Category: Featured Stories

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.”

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 Funds Public Writing Collaborative to Support Virginia Educators and Students

4-VA was designed to encourage partnerships and resource sharing to advance higher education in Virginia. Bringing together researchers and thought leaders from around the commonwealth to work in concert has been key to the success of the program since its launch in 2010.

One area of higher education which has lacked comprehensive study is the pedagogy of public writing. Public writing is generally defined as writing that is intended for a general audience with the goal of informing, persuading, or creating change. While courses in this focus have increased in number and scope, they have received relatively little support and scaffolding. Consequently, when Michelle LaFrance’s proposal The Virginia Community and Public Writing Collaborative was received by 4-VA@Mason, it won approval. LaFrance, who focuses on Writing and Rhetoric in George Mason’s English Department, saw the need to connect faculty and students in this growing educational community to pool knowledge and address opportunities for professional development and student success.

LaFrance explains, “Classes in community literacy, community writing, and public writing have all seen an emergence amongst Virginia-based writing studies researchers in the last five years.” However, LaFrance recognized that few formalized lines of communication existed between the faculty who design, develop, and carry out research and deliver curricula at different institutions. Working in silos, she reasoned, was no way to advance the implementation of successful writing programs at this level.

Thanks to 4-VA, LaFrance brought together Sweta Baniya and Sherri Craig at VT, Jen Almjeld at JMU, David Coogan at VCU; and Steve Parks and Kate Stevenson at UVA to begin the work of collecting information and developing relationships. LaFrance then hired Emily Sok, a PhD student in Mason’s Writing and Rhetoric department, to coordinate the project and assist with the planning of the collaborative’s efforts and the creation of the website.

LaFrance also involved four Mason PhD candidates in Writing and Rhetoric as volunteers in the program: Tyler Martinez, Kelby Martinez, Kerry Smith, and Rosemary Pinney.

Fast forward one year from the grant award… Today, a variety of strategic outreach and communication efforts have come to fruition… The Virginia Community and Public Writing Collaborative has:

Constructed an archive of shared online resources,
Built a website (https://vacommunitywriting.org/) to foster the growing community,
Established a conversation to implement both formal and informal mentoring mechanisms,
Developed stronger relationships with off-campus communities and stakeholders and,
Created an email list of Virginia faculty and graduate students to carry on collaborative work.

The researchers began by looking closer at the widespread and wide-ranging growth of public writing programs in the state: At George Mason, ENGH 302: Advanced Composition, a required course for all undergraduate majors, includes a public writing assignment. Within VT’s Center for Rhetoric in Society, a community and corporate writing project explored how to better serve local nonprofits via workshops about writing email, mission statements, and other storytelling. At JMU, WRTG 486: Writing in the Community is offered, as well as WRTG 484: Writing for Nonprofits, which teaches writing as a tool for socio-political engagement in local communities. In doing so, many JMU faculty members have developed partnerships with local public schools, hospitals, refugee resettlement agencies, public history programs, and other community agencies. At UVA, faculty and students created a “Community Writing Collective,” that includes partnerships with local nonprofit and civic organizations and seeks to make visible opportunities in teaching, studying, and understanding writing in community contexts.

The team facilitated several video-based meetings to discuss the shared goals, needs, and interests of those carrying out community writing and community literacy research and curriculum development in Virginia. These meetings allowed members of the collaborative to discuss shared research interests, identify additional funding sources, highlight ongoing research undertakings, and consider the mentoring needs of graduate students. Additionally, they reviewed potential opportunities for the team at the national Conference on Community Writing — which nine of the team members subsequently attended.

Next, they funded a speaker series for faculty and graduate students which featured scholars of community writing including Aja Martinez, Donnie Johnson Sackey, Ada Hubrig, and Jo Hsu.

The work continues. Recently, the team hosted Annabel Park, a nationally recognized community organizer, documentary filmmaker, and founder of The Coffee Party, as well as author Ryan Skinell.

