Author: Elizabeth Gillooly

How Ethnic Heterogeneity, Social Classes, and History Shape Today’s Urban Areas

While it is given that the vestiges of 1930’s redlining still haunt social and economic capital, it is challenging to accurately and systematically assess how urban areas are affected by class disparity. To develop a better understanding of this issue, Myeong Lee, who leads the Community Informatics Lab within the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University, saw an opportunity to dive deeper on this subject using the 4-VA collaborative. Lee wanted to construct a multidimensional model of social capital using two datasets: Chetty et al.’s (2022a, 2022b) Social Capital Atlas (Facebook) data on social connectedness, and Meetup event and group data which Lee himself had collected on almost 800 U.S. metro counties (2017–2021). Together with his co-PI from Virginia Commonwealth University, Victor Chen, Lee wanted to look at how ethnic heterogeneity — the presence of multiple, distinct ethnic or cultural groups within a specific population or geographic area — impacts social capital, including social cohesion, public goods provision, economic outcomes, and crime.

Approved for funding by 4-VA, Lee and his team got to work. George Mason University graduate students,Latifah Abubakr and Gie Myung Lee focused on data processing and statistical analysis; and undergraduate student Tugce Gundogdu assisted with geospatial analysis and data collection.

They examined the spatial relationships between various social capital — measured at the county and zip-code level; and structural racial and class-based inequalities — measured through current neighborhood ethnic heterogeneity and historical legacies of redlining and urban renewal projects.

Over the research period, faculty and students at George Mason and VCU held bi-weekly meetings via Zoom. Their data-processing stage required intensive computation, including large-scale geospatial data processing, data aggregation, and computational modeling of key variables.

The resulting variables were used in statistical models, which show that although some core relationships reported in prior literature remain consistent, as in lower socioeconomic status is associated with lower social capital; they noted that the dynamics varied depending on specific dimensions of “prosociality” — voluntary behaviors intended to benefit others, including sharing, comforting, helping, and cooperating.

Preliminary findings were presented at several conferences, including the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, the Eastern Sociological Society Conference, and Society for the Study of Social Problems. The final results are currently being edited for submission to a high-impact journal.

Perhaps even more importantly, this initial research has opened another interesting avenue for further investigation:

Incorporating “urban change” as a key moderator and assessment tool in shaping prosociality in American cities. To do this, the team is developing computational techniques to quantify the degree of change in urban areas by leveraging Home Owners’ Loan Corporation redlining maps. The computational component of this work was presented and published for the Association for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting. They plan to submit a proposal to the Social Science Research Council as well as the National Science Foundation Sociology Program to further build out this tool.

Lee is pleased with the results of the 4-VA-enabled research, “Thanks to this seed funding, we were able to engage researchers and students from multiple institutions. Also, it allowed us to purchase key resources, such as Meetup subscriptions and OpenAI, which are core to the project. We now have the groundwork to enlarge our examination of this important issue.”

4-VA Researchers at George Mason and UVA Wise Use Phylogenomics to Identify Cyanobacteria in Shenandoah River

You’ve probably seen it – slimy mats of brownish green clinging to rocks in streams or on lake beds – and perhaps not given it another thought. But thankfully for the sake of our environment; George Mason University’s College of Science Assistant Professor Rosalina Stancheva Christova has.

Christova has been researching Microcoleus, a common mat-forming cyanobacterium found in streams and lakes worldwide, for more than 20 years. The troublesome thing about Microcoleus is, that while some strains pose a risk to human, animal, and aquatic ecosystem health ; curiously, others do not. Christova wanted to learn more about Microcoleus in George Mason University’s backyard – the Shenandoah River. To do so, she reached out to a colleague at UVA Wise, A. Bruce Cahoon, who shared her interest in the same research. Together, Christova and Cahoon aimed to study the species diversity, distribution, and toxicity of this cyanobacterium in the Shenandoah.

