mechanical engineering

This campus greenhouse is powered by the sun—and student innovation

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 17:11:48 +0000

This campus greenhouse is powered by the sun—and student innovation Lauren Reuscher Wed, 04/23/2025 - 13:11

Gardening season is here, and those with green thumbs are preparing their planting strategy for the season. In any garden, plants need basic essentials to grow: sunlight, soil or nutrients, air, and water.

Through a new solar array at George Mason �鶹��’s Fairfax Campus, the sun will play double duty in the successful growth of plants. Solar energy will power the Presidents Park Greenhouse with the electricity it needs to support the plants growing inside.

The Presidents Park Greenhouse uses hydroponics and aquaponics to grow produce on campus. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of �鶹�� Branding

Designed by student researchers and partially funded by a research grant, the solar array will help offset the energy consumption for the equipment and temperature controls in the greenhouse, which uses hydroponics and aquaponics to grow produce on campus.

A team of 10 George Mason student researchers applied for support from the Patriot Green Fund, an annual sustainability fund provided by Facilities and Campus Operations to make George Mason’s campuses more sustainable through infrastructure improvements. The Patriot Green Fund covers $20,000 of the total $185,000 project cost. The remainder of the budget is provided by Facilities and Campus Operations.

“This student-led project is designed to reduce electricity costs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and provide educational and volunteer opportunities for the George Mason community,” said Demin Zhu, Patriot Green Fund program manager with �鶹�� Sustainability.

The Presidents Park Greenhouse operates year-round and produces approximately 1,000 pounds of fresh lettuce and salad greens annually, which are served on campus at Ike's dining hall. Other fruits, vegetables, and herbs are donated to the George Mason community through free produce pickups.

Students are a driving force behind greenhouse operations, working inside for service hours, internships, and experiential learning. They have the opportunity to learn about the greenhouse’s hydroponic and aquaponic food production systems.

“The electricity from the solar panels will feed into the greenhouse to power our fans, pumps, cooling system, and grow lights,” said Doni Nolan, greenhouse and gardens program manager with �鶹�� Sustainability. “The electrical equipment helps us grow lettuce, baby greens, tomatoes and more in the greenhouse to provide local sustainable ingredients to our dining halls.”

The ground-mounted solar panels will be installed outside the greenhouse and are expected to offset more than 80% of the electricity it requires. The solar array is estimated to produce more than 22,000 kWh per year. The panels will reduce the building’s annual greenhouse gas impact by 13.8 metric tons of CO₂, which is about equal to the carbon footprint of 2.2 typical single-family homes.

The concrete pad under construction will accommodate the new solar array for the Presidents Park Greenhouse. Photo provided

The students developed the project under the guidance of several George Mason faculty and staff, including Nolan, Christy Hogan, who is senior director of university asset management in Facilities and Campus Operations, and Colin Reagle, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

George Mason currently has one other on-campus solar array, at Mason Square. Vertical solar panels on the face of Fuse demonstrate how a solar array can be integrated into a building’s design in an urban setting. A vertical solar array requires less space and captures sunlight from multiple directions throughout the day. The array produces about 1% of the electricity used by the building and is part of a range of sustainable features that help Fuse meet LEED Platinum standards.

The installation at President’s Park expected to be complete by early June.

Crystal Bowers, BS Mechanical Engineering ’23, was one of the students who led the solar array project during her time at George Mason.

“Working on the Solar Greenhouse Project was one of the most impactful experiences of my time at George Mason �鶹��,” said Bowers. “It not only deepened my understanding of sustainable infrastructure and project management, but also demonstrated the power of collaboration in transforming ideas into tangible, lasting change on campus.”

Learn more about the Greenhouse and Gardens

Topics

mechanical engineering

College of Engineering and Computing

Mason as a Living Lab

New Life Sciences and Engineering Building offers the tools needed to excel

Jennifer Pocock — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 18:11:29 +0000

New Life Sciences and Engineering Building offers the tools needed to excel Jennifer Pocock Thu, 04/03/2025 - 14:11

In This Story

Daigo Shishika

Charles White

With state-of-the-art teaching labs and fabrication facilities, George Mason �鶹��'s Life Sciences and Engineering Building (LSEB) lets students and faculty get their hands dirty in this brand-new multiuse active learning space. The ribbon cutting didn’t officially happen until March 27, but LSEB already experienced a housewarming.

