College of Engineering and Computing

Forged in passion, not just fire: This alum is on a hot streak

Shayla Brown — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 18:20:46 +0000

Forged in passion, not just fire: This alum is on a hot streak  Shayla Brown Mon, 10/27/2025 - 14:20

In This Story

Keeping his nose to the grindstone is not just how Andrew Hutsell approaches his academic career in engineering—it's how he cut a small slice of fame.  

The �鶹��Ƶ alumnus recently put his engineering skills to the test on national television, competing in an episode of the History Channel’s Forged in Fire, a competition show that challenges bladesmiths to create weapons under tight deadlines.  

Hutsell (second from right) and the Forged in Fire judges. Photo provided.

Hutsell, BS Mechanical Engineering ’23, appeared on the episode “Junkyard Meltdown” on September 17 (S10E27).  

 Hutsell’s journey began when one of the show’s judges posted a casting call on Instagram.  

“I was still a student at the time, so they asked what I do at George �鶹��Ƶ, what I do in my free time, and to provide examples of the knives I’ve made,” said Hutsell, who also was president of George �鶹��Ƶ’s club baseball. 

Hutsell has been a fan of the show since 2016 and started bladesmithing in 2019.  

“Ever since I started making knives, I have only had one goal with each knife I make: learn at least one new skill or method [for the trade]. With this mindset, it is easy to see how my skills have improved over time,” said Hutsell. 

After multiple rounds of interviews, he got the call to appear during a midterm exam.  

Filming took place in March and April 2023. Hutsell described the show’s format as similar to Chopped, but instead of cooking, contestants forge knives through three rounds of competition.  

One of Andrew Hutsell's knives. Photo provided.

For the last round, judges pick a historical weapon, such as a broad sword or katana, and then contestants go back to their hometown to forge it with their own equipment.   

"I traveled back home to Newport News. When I came back, they tested it to determine the winner,” said Hutsell.  

“They tested the knives by chopping through bone for strength, then slicing sugar cane to see how well the edge held up. It was surreal to compete on a show I’d watched for years,” said Hutsell, who came in second place.  

Hutsell is currently a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University working on similar topics such as fluids research.  

“The research that I’m doing is for thermal hydraulics—the cooling system—of molten salt [nuclear] reactors, researching the gas sparring of fission products of molten salts for molten salt reactors,” said Hutsell.  

Hutsell was influenced by Jeffrey Moran, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who Hutsell describes as a “a big influence on my work with heat and mass transfer,” as well as Juan Cebral, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering.  

“It is always very rewarding when a student demonstrates this passion for learning and dedicates substantial time and effort to master the material to reach high levels of achievement,” said Cebral. “Andrew was one of those students who is dedicated to solving complex problems. His perseverance and motivation will certainly help him make important contributions in his field.”  

Topics

Alumni

College of Engineering and Computing

mechanical engineering

Bioengineering

competitions

Podcast: The modern grid: the intersection of energy and the environment

Sarah Holland — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:00:33 +0000

Podcast: The modern grid: the intersection of energy and the environment Sarah Holland Mon, 10/20/2025 - 11:00

“Infrastructure” is one of those words that can mean a lot of different things to different people. At George �鶹��Ƶ, we’re focused on infrastructure in terms of sustainability – how can we help innovate new systems for the world’s infrastructure that will be resilient and flexible enough to support a changing world.

On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined by two guests working at the intersection of innovation and sustainability to develop George �鶹��Ƶ’s capabilities as a living laboratory for students, faculty, and staff to find solutions to our grand challenges: Liling Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing and the Dominion Energy Faculty Fellow in Power and Energy Systems, and Leah Nichols, executive director of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) in the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact.

The living lab, what I see, it's beyond the lab. It is a living community, a living society. We can have students actually have...a model startup to run this community, to run the lab, to collect the data, and then to hire students to be the operator. So I think this is even beyond lab, and it also brings in multidisciplinary collaboration between engineering, science, business and policy. – Liling Huang

We are now experiencing more intense storms, greater and longer durations of heat, shifts in seasonal patterns. However, a lot of our infrastructure was built decades, if not centuries ago...And so there's vulnerabilities, and we need to start accounting for how the changing climate and the information that we're receiving now about how the ecosystems are working and the physical systems are working into managing the infrastructure and the systems that comprise communities...Identifying opportunities to make changes to ensure that our systems are sustainable and can withstand the consequences or the more extreme weather and the different weather and climate effects that we're experiencing now is really important. – Leah Nichols

Read the transcript

Intro (00:04):
Trailblazers in research, innovators in technology, and those who simply have a good story: all make up the fabric that is �鶹��Ƶ, where taking on the grand challenges that face our students graduates in higher education is our mission and our passion. Hosted by �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington, this is the Access to Excellence podcast.

