Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)

Generous gift will name School of Computing, support scholarships

Katarina Benson — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:31:52 +0000

Generous gift will name School of Computing, support scholarships Katarina Benson Mon, 04/28/2025 - 15:31

George Mason �鶹�� received a gift with an impact of $36 million from the Kimmy Duong Foundation to name the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing within the College of Engineering and Computing. The university’s Board of Visitors approved the name change on April 1, and it will become official pending approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia this summer.

Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of �鶹�� Branding

“We are so grateful to Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong for their continued support of the College of Engineering and Computing, now culminating in this generous gift,” said Dean Ken Ball. “We are proud to steward this gift in support of our students and the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program. George Mason is honored to be part of their legacy in Northern Virginia.”

This is not the first significant gift to George Mason from Duong and her husband, who gave $5 million in 2009 for the state-of-the-art Nguyen Engineering Building, a facility providing cutting-edge research and education spaces for a new generation of engineering, computing, and information technology professionals.

"Kimmy Duong and Long Nguyen have been good friends to George Mason, recognizing the opportunity our university provides for students to succeed,” said George Mason �鶹�� Gregory Washington. “Kimmy came to this country with very little and climbed her way to success, not unlike how many of our students who—whether they are first generation or come from difficult socioeconomic circumstances—overcome their own challenges. George Mason has been a leader in computing for many years, and this transformational gift will help ensure that remains the case for many more years to come.”

The naming of the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing represents a significant milestone for Mason Now: Power the Possible, George Mason’s historic $1 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign. Designed to enhance the university’s capacity and broaden its impact, Mason Now focuses on expanding access to education, driving innovation, and deepening the university’s influence across the region and beyond.

“This transformational gift from the Kimmy Duong Foundation marks a pivotal moment in the Mason Now campaign,” said Trishana E. Bowden, vice president for advancement and alumni relations and president of the George Mason �鶹�� Foundation. “The naming of the School of Computing stands as a powerful testament to their belief in George Mason’s mission and their commitment to expanding access—particularly in fields that shape innovation and prepare students for the future.”

Duong was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1945 and earned a bachelor of science in economics and law from the �鶹�� of Saigon in 1966. She joined IBM in 1968, where she worked until she left the country in 1975, when she fled Vietnam and arrive in the United States with only $30.

From a refugee camp, she traveled back to the United States, moving to Northern Virginia and continued her work with IBM. In 1994, she joined Pragmatics, where she served as vice chairwoman and CFO. For 30 years, she has overseen their finance, legal, facilities management, and human resources departments, playing a key role in the company’s continued growth.

In 2015, she established the Kimmy Duong Foundation, which supports a range of health, education, and welfare initiatives in the United States and Vietnam. It has given more than $4 million toward scholarship programs with endowments to Washington, D.C.-area universities. According to the foundation website, “Influenced by her Buddhist background, Kimmy Duong has always been concerned about the poor and sick. Being raised in a poor family and coming to the U.S. as a refugee, Mrs. Duong knows the many challenges that poverty brings.”

She has been awarded the Mason Medal, George Mason’s highest honorary award for service to the community, state or nation, and the Glen Martin Medal from the �鶹�� of Maryland.

“Education is the cornerstone of life,” Duong told a gathering of George Mason students, noting that many in her generation worked multiple jobs to send their children to college. “Now, we are giving back.”

The gift will establish three endowments: two within CEC to provide lasting support for scholarships and student success initiatives—both of which support the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program—and one for �鶹�� Life to provide scholarships through the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong Scholarship Endowment especially with a preference for students majoring in nursing, education, or journalism

With some of the funds dedicated to computing-specific majors, a portion of the gift would be eligible for matching funds from the Tech Talent Investment Program, thereby amplifying the impact of the gift. The Tech Talent Investment Program of the commonwealth aims to increase the number of graduates with computing degrees and strengthen the workforce by providing financial incentives to colleges and universities that enroll and graduate more students with these skills.