Students working in the aviary at the Life Sciences and Engineering Building. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of �鶹�� Branding

The students started arriving just after the winter break, when the building opened on January 21, 2025. One of the first groups to take up residence was Patriot Motorsports, a club for any students (not just mechanical engineers!) who want to explore the inner workings of automotive vehicles. Over the past two months, mechanical engineering seniors have revved it up a notch with their capstone project designing a control system for the club’s Formula SAE race car.

Race cars aren’t the only vehicles in the building...there’s also room for robotics and autonomous vehicles. This new space boasts a high-bay, multistory aviary laboratory where students can test blimps, drones, and anything else that needs extra airspace to move around. One capstone project taking advantage of the lab is an Autonomous Flapping Wing Lighter-than-Air Vehicle developed by Assistant Professor Daigo Shishika’s students.

“�鶹�� capstone teams are also using the prototyping space in room 2100 to meet and jointly work on their projects,” said Charles White, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. “So far this has been through team meetings and collaboration. Once the first-floor machine shop is complete, this space will also be used for staging and constructing physical prototypes.”

One of the building’s unique features is the seamless blending of laboratory and teaching spaces. All of the mechanical engineering labs, including the first-floor advanced manufacturing and wind tunnel labs, contain student desks and IT lecture setups so that seminars can turn into hands-on demonstrations and practice in real time.

And these areas barely scrape the surface of what the building has to offer. For mechanical engineers, in addition to the wind tunnel and advanced manufacturing labs, machine shop, robotics lab, and prototype studio, there is a 3D print studio, a materials characterization lab, a sustainable energy and photonics area, and a thermofluids lab. For civil engineers, a dedicated space for their ASCE concrete canoe competitions. Bioengineers have cutting-edge studios as well, including a tissue engineering lab.

The LSEB is still warming up and getting ready for new student cohorts, but one thing is sure: This building will produce brilliant engineers and scientists for generations to come.

Topics

mechanical engineering

Civil Engineering

Bioengineering

Students

A slippery slope to safety: New material promises steady steps

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:11:36 +0000

A slippery slope to safety: New material promises steady steps Nathan Kahl Mon, 03/10/2025 - 08:11

Winter weather can be treacherous at times, especially for those trying to navigate slippery situations on foot. Fortunately, George Mason �鶹�� materials scientist Shay Bagheri is working on better footwear to handle icy conditions.

Shay Bagheri. Photo by Office of �鶹�� Branding

Bagheri, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and an affiliate scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, received a $100,000 grant from the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation for her research. CCF “supports Virginia’s small business community and its colleges, universities, and nonprofit research institutes at the earliest stages of their entrepreneurial and/or commercialization journeys, seeking innovative technologies with a high potential for economic development and job creation.”

In 2016, Bagheri was working at the Toronto Rehab Institute, which has numerous labs that recreate real-world environments. Bagheri was drawn to the Winter Lab, where researchers were studying shoe safety in slippery conditions.

“WinterLab is a self-contained facility with an ice-covered floor that can be tilted at different angles," Bagheri said. "Harnessed participants walk up and down the icy slope, and the steepest angle they can manage without slipping is used to measure the slip resistance of their footwear.”

The topography of the footwear surface, magnified. Graphic provided

While working at the Winter Lab, she received new generations of winter footwear based on composite technology. These shoes had excellent slip resistance when they were new, but she was surprised to learn many of the boots and shoes they tested lost a significant amount of their nonslip properties after a mere 75,000 steps—barely a week for a frequent, avid walker.

“And all of them cost over $200. So, we knew something had to be done in order to improve the material and the manufacturing process.”

The commercially available composite-based footwear have soles that get traction from tiny pieces of glass. Glass is by nature very sensitive to abrasion and the fabrication of glass is very hazardous, making it less than ideal. Bagheri said, “Instead of glass, we are adding polymeric fibers that are very resistant to wear and abrasion. They are non-hazardous, soft, and capable of withstanding significant abrasion. This material is five times more effective than what’s currently on the market.”

She said that instead of using the common injection molding technique to make these composite materials, she uses additive manufacturing, allowing for more uniform distribution, with a little bio inspiration. “In order to enhance friction on ice, we incorporate polymeric microfibers that protrude to the surface, triggering the friction mechanism similar to what you would see in polar bear feet,” she said. For the second approach, she uses a 2-D material with a large surface area that triggers the friction mechanism through adhesion, similar to the way frog’s feet work.

Bagheri and colleagues hold a patent for the method of manufacturing these innovative composites. She and her student at George Mason have also filed a provisional patent through their work, using additive manufacturing technology to make these composites more efficiently.

