Periodic Elements Fall 2013

Inside:Exploratory Hall –164k Square Feet of Science

COS’ Vanguardof Viral Researchers

SPACS: An Adaptive Learning Community

Fall 2013 No. 10 A Magazine from the College of Science

Fall 2013 • Periodic Elements • 1

I’ll keep teaching until I can nolonger drive to campus,” says

Art Poland with a laugh. Poland, aresearch professor in the School ofPhysics, Astronomy, and Computa-tional Sciences (SPACS), feels fortunateto love the work that he does. It’s afeeling shared by his wife, Helen, aveterinarian specializing in horses,who runs a clinic at their horsefarm in Warrenton, Virginia. ThePolands, high school sweetheartswho married in college, sought pro-fessional careers that have allowedthem to travel the globe and makewhat they feel are measurable contributions. Their professionalsuccess comes from their sharedpassions and ability to have had access to high-quality education. The Polands are both committedto sharing their success and helpingothers. Education has been an importantpart of their lives, and they recognizethat the skyrocketing costs of collegetuition make getting a degree difficult,if not impossible, for many deservingstudents. To help ease this financialburden, the Polands have endowed ascholarship in the College of Science(COS) to be awarded to students pursuing a science education and in need of financial support. Mason,along with the University of Massa-chusetts, Amherst; Colorado State University; and Indiana University;are all receiving this generous gift. Art explains that these are all institutionswhere Helen and he have either studied or worked. Art Poland’s fascination withspace and the genesis of his careerbegan as a freshman in high school in1957. Poland recalls being captivatedby the Sputnik launch. Like millionsof people across the globe, he looked

up to the sky one evening to see if hecould get a glimpse of the satellite. Hewas fascinated by the stars and wantedto learn more about them. He pursuedhis dream, earning first a bachelor’sdegree in astronomy and eventually a doctorate in astrophysics. He spenttwenty years in senior scientific roles,including working for NASA. Upon retirement, he came to COS andhelped develop new courses in spaceweather, which are part of the SPACSdoctoral degree program in computa-tional sciences and informatics. Healso teaches, does his own research,mentors undergraduate students

through the OSCAR Students as Scholars initiative, a program thatpairs students with faculty memberswho then guide them through specificprojects and research, and is president

of Mason’s chapter of Sigma Xi, a scientific research society. Helen Poland’s passions run justas deep. As an undergraduate, shewanted to study veterinary medicinebut earned a doctoral degree in physicalchemistry instead. Upon graduation,she took a position working for Colorado State University. Severalyears into her career she realized thather true calling was to be an equineveterinarian, and she pursued her degree in veterinary medicine. Today,the couple owns eight horses ontheir farm in Warrenton, where Helenhas her clinic.

Donors Who Make a Difference:Art and Helen Poland

Helen and Art Poland

Photos: Courtesy of Art and Helen Poland

“

On the Cover

InsidePeriodic ElementsSupporting Mason: Art and Helen Poland 1

HIV Research 2

New Science Center on Fairfax Campus 4

NanoNotes 7

Student Summer Travel 8

Climate Research Partner 10

Growth for SPACS 12

Social Media’s Role in Emergency Response 14

Q&A with Acting Dean 17

Dean’s Message 17

page 14

page 2

Patty SnellingsDirector of College Relations

College of Science703-993-8783

[email protected]

AdministrationPeggy Agouris, Acting Dean

Evans Mandes, Senior Associate Dean, Finance and Personnel

Richard Diecchio,Acting Associate Dean,

Academic and Student AffairsGregory Foster, Associate Dean,

Research and ComputingMartha Wescoat-Andes,

Associate Dean, Administration

Aurilla Fusco, Assistant Dean, Development and Alumni Affairs

Newsletter Editors:Home Row Editorial

Sharon Ritchey, Liesl Wiederkehrwww.homerowed.com

Layout Designer:Beth Moorcones, EWM Design

www.ewmdesign.com

A modern science motif greets students, faculty,staff, and visitors to Exploratory Hall.

Story page 4

A publication of the George Mason University College of Science

cos.gmu.edu

COS cares about the environment – please recycle

Photo: Creative Services

page 10


Kashanchi Lab: A New Approach to “Shock and Kill” A vexing problem long-term HIVsurvivors face is viral reservoirs, areasin the body where HIV is alive but ina dormant state. The virus goes intohiding by integrating its own geneticmaterial into a host cell’s DNA, linger-ing in patients for decades. HAARTwon’t work on these latent cells sincethe virus isn’t actively replicating itself. Yet these latent cells are a “bigtime threat,” says Kashanchi, sincethey “can allow low levels of viruspopulation to take place once in awhile.” Latent cells, along with HIV,have to be eradicated. But how can thisbe done safely without destroying anHIV patient’s healthy, uninfected cells?

Over the years, HIV researchersrealized that the only way to get atthese viral reservoirs is to turn the inactive virus “on,” treat it with HAARTand destroy the latent cells so they’reno longer hospitable to the virus. Thisapproach, known as “shock and kill,”is problematic because it doesn’t explain how not to kill the body’s uninfected cell population at thesame time. Kashanchi and NCBID researcherSergey Iordanskiy think they mayhave an answer. Giving patients low

doses of X-ray radiation activates HIVproteins while triggering latent cellsto self-destruct. Once the virus isshocked into replicating itself, it can be treated with HAART, whichKashanchi and Iordanskiy demon-strated in humanized mouse models —mice with human immune cells embedded in them. Radiation treatments are trickybecause they usually damage the DNAof healthy, uninfected cells, which potentially leads to cancer. Kashanchiand Iordanskiy say the radiation levelthey propose is low enough to besafe and to trigger a healthycell’s own DNA repairprocess through the p53pathway, a protein-basedchain reaction that protectsthe cell from genetic mutations. Kashanchi, who hastrained dozens of postdocs andgraduate and undergraduatestudents during his twenty-year career studying HIV, sayshe and Iordanskiy may havefound a safe approach to“shock and kill,” which mightone day eradicate HIV in apatient who receives thetreatment. He and Iordanskiyare hopeful as they wait tohear from NIH and other funding agencies on grantsthey’ve submitted to supporttheir research.