George Mason’s School of Computing is known for its strengths in computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), and software engineering. It plays a key role in Northern Virginia’s thriving tech ecosystem, particularly due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and partnerships with major government and industry partners. Among the strengths of the school:

AI and machine learning, with strong research and academic programs in AI, robotics, and human-computer interaction.
Designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
Its analytics faculty and students engage in cutting-edge big data research, particularly in health care.
One of the most robust software engineering programs in the region.

Power the Possible

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Computer science major uses multiple internships to prep for dream career in tech

Katarina Benson — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 18:27:11 +0000

Computer science major uses multiple internships to prep for dream career in tech Katarina Benson Wed, 04/09/2025 - 14:27

George Mason �鶹�� computer science major Nasrin Ali has a unique accomplishment—she has completed two internships with Microsoft and begins her third this summer. She was part of the Xbox team, first as a product manager and software engineer explore intern and then as a software engineering intern. This summer she’ll be a technical program management intern.

Ali's interest in computer science began in sixth grade in Prince George’s County, Maryland, when she participated in Technovation Girls, a program that teaches girls to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders through learning to code mobile apps. She fell in love with the subject. In high school she participated in Columbia �鶹��’s Girls in STEM Initiative, Kode with Klossy, Exelon STEM Academy, Google Code Next, Jane Street Unboxed, and Google Computer Science Summer Institute. Recognizing her high level of motivation, she joined George Mason's Honors College upon admission.

When she was a freshman at George Mason, a LinkedIn recruiter found her profile and reached out to her to encourage her to apply to the Microsoft Explore internship program. The program, a 12-week summer internship designed for freshmen and sophomores that focuses on software development, changed her life.

Ali at Microsoft. Photo provided

“My internships didn’t just shape my career—they shaped me.” she said. “They gave me clarity, connections, and experiences I never would’ve gotten otherwise. I learned so much about my work style, what actually excites me, and the different types of work I can see myself doing long term. And beyond just personal growth, you get to do work that actually matters. Seeing something you worked on ship, getting feedback from real users, or just knowing you contributed to something bigger—it’s a crazy feeling.” At Microsoft, she worked on front-end development. Her teams created an AI-generated game description feature for Xbox.com and worked to improve user experiences and Xbox’s game concept submission process.

Ali is also extremely involved on campus, which she credits with improving her confidence and people skills. She has served as president of the National Society of Black Engineers, president of Minorities in Computing, vice president of the Black Student Alliance, and secretary of the Black, African, and Caribbean Heritage Coalition. She was also a student athlete, serving as coxswain of the women’s rowing team, and a Resident Assistant.

“To me, these organizations mean everything. I am very passionate about art, STEM, and community building. Being a part of them, whether as a leader or a member, has allowed me to advocate for underrepresented communities in the STEM field, build communities on campus, and bring opportunities to my peers,” she said.

Alongside her school and work commitments, she’s a part of Rewriting the Code and ColorStack, nonprofit organizations that focus on uplifting minorities in tech, is a mentor in the Head Start organization, and works as an EduTutorVA tutor. She is also a participant in Break Through Tech’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning Program, where she worked on a project for Nestlé and is currently competing in the Equitable AI for Dermatology Challenge that focuses on building AI models that promote fairness in dermatology.

In the future, she hopes to find a career that combines what she loves: tech, law, creativity, and giving back. “And on a more personal note, I fully plan on having a really nice garden in my yard.”

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George Mason’s new visualization and virtual reality lab is changing how research is conducted

Colleen Rich — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 18:35:42 +0000

George Mason’s new visualization and virtual reality lab is changing how research is conducted Colleen Rich Wed, 02/05/2025 - 13:35

The oft-heard phrase “you had to be there” could disappear as the growth of virtual reality (VR) allows individuals to experience the world without ever leaving home. While the pandemic ushered in the era of Zoom classes and meetings—providing the opportunity to participate in classes or meetings with others in different locations—it is VR that creates tangible experiences where people in the same room or thousands of miles away can successfully collaborate.

George Mason graduate student works with the virtual construction site in the Visualization and Virtual Reality Lab in Research Hall. Photo provided

With the opening of the new Visualization and Virtual Reality Lab in Research Hall—hosted by the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) and made possible with funds from the Tech Talent Investment Program—George Mason �鶹�� has the opportunity to be part of this global movement and to be a leader in transdisciplinary research.

