Faculty News
Awards & Honors:
Dr. Ahmed Louri (ECE) was recently awarded the IEEE Outstanding Leadership Award for his leadership to the field and for serving as the General Chair of the 21st IEEE International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC-2019). HPCC-2019 was part of the IEEE International Conferences HPCC/DSS/SmartCity-2019, which were held in August in Zhangjiajie, China. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology.
Research:
Dr. Gina Adam (ECE) received a $14,990 University Facilitating Fund grant from GW to work on the project “Experimentally-driven development of a simulator for memristive recurrent neural networks.” She also received a $34,964 GW Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund (CDFR) grant for the project “Memristors and neuromorphic networks for high definition bioelectric diagnostics and therapy.” She will work in collaboration with Dr. Igor Efimov (BME) and Dr. Marco Mercader (School of Medicine) on the CDFR project.
Dr. Payman Dehghanian (ECE) has received a $30,000 grant from Amazon Web Services for the project “Comprehensive Comparison Study of Synchronous vs. Induction Generators for Mission-Critical Stand-Alone Operations.” The project goal is to identify solutions to ensure the reliable and resilient operation of data centers at a minimum cost at all times. Dr. Dehghanian is the director of the GW SmartGrid Laboratory.
Dr. Ahmed Louri (ECE) and his research collaborators at Ohio University have been awarded a three-year, $1.1 million National Science Foundation grant for the project “Neural Network Accelerators for Machine Learning.” Dr. Louri is the principal investigator on the grant, and his share of the award is $600,000. The overarching goal of this research is to design highly parallel and energy-efficient neural network accelerators that can achieve 100x speed improvement over current state-of-the-art for a wide range of machine learning applications requiring large data sets, including finance, health, defense, and transportation, among several others. Apart from the technological, industrial, and intellectual impacts that could translate into benefits for society, the research also aims to have a major impact on education by integrating discovery with teaching and training.
Dr. Gabe Parmer (CS) has received a three-year, $225,000 grant from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). He will work alongside co-principal investigator Dr. Tim Wood (CS) on the project “Multi-Tenant Fog: Fine-Grained Isolation for Efficient, Low-latency Processing from Microcontroller to the Edge.” The project will explore the systems software infrastructure needed to enable security and reliability for large-scale multi-tenant execution spanning both the edge cloud and IoT devices. CS doctoral student Phani Kishore Gadepalli spent the summer beginning the research during an internship at ARM, an industry member of SRC.
Dr. Lijie Grace Zhang (MAE) and Dr. John Fisher (University of Maryland) have received a three-year $550,000 National Science Foundation grant for the project “4D Bioprinting of Near-infrared Light Responsive Smart Constructs for Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocyte Engineering.” This study aims to investigate the fundamental mechanism of light-triggered 4D effects on controlling the human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocyte function.
Publications:
Dr. David Broniatowski (EMSE) recently published the following articles: 1) Y. Zhou, M. Dredze, D. A. Broniatowski, and W. D. Adler. “Elites and foreign actors among the alt-right: The Gab social media platform,” First Monday, 24(9); and 2) Y. T. Yang, D. A. Broniatowski, and D. R. Reiss. “Government Role in Regulating Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media Platforms,” JAMA Pediatrics, published online September 3, 2019. Both articles were featured in GW Today stories last week, “Research Finds Extreme Elitism, Social Hierarchy among Gab Users,” and “Government Intervention Needed to Address Vaccination Misinformation.”
Conferences & Presentations:
On September 5, Dr. David Broniatowski (EMSE) presented the invited talk “Exploring Effective Strategies to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Misinformation” to an American Public Health Association webinar.
On September 3, Dr. Volker Sorger (ECE) gave an invited seminar titled “Heterogeneous Photonics for Next-generation Optoelectronics and Analog Processors” at NIST. He also presented his research in three accepted papers at the NanoP Conference, held September 4-6 in Munich, Germany. The papers are titled “0.7 A/W record-high responsivity in plasmon-slot graphene photodetectors,” “ENZ photonics with ITO: from record-efficient modulators to all-optical shielding,” and “Silicon microring resonator integrated MoTe2 photodetector.”
Other News:
Dr. Lorena Barba (MAE) has been appointed by the IEEE Computer Society as editor-in-chief for Computing in Science and Engineering (CiSE), for a one-year interim period starting January 2020. CiSE is a cross-disciplinary, international publication that emphasizes innovative applications in advanced computing, simulation, and analytics.
The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET will send an evaluation team to SEAS for an on-site visit Sunday, September 15 – Tuesday, September 17. Six engineering programs in five SEAS departments are seeking reaccreditation in the 2019-2020 cycle: biomedical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and systems engineering. The computer science program in SEAS will seek reaccreditation in the 2022-2023 cycle by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.
Upcoming SEAS Events
GW Innovation Center Workshop: “Design Think Your Project”
Workshop Lead: Dr. Erica Wortham, Co-director, GW Innovation Center
Tuesday, September 17 and Tuesday, November 5
6:00 – 7:30 pm
GWIC, Tompkins Hall M06
Design Think Your Project covers the basics of human centered design, a collaborative problem solving method that prioritizes people’s lived experiences. Bringing users into the discovery phase and design of your project fosters more innovative solutions. Starting with understandings gathered through empathy, the workshop introduces hands-on techniques, such as rapid prototyping, and emphasizes how to creatively reframe problems.