Wu Lab: HIV on the Cytoskeleton Treadmill Meanwhile, Wu and Jia Guo areexamining how HIV is able to exploitan immune cell’s internal machineryto gain access to the nucleus, theplace where HIV makes copies of its own DNA. So far, antiretroviralshaven’t been able to stop HIV at thisphase of its life cycle, known as tran-scription. Wu and Guo are particularlyinterested in treatments that disruptHIV’s use of cellular machinery even

when the virus mutates. HIV is a notoriously unstable virus that is constantly mutating. To enter a cell, HIV has to bind toseveral proteins dotting the cell’s sur-face. First, HIV attaches itself to theCD4 receptor, then to one of twocoreceptors, CCR5 or CXCR4. Thecoreceptor chosen to gain entry intothe cell depends on the type of HIV apatient has been infected with. CCR5is used by a more common and lesslethal form known as M-tropic HIV;CXCR4, meanwhile, is used by T-tropicHIV, a deadlier form researchers

speculate is a mutation of the earlierM-tropic version. When these coreceptors are activated, the cell knows that some-thing is wrong. Its natural immune response kicks in, causing the cell tophysically migrate toward the sourceof the infection. The cell is propelledforward by a treadmilling process created when a protein called cofilinstarts breaking up cytoskeleton fibersin the cell. Over a six-year period, Wu

Developed in the mid-1990s,highly active antiretroviral

therapy (HAART) revolutionized HIVtreatment so that the virus ceasedbeing an automatic death sentencefor the newly diagnosed. Since the advent of HAART, researchers have settheir sights on the ultimate challenge:finding a cure for HIV, a global

pandemic that continues to infect—and in some cases, kill—millionsaround the world each year. HIV research at George MasonUniversity began in earnest in 2003when Yuntao Wu was recruited to theNational Center for Biodefense andInfectious Diseases (NCBID) from theNational Institutes of Health (NIH) in

Bethesda, Maryland. Seven years later,researcher Fatah Kashanchi arrived at the center and set up a second labdevoted to HIV and other retroviruses. The Human ImmunodeficiencyVirus, or HIV, attacks the immune system, destroying a person’s naturaldisease-fighting capabilities. If left un-treated, HIV leads to AIDS, or AcquiredImmunodeficiency Deficiency Syn-drome, the final stage of HIV infectionwhere immune cell counts are so lowthat opportunistic infections cause a person to die. HIV is transmittedthrough the exchange of bodily fluids,like blood, semen, and breast milk. Kashanchi and Wu belong to thevanguard of viral researchers attemptingto pin down how HIV interacts with a host cell once HIV infects it. Under-standing how HIV hijacks a cell’s internal mechanisms to replicate itself can lead to better drugs and, ultimately, a cure or a vaccine. AIDSresearch is a hypercompetitive fieldand both Wu and Kashanchi have distinguished themselves, publishingpapers in prestigious journals like Cell and PLOS Pathogens, Journalof Virology and receiving multiyearNIH grants to support their research.Here is a closer look at their work:

2 • Periodic Elements • Fall 2013

continued on page 16

HIV Research:Routing Out HIV that Hides and Halting Its Use of a Cell’s Internal Machinery

Sergey Iordanskiy, Fatah Kashanchi

Jia Gua, Yuntao Wu”

“Understanding how HIV hijacks a cell’s internal

mechanisms to replicate itselfcan lead to better drugs and, ultimately, a cure or a vaccine. AIDS research is a hypercompetitive fieldand both Wu and Kashanchi

have distinguished themselves.

HIV research is housed in the BiomedicalResearch Laboratory, headquarters ofthe National Center for Biodefense and

Infectious Diseases, on the Prince WilliamCampus. While many labs and scientists

look at ways to kill pathogens, BRL researchers investigate the host-pathogenrelationship to study how hosts respond

to infectious diseases.


Photo: Archana Pyati

Photo: Archana Pyati

Five years ago, a plan was startedto create a consolidated science

presence on George Mason University’sFairfax Campus. The five main goalswere: Create a community sciencecenter; provide flexible learning environments for all science learners,both majors and nonmajors; promoteresearch; teach sustainability throughthe building and sites; and use technology to its best advantages. This fall, the College of Science(COS) opened the doors to its com-pleted science center, a full 164,050square feet of new labs, classrooms,student study areas, permanent science displays, and technology. Nancy Conwell, COS director of facilities planning, operations, andmarketing, says, “The whole idea ofthe building is to give us a campus

within a campus.” The renovated facility, which comprises ExploratoryHall, Planetary Hall, and a new LabAnnex, stands between Research Halland David King Hall. Conwell gives a great deal of credit to the team offaculty, administrators, and architectswho truly thought through whatwould best serve the students andhelp the college continue to grow. Vikas Chandhoke, former COSdean and now Mason’s vice presidentfor research and economic development,was instrumental in all facets of thebuilding’s design. Chandhoke says,“The renovation of Exploratory Halland the Lab Annex addition are the result of a cooperative, university-wide effort to offer Mason studentsthe space and the tools to receive the best science education possible.”