President Gregory Washington (00:26):
Infrastructure is one of those words that can mean a lot of different things to different people. At George �鶹��Ƶ, we're focused on infrastructure in terms of sustainability: how we can help innovate new systems for the world's infrastructure that will be resilient and flexible enough to support a changing world. And we're not just talking theory here. My two guests today are at the intersection of innovation and sustainability to develop George �鶹��Ƶ's capabilities to be a living laboratory for students, faculty, and staff to find solutions to our pressing grand challenges. Liling Huang is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing, and she's the Dominion Energy Faculty Fellow in Power and Energy Systems. And Leah Nichols is the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Earth, or ISE. It is in the Office of Research Innovation and Economic Impact. Leah, Liling, welcome to the show.

Leah Nichols (01:37):
Thank you.

Liling Huang (01:37):
Thank you.

President Gregory Washington (01:40):
Liling, your work focuses on securing the nation's critical energy infrastructure. Can you tell us a little more about what this means and why it's important?

Liling Huang (01:53):
Energy is a backbone of our national security, our economy, sustainability, our community trust. So without the energy we cannot have data flow, we cannot run hospitals, we cannot run data centers. So it is very, very critical infrastructure for our modern life.

President Gregory Washington (02:17):
So what kind of threats do you see that our energy and infrastructure face?

Liling Huang (02:23):
Our infrastructure is facing many challenges, uh, including the aging infrastructure. Our energy infrastructure was built more than a hundred years ago. It is aging and needs to be modernized. We also facing challenges of cyber physical attacks, we also facing challenges of the workflow shortage, the supply chain shortage, the challenge of incorporating the renewable energy into the power systems.
President Gregory Washington (02:54):
I see. Have we taken some major steps as a country or as a region to secure our energy infrastructure?

Liling Huang (03:02):
Yes. I think the public private sector are working together along with the government to secure the energy infrastructure by upgrading our infrastructure, investing in workforce development, uh, as well as bringing a more diverse energy portfolio to the system.
President Gregory Washington (03:24):
Well, that's more easily said than done, right? When you start to talk about diverse energy portfolio, that could be many other diverse energy pieces bring their own set of problems, right?

Liling Huang (03:36):
Yes, exactly.

President Gregory Washington (03:38):
So one of iscs key programs is �鶹��Ƶ as a Living Lab. And that whole entity aims to stimulate and support the development of research and scholarship that use the campuses and their physical and social ecological structures for implementation in education. And that framework seems to be working really well. Leah, can you tell us more about how this initiative came about?

Leah Nichols (04:03):
Sure. Happy to. I came to �鶹��Ƶ about five years ago to to run the Institute for a Sustainable Earth. And a core mission of the institute is to help put research into practice. So the campus itself is effectively a small city. There's over 48,000 people on the campus, a population that that utilizes the campus, some of whom live here. It embodies all of the different types of infrastructure systems that are required to support and maintain that population. So it's an ideal microcosm with which to engage, to study the socio-environmental technological ecosystems that make up this small city. And then it's also a microcosm within which we can develop solutions, test solutions, use it as a test bed, create some demonstration projects that could then be scaled into solutions in communities elsewhere and around the globe. So it was my first target to create opportunities to put research into practice.

Leah Nichols (04:54):
I reached out to Dr. Greg Farley, who's the director of sustainability, and he and I really jived on this idea. We really liked this idea and wanted to lean into it. So we looked at what all was going on already on campus and how faculty and students were utilizing the campus for research. Um, and learned that there was a lot going on. Our faculty are innovative and they wanna see their research put into practice. Um, but all of those projects were being, being done on an ad hoc basis. The wheel was being reinvented over and over again. And so Greg and I put our heads together along with Frank Strike, vice president for, uh, facilities and operations, campus operations, and Andre Marshall, vice president for research, to really develop a program that standardized protocols that effectively built a bridge between the research community and the facilities and operations communities. So this type of research activity could go on much more smoothly, be amplified. We also created a data sandbox to capture the data that was being collected about the university so that it could be shared across units with others who are interested in, in similar sorts of research projects.

