innovative classes

Costello MBA students are turning their ideas into successful companies

Greg Johnson — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:55:26 +0000

Costello MBA students are turning their ideas into successful companies Greg Johnson Mon, 07/07/2025 - 09:55

In This Story

“I wanted to start my own business,” says Patcharaporn Adchariyavivit, a Costello MBA student, “It seemed like this course was going to help me start it. But I didn’t expect it be this good, you know?”

Skip West

Skip West, founder of MAXSA Innovations and adjunct faculty at the Costello College of Business at �鶹��Ƶ, offers the course Turning Ideas into Successful Companies once a year to MBA students. The concept for the course came from West’s own entrepreneurial experiences of turning his ideas into companies. He has co-taught the MBA version of the course with Suresh Shenoy, an engineer, senior business executive, and philanthropist.

When he was in graduate school at Stanford, West took a course that was attended by both engineering and business students, working together to turn their ideas into companies. Several years later, he reconnected with his partner from the class to build upon their ideas from school. Together, they founded DesignTech International, where they pioneered remote car starting and keyless entry, among other automotive safety accessories and wireless home automation products. The successful launch of the business took many years, but it really began in the collaborative environment of a classroom.

Now, Skip West has designed the curriculum for his course at the Costello College of Business so that students can realize their own success. “It’s all about the students coming up with their passion,” he says. “It’s not what I care about. It’s what they care about and developing a business that they’re interested in.”

Ramel DuPree. Photo provided

Ramel DuPree entered the course with his idea for a men’s special skincare brand that is primarily targeted to Black men. “Once I was presented with the possibility to actually take a graduate level course, to actually learn more and go into details with it, and also have some guidance, I just jumped at the opportunity.”

Adchariyavivit also entered the course with a concept already in mind. Inspired by observing all the processes in her family’s restaurant business—combined with her previous professional experience as a project manager in an IT startup—she had been working on an AI-powered restaurant consultant application.

“In today’s digital world, where AI makes market research, competitive analysis, and business plan writing almost mundane, the real skill is learning how to learn,” says Shenoy. “That means teaching students to validate, verify, and seek relevant information to bring their ideas to life.” Throughout the course, the students examined every facet, from manufacturing to marketing and everything in between. “In the end, they develop a business plan, and it’s a lot of pitching to the class, feedback from your classmates, feedback from us,” says West. “It’s a discovery class.”

Patcharaporn Adchariyavivit. Photo provided

The class has made a significant difference in the business ideas from both Adchariyavivit and DuPree. “With Skip, the guy’s more practical, and he is a real investor and a real entrepreneur,” says Adchariyavivit. DuPree appreciated how the feedback loop kept him on his toes and focused on eliminating any blind spots. “Once I was able to get that feedback,” he says, “I had to come back. I had to readjust. I had to restructure. It was super beneficial to allowing me to do an outside-looking-in perspective for myself.”

The course was tailor made for students to turn their passionate ideas into successful companies, but it’s beneficial to all business students. “Even if you’re developing your business conceptually, it forces you to look at everything holistically,” says West. “You get to see all the aspects of a business.”

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Costello College of Business Students

Student-led Chesapeake Bay project showcases George �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to environmental stewardship

Colleen Rich — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:32:22 +0000

Student-led Chesapeake Bay project showcases George �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to environmental stewardship Colleen Rich Wed, 06/25/2025 - 15:32

Innovation and environmental stewardship are alive and well in �鶹��Ƶ classrooms, where students are translating ecological science into hands-on projects.

Vulcan Materials was on site to help with the concrete pouring. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

In spring 2025, students in EVPP 480 Sustainability in Action gave a crucial boost to Chesapeake Bay oysters by constructing oyster reef balls where the bivalves can attach, grow, and develop into natural reef structures. The course is co-taught by Department of Environmental Science and Policy professors and George �鶹��Ƶ alumni Dann Sklarew, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy ’00, and Jennifer Sklarew, PhD Public Policy ’15.

Unlike species that rely on habitats created by others, oysters are the habitat. As a keystone species in the bay, their growth forms the foundation of reef structures that support a wide array of marine life.

“Oysters are critical to water filtration, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling,” said environmental science major Camille Larkin, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in May. “Unfortunately, their populations have declined due to habitat degradation, disease, and overfishing.”

Larkin and classmates Noah Beck, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’25; Erin Dougherty, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’25; and Alex Peterson, BA Environmental Science ’25, worked together to develop the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Education Project, an interdisciplinary effort focused on habitat creation, environmental education, and community engagement.