A ‘Cradle’ for Collaboration

The highly anticipated lab, which has been years in the making and serves as the hub of data analysis, visualization, and technology-enabled pedagogy for the university, provides countless opportunities for faculty to combine and advance their interests in new ways. It is also the ideal space to hold demonstrations for sponsoring agencies and partners.

Craig Yu, associate professor of Department of Computer Science, sees the lab as a “cradle for setting up interdisciplinary collaborations” that he believes will enhance the research synergy at George Mason. His current work on a simulated construction site set in the future has brought together researchers from the College of Education and Human Development and the College of Engineering and Computing.

In the lab, users have access to five virtual reality pods within two rooms. The smaller of the rooms has two display screens that connect with high-quality headsets, while the larger room has a 24-foot-long, 9-foot-tall screen that is touch activated—allowing users to manipulate and move data.

Once users are inside this VR or augmented reality (AR), they can experience their surroundings and even “feel objects and be part of accidents or disasters without experiencing pain,” Yu said.

Visualizing and Communicating Complex Ideas

Visitors to the Visualization and VR Lab use the VR pods. Photo provided

The lab is also ideal for capturing complex ideas that are difficult to understand if one doesn’t visualize them, Yu said.

In Yu’s simulated construction site, performances are tracked and replayed, allowing researchers to see exactly how people work together and respond to situations. Researchers then analyze user performance using scientific metrics, which can help individuals improve over time through repeated exercises.

“Training through VR/AR is helpful to conduct experiments because we can track performance through state-of-the-art technology and give feedback,” said Yu. “These experiments not only enhance user performance, they can also validate if investments [in training] are effective.”

A major component of George Mason researcher Dave Lattanzi’s research involves the generation and analysis of complex, large-scale 3D virtual model data, which he said is difficult to visualize and communicate.

It requires specialized computing and graphics technologies that are challenging to operate on typical computer hardware, making visualization “fundamental to navigating and assessing 3D data,” said Lattanzi, an associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.

The lab will support communications across project teams like Lattanzi’s by providing a shared space for visualization, as well as providing a place for teams to demonstrate their capabilities or findings to sponsoring agencies and university partners, which can lead to additional collaborations and funding opportunities.

VR and Training

Computer science PhD student Liuchuan Yu, a self-described VR/AR addict who is part of the team working on the simulated construction site project, sees creating simulations as a cost-effective and safe way to train individuals in a variety of jobs.

“I am very glad to have this opportunity because it is giving me the necessary experience to create training applications using VR,” he said. “Real-world training is expensive while VR is technically low-cost. Simulations also allow total control of the environment, which is much safer. But they do create awareness and [generate] real responses from the users.”

While use of the lab is restricted to faculty during the 2024-25 academic year, administrators are already thinking about how to incorporate student instruction and student access to modern geospatial technology applications that are difficult, if not impossible, to demonstrate in a traditional classroom environment. Eventually students with ideas for new technologies, applications, or products will be able to use the lab to work on their own projects.

The lab, located in Research Hall, Room 369, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and can be reserved through 25 Live. All faculty are welcome to reserve and use the lab for research purposes, but must receive training prior to lab use. Contact MIX manager Max Kazemzadeh at mkazemza@gmu.edu, MIX operations coordinator Minjin Batzorig at mbatzor@gmu.edu, or visit the MIX website for more information.

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Cybersecurity students prepare for inaugural DistrictCon Hacker Conference

Shayla Brown — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:21:53 +0000

Cybersecurity students prepare for inaugural DistrictCon Hacker Conference Shayla Brown Mon, 01/27/2025 - 12:21

Students from George Mason �鶹��’s Competitive Cybersecurity (MCC) club have dominated in multiple national competitions. The team got 1st place in the 2024 VMI CyberFusion and 2nd place in the 2024 Spring National Cyber League.

Next, the students will be competing in the inaugural DistrictCon Hacker Conference on February 21-22.

Club president Dylan Knoff working on routers. Photo provided.

“We'll be presenting live demos with our exploits in front of a judge and audience. So, we'll basically go from not having access to a certain device to showing that we can get access in the eight different attack vectors that we discovered,” said club president Dylan Knoff, a junior computer science major.