President Gregory Washington (05:57):
Well, let's talk about scale and, uh, be a little more pragmatic. Can you gimme an idea of what kinds of projects have gone through this process? You know, just talk high level in terms of what they are and what they, what they're supposed to do.

Leah Nichols (06:12):
They do range and scale, and we have provided seed funding to, to support some new projects. Uh, they and those typically are on the order of, you know, tens of thousands, um, or so to support students and faculty who are getting ideas off the ground. Some of them are very large projects, not ones that we supported, but ones that we definitely amplify as the, that are international recognized arboretum, which has a massive amount of data about the trees on campus. Um, and like I said, internationally recognized, but we also supported very smaller scale projects. One of our very first ones that came through the new program is the Cherry Blossom Monitoring. And the math department has stood up a, a global competition where they're working with students who, um, to do statistical analysis to predict when the cherry blossoms are gonna bloom here in DC at �鶹��Ƶ, I think in Japan, there's a couple of other international sites.

Leah Nichols (07:04):
It's, it's, it's now taken on a life of its own, but we were able to put in place working with facilities, cameras to monitor the, the, the blooms there. We also have a small project that we just funded this year that I'm, I'm quite excited about. Dr. Changwoo Ahn is taking on analysis of a corner of the campus that used to be an intermittent wetland. It's now turning into, um, a permanent wetland. And that transformation process is something that's not well studied. Um, so it creates opportunities there, but it's also of interest to the, the campus operations. Understanding this change process will help them better manage the, the wetlands and the ecosystem that's, that's emerging in this space. So, very exciting.

President Gregory Washington (07:42):
So Liling?

Liling Huang (07:43):
Yes.

President Gregory Washington (07:44):
While your smart grid lab is independent from ISE, if I'm not mistaken, right? The project is working towards a similar goal. Right? So we got two living lab concepts. So talk to me about each one of you. What does it mean to be a living lab?

Liling Huang (08:03):
To me, a living lab, it is the platform to close many, many gaps between the industry and academia, within the academia, between the students, the faculty, the staff. It's, it is a platform can bring everybody together as a community, and especially at �鶹��Ƶ to achieve education and research.
President Gregory Washington (08:31):
Talk a little bit about how the project support experiential learning of our students.

Liling Huang (08:37):
It's bring our student, uh, career ready and build their teamwork problem solving, and it builds their confidence because they operate, they experience that they bring the theory into practice. I think it's very, very important to our students, not only to recruit, but also to retain and to advance. And I think it also will put �鶹��Ƶ as a leading position in all the aspect. It's a very, very important tool for, for �鶹��Ƶ and for our students.

Leah Nichols (09:15):
I would agree. Uh, a lot of faculty do take their students out of the classroom and utilize the ecosystems, the campus grounds to gather data. And while their students are learning about the tools and the data collection methods and the analytical methods for studying these types of systems, and, you know, with our lab. But we're hopeful we, we have some faculty who are already feeding this data that their, their students are collecting in courses into the data sandbox that starts to create a longitudinal data set of, um, similar sorts of data collection, um, over time. But the more that we can get, um, and encourage our faculty to get our students out utilizing the campus to develop their research skills, to develop their understanding of, of socio-environmental system theory, et cetera, is, is really exciting.

Liling Huang (09:56):
And to me, I think the, the living lab, what I see, it's beyond the lab. It is a living community, uh, living society. We can have student actually have a startup, a model startup to run this community, to run the lab, to collect the data, uh, and then to, to hire student, to be the operator. So I think this is, uh, even beyond lab, you know, like, and it, it also bridge, uh, brings in multidisciplinary collaboration between engineering, science, business and policy.

President Gregory Washington (10:33):
Well, the problems that we have to deal with today, especially in the energy space, are all multidisciplinary, right?

Liling Huang (10:41):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yes.

President Gregory Washington (10:41):
They have the technical aspects. Which are very clear. You have the social economic aspects, which in my opinion are very, very clear. And you got the political aspects which are not as clear <laugh>, uh, at least on some things, but are still clearly there, right? So, Leah, your role at the ISE is specifically around developing connections across communities to put George �鶹��Ƶ's research and scholarship into action in support of a sustainable world. So what does it look like to build those bridges across discipline?

