Inside: COS Celebrates Ten Years The Science of Understanding Data Forensic Science for the Real World - GMU College of Science
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Spring 2016 No. 13 A Magazine from the College of Science
Inside:
COS Celebrates Ten Years
The Science of Understanding Data
Forensic Science for the Real World
EcoScience + Art:
Inside The Rain Project
Periodic Elements A publication of the
George Mason University
College of Science
cos.gmu.edu
Office of the Dean
EcoScience + Art: The Rain Project 1
College of Science
703-993-3622
Computational and Data Sciences 2
Institute for Biomedical Innovation 6 deancos@gmu.edu
Administration
Exploring Other Worlds...Revolutionizing Ours 10 Peggy Agouris, Dean
14 Ali Andalibi,
Associate Dean, Research
Happy Anniversary College of Science
Forensic Science gets Real 16 Kevin Curtin, Associate Dean,
Academic Affairs
Elements of COS 20
Donna Fox, Associate Dean,
Photo: Creative Services
Student Affairs and
Students work together to launch a 1,700-plant floating wetland on Mason Pond.
Dean’s Message 21
Special Programs
Martha Wescoat-Andes,
Associate Dean, Administration
C ommunication is a “new phase of
science training,” says Changwoo
Ahn, associate professor in the
The goal of the project was to
spotlight stormwater issues and to
showcase an interdisciplinary, year-
and sediments gathered from last year.
They are now processing the samples
to see how much carbon and nitrogen
page 2 Department of Environmental Science long collaborative activity for the the floating wetland captured.“We are
Editor:
Sharon Ritchey
and Policy, director of the Ahn Wetland campus community. The hands-on currently testing the nutritional value
Home Row Editorial
Ecosystem Laboratory, and founder project required significant one-on- of harvested plant biomass for use as
www.homerowed.com
and director of EcoScience + Art. He one time with biology and art majors a potential food source for animals,”
feels scientists should be able to speak alike. Ahn’s work with film students he says.
Layout Designer: for themselves and better explain provided footage for “The Making The floating wetland’s size limited
Beth Moorcones, EWM Design their research and what they do to of The Rain Project.”Art students the cleaning efficiency, but Ahn feels
www.ewmdesign.com the public. illustrated beautiful images, and a The Rain Project was successful in
Ahn has been working to improve piano player composed an inspired changing stormwater management
both interdisciplinary collaboration piece of music. Ahn calls the and certainly has taught his students
and scientific communication by link- experience “very rewarding.” the value of collaboration and com-
On the Cover ing art and science through The Rain
Project, a 1,700-plant floating wetland
All of Ahn’s students were
required to present their work to
munication, presenting a new model
for interdisciplinary education.
page 16 that was launched last year. high school students. He uses “near-
Twenty-four students studying peer presentation” as a tool for student
environmental science, art, civil training. He explains,“It is easy for
engineering, biology, communication, students to explain things to their
and film and media worked together peers when they’ve studied with
in designing and constructing a float- them throughout the semester, but
ing wetland for Mason Pond, a small presenting their project results to
body of water on the Fairfax Campus, near-peer group (junior high or high
to aid with stormwater management. school) students who came with no
The Rain Project provided numerous prior knowledge about the subject
implications for education, scholarship, matter requires students to translate
The College of Science achieves excellence in education and pedagogy, and service while present- their results into lay terms.” Photo: Creative Services
research through visionary thinking, collaborative ideas, and ing a novel way of building a sense The initial project was complete Changwoo Ahn discusses The Rain Project
strategic partnerships. of community among undergraduate with the growing season monitoring with a student.
See related stories on pages 3, 6, and 14. students for ecological awareness in the summer of 2015. Ahn and his
and literacy. team have harvested all the plants
COS cares about the environment – please recycle Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 1
Computational and “We are in a new era of scientific
Data Sciences: thinking and discovery,”
Beyond the Boundaries says Peggy Agouris,
dean of the College of Science,
and “it’s driven by data.”
S cientists have always collected and exam-
ined data, explains Agouris. But today, the
amount of data available for all of the sciences
produces money.” Data scientists work with
other scientists to help them analyze and
understand their data. Data scientists employ
— biological, mathematical, physical, environ- the latest tools and methods to extract and
mental, materials, and even social — is more analyze scientific findings. They interpret
than any time in history. Our ability to collect data and help make predictions. Tryfona
and store data is seemingly limitless. Our says students currently come to data science
challenge is to understand and use the data we through an interest in mathematics and com-
collect to make connections that lead to new puter science. Along the way, they develop an
discoveries.The key lies in an old science that interest in a particular issue or find themselves
feels modern: the science of understanding data. working with sets of data.They see beyond the
Data science is not computer mechanics of running programs into how to
science. It’s not mathematics continued on page 4
or statistics. And it has no alle-
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the computational and data
sciences program. She explains,
This figure shows the results of total energy calculations of the various
“Data produces power and it Photo: Courtesy of D. A. Papaconstantopoulos
allotropes of the element boron and confirms the R105 hexagonal structure
with a vacancy as the ground state. (Original article appeared in the Journal
of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 75 (2014) 1106-1112, by J. W. McGrady
(student), D.A. Papaconstantopoulos, and M.J. Mehl)
2• Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 © iStockphoto.com Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 3
The new bachelor of science degree
rounds out the department's offerings
that currently include an accelerated Agouris talks about her own work in students. Most science majors need to continue
master's degree program, geoinformation science as a prime example of with advanced degrees and research in order
a graduate certificate program, how important data science is for all to establish themselves in a career. This degree
researchers. She explains that her research allows students to immediately enter the field
and a doctoral degree program.
