Category: Uncategorized

George Mason and Virginia Tech Collaboration Creates Connections in Science Policy

Today, Virginia is one step closer to bridging the gap between science and policy — a critical relationship necessary to navigate a range of socio-technical issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, and poverty. Creating this connection was the result of a yearlong research project to identify U.S. and Virginia science policy programs which engage STEM-H scientists and engineers in science policy with the end result of helping both elected and non-elected officials access technical information to assist in decision making.

This work was completed thanks to a coalition of faculty and students supported though a 4-VA@Mason grant. The team was led by KL Akerlof in George Mason’s Department of Environmental Science & Policy and Todd Schenk, Chair and Associate Professor in the Urban Affairs and Planning Program of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech and Director of the Science, Technology & Engineering in Policy Program.

To advance best practices for professional mentorship of early career researchers and to build capacity for training researchers to engage in public policy, the team developed a database of U.S. science policy programs and conducted a case study of those in Virginia through surveys and interviews with their leaders. Akerlof and Schenk were assisted in the study by Adriana Bankston, an expert in science policy, and Mason students Kelsey Mitchell, Kate Saylor, and Aniyah Syl, and Kenneth Dewberry at Virginia Tech.

Following the yearlong collaboration, the results—along with program blogs and a listserv—has been developed and is featured on a new website created to support this emerging network of science policy programs: https://scipolprograms.org/.

The results of their research showed that the majority (57%) of U.S. science policy programs are state based. These programs include student organizations, government placements and fellowships, and academic certificates, degrees, and other training. However, it was recognized that there is only a limited ability to implement evidence-based approaches within these programs.

The team compared programmatic outcomes from Virginia’s science policy programs with those described in academic literature. Academic and professional scholarship in science communication, and public affairs suggests that curricula for engaging scientists and engineers should broadly cover communication and policy processes.

In addition, they found that training programs would benefit from evaluation models and measures, although the lack of consistent theoretical foundations and constructs across this highly multidisciplinary scholarship reduces their utility. It was concluded that a common framework, which includes shared terms and relationships, is needed to promote the transdisciplinary growth of the field.

With the results of their analysis in hand, the team held a state webinar on science policy programs featuring 11 of the 13 Virginia program leaders. The project was also highlighted at a Virginia Sea Grant Symposium and was the topic of an American Geophysical Union e-lightning talk.

Bankston and Akerlof presenting research findings

While the results of the study proved important, the project also provided rich opportunities to the students participating in the effort. Undergraduate student Syl and doctoral candidate Mitchell helped lead the webinar and participated as co-authors on the publications. Further, Syl co-presented at the Virginia Sea Grant Symposium. Plus, master’s student Saylor successfully defended her thesis on the Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Policy Fellowship. She subsequently presented her results to the President of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, Dr. James Aylor.

The first of two research articles based on the project has just been accepted with minor revisions by the journal Evidence & Policy. A second article has also been submitted for publication. They are also in conversation with the leadership of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine about the development of a new weeklong science policy program for undergraduate students from across the Commonwealth’s public universities.

Akerlof reflects on receiving the 4-VA@Mason award, “This funding supported our cross-institutional collaboration and ability to conduct baseline research and networking that have been fundamental to understanding how the landscape of science policy training programs is evolving across the United States.”

Mason Scientists Join Partners to Create Genetic Markers to Improve Breeding Practices for Endangered Species

Scientists have long recognized that both wild and captive populations of endangered species are at a high risk for loss of genetic diversity due to their rarity. With small or isolated populations, genetic diversity can be lost through stochastic genetic drift or breeding between close relatives. Therefore, proper management of captive populations is critical to ensure long-term sustainability. The struggle, however, is how to efficiently and economically collect and analyze high-resolution genetic data that can fill the knowledge information gaps in effective breeding practices.

Haw Chuan Lim, Associate Professor in George Mason’s College of Science, Department of Biology, saw an opportunity to combine the experience and knowledge of other experts in the field to develop a novel genomic tool to address this issue.

The researchers created and validated the application of a novel genetic probe-set. It was used to generate data from different types of genetic markers with complementary features such as ease of genotyping, presence throughout the genome, and high information content. The team reasoned that a study conducted on one animal could provide a platform for application to other endangered species.

The Eastern mountain bongo, a critically imperiled ungulate native to Kenya, was identified as a test species. Although fewer than 140 bongos remain In the wild, there are approximately 160 bongos in U.S. zoos and several hundred more on private ranches. As such, breeding and transfer strategies that increase genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding of captive animals are critical for the survival of the species.