Leah Nichols (11:17):
Yes.

President Gregory Washington (11:18):
And talk a little bit about the receptivity on campus to building those bridges amongst our faculty and, and our, and our researchers and the like.

Leah Nichols (11:27):
Sure. Um, I was gonna say, I'm gonna go one step further and say we're building bridges across academic disciplines, but we're also working to bring external partners, people who are interested in co-designing, co-developing solutions, um, that they're experiencing in their, in their lives with local governments, local, you know, local businesses.

President Gregory Washington (11:44):
Yeah. Sometimes they can be, for lack of a better way of putting it, easier to build relationships with than the entities right here on campus.

Leah Nichols (11:51):
That can be true.

President Gregory Washington (11:53):
A couple of nights ago I had dinner with one of the founders of Nvidia. And at that dinner, they were talking, of course, they were extolling the virtues of their AI chips and the super computers that you can build from these AI chips. And one of the things that he talked about really piqued my interest that just immediately came to mind listening to you all talk about bridging the divide. Their belief is that some solutions are hyperdimensional, right? Meaning there's so many layers of possible connection that we just may not be able to see. It may not be able to draw the connection to inner city social science issues and next generation solar. Right. But that computers, especially those equipped with, uh, uh, AI generated tools, can actually explore well beyond our realm of seeing an actual problem. And so I just wanna get your reaction to that relative to this transdisciplinary work and finding solutions that right now aren't obvious to us.

Leah Nichols (13:03):
So you really hit on something I'm also excited about. One, one of the things I was doing while I was at the National Science Foundation and was trying to fund science that would advance our understanding of these complex system interactions. And the advances in the technology have really unlocked that ability. You know, science hundreds of years ago through relatively recently, was focused on a reductionist, like, let's break it down to the smallest, smallest, smallest parts to really understand what's going on. Valuable, but at like, now, we can really look at systems and try to interrogate what's the causality? Can you explain causality within systems? So these types of tools really allow us to interrogate these complex systems in really new ways, which could very much reveal opportunities to adjust to, to where to take action, how action in some spaces will potentially propagate into action. Uh, you know, this is a new area of science. I'm not, I'm not saying that we're gonna be able to explain every complex system, but what an exciting avenue of science is, is to be interrogating the complexity instead of the smallest pieces.

Liling Huang (14:03):
Yeah. I, I think that we, a a unit, an institution, we have a very limited time to learn. Very limited view. And yes, AI does provide a potential to be able to look at everything holistically, maybe come up with a good solution. But personally, I always think that, you know, everything has, it's, it's always two folded. On one side, it has one and has a zero. So I think it, it brings opportunity, but also we want to know the challenge that AI bring in to the society. So we still need a human, human in the loop to help AI do a better job. You know, we are human being, we want to have a better life. So we don't want the whole world to become just machine, just AI. So the human in the loop is very important. Uh, and that also, like all the AI computation, again, I'm the power person. So I would like to say the challenge that the AI computation bring in is the humongous energy demand to support those AI computation, and that huge energy demand is part of the challenge to our infrastructure, the impact to the environment. So how do we solve those complex problem? It's very interesting.

President Gregory Washington (15:23):
Oh, I hear you. I hear you.

Leah Nichols (15:25):
I think AI is an exciting tool, but fully agree that you have to use it cautiously. Any type of science, any type of tool, how is it gonna get used and how is it gonna be put into practice and changing the world around us. So things to think about the,

President Gregory Washington (15:37):
The challenge is that cat might be out of the bag right now, you know? So look, you both have work experience outside the academy, right? So Leah, you spend time at National Science Foundation; Liling, you were a certified, uh, professional engineer at Taiwan Development and Trust Corporation before pursuing a PhD. And so talk about those experiences and how those experiences inspire your move into higher ed, but also how those experiences are helpful for you today.