4-VA approved their Collaborative Research Grant proposal, Integrative Characterization of the Anatoxin-a-Producing Benthic Cyanobacterial Genus Microcoleus in the Shenandoah River, and Christova and Cahoon got to work. The research was protracted and laborious, but proved successful and surprising – revealing a stunning breakthrough in identification of Microcoleus collected from the river.

Explains Christova, “The genome of the common and abundant mat-forming taxon, morphologically most similar to Microcoleus lacustris, was sequenced by our team from field material. Phylogenomic evidence demonstrates that this taxon represents a species new to science and should be classified within the genus Limnofasciculus.”

In all, they identified six species and isolated two monoclonal strains, one non-toxic and one producing anatoxin-a. “Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that both strains belong to the genus Microcoleus. The toxic strain was most closely related to M. anatoxicus from California, confirming the wide distribution of this problematic cyanobacterium,” says Christova.

The breakthrough and all the associated research didn’t come easily, beginning with the collection of the benthic mats over a two-year period from 11 sites in the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River.

Samples from field sites

Mormando and Brown collect Microcoleus samples

Christova credits her large team for doing the good, yet, difficult work. She was supported by Benoit Van Aken (who as her co-PI) and Pat Gillevet, both of George Mason University. Involved in the project were graduate student Jacob Mormando – who collected a sample with novel Limnofasciculus species for genome analysis and conducted temperature experiments with the toxic Microcoleus strain; Sydney Brown – who handled molecular and morphological studies of the species, field work collecting benthic cyanobacteria from the river, molecular work and cyanobacteria culturing; and Rwan Alsaadi – who developed distributional and ecological data and field work collecting benthic cyanobacteria from the river.

Undergraduate students also played a role in the effort – Armon Ghaffari did data analysis of Microcoleus distribution in the river samples and Emma Boyden oversaw the laboratory maintenance of cyanobacterial cultures. Two undergrads at UVA Wise, Amelia Clark and Matthew Sullivan, prepared molecular work.

Additionally, Janice Lawrence and Cecilio Valadez-Cano, of the University of New Brunswick, Canada, helped with the molecular studies.

Another important collaborator on the project was Gordon M. Selckmann, Associate Director for Aquatic Habitats at Interstate Commission on The Potomac River Basin (ICPRB). The 4-VA team used some of the field material Selckmann collected as part of an ongoing investigation of the benthic harmful algal blooms in the Shenandoah River funded by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and ICPRB.

In the Lab: L to R, Alsaadi, Brown, Mormando, Cahoon and Christova

With the groundbreaking work behind them, they are now sharing their findings, including at the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, the Southeastern Phycological Colloquy, the Potomac River Conference, and the Biennial Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation Meeting, organized by Selckmann.

Concludes Christova, “The 4-VA@Mason funding was very important to me, as it supported the establishment of my research lab, fostered the development of regional and international research collaborations, and provided funding for undergraduate and graduate students interested in aquatic and cyanobacterial research.”

Secreted Proteins of Francisella: Critical Research Continues with a 4-VA Grant

Since 2005, Professor Monique van Hoek of Mason’s School of Systems Biology (SSB), has studied the bacteria Francisella, which can cause tularensis, a serious disease. Francisella, found in animals — especially rodents, rabbits, and hares — is also considered a class “A” biothreat agent. In 2017-2018, van Hoek extended her Francisella study when she was awarded a 4-VA grant “Critical post-translational modifications of the Francisella proteome.” This research brought her together with Dr. Kristina Nelson, Director, Chemical Mass Spectrometry Resource (CMSR) at the Chemical and Proteomic Mass Spectrometry Core Facility at Virginia Commonwealth University. Nelson received 4-VA Complementary Funding to assist in van Hoek’s study and a scientific match was made.

Recognizing the benefits of the SSB and the CMSR collaboration, this relationship has endured. As van Hoek recognized, there is much more to be learned about this unusual bacterium, so in 2019 she applied and received a second 4-VA grant for a continuation of the study to research “Secreted proteins of Francisella.”