The 4-VA@Mason Advisory Board saw the value in Lim’s proposal, “Development of a novel genotyping panel for powerful and cost-effective evaluations of population structure and kinship in the critically endangered mountain bongo” and approved it for funding.

GMU researchers, Lim and his PhD student, Karen Holm, assembled their team — Aakrosh Ratan, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia; Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Senior Research Scientist, Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation; and Budhan Pukazhenthi, Research Physiologist, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. 4VA funding was used to purchase the necessary supplies, reagents and equipment including DNA tests and probe sets.

Four types of samples—whole blood, fecal swabs, tissues, and extracted DNA—from 39 North American conservation centers and zoos were collected to begin the project. This resulted in a total of 207 samples from both current and historical ex situ populations (populations outside of the native ranges). They evaluated the effectiveness of the probe-set in generating high-quality genetic data from different sample types and for different genetic marker types. The data obtained are now being accessed for their ability to produce accurate information on animal kinship, genetic diversity and population structure, which will ultimately be used to guide precise captive breeding programs.

Some preliminary data, as well as a chromosome-level genome assembly, have already been published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and at https://www.dnazoo.org/copy-of-assemblies/tragelaphus_eurycerus_isaaci. A high-quality genome serves as an invaluable resource for species conservation because it can be used for many types of research such as those focused on detecting deleterious mutations. All results from this study will ultimately contribute to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for the species.

Concludes Lim, “The 4-VA@Mason funding got us started, and now we have obtained external funding to move the research even further.”

4-VA Calls for Proposals: Course Redesign for Virginia Institutions of Higher Learning

4-VA statewide is now accepting proposals which provide new opportunities for course redesign. The consortium is interested in the collaborative development of specific course elements and sequence of courses, supporting faculty-led research that could inform a future course or program redesign effort, or support the convening of stakeholders throughout the commonwealth on the topic of course redesign and embedded experiential learning.

Faculty and staff from 4-VA’s member institutions are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $40,000. Proposals must involve at least three 4-VA institutions, with one institution designated as the Project Lead and the others as Co-Leads. Successful submissions will propose projects that impact more than one institution and are not duplicative of existing statewide efforts. Proposed projects must be available to share among all 4-VA members and accessible to a broader set of stakeholders.

Proposals are being accepted through November 1, 2024. Funding will be available in early January 2025 and the project must be substantially completed by June 30, 2026.

For more information and to access the submission link click here.

Modeling Green Infrastructure to Ensure Urban Sustainability

Green infrastructure (GI), utilizing plant or soil systems, permeable pavement, and other mitigators to filter and absorb stormwater where it falls, is a topic of interest to a variety of stakeholders. City and local government officials, utility and engineering companies, and environmental organizations as well as private citizens recognize the need to reduce potentially dangerous and contaminated water flows to sewer systems or surface waters.

Efficient stormwater management in highly urbanized communities is especially critical, considering how floods and droughts could be caused or exacerbated by climate change. However, creating an effective model to examine runoff possibilities requires careful consideration of a wide array of factors including climate data, soil types, water flow patterns, and current land usage. Furthermore, it is imperative that other elements — geographic, demographic, economic, and ecological — be factored into the model.

That was just the challenge Younsung Kim in Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy wanted to take on. Kim, who has an extensive background in complex environmental and sustainability issues, saw the potential of incorporating freely available data from US Geological Society and Census Bureau along with the local county government land use zoning data to create a computational spatial model to help identify what works, and what doesn’t work, in GI.

Kim also recognized the importance of applying the prototype in a real-world setting. To do so, she and her research team identified several eastern Fairfax County locations along the Route 1 corridor in Virginia, including the communities of Huntington, Waynewood, and Fort Hunt to illustrate how the model might work. Finally, Kim wanted to incorporate today’s trends in GI architecture in the research; identifying UVA’s School of Architecture as a leading source of urban planning and spatial analysis expertise.

This robust goal was brought to fruition after Kim’s proposal “Assessing Green Infrastructure Potential Using Multi-level Ecological and Economic Factors: The Northern Virginia Case” won a 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grant. Kim’s co-PI at UVA, Vanessa Guerra, received a 4-VA Complementary Grant for her work on the project.

Kim also tapped a number of other sources, including Alex Iszard and Greg Farley in Mason’s Facilities Administration, who offered their GI perspective from a facility management standpoint.

