List of Announcements (details below):
* VSE in the News
* Photo of the Week
* Updates to VSE website
* Mason Summer Research Fellowships for Graduate Students
* Funding Opportunity: Sigma Xi grants to undergraduate or graduate
students
* Burak Tanyu Receives Funding from Univ. of Texas at Austin and U.S.
Dept. of Transportation
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*VSE in the News***
Here is a list of news stories about VSE that have been posted:
At the Volgenau website (http://volgenau.gmu.edu/):
* From Mason to Google Part One -- Sam Blasiak
<http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/from-mason-to-google-part-one-sam-blasiak?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>
[This is the first of a two-part series on two Computer Science
graduates, Sam Blasiak and Naeem Esfahni, who have landed jobs with
Google.]
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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*Photo of the Week***
The Volgenau School Robo-elves invaded the Neural Engineering Lab to
make holiday snowflakes in one of the lab hoods and add holiday cheer to
the school's homepage slider image.The Provost dropped by the lab to
oversee the experimental set-up.
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*Updates to VSE Website*
**We have added a new feature to the homepage that highlights some of
the School's areas of expertise. Now, when you scroll across the words
at the bottom of the slider image, tabs open to explain and provide
detail about each area. By clicking the headline in the tab you can read
more stories and see more pictures.
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*Mason Summer Research Fellowships for Graduate Students*
Summer Research Fellowships provide financial support to graduate
students during the summer term, allowing students to devote significant
time to their dissertation or thesis research. The intent of the award
is to foster greater professional productivity and to assist in timely
degree completion.
Summer Research Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis.
Applicants must submit materials to the Office of the Provost by Friday,
January 23, 2015 (see Application Process). Recipients will be notified
by Monday, March 2, 2015.
/Eligibility Criteria/
* You are a doctoral or master's student enrolled full-time during
fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters.
* You do not hold a fellowship that offers funding through the summer.
* You will not hold an assistantship or accept outside employment
during the award period.
* Doctoral Students: You have completed course requirements, passed
all required written and oral exams, and will be registered for
thesis or dissertation credit in the spring 2015 semester.
* Master's Students: You must provide written verification of your
thesis proposal acceptance by thesis chair/committee no later than
May 4, 2015 (last day of classes).
/Award/
* Fellowship amount: $6,000 for doctoral students; $4,000 for master's
students.
* Term of award: Summer 2015 (May 25 -- August 24).
* Enrollment in summer coursework beyond dissertation or thesis
credits must be approved in advance by the Associate Provost for
Graduate Education.
* Your thesis or dissertation chair must be willing to provide a
written evaluation of your work at the conclusion of the fellowship.
* You must submit a summary of the work produced at the conclusion of
the summer.
/Application Process/
Applicants must submit the following materials directly to Akitta
Robertson ([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>) by 5 pm,Friday,
January 23, 2015:
1. Strict Guidelines for Narrative
* Limit two pages; one-inch margins; double-spaced; Times, 12-pt. font.
* Student's full name and degree program must appear in the header on
each page, e.g. "Jane Doe, PhD Communication".
* Include brief description of thesis/ dissertation research.
* Include research goals for summer and how they fit within your
broader research agenda.
* Include specific plans for executing research and attaining goals
during award term.
2. Letter of recommendation
* One letter of recommendation is required.
* Recommendation letter must be from your thesis/dissertation chair
and include verification of eligibility.
* Recommendation letter must be submitted by your thesis/ dissertation
chair directly to Akitta Robertson ([log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>).
Questions?Contact Akitta Robertson at [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>or 703-993-8912.
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*Funding Opportunity: Sigma Xi grants to undergraduate or graduate students*
Sigma Xi has extended the hand of companionship to more than 30,000
young researchers through the Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) Program.
Sigma Xi grants are often the first research support an undergraduate or
graduate student may receive.
Deadlines: 03/15/2015, 10/15/2015
URL: https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid/apply
/Objectives: /Research grants may be used to support scientific
investigation in any field.
/Eligibility:/Undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in
degree seeking programs may apply. Membership in Sigma Xi is not
required to apply, although applicants who are dues paying members or
whose project advisor is a dues paying member of Sigma Xi are more
likely to be fully funded if their application is highly rated.
/Funding:/The program awards grants of up to $1,000 to students from all
areas of the sciences and engineering. Designated funds from the
National Academy of Sciences allow for grants of up to $5,000 for
astronomy research and $2,500 for vision related research.
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*Burak Tanyu Receives Funding from Univ. of Texas at Austin and U.S.
Dept. of Transportation*
Burak Tanyu of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil,
Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering received $102K from the
University of Texas at Austin and the U.S. Department of Transportation
for his project, "Defining the Boundary Conditions for Composite
Behavior of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) Structures."
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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