This demonstration is known as the junkyard competition, and the device they’re hacking is a router. In preparation for the demo, the team is conducting multiple analyses and rehearsing talking points for verification of their research.

“We basically ripped the firmware off of it, which is the code that runs on embedded devices like this one,” said Knoff, who participated in the International Cybersecurity Championship in Chile with the U.S. Cyber Team.

“We utilized hardware debugging interfaces on the device to both find potential bugs by analyzing our own local copy of the firmware and confirm their existence and exploitability by trying to trigger them on the live device and utilizing the debug interface exposed,” he said.

In addition to Knoff, his teammates Danyaal Shaozab and Ryan Murphy will also participate in the junkyard competition and other cybersecurity challenges including “capture the flag,” also called CTF, where the teams receive challenges, such as web app exploitation, binary exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, forensics, and a description that they must solve and then get a flag that is redeemed for points.

In September 2023, MCC hosted its own international CTF event, attracting more than 3,000 participants and 1,600 teams as well as hosted PatriotCTF 2024 attracting over 5400 participants and 2200 teams. The club practices are offensive cybersecurity, which is a type of ethical hacking used to evaluate and determine a system’s security, Murphy explained.

Club member Ryan Murphy working on routers. Photo provided.

Murphy, who transferred to George Mason from Virginia Peninsula Community College as a part of the Mason Virginia Promise, has been passionate about cybersecurity since middle school and participated in CyberPatriot, a national youth cyber education program.

“I'm still pretty new at George Mason, but it's been a really good experience so far,” said Murphy, a junior cyber security engineering major. “I got involved with the club from the get- go because they're a bunch of like-minded people and I’m really grateful for the opportunities the club and the university have offered me.”

The team will have two time slots and two presentations. They plan to do a dry run the day before the conference, as well as more analysis to solidify the information, said Murphy.

Shaozab is currently working as an associate vulnerability researcher at TFP0 Labs, a Reston-based security research firm. Shaozab’s role entails finding and exploiting vulnerabilities of various security systems and he compares his professional responsibilities to that of his club and school assignments.

“Working with Dylan and Ryan is great. We all have similar career goals, and it makes projects and assignments a lot easier,” said Shaozab, who is a senior cyber security engineering major.

Shaozab credits his courses, including CYSE 465 Transportation Systems Design, for helping him prepare for the upcoming competition.

“Dr. [Tanvir] Arafi is a very smart professor and a very talented individual in this field. His course really helped me hone my cyber techniques,” he said.

Shaozab explained that the team is focused on exploiting the [Control Area Network] bus, which is like the nervous system of a vehicle, allowing different components like the engine, brakes, and doors to communicate with each other. “Exploiting it involves sending malicious messages in the CAN bus to manipulate the car's function, such as unlocking doors or starting the engine,” he said.

“What made this particularly interesting to me is that I'm a huge car enthusiast, so being able to merge my passion for cars and cybersecurity was a unique experience. Getting hands-on with that in a classroom setting made it even more engaging. It’s rare to get that kind of knowledge taught in schools,” he said.

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Advancing sensor tech for foggy situations

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 13:15:50 +0000

Advancing sensor tech for foggy situations Nathan Kahl Mon, 01/13/2025 - 08:15

Devices that rely on sensors to accurately navigate and perceive the world around them are more and more commonplace, from drones to autonomous vehicles to ground robots on rescue missions. Parth Pathak, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at George Mason �鶹��, is working to ensure the sensors have 20/20 vision.

From left, Rezoan Ahmed Nazib, Parth Pathak, and Ahmad Kamari with a rescue robot that can "see" through smoke and fog. Photo provided

Pathak received $660K in funding from the Army Research Office (ARO) for this work, some of which is done in collaboration with colleagues at the �鶹�� of California, Davis, where he did his post-doc.

“Conventional sensors rely on cameras or LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to pursue objects around them, but they don't work very well when there's smoke, fog, or generally a visually degraded environment,” said Pathak. “But the mmwave wireless radar sensors that we are working on don't get affected by that. If there is dirt on the sensor, well, that's okay. They can see through things and see around things."