Kim’s PhD student Colin Chadduck assisted in the development of the computational model, studying the ecological and economic factors important for GI site identification. Mason undergraduate students Caroline Miller, Dahvi E Hochman, and Nicolas Bataille provided data collection and literature review support. Undergraduate Sunho Oh played the same role at UVA. Additionally, Elizabeth Grant, formerly a professor at Virginia Tech, advised on the subject of experimental designs of green roof systems.

Together, the team developed a proven successful computational model incorporating ecological and economic dimensions for GI placement which has received national and international attention.

The research outcomes were presented at the American Society for Public Administration Annual Conference, the Midwest Political Science Association Conference, and at a Mason Earth Day event. A paper entitled “Mapping Green Infrastructure from Stormwater” was published in Environmental Pollution and Climate Change.

Based on the spatial analysis method developed on the project, Kim won a grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency to develop resilience enhancement action programs for climate refugee communities in the Philippines.

The project now extends to increase public awareness. Kim and her students are developing a GI webpage that will include resources and a video clip focusing on green infrastructure.

“This 4-VA@Mason grant has created results-oriented direction for GI within Fairfax County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and beyond; and cemented a long-term collaborative relationship between our environmental policy research group here at Mason and the environmental planning lab at UVA,” noted Kim. “We believe our results have far-reaching possibilities and impact on urban sustainability.”

NEH Award Expands 4-VA Piloted Project

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently awarded $220,000 to a project originally funded by 4VA@Mason to focus on a deeper approach to teaching the history of higher education in the United States. Thanks to 4-VA’s seed funding, this research developed at the state level will now be propelled onto a national platform.

“Reimagining the History of Higher Education in the Digital Age,” was awarded a 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grant in 2020, proposed by professor of higher education Kelly Schrum. Virginia Tech assistant professor Chase Catalano also received a 4-VA Complementary Grant at that time to launch the project in Blacksburg.

Once off the ground in 2021, colleagues at William and Mary, James Madison, and Old Dominion were interested in joining the endeavor, with Ben Boone, Art Dean, and Kim Bullington and Bill Nuckols, respectively, at the helm. WM, JMU, and ODU faculty also received 4-VA support for their contribution to the research.

Collaborating with Schrum at Mason is Nate Sleeter, Director of Educational Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.

Since the outset of the project, participating faculty, students, and student researchers have curated more than 100 primary sources, created asynchronous learning activities for the course, collected input from history of higher education instructors, and developed an extremely well-received database of resources for the project website, the History of Higher Education: An Open Educational Resource — higheredhistory.gmu.edu.

In addition to primary and secondary sources, the website contains an invaluable database of institutional archives with digitized historical content, including yearbooks. Seven hundred institutional archives are cataloged on the site, including 48 Hispanic-Serving Institutions, 24 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and 15 women’s colleges. Additionally, the list includes 63 community colleges — especially important given the historic lack of attention to these institutions.

Recognizing the value of this new approach to more fully understand the history of higher education, the NEH grant will allow the 4-VA collaborators to expand the project https://unpacking.chss.gmu.edu/ and to conduct a Summer 2024 four-week institute, “Unpacking the History of Higher Education in the United States,” designed to improve the history of higher education courses nationally and to deepen humanities engagement among future higher education leaders.

“This project has been a wonderful exercise in collaboration and research,” concludes Schrum. “Working together and leveraging the resources at each university through 4-VA made this effort a success.”

4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grant Applications Now Accepted

Calls for proposals are now open for Mason faculty interested in launching pilot research projects in conjunction with colleagues at one or more of the universities within the 4-VA system in Virginia. These Collaborative Research Grants (CRG) 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 opportunities for students. Other 4-VA institutions include William and Mary, James Madison, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia.

The program is designed to encourage the development of baseline research projects in the sciences and humanities which could help fuel future research and funding. “The 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant program provides our Mason faculty an important first step to bring to life a research endeavor that will benefit our students, higher education, and citizens statewide and beyond,” explains Vice Provost, Academic Affairs and 4-VA@Mason Campus Coordinator Janette Muir.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through February 15, 2024. Further information can be found at https://4va.gmu.edu/grants/.