The Mason-VCU collaboration resulted in another success story. Together, van Hoek and Nelson performed experiments and proteomics to identify the secreted proteins of Francisella novicida, a model bacterium used to safely study the more dangerous form that causes human infections. Explains van Hoek, “We examined the proteins for signal peptides encoded in the proteome of Francisella and we identified 129 proteins of F. novicida that were predicted to have secretory signal peptides. These secreted proteins will advance our understanding of the pathogenicity of Francisella.”

Joining van Hoek and Nelson in the research was WeiDong Zhou, Research Associate Professor, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, and volunteer graduate student Fasial Madkhali.

Now, they are sharing the results of their research; first through an abstract accepted for the Virginia Academy of Sciences in 2020. van Hoek is working on a manuscript on the topic and hopes to apply for a NIH grant to do further research.

“This 4-VA@Mason grant allowed us another valuable opportunity to share resources and accomplish much more together as we could have done alone,” van Hoek concludes.

Personalizing Immune Response Through Mathematical Modeling

One size does not fit all in the world of antibody reactions. That is, a patient’s response to infection and vaccination differs based on when antibodies bind to and dissociate from antigens. Because each antibody reaction is unique, understanding and predicting an individual’s response is critical for ‘personalizing’ and optimizing therapeutic strategies.

Probability distributions can be used to solve this puzzle; accounting for uncertainty in data, rather than a single definitive outcome. Predictions with a level of confidence are preferable. This is achieved using probabilistic modeling, a concept that resides at the junction of medicine and math. And, that intersection is exactly where you’ll find Rayanne Luke, George Mason University assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences within the College of Science.

Luke has a strong background in the field. However, she was interested in taking one step further. She wanted to investigate, through a probability distribution modeling lens, demographic differences in antibody responses using datasets collected from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and vaccination. Further, she wanted to account for differences between those with and without pulmonary symptoms post-acute coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Luke recognized that this information could provide a useful framework for a comprehensive understanding of antibody kinetics for infectious diseases — and lead to an effective way of analyzing the protective power of natural immunity or vaccination, predict missed immune events at an individual level, and inform booster timing recommendations.

Taking that step required just the right mixture of math and science knowledge, datasets, communication skills, time, and patience. Luke saw that was possible by joining together with colleagues at UVA — Lyndsey Muehling and Glenda Canderan, using the 4-VA system. Importantly, working with Muehling and Canderan, she could access a database of measurements related to SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in different populations.

After receiving the 4-VA award, Luke brought in George Mason University graduate student Kelsey Ellis and undergraduate students James O’Hanlon and Kaitlyn Sullivan. International postdoctoral associate Prajakta Bedekar, then at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, also assisted on the project.

The 4-VA Team: (L to R) Rayanne Luke, Kelsey Ellis, Lyndsey Muehling, Glenda Canderan,
Kaitlyn Sullivan, and James O’Hanlon meet at UVA.

With the pieces in place, the work began. Explains Luke, “We fit time-dependent probability distribution models to the SARS-CoV-2 data to obtain distributions of longitudinal antibody response and cytokine values. We assessed differences between the modeled response curves of the groups using an overlap metric.”

The results were striking. Explains Luke, “Our antibody models suggest significant differences between male and female populations and demonstrate deficient antibody responses of less-healthy groups such as smokers. Our cytokine models suggest that those with pulmonary symptoms post-acute infection have elevated responses over time. Further, we found that the cytokine response increases and then decays more rapidly than the antibody response.” All are important permutations for consideration in treating patients with personalized medicine.

This part of the project, driven by O’Hanlon and Sullivan, led to a recently-published paper in Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics. Additionally, O’Hanlon and Sullivan presented their work through posters at the Virginia Academy of Science Annual Meeting. Ellis presented related research at the Association for Women in Mathematics Research Symposium.

The 4-VA@Mason support partly funded a larger project in which, for the first time, Luke and colleagues designed conditional probability density models for population antibody response that simultaneously address the interplay of antibody levels; prevalence; multiple classes; time-dependence; and multiple immune events. The UVA dataset and collaboration were critical for validating this effort.