In This Story

Shaghayegh Bagheri

Learn more about Research at George Mason

Read about research at George Mason

Generous gift will name School of Computing, support scholarships
April 28, 2025
This campus greenhouse is powered by the sun—and student innovation
April 25, 2025
George Mason bioengineering team’s start-up is the next wave of athletic rehabilitation and performance
April 22, 2025
4-VA team studies wastewater treatment systems
April 17, 2025
Announcing the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence
April 16, 2025

Topics

materials

mechanical engineering

patent

Research

Early Identification Program, family support led Honors College freshman to engineering

Teresa Donnellan — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 17:39:47 +0000

Early Identification Program, family support led Honors College freshman to engineering Teresa Donnellan Tue, 08/20/2024 - 13:39

STEM has long been a field of interest for incoming George Mason �鶹�� freshman Dmitry Oleynik, in part due to his family background. His grandfather, an engineer from Russia, played a pivotal role in nurturing his interest in mathematics and engineering from a young age.

Dmitry Oleynik. Photo provided.

“My grandfather taught me, my mom, and most of my family… He would start off pretty early, especially with the multiplication tables. He would want me to nail those down,” Oleynik recalled. This early exposure to math, coupled with his success in high school math classes, has driven him to pursue engineering at George Mason.

Oleynik carried his grandfather’s zeal for early preparation into his participation in George Mason's Early Identification Program (EIP). Since the eighth grade, Oleynik has attended EIP events, developing a familiarity with the university. The program, designed to prepare students for the rigors of college, provided Oleynik with a head start in various subjects, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

“[EIP] prepared me for college pretty well, and that was part of the reason why I chose Mason,” said Oleynik, who is a member of the Honors College.

Oleynik’s EIP experience was not only about academics but also about building confidence with George Mason. Having spent summers at the Fairfax Campus, he feels a sense of comfort and connection to the university, which was a factor in his decision to stay close to home for college. His familiarity with the university's layout and resources, such as the Mason Innovation Exchange (the MIX) makerspace in Horizon Hall, adds to his excitement about starting his undergraduate experience.

While Oleynik is currently undecided about his major, he has an initial inclination toward mechanical engineering and has registered for related classes. The versatile nature of the field appeals to him, he said, as it could lead to opportunities in various industries, from automotive to robotics. He has a pragmatic approach to education, aiming for a degree that offers both personal interest and professional flexibility.

“I feel like mechanics are needed everywhere, so that’s a good degree for me to get,” he said.

Oleynik’s journey at George Mason is just beginning, but his foundation in STEM, nurtured by his family and the EIP, has set him on a promising path. He is well equipped to make the most of his time when he starts this fall.

Learn more about the EIP Program roadmap

Topics

mechanical engineering

Early Identification Program (EIP)

Honors College

Students

Space experiment could teach us how aerosols move in the atmosphere

Teresa Donnellan — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:45:22 +0000

Space experiment could teach us how aerosols move in the atmosphere Teresa Donnellan Mon, 08/05/2024 - 15:45

As a child, Jeffrey Moran was fascinated by outer space. Now, he is designing an experiment to be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025.

"I was obsessed with space as a kid,” said the mechanical engineering assistant professor. “The house I grew up in is still filled with drawings of Space Shuttles. Airplanes and spacecraft were a major reason I chose engineering when I got to college."

Jeffrey Moran. Photo by Office of �鶹�� Branding

When the National Science Foundation issued a call for proposals to conduct research projects on the ISS to benefit life on earth, Moran jumped at the chance and wrote a proposal that was successfully funded. His grant-winning experiment will examine the extent to which aerosols (small particles suspended in air) move through air in response to a temperature difference (meaning the air on one side is hotter than on the other). This phenomenon—migration of particles in response to temperature gradients—is known as thermophoresis.

“It all started with a brainstorming session I had with a collaborator,” said Moran, describing the conversation he had with Purdue �鶹�� colleague David Warsinger, who is a co-investigator on the NSF-funded project. “In contrast to most of my projects, which consider particles that move through liquids, we considered a simple question: what mechanisms could we use propel small particles through air?”

“My lab focuses on developing self-propelled particles for applications like water treatment or drug delivery," said Moran. "It’s a new and exciting field, but it’s so far been restricted entirely to water environments. No one has tried to develop a swimmer that moves in air. That ties into climate change, because aerosols are everywhere in the atmosphere—both because of human activity, like burning fossil fuels, and because of natural events like volcanic eruptions—and we don’t have a solid understanding of the net effect aerosols will have on the climate.”