Assessing Tobacco Prevention Policies by Mining Nontraditional Social Media to Complement Traditional Simulation Modeling Approaches

Curbing the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vaping among youth is a priority of public health agencies and health services to prevent this population from health complications and reduce the loss of productivity and healthcare costs in the future. For public health analysts concerned about the use of tobacco and e-cigarettes, it is insightful to look at how social media might play a role in affecting beliefs and behaviors. Further, to understand the complete picture of the social media landscape on tobacco and e-cigarettes, it is also important to consider how youth interact with and respond to conversations about e-cigarettes across platforms. Armed with this information, appropriate, actionable, and effective social media-based intervention campaigns and policies can be implemented to combat the use of these harmful products.

Rather than utilizing the traditional approaches of simulation modeling and survey-based methods for public health research, which can be slower to collect and analyze relevant data, social media itself provides a unique opportunity to gather more timely, real-time information about youth’s daily activities. Although social media mining methods are routinely leveraged to understand customer behavior about brands, their use in public health research is underexplored. Faculty across multiple colleges at George Mason imagined that utilizing this non-traditional data could inform policy evaluation and implementation programs faster than what had been done in the past.

Thanks to a grant from 4-VA@Mason, a team with broad expertise in social media mining, public health policy, and epidemiology came together to examine the best way to move forward. Lead PI Hemant Purohit, Associate Professor in the College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Information Sciences & Technology at Mason, who studies Social Media Mining, connected with fellow Mason faculty member, Hong Xue, Associate Professor in the College of Health and Human Services, Department of Health Administration and Policy. Purohit and Xue then reached out to involve Bernard Fuemmeler of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center in an advisory role. Fuemmeler is a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Population Health, and Scientific Director for Health Communication and Digital Innovations. The team aimed to develop a social data-driven approach toward informing and evaluating intervention designs and policymaking to prevent e-cigarette/vaping use.

With the help of a former undergraduate student, Anuridhi Gupta (who has subsequently transitioned to the doctoral program at Mason) they began by reviewing theories used for guiding behavioral health interventions in public health literature and identified the relevant theory for this research, specifically Social Cognitive Theory. Based on this framework, they designed a study to look at a range of user intent classes in the conversations on e-cigarettes and vaping by examining behaviors across multiple social platforms, in particular, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube. The team then created a novel resource of labeled data from Twitter and Reddit conversations to support research and development of social media mining tools to aid intervention designs for curbing e-cigarette/vaping usage.

From there, the team performed an extensive experimental analysis to examine the capability of machine learning-based automated classification systems to categorize social media posts into relevant intent classes, which could inform the development of a scalable analytical tool to assist public health analysts. Further, they identified insights on promoting or discouraging e-cigarettes and vaping on Twitter and Reddit by analyzing social media posts categorized with relevant intent classes using topic modeling and psychometric techniques. The analysis indicated that Accusational posts were the most prevalent on Twitter, indicating that the public often undermines the credibility of information sources, agencies, and officials by blaming them. Similarly, Anecdotal posts were the most prevalent on Reddit.

“Without this multidisciplinary research, it would not have been possible to achieve these insights and the resulting data-driven framework for scalable social media analytics in this short timeframe. We are grateful to the 4-VA grant program for supporting us to kickstart our mission for healthy society and well-being,” Purohit said.

The research team has submitted a manuscript to a journal with a focus on a novel intent mining framework to understand online conversations on e-cigarettes to inform social media-based intervention design. Further, the team is currently working on a plan to write a National Institutes of Health proposal based on this preliminary work as a promising direction for data-driven policymaking for public health.

4-VA@Mason Awards Funding for 12 Promising Investigations Led by Mason Faculty plus Eight Additional Collaborations for Mason Co-PIs

4-VA@Mason, announces the Collaborative Research Awards for the 23-24 academic year — with 12 projects spearheaded by Mason faculty, and eight for Mason faculty acting as Co-PIs. “These 4-VA@Mason Collaborative Research Grants are the core of what our state program is all about — providing seed funding to encourage faculty from our eight partner schools to launch novel research efforts and build critical relationships among the institutions,” said Janette Kenner Muir, Vice Provost, Academic Affairs and Campus Coordinator of 4-VA@Mason.

Approved proposals were from a range of colleges at Mason including the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Computer Game Design/Virginia Serious Game Institute; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Engineering and Computing; and the College of Science.