Liling Huang (16:08):
So I think it's a very valuable experience. Uh, like I work in industry and I see the challenge in industry, which the student will be, uh, facing, you know, in their career. So I see the gap between the industry and academia. I remember when I first report to, uh, my manager, I have to learn everything, you know, start from the beginning because it's, I learn all the theory. So I kind of see the importance of hands-on, practical. Uh, and also I see that the, the importance and actually to run the infrastructure, human is also, I would say like the operator. The engineer is very important and very critical part of the infrastructure. So I see the gap and I see the importance of having a skillful engineer workforce. And that's why, uh, inspire me to build a career in academia because I think that, uh, it is a very prestigious position to train and educate a future engineer. And that experience helped me to better embed, improve my teaching, uh, education and research to be able to bring in the practical challenge and experience into the education and research.

President Gregory Washington (17:31):
Interesting.

Leah Nichols (17:31):
So while I was at the National Science Foundation, one of my primary roles was to help build and design these multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary types of funding programs to fund different types of science. Again, focusing predominantly on socioecological systems and the, the role of, of those systems and how those are changing. And then toward the latter part, while I was engaged with an advisory council, they gave us very strong advice. Like we're, we've been describing the challenges of the world for a while, quite a long time in the socio-environmental systems. What do we start doing about it? And that really helped drive me to think about like, what type of science needs to be done so that we can start taking action to address these grand challenges, these wicked challenges. And as a, a program officer, I was facilitating those sorts of dialogues across disciplines so that I bring back to the table here at �鶹��Ƶ, getting lots of people with very different worldviews in the same room to come to a, a common understanding of need and opportunity and ways that we can support, uh, science to develop solutions in these space. I was also often one of the voices in the room saying, how do we bring the spaces of research use into the, the scientific questions or the science that we're funding? How do we get use-inspired science where community partners or industry partners are, are deeply engaged in development of the science itself or the co-design of the science.

President Gregory Washington (18:50):
So one of the solutions in our grand challenge initiative is George �鶹��Ƶ at the center of building a climate resilience society. Now, you two sit in different components of that spectrum, right, of building a climate resilient society. And so as two researchers dedicated to innovation and sustainability, what does climate resiliency mean to you? Right. And what do you see as the grand challenge in your space?

Leah Nichols (19:18):
So a climate resilience society, I, I will say, you know, we are in the throes of climate change. We are now experiencing more intense storms, greater and in longer, and durations of heat, shifts in seasonal, um, patterns. However, a lot of our communities, as, as, uh, Liling was saying earlier, a lot of our infrastructure was built decades, if not centuries ago, uh, well before climate change was even underway or understood to be underway. And so there's vulnerabilities, and we need to start accounting for how the changing climate and the, the information that we're receiving, um, now about how the ecosystems are working and the physical systems are working into managing those, the infrastructure and the, the systems that comprise communities. That means understanding and like really looking at where are the risks? What types of changes in the flood patterns or the rainfall patterns or the heat indices, where are those gonna cause the most damage?

Leah Nichols (20:18):
And then how do we start, um, mitigating that type of damage? What interventions do we need to put in place so that when events happen, when significant rainfall happens and floods occur, infrastructure and people are outta the way not damaged? Or what can we do to make sure that those systems are, can sort of go down for a short while and then come right back up? They're not being destroyed. So identifying where there's risk, identifying opportunities to make changes to ensure that our, our systems are sustainable and can withstand the consequences or the, the more extreme weather and the, the different weather and climate effects that we're experiencing now is, is really important.

Liling Huang (20:58):
And to me, I think Leah meant, you know, the cause--it's very, very important, like to build a climate, uh, resilient society, we need to understand and the cause and to observe the pattern, and from the engineering perspective, from the energy infrastructure, we need to know if we are part of the cause, how do we improve that? How do we reduce that from the design operate perspective to support that? And also, when this type of extreme weather occurred, how can we continuously provide reliable energy? Because that's the backbone of everything, of our daily life. So to build a resilient climate, uh, you know, uh, society, I, I see that all our six grand challenges touch this topic. And this is actually the core to connect all the six challenges together. We need the 21st century workforce, uh, to build a climate resilience society. We need the digital, we need the AI, we need a healthcare system, we need everything. And then our grand challenges right on top of that.

President Gregory Washington (22:11):
Okay. Well, let's <laugh> let's dive into this a little bit. This whole concept of building a climate resilient society really is not about understanding climate change from the perspective of whether it's manmade or whether it's just a natural artifact of the changing cycles in the way our planet is progressing. It's really about saying whatever's causing it, we have some challenges, right? We have major challenges on both coast <laugh>. One can't get enough water and it's burning, and the other one is literally getting too much. And, you know, we've had multiple 500, uh, year biblical floods in a number of locations. This is about what happens as we deal with the aftermath of climate change, building a climate resilient society. Our climate is changing. Our society has to change in order to accommodate it. And so, yes, everything you guys highlighted, we need faculty, we need folk trained properly in order to manage this.