The reef balls will take a year to cure before being place in the Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

With support from the Patriot Green Fund, they partnered with Coastal Conservation Association Maryland (CCA) and its flagship initiative the Living Reef Action Campaign (LRAC) to host a two-day event on George �鶹��Ƶ’s Science and Technology Campus that brought together nearly 25 volunteers. Using molds provided by CCA, volunteers assembled the molds and assisted in the concrete pouring effort, courtesy of Vulcan Materials, to build 20 artificial reef structures, called oyster reef balls. The reef balls are approximately three feet high and weigh about 250 lbs. each.

“This project started with four students who asked, ‘Why stop at improving our campus when we could make a difference across the entire Chesapeake Bay?’” said Dann Sklarew. “The [reef balls] were designed with rough surfaces to enhance the attachment of oysters and other stationary estuarine organisms, creating habitats for fish, shellfish, and even dolphins that pass through the bay.”

Helping the volunteers was LRAC representative and George �鶹��Ƶ alum Jesse Howe, MEd Elementary Education ’15, assistant director of CCA. Howe has been conducting these reef-building workshops throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for several years as part of his CCA advocacy work.

Jesse Howe. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Howe said he was happy to hear from the students when they reached out to him about reef project. “I’ve always felt a strong connection with George �鶹��Ƶ and was excited to be back on campus,” he said.

After graduating from George �鶹��Ƶ, Howe taught in Latin America for nearly a decade before turning to conservation work. “This organization just really aligned with my personal values,” he said of CCA. And those teaching skills serve him well as he talks students of all ages through the steps of building the reef balls.

“It’s important work,” Howe said. “These volunteers are helping to create an ecosystem and support life in a spot of the Chesapeake Bay that has been devoid of that life for many decades.”

After the concrete structures cure for more than a year, they will be deployed at sites across the lower Potomac River and middle Chesapeake Bay and are expected to bolster oyster populations and habitat to support diverse marine life.

To extend the project’s reach, miniature versions of the reefs will be displayed on campus, alongside educational materials about oyster ecology and conservation in the Chesapeake Bay.

“We believe giving the George �鶹��Ƶ community a hands-on role in this project builds awareness and fosters a sense of personal connection to local environmental challenges,” said Dougherty.

By combining cutting-edge scientific research with community-driven action, George �鶹��Ƶ faculty and students are advancing reef science while realizing tangible restoration results.

Additional reporting by Colleen Kearney Rich.

Learn more about the Grand Challenge Initiative

Topics

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Christopher Kardambikis on the Power of Print, Publishing, and Possibility

Lakin Raybuck — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:27:21 +0000

Christopher Kardambikis on the Power of Print, Publishing, and Possibility Lakin Raybuck Mon, 06/02/2025 - 13:27

In This Story

Christopher Kardambikis

Christopher Kardambikis never set out to create work that would sit behind glass or live in private collections. Instead, he found his voice and purpose through publishing zines, artist books, and prints—things people could hold, trade, collect, and care about without needing a trust fund.

Now an associate professor and director of studio art at �鶹��Ƶ's School of Art, Kardambikis brings that same ethos into the classroom. He teaches printmaking, book arts, and a deeply collaborative publishing minor that opens students up to something much more tangible than the "starving artist" cliché.

"I want the work to be distributed," he says. "I want normal people to actually access it."

It's a perspective shaped not just by art school or gallery walls but by real-world experiences that most students never hear about. Before coming to George �鶹��Ƶ, Kardambikis worked as an artist's assistant and then at an art shipping warehouse in Long Island, New York. His job? Packaging up expensive artwork and preparing it for storage, sometimes indefinitely.

"There's so much work that just sits in crates," he recalls. "These paintings get bought by wealthy collectors, but no one ever sees them. They're not even being enjoyed. They're investments, sitting on shelves."

With print-based art, he found a medium that could move freely, outside the confines of exclusivity.

Christopher Kardambikis of George �鶹��Ƶ's School of Art. Photo provided

His long-running podcast Paper Cuts was born from that same spirit of access. Launched initially during his artist residency at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, the project started as a way to interview zinesters and small press artists as an excuse to talk to people about the books they make. Over the years, it's grown into a traveling platform for community, collaboration, and archival storytelling.

It also gave him a way to connect. "When I moved to new cities—Pittsburgh, San Diego, LA, New York—I always started a publishing project. That's how I made friends. That's how I met people and became part of a scene."