uses large volumes of data and like many with high-paying jobs and can also become a
researchers, she has become a data expert — cornerstone for people interested in advanced
adept at using computers, writing code, and studies. Students can follow three tracks,
working with the results. But that all takes modeling and simulation, data science, or
time and requires that in addition to her own computational social science.
field, she stay current in skills such as computer Papaconstantopoulos explains that the
modeling and distributed computing.The new degree has been designed in a way that
mechanics of working with the data are time doesn’t strongly depend on hard science.
consuming, and she recognizes she is limited “It’s now more appealing to a larger pool of
by her time and her abilities. By working with students.” Many students currently following
data scientists, she can manipulate her data in a computational and data sciences minor are
ways she never considered and formulate the
Computational, from page 3 right questions and extract solutions. She can
“
use the computer as a tool to find solutions concentrate on the results, not the mechanics.
buried in the data. However, there is a This scenario is true to all scientific fields. A data scientist can work with
trend among scientists and engineers to A data scientist can work with a researcher
before a study begins and help determine
a researcher before a study
see computational and data sciences as
complementary to their major disciplines, Photo: Creative Services what the study should measure and how. begins and help determine what
Graduate students Alex Panka (left) and Prabal Saxena (right) It’s like an architect working with a builder. the study should measure and how.
”
and students want to acquire more knowl-
edge on how to deal with data. are shown with data they collected on Earth-sized planets at
Data science has been offered the George Mason University Observatory. Academics for a new economy
at Mason as part of various academic units
Kevin Curtin, acting chair for the Department
for more than twenty-five years. Dimitrios set to move into the bachelor’s program.The
Papaconstantopoulos joined the faculty in
An interdisciplinary future of Computational and Data Sciences, is excited
department also sees the new degree as a way
about changes happening in the department,
the 1970s and became the first chair of the One of the benefits of having the College to further raise the profile of computational
particularly the college’s new Bachelor of
Department of Computational and Data of Science housed in Exploratory Hall on and data sciences studies at Mason.That will
Science Degree in Computational and Data
Sciences when the College of Science was the Fairfax Campus is the ease of which attract more students and also feed students
Sciences.
founded in 2006. He says that the innovation students and professors can interact. into the graduate program.
This new degree rounds out the department’s
Mason introduced to have a stand-alone Geologists can interact with geoin- Agouris admits that the in depth integration
offerings that currently include an accelerated
program in computational and data sciences formation scientists and biologists of computational and data sciences’ capabilities
master’s degree program, a graduate certificate
is rare at a research university, noting that with ecologists. These interactions throughout the College of Science will take
program, and a doctoral degree program.The
this discipline often falls under a math or spur the types of ideas and collabor- time. She is confident that the college’s move
bachelor’s degree is unique because there are
an engineering department. Mason has ations that Agouris sees as the future of toward interdisciplinary collaborations and
not many universities offering this degree.“We
had a very successful graduate program science at Mason. Interdisciplinary studies initiatives will create a natural merger. She
already have the classes, faculty, curriculum, and
in computational and data sciences that are always a major topic at universities, but feels future grants will be awarded to teams of
reputation in place,” says Curtin, also noting
continues today, and more than one hundred the challenge is how to make it happen. She researchers who are pushing the boundaries
that four new faculty members are being hired.
doctoral students have graduated from the wants to encourage teams to go after grants of their science, and a computational and
Curtin explains how adaptable this new
program and many research papers were and work on problems, and she is excited to data sciences expert in the mix is a powerful
bachelor’s program will be for
published. talk about how data science fits into the mix. resource.
4• Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 5
R obin Couch, associate professor
and researcher in the Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
describes it as “omic” science, or the
science of looking at a focused field of
Support from Richmond
Last December, Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe joined the announce-
ment of a strategic partnership between
“ Today, scientists and
physicians have gone beyond
what was once considered
cutting-edge research,
biology.Today, scientists and physicians Inova, the largest health system in such as mapping the human
have gone beyond what was once Northern Virginia, and Mason, the
largest research university in Virginia.
genome, and have moved
considered cutting-edge research,
such as mapping the human genome, McAuliffe sees “biomedical research as into genomics, proteomics,
and have moved into genomics, a pillar of the New Virginia Economy.” and metabolomics,
”
Wu sees Inova as a critical strategic
proteomics, and metabolomics,
partner that gives the university access
one of the newer fields.
one of the newer fields.