“Our work is an important step towards a comprehensive understanding of antibody kinetics for infectious diseases that could lead to an effective way to analyze the protective power of natural immunity or vaccination, predict missed immune events at an individual level, and inform booster timing recommendations,” continues Luke. “Further, this approach is fully generalizable to other diseases that exhibit waning immunity, such as influenza, RSV, and pertussis.” Further dissemination of their research is currently under review by a mathematics journal; the review is now available on arXiv, a mathematical pre-print repository.

L – Sullivan

R – O’Hanlon

L – Ellis

R – Luke

Luke also shared findings at the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology MathBio Convergence Conference, the Joint Mathematics Meetings, and as a keynote speaker at The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics DMV Conference.

The team is now planning to submit a proposal jointly to the National Science Foundation Division of Mathematical Sciences and National Institutes of Health National Institute of General Medical Sciences to further the research.

Luke concludes, “The 4-VA@Mason funding served as a catalyst to bring this project up to speed. It facilitated invaluable in-person collaboration with immunologists at UVA, disseminating our findings, and importantly, training students in mathematical biology research and science communication.”

4-VA Collaborative Research Grants: Calls for Proposals

George Mason University faculty interested in pursuing a novel research project in conjunction with colleagues at one of nine other 4-VA schools in Virginia are encouraged to respond to the annual 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grants (CRG) calls for proposals. These grants, of up to $20,000, are designed to facilitate and support alliances which leverage the strengths of each partner university to improve efficiencies in research and higher education, reduce working in silos, and provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students. The grants were created to encourage the development of baseline projects in the sciences and humanities and to help secure future funding to extend the work.

Other Virginia higher education institutions participating in the 4-VA CRG program are Christopher Newport University, the College of William and Mary, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech. In some cases, additional funding is available to co-PIs at the partner schools.

“Together, we support a broad range of initiatives with resources to develop programs and pedagogies that advance educational design and research,” explains 4-VA@Mason Campus Coordinator and Vice Provost, Academic Affairs Janette Kenner Muir. “Through the hundreds of 4-VA Collaborative Research Grants awarded throughout the state, 4-VA has truly made a difference for faculty, students, and citizens statewide and beyond.”

The application link for proposals is found here; with more information posted on the 4-VA@Mason grants page, including information on associated policies and procedures, as well as examples of successful proposals. Applications will be accepted through February 13, 2026, with awarded grant funding available July 1, 2026.

Questions?

Contact Elizabeth Gillooly, 4-VA@Mason Faculty and Community Outreach Coordinator

4-VA Researchers Help Define the Role of Diabatic Heating in Determining Atlantic Storm Paths

Sometimes, in science and technology, studying and incorporating the past can offer insight into the future. Two longtime researchers in the area of climate variability, George Mason University’s David Straus and University of Virginia’s Kevin Grise, saw a specific opportunity to conduct a number of experiments to utilize historical weather data and the latest version of the Community Earth System Model (CESM2) to better understand the development and movement of mid-latitude storms in the Atlantic. CESM2 is a state-of-the art weather and climate model developed and maintained by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Straus and Grise were interested in better understanding the paths of extratropical cyclones — large rotating weather systems that occur in the extra-tropics (between 30° and 60° latitude) that are responsible for much of the variations in weather across midlatitudes. Their focus is the Atlantic storm track, which extends from the east coast of North America toward Europe and has an important influence on the weather in Virginia. For this project, the not-well-understood role of diabatic heating in shaping the evolution of the cyclones was of particular interest.

Diabatic heating is the heating or cooling of the atmosphere due to processes that involve the transfer of heat between the system and its surroundings, including heat released or absorbed during phase changes of water (“latent heating”), radiative heating and heat transfer through contact. This is a specialty of both researchers.

Straus explains, “Global climate models commonly struggle with representing key aspects of the extratropical Atlantic storm track, including its intensity and orientation. One hypothesis that has gotten recent attention is that diabatic heating generated as part of weather systems plays an important role. Within the warm air sector of a typical cyclone, ahead of the cold front, lies the warm conveyor belt where warm, moist air is transported poleward and upward. This results in a broad region of latent heating from condensation.”