At George �鶹��Ƶ, he's helping students see how print and publishing can do the same for them.

Students team up with working artists, presses, and organizations across the region through the School of Art's Dynamic Publishing minor. They produce real books, collaborate with local creatives, and watch their work move from concept to finished product—all while developing a skill set that's adaptable, entrepreneurial, and community-focused.

And while he's quick to point out that not everyone needs to start their own press, he wants students to understand the range of what's possible. He introduces them to people building careers through small studios, cooperative print shops, local arts education, and community-centered creative work.

"You're not limited to being in a gallery," he says. "You don't have to wait for someone to give you permission."

One of his goals is to help students see just how resourceful they already are. In his classes, students don't just learn the techniques. They learn how to plan, produce, and problem solve, often using materials or processes far outside traditional expectations. "You learn to do the research, figure it out, and follow your vision wherever it leads. That's not something you can teach in theory. You have to live it."

He also believes deeply in the relevance of physical work in a digital-first world. Books, he says, still matter. Maybe now more than ever.

"Websites disappear. Apps go away. But books can last hundreds of years. They're solid. They hold stories. They're touchable, tangible, real."

It's not about resisting technology. It's about remembering that the physical and the digital don't have to be at odds. In fact, for many of his students, learning how ink interacts with paper changes how they think about design altogether.

"Once they've made something by hand. Once they've printed it, folded it, held it, it shifts how they understand what they're doing," he says. "It gives it weight."

And for Kardambikis, that's the point: helping students create work that carries weight not just on the page but also in the world.

Topics

School of Art

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

innovative classes

Campus News

minors

Solo soaring success: Four students take important step in aviation training

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 27 May 2025 19:29:34 +0000

Solo soaring success: Four students take important step in aviation training Nathan Kahl Tue, 05/27/2025 - 15:29

In This Story

John Shortle

Four �鶹��Ƶ students in the aviation flight training and management minor took to the skies recently for a solo flight, the final step in completing requirements for the program.

Zaki in the air. Photo provided.

Allyson Bautista, Laila Elbaddaly, Makary Meseha, and George Zaki each piloted a small plane for approximately 30 minutes with no one else in the craft with them, an accomplishment that is a significant step toward a career in aviation.

Three of the students had existing exposure to the industry prior to taking on the minor, which requires 15 additional credits and classes such as SYST 460 Introduction to Air Traffic Control, including the flight training leading up to the solo flight. Elbaddaly works for Lufthansa Cargo, handling import and export tracking for multiple airlines. Her workspace at Dulles Airport is near where Meseha, who told her about the program, works for Emirates Airline. Bautista works for Aero Elite, a flight training school, as a flight dispatcher.

Were the aspiring aviators antsy as they ascended? Elbaddaly said, somewhat jokingly, “The only thing in my mind was, ‘What if I can’t land right? Will I be stuck in the air forever?’”

Maseha readies for lift-off. Photo provided.

Despite a fear of heights, Meseha reported being confident in his attempt, while Bautista said, “The day before, I was absolutely shaking in my boots. I could not believe my instructor was trusting me with that plane.”

Zaki had a hiccup leading up to lift-off. “The day before I flew for six hours, so I was tired when we did our stage check (an evaluation a flight instructor does of a student) and then I did almost everything wrong, so I was hesitant about the solo. On the day of, my instructor said, 'Look, I want to see three consistent patterns (loops around the airport) and I will get out of the plane,’ and I did 14 consecutive patterns very well. That’s when I knew I was ready for my solo flight.”

Elbaddaly pilots the plane. Photo provided.

For many of the pilots, the interest in aviation began at a young age. Bautista became curious when she was in high school and said, “I'm a travel geek, so I travel a lot and I was flying to Japan in 2022. When I got onto the plane I looked up at the cockpit and I thought, ‘I want to be in the front of this plane, up there.'” She said that women pilots—and particularly Asian ones (she is Filipina)—represent a tiny portion of the total population, and she’d like to increase representation for her demographic.

Meseha also wanted to fly from a young age, but cited the cost of continuing with the training and education and the disruptive schedule as reasons he might choose to work as a mechanical engineer and not a pilot.

To continue their studies, the next step is to log more hours and complete what is called a “cross country” flight, which, unlike what the name suggests, is only required to cover 50 nautical miles.

"It is quite an accomplishment to complete the solo flight test," said Systems Engineering and Operations Resarch chair, John Shortle. "It takes dedication, discipline and perseverance. We are very proud of the students that have achieved this milestone. George �鶹��Ƶ is glad to address the nation-wide airline pilot and air traffic controller shortage through this excellent program."