Thermophoresis occurs in both liquids and gases, but it’s difficult to study in gases on earth because of the influence of gravity. Another challenge with studying particle migration in temperature gradients on earth is that the heated air tends to rise (for the same reason that hot air balloons rise), making it difficult to know exactly why the particles are moving. Doing the experiment in space allows scientists to run their tests with a minimal influence of gravity, to purely examine the effect of temperature on aerosols without creating air currents, which inevitably form when one tries to create a temperature difference in air because hot air tends to rise (which is the reason hot air balloons rise).

“We’re going to send various aerosol samples into space, each in a specially designed cuvette, for the astronauts to test,” Moran explained. “There’s a microscope on the ISS, and the astronauts will place our cuvettes into an apparatus we’ve designed that applies heat and cold to opposite walls of the cuvette. The astronauts will then use the microscope to determine how fast the particles move towards hot or towards cold. We expect that aerosols made from different materials will respond differently to the temperature gradient, but nobody knows how. That’s what’s exciting about this experiment – no one has made these types of measurements before.”

“For the last part of the project, we’re going to see whether some particles with asymmetric properties might generate the propulsive temperature difference on their own,” Moran continued. “These particles will have half of their surface coated in a metal. The other side is an insulating material,” Moran explained. “When we shine a light on them, the metal side efficiently absorbs the light and heats up relative to the insulating side. The hot hemisphere heats the air near it, and that creates a temperature difference in the surrounding air. This could help us understand whether odd-shaped aerosols in the atmosphere move on their own, without the need for a temperature difference.”

Before the experiment can be carried out, Moran and his team need to determine the experiment’s parameters as well as the materials required.

“This is very much a work in progress,” said Moran. “We're figuring out exactly which particles we want to send to the space station [based on] which materials matter the most to climate scientists [and] what the biggest question marks are.”

He mentioned, among other examples, the possibility of experimenting with carbon soot.

“Carbon soot is produced by burning fossil fuels, and it’s known to be harmful to the environment because it absorbs sunlight efficiently,” he said. “Another source of carbon soot, increasingly common in this era, is from rocket launches.”
“It’s pretty well established that carbon soot overall intensifies warming,” he said. “It's black, so it tends to absorb sunlight efficiently. This leads to a net warming effect on the atmosphere, but it's not clear how much it moves in thermophoresis (how much it moves in temperature differences).”

Moran looks forward to working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to refine the plan. An early step in this project will be for Moran and his team to travel to Texas to examine a replica of the equipment available to scientists on the International Space Station.

The College of Engineering and Computing will cover Moran’s progress as the project moves forward.

In This Story

Jeffrey Moran

Learn more about George Mason's College of Engineering and Computing

Topics

mechanical engineering

College of Engineering and Computing

More George Mason students set to earn wings

Nathan Kahl — Fri, 31 May 2024 13:05:00 +0000

More George Mason students set to earn wings Nathan Kahl Fri, 05/31/2024 - 09:05

In This Story

Lance Sherry

Earn your pilot's license

“There was and remains an airline pilot shortage. This program was designed to enhance the pipeline of licensed pilots to address this.” Lance Sherry, associate professor Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Matt Conroe is close to attaining a lofty lifelong goal: becoming a licensed pilot. For this recent George Mason �鶹�� graduate in mechanical engineering, however, something else was pressing this spring, and that wasn’t just getting his ducks in a row to graduate or preparing the final steps for his license. His son Kian was born in April, just nine days before he took part in Commencement.

Conroe graduated with a minor in Aviation Flight Training and Management. “When I was a kid, I was thinking of firefighter, policeman, doctor. But my dad is in the Air Force and has served for 36 years and I thought, ‘I’d like to be a pilot.’”

And will this new dad be grounded by family responsibilities before having the chance to explore the friendly skies? “My wife might have been scared in the beginning,” he said, “but they train you so much that by the time you do your solo flight, you know what to do.”

Conroe with a Cessna 172M Skyhawk. (Courtesy photo)

The minor combines a pilot’s license with aviation management experience, giving students a significant advantage in seeking work with airlines, airports, and in air traffic control.

Business major Hamza Al Tell, who is also just a few steps from obtaining his license, plans to use his experience directly with his family business. Growing up in Jordan, Al Tell’s family ran a skydiving company, and he earned a love of flying at an early age. “I was young, but the captain would let me go up and control the plane a little bit,” he said.