These specialized areas of research to clinical practice and clinical data.
are thriving at Mason’s Institute for He says that “we have been working
Biomedical Innovation at the Science on this partnership over the past year, He jokes about his glamorous “poo
and Technology Campus in Prince and it’s coming to fruition at the right research” (his words), but more
William County.The campus is more moment. Inova is investing heavily in specifically, the metabolites found in
than research labs, says university personalized medicine research, and fecal samples. He is both enthusiastic
Provost David Wu.“We want to declare our broad array of capabilities from and serious about his work and has
our intentions that science and engi- proteomics to bioinformatics to health received funding from the National
neering are important areas of growth policy made us a perfect partner.” Institutes of Health to determine if
and will complement Mason’s portfolio Wu also remarks this could benefit fecal samples can be used to find
as a comprehensive research university.” different aspects of our health markers for gastrointestinal diseases.
He sees the current programs and education for years to come. His team also pioneered a method
Photo: St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
resources as tremendous assets to that can determine if a person is
Barney Bishop poses with an alligator at the leverage and looks ahead for even Small focus: mighty result healthy or an alcoholic through a
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, greater depth and impact. Robin Couch’s “omic” is metabolomics. rapid diagnostic assessment of poo.
which provides blood samples for his reptile Another of Couch’s projects is
He explains that living organisms use
blood research.
Institute for proteins to make metabolites,
small molecules such as
funded by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and looks at whip
Biomedical Innovation: amino acids, lipids, carbohy-
drates, and vitamins that are
worms as a treatment for diseases
such as Crohn’s. A second study, also
Focused Sciences Photo: Creative Services essential to life. His team is
researching specific metabolites,
USDA-funded, is investigating pigs to
see if probiotic supplementation can
for Life-changing Results looking for disease markers offset the negative effects attributed
to chronic consumption of a high-fat
and ultimately preventative
and curative solutions. diet. And initial results demonstrate
There is a lot of excitement that it does.
these days in the medical press continued on page 8
about personalized medicine.
It’s the concept of
customizing disease treatments
based on an individual’s genes Robin Couch consults with a student
about lab results.
and proteins, lifestyle,
and even the environment. Photo: Creative Services
6 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 7
Institute, from page 7
“Omic” research is fueled by technology.
“ Consider it took thirteen years to map the
human genome. Now there is technology
Advanced Training for
”
Sophisticated equipment capable of that can conduct genome sequencing in a few hours.
examining and analyzing the most A New Era in Medicine
Personalized medicine, an individualized approach are more diagnostic tools available than ever
complex parts of a cell has been
commercialized” and put out into by the Defense Threat Reduction
to the health management and therapy of chronic before, and more professionals need training
around for a while. But now it is more
the marketplace. In 2008, Ceres Agency to analyze peptides in reptiles.
diseases, looks at a patient’s genes and proteins, on how to properly use them to benefit patients.
portable, affordable, and faster. Consider
Nanosciences, Inc. was founded on Barney Bishop, associate professor
environment, and lifestyle to define targeted The fifteen-credit program in personalized
it took thirteen years to map the human
CAPMM discoveries utilizing nanopar- in the Department of Chemistry and
treatments. To meet the increasing demand for medicine is designed to meet the goals of a
genome. Now there is technology
ticle technologies. Collaborating with Biochemistry, along with his collabo-
highly trained professionals who can apply the variety of professionals working in health care
that can conduct genome sequencing
Liotta, Petricoin, and other CAPMM rator Monique van Hoek, associate
latest advances in personalized medicine to and related industries. Students will study with
in a few hours.
researchers, Ceres has developed the professor in the School of Systems
improve patient care, the College of Science some of the college’s most renowned professors
Proteomics — the study of proteins
first urine test for Lyme disease and Biology, and their project lead, Joel
has developed a Graduate Certificate Program in the fields of personalized medicine and systems
— is another of the “omic” sciences.
with funding from the Bill and Melinda Schnur, College of Science professor
in Personalized Medicine. biology. Courses are offered in the evenings and
The College of Science Center for
Gates Foundation, is working on a of bio/molecular science, have been
“Health care is going through a transformation,” include human genetics, personalized medicine,
Applied Proteomics and Molecular
urine test for tuberculosis.They will hunting alligators. Not literally in the
says Ancha Baranova, associate professor in the genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics,
Medicine (CAPMM), led by Lance
soon be starting a clinical trial with swamp, but rather peptides in their
School of Systems Biology and director of the with a choice of electives in cancer genomics,
Liotta and Emanuel Petricoin, has a
Sentara Healthcare to find a way to blood in College of Science labs.
new program. She explains that now is the ideal pathogenic microbiology, and advanced topics in
global reputation for its research and
eliminate false positive results from Bishop explains that alligators and
time to offer this specialized training. “In ten immunology. Twelve of the credits earned in the
its therapies.