Topics

Aviation

air travel

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

innovative classes

Students

Honors College course uses opera to explore landmark court case

Shayla Brown — Thu, 22 May 2025 18:28:04 +0000

Honors College course uses opera to explore landmark court case Shayla Brown Thu, 05/22/2025 - 14:28

Historical dramas may be nothing new to the theater, but an original opera based on a landmark Supreme Court Civil Rights case? Rick Davis knew this was something different.

After learning that Virginia Opera was planning to stage their new opera, Loving v. Virgina—based on the historic Supreme Court case striking down a Virginia law that banned interracial marriage—Davis seized the unique opportunity for his students. 

The result was HNRS 360 Opera as Social Change, an Honors College course taught by Davis, the dean of �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, that explored the role opera can play in presenting—and changing—a community’s shared history. 

“I love bringing the arts together with other subjects because I want to get people from the community interested in the arts by meeting them at their personal interest—in this case, through opera,” said Davis. “I pitched the idea for the class to the Honors College, and they're always so wonderful about backing experimental course design ideas.” 

Rick Davis poses with a student's project. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

“[In the class] we focused on the intersection of arts and politics,” said government and international politics major Kayla Goldschmidt.  

“I’ve learned that opera is another way to tell important stories and it can make it more accessible to different populations. This course did such a great job of highlighting that,” she added.  

The course, which took place in fall 2024, culminated in the students creating final projects that represented the court case as expressions of public dramaturgy, the connection of theater and stagecraft with contemporary society. 

Goldschmidt used the system software ArcGIS to create an interactive story map using an assigned reading from the class: Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry by Peter Wallenstein. “I settled on this idea because I’m very passionate about geography and in the assigned reading, I felt that the geographical aspect was very present throughout the narrative,” said Goldschmidt. 

Kayla Goldschmidt poses with her project. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

“[The book] takes us to every location of the Loving story, so I tried to simulate that with my final project. It was so different from anything I had done for a final before in college,” she said. 

For her final project, junior forensic science major Madison Dragon created a reference paper that spelled out “loving,” with each letter referencing other relevant court cases or people who were monumental in the Civil Rights movement. 

“People can pick out a letter, and I provided a little blurb on what the letter represented, so it was more educational. I had the court cases written as the foundation for different themes, so one was on marriage law, for example,” said Dragon, who is currently obtaining her bachelor’s and master’s degrees through George �鶹��Ƶ’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s program. 

“Working in the CFA is actually how I met Rick. He knew of my love for the arts, so at one of the shows I was working, we talked about this course and I was immediately interested in joining,” said Dragon, who is the house manager at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Center for the Arts. 

“The goal of opera is to make you question what you know and whether you should be taking action. Referencing this historic court case in class was amazing because we’re still seeing similar issues in today's society,” Dragon said. 

The course also featured guest speakers including George �鶹��Ƶ faculty members LaNitra Berger, Wendi Manuel-Scott, Richard Leech, and Jennifer Casey Cabot. 

Berger, director of George �鶹��Ƶ’s African and African American Studies Program, talked about the historical background of the Loving case with the students. “We discussed the segregation laws prohibiting interracial contact and the price the Lovings paid for falling in love across racial lines and refusing to back down when they wanted to get married.” 

The students' final projects. Photo by Shayla Brown/Office of University Branding.

“Unfortunately, I think that younger people, including our students, have real-world experience about what it looks like to discriminate against people for who they are,” Berger said. 

Guest speakers from Virginia Opera included composer Damien Geter, librettist Jessica Murphy Moo, and conductor Adam Turner, as well as Gregory Spears and Kevin Newbury, the composer and director, respectively, of the opera Fellow Travelers, staged by the company in 2023.

When Loving v. Virginia was performed in the Center for the Arts on May 3-4, the students’ final projects were on display in the Concert Hall. Read more about the world premiere opera performance here.

In This Story

Rick Davis

LaNitra M. Berger, PhD

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Honors College

Center for the Arts

Bachelor’s/Acclerated Master’s Program

innovative classes

Students

George �鶹��Ƶ civil engineering students are helping local communities improve their flood resilience

Katarina Benson — Wed, 07 May 2025 18:04:10 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ civil engineering students are helping local communities improve their flood resilience Katarina Benson Wed, 05/07/2025 - 14:04

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane and quickly became the deadliest hurricane in the United States since Hurricane Katrina. It brought catastrophic flooding, storm surge, landslides, and tornadoes, resulting in more than 250 deaths and $78.7 billion in damages, which some estimate may rise to $110 billion. Areas of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee were devastated by the rainfall it brought, and Southwest Virginia experienced significant flooding.

