Mason Momentum

Using virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), a team of researchers at George Mason University is taking a wrecking ball to barriers faced by neurodiverse individuals in construction.

Accelerate 2022, held on Mason’s Arlington Campus on Oct. 19-20, focused on showcasing up-and-coming startups throughout the greater Washington, D.C., region.

The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s I-Corps program is an accelerator that helps entrepreneurs and researchers work together “to bring invention to impact.” Mason serves as an official I-Corps site, supporting local grantees through the exploratory stages of venture-building, as well as preparing them to apply for the national-level program.

Jhumka Gupta, ScD, MPH, associate professor in the College of Health and Human Services’ Department of Global and Community Health, says that she has always been drawn to research that seeks to “bring the ‘hidden side’ of things out in the open: such as violence against women and girls and refugee populations.” Gupta’s research on period poverty, and more broadly, stigma and menstrual health, is helping to inform a national policy discussion on health equity, reaching well beyond the public health community. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) has referenced Gupta’s research in support of legislation for menstrual equity. After Gupta saw her research referenced on Rep. Meng’s social media, she reached out to Meng’s office to share additional resources. In May 2021, Meng introduced the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, aimed at increasing access to menstrual products, and she met with Gupta to learn more about her work. 

Mason, FARO announce partnership to advance forensic science research.

With COVID-19 continuing to spread throughout the world, there is a demand for rapid, noninvasive diagnostics. George Mason University researchers Robin Couch and Allyson Dailey, members of the College of Science and the Institute of Biohealth Innovation, are working to answer that call with their research on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for infectious disease detection.

Over the two past years, two George Mason University systems engineering senior design teams developed a tool to help two Maryland counties make complex financial decisions to reduce their CO2 emissions.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working with a group of scientists from Mason’s Center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Studies (COLA) to update its drought forecasting system.

Climate change is coming for your morning cup of joe. George Mason University neuroscience professor Theodore (Ted) Dumas is worried about that and thinks you should be too.