Al Tell loved that he could combine his core degree with his passion. “I was scrolling through minors and saw this one and it was perfect for me. I could do my university studies alongside getting my pilot’s license.”

Lance Sherry, a professor in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department, oversees the program. He has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, serving as a flight test engineer, flight control engineer, and system engineer.

Al Tell grew up riding in planes. (Courtesy photo)

"The minor is unique,” he said. “Whether a student is seeking to become an airline or business jet pilot, or to work for an airport, or as an air traffic controller, the program provides a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to be employable anywhere in the industry. The program’s relevance is evident in the career success of our graduates who are shaping a safer, more climate-friendly, socially just air transport system."

Sherry has over 30 years of industry experience. (Creative Services)

The program is ranked 20th in the world, 11th in the United States, and first in the Washington, D.C. region. It began 10 years ago when the university recognized the significant demand for aviation programs in general and flight training specifically.

Sherry said, “There was and remains an airline pilot shortage. This program was designed to enhance the pipeline of licensed pilots to address this.”

“Professor Lance was a great help in all of this," Al Tell said. "When I would see him on the schedule, I would get very excited. Based on his personal experience, he shared with us how the industry works behind the scenes. This was incredible fascinating.”

Conroe added, “I had good professors and I felt like they really cared. They were very professional and knew what they were talking about. You can tell when someone comes in and is really excited.”

“We’ve been nothing but impressed with the caliber and dedication of students who train with us,” said flight instructor Kyle McDaniel, BS Public Administration '10. “As a Mason alum myself, I’m thrilled to share my love of aviation with my alma mater.”

Topics

Aviation

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

mechanical engineering

Pilots

aeronautics

Students

Mechanical engineering students build motorized Vitruvian man for a School of Music performance

Shayla Brown — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 20:23:35 +0000

Mechanical engineering students build motorized Vitruvian man for a School of Music performance Shayla Brown Mon, 04/08/2024 - 16:23

In This Story

Dr. Lisa Billingham

Nathan Kathir

A group of George Mason �鶹�� mechanical engineering students are building a motorized Vitruvian man for a Center for the Arts (CFA) performance of "Flying to the Stars," a choral concert dedicated to the beginnings of flight from the time of Leonardo da Vinci to the exploration of space.

Team members Kevin Kuck (left) and David Gosselin working on their project in the Machine Shop. Photo provided.

Lisa Billingham, director of choral activities at the Dewberry Family School of Music, said she wanted the concert to be an immersive experience for the audience, and reached out to the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) for help. There she connected with Nathan Kathir, a mechanical engineering professor, who shared the project idea with his students.

“This project is exciting because we are partnering with another unit at Mason outside of CEC,” said Kathir, who is the director of senior capstone projects for mechanical engineering students.

“There is already a lot of art involved in engineering, and this collaboration between music and our department will be very inspiring for future students,” said Kathir.

The four students assigned to the project are working in the Machine Shop on the SciTech Campus and call themselves The Polymaths.

“We were thinking about the show’s theme of Leonardo da Vinci and we knew that the Vitruvian man is kind of his staple,” said Mellany Ayala, a senior mechanical engineering student. “I drew a very rough sketch of the Vitruvian man inside a gyroscopic figure, and it ended up being what our team decided to build.”

The device, which will hang from center stage throughout the show, has two spotlights as well as projections that will shine down on the students as they perform.

“We’re aiming for something similar to the immersive Van Gogh experience in D.C.,” said Kevin Kuck, a senior mechanical engineering student and the team leader.

The Polymaths met once a week with Billingham and her student research assistant and choir member, Ross Calvin, to discuss the project and work on a proposal for funding. They applied for and received a grant from Mason’s �鶹�� Life.

Billingham also created a QR code fundraiser on Facebook and received anonymous donations, she said.

“Hopefully these cool project collaborations keep happening in the future. It was really refreshing to work with people from CVPA; they were so easygoing and in such happy spirits,” said Ayala.

The Polymaths worked with the CFA’s electrician and did a run-through a week before the performance. They will also give a presentation about the project on Capstone Day to showcase the final product.

“This project has been one of the more hands-on experiences I’ve had at Mason so far,” said Kuck. “Being able to build something with my own hands was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed seeing it go from an idea on a page to something real. I think that's been the most satisfying part for me.”