mammograms.The group is also crocodiles recover from serious
years, genome profiling will be key to diagnosis, program may be counted toward the Master of
Petricoin is a staunch supporter
looking at traumatic brain injury gashes and wounds, even the loss of a
helping to determine the type and dosage of Science in Biology degree program.
of applying research to real-world
and ways that this difficult injury limb, with low incidence of infection.
medications for each patient.” She says there
clinical applications and developing
new methods that support personal- can be properly diagnosed. This survival secret may be one of the
ized medicine. He also believes “that Another research initiative running reasons these creatures have been
the best discoveries and inventions at the Science and Technology Campus around for 200 million years. Working
are useless unless they can be is a 7.7 million dollar project funded with blood samples provided by the
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological
Park, the team has screened close
to 120 peptides. Fifty of them have
antimicrobial properties and some
fight against anthrax, tularemia, staph,
and pseudomonas. Bishop says that
he hopes their work will not only
directly translate into new potential
therapeutics against infection, but
will also provide essential resources
for expanding research efforts aimed
at developing new antibiotics.
These researchers and their
projects are only a part of what is
happening at the Science and Tech-
nology Campus. Wu sees the Institute
for Biomedical Innovation and the
entire campus “as a hub of innovation
where an entire ecosystem can develop
with biomedical science, as well as
bioengineering, mechanical engineer-
ing, material science, and others”
working toward larger goals and
Photo: Creative Services
discoveries.
CAPMM research associate Ruben Magni works in the nanoparticle lab.
8• Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 © iStockphoto.com Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 9
Exploring Other Worlds… Revolutionizing Ours
A robotic spacecraft developed by private industry lands on
an asteroid and begins to mine the asteroid for raw materials
that will be used in everything from building human habitats to
food for future human occupants. The raw materials include rare
earth elements to be used in the next generation of computers
that simulate reality at speeds far beyond current capabilities.
International protocols for mining the asteroid have been negoti-
ated through the new and emerging field of space law. The new
knowledge gained from the mining mission itself is informing
plans for an upcoming, pioneering human settlement on a more
distant asteroid, or possibly on the planet Mars.
This is not a call for volunteer space colonists or a news flash
of previously undisclosed scientific breakthroughs. It is a realistic
preview of a future that has become closer than ever, thanks in
large part to space missions such as the New Horizons mission.
New Horizons gained unprecedented attention with its July 2015
flyby of Pluto, which completed NASA’s ambition, begun almost
fifty years ago, to robotically explore all the planets of the solar
system.
Bigger than the Industrial Revolution
“The New Horizons mission completed our first reconnaissance
of the major planets of the solar system,” says Michael Summers,
professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and NASA’s
deputy lead on the New Horizons Atmospheres Team.“The space
program has given us a comprehensive understanding of our
near-space environment, and with New Horizons we have now
explored all the way to the outer boundary of our neighborhood
in space.This knowledge is opening the way to unlimited opportu-
nities for space research, space commercialization, and space
industry — all of which will lead to space manufacturing, perma-
nent space habitats, space medicine, and space law. This is going
to be vastly bigger than the Industrial Revolution.”
Space commercialization has already begun. For example,
NASA is subcontracting supply missions to the International Space
Station (ISS) to a private company. There are now more than half
a dozen private organizations focused on building vehicles that
will take humans to space profitably. We now have a 3D printer
continued on page 12
10 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 © iStockphoto.com Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 11
The Lights in the Sky
“A new era of human
Exploring, from page 11 accepting virtually every invitation to
existence begins with
on the ISS, and that technology alone will be responsible for engage people in astronomy. “Sharing
our children,” says
building almost anything in space, from space ships to internal the thrill of scientific exploration and
Harold Geller, professor
organs for transplants patients. In the next ten to twenty years, discovery inspires young people to
of astronomy, astro-
Summers estimates, robotic spacecraft will use replicating want to be a part of it all. They sense
biology, and science
machines to build more advanced 3D printers on asteroids, Mars, that this new wave of space explorers
education in the
and our moon, where they will harvest metals, rare elements, ice, will be made up of people from their
Department of
and organic materials needed for the permanent human presence own generation,” he explains. But entire
Physics and Astron-
in space. disciplines will have to be reinvented
omy and director
“This has been science fiction until now.To see this develop first, he adds. Space medicine is a new
of the George
in our lifetime is exciting beyond words,” he says. Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
challenge for humans in space. How
Mason University
A New Horizons image of Pluto’s edge, showing its complex haze layers. Dozens does one do CPR in zero gee? Space
Observatory. It’s
law will be an international challenge,
Onward to the Kuiper Belt of haze layers cover Pluto’s entire globe and are seen when sunlight reflects off
a bold statement
tiny particles in its atmosphere.