2nd Annual SEAS Welcome for Women in Engineering
Tuesday, September 17
6:30 – 7:45 pm
SEH, Lower Level
RSVP to Ms. Sandra Little
The SEAS Welcome for Women in Engineering provides first and second year female students with a clear understanding of the vibrant and supportive community of women available to them throughout their matriculation. Dean Lach, SEAS Center for Women in Engineering Director Shelly Heller, and SEAS alumnae, faculty, staff, and student leaders will welcome the students. Light refreshments will be served. All SEAS faculty are invited to attend.
EEMI: Department of Energy Clean Energy Talk
Tuesday, September 24
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
SEH, Lehman Auditorium
Register
GW’s Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) is sponsoring a Department of Energy Clean Energy Talk. These “talks” feature experts designing advanced technology, advocating for a clean energy future, and changing the way we think about energy systems. Lunch will be provided. Participation is free, and registration is encouraged. Visit our registration page to learn more about the speakers.
Save the Date: SEAS Student R&D Showcase
Friday, October 25
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
SEH, First Floor and B1 Level
Apply (The deadline to apply is Friday, September 20)
SEAS has moved its annual Student R&D Showcase from February to October. Please visit the SEAS Student R&D Showcase web page to find deadlines and the event schedule, prize information, and AccelerateGW I-Corps Site Program grants information. Showcase participants can nominate themselves for an AccelerateGW I-Corps Grant on the R&D Showcase Application site.
Human Resources News
In this month's HR Corner, SEAS HR Manager Marion Flythe-Inman welcomes GW's new vice president and chief people officer Dana Bradley, and she shares new information on:
- historical sick time data collection,
- SkillSurvey Reference Checks, and
- new job opportunities at SEAS.
The HR Corner is a new web page for SEAS staff that contains HR-related news, information, and events. Marion encourages staff to visit the page to find information on GW's new time off and leave guide, events and trainings, SEAS employment opportunities, and much more.
Entrepreneurship News & Events
ANA Avatar XPrize: The $10 million ANA Avatar XPRIZE is a four-year global competition focused on the development of an Avatar System that will transport a human’s sense, actions, and presence to a remote location in real time, leading to a more connected world. Avatars may have the potential to take on many different forms and be used in numerous scenarios, such as providing care, assisting with disaster relief, or providing multipurpose utility. The winning team will integrate multiple emerging technologies to develop a physical, non-autonomous Avatar System with which an operator can see, hear, and interact within a remote environment in a manner that feels as if they are truly there.
Register
Make-A-Thing Open Studio @ GW Innovation Center
Fridays throughout the semester
1:00 – 6:00 pm
Tompkins Hall, M06
The studio is open to the GW community. Please email the GW Innovation Center if you are interested in participating in the studio.
Register for GW’s Pitch George Competition: GW’s “elevator pitch” competition takes place each fall semester and allows young entrepreneurs to present their business ideas, get valuable feedback on the viability of their business concepts, and win startup capital. It offers networking opportunities with experienced entrepreneurs. The top five finalists of the competition will receive automatic entrance into the second round at the 2020 GW New Venture Competition.
Registration deadlines: Saturday, September 21, at midnight (Early Registration) and Sunday, September 29, at midnight (Final Registration)
Information sessions: Learn more about the Pitch George competition on:
Wednesday, September 11 | 5:30 – 6:30 pm | Duques Hall, Room 353
Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship: I-Corps Information Session
Wednesday, September 11
12:00 – 1:00 pm (Free sandwiches will be provided)
1922 F Street, Room 208
RSVP
The National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) is a Lean Startup boot-camp sponsored by the NSF to promote innovation and entrepreneurship at universities. These programs have significant funding opportunities and are free and open to all GW faculty, students, and post-docs. The information session will cover program and funding opportunities. Learn more about I-Corps at GW.
Human Centered Design Workshop
Wednesday, September 11
5:45 – 7:45 pm
Gelman Library, Room 219
Register
This experiential and interactive workshop exposes students to the tools, tactics, and frameworks used by innovators, entrepreneurs, and designers to empathize with populations they seek to serve, define problem sets, and come up with innovative solutions.
Pitch-A-Palooza
Thursday, September 19
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Funger Hall, Room 108
Register
Do you have an idea? A problem that needs solving? Follow your innovative itch to the GW PITCH-A-PALOOZA. Join the GW Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and your classmates to hear and vote for your favorite ideas. Did we mention we have pizza? There’s that too.
SEED SPOT Bootcamp
Saturday, September 28
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Gelman Library, Rooms 301-302
Registration link not yet available
This one-day Launch Camp provides entrepreneurs and individuals who are considering starting a venture a safe space to explore and launch their idea. Throughout the program, you will have access to mentors, content experts, SEED SPOT’s curriculum, and a network of supporters.
Announcements
STEM Ice Cream Social
Tuesday, September 10
4:00 – 5:00 pm
SEH, First Floor
Meet and network with recruiters and employees from Deloitte, Raytheon, SmithGroup, Cvent, Capco, Alarm.com, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Learn about their jobs and internships - and enjoy some free ice cream! This event is sponsored by the Center for Career Services.
Tachyon III Accelerator: Tachyon is an accelerator for startups utilizing blockchain and Web 3.0 technologies. Tachyon III is a full-time, on-location program bringing 8-12 teams together in New York City from November 2019 through February 2020. Teams will be provided funding, office space, one on one mentorship, and programming around business and blockchain specific issues, culminating in an investor day and post-program fundraising support. There is an investment of $150,000 per team. Applications for Tachyon III close at midnight Eastern time on September 16. Please email Tachyon with any questions.