President Gregory Washington (23:25):
Right? But what I'm getting at here is: talk a little bit about deal with the political issues that may be dividing us on the causality aspect of this problem. How do we get away from that and focus on the fact that, look, I don't care what your belief is, you're flooding and we need a solution for that. We need a a new home type system for that, or we need a solution to help you mitigate that, or a warning system to keep you out of that. Or communications framework that helps you to understand when these things are coming so you can react. Talk about that a little bit.

Leah Nichols (24:04):
The, what you were just saying is essential. We need to address the problems of today, as you just said, coasts are being inundated, communities are being destroyed, literally, um, quite literally. Um, and in a repeated way, both from wildfires and extreme like downpours and flooding in, in places that you would not expect floods to happen. And it, it's happening outside of the floodplains that we understand from before. Severe wind and tornadoes are taking down, you know, there's a lot of damage to infrastructure and people and livelihoods all across the country. So we do need to be addressing the challenges that we're experiencing today. I think one of the things that we need to do differently is a lot of the, like I said, the, the prior infrastructure and the risk assessments are typically looking retrospectively. Like what has happened in the past that we need to plan for now.

Leah Nichols (24:52):
Like you, you mentioned 500 year floods. In the past, those types of floods did happen once every 500 years or so. Now, the science is able to, to, to provide some predictions about what the future trends are going to be in these areas. And so in order to plan and, and address infrastructure challenges of today, we should be looking at what the best available science is telling us about where things are going so that we can start accounting for that in, in the way that we build our infrastructure systems. I mean, you might say climate science, but you, you might also just say, this is best available science of how many floods are gonna happen.

President Gregory Washington (25:27):
Or, this is just community planning now, right? Look, if, if the flood plain is shifting and it's going to be here now, it's not build the homes there, let's shift them and build them a mile two miles away, where it might've been a problem previously, but maybe it's not that now you, you, you get what I'm saying?

Leah Nichols (25:47):
And it's, some of it's the floodplains that themselves are shifting, but a lot of what's happening now is this heavy, heavy, heavy downpours, you know?

President Gregory Washington (25:53):
No, I, I get it. I get it. I mean, places that were flooding previously, this is what happened with the young people in, uh, in, in Texas. Texas, right?

Leah Nichols (26:04):
Yes, that was terrible.

President Gregory Washington (26:04):
You know, look, the reality is is that the, the area always flooded. And that's why nobody really worried about it too much. But we live in a different time now. We need tools to predict that. We need tools to say, Hey, based on our predictive models, what's coming is not what you saw five years ago, 10 years ago. This is different. Get out. Right. And so that's the kind of thing that I want us to get to as we build a climate resilient society. Liling, I I know I interrupted you. Go ahead.

Liling Huang (26:36):
No, no, you're good.

President Gregory Washington (26:38):
Uh, I, I, you know, because youre, you're in the, you're, you are literally in the core space of this with energy production.

Liling Huang (26:44):
Yes. As long as they are human activities, we impact the environment, but there's no way we'll go back to live in the cage, uh, without electricity, going back to, you know, millions years back. So how do we better design and, and live in the environment to reduce the impact? And President Washington, you mentioned, like, to design a climate resilient society is not just the science, not the engineering, but it's the society. My experience, my view is a lot of community, they do not have the access to the data, to the fact people make decision based on the feeling, their perspective, a very limited perspective on maybe just economy or maybe just political or, you know, they, they all look at a smaller set of their view and, which cannot solve the problem. Uh, you, you see, like even the energy policy, you roll out the energy policy for the next five years, and all of a sudden you change, and then who knows, then next five years it change again.

Liling Huang (27:56):
I think what the, the challenge is, uh, to have a holistic view of the multidisciplinary: from the social, from the business, from the political, from engineering, from science. And again, the core is the community, is the human. So I think that's actually what I see, the, the challenge. And then I think that we have the responsibility to deliver the message, uh, to deliver the holistic fact and data to inform that, you know, this is going to happen if you don't take this action. And then I think everyone is responsible, you know, on the building the resilient society.