Imagine a rescue robot going into a building filled with smoke, trying to navigate with little to no visibility, Pathak said. "These wireless sensors can enable them to perceive the environment and even self-localize without cameras, LiDARs, or other positioning systems.”

Another positive aspect of the devices is that while they can sense…they don’t sense too much, which is important for privacy concerns. The disadvantage, of course, is that when a sensor depicts an object such as a car, the resolution is not particularly good, and the images are “noisy.” Pathak is not just improving navigation and perception, but using multiple robots, for example, cooperatively. In a rescue mission, a swarm of robots can share their data, allowing them to collectively “see” a better picture.

Photo provided

“They can self-localize based on what they see, like how our brains work. But the robots only have wireless sensors to rely on, so part of the work is developing very good signatures of what they see from these very low resolution and noisy images,” said Pathak. “We can build 3D models of a room by scanning it through the wireless sensors and using machine learning to capture and recreate every minute detail. This is something that these sensors were never designed for. We are developing custom-tailored deep learning models of wireless sensing, essentially pushing the limits of what they can perceive using wireless signals.”

In addition to the research, ARO’s funding also supports testbed-to-prototype development and solution evaluation.

Pathak and colleagues published this research at the Association for Computing Machinery’s ACM Mobicom conference and have submitted it to other conferences for potential publication. Two PhD students from his team, Ahmed Kamari and Rezoan Ahmed Nazib, are working actively on the project, along with three high school students who participated in prototyping over the summer as part of George Mason's Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program.

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Computer science graduate turns internship experience into a full-time position

Colleen Rich — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:47:21 +0000

Computer science graduate turns internship experience into a full-time position Colleen Rich Wed, 12/11/2024 - 13:47

When Dhyeya “Dee” Padhya transferred to George Mason �鶹�� from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in fall 2022, he was struck by the vibrant campus life, which was far different than his first two years in college during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dhyeya “Dee” Padhya

“Coming to George Mason there were so many things happening like fairs and club events. That was definitely a very welcomed change for me,” Padhya said. “I felt like a new person and George Mason was a huge part of these last few formative years of my life.”

He is set to graduate in December 2024 with a BS in computer science and a minor in computational and data science.

During his time at George Mason, Padhya worked in the �鶹�� Career Services office as the senior front desk student assistant, where he greeted students and gave them career assistance, as well as managing the career advisors’ appointments and calendars.

He also helped administer career assessments and did set-up work and guided students at George Mason’s well-attended career fairs.

For his commitment to career services at George Mason, Padhya was featured on the cover of this year’s Career Readiness Guide.

This summer, Padhya also got professional experience in his field as a data analyst intern at Capital One.

“With a computer science major, an internship is very important. I definitely felt prepared for it with the help of my [CS 450 Database Concepts] course with Professor Ping Deng and my [CS 484 Data Mining] course with Jessica Lin. Those courses were definitely the most helpful for my internship,” said Padhya.

What’s your best memory of George Mason?

Getting the call that I got the internship at Capital One was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. Part of my responsibilities were what we call “productionizing” a data set. There was a whole process of getting data from the right sources, cleaning it, and then automating that process to automatically update the data on a weekly basis.

How have you grown while at George Mason?

Throughout high school I was a straight-A student, but my very first class here was a challenge for me and I ended up getting a B minus. It took some getting used to, but just coming to terms with the fact that it’s not the end of the world if I’m not perfect was really impactful.

Best piece of advice for incoming students?

Don’t have the mindset that you’re underqualified for something. The job market is very difficult right now, but I think it’s important to understand that your GPA, while important, isn’t ALL that matters in the professional world. During job interviews for me it was more about what my personal and professional experiences were. Employers want to know who you are as a person and what experiences have you had that led you to become that person. I also think it’s important to engage with all the resources George Mason has to offer, like the Career Services office.

What’s next for you?

I will be returning to Capital One for a full-time data analyst position after graduation.

Discover what �鶹�� Career Services can do for you

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George Mason’s Fuse at Mason Square opens with its commercial launch

Colleen Rich — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:25:07 +0000

George Mason’s Fuse at Mason Square opens with its commercial launch Colleen Rich Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:25

George Mason �鶹�� gave the public its first look at Fuse at Mason Square and what’s in store for the metropolitan Washington, D.C., region with the building’s Dec. 6 commercial launch.