During the concert, students will perform Jocelyn Hagen's “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” and “Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine” by Eric Whitacre. A piece by alum Peter Kadeli will also be performed.

Topics

senior capstone projects

Center for the Arts

Dewberry School of Music

mechanical engineering

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

TTIP

Tech Talent Investment Program

College of Engineering and Computing launches graduate certificate programs in AI, microfabriction, smart grid technology, and machine learning

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 17:34:57 +0000

College of Engineering and Computing launches graduate certificate programs in AI, microfabriction, smart grid technology, and machine learning Teresa Donnellan Thu, 02/29/2024 - 12:34

In This Story

In response to the evolving demands of the engineering industry, George Mason �鶹��'s College of Engineering and Computing is launching four new graduate certificate programs, offering specialized training in burgeoning areas within mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, systems engineering and operations research, and computer science. These programs will equip students with the skills and expertise needed to excel in tomorrow’s job market.

Responsible Artificial Intelligence Graduate Certificate

Under the guidance of Missy Cummings, a professor and the director of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC), the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Graduate Certificate program addresses the pressing need for thoughtful AI integration into various industries.

Missy Cummings

“With the rise of large language models like ChatGPT, there is a critical need for companies to develop strategies for effectively and safely integrating AI into their systems. The Mason approach to Responsible AI emphasizes both rigorous technical and sociotechnical approaches to identifying and mitigating AI risks while achieving value-added outcomes,” said Cummings.

Ideal candidates for this certificate program are “people responsible for ensuring the safe and efficacious adoption of AI into their companies or agencies who want to develop and update their skills to understand the design, testing, and implementation of cutting-edge technology,” she added.

Cummings especially looks forward to teaching the AI Design and Deployment Risks class, she said, “because we analyze current and pressing issues surrounding the risks of deploying AI. The combination of theory and practice is critical to understanding these issues, as well as developing the technology and policy mitigations needed to ensure safe and efficacious AI.”

Microfabrication Graduate Certificate

Led by assistant professor Pei Dong, the Microfabrication Graduate Certificate program addresses the growing demand for multidisciplinary training in the manufacturing sector. With a focus on practical training opportunities facilitated by Mason's new cleanroom facility, this program prepares students for rewarding careers filling societal needs and industry demands.

Pei Dong

“Mason has demonstrated extensive expertise in this field for an extended period,” said Dong. “The new research facility now offers hands-on training opportunities for students, marking an exciting development. We believe the timing is perfect to launch the program.”

While the program is designed to benefit Mason graduate students in engineering and science, Dong noted, those with a bachelor’s in a STEM field from outside of the university can also enroll.

“I am thrilled about the four courses currently available to students,” said Dong. “The tremendous support from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, the Physics and Astronomy Department and the cleanroom team, ensure that these courses offer comprehensive training from both engineering and science perspectives.”

Smart Grid Technology Graduate Certificate

Associate professor Liling Huang spearheaded the creation of the Smart Grid Technology Graduate Certificate program for engineers interested in modernizing power grids with sustainability goals in mind.

Liling Huang

“The need for this program was identified through extensive market research and engaging with industry experts,” explained Huang. “We recognized a growing demand for professionals skilled in smart grid technology, driven by the imperative of modernizing power grids and meeting sustainability goals. The demand for smart grid technology is expected to continue growing, making it an exciting field for professionals to pursue.”

Ideal for professionals in the utility and energy sectors, this program offers comprehensive training in smart grid technology, addressing critical societal and economic issues such as energy sustainability and grid resilience.

Passionate about teaching power and energy courses, Huang is particularly excited about teaching ECE 518 Power System Protection and Control. She said that the contents of that course are “paramount in ensuring the reliability and stability of the energy infrastructure.

“This course incorporates hands-on experiments supported by the cutting-edge facilities in the Smart Grid Lab at Mason Square,” Huang noted. “I believe these practical experiments will provide students with invaluable insights into real-world applications and deepen their understanding of smart grid design, operation, and dynamics.”

Machine Learning for Embedded Systems Graduate Certificate

The Machine Learning for Embedded Systems Graduate Certificate program will equip students with the skills needed to harness the power of machine learning within computing systems, such as those in autonomous vehicles, medical devices, and smart appliances.

Maryam Parsa and team

“As machine learning models become more complex, their energy consumption and demand for computational resources grow,” said Maryam Parsa, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who will be teaching in the program. “By focusing on embedded [computer] systems, this program contributes to the development of energy-efficient machine learning implementations, crucial for reducing the carbon footprint of digital technologies.”