Straus and Grise recognized that collecting and integrating the data would be a tall order, requiring a healthy dose of scientific elbow grease. They believed that with the help from George Mason University research faculty member Erik Swenson — an expert in the configuring and running of state-of-the-art climate models — much of the heavy lifting could be done successfully and cost efficiently using graduate students. The additional benefit of this approach would be affording the students a unique opportunity for hands-on experiential research in the field.

Straus proposed to 4-VA that the study would deliver important insights for weather prediction in Virginia – and beyond. (Straus, Grise and Swenson volunteered their time on the project.) The 4-VA Advisory Board supported the proposal, and the project was funded.

With that, Straus, in George Mason’s Atmospheric, Oceanic & Earth Sciences Department and Grise, in UVA’s Department of Environmental Sciences, put their team to work. They began by running intervention experiments for 20 winter seasons — 2000/2001 through 2019/2020. For each season, the CESM model was initialized using the observed state of the atmosphere and ocean on November 1 and integrated until the end of March with the model configured to save detailed information every six hours of simulated time. Analysis of the output of the runs focused specifically on the overall strength and paths of the storms and on details of the diabatic heating not normally analyzed.

To accomplish this feat, it was up to Swenson and George Mason graduate students — Noah Blanco-Alcala, who set up the control CESM climate simulations at NCAR, and Heidi Nsiah, who ran CESM forecasts from climate simulation initial conditions at NCAR — to get it done.

Nsiah reflects on her role in the project, “Being introduced to this research on storm tracks has truly broadened and sharpened my skills. I’ve learned not only how to write and edit scripts, but also how to set up and run control experiments, specifically CESM, which has strengthened my confidence in handling computational work. I’ve also learned how storm tracks are diagnosed, and moving forward, I hope to carry out meaningful analyses that will help generate hypotheses for future research.”

The team will present their research at the January 2026 American Meteorological Annual Meeting. Additionally, their future plans also include expanding their study with external grants. “We believe that this data will be very helpful for CESM moving forward, and will improve our fundamental knowledge of how storm tracks work,” notes Straus. “We recognize that there is a lot of room for more work in this area of science.”

Concrete Possibilities Create 4-VA Match

In the construction trades, engineers and builders are constantly pursuing concrete mixes that provide greater durability and strength. Structures and roadways that stand stronger and last longer are key to their success. Moreover, concrete adaptations that are biodegradable and non-toxic with reduced greenhouse gas emissions attract even more attention. Could there be a cherry on top? If the adaptation results in lower production costs.

It was this proposition that brought Xijin “Emma” Zhang, an Assistant Professor in George Mason University’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, together with Bryan Berger, a Professor UVA’s Chemical Engineering Department.

When Zhang — who specializes in fungi-mediated self-healing concrete — found Dr. Berger at UVA via the National Science Foundation search tool, she immediately recognized that Berger’s extensive experience in producing various biosurfactants from fungi would create the perfect match for a 4-VA research team.

Zhang’s goal was to test concrete by incorporating Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) — hydrogels used for internal curing to reduce shrinkage and improve durability. Berger was up for the challenge.

Together, they were interested in looking closer at these concrete possibilities.

To do so, Zhang developed a proposal for 4-VA funding titled “Multifunctional Fungi-Based Biosurfactants for Durable Concrete Structures.” Their plan was to do a barrage of experiments injecting biosurfactants (HFBI), derived from engineered yeast strain, to demonstrate the feasibility of HFBI as a sustainable alternative to conventional air-entraining agents. This research would demand careful study and analysis with particular attention to air content and workability.

Once the proposal was approved, Zhang and Berger assembled a team of students to help deliver the project:

Junyi Wang (GRA) – George Mason University – responsible for experiment design, mortar testing (workability, air content, compressive strength), data analysis, and draft manuscript preparation.
Mack A. Kinkeade – University of Virginia – supported biosurfactant extraction and purification.
Lixin Wang – George Mason University – assisted with sample testing.

Two George Mason University undergraduate students – Phillip Christovaladi Vasilakopoulos and Rafferty Houghton – volunteered their time on the project, gaining critical research experience.