but with new
Launched in January 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft did a
information coming to us
flyby of Jupiter in early 2007. It was the July 14, 2015, flyby of shaped like a heart? Now
from the New Horizons space mission, there
Pluto, though, that captured the attention and imagination of called a “dwarf ice planet,”
is a feeling in the science community that
our planet. Posted on the Internet, images of Pluto were seen in Pluto’s surface is much more
what we know about space is about to expand.
almost real time by millions around the globe. Data continue to active than ever expected and
“What we know about Pluto has increased
pour in, delivering surprise after surprise. Who knew that Pluto in some places is less than a
more than a thousand times. It has mountains
had ice volcanoes, moving nitrogen ice glaciers, and an atmos- few million years old. Pluto
and valleys, and there’s still the possibility
phere of nitrogen like that of Earth? Or a surface structure is also geologically active and
of ice volcanoes,” says Geller. He is keen
is orbited by five moons. The
to make sure that children in particular are
largest moon, Charon, is made
inspired by these findings. “Kids come to
mostly of water ice. “It has
the observatory with their parents and
been surprise after surprise,”
they want to know about the lights in the
says Summers.
sky.”
Next on New Horizons’
Geller teamed up with colleague Mike
itinerary is the Kuiper Belt,
Summers to write A Pluto Story, a children’s
a region of space beyond
book about Pluto using the best informa-
Neptune where it is estimated
tion available at the time from the Hubble
that over 100,000 additional
Telescope.
dwarf ice planets, like Pluto,
Geller explains the history and geology
exist.The target for this next
of the distant dwarf planet using a much
flyby is the yet-unnamed
smaller Pluto, his pet guinea pig, who
2014MU69 object. It is about Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
A crowd gathered at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to celebrate
shares the celestial body’s name. “I made
nine times the Sun-Earth
distance from Pluto, and much when New Horizons successfully completed the flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015.
some linkages and comparisons between
my guinea pig and what we know about
smaller than Pluto.The New
Pluto.”
Horizons encounter with 2014MU69 Vesta, are small worlds in themselves. because it will need to determined
Geller has already spoken to Summers
is scheduled for January 1, 2019. Their metals and other raw materials, in the very near future who owns
about creating an update for the book,
as well as a possible underground or shares the riches in space.
hoping to bring the joy of the new discover-
Resources on asteroids could brine ocean, could spur habitats, “Space is the future home for
ies to children. New Horizons has inspired
revolutionize life on Earth industry, and space trade between humanity,” he says. With the hazards
more people to look toward the sky. Geller
worlds.” that could befall us on Earth, we could
Summers says it’s hard to imagine the
and Summers are considering creating
Ever-nearer opportunities such easily become extinct. But if we spread
magnitude of the resources in space
a series of books for all the planets.
as these drive Summers to inspire the out in thousands of settlements
near us in orbit around our sun.“A single
A Pluto Story is available online through
Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute public — and especially young people in space, we have a much greater
asteroid that might be a kilometer in
Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
A New Horizons image of Charon, Pluto’s largest moon, showing — with New Horizons’ ongoing likelihood of surviving for millions
size could contain enough metals to
a massive fracture around its equator that formed when an build a thousand large space ships. discoveries. In addition to motivating of years or beyond.”
underground water ocean froze. Charon’s dark pole is visible his students, he speaks worldwide,
Larger asteroids, such as Ceres and
near the top of the image.
12 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 13
“ The College of Science had a
bold agenda to focus resources and
propel science at the university for the
”
betterment of the commonwealth.
Happy Anniversary
College of Science
T en years ago, George Mason
University’s School of Computa-
tional Sciences and the College of
jobs, and educate students. Chandhoke
says,“My job was to create big opportu-
nities and to give people the latitude
Physical and philosophical
When asked how he was able to
science and their entrepreneurial
ideas with the tools (students and
funding) that make it all possible.
to Governor McAuliffe’s workforce
development initiative that estimates
500,000 new jobs will be created in
of undergraduates, graduates,
researchers, professors, and even high
school students take to the labs and
Arts and Science shared a warm hand- to grow and succeed.” attract the talent the school has today, Peggy Agouris, now College of Virginia by 2022, many of them in classrooms for real-world, hands-on
shake and agreed to merge some of Chandhoke believed then and Chandhoke becomes thoughtful.The Science dean, was hired just as the STEM fields. science exploration.
its programs.Two new schools were does today that for a university to suc- college boasts physical spaces with new college was taking its first leaps. The first College of Science hand-
formed, the College of Humanities ceed,“there needs to be an equilibrium academics in mind, such as Exploratory She remembers Chandhoke explaining Reaching the stars shake has been repeated over the
and Social Sciences and the College between learning and research,” and Hall, a LEED-certified facility on the his ideas for more interdisciplinary decade with military and federal gov-
Fairfax Campus.There has also been In the past decade, the college has
of Science. it’s all driven by people. If you can work and the type of people he ernment collaborations, educational
extensive growth at the Science and made stellar progress.The College
The College of Science had a attract the right researchers and give wanted to attract. She became chair partnerships with Georgetown
Technology Campus in Prince William of Science boasts relationships with
bold agenda to focus resources and them an environment to flourish, they of the Department of Geography and University, affiliations with Inova
County, including the College of public and private organizations such
propel science at the university for will attract much needed grants and Geoinformation Science and oversaw Health System and Sentara Health-
Science Biomedical Research Labora- as NASA’s New Horizons mission (see
the betterment of the common- funding.This drives more research and its growth and development.Today, care, and many more.