A look at the new space revealsmuch more than classrooms and labs,but rather an integrated environmentthat builds a science community.

A Look InsideExploratory Hall is a LEED Silver–certified building. Care was taken in both the materials used in the construction and in how the buildingoperates. An abundance of clear andfrosted glass promotes the direct passage of light while allowing forprivacy and energy efficiency.Theopenness of the structure allows people to see actual science happening.Conwell says that traditional sciencelabs and classrooms had been closedoff from each other. “Vikas wanted acollaborative community that is cross-disciplinary, and here everything is

Fall 2013 • Periodic Elements • 54 • Periodic Elements • Fall 2013

open.” Researchers can set up a variety of permanent displays for student research, instruction, and forothers to see. There is no longer theneed to keep collections locked awayin storage and bring them out only for lessons. Larry Rockwood, a professor inthe Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP) and directorof the Undergraduate Biology Program,was involved in the building design.“One of the most immediate benefitsin the open layout is that it’s easier to see what everyone is doing and tocommunicate.” He explains that in theolder buildings, in addition to everyonebeing spread out, it was difficult toknow just who was around. He says,“The faculty is enjoying the new

rooms, the natural light, and all thenew technology.” Another immediate benefit, saysRockwood, is the new labs. “Each lab comes with dedicated PC anddocument cameras, which aid indemonstrations.” Additionally, there isnow dedicated lab space; previously,labs would have to be broken downand set up for different classes, something both time consuming and limiting for instructional quality.

Green on TopMason has always enjoyed a greencampus with patches of wildflowergardens showcasing native plants and encouraging insects and birds. Exploratory Hall is no exception andboasts a greenhouse on the roof. Thenew greenhouse is part of ESP and

has several distinct areas: a room toprep plants and control pests, a placefor tools and equipment, an open,drier space suited for cacti and succulents, and an area for plantsneeding higher humidity.The entirespace is computerized, helping controlthe different microclimates and allowing easy control for temperature,ventilation, and shade. One of thebiggest benefits is that now plants are closer to the labs where studentsstudy them. The greenhouse can beused for specific projects because thelabs, classrooms, and greenhouse areall in one easy-to-access location.

An Alternative Way to LearnExploratory Hall houses the university’sfirst active learning with technology

Open for Science

and So Much More

The renovation of Exploratory Hall and constructionof the Lab Annex were part of a five-year plan to create a comprehensive science center on theFairfax Campus.

continued on page 6



Fall 2013 • Periodic Elements • 76 • Periodic Elements • Fall 2013

(ALT) classroom, a specially designedroom that is built to facilitate a learning paradigm that is active, collaborative, and takes advantage of technology to strengthen studentlearning. Kim Eby, Mason’s associateprovost for faculty development anddirector of the Center for Teachingand Faculty Excellence, lights upwhen talking about the design of thelearning space and all its possibilities.Eby has been involved in the designand planning of the classroom andspecializes in teaching and learning.She says, “This type of classroom waspiloted about fifteen years ago inother areas of the country. We’re excited to have both the funding and the commitment to bring inquiry-guided, technology-rich learning here to Mason.” And it is a classroom for the entire university. Eby explains thatthough the ALT classroom is in Exploratory Hall, faculty membersfrom across the university submitproposals to (re)design courses toteach in the room. “This semester, wehave a science, a math, and an Englishcomposition class.” Eby says that fromthe moment you walk into the space,you realize it’s not a traditional class-room. The room has eight circular tables, each with nine seats. Eachtable has a wall monitor connectedto it, and students can plug in at thetables. The faculty station is in thecenter, encouraging the professor tomove around so that his or her backis not to the students. The walls arefloor-to-ceiling whiteboards and“scream collaboration.” Open floorlayout allows in natural light. The pro-fessor has the ability to control all the monitors, thus allowing teams toshare their work or concentrate on specific activities at their table. The faculty members using theroom this semester are also serving

as pioneers for exploring theroom, the technology, and thenew way of teaching. Eby saysthat they meet regularly tohelp answer questions andgive support for ways to usethe technology and encouragestudents to work together.This group will be teachingagain in the spring, and thenthe room will rotate for newclasses, giving more teachersand students the chance tolearn in this new environment.

Creative CollaborationThe bones of Exploratory Hallare the former Science andTech II building—not a placerevered for its aesthetics. Itwas important that this newscience center become a placewhere people want to gather.The open areas encourage students to socialize and studytogether and aid in building a science community. Thewhole building is based onscience—tables and chairs are printed with elementsfrom the Periodic Table of Elements, designs on the floorrepresent water droplets andthe double helix structure ofDNA, and science quotes onconversation benches outsidethe building were solicitedfrom the faculty. “We definitely hit on the wowfactor with a design that is aestheti-cally pleasing and lifts your spiritswhen you enter the building,” saysPeggy Agouris, COS acting dean. “Students are extremely receptive tothe modern, open, informal setting,and faculty members appreciate theease of moving between classroomsand labs. And we continue to get accolades from visitors and parents, too.”


Wood panels in a student lounge depict the geometric derivation of the Fibonacci spiral.

Open for Science, from page 5NanoNotesElements of Distinction about the College of Science,its Faculty, Staff, and StudentsTimothy DelSole, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, was a contributing author to chapter ten, “Detection and Attribu-tion of Climate Change: From Global to Regional,” of the Fifth AssessmentReport of the United Nations Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change,and a reviewer for chapter eleven,“Near-term Climate Change Projections and Predictability.”