In addition, Parsa noted, the program will address the importance of data privacy and security in embedded systems.

With electives in neuromorphic computing, big data technologies, and hardware accelerators for machine learning, among other topics, this program prepares alumni of computer or electrical engineering students to tackle complex machine learning challenges. Parsa added the program would be appropriate for “embedded software developers writing code for microcontrollers” and “hardware designers who do not have a background in machine learning.”

With a diverse range of new offerings, Mason continues to lead the way in engineering education and research. These four certificate programs represent the university's commitment to providing in-demand education and preparing future engineers and technologists to address the challenges of tomorrow.

Topics

mechanical engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Artificial Intelligence

Machine Learning

Campus News

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

TTIP

Tech Talent Investment Program

Mason engineers develop “rusty” coffee grounds to remove pollutants from water

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 19:03:14 +0000

Mason engineers develop “rusty” coffee grounds to remove pollutants from water Teresa Donnellan Thu, 01/25/2024 - 14:03

The most elegant solutions are sometimes the simplest, like using one waste product to eliminate another. By combining spent coffee grounds with iron oxide (aka rust), Mason engineers have created CoffeeBots, which can bind to several different pollutants in seawater before being removed via magnets.

From left to right: Jeff Moran, Amit Kumar Singh, and Tarini Basireddy pose with CoffeeBot samples.
Photo by Teresa Donnellan.

High school lab assistant Tarini Basireddy, post-doc Amit Kumar Singh, and assistant professor Jeff Moran recently published their findings in Nanoscale demonstrating how their invention, which they call “CoffeeBots,” can effectively remove three types of pollutants from seawater: oil, microplastics, and methylene blue.

Singh proposed creating CoffeeBots as a way for Basireddy to gain hands-on experience without having to interact with the many dangerous chemicals in Moran’s laboratory, which focuses mainly on developing artificial, self-propelled microparticles for different medical and environmental applications.

“Tarini and Amit developed a simple strategy to coat spent coffee grounds, which I brought from home after brewing my morning coffee, with iron oxide nanoparticles,” said Moran.

Coffee grounds have a porous, irregular surface, so they have ample surface area to which pollutants can bind, even with much smaller iron oxide nanoparticles attached, he explained. Moreover, because iron oxide is magnetic, a simple handheld magnet can both drive CoffeeBots through polluted water and remove them once they have absorbed the pollutants. Basireddy used Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to confirm that the iron oxide nanoparticles had bonded to the coffee grounds.

“Tarini’s extensive research experience and skillset were crucial to the success of this project," Moran noted. She’s way ahead of where I was at her age.”

While using coffee grounds to clean up oil spills is not entirely new, this team is the first to show that moving CoffeeBots outperform stationary ones at removing pollutants, since moving CoffeeBots encounter pollutant molecules more often than stationary coffee grounds do. Making the coffee grounds magnetic has another benefit: Once the CoffeeBots are recovered, they can be reused several times with little loss in water-cleaning efficacy.

Methylene blue

The team demonstrates that
CoffeeBots are drawn to magnets.
Photo by Teresa Donnellan.

The team assessed how CoffeeBots fare in seawater polluted with methylene blue, a dye commonly used in textile production. In addition to being a carcinogen, Basireddy explained, methylene blue can cause serious health problems: “It can cause skin irritation, if there's too much in the water; it can cause a lot of digestive problems; it can cause nausea, fever, lots of symptoms.” She added that it can negatively impact marine life as well.

The team found CoffeeBots can be an effective solution for cleaning methylene blue from seawater, especially when they are first also loaded with ascorbic acid, which helps break down the dye and render it nontoxic. Basireddy noted the potential simplicity of a CoffeeBots-based solution to methylene blue pollution, saying, “It's cool because the countries that are big textile producers also happen to be the countries that are big in coffee production.” The team cited Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam as countries that produce both dyed textiles and coffee and struggle with water pollution.

Oil and microplastics

The final pollutant tested is perhaps the most exciting, as it’s been a burgeoning topic of concern in recent years: microplastics. In water, microplastics cling to coffee grounds for the same reason that oil does: each substance is hydrophobic.

“One reason why microplastics and nanoplastics are such a tricky environmental problem is that they're so small, and that makes it difficult to locate them just to remove them,” said Moran. “By driving the CoffeeBots through the water, the hydrophobic interactions cause the microplastic particles to build up and accumulate on the surface of the coffee grounds.”