“Flooding is a growing issue across local communities,” said Celso Ferreira, who leads �鶹��Ƶ’s Flood Hazards Research Lab. “It is one part of engineering that’s not well-solved. Communities want to understand and adapt to flood risk, but it’s expensive. If it were easy and cheap, it would already be solved. That’s where this idea came in—we thought, why not involve students? Not just teach them engineering but help them create useful products for these communities. Can we make a difference without a multimillion-dollar firm? Can we bridge the gap?”

George �鶹��Ƶ PhD student Diana Veronez runs a modeling demonstration for the Flood Hazard Engineering and Adaptation course. Photo provided

Ferreira recently redesigned the CEIE 445/645 Flood Hazard Engineering and Adaptation course to work with community partners to deliver real projects as part of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth’s (ISE’s) NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Seed Translational Research Project (STRP) Program. He taught it for the first time in its new format in fall 2024 and plans to offer it again this fall.

In CEIE 445/645, a course for civil engineering students, undergraduate and graduate students work together on teams to develop flood risk maps and conduct analyses to help real clients in local communities improve their flood resilience. For some communities, especially smaller counties or tribes with fewer resources or no engineers on staff, this can provide critical data to help them address areas at higher risk of flooding.

The student teams used the recently developed Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) models, which provided ground elevation surface (topography), hydraulic friction values, and surface water infiltration values. This served as a common framework each project could be built upon.

The class used Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation models to run scenarios. This figure shows areas of potential flooding in the Town of Quantico. Photo provided

During the first part of the semester, the students learned how to create models like those provided by Virginia DCR. Then, they worked with their clients to address individual case studies on flood mitigation.

“I think it’s transformational for the students,” Ferreira said. “I’m glad we’re able to do that. At the beginning, they wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into, but by then end, they’re proud of the projects they built. [This challenge] really captures their attention, and they get enthusiastic about it.”

Examples of student projects include:

Pamunkey Reservation Flood Resiliency Plan - Located on a peninsula east of Richmond, the reservation is just slightly above sea level, increasing its risk of tidal and pluvial (surface water) flooding. The student team—Jacob Ryan Tomechko, Amanda Mullen, Paul Pacheco, Angela Haines-Perez, and Heriberto Perez—helped identify potential problem spots for roadway flooding including scenarios to address sea-level rise and significant storm events such as hurricanes.
Forwarding Roadway Resiliency Efforts in Mathews County – Matthews County is located on Virginia’s middle peninsula and is at risk of coastal and pluvial flooding due to its low-lying roadways. The student team—Matthew Cantos, Daniel Cardona, Mike DeCarlo, Eglal Salih, and Allyson Skahen—assessed which areas were at a higher risk of flooding due to poorly designed drainage ditches or other characteristics.
Flood Adaptive Roadways in Quantico, Virginia – Located in Prince William County, the Town of Quantico is near the Potomac River and Quantico Creek. The student team—Sebastian Galarza, Marcos Sanchez, Roberto Mejia, and Gabby Wade—helped the town assess roadway flooding scenarios to inform future evacuation efforts.

As part of their work, the student teams created ArcGIS storymaps for each project, available through the course website.

After the course, several students were hired as undergraduate research assistants to continue working on the projects so that they could take them beyond one semester’s work and provide the clients with more advanced projects. They are reviewing and enhancing all the projects to improve alignment with the clients’ requests and developing a standardized product that each client will receive.

One client was interested in using the student maps and analysis to assist with their proposal for funding to address these flooding issues. This is one way Ferreira sees clients being able to use the student projects. He explained that when communities apply for a grant to hire an engineering company for a project, they need to do preliminary analysis as part of this proposal. Many communities don’t have this capacity—they don’t have engineers to do preliminary analysis.

Ferreira worked with a graduate research assistant, two post-docs, and a PhD student over the summer of 2024 to redesign the course. “The funding from the ART program made it possible. It provided the resources to adapt the course in this way. It was key to have those resources, because it was a huge undertaking that couldn’t be done by one faculty member alone.”

The goal of the NSF ART program is to translate science from the university to real solutions for local communities that can help them better prepare for climate-related disasters. The ISE and Virginia Climate Center (VCC) are collaborating with the University of Kentucky and the Center for Climate Strategies on the NSF ART initiative to close this gap and help communities in Virginia improve their resilience.