Kamil Stelmach, a master’s studentin the Department of Chemistry andBiochemistry, was awarded a NASAEarth and Space Science Fellowship.She successfully competed against587 applicants from universities nationwide and was one of onlytwenty-six students awarded a fellow-ship in the Planetary Science division.

Victoria Stotzer,an undergraduatestudent in the Department ofChemistry andBiochemistry andthe Program inForensic Science,was honored withthe 2013 NASAGoddard SpaceFlight CenterSummer InternAward for Outstanding Science Contribution. Her presentation, “The Application of SuperhydrophobicSelf-Assembly Monolayers on Nanotextures,” was selected for the topaward from more than 200 projects.

Allison Macfarlane, Department ofEnvironmental Science and Policy,was unanimously confirmed by theU.S. Senate for a full five-year term as chair of the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission, effective July 1. Macfarlane previously was appointed

to complete the final year of the previous chair’s term, which expiredJune 30.

Thomas Lovejoy, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, received the 2013 World Wildlife FundLeaders for a Living Planet Award. The award recognizes environmentalleadership and outstanding and inspirational work in conservation.

Vivek Prasad, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ‘11, was selected to attend the first two of fivesessions of the Resilience Academy, a cooperative program between theUnited Nations University Institute of Environment and Human Security,the International Center for ClimateChange and Development, and the

Munich Re Foundation. The first session was held in Dhaka,Bangladesh, in September, and the second session is inMunich, Germany, in 2014. The theme for both sessions is livelihood resilience.

Several doctoral students in the Environmental Science andPublic Policy program in the Department of EnvironmentalScience and Policy have

received awards and fellowships to assist with their research:

Carolyn Boules, dissertation awardfrom the American Institute forMaghrib Studies, “Water ManagementArrangements and Resilience in Dryland Agricultural Systems: A Comparative Analysis,” (Tunisia)

Stacie Castelda, Fulbright Programaward, “Evaluating Human Threats toThree Canid Species of the BrazilianCerrado,” (Brazil)

Ashley Milton, FulbrightProgram award, “ForestResilience for Liveli-hoods and EcosystemServices,” (DemocraticRepublic of the Congo)

Robert Slate, DoanFellowship at theChemical HeritageFoundation, “Regulating Nanomaterials:Drawing Lessons from TSCA andREACH” (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Owen Kelley, Department of Geographyand Geoinformation Science, was invited to participate in the fall lecture series offered by the Science,Technology and Business Division of theLibrary of Congress. Kelly discussedhis work with NASA’s Tropical RainfallMeasuring Mission (TRMM) satelliteand the statistics collected on the association of hot towers and hurricane intensification.

Kirk Borne, School of Physics, Astronomy,and Computational Sciences, gave an invited talk on “Human-MachineCollaboration in Information Extractionfor Data-to-Decisions” at the Big DataRetreat in September, sponsored bythe Office of the Assistant Secretaryof Defense.

Harold Geller, School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences, contributed a chapter to Extraterrestrial Altruism, which exploresquestions about the motivations ofcivilizations beyond Earth.

Michael Summers, School of Physics,Astronomy, and Computational Sciences, presented the keynote address at the Prince William CountyScience Teachers’ Professional Day.He discussed astrobiology as a meansto teach integrated sciences to middleand high school students.

Victoria Stotzer

Ashley Milton

continued on page 16

years ago to help the program develop both master and doctoral degree curricula. He is also a professor at the institute. “It was an amazing experience,” says Kwon.“We taught the students how to use computa-tional software, such as MATLAB, and discussedhow to prepare research proposals and seekfunding. We were so impressed with these students and how they want to solve real-world—not theoretical—issues.” Stephensagrees, adding, “We delivered a new tool to themthat will help them better model and predictevents such as the spread of a virus” and the efficacy of a vaccinationprogram. Both studentscame away with a newappreciation for how theirstudies can have cross-disciplinary and global applications. Seshaiyer waspleased with his students’work, explaining that partof the project’s goals is to develop leaders andthinkers who can con-nect and make a differ-ence outside theclassroom. Both Kwonand Stephens are corre-sponding with several Tanzania students andhelping them workthrough issues and share data.

Research in Ireland“Bench to Bedside: Translational Molecular Research,” a one-week summer course for students from the United States and Ireland,took place at Dublin City University (DCU) inJuly. The course covered both theoretical andpractical aspects of translational biomedical research, with particular emphasis on the latestand most important advances in personalizedmolecular medicine technology. Lance Liotta, codirector of the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine(CAPMM) in COS, along with CAPMM researchersVirginia Espina and Alessandra Luchini, organizedand taught the course with health care and academic collaborators at DCU. Faculty membersfrom Georgetown University who teach in

GeorgeSquared, a joint program between Masonand Georgetown in advanced biomedical sciences,also participated in the program. The daily schedule included lectures in themorning and afternoon workshops. SeventeenMason students and alumni traveled to Dublin to take the course, joining twelve DCU students. Physics student Matt Johnson was one ofthe attendees. He explains that so many times in a classroom experiment setting, you are givendirections and told to conduct an experiment or solve a problem. This course was completelydifferent, “we had hands-on instruction and guidance using the equipment and were working

to solve real problems.” Johnson has a bachelor’sdegree in physics but says, “All the interestingproblems are in biology.” He is now pursuing a master’s degree at Mason with plans to complete a doctoral degree in biophysics. Hisbackground in bioinformatics and data analysiswas helpful to the other workshop attendees as he was able to review data in a different way. “This was my first time using biology labequipment, actually looking at cells under a microscope. It really opened my eyes to researchpossibilities.” And though the course was only a week, Johnson sees how important the opportunity was for him and his studies.