Although much has already been accomplished, LaFrance sees an expanded future for the work. She envisions building on the groundswell of interest by establishing a research and pedagogical collaborative of faculty and graduate students from public universities and faculty at two-year colleges in Virginia, targeting emerging issues for the writing and rhetoric program.

“It was truly terrific to support graduate students and faculty with this grant—these achievements are important and energizing, as well as a key part of professional development,” says LaFrance. “Through this, we have shared information about the projects, partnerships, campus initiatives, and strategies for community engagement that have been our most successful undertakings within the state.”

Taking Out the Trash Takes on New Meaning for Geoenvironmental Engineering Team

A growing concern among jurisdictions across the U.S. is the increasing amount of municipal solid waste entering treatment plants — generally comprised of and categorized as food, green, dry, and recycling. One simple option to reduce the stress on waste treatment facilities is to pre-sort the materials, which also reduces the amount of waste going to landfills. Although inexpensive and effective, this route critically depends on residents’ participation — an element that can be difficult to assure in order to achieve a successful outcome.

George Mason’s Kuo Tian and Ran Ji wanted to tackle this challenge. Tian specializes in geoenvironmental engineering and Ji’s expertise is in system engineering. Their proposal to 4-VA@Mason focused on developing a decision support framework integrating the residential waste sorting process and real-time collection demand information.

The project team aimed to incorporate a range of interdisciplinary knowledge in civil engineering, data analytics, and operations research. Their first objective was to build a database including publicly-available socio-demographic and economic information from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Census Bureau, which would provide logistical support to put the system into action. Secondly, they were interested in creating a learning-and-simulation framework to accurately predict waste generation and community participation rates in waste sorting and recycling programs. To do so, it would be necessary to consider the range of elements effecting the entire waste transfer system.

As 50–80% of total waste management expenditures are based on collection and transportation, Ji and Tian proposed the development of an optimization model to incorporate a myriad of important statistics. The model would include: staff and shift scheduling, vehicle routing and weight, truck capacity assignment, fleet size, service time windows considering traffic patterns, facility operation hours, and school/restaurant collection time requirements. The model also examined emissions released by the transportation sector. Finally under Tian’s microscope was the composition and weight variabilities associated with population density, waste generation rates, and local regulations; combined with family incomes, habits and customs, and seasonal changes. It was a tall order, but the team saw that the seed funding provided by 4-VA could provide the means to collect and capture this important information.

After receiving the grant approval, their next move was to set the theory into a real-world application. Tian and Ji connected with 4-VA colleague Weijun Xie, then in the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. Tian selected graduate students Seyed Omid Hashemiamiri and Hanrui Zhao and undgrads Thu Le, and Kyle R Lowther to round out the research team.

Next, they worked with the Prince William County (Va.) Solid Waste Division to build the data-driven models to validate the results of the proposed decision support framework with practical data. Taking more than one year, the work was methodical and painstaking, but garnered important findings.

“Our research has achieved significant results in enhancing municipal solid waste management using a multidisciplinary approach,” says Tian. “This body of work represents a pivotal step toward smarter, more efficient, and sustainable waste management practices.”

The model has led to a publication in the Sustainability journal titled “An Integrated Location–Scheduling–Routing Framework for a Smart Municipal Solid Waste System” https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7774. Upon the proposed model and approach, Hashemiamiri has further developed it into multi-layper multi-objective optimization framework for waste management, leading to a joiurnal manuscript “Multi-Objective Optimization for Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management Using Genetic Algorithms” (currently under review). This research also constituted a vital component for Hashemiamiri’s PhD dissertation.

Tian concludes, “Further and more complex development of this model is now underway, with the aim of submitting another paper to Waste Management, a top tier journal. Based on the proposed modeling and solution framework, the team has developed and submitted one proposal to USDA and now is working on another NSF proposal.”

George Mason University’s Younsung Kim to Lead State 4-VA Cross-Institutional Course Redesign and Experiential Learning Project

Younsung Kim

In a first-of-its-kind statewide program, the 4-VA partnership of ten higher education institutions in Virginia has awarded George Mason University Professor Younsung Kim a grant to conduct collaborative multidisciplinary research with colleagues at partner 4-VA schools. The results will then be implemented as learning modules into undergraduate courses.