From left, President Gregory Washington with speakers from the event Ryan Touhill, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, Brian Naumick, and Liza Wilson Durant. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of �鶹�� Branding

A state-of-the-art tech research hub intended to be a beacon for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs to come together and collaborate, Fuse will serve as the center for technological advances in the region, fostering innovation in various sectors while adding to the tech talent pipeline necessary to help fuel the economies of the region and the commonwealth of Virginia.

“The most surefire way to strengthen an innovation ecosystem is for a top-tier research university, local industry, and the community to join together in partnership,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington.

The 345,000-square-foot-building, which will welcome students in Fall 2025, features specialized labs for robotics and virtual reality and data visualization, as well as office spaces, retail, and co-working areas and classrooms.

Rep. Don Beyer, who is working toward a master’s degree in computer science at George Mason, was among the speakers to laud the project at the brief ceremony in Arlington. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of �鶹�� Branding

Fuse cost roughly $254 million to construct, with $90 million each contributed by George Mason and the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program, as well as $78 million from Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate.

George Mason announced in October that the building’s first tenant, Cybastion, a cybersecurity and digital IT company focused on emerging markets, would move into Fuse in spring 2025. The restaurant Wood & Iron will be located on the ground floor. About 75% of the building’s commercial space has been committed.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who is enrolled at George Mason and working toward a master’s degree in computer science with a concentration in machine learning, was among the speakers to laud the project at the brief ceremony in Arlington, joining Washington; Liza Wilson Durant, George Mason’s associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement who is also the associate dean of George Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing and director of the Northern Virginia node of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative; Ryan Touhill, director of Arlington Economic Development; and Brian Naumick, vice president and managing director of Edgemoor.

George Mason's Liza Wilson Durant took questions from the media about the new building. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of �鶹�� Branding

Fuse at Mason Square supports the Tech Talent Investment Program, a 20-year initiative aimed at producing 25,000 additional tech graduates in Virginia. The building will house George Mason’s Institute for Digital Innovation and the new School of Computing, part of the College of Engineering and Computing, and will offer courses in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

Washington expects the new building to be a catalyst for economic growth. “When we started the Fuse project in April of 2022, I said then that we’re not just breaking ground on a building—we’re breaking ground on Virginia’s future,” he said. “That future begins in earnest today with the Fuse leasing grand opening.”

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Liza Wilson Durant

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Cyber savant hacks his way onto international team

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:48:51 +0000

Cyber savant hacks his way onto international team Nathan Kahl Tue, 12/03/2024 - 11:48

Dylan Victor Knoff is president of the Mason Competitive Cyber (MCC) club, a computer science major, and the kind of self-motivated hacker you might see rummaging through Goodwill bins, in his free time looking for a $4 router that he can use to bolster his resume.

“I’ll pull it apart and take the firmware off the chip. It's good fun, responsibly and ethically doing stuff to it, of course, and then reporting vulnerabilities,” he said.

The George Mason �鶹�� junior likes to examine routers because they are more likely than other devices to have detectable problems. Once he finds a vulnerability, per industry practice, he reports it to the vendor and then MITRE, the nonprofit that that catalogs firmware and software problems. Getting a mention on their common vulnerabilities and exposures listing looks good professionally for young cyber sleuths.

This ambition to make the cyber world a better, safer place is a theme in Knoff’s life. First, he started a Capture the Flag (CTF) team during high school, and then he attended a university cyber club while still a teen. When the Orlando native and first-gen college student could have chosen the local �鶹�� of Central Florida, instead he left home for George Mason, recognizing the university’s prowess in the field and the benefit of being close to potential employers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. Knowing that breaking into cybersecurity is no Mickey Mouse endeavor, shortly after arriving in Fairfax he networked with the Battelle intern coordinator and subsequently landed a paid, full-time co-op with the STEM giant.