tory and Mason’s Institute for Biomed- page 10) and its Goddard Space Flight
wealth.The new college, under the attracts students, increases knowledge, she talks about how to use the col- At the College of Science, students
ical Innovation, and new facilities Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where
leadership of notable bioscientist creates depth of expertise, and ulti- lege’s combined strengths to solve and researchers can study the effects
at the Smithsonian Conservation the College of Science Center for Earth
and founding dean Vikas Chandhoke, mately scientific discoveries for the larger problems, such as environmen- of car crashes at the Center for Colli-
Biology Institute in Front Royal, Observing and Space Research uses
established new roots. betterment of society.This sounds like tal issues that contribute to medical sion Safety and Analysis, deforestation
where Mason enjoys a longstanding satellite data to track earth weather.
All this isn’t to suggest there a lofty goal but it works. Chandhoke problems or using social media and in the Amazon Jungle with the
relationship with the Smithsonian The college was also competitively
was no science before the creation of was given the support and space he mapping technologies to track the renowned conservationist Thomas
Institution for global conservation selected as a Center of Academic
College of Science. Quite the contrary, needed to implement the university’s spread of infection. She becomes Lovejoy, nanoparticles, proteomics,
and biodiversity studies. Chandhoke Excellence in Geospatial Sciences,
science was flourishing at Mason. But vision for the new College of Science. animated and excited when describing and personalized cancer treatments
says that while these new physical one of only seventeen centers nation-
with the expansion of high-technology Under his watch, the school stretched the college’s passion for interdiscipli- at the Center for Applied Proteomics
spaces are necessary and help attract wide, by the National Geospatial-Intel-
industries, coupled with a population and innovated. Science at Mason had nary work and how her next big and Molecular Medicine, and can
top talent, the physical space came ligence Agency and the United States
explosion in Northern Virginia, there evolved into a community. initiative is with the Department look to the stars for a new era in
after the people. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation.
needed to be a greater focus on science of Computational and Data Sciences space exploration.The next decade
He explains that the college was Enrollment has grown a steady
to meet the needs of Virginia, to fill (see page 2). She says that the college looks to be just as evolutionary,
able to offer support. Researchers four percent each year over the past
must serve the state’s need for a and Agouris is excited to see where
were and are allowed to pursue their ten years. On any given day, hundreds
science-literate workforce. She points it goes.
14 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 15
Forensic Science
gets Real Students dig for clues as part of a field exercise.
Photo: Courtesy of Forensic Science Program
I nch by inch, students carefully make
their way around a grid placed
on a muddy forensic excavation and
interest in high-quality forensic science
training.The College of Science has
responded. Begun as a graduate
Only at Mason
When Mary Ellen O’Toole, director of
research site.Their assignment: to certificate program in 2009, the Forensic the college’s Forensic Science Program,
unearth evidence of a staged outdoor Science Program added a master’s came on board in spring 2015, one
crime scene, knowing that somewhere degree in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree of her early priorities was to survey
beneath the mud lies “human remains.” in 2011. In addition, the accreditation the ideas and expertise of her faculty.
It’s the stuff of hit TV drama series. process has been initiated for several Together, they developed creative
But for these students, the day’s rain- sections of the graduate and under- new ventures for the program.The
soaked efforts deliver far more than graduate degree programs with the new concentration in Forensic/
drama.They deliver real-life forensic American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Biometric Identity Analysis is a perfect
science training, critical to qualifying the accreditation body for forensic example. Beginning this fall, it becomes
for a career that already is waiting science programs nationwide. the only concentration of its kind in
for them. More growth is in sight.Today, the nation and one of four concentra-
Whether advertised in page after the entire program is on the brink of tions that master’s candidates can
page of federal government job sites major initiatives that will distinguish choose for their degree program.
or noted by community agencies it from every other forensic science Forensic/biometric identity
across the country, demand for forensic program in the United States. analysis utilizes the latest technology
scientists is skyrocketing, as is the continued on page 18
© iStockphoto.com
16 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 17A new partnership, a new
institute…and the Dead family
From FBI Luminary to Forensic Science
Also set to get underway is a partner-
ship with the Northern Laboratory of Program Director:
the Virginia Department of Forensic Meet Mary Ellen O’Toole
Science facility in Prince William
County where actual crime scene Mary Ellen O’Toole’s career before
evidence is submitted for analysis. joining the College of Science reads
like a Hollywood script. In her twenty-
A 360-degree experience Beginning this fall, College of Science
eight years with the FBI, she worked on
“
Photo: Courtesy of Forensic Science Program
students will take lecture courses at
a host of high-profile cases, including
I can’t underscore enough how our training sets us apart. Forensic Science, from page 17 the department and use its DNA and
When our students come here, they don’t just read a book controlled substance laboratories the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski), Polly
Klaas abduction, Zodiac serial murders,
for identifying people through forensic
or two about forensic science. They get their hands dirty. for training purposes.