“This 4-VA project provided valuable research opportunities for students at multiple levels, including graduate, undergraduate, and even at the high school level. Their involvement not only enriched their academic experiences but also helped build a strong pipeline of future researchers,” said Zhang.

High school students at the FOCUS Summer Camp learned about the 4-VA team’s work on biosurfactants and their applications in civil engineering. They also participated in experiments where they use surfactants to generate air bubbles and observe their unique properties.

Following a year of lab work, the team did prove their hypothesis — HFBI is a sustainable alternative to established air-entraining agents in concrete.

Surface morphology and height cloud map of the three groups of samples under a microscope. The blue-purple coloring on the surface indicates pores.

Zhang was then able to share their results with a variety of interested organizations including the American Concrete Institute and Brookhaven National Lab, and the Federal Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. Explains Zhang, “These presentations at conferences and national labs helped us connect with industry partners and broadened the impact of our work.”

Zhang sees the 4-VA experience as a success on many levels including relationship building. “The 4-VA@Mason funding was instrumental in launching a meaningful and sustained collaboration with Dr. Berger at UVA,” says Zhang. “Since the start of this project, we have co-developed and submitted 3-4 research proposals to NSF, DOE, and USDA over the past year, some of which were directly inspired by the findings of this 4-VA initiative.”

George Mason and UVA Researchers Look into the Future of Hydrogen Sensors

As underwater, aerial, and ground unmanned vehicles and wearable power systems continue to play a growing role on our technology horizons, it is critical that the fuel cells necessary to power these systems operate safely, while providing durable and optimal performance. Key to this function are high-performance hydrogen sensors which monitor leakage, energy efficiency, and durability under a wide range of operating temperatures, pressures, and humidity levels.

Currently, palladium-based electrochemical hydrogen sensors are primarily used, however, it is acknowledged they often exhibit low sensitivity, a slow response rate, and mechanical instability. Although graphene-Pd hybrid materials are emerging as a better solution for hydrogen sensing, questions remain regarding their efficacy.

That was the crux of the request for 4-VA funding from Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Pilgyu Kang of George Mason University and Stephen Baek in the University of Virginia’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Kang saw an important opportunity to explore this new avenue in hydrogen sensing, but also saw the need to integrate Baek’s expertise in scientific machine learning to identify optimal design parameters — including nanoparticle size, distribution, surface coverage, and porosity — that govern the sensor’s sensitivity, response time, and long-term stability.

Kang

After months of wide-ranging study, Kang is pleased with the results of the collaboration. By using scientific machine learning, the team can predict how changes in material design affect sensor performance. This helps them quickly test many design possibilities and find the best combinations—something that would take much longer with experiments alone.

“Our research team has made exciting progress in developing advanced materials for next-generation gas sensors. We’ve created and tested nanocomposites made from laser-induced graphene and metal nanoparticles to improve how sensors respond to light and detect gases like hydrogen and methane. The materials we’ve developed show promising photo response behavior, which is a key step toward building compact, highly sensitive sensors for environmental and industrial use,” explains Kang.

Since the initial proposal, Kang credits two added outside collaborators as keys to their success: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and N5 Sensors — both providing important platforms to explore potential commercialization paths.

Sensor researchers Peter Snapp and Mahmooda Sultana at NASA GSFC collaborated with the research team on the development of a methane gas sensor. They provided expertise in space-relevant sensing technologies and contributed guidance on performance requirements, testing protocols, and potential integration pathways for aerospace applications. Says Kang, “This collaboration strengthens the translational potential of the 4-VA-supported laser-induced graphene nanocomposite sensing platform for real-world and extreme environment use cases.”

N5 Sensors engaged with the research team to offer industry insight into the commercialization potential of the laser-induced graphene-based sensor platform. Their involvement included feedback on sensor integration strategies, performance metrics relevant to the market, and potential pathways for transitioning the research from lab-scale prototypes to scalable, deployable systems.

