List of Announcements (details below): * VSE in the News * Photo of the Week * Shams Bahabib selected as Mason Employee of the Month * Graduate Research Fellowship Program in STEM Fields * “Crowdfunding Propels Scientific Research”: Washington Post * Funding Opportunity: STEM + Computing Partnerships (NSF) * Max Albanese Receives Funding from NCIIA -------------------------------------------------------------- *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/): * What the Drone Sees – Developing Accurate Reliable Data for Robotic Bridge and Tunnel Inspection <http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/what-the-drone-sees-%E2%80%93-developing-accurate-reliable-data-for-robotic-bridge-and-tunnel-inspection?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> * Alumnus Uses Interest in Robotics to Help Older Adults <http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/alumnus-uses-interest-in-robotics-to-help-older-adults?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> * Engineers Week Photo Challenge <http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/engineers-week-photo-challenge?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> * The Year in Review | 2014 <http://volgenau.gmu.edu/home/-/asset_publisher/HNSOWRmBcc5U/content/2014-the-year-in-review?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]>. -------------------------------------------------------------- *Photo of the Week* Ken Ball, Dean, Volgenau School of Engineering (far right) and S. David Wu, Provost, George Mason University thank Kevin Reynolds (middle), President, Cardinal Bank; at the 23rd annual Cardinal Bank and George Mason University Greater Washington Economic Conference. -------------------------------------------------------------- *Shams Bahabib selected as Mason Employee of the Month* Mason’s Employee of the Month Selection Committee has selected of Shams Bahabib, Undergraduate Student Services, Office of the Associate Dean, Volgenau School of Engineering as Employee of the Month for February 2015. Shams will be formally presented with this award by President Cabrera in his office, 5th Floor of Merten Hall, 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3. Co-workers and friends are all encouraged to attend the ceremony. -------------------------------------------------------------- *Graduate Research Fellowship Program in STEM Fields* The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has a Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program that supports doctoral students engaged in research in the forensic sciences and other topics of relevance to criminal justice, per NIJ's mission. The Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (GRF-STEM) track is open to doctoral students in any of the following disciplines: Life Sciences. Chemistry. Physics. Geosciences. Materials Research. Engineering. Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering. Mathematical Sciences. Successful GRF-STEM applicants must demonstrate how their proposed dissertation research advances basic criminal justice knowledge, practice or policy in the United States. Each fellowship potentially provides up to three years of support over a five-year period, pending the demonstration of satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree and the availability of funds. For each year of support, NIJ provides an allowance of $35,000 to cover salary/stipend and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student’s tuition and fees, research expenses and related costs. Students are NOT required to hold U.S. Citizenship or residency to be awarded this fellowship.International students and non-U.S. Citizens are eligible provided they meet other eligibility requirements and qualifications. For more information:http://nij.gov/funding/fellowships/graduate-research-fellowship/Pages/grf-stem.aspx -------------------------------------------------------------- *“Crowdfunding Propels Scientific Research”: Washington Post* URL: http://wapo.st/1xlRZnb This article appeared in the /Washington Post/ on January 18. Excerpts: “In a video presentation on David Eagleman’s Kickstarter fundraising Web page, the 43-year-old neuroscience professor removes his shirt. There’s a legitimate reason: He’s showing off a prototype of a high-tech vest that he thinks will help us expand human perception beyond the limits of our five senses. “Eagleman, who runs the perception lab at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is part of an emerging generation of scientists who are leveraging the world of crowdfunding, social media and TED talks to promote and raise money for research that might otherwise never see the light of day. “This kind of public engagement traditionally has been frowned upon in academia. … As scientists have faced growing competition for a shrinking pot of government research funds in recent years, however, that attitude is changing. “Science historian David Kaiser says the trend is being driven by a flip-flop in how science research is funded in the United States. In the 1960s, the government supported two-thirds of the country’s research and development. These days its share is closer to one-third — with companies, philanthropic organizations and other private sources paying for the rest. …” -------------------------------------------------------------- *Funding Opportunity: STEM + Computing Partnerships (NSF)* Sponsor:Directorate for Education and Human Resources/NSF The STEM+C Partnerships program seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and computing by K-12 students and teachers, through research on, and development of, courses, curriculum, course materials, pedagogies, instructional strategies, or models that innovatively integrate computing into one or more STEM disciplines, or integrate STEM content into the teaching and learning of computing. In addition, STEM+C seeks to build capacity in K-12 computing education with foundational research and focused teacher preparation. Projects in the STEM+C Partnerships program should build on research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. Deadline(s):04/14/2015 Program URL: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15537/nsf15537.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- *Max Albanese Receives Funding from NCIIA* Max Albanese of the Applied Information Technology Department received $18K from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance for his project, “E-Mow: Biomass-Powered Robot Harvester.” -- =============================================================== 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