This past summer, College of Science (COS)students had the opportunity to view the

Swiss Alps, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and the Dublin coastline as they traveled the world with

their professors, extending their classroom learning.

Summer at CERNPhysics major Katelyn Farissspent eight weeks as an intern in the CERN summer studentprogram in Geneva, Switzerland.CERN, the European Organizationfor Nuclear Research, is one ofthe most preeminent particlephysics research facilities in theworld and home to the LargeHadron Collider, the world’slargest particle accelerator.

Mason students aresupported by a National Science Foundation (NSF)

grant administered by physics professor PhilRubin, in the School of Physics, Astronomy, andComputational Sciences, who also does researchat CERN. The grant pays for two COS students toattend the CERN program each summer. “It was

exciting to be working there,” says Fariss. “Students are given their own projects to workon and also attend lectures along with interactingwith students from around the world.” Farissworked on a computer programming projectcalled NA62 where she helped update electronicsystems. “This work opened my eyes to just howimportant computer programming is to physicsresearch and taught me a lot about particlephysics.” Fariss plans to return next summer andcontinue her work on the project and has plansto pursue a graduate degree in either physics or astrophysics after she graduates.

Mathematics in TanzaniaWould you like to go to Africa to work on a research project? It’s not a question most mathmajors are asked, but for graduate studentsByong Kwon and Tom Stephens it was. Kwonand Stephens traveled to Tanzania along withPadmanabhan Seshaiyer, their professor in theDepartment of Mathematical Sciences, to teachan intensive ten-day mathematics workshop atthe Nelson Mandela Institute to a select group of students and instructors. Through his teachingand research, Seshaiyer became involved withthe Nelson Mandela Institute in Tanzania three


COS Students Travel the World for Science

Katelyn Fariss

Students and faculty who attended the summer course on translational biomedicalresearch are pictured outside the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology atDublin City University.

Photo: Courtesy of Katelyn Fa

riss

Credit: Courtesy of CAPMM

Alongstanding collaborative research affiliation with the Collegeof Science (COS) has prompted the Institute of Global Environ-

ment and Society (IGES) and its world-renowned Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA) to relocate from Calverton,Maryland, to Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

The vision for COLA and IGES was first articulated by JagadishShukla, University Professor in the Department of Atmospheric,Oceanic, and Earth Sciences (AOES) and IGES president, and the twoorganizations were founded as a nonprofit research institution in 1993by several Mason scientists, including James Kinter, Paul Dirmeyer,Bohua Huang, Edwin Schneider, David Straus, and Ben Kirtman (nowat the University of Miami). The idea was that the climate system hasseveral processes and phenomena that occur over time scales longerthan a typical weather forecast of ten days. James Kinter, director of COLA, explains, “As a result, understanding and modeling theseprocesses could establish the predictability of climate variations and provide a basis for making long-range projections.”

COLA has refined this hypothesis over the years and made significant scientific contributions that are documented in more than500 peer-reviewed papers published during the past two decades.First is the establishment of a scientific basis for quantitative dynamicseasonal and decadal prediction, grounded in classical predictabilitytheory and the use of the latest numerical models of the physical climate system. Other innovative approaches to analyzing and predicting climate variations include an emphasis on the role playedby interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere, theuse of ensembles of climate model predictions to provide guidancefor probabilistic climate forecasts, and the application of informationtheory to the problem of climate predictability and prediction.

COLA’s structure for funding and other resources has been considered a model for federal interagency cooperation since its inception. Three agencies, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), andthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), jointlyagreed to fund and review COLA in five-year block grants. The agenciesjointly issue an invitation to prepare a proposal, jointly conduct ananonymous peer review of the proposal, and jointly determine thefunding levels each agency will provide.

The move from Calverton to the Fairfax Campus was a naturalevolution. Many COLA scientists hold joint appointments at bothCOLA and Mason and teach. “We now have a single point of operationsfor the education, graduate training, and research aspects of the center,” notes Kinter.

Kinter expects the move to bring even greater opportunities to COLA and Mason. The challenge of understanding global environ-mental change has become a matter of serious concern to peoples,


economies, and governments. Theprospect of dramatic environmentalchange over the next several decadesin response to human activities, notably increasing greenhouse gasand aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere and changes in land use,has gripped the world’s attention and stimulated discussions about how to adapt to inevitable changesand how to mitigate the potentiallycatastrophic changes that may occur. Many high-quality education andresearch activities at Mason addressvarious aspects of global environmentalchange, making the university an idealbase for a coordinated environmentalchange enterprise. Kinter says, “First,its location near the seat of the federalgovernment gives it special status asthe go-to source of knowledge whenthe agencies need advice.” Second,Mason has worked to build environ-mental programs that are well posi-tioned to address this challenge. “We feel that the presence of COLAon campus can serve as a catalyst forbringing these groups and activitiestogether,” Kinter notes, “to form an intellectual powerhouse for studyingclimate variability and change, its impacts on the natural environmentand socioeconomic systems, and

policy issues associated with globalenvironmental change.” While COLA and other climatestudy institutions have made greatstrides in advancing an understandingof the climate system, there remainsmuch to explore. About COLA’s plansand future goals, Kinter says, “We intend to continue our work on understanding the fundamental predictability of climate from days todecades. This includes doing a betterjob of understanding and exploitingthe land-driven predictability in sub-seasonal to interannual time scales,and probing the predictability of ElNiño, monsoons, and other interannualfluctuations on multiyear time scales.”COLA scientists intend to addresshow predictable the climate systemmay be at lead times of a decade or more, a time scale that is clearly affected by global climate change. COLA remains committed tohelping transition its research andthat of its peers into tangible prod-ucts that can be useful to society. “Weintend to continue with the multimodelapproach and will work closely withthe operational agencies like NOAAand the Navy to make our researchrelevant to the real-time imperativesthat they face,” Kinter says.