the disappearances of Elizabeth
and biologic attributes such as DNA
Still in the planning stage is the
Smart and Natalee Holloway, and
They work with real equipment. They dig in the ground or fingerprints and prepares students
Institute of Forensic and Behavioral
the Columbine shootings. For nearly
for careers in the federal government,
and walk across crime scenes. It’s this kind of hands-on Science, which will bring forensic sci-
fifteen years, O’Toole was one of the
primarily as identity intelligence ana-
experience that makes a difference when you apply for a job. ence faculty, students, and community
most senior FBI profilers in its elite
lysts.The concentration was, in fact,
agencies together to examine cold
Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), the
That’s what we give students: a 360-degree experience with created when the college learned of
cases of all kinds, including homicides,
venue for the Criminal Minds TV
the U.S. government’s need for skilled
forensic science. We believe it makes ours a premier program sexual assaults, and child abductions.
series, where she became the leading
identity analysts, ensuring that “students
”
here in Northern Virginia and across the country. Planners foresee a speakers’ bureau,
expert in the area of offender behavior,
will have their pick of careers in the Photo: Courtesy of Mary Ellen O’Toole
seminars, and agency-led training
or “psychopathy.”
federal government when they gradu- Mary Ellen O’Toole
— Mary Ellen O’Toole, Director focusing on these cases, which
O’Toole is also a trained FBI hostage negotiator, the author of
ate,” says Emily Rancourt, assistant
O’Toole says,“typically don’t get
Dangerous Instincts: How Gut Feelings Betray Us, and the editor of the
director of the program.
the attention they need.”
internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journal Violence and Gender.
Both the Forensic Science Program
And then there is the Dead family,
She is regularly sought out by national media — CNN, CBS, Fox, ABC,
and the university have become
newly acquired mannequins that
NBC, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera — for her expert insights into
widely known in Japan as a result of
simulate real-world homicide victims.
violent cases and forensic issues throughout the world.
documentaries about two cold-case
Students are required to apply their
As director of the Forensic Science Program,
homicides that happened there. A
learning to these gruesomely realistic
O’Toole joins a faculty that also came straight
Japanese film company made three
dummies, documenting wound
from the field. Their extensive contacts have
trips from Tokyo to the Fairfax Campus
patterns, decomposition, and other
helped build the program. Together they
to record faculty in daylong consulta-
findings essential to a case.
are, as O’Toole proudly says, “a visionary
tions on the complex cases. Forensic
group of people who love their work.”
and behavioral aspects of the cases
were explored, their implications for The real world
offender behavior, personality, and In both current and upcoming training
relationship to the victims, as well as opportunities, every aspect of educa-
investigative suggestions for Japanese tion in the Forensic Science Program
law enforcement officers.The docu- is relentlessly realistic. Hands-on labs
mentaries were aired in Japan in 2015 are integrated with lectures. Guest
and again in early 2016 and, in both “The media has inspired students
speakers open students’ eyes to
instances, received the highest ratings to learn more about forensic science,”
less well-known careers in the field.
for any programs shown in the same she continues, speaking of TV crime
Chemists, DNA analysts, and crime
time frame.“Because the filming was scene dramas.“Our job is to show
scene investigators interact as a team.
done at Mason,” O’Toole says,“this is them what the real world is like
“We promote this approach,” O’Toole
a wonderful recruiting tool for both and help them find their specialized
says,“because that’s the way the real
undergraduate and graduate students passion within our profession,
world is.
who plan to come from Japan to whether in a lab or the field.”
Photo: Courtesy of Forensic Science Program
study in the United States.”
Students try to uncover evidence at a mock crime scene.
18 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2016 • Periodic Elements • 19Elements of COS Dean’s Message
© iStockphoto.com
Congratulations to College of Science
researchers who submitted successful
funding proposals for the inaugural Peggy Agouris
Provost Multidisciplinary Research Dean, College of Science
Initiatives program. Provost S. David
Wu began the program in 2015 to One of the most remarkable truths of science is that
promote multidisciplinary research by there is always something new to explore. That fact
providing seed grants for cutting-edge Photo: Creative Services
is true here, too, in the College of Science where
initiatives developed by teams of every year, every semester, brings a sense of discovery, from new students
researchers from two or more academic and faculty members to exciting grant opportunities and new degrees.
units. COS scientists, along with their I wish we could share everything that is happening in our labs and
Mason collaborators, claimed seven classrooms but as one of the largest centers of science education and
of the fourteen grants awarded. The research in Virginia, there’s just too much to share. This issue of Periodic
faculty members and their research Elements offers an insider’s view of College of Science activities in space
categories are: Alessandra Luchini – and in petri dishes, and exciting discoveries hanging from the ceilings or
Biotechnology; Anthony Stefanidis, rooting in Mason Pond. The college is like a self-contained city of curious
Photo: R. Christian Jones
Arie Croitoru, Andrew Crooks, and Dieter explorers who ask a lot of questions — whether instructors are questioning
Construction progress continues on the Potomac Science Center.