CEIE 445/645 will be offered in the fall 2025 semester, and applications are still open for local communities to participate as clients.

View the course website

Topics

College of Engineering and Computing

Strategic Direction

GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

CEIE Success Stories

George �鶹��Ƶ’s Imaging and Vision Lab illuminates the future of digital production

Teresa Donnellan — Mon, 05 May 2025 19:57:46 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ’s Imaging and Vision Lab illuminates the future of digital production Teresa Donnellan Mon, 05/05/2025 - 15:57

In This Story

Jinwei Ye

At the intersection of imaging, computer graphics, and computer vision, �鶹��Ƶ’s Imaging and Vision Lab is pushing the boundaries of visual technology. Directed by Jinwei Ye, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, the lab explores every stage of the imaging pipeline—from data acquisition to 3D rendering—by designing novel algorithms, imaging systems, and immersive environments.

The lab, which is in Van Metre Hall at �鶹��Ƶ Square, has two new standout technologies in its arsenal: the Light Stage and the Pixel Cube.

The Light Stage—a spherical structure with around 150 LED lights pointing inward along with cameras—uses polarized, Wi-Fi-controlled lighting to create complex illumination patterns. This enables the lab to capture highly detailed 3D models of real-world objects, a capability that’s particularly useful in film, gaming, and robotics.

A student experimenting with Light Stage. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“We put objects in the center and take pictures under different lighting to recover really high-quality 3D models of real physical objects,” said Yufan Zhang, a PhD student working on this project. The Light Stage was fully designed and built by Ye’s students, providing them with a unique, hands-on engineering experience.

The Pixel Cube takes immersion a step further. Comprising 90 LED panels arranged in a cube, the system allows for panoramic simulations—perfect for applications in virtual production such as driving simulators.

“A very intuitive application of it is immersive viewing like a VR experience without using the headset,” said Ye.

But the lab’s ambitions stretch beyond visual hardware. Ye’s team is building a large dataset of everyday objects, intended to support generative AI development for uses ranging from entertainment to robotic training.

A student in the Pixel Cube. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“We’re creating a large 3D model dataset of diverse real-world objects, which can be used as assets either in films or in games or shown to robots,” Ye said.

Collaboration is key to the lab’s impact, added Ye. Her team, focused on advancing computational photography and AI-integrated imaging workflows, remains committed to developing foundational tools for tomorrow’s imaging technologies. They work closely with other George �鶹��Ƶ faculty and industry partners and invite potential collaborators to reach out about interdisciplinary projects in fields such as film studies, video game development, creative visual arts, simulation, and virtual training.

“We really want to make full use of this [equipment], so we want as many people as possible to use it,” said Ye.

With its combination of advanced equipment, collaborative ethos, and dedication to hands-on student involvement, the Imaging and Vision Lab is making George �鶹��Ƶ a destination for next-generation research in computer vision and graphics.

Topics

New art course teaches students how to think differently about design

Shayla Brown — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 15:49:48 +0000

New art course teaches students how to think differently about design Shayla Brown Wed, 04/02/2025 - 11:49

“Furniture isn’t just a tangible item that’s supposed to mold to your body, but it can also mold to your lifestyle,” said Katherin Salazar, a �鶹��Ƶ senior art and visual technology major.

She is currently taking a new College of Visual and Performing Arts special topics course, AVT 496, which focuses on furniture design and is offered through the university’s School of Art.

AVT 496 students discussing their sculptures. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding.

“The goal is to teach students about the power of furniture and how the built environment is constantly communicating and reorchestrating hierarchical structures,” said Mallory Kimmel, a Washington, D.C.-based interdisciplinary artist who created and teaches the course.

“We’re learning how to cultivate a greater awareness of the intended power dynamics in space, and also to become a curator of reshaping hierarchies in space to be more oriented to social justice ethos,” she said.

Salazar, who has contracts with Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Skate Folk creating competitive atmospheres that serve as a gateway for local skaters, is currently building a quarter pipe ramp for a class project.

AVT 496 student showcases the functionality of a sculpture. Photo provided.

“The techniques we’re learning in this course go hand in hand with building a lot of structures related to skating,” said Salazar, who works as a student monitor in the university’s Sculpture Studio under the supervision of Ben Ashworth, sculpture and foundations supervisor in George �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Art.