One proposal funded this year is Dr. Chris Jones’ work, Using Taxonomic, Pigment, and Molecular Analysis to Characterize Algal Blooms in the Shenandoah River. Professor Jones, a member of the Environmental Science & Policy Department and Director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, has already seen the benefit of 4-VA support with growing research projects focused on harmful algal blooms that threaten Virginia’s Shenandoah River and also plague waters throughout the world. In the Shenandoah, these blooms originally consisted of green algae, which while troublesome for recreational activities, did not present a danger to humans and wildlife. In the past two years, however, the blooms have included cyanobacteria that contain toxins. Environmental engineers recognize that it is critical to identify the toxic bacteria quickly and definitively, but current methodologies are inadequate. Jones’ team of Mason faculty and students, together with their partners at Old Dominion University, will tackle this important challenge.

The following are the 4-VA@Mason 2023-24 Collaborative Research Grant winners, with partner schools in parentheses.

Akerlof, Karen Bridging Science and Policy in the States: A Study of Emerging Mechanisms to Train Scientists and Engineers (VT)
Enfield, Jacob MySQL Murder Mystery (VMI)
Furst, Kirin Emlet The role of the air-water interface in breakthrough of PFAS and phthalate esters during wastewater treatment (VT)
Jones, R Christian Using Taxonomic, Pigment and Molecular Analysis to Characterize Algal Blooms in the Shenandoah River (ODU)
Kang, Pilgyu Machine learning assisted laser manufacturing of alloy nanoparticle graphene hybrid materials for high performance hydrogen sensing (UVA)
LaFrance, Michelle The Virginia Community and Public Writing Collaborative (JMU, VCU, VT, UVA)
Lawrence, Heidi A Rhetorical Approach to Challenges in Blood Donation (VT)
Raffegeau, Tiphanie Using Virtual Reality to Study Cognitive and Affective Risk Factors for Falls in Older Adults (ODU)
Straus, David The Role of Diabatic Heating in Determining Atlantic Storm Paths (UVA)
Van Aken, Benoit Protection of RNA by Association with Macromolecules Implications for Wastewater Based Epidemiology (VT)
Yu, Yun Nanoscale Visualization of Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction Activity at Cu Nanocatalysts (UVA)
Zhu, Ziwei Towards Consolidated and Dynamic Debiasing for Online Search and Recommendation (VT)

The following Mason faculty received funding as Co-PIs collaborating with other 4-VA institutions in parentheses:

Chowdhury, Ahsan The Commonwealth Proofs Project Collaborative: Promoting Students’ Understanding of Logical Implications and their Transformations (VT)
Dromgold-Sermen, Michelle New American Resources: Partnerships and Initiatives at Virginia Higher Education Institutions to Strengthen Virginia’s Migration Support (VT)
Jing, Hao Acoustics-enabled Noncontact Manipulation, Patterning, and Assembly of Complex-shaped Micro/nanoparticles for Advance Manufacturing (VT)
LaToza, Thomas Visualizing Code Changes to Understand Students’ Mental Models in Programming Education at Scale (VT)
Stone, Victoria Increasing Mental Health Services in K-12 Settings by Helping Provisionally Licensed School Counselors Meet the Requirements for Full Licensure as Professional School Counselors in Virginia (JMU)
Stone, Victoria Supporting K-12 Students after Psychiatric Hospitalizations: Piloting Mixed Reality Simulation Training for School Mental Health Professionals (UVA)
Van Aken, Benoit Hyperspectral imaging for the real-time detection of microplastic particles in seafoods (VT)
Zhu, Ziwei Break the Dilemmas between Model Performance and Fairness: A Holistic Solution for Fairness Learning on Graphs (VT)

“We are looking forward to the new discoveries we will find with these 4-VA collaborative projects,” comments Vice Provost Muir, “Our faculty, students, and the Commonwealth of Virginia will benefit from these partnerships as the schools approach the work from their own perspectives and strengths, building solid partnerships for future initiatives.”

National Experts, UVA, and Students Join 4-VA@Mason Research on Battery Storage

While 4-VA@Mason’s Collaborative Research Grants mantra is ‘two heads are better than one,’ Chao Luo, Assistant Professor in Mason’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, took this concept to the next level in his recent 4-VA research project titled “Metal sulfide-based nanomaterials for high-performance multivalent metal batteries.” For the task, Luo and his co-PI at UVA, Sen Zhang, assembled a team of 12 researchers, faculty, and students from five locations for an 11-month journey — yielding great success.

Luo’s primary research interest focuses on rechargeable batteries; however, he and Zhang were interested in exploring new materials and nanostructures for sustainable energy storage. Their goal? To design and synthesize polymer cathode materials and test the electrochemical performance of these materials in rechargeable magnesium and Aluminum-ion batteries, as well as redox-flow magnesium batteries, used for grid-scale energy storage.