Although 4-VA has awarded Collaborative Research Grants for more than ten years, the grants have been funded separately by each institution. This new 4-VA effort is the first to be supported collectively by the statewide partnership and has added a course redesign and experiential learning element. The project will include faculty members from George Mason, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia with a focus to grow 4-VA’s collaborative research success.

Specifically, Kim’s proposal, “Designing Experiential Learning Modules for Stormwater Management and Climate Adaptation via Spatial Analysis Tools,” plans to use spatial mapping tools to incorporate appropriate green infrastructure to best reduce the effects of stormwater runoff. From there, the team will migrate the information into environmental policy coursework at their respective institutions, and plans to ultimately make the content available statewide.

Kim, a member of George Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy for 15 years, will collaborate with UVA’s B. Brian Park, professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Systems & Information Engineering, and Mintai Kim in VT’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Design. Also joining the team is George Mason PhD student Colin Chadduck.

In reviewing the proposal, 4-VA evaluators noted Kim’s proposition as a standout, citing a number of key factors, including ‘addresses an important topic affecting the state and beyond,’ ‘inherent interdisciplinary approach incorporating science policy, data science techniques, and architecture,’ and ‘lends itself to creative cross-school collaborations — and the experiential module will be incredibly useful.’

“I am delighted and honored to accept this award as we work together across the commonwealth to raise the bar for our faculty and students studying this important work,” says Kim. “As climate change is increasing faster than climate prediction models have suggested, it is critical that we place more emphasis on integrating green infrastructure in climate vulnerable regions. Together, we can tackle this critical challenge.”

In addition to George Mason, other schools in the 4-VA collective include Christopher Newport University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, and the College of William and Mary. 4-VA was established in 2010 upon the recommendation of the Governor’s Higher Education Commission and the Governor’s Commission on Economic Development and Job Creation to encourage collaboration in both education and research, leverage the strengths of each institution, and reduce working in silos.

State Working Group Chair Matt Banfield of UVA explains, “4-VA has a long track record of success with the Collaborative Research Grants program and we are excited to expand this model to support course redesign initiatives. 4-VA collaborative projects have built bridges between our institutions, nurtured hundreds of faculty and student relationships, provided valuable opportunities for experiential learning and hands-on research, and jumpstarted novel research projects that have gone on to receive national and international attention. We are looking forward to supporting this project proposed by Professor Kim and her team.”

Kim’s Research Team Joins State 4-VA Meeting

Examining the Consequences of Land Ownership in Rural Virginia

Van Sant

Assistant Professor Levi Van Sant’s work in George Mason’s School of Integrative Studies focuses on environmental (in)justice surrounding food, agriculture, and land use. Previously, Van Sant has analyzed how land ownership affects the ways that racial and class dynamics of the past are reproduced in the present, focusing on the coastal United States South. More recently, however, he was interested in the ramifications of land ownership closer to home — in “the backyard” of two 4-VA partner universities, George Mason and James Madison.

Van Sant wanted to apply an existing model which suggests that higher rates of absentee and corporate-owned timberland in rural Alabama are associated with lower quality-of-life indicators such as income and education. It has also been observed that large landowners hold disproportionate political and economic power in rural communities.

Van Sant wanted to examine land use and ownership in the Shenandoah Valley and Middlesex County in Virginia. He also saw an opportunity to provide students at both schools a chance to hone their analytical skills — as a first reading of land use and ownership records often only tell part of the story. He wanted the students to research the differences in data management between municipalities, recognize the difficulties in accessing information in rural counties, and understand how land ownership has repercussions for low-income and minoritized communities.

Van Sant applied for and received a 4-VA@Mason grant for this research and set his team to work. Jeremy Campbell, the Associate Director for Strategic Engagement at George Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth; and Case Watkins, Assistant Professor in the Department of Justice Studies at James Madison agreed to volunteer their time to help coordinate the project.

The project centered on two partnerships with communities for whom patterns of land use and ownership are crucially important: small farmers in the Shenandoah Valley, which was overseen by Watkins, and the Indigenous Tribal Nations of the Middle Peninsula Region, which was facilitated by Campbell.