When he's not hacking routers, Knoff enjoys Shenandoah National Park

Knoff is on the U.S. Cyber Team and in October competed at the International Cybersecurity Challenge in Santiago, Chile. He said, “We competed against other countries’ teams in a two-day CTF, where one day was attack-and-defend, and the second day was on vulnerability assessment and exploit development.”

Knoff’s research focus is reverse engineering and vulnerability research. “I'll find something wrong with a specific device or framework and I'll find a ‘zero day,’ which is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor, and then I'll disclose it to them,” he said, indicating the standard industry practice.

For next year’s DistrictCon, a hacker conference in Washington, D.C., in February, Knoff and two members of MCC participated in the Junkyard Contest, where participants find vulnerabilities in devices; they discovered a stunning eight zero days on one router.

Knoff is giving a separate talk at the conference, on return-oriented programming, a way that hackers can get into a system by reusing code that already exists in a program. “I made this tool that utilizes computer emulation to analyze and visualize the memory side effects of elements that make up a return-oriented attack. Using data aggregation, these elements are then sorted based on their exploitation effects and made easily searchable to an operator.” He made the tool open source, available to anyone on GitHub, and is releasing an updated version the day of the talk.

On rare days when he’s not at a keyboard, Knoff enjoys getting outside, especially for a hike. “I love going to Shenandoah with my friends, doing Old Rag and White Oak,” he said, referencing two of the more popular—and challenging—Shenandoah National Park trails.

Currently he’s entertaining offers for two new co-ops, with the hopes of potentially spinning one of those into full-time employment. And whether scaling digital peaks or the rugged trails of Shenandoah, Knoff will find himself climbing…toward discovery and solutions in a safer cyber world.

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George Mason expands partnership with GDIT to build a skilled and diverse technology workforce

Colleen Rich — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:02:19 +0000

George Mason expands partnership with GDIT to build a skilled and diverse technology workforce Colleen Rich Wed, 10/30/2024 - 13:02

George Mason �鶹�� announced this week an expanded partnership with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), a business unit of General Dynamics, to enhance career development opportunities for university students and GDIT’s workforce. The focus areas include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and government contracting.

The partnership strengthens George Mason’s role as a key economic driver in Northern Virginia and a critical source of tech talent, while broadening GDIT’s efforts to cultivate a skilled and diversified talent pipeline.

“George Mason has been recognized over the years in numerous college rankings as Virginia’s top public university for diversity, innovation, cybersecurity, homeland security, service to military veterans, and service to students outside the traditional college ages," said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “We are committed to partnering in the region to meet the pace of change in the today’s workforce, providing opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds to pursue a rigorous education and lead successful careers, and attracting and keeping talent in Virginia.”

This collaboration also aligns with GDIT’s technology investment strategy, which emphasizes employee growth and upskilling. It also enhances government contracting capabilities by leveraging George Mason’s Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, located within the Costello College of Business. The center is the nation’s first dedicated to addressing business, policy, and regulatory issues in government contracting.

“Expanding our partnership with George Mason demonstrates our commitment to investing in the future workforce,” said Amy Gilliland, GDIT’s president. “As the largest and most diverse educational institution in Northern Virginia, George Mason has played a pivotal role in shaping our talent pipeline for more than a decade. We look forward to further strengthening our relationship so GDIT will continue to be a top employer of choice for George Mason students.”

U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal, and Washington Monthly all rank George Mason as a top public university for the upward mobility of its graduates.

As part of the expanded partnership, GDIT will collaborate with George Mason on several programs, including:

Partnering with the College of Engineering and Computing, as well as Costello College of Business, to expand recruitment opportunities, career mentorship programs, networking sessions, technology open houses, and capstone projects.
Offering students, faculty, and staff opportunities to participate in various GDIT events and initiatives, such as cyber hackathons, career development seminars, and technology showcases at the GDIT Emerge Innovation Center.
Providing industry expertise for George Mason’s Clearance Readiness Program to prepare students interested in a career in the cleared space.
Hosting leadership insight sessions focused on mental health, career pathways, work-based communication skills, and resiliency.

This partnership is part of GDIT’s workforce initiative, which collaborates with high schools, colleges, and universities across the country. GDIT has formed similar partnerships with institutions in Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, and Missouri to foster the next generation of technology innovators and make a positive impact in these communities.