Long-time Climate ResearchPartner Joins COS

At the Fairfax Campus, COLAmaintains a state-of-the-art computing facility that optimizes the efficientmanagement, analysis, and visualiza-tion of climate model output gener-ated by their experiments. Nearly all the climate model production com-puting is done off campus at sharedfacilities operated by NSF, NASA, andthe U.S. Department of Energy. In recent years, COLA scientists havebeen awarded high-performancecomputing resources at the levelof tens of millions of processor hourson these national supercomputers. COLA scientists make use of all the national climate models thatare developed and supported by theNational Center for Atmospheric Re-search, the National Weather Service,the NOAA Geophysical Fluid DynamicsLaboratory, and the NASA GoddardSpace Flight Center. The multimodelapproach has enabled COLA to provideobjective evaluations of nationalmodels and to formulate climate prediction strategies that take advan-tage of the strengths and minimize theweaknesses of the various models.COLA scientists have also had the op-portunity to collaborate with foreigngroups, which has enabled a more direct and constructive comparison of the U.S. models with competitorsfrom abroad. In addition, COLA scientists andsoftware experts have developed asoftware system, the open sourceGrid Analysis and Display System(GrADS), an essential tool for analysisof multiple climate models, ensemblesof simulations and predictions, andglobal and regional objective analyses.The software package is implementedworldwide by tens of thousands of users.

COLA Accesses Government Agencies’ Computer Resources

Also attending the spring reception were (left - right) Vikas Chandhoke, Mason vice president for research and economic development; Peter Stearns,Mason provost; Jagadish Shukla, IGES president; James Kinter, COLA director;Ángel Cabrera, Mason president.

“

“

We feel that the presence of COLA on campus can serve as a catalyst

for bringing these groups and activitiestogether to form an intellectual powerhouse for studying climate variability and change, its impacts on the natural environment and

socioeconomic systems, and policy issues associated with global

environmental change.

James Kinter addresses attendees at areception held last spring to celebrateCOLA’s move to the Fairfax Campus andits climate research affiliation with COS.

Photo: Thomas Wakefield

Photo: Thomas Wakefield

typically pursue degrees from the undergraduate through the doctorallevels, but also the much larger population of students who want a terminal bachelor’s or terminal master’s degree. “ Our undergraduateenrollment has really taken off, withgrowth of about twenty percent overjust the last year,” says Summers. “Ourphysics majors have nearly doubled in the past three years.” Beyond the science itself, the faculty members in SPACS are exploringbetter and more efficient ways ofteaching science. Variations on theflipped classroom, incorporating inquiry-based instruction, and collabo-rative classrooms are showing verypromising results in student retention. SPACS’ activities are attracting interest and attention. SPACS won an$85,000 grant for course developmentfrom 4-VA, a consortium of four Virginiauniversities working to improve successin science, technology, engineering, andmath (STEM) programs. Additionally,the American Physical Society (APS)featured a video of interviews withseveral SPACS faculty members andstudents at its annual meeting lastspring (video available atspacs.gmu.edu). Summers feels that the recognitionfrom APS has been both a result of anda catalyst for change. “We’re trying toestablish a learning community thatcan adapt to anything science andtechnology can throw at it,” explainsSummers. “Education has to change inresponse to technology changes, and to help students truly engage with real-world interdisciplinary challenges.” SPACS is defining itself in severalspecial areas of scholarship where ittruly shines, and it is now being recog-nized for this new and special type oflearning community that it represents.“Science seems to be cool again, and I get two to three requests a week totalk to local school groups about whatMason is doing in science. Maybegeeks will indeed get the last word.”

SPACS Wins Grant from 4-VA

4-VA, which recently awarded SPACS an $85,000 grant for course devel-opment, is a consortium among George Mason University, James Madison University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech. With the mission of promoting interuniversity collaboration, 4-VA works to enhance studentsuccess in STEM courses and programs. The consortium also seeks to decrease the costs of delivering instruction, expand access for Virginians toprograms that prepare them for rewarding careers, and increase researchcompetitiveness—all aligning with SPACS’ work and philosophy. Summers believes that some of SPACS’ early experiments in using the flipped classroom combined with collaborative learning techniques andinquiry-based instructional styles attracted 4-VA’s attention. “Our excitementabout bringing our own scientific tools to bear on the educational process wasintriguing enough to get this seed support from 4-VA,” Summers explains. Since receiving the grant, the SPACS faculty has adapted several introductory physics and astronomy courses to be taught in the ALT (activelearning with technology) classroom in Exploratory Hall, and this approachhas already shown startling results. The number of students getting A's on the first exam was up by 54 to 67 percent over the control classes. Thenumber of students failing the first exam went down by approximately 14 to 85 percent. Summers also wants to use the Mason 4-VA telepresence room withother members in the consortium to share what the SPACS faculty is doingand learning about physics and astronomy education. “I’m really excitedabout the blending of online factual information, group interaction, and problem solving, both online and in person, as well as virtual group workspaces adapted to interactive contexts for problems, such as in modern gaming,” Summers says. This provides a powerful and effective learning environment.


