List of Announcements (details below):
* VSE in the News
* Nominations:GMU Teaching Excellence Awards
* Discipline Based Education Research Seminar (9/30, 11am)
* PROV 601: Planning Your Graduate School Experience
* NSF Forum (10/3):Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE)
* Funding Opportunity:DOD Multidisciplinary University Research
Initiative (MURI)
* Sam Malek Receives Funding from Dept. of Homeland Security
* Shanjiang Zhu Receives Funding from Virginia Tech and Virginia Ctr.
for Transportation Innovation & Research
* Parag Chitnis Receives Funding from U.S. Dept. of Health & Human
Services
* Max Albanese and Mihai Boicu Receive Funding from National
Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
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*VSE in the News*
Here is a list of news stories about VSE that have been posted at
http://volgenau.gmu.edu/, or that have appeared in other venues in the
last week.
Beyond Mason:
* A Virginia hacker catches the attention of federal law enforcement
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/a-virginia-hacker-catches-the-attention-of-federal-law-enforcement/2014/09/27/51251eee-1405-11e4-9285-4243a40ddc97_story.html>[from
the /Washington Post:/the U.S. Government may be recruiting Muneeb
Akhter, who has an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Mason; an
earlier story about Mr. Akhter appeared in my notices for 07/28/14]
At the Volgenau website (http://volgenau.gmu.edu/):
* Dr. Wilsaan Jointer's Research Focuses on Motor Control Theory
<http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/dr-wilsaan-joiner-s-research-focuses-on-motor-control-theory?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fvolgenau.gmu.edu%2Fhome%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_HNSOWRmBcc5U%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-3%26p_p_col_count%3D1>
If you have suggestions for other stories, please submit them to Martha
Bushong, [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
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*Nominations:GMU Teaching Excellence Awards*
The Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence (CTFE) is currently
accepting nominations for the 2015 George Mason University Teaching
Excellence Awards.
Teaching Excellence Awards are open to all faculty members across the
institution with at least 3 years of Mason teaching experience. Two of
our Teaching Excellence Awards are specifically targeted around
excellence in Teaching with Technology and teaching General Education
courses.
The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, October 14th. Please send 2-3
paragraphs explaining why you believe your nominee should be considered
for a teaching award to [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
For additional information about the Teaching Excellence Awards and the
nomination process, visit the CTFE website at http://ctfe.gmu.edu/.
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*Discipline Based Education Research Seminar (9/30, 11am)*
Ioulia Rytikova and Mihai Boicu of our Applied Information Technology
Department will be presenting a seminar for the Discipline Based
Education Research group:
/Personalized learning in ALT laboratories/
Tues., Sept. 30, 11 AM Exploratory Hall 3301
/Abstract/
When active learning is used in the classroom, typical lecture methods
of instruction are replaced with a new approach where students work
collaboratively during class time and focus primarily on understanding
and applying the material using cutting-edge classroom technology.
Innovative Active Learning Technology (ALT) classrooms are specifically
designed to support interactive, collaborative and a technology-enhanced
learning environment. Taking a class in any ALT room helps students to
become active participants in the learning process. It supports them in
building competencies (problem-solving, critical thinking,
communication) as well as content knowledge in a fun and creative
environment.
Students have an innovative learning experience by immersing in a
synergic integration of various learning methods, including experiential
learning, personalized learning, competency-based assessment, team-based
learning, and dynamic team assignment, all guided by dynamic learning
data analytics in a partially flipped classroom. This becomes a great
opportunity for the students to learn academically challenging courses
in a new, innovative way.
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*PROV 601: Planning Your Graduate School Experience*
PROV 601: "Thriving in Your Graduate Program: Fostering Graduate Student
Success" is a 1 credit hour seminar for beginning (1st- and 2nd-year)
doctoral and Master's degree students that is offered during the spring
semesters.It is paid for by the Office of the Provost and the Center for
Teaching and Faculty Excellence.
PROV 601 has been designed for students to explore the opportunities and
challenges of graduate school with an eye toward facilitating their
success as graduate students at Mason and in their career. The seven
seminar sessions encourage students to begin thinking about where they
want to be after completing their degree program, and how to position
themselves to get there by improving the visibility and impact of their
research in scholarly and professional communities.
Admission is competitive.The application, as well as further
information, can be obtained at the URL below.
URL:http://ctfe.gmu.edu/professional-development/succeeding-in-graduate-school/prov-601/
--------------------------------------------------------------
*NSF Forum (10/3):Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE)*
The NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) is collaborating with
the Virtual Faculty Collaborative (VFC), a partnership between AAAS,
Louisiana State University, and Higher Education Services, to discuss
the newly released Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program.
The IUSE Engineering Forum will be held on Friday, October 3, 2014 from
2:00-4:00pm (Eastern Time).