With the 4-VA@Mason grant in hand, Luo assembled a team. He began in-house, identifying students who were interested in studying battery properties. Luo selected a postdoctoral student, Dr. Kaiqiang Qin, who received specific training on the project from Luo, as well as PhD students Kathryn Holguin, Motahareh Mohammadiroudbari, Eric Youngsam Kim, and undergraduate student Annieka Reno, who each performed experiments for the research. In addition, Luo reached out to prominent scientists, Enyuan Hu at Brookhaven National Lab, Zhenzhen Yang at Argonne National Lab, and Tao Gao from University of Utah, who agreed to advise on the study. Two graduate students from Brookhaven and Utah also volunteered on the project.

Regarding the research, Mohammadiroudbari noted, “Developing novel materials is pivotal to meeting the ever-growing demand for high-performance and sustainable batteries. It has been an exciting journey working with such a great team to evaluate the nanomaterials in multivalent metal batteries.” Team member Kim commented, “Research on sustainable batteries is important. It is exciting to research different types of batteries. This research was great to investigate various sustainable batteries.”

The research results were published in three journals – ScienceDirect, American Chemical Society, and Chemistry – and spotlighted via an in-person oral presentation at the 242^nd Electrochemical Society Conference.

Based on the reception and the success, Luo is now applying for continued research support with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and Powerit.com.

Luo concludes, “The 4-VA@Mason grant offered me a valuable opportunity to collaborate with prominent scientists in Virginia and around the country. The team will continuously explore new materials and chemistries for sustainable batteries. This is the start of our journey to promote energy and an environmentally balanced future.”

Effective Communication During Disaster Response: Managing the Minutia

While Wenying Ji, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering at George Mason University, has previously collaborated with Xinghua Gao (Virginia Tech) and Jundong Li (University of Virginia), he saw a new opportunity to take their research deeper through a 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant. Through a 4-VA grant, Ji hoped, he and his fellow researchers could delve into an analysis of stakeholder communications during disaster response, an important addition to his ongoing research integrating advanced data analytics and complex system modeling to improve the performance of infrastructure systems.

Through the 4-VA program, Ji could receive funding from 4-VA@Mason, while his collaborators at Virginia Tech and UVA could also receive modest financial support from their universities through 4-VA. Ji’s hopes came true as the 4-VA@Mason Advisory Board saw the potential in the research; thus, all collaborators obtained support from 4-VA. Ji’s research aimed to model, analyze, and identify effective communication and collaboration patterns that stakeholders utilize in response to disasters.

As Ji explains it, during disaster response, the communication process among agencies is complex due to the involvement of a great number of agencies at different hierarchical levels and sectors–the federal, state, and local level agencies; non-governmental agencies; and private contractors. Ji’s goal was to extract effective communication and collaboration patterns through an analysis of historical disaster response documents and evaluate various possible communication and collaboration patterns that may affect stakeholder response.

Their work began with Gao at Virginia Tech who was able to collect a range of valuable data sources (e.g., situational reports and government-issued guidelines) that document stakeholder interaction processes. The team considered situational reports from natural disasters, including Hurricane Irma in Florida and Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and studied the reports documenting a 10-day period.

That information was sent to Li, who is an expert in graph modeling. From there, the data went to Ji and graduate student Yitong Li. Li performed much of the analysis and gained valuable, practical experience from the research.

The result of their research has produced a quantitative model which evaluates the impact of information flow on the effectiveness of disaster response. Based on the model, a metric was then designed to evaluate the probability of community satisfaction. The designed model and the metric provide governmental stakeholders interpretable insights for evaluating the impact of information flow on their disaster response effectiveness, so that proactive actions can be targeted for enhanced disaster response. The team’s approach promotes inter-organizational collaboration in emergency management by helping stakeholders easily identify effective communication and collaboration patterns.

Following their successful research, the group produced a journal paper entitled “Robustness of Stakeholder Response Networks for Infrastructure System Protection” for the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Management in Engineering, a conference paper and a presentation entitled “Understanding the Dynamics of Information Flow During Disaster Response Using Absorbing Markov Chains” were produced for the Winter Simulation Conference.

Next steps for the team? They plan to submit the proposal to the Humans, Disasters, and the Built Environment (HDBE) program, which is an NSF funded grant. “Thanks to this grant, we hope to take our project to the next level,” says Ji.