The George Mason University component of the team included Peter Cho, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who volunteered his time to evaluate the hydrogen sensing performance of the developed materials and advising on sensors relevant to fuel cell applications.

Kang credits four undergraduate students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering who made significant contributions to the project and benefited from rich experiential opportunities:

Philip Acatrinei shared key material and device integration techniques—particularly in the use of laser-induced graphene and nanocomposite fabrication for advanced sensor platforms.
Graham Harper studied laser-induced graphene and nanocomposite materials for optoelectronic sensing applications.
Noemi Lily Umanzor helped to validate the broader versatility and cross-disciplinary potential of the materials and manufacturing approaches developed in the project.
Diego Enrique Colmenarez performed experimental tasks involving the laser manufacturing and characterization of graphene-based nanocomposites. For his work, Colmenarez received the “Outstanding Project Award” at the College of Engineering and Computing Undergraduate Research Celebration. He also presented the subject at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Undergraduate Research Symposium on Dynamics, Vibration & Acoustics.

CEC Dean Kenneth Ball and Associate Dean Jill Nelson flanking Colmaneraz at the awards ceremony.

The team has already had two published papers on the project, in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C and Advanced Science. However, Kang sees the 4-VA project as a launching pad for much more; noting, “The funding provided the essential support needed to launch a high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary research project that might not have been possible through traditional funding channels alone. It enabled a new and productive collaboration between GMU and UVA, bringing together complementary expertise in laser manufacturing and AI-driven material design. The funding also created valuable hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students. Beyond advancing the technical goals, the support from 4-VA has helped position our team for larger external funding, fostered long-term partnerships, and demonstrated how collaborative, cross-institutional work can drive real innovation.”

4-VA@Mason Awards 14 Grants

Faculty across George Mason University are leading or participating in innovative new projects to further research and education this academic year, thanks to grants recently awarded by 4-VA, a statewide consortium of nine higher education institutions in Virginia.

“The core purpose of 4-VA is to improve efficiencies in higher education and launch novel research via collaborations that leverage the strengths of each university,” says 4-VA@Mason Campus Coordinator and Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Janette Muir. “Through 4-VA, we encourage teamwork to bring great ideas to fruition.”

During 25-26, 4-VA is funding four Collaborative Research Grants led by faculty at George Mason University (partner schools in parentheses):

-Younsung Kim: COS (via support from the entire 4-VA Statewide Consortium), Designing Experiential Learning Modules for Stormwater Management and Climate Adaptation via Spatial Analysis Tools (UVA, VT)

-Quentin Sanders: CEC, Enhancing Daily Living Activities in Stroke Survivors Through Semi-Autonomous Hand Exoskeletons with Multi-Modal Sensing (UVA)

– Shaghayegh (Shay) Bagheri: CEC, Bio-Inspired Metamaterials: Design for Additive Manufacturing (VT, VCU)

-Yanika Kowitlawakul: CPH, Development and integration of Escape Room games to enhance undergraduate nursing students’ collaboration, problem-solving skills, and academic performance (UVA, VCU)

The following researchers have received 4-VA Complementary Grants to support projects managed at partner schools (partner school in parentheses):

-Silvia Danielak: Carter School, Environmental Peacebuilding as an approach for promoting just and sustainable Data Center governance in Virginia (JMU)

-David Luther: COS, Sound Ecology: Acoustic Niche Partitioning and the effects of 17-year cicadas on avian communities across an urban gradient (JMU)

-Armita Kar: COS, Safe Streets: AI-Powered Digital Twin Framework for Enhancing Urban Pedestrian Safety (VT)

-Ziwei Zhu: CEC, Towards Fair Decision Systems: Augmenting LLMs with Causual Graph Discovery (UVA)

-Ethan Ahn: CEC, CMOS-CIM Collaboration on CMOS+Xarrays for Compute-in-Memory (UVA)

-Xijin “Emma” Zhang: CEC, Safety Machine Learning-Driven Bio-Upcycling of Waste Concrete into High-Value Materials (VT)

-Tamara A. Maddox: CEC, Designing a Classroom Platform for Accountable Use of Generative AI in Writing (VT)

-Gregory Stein: CEC, Leveraging Digital Twin Environments and AI-Embodied Reasoning Models for Human-Robot Collaboration in Construction Tasks (VT)

Additionally, George Mason University faculty members were awarded grants to support course redesign, created to bring updated/relevant materials cost-efficiently to students.