This webinar targets engineering faculty and staff considering
submitting proposals to the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education
(IUSE: EHR) program.During this session, NSF Program Officers will
address items related to the IUSE program. The session will also include
several opportunities for asking questions. A recorded version of the
webinar will be posted at a later date.
To register for the IUSE Webinar, please access the application website.
http://ehrweb01.aaas.org/stem-iwbw/iuse-engineering
Enrollment will be limited to 300 participants per session.
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*Funding Opportunity:DOD Multidisciplinary University Research
Initiative (MURI)*
On September 22, the Department of Defense (DOD) released the broad
agency announcement (BAA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2015
Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) as part of the
larger University Research Initiative (URI) aimed at institutions of
higher education.
Through the MURI program, DOD seeks to fund basic research bringing
together more than one scientific discipline focused on enhancing
fundamental knowledge across fields related to national security.DOD
seeks to leverage its investment in basic research and notes that MURI
research will have defense as well as commercial applications further
downstream.As in years past, DOD funds MURI research across a wide range
of disciplines that vary by branch needs.This year's topics include:
/Army Research Office (ARO)/
* Emulating the Principles of Impulsive Biological Force Generation
* Exploiting nitrogen vacancy diamonds for manipulation of biological
transduction
* Noncommutativity in Interdependent Multimodal Data Analysis
* Multi-scale Response for Adaptive Chemical and Material Systems
* New Regimes in Quantum Optics
* Fractional Order Methods for Sharp Interface Flows
* 2-Dimensional Organic Polymers
* Network Science of Teams
/Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)/
* Exploiting Biological Electromechanics: Using Electromagnetic Energy
to Control Biological Systems
* Large Scale Nano-Architecture Formation
* Membrane-Based Electronics: Foldable & Adaptable Integrated Circuits
* Semantics and Structures for Higher-level Quantum Programming Languages
* Strong Field Laser Matter Interactions at Mid-Infrared Wavelength
/Office of Naval Research (ONR)/
* Visual Commonsense for Scene Understanding
* Characterization and Prediction of Remotely Sensed Mesoscale
Aerosols in Coastal and Maritime
* Atmospheric Boundary Layers for Electro-optical Propagation
* Role of the Host Microbiome on Behavior/Resilience in Response to
Stressors
* Metalloid Cluster Networks
* Computational and Experimental Methods towards Understanding the
Chemistry and Physics of
* Materials over 2000°C
* Quantum Optomechanics
DOD encourages faculty to engage with program managers assigned to each
topic area through the white paper process to assess the feasibility of
proposed topics.
Due Dates: Proposals are due by 4:00 PM (EST) on February 23, 2015.White
papers are due November 24.
Total Funding and Award Size:DOD expects $145 million dollars to be made
available, pending congressional appropriations.Individual awards will
range from $1 million to $2.5 million annually for up to five years, but
MURI awards typically fall between $1.25 million and $1.5 million annually.
URL:
http://www.onr.navy.mil/~/media/Files/Funding-Announcements/BAA/2014/14-012-FOA.ashx
<http://www.onr.navy.mil/%7E/media/Files/Funding-Announcements/BAA/2014/14-012-FOA.ashx>.
More information:
http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Science-Technology/Directorates/office-research-discovery-invention/Sponsored-Research/University-Research-Initiatives/MURI.aspx.
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*Sam Malek Receives Funding from Dept. of Homeland Security*
Sam Malek of the Computer Science Department received $500K from the
Department of Homeland Security for his project, "Tools for Automated
Detection and Assessment of Security Vulnerabilities in Mobile
Applications."
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*Shanjiang Zhu Receives Funding from Virginia Tech and Virginia Ctr. for
Transportation Innovation & Research*
Shanjiang Zhu of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil,
Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering received $20K from Virginia
Tech and the Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
for his project, "Transportation System Impact of the Opening of Phase 1
of the Silver Line."
--------------------------------------------------------------
*Parag Chitnis Receives Funding from U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services*
Parag Chitnis of the Bioengineering Department received $223K from the
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for his project, "An
All-Optical Photoacoustic Imaging System for the Eye."
--------------------------------------------------------------
*Max Albanese and Mihai Boicu Receive Funding from National Collegiate
Inventors and Innovators Alliance*
Max Albanese and Mihai Boicu of the Applied Information Technology
Department received $23K from National Collegiate Inventors and
Innovators Alliance for their project, "Extra-Curricular Activities to
support Educational Programs in Information Technology Entrepreneurship."
--
===============================================================
Stephen G. Nash
Senior Associate Dean
Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 2500
Mailstop 5C8
Fairfax, VA 22030
[log in to unmask]
Phone: (703) 993-1505
Fax: (703) 993-1633
http://volgenau.gmu.edu/web/volgenau/senior-associate-dean