible, Hybrid Opto-Electro-Chemo Implants for Neural Interfaces”
Speaker: Dr. Wen Li, Michigan State University
Wednesday, December 2
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Join via WebEx
Entrepreneurship News & Events
GW Innovation Center Events:
GWIC Make-A-Thing #3: Introduction to Electronics
Friday, September 25
3:00 – 5:00 pm ET
WebEx
Password: KTwTMWEZ523
Experiment with basic circuits and learn how to create PCBs with Eagle!
GW Technology Commercialization Office Events:
Virtual DC Startup Showcase @ GW
Tuesday, September 29
2:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
DC Startup Showcase will present companies developing disruptive healthcare innovations. Log on to the Showcase’s live YouTube channel to see pitches from entrepreneurs seeking funding to bring the fruits of high-impact research to market. Then join its Zoom rooms to follow up with specific startups, ask questions of the Platinum and Gold legal sponsors, and/or mix and mingle with DC’s best entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders. The Showcase is hosted by GW's Technology Commercialization Office.
GW Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Events:
Event: What is Social Innovation?
Wednesday, September 23
1:00 – 1:45 pm ET
Register
This virtual event will cover the history of social innovation and new techniques used by nonprofits and NGOs to solve global challenges.
Student Entrepreneur Meetup
Tuesday, September 29
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Register
Join your GW peers for an evening of connecting and collaborating (virtually, of course). If you're a student founder looking for teammates, looking to join an existing startup, or just wanting to talk about your idea with your peers, look no further. Don't miss out on this great event.
Workshop: Introduction to Lean Innovation
Friday, October 16
Friday, November 20
1:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Register
Do you hope to solve a global problem, start a new business, develop a new product, or simply have an idea? We're inviting the entire GW community to attend a half-day introductory virtual workshop to learn how savvy innovators start the process.
Jumpstart Bootcamp: Global Challenge Innovation
Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8
Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15
10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET on each of the four dates
Register
Students will discover and breakdown complex global problems, innovate new solutions, and design a business plan to launch a startup. This virtual event will feature four, two-hour interactive sessions. Guests who register for this event must attend all four sessions.
External Events
The GW Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service hosts GW Votes, a non-partisan coalition of students, faculty, and staff that promotes voter registration and participation among GW students. This fall, GW Votes is hosting a number of programs and initiatives leading up to the November 3rd elections. Visit GW Votes for more information.
GW Coders
Every Friday
11:00 am
Complete this short form to learn more
GW Coders is a new community that brings together students and faculty to apply computational and data analytics skills in research. We will share coding experiences, learn some new skills, and build our professional networks. GW Coders is for everyone, from those just getting interested in coding to those who have years of experience; for undergraduate and graduate students; for faculty in any discipline; for others in the DC community who want to join us.
Office of Research Integrity Seminar: “Responsible Conduct of Research”
Weekly, on Thursday
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Online
Register
This fall 2020 seminar course is designed to develop and strengthen ethical problem-solving skills and foster sensitivity to ethical issues in the conduct of research. Registration is open to the entire campus community but will be capped at twenty participants. Please register early to secure your space. If you have questions about the seminar, please email the Office of Research Integrity.
Postdoc Appreciation Day 2020
Friday, September 25
Join the Webinar
You are invited to celebrate the great work of GW postdocs and advance your career at the GW Postdoc Association (GWPA) Postdoc Appreciation Day. The GWPA will host a set of career development talks with speakers who will advise postdocs on both industry and academic careers. This will be followed by a set of 10-minute presentations (TED talk style) by GW postdocs. Cash prizes will be awarded (1st = $300, 2nd = $200, 3rd = $100) for the best presentations. The deadline to submit topics for the presentations is September 10th.
Human Resources News
This week's HR Corner includes information related to the temporary suspension of employer base and matching contributions to retirement plans, changes to campus access, updates to GW's FY21 holiday schedule, and more. Please visit the HR Corner to read these updates.