When the School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational

Sciences (SPACS) was formed by theCollege of Science in 2011, one keymotivation was to bring the four fun-damental pillars of modern sciencetogether in one unit to provide an education and research base forstrong interdisciplinary scientific research and education. Michael Summers, director ofSPACS and professor of planetary science and astronomy, describes the four pillars of modern scientificresearch as theoretical, experimental/observational, modeling/simulation,and big data science, the most recentpillar that is now widely acknowledgedas a foundation of modern research in

almost every domain. “The biggestproblems facing society, such as understanding climate change, thebrain, the origin of life, and emergenceof complex systems in general,” saysSummers, “all require aspects of thesefour pillars, as well as strong foundationin the physical sciences.” By merging the Department ofPhysics and Astronomy (in existencesince the mid-1960s) and the Depart-ment of Computational and Data Sciences (formed in 2006), SPACSpresents a powerful but broad set of capabilities with these four pillarsof science. SPACS courses provide students with a background of manyof the problem-solving techniquesthey need for careers in most fields

requiring analytical thinking to dealwith complex problems. SPACS is becoming an interna-tional player in a broad spectrum ofthe sciences. “We do a wide range ofresearch from extra-solar planets tofireflies, from black holes to novel materials, from quantum optics to bigdata sciences, and the list goes muchfurther,” notes Summers. Simulationand modeling groups are pursuing interdisciplinary research, such as applying fluid dynamics to humanblood flow, and using NASA planetarymissions to study other planets andsearch for life elsewhere. Such interdisciplinary topics inSPACS’ programs have attracted notonly traditional physics students who


Interdisciplinary FocusBoosts Growth for SPACS

Astronomy students in the ALT classroom in Exploratory Hall

Physics students experiment with the photoelectric effect.Photo: Creative Services

Photo: Michael Summers

The project is based on crowd-sourcing, the idea that a largegroup of people (usually in anonline community) providingsmall bits of information canprovide accurate and detailedinformation about an event,often in minute detail. In thiscase, the crowdsourced infor-mation describes on-the-groundconditions for natural disasters. One drawback to the test-ing is that the group is able totest its theories only when anatural event occurs. The recentSeptember floods in Coloradoproved to be one such event. Industry partner The Carbon Projecthas developed an application calledthe Carbon Scanner. The programscans Twitter messages for specifickey words and geolocates tweets.When the key word density in an area is reached, an alert is sent to the team, who then uses temporal information to refine the geolocation.This information is then fused withmaps and photographs. Additionally,information is sent to DigitalGlobe, a company that owns and operatesseveral high-resolution commercialearth imaging satellites “capable ofcollecting over 1 billion km2 of qualityimagery per year and offering intradayrevisits around the globe.” The abilityto compare before and after images isvaluable to evaluating situations andproviding the proper help. “Digital-Globe’s resources are powerful,” explains Waters, “but can be limiteddue to weather. The satellite can’t seethrough cloud cover. The data fusionmodel works well because it doesn’trely on any one source, and we wereable to add Falcon UAV imagery from below the clouds.” Waters explains that the idea forthis data fusion model came directly

from USDOT.The agency sent out arequest for proposal, and Waters andhis team responded with a plan thatwas vetted, modified, and ultimatelyaccepted. As they work to perfect the datafusion and improve the geolocation of the tweets into the second year, theteam is looking forward to the nextstep—helping define the best way topush this valuable information tothose who need it. Waters feels thatthe information flow will be a fusion,as well, of cell phone messaging alerts,emails, and a website with full dataand mapping information. “We’re seeing more natural disasters as a result of global warming,” says Waters.“This technology can make a difference.”


Hurricanes, floods, fires, earth-quakes, and blizzards all cause

massive disruptions to communicationsand infrastructure at the most criticaltimes needed to save lives and prop-erty. The ability of first responders todo their jobs, and for governments torally resources, is often hindered byour ability to see what is happeningto affected areas. But in today’s connected society, there are eyes on the ground everywhere. Whencommunications are disrupted, timeand again we have seen that onlinecommunications and SMS messagingstill function. Nigel Waters, a professor in the Department of Geography andGeoinformation Science (GGS) anddirector of the Geographic Informa-tion Science Center of Excellence,Guido Cervone, associate professor inGGS, and Emily Schnebele, a doctoralcandidate in GGS, are working on aU.S. Department of Transportation(USDOT) research project. They areworking to develop “a new capabilityto use social networks for cueing com-mercial remote sensing of transporta-tion conditions in response to naturalevents.” In more approachable terms,the team, working with commercialpartner The Carbon Project, is track-ing social media messages, mainlyTwitter, for personal accounts of conditions during a disaster. Thenthey overlay the messaging with satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe,Civil Air Patrol photos, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, and current geographical map data. “This is a data fusion project,” explains Schnebele. “Our goal is toproduce as close to real-time data as possible from disaster areas.” Thegroup is in the middle of a two-yearproject to collect data and to deter-mine how it can be used to protectthose in harm’s way.


Social MediaMeets Satellites for Emergency Response

Photo: Carbon Project, Inc.

”“The project is based on crowdsourcing,

the idea that a large group of people (usually in an online community) providing small bits of information

can provide accurate and detailed informationabout an event, often in minute detail.

This mosaic represents how social media can be fused with maps and photographs to cue commercial remote sensing of transportation conditionsduring a natural disaster.