Singh noted that, while other (perhaps more expensive) techniques exist for remediating oil spills and removing chemical pollutants from water, developing a technique to make microplastic removal more efficient is an exciting new development.

Further plans

The team has applied for a patent to protect the technology and are excited to determine the full capabilities of CoffeeBots. They are optimistic because CoffeeBots are potentially a simple, inexpensive solution to water pollution.

While Basireddy has moved on to her freshman year at Johns Hopkins �鶹��, Singh and Moran look forward to finding further applications for CoffeeBots and possibly improving their technology. For example, Singh hopes to find a way to make CoffeeBots move when activated by sunlight, which would enable them to propel themselves through the water without the need for an external magnet. In addition, the team plans to explore the full range of pollutants that can be removed by CoffeeBots and characterize the efficacy of different coffee types.

Get a more detailed look at the team's experiments by reading their paper in Nanoscale, “Eliminating waste with waste: transforming spent coffee grounds into microrobots for water treatment,” which includes several videos of CoffeeBots in action, such as the one below. In addition, Singh created a video to promote CoffeeBots on YouTube.

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Jeffrey Moran

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Amazon develops data center engineering curriculum with Mason

Colleen Rich — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 17:09:51 +0000

Amazon develops data center engineering curriculum with Mason Colleen Rich Wed, 07/26/2023 - 13:09

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George Mason �鶹�� is working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a course in data center engineering and expand the opportunities in its senior capstone courses.

Photo by Getty Images

Faculty in Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing are developing the ME/ECE 499: Data Center Engineering course, which will be offered for the first time this fall. The course, which will be crosslisted in the Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering departments, will introduce students to data center infrastructure design, operations, efficiency, cooling, and decarbonization.

Students will learn to design, operate, and maintain the hardware required for complex data center systems. The instructor will bring real-world industry experience into the classroom, and the class will have the opportunity to tour nearby data center facilities.

“We are happy to partner with George Mason �鶹�� and look forward to utilizing this collaboration to help students engage in critical research,” said Nicholas Lee-Romagnolo, program manager of Workforce and Economic Development at AWS. “�鶹�� goal is that the program helps prepare students to enter the tech field after their time at Mason, equipped to create solutions to the challenges faced by data center engineers.”

Through the course, students will gain hands-on experience and learn from experts in the field, such as guest speakers who will discuss data center career paths.

Across the Washington, D.C., metro area, there is a greater need for both mechanical and electrical engineering talent. The data center engineering course will help students gain experience, build on their skills, and prepare to enter the workforce as part of Mason’s commitment to feeding the ever-increasing tech talent pipeline for Virginia and beyond.

Kammy Sanghera, executive director of the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA), is coordinating the effort with Liza Wilson Durant, associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement in the College of Engineering and Computing.

“The data center engineering job market is exploding in Virginia, and our partnership with Amazon to provide real-world, hands-on training in this new area will position Mason engineers with the skills and knowledge to move out and lead in this emerging technical discipline,” Durant said. “Mason's strategic alliance with Amazon is enabling us to embed the skills and knowledge required of the engineer of the future and position our graduates for success.”

“We are excited to introduce the data center course and are looking forward to our continued partnership with Amazon,” Sanghera said. “This is another opportunity for Mason and its industry collaborators to provide unique experiences for students to engage in cutting-edge research and obtain the skills necessary to be successful in the ever-growing tech and engineering fields in Virginia and beyond.”

Earlier this year, AWS challenged Mason engineering students to create an evaporative cooler and test the effectiveness of evaporative media. AWS funded students for their design implementation of capstone project. This AWS capstone project was the first of its kind at Mason, and two similar capstones projects are planned for this fall—one in mechanical engineering, another in electrical engineering.

The two projects will be mentored by CEC professors Nathan Kathir and Tolga Soyata respectively, and students will have an opportunity to gain expert technical advice directly from Amazon engineers. The electrical engineering capstone project will give students a hands-on experience building a data center power monitoring system.

“We are looking forward to the Mechanical Engineering capstone this fall,” said Mason professor Leigh McCue, chair of Mason’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “These courses provide our students with opportunities to expand upon what they have learned in class and apply the skills they’ve learned to creating important solutions to real-world problems.”

“We are excited to partner with Amazon and to bring more opportunities for our students to learn, grow, and prepare to become part of the expanding data center engineering industry in Virginia,” said Mason professor Pelin Kurtay, associate chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department, who is leading the effort for ECE.

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