“Mallory and Ben have taught me the ways of the art world and how it's constantly changing and growing. The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is to take pride in my skills and realizing the worth of them,” she said.

As a part of the course, the students will tour the National Gallery of Art and put what they’ve learned to practice by identifying and recommending ways to create a more welcoming environment for people to experience the art.

The students will also present how their finished sculptures address hostile architecture, which Kimmel defines as the “built environment containing features that aim to reject certain people or behaviors.”

An example of hostile architecture is public benches that have handrails in the center so that it's prohibitive for the houseless population to lay down, explained Kimmel.

AVT 496 student showcases the functionality of a sculpture. Photo provided.

“[This course] has allowed me to expand my thinking beyond just the functions of furniture, but about its design ethics and the body itself,” said Roland Payabyab, a senior art and visual technology major.

For Payabyab’s first project, he focused on posture in honor of his parents.

“I'm noticing as they age, they're developing a lot of back problems, so I'm creating a bench meant to relieve some of that pain by incorporating a function within this piece to move with them as they need, for example, when they’re bending over to put on shoes,” he said.

Payabyab was able to build his project with techniques, such as woodworking and joinery.

AVT 496 students discussing their sculptures. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding.

“Joinery was one of the things I was most excited to learn about, and it just so happened to be the first topic we would cover,” said Payabyab. “Now I know how to combine different materials without nails or screws to build my sculptures, which is great for me because that’s what I’d like to do as a career after I graduate.”

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Mallory Kimmel

Benjamin Ashworth

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Cyber sweep: George �鶹��Ƶ students take top three spots in national transportation cybersecurity competition

Teresa Donnellan — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 14:42:35 +0000

Cyber sweep: George �鶹��Ƶ students take top three spots in national transportation cybersecurity competition Teresa Donnellan Thu, 03/27/2025 - 10:42

"I'm going to teach you how to hack a modern car," said �鶹��Ƶ professor Tanvir Arafin to the fall 2024 cohort of CYSE 465 Transportation Systems Design. Arafin not only introduced his students to such exciting concepts in transportation security, but he also incorporated the opportunity to participate in a nationwide cybersecurity competition into his course.

The entire class of 12 from the Department of Cyber Security Engineering chose to participate in the optional assignment and several won first, second, and third place at the National Transportation Cybersecurity Competition (NTCC) in November 2024. George �鶹��Ƶ’s Finn Schaefer won first place; the team of Noor Mohammed, Sonia Shaukat, Caleb Hughston, and Kayleigh Batchos won second place; and Navraj Singh Gill won third place.

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The national competition was open to all university students, both undergraduate and graduate, who could participate individually or in teams of up to four, guided by a faculty advisor. This year’s competition was titled “CYBER-CARE Challenge 2024: Securing the Future of Transportation.”

Participants faced a series of cybersecurity challenges, including password cracking, traffic management system exploitation, Vigenère cipher decryption, SQL injection vulnerability identification, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, and vehicle trajectory anomaly detection. They had a few weeks to complete the challenges remotely.

Arafin developed CYSE 465 by integrating real-world scenarios and cutting-edge research findings from his lab. He has been working in hardware and cyber-physical systems security with a key focus on cybersecurity issues of autonomous and transportation systems. CYSE 465 covers understanding data, communication, operating systems, control, and security primitives used in today's vehicles for safe and intelligent control and navigation.

“The course offers a unique perspective on the cyber vulnerabilities that emerge from the security-oblivious modernization of transportation systems,” said Arafin.

While he has taught the course since 2022, this was the first time he incorporated the competition into the course. Arafin noted that such competition participation can greatly enhance students’ resumes, and first-place winner Schaefer, a busy student, greatly appreciated the chance to participate.

“This was actually the first competition that I've competed in,” he said, explaining that it’s hard to find time for such activity outside of school and work. Schaefer’s favorite challenge at the NTCC involved assessing vehicle datasets to detect problems or attacks. He drew from his personal interest in machine learning to solve the challenge.

“I've worked with machine learning models a lot in my own personal projects, but I've never had an applicable use for it,” said Schaefer. “So, it was interesting to actually see my work have real meaning to it for once. I was able to do something pretty cool.”

Through courses like CYSE 465, which bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, the Department of Cyber Security Engineering is fostering a new generation of cybersecurity professionals who are well-equipped to secure the future of transportation systems.

"The students’ competition performance is a very compelling argument on the benefits of bringing the results and lessons learned in the research lab directly to the classroom, something many CYSE faculty are doing," said Paulo Costa, the department's faculty chair.