George Mason, one of the largest universities to receive state funding through the Tech Talent Investment Program, has committed to increasing its computing graduates, in both undergraduate and graduate computing programs, to almost 16,000 students over the next two decades. With flourishing partnerships with leading companies like General Dynamics and initiatives supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship across the state, George Mason is building on the more than 15,000 paid or stipend-supported internships available to students annually.

George Mason �鶹�� has committed to increasing graduates in both undergraduate and graduate computing programs to almost 16,000 students as part of the state's Tech Talent Investment Program.

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College of Public Health receives NIH grant to pilot AI chatbot for African Americans with depression

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:03:05 +0000

College of Public Health receives NIH grant to pilot AI chatbot for African Americans with depression Mary Cunningham Mon, 06/10/2024 - 13:03

In This Story

Farrokh Alemi, PhD

Janusz Wojtusiak, PhD

Kevin Lybarger

As a leader in innovative health solutions, George Mason �鶹��’s College of Public Health received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) AIM-AHEAD program grant to pilot an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for Black and African Americans with depression. Professor Farrokh Alemi will enhance his first-of-its-kind, evidence-based artificial intelligence tool to address the medication needs of African Americans with depression.

Professor of Health Informatics Farrokh Alemi

The existing AI tool recommends antidepressants for 16,775 general-population patient subgroups, each representing a unique combination of medical history. For each of these subgroups, the current project will analyze the effectiveness and appropriateness of the recommendations for African Americans, using the NIH All of Us database and existing published literature.

To the researchers' knowledge, this is the first research focused on developing and evaluating an antidepressant recommendation system for Black and African American people.

“Antidepressant medications are a first-line treatment for depression; however, a majority of depressed patients do not experience improvement with their first antidepressant. Additionally, minority populations, including Black and African Americans, are not well represented in antidepressant studies, contributing to reduced antidepressant effectiveness in these populations,” said Alemi. “There is a significant need to synthesize available evidence regarding antidepressant effectiveness and provide personalized treatment recommendations, and this project addresses a major gap in the management of Black and African Americans with depression.”

Researchers will develop a Knowledge-enhanced Antidepressant Recommendation Dialogue System (KARDS), which will engage users in a back-and-forth conversation to acquire the patient information needed to identify the appropriate antidepressant medication. The AI will provide the patient with a list of recommended medications, list of the relevant studies, and an explanation for the medication decisions. The system will automatically send the patient’s clinician a brief point-of-care recommendation and explanation, with an option to examine a complete record of the conversation and the supporting evidence.

“Chatbots—or patient-facing dialogue systems like the one we will create—hold transformative potential for the health care sector and are increasingly prominent in psychiatric applications, predominantly through therapy-bot implementations,” said Alemi. “�鶹�� chatbot will help improve the detailed, time-consuming, medical history intake process, and provide point-of-care summary and prescription recommendations to the patients’ clinicians. The chatbot will make patients more comfortable because the natural language modality provides an intuitive, empathetic, stigma-free interface.”

Once the AI chatbot is developed, the team will test the dialogue system with Black and African American patients to evaluate system functionality and user preferences. Additionally, the project will train a Black or African American doctoral or master’s student in AI, expanding the available workforce and building the community’s capacity to address AI.

Alemi will lead the research team, which includes Janusz Wojtusiak, a George Mason professor of Health Informatics and the director of the Machine Learning and Inference Laboratory, and Kevin Lybarger, a George Mason assistant professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology in the College of Engineering and Computing. All three members have collaborated previously to diagnose COVID at home from presenting symptoms.

The $70,906 grant is part of the NIH’s AIM-AHEAD (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity) program, which aims “to establish mutually beneficial and coordinated partnerships to increase the participation and representation of researchers and communities currently underrepresented in the development of AI/machine learning models and enhance the capabilities of this emerging technology, beginning with electronic health record data.”

Innovate for Good is an ongoing series that examines how George Mason faculty in the College of Public Health are harnessing technology to improve health outcomes.

If you have stories to share as part of the Innovate for Good series, email Mary Cunningham at mcunni7@gmu.edu.