“We produced a large database of land ownership records for the two study regions in rural Virginia. From this database we created a series of maps that represent trends in land ownership across both study regions. We also compiled a set of maps to contextualize and present this work. The datasets and maps are significant resources for further analysis,” noted Van Sant. “This grant provided invaluable support for further developing our research methods; creating a solid dataset for on-going research; and, most importantly, building analysis and tools for future community engagement.”

Several students were involved with the project. George Mason graduate student Tyler Grant received funding for his work handling Geographic Information System analysis and data organization. Undergraduate students Yonna Angeles, Erin MacMonigle, and Jacquelyn Batchelor received funding as mapping assistants, as well as Tamar Gorgadze, who acted as a research assistant.

At JMU, three students also worked on the project — Gina Bigo analyzed land ownership trends, Madelynn Warren looked at county land use, and Ally Windham considered the historical overview and analysis.

George Mason and Virginia Tech Team Up to Improve Online Searches

Although algorithms can make online searches faster and easier, they can also be fraught with dangerous biases. Research has shown that image search engines can exhibit discrimination against females or people of color, and bias is also found in online searches in employment recruiting and the healthcare field.

While efforts have been made to unveil and tackle fairness and bias glitches in search and recommendation systems, two key issues have been largely overlooked: Existing research treats different types of bias in isolation, resulting in specialized methods that are difficult to generalize; and, they focus on bias in the static environment leaving the dynamic nature of the search and recommendation process unexplored.

Zhu

Ziwei Zhu, Assistant Professor in George Mason University’s College of Engineering and Computing, wanted to demystify the underlying correlation of different types of bias and develop new multi-task and graph learning algorithms to support fair and unbiased searches and recommendations. Using this information, he wanted to create and release open-source software on this subject for the research community, significantly advancing trustworthiness of AI techniques. Finally, Zhu was intent on ensuring the debias system would be sustained long term.

Zhu enlisted the help of 4-VA partner Dawei Zhou in Virginia Tech’s Department of Computer Science. Together, they responded to the 4-VA call for proposals, and, “Towards Consolidated and Dynamic Debiasing for Online Search and Recommendation” was approved for funding.

Joining the effort at George Mason was graduate student Jinhao Pan, who handled algorithm implementation and paper writing. Pan was supported by a team of Zhu’s student researchers (pictured below).The group began by developing an end-to-end adaptive local learning framework to provide recommendations to both mainstream and niche users.

Zhu sees the audience as other researchers focusing on fair and unbiased recommendations and searches, or practitioners — software developers and AI engineers — in the industry who want to improve the fairness and trust of their systems. To that end, Zhu’s group created a boosting-based framework designed to decrease a broad spectrum of biases. This framework employs a series of sub-models, each tailored for different users and item subgroups.

The results were impressive, with experiments demonstrating superior debiasing capabilities against state-of-the-art methods across four model bias types.

However, Zhu knew that their new framework for recognizing and removing biases would only be effective if implemented. To that end, the group made the algorithm implementation open source through various options — https://github.com/JP-25/end-To-end-Adaptive-Local-Leanring-TALL- and https://github.com/JP-25/CFBoost.

They also presented and published Combating Heterogeneous Model Biases in Recommendations via Boosting at the Association for Computing Machinery International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining. End-to-End Adaptive Local Learning for Alleviating Mainstream Bias in Collaborative Filtering was also presented and published at the European Conference on Information Retrieval.

In addition to the framework developed, the project increased collaboration between George Mason and Virginia Tech through coursework. The new algorithms have been integrated into materials of Mason’s undergraduate and graduate level Data Mining courses CS584 and CS484.

Zhu has used the outcome of this project as the foundation for a proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation Computer and Information Science and Engineering Core program.

Concludes Zhu, “This 4-VA grant helped me set up some computational resources so that I can conduct further research and supported travel to academic conferences to disseminate our research and learn from others. We believe this provided the groundwork for some very important first steps in this field.”