The achievements of George �鶹��Ƶ students at the NTCC highlight the importance of this approach. By bringing state-of-the-art research directly to the classroom, the Department of Cyber Security Engineering is preparing students to become leaders in the field. As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, the department's innovative educational strategies will ensure that its graduates are ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

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Tanvir Arafin

Paulo Costa

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George �鶹��Ƶ students learn to tackle complex problems and engage with Virginia state senator

Katarina Benson — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 17:06:36 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ students learn to tackle complex problems and engage with Virginia state senator Katarina Benson Fri, 03/14/2025 - 13:06

Students trickle into the classroom, a mix of excitement and nervous energy in the air, as they prepare to present their policy recommendations. For the past few weeks, these �鶹��Ƶ students developed policy memos based on various socioeconomic and environmental issues facing Northern Virginia and together worked in groups to develop recommendations for addressing them. But today is different from the usual classroom discussion where ideas are shared with peers and professors. Now their audience is far more formidable: Virginia State Senator Stella Pekarsky.

EVPP 336 Tackling Wicked Problems in Society and the Environment, a course offered in fall 2024 by the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George �鶹��Ƶ’s College of Science, takes a problem-based learning approach, immersing students in complex public issues that require input from a variety of stakeholders. Unlike traditional lecture-based courses, it offers students the unique opportunity to develop potential solutions and present their recommendations to elected officials and university administrators. The feedback from these decision-makers provides valuable insights into the real-world implications of their proposals.

State Senator Stella Pekarsky (right) gives feedback on student presentations. Photo provided

“Learning how to use a systems thinking approach, students build the skills to better understand the complexity of the ‘wicked’ problems that we face and co-create approaches that take into account people’s differing perspectives,” said K.L. Akerlof, environmental science and policy professor. The course, EVPP 336, is part of the �鶹��Ƶ Community Engagement and Civic Learning experience.

“A wicked problem describes multifaceted issues,” said junior environmental science major Mihika Bangarbale. “Take climate change—we often think about the science around this problem, but there are economic and social aspects to the issue that must also be considered when forming any sort of policy recommendation.”

The group presentations covered a variety of issues including sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and microplastic pollution in drinking water. All proposals were sent to Senator Pekarsky ahead of time, and students presented their ideas and answered questions when the senator visited their class in December.

“I’ve had policy writing assignments before, but this class provided tools to think more critically about who the key actors are in a system, how resources are managed, and who holds responsibility for them,” said environmental and sustainability studies major Maceo Franks. “It was incredible to present our ideas to someone actively involved in these matters and [who] could provide immediate feedback.”

Franks added that the presentation gave him a taste for what he hopes will be a long-term career. “The experience gave me the confidence to present my ideas effectively, which is exactly what I hope to do in the future.”

“Senator Pekarsky was so nice and easy to talk to,” said senior environmental science major Terrionna Cuthrell. “She was so engaged with not only my project, but with everyone’s project. And she also read the projects ahead of time, which I didn’t expect her to do.”

State Senator and George �鶹��Ƶ alumna Stella Pekarsky met with students from a Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Photo provided

During class, Senator Pekarsky, a George �鶹��Ƶ alumna with a BA in government and politics and a master of education, briefly spoke to the students after their presentations, noting her own memories of sitting where they are now. “It’s not easy to find solutions that will bring about progress in a way that brings together as many people as possible. But you all hit upon some great recommendations,” she said.

Akerlof, who is also a George �鶹��Ƶ alum, said she hopes the experience of presenting recommendations is empowering and that it will inspire students to do it again. “I hope that makes them more engaged citizens, and it may open doors to them that may not have thought of for their careers,” she said

This is the case for Cuthrell, who thought her interest in environmental epidemiology pointed toward a career in the for-profit sector rather than politics. “After taking this class, I realized I want to be more involved in politics,” she said. “We learned about several issues, how it works when government agencies try to tackle them, and how I can make my voice heard. It’s really inspired me to rethink where I may be able to make the most impact.”

"Many of my previous classes have addressed environmental issues, but they’ve primarily focused on the science behind the problems," shared Julia Belvin, a senior majoring in environmental and sustainability studies. "What I appreciate about this course is that it goes beyond just understanding the issues—it challenges you to think about practical solutions and how you can make a real difference for people."

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Cyber sweep: George �鶹��Ƶ students take top three spots in national transportation cybersecurity competition

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George �鶹��Ƶ students learn to tackle complex problems and engage with Virginia state senator

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