“The impact of IL28B genotype on thegene expression profile of patientswith chronic hepatitis C treated withpegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin,”published by scientists in the Centerfor the Study of Chronic MetabolicDiseases in the School of Systems Biology, has received the distinction of “highly accessed status” in BioMedCentral (BMC). The paper was pub-lished in the Journal of TranslationalMedicine, one of a group of open access, peer-reviewed, research-onlyjournals in BMC. This is the thirdpaper published by the center to received this status, a hallmark of future citation rates. The paper hasbeen accessed more than 3,800times since publication.

Faculty, staff, students, and alumniare encouraged to send theirNanoNotes to [email protected].

HIV Research, from page 3

NanoNotes, from page 7

COS Fall LineupTotal Students: 3,435Full-time: 2,341Part-time: 1,094

Female: 1,890Male: 1,541Gender Not Reported: 4

Undergraduate: 2,373Graduate: 1,062

discovered that when HIV uses theCXCR4 coreceptor, it hitches a rideon this treadmill so that it can enterthe nucleus and begin transcription.In 2008, he published his results in a well-received and widely citedpaper in Cell. Wu and Guo, who began in Wu’slab as a postdoctoral researcher before her current position as a research assistant professor, are nowtrying to determine if the same tread-milling process occurs when HIV, inits M-tropic strain, binds to the CCR5coreceptor. They’re also exploringhow genistein, a compound foundin soybeans, can slow down tread-milling, depriving HIV the necessarymachinery to cross into the nucleus.Published in the June issue of Retro-virology, their findings suggest itcan, based on low doses of genisteingiven to rhesus monkeys with SIV(simian immunodeficiency virus), a disease similar to HIV.

Now, Wu and Guo are takingtheir work a step further by collabo-rating with Shenyang-based ChinaMedical University, where 800 HIV-positive patients will participate in two different studies: one thatmore closely examines the role ofcofilin during the HIV life cycle andanother to determine if genisteincan reduce the viral load of HIV and increase the number of healthyimmune cells in human beings. Previous AIDS research focusedheavily on HIV proteins, and Wu was looking for “new and unknownterritory,” he says. In studying howHIV exploits cellular machinery toreproduce, Wu seems to have foundhis niche. His results can’t seem tocome fast enough: “HIV is a bigproblem not only for this country,but for the whole human race.”

Yuntao Wu in his labPhoto: Archana Pyati


Dean’s Message

Peggy AgourisActing Dean, College of Science

It is an honor to be serving as acting dean of this dynamic College of Science(COS) and working alongside colleagues and friends. I am extremely proudof the level of new research happening at both the Fairfax and PrinceWilliam campuses, the quality of students filling our classrooms, and theexcitement in science and research we share with our supporters, alumni,and the greater community. This is an exciting time for students, faculty, and staff in the college as we showcase our new state-of-the-art science facility — Exploratory Hall.We are all working together to figure out just where the light switches andoutlets are, and we are also taking some time to stretch out our legs andmake ourselves at home. This issue of Periodic Elements offers a look inside our new surroundings, and I invite you to visit us and see science in action at the Fairfax Campus.


Peggy Agouris was appointed actingdean of COS in June when VikasChandhoke, former dean, was selectedas Mason’s vice president for researchand economic development. Agourisjoined Mason from the University ofMaine in 2007 and was named chairof the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science and director of the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research the following year.

PE: Both the new facilities and thesearch for a new dean are huge transitional changes for COS. Your appointment appears to be a perfectfit because you have such history withthe college and your colleagues and a passion for science at Mason. Whatdo you see as your primary role in this important phase of the college’sgrowth and development?Agouris: I see my role as an excitingopportunity to facilitate the transitionof the college to the next phase of evolution. While maintaining ourstrengths and our legacy, we need to look at who we are, where we are,who we want to be, and how to getthere. Through this process, we willcarve a new path, discover newstrengths, and move to a higher levelof interdisciplinary relationships andcollaboration. At the same time, wecan take advantage of and benefitfrom the direction being forged by new university leadership.

PE: What differences and similaritiesare you finding between your formerposition as a department chair andyour current position as acting dean?Agouris: Both positions are about connecting with people and allowingthem to do what they do best. Theyboth require vision and an obligation

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to take a holistic view and considerthe common good. The most strikingdifference is in scope. A chair’s roleunfolds in a homogenous environment,but a dean must navigate a complex,multidisciplinary profile. Fortunately,the skills transfer between positions.

PE: You’ve watched COS transformover the past seven years into a thrivingcenter of learning and community.What are some of the more significantchanges you’ve personally noted?Agouris: COS is one of the fastestgrowing academic units at Mason, so the most significant and obviouschange is rapid growth. Under theleadership of (former dean) VikasChandhoke, we came together as a cohesive unit, which is never easyfor a new organization. Now we betterunderstand our identity, strengths,and direction.

College of Science 2013 Award RecipientsEach year, the College of Science recognizes its scientists who embody the creativity, dedication, and discoveries that shape today’s world.

The Teaching Award recognizes outstanding teachers or mentors or individuals who have made major contributions to educational activities during the previous year.

Ernest Barreto, School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences Daniel Cox, School of Systems Biology Stacey Verardo, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences

The Publication Award recognizes high-impact, creative, and well-written scholarly contributions by individuals who are at the forefront of scientific research.

Ancha Baranova, School of Systems Biology Sheryl Luzzadder Beach, Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science Jie Zhang, School of Physics, Astronomy, and Computational Sciences

The Impact Award recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to their field of scientific research or education over the course of their career at Mason. This can bedemonstrated in research by high publication and citation rates or in teaching by major contributions to educational programs and demonstrated excellence in teaching.

Kylene Kehn-Hall, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases

Congratulations!

Documents

Periodic Elements Fall 2013