-Tammy Stitz, University Libraries (assisted by James Baldo, Bernard Schmidt, and Susan Lawrence): DAEN 690: Data Analytics Engineering

-Sara-Lynn Gopalkrishna: CEC CS 108: Introduction to Computer Programming

In addition to George Mason University, other institutions in the 4-VA consortium are: Christopher Newport University, the College of William and Mary, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia Tech.

Using Virtual Realty to Prevent Falls in Older Adults

Annually, one in four senior citizens seek emergency care from a fall-related injury. To help combat this statistic and prevent falls — which are often the result of poor balance — conventional physical therapy rehabilitation approaches have traditionally been utilized. However, many in the physical therapy field now view immersive virtual reality (VR) technology as an intriguing option for older adults. While laboratory-based experiments provide promising findings, to date this technology has yet to be scaled-up and translated into clinical settings.

Two scholars at 4-VA schools with multidisciplinary backgrounds in related fields envisioned a future where clinicians could use affordable VR technology to outperform traditional diagnostics, therapeutics, and pharmaceutical approaches in fall prevention. They saw an opportunity to develop effective uses of VR technology to detect cognitive-motor function in older adults, and identify fall-risk factors for this population.

The two scholars, Tiphanie Raffegeau, in George Mason’s School of Kinesiology, College of Education and Human Development, and Christopher Rhea, Old Dominion University’s Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, Ellmer College of Health Sciences, developed this project. Raffegeau’s prior research focused on inducing anxiety during walking to study the fear of falling with an elevated height VR paradigm, while Rhea has primarily concentrated on examining how people adapt their steps to avoid obstacles in virtual environments. Through a 4-VA partnership, they wanted to increase accessibility to rehabilitative VR technology for interventions focused on reducing older adult fall-risk, while developing a framework for future scalable and fundable research.

Following 4-VA approval, Raffegeau hired three student programmers, Trevor Hsu, Chara Canfield, and Micah D Williams from the Virginia Serious Gaming Institute (VGSI), a Mason affiliated entity. The student programmers were supervised by VSGI research faculty member Jacob Enfield.

Raffegeau enlisted two of her graduate students to volunteer on the project — Kelly Poretti and Mackenzie Barrowman.

After a year of research Raffegeau notes, “Our testing proved fruitful and we identified a number of important results.” First, they found that experiencing fall-related anxiety in immersive VR can further impair walking performance. Interestingly, they also found that the anxiety response tapers over time, suggesting that experiencing virtual high elevation settings may reduce fall-related anxiety. They also saw that anxiety-provoking VR settings could promote stability-related adaptations during overground walking in impaired populations, suggesting that the VR experience could serve as a clinical intervention to improve walking.

Their findings were enthusiastically shared at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society Annual Meeting, the American Society of Biomechanics Annual Meeting, and the College of Education and Human Development Research symposium.

Using preliminary data from the VR project, Poretti was awarded the Switzer Research Fellowship for Doctoral Dissertation Research by the Administration for Community Living for her dissertation project ‘Using Virtual Reality to Reduce Mobility-Related Anxiety in Lower-Limb Prosthetic Users’ which will support her dissertation work. Raffegeau and Rhea recently submitted an NIH R21 proposal to the National Institutes on Aging entitled, ‘Investigating Biobehavioral Responses to Mobility-Specific Anxiety Across the Menopause Transition and the Effects on Mobility and Fall-Risk’ focusing on the effect of VR-induced fall-related anxiety on walking in pre-and post-menopausal older women.

Concludes Raffegeau, “This 4-VA funding provided crucial funds to support my work as an early investigator and it has made my future grant applications stronger as evidence of institutional support for my career trajectory.”

View two videos produced during the research which illustrate the Low VR and High VR findings.