Pfoser – Cyber and Computer; Paul students or researchers are questioning the limits of cell biology.
Delamater, Timothy Leslie, and Riuxin The Potomac Science Center is on Science Fridays, a lecture lunch series, We are experiencing a science evolution where we have more data
Yang – Environmental and Public schedule to open in late summer are held at noon on selected Fridays on everything imaginable than ever before. This is leading to a spirit of
Health; Timothy Leslie – Environmental 2016 near Belmont Bay in eastern throughout the year. Intriguing cooperation and collaboration in the college and throughout Mason, and I
and Public Health; Padmanabhan Prince William County. The three-story, research on a variety of topics is am excited to see how it grows. From undergraduate research opportunities
Seshaiyer – Society and Education; 50,000-square-foot waterfront facility presented by COS faculty members, to entrepreneurial companies supporting our discoveries in the market-
Anthony Stefanidis – Society and will house the Potomac Environmental postdocs, or graduate students place, there is a lot to be excited about.
Education; and Changwoo Ahn – Research and Education Center, as at each session. For a complete I hope we’re able to share something through the stories in this issue
Society and Education. For more well as defense-related geoinformation schedule of speakers and dates that excites you. Science at Mason and science in Virginia is the science
information about the Provost Multi- research and collaborative projects or to register as a speaker, visit of the future.
disciplinary Research Initiatives, see with agencies such as the National cos.gmu.edu/scifri.
the spring 2015 (No. 12) issue of Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The
Periodic Elements or visit center is also expected to serve as a
Connect with COS!
cos.gmu.edu/magazine. community science resource through To better recognize the achievements
Mason Science
displays, hands-on projects, workshops, of COS faculty and staff, NanoNotes,
and other activities. For more informa- previously found in Periodic Elements,
Faces of Science, a new COS faculty tion about the Potomac Science is now available as Accolades at @GMU_COS
profile series available at youtube.com/ Center, see the spring 2015 (No. 12) cos.gmu.edu/news. Read past issues of
MasonCOS, introduces seasoned issue of Periodic Elements or visit
favorite Lee Talbot, Department of Periodic Elements /MasonCOS
cos.gmu.edu/magazine.
Environmental Science and Policy, See COS alumni and student profiles at cos.gmu.edu
and newcomer Sean Lawton, Depart- at cos.gmu.edu/news. /GeorgeMasonCOS
ment of Mathematical Sciences.
Watch to learn about their passions —
from racing to philosophy — their
research interests, and the courses College of Science Convocation
they teach. New videos are added
regularly. Wednesday, May 11, 3pm, EagleBank Arena
Keynote Speaker: Scott Ralls, PhD
President, Northern Virginia Community College
20 • Periodic Elements • Spring 2016 Spring 2013 • Periodic Elements • 21Hanging around the Atrium
At left: A thirteen-foot-long, 300-pound
cast of a 36-million-year-old Zygorhiza
kochii skeleton
Photo, bottom: Mark D. Uhen shares
his knowledge of prehistoric whales
with students.
Photo: Creative Services
hen paleontologist Mark D. Uhen joined the The fossil now hangs from steel beams in the atrium
W Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth
Sciences in 2009, he already was well-acquainted with
between Exploratory Hall and Planetary Hall on the Fairfax
Campus, but it took extraordinary efforts from the Mason
prehistoric mammals, specifically whales. But no one Facilities team, a 40-foot lift, and a five-person crew to
knew he would eventually bring a life-size specimen complete the installation.
from his studies along, too.
Uhen hopes this new resident will spark students’ curiosity
Also a research associate at the Smithsonian National and interest in the department’s paleontology minor, the
Museum of Natural History, Uhen found his opportunity only one on the East Coast and one of the few in the nation.
when the museum began renovations and the cast of a
36-million-year-old Zygorhiza kochii skeleton — a relative
of modern whales, dolphins, and porpoises — was being
removed from display. Seizing the chance to give the
fossil a new home in the College of Science, Uhen
spoke with Dean Peggy Agouris, who enthusiastically
supported the idea. It took more than a year to plan the
installation and move the thirteen-foot-long, 300-pound
cast to the college. Explaining that it was in three pieces
— skull, torso, and tail, he says, “It barely fit through
the door.”
Uhen points out that the project was a group effort.
“I really want to thank all of those involved in the project,”
he says, “particularly the Smithsonian for donating the
cast and Dean Agouris for providing the funds for design
and installation of the exhibit.”
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