Leah Nichols (28:39):
I was also gonna add, 'cause I, I, I didn't talk much about mitigation of climate, the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but that is something we might wanna be very, very thoughtfully considering as we address climate resiliency. Things that keep me up at night are, um, you know, we have trajectories and the science is starting to tell us that some systems are going to start collapsing. And we're talking about like ocean systems and sea level rise, and well, what's gonna happen to our agriculture system? I mean, there's some of these existential challenges that might be on the horizon that we're still working on getting the science about when is that gonna happen? Is that gonna happen? Those sorts of things. But there is signals that we do really need to be addressing how much carbon dioxide we're putting into the atmosphere so that we hopefully keep us below some of those tipping points. We'll see.

President Gregory Washington (29:24):
As we move forward here. And, and if you were to be having conversations with our young people today, as you do in the classroom and beyond, or even with our faculty as, as we end, what are some of the ways individuals can help create climate resilient communities and ensure sustainable future?

Leah Nichols (29:43):
One of the most effective ways of, of creating resiliency within a community is, is actually reaching out to your, your neighbors and your community. Understanding where people are vulnerable, helping them address those vulnerabilities if and when possible. Recognizing that you, you might wanna go up the street and check on somebody in, in the context of a disaster so that you can help them create some resiliency. The more that we connect and create community, the stronger those communities are, regardless of the infrastructure. Though, ideally you also are engaged in the processes that will upgrade and, and increase the resiliency of the critical infrastructures of those communities.

Liling Huang (30:18):
Yeah. Uh, for me, I always encourage my student and emphasize the importance of having a critical thinking skill. They are the future, uh, generation. They're the future engineer to build the system, to operate the system. So critical thinking, skill and teamwork, it's very important. Uh, one person cannot solve a problem. You need a team. You need people from different skillset, from different perspective. Also, to be able to work with a team to drive the innovation and critical thinking. Uh, you don't always believe what you hear. Right. You have to be able to critically evaluate before you accept it. I think that's very, very important. Not just, you know, uh, receive what we were told and then execute that. I think critical thinking, very important. So you don't be influenced or misled easily.

President Gregory Washington (31:16):
Understood. Understood. Well, look, this has been fantastic. Last point. Just quickly, lightning round. What's given you hope for the future?

Liling Huang (31:27):
I think the, the hope of the future, uh, is our next generation. It is here, �鶹��Ƶ, our faculty, our student. I think that's the future. And then the infrastructure side, you know, the research, and again, our theme, like our living lab that give us hope of the future.

Leah Nichols (31:48):
What gives me hope is, is the amount of people who are working hard to solve these types of problems. You know, faculty as well as students in the next generation, despite significant headwinds in some contexts. There's, there's a lot of people in the world in the United States and, and far beyond that are really committed to, and digging into solving these sorts of challenges. And that's the only way things are gonna get done, is we just keep on working, keep on designing. I think there's, there's a lot of opportunities to innovate. I just look for the people who are doing things, good things, um, and there's a lot of them through the living labs and through the Institute for Sustainable Earth, always wanting to help and support those individuals here in the �鶹��Ƶ community and beyond.

President Gregory Washington (32:31):
Outstanding. Outstanding. Well, we're gonna have to leave it there. Liling and Leah, thank you both for joining us today.

Liling Huang (32:39):
Thank you.

Leah Nichols (32:40):
Thank you so much for having us.

Leah Nichols (32:41):
Thank you so much. I am �鶹��Ƶ President Gregory Washington. Thanks for listening. And tune in next time for more conversations that show why we are all together different.

Outro (32:56):
If you like what you heard on this podcast, go to podcast.gmu.edu for more of Gregory Washington's conversations with the thought leaders, experts, and educators who take on the grand challenges facing our students, graduates, and higher education. That's podcast.gmu.edu.

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IST professors unveil human-AI collaboration tool to automate cartoon colorization

Teresa Donnellan — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:37:16 +0000

IST professors unveil human-AI collaboration tool to automate cartoon colorization Teresa Donnellan Fri, 10/10/2025 - 14:37

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Sungsoo Ray Hong

Yotam Gingold

�鶹��Ƶ Information and Sciences (IST) Assistant Professor Sungsoo Ray Hong has always loved cartoons. Now he’s helping the artists who make them.

Drawing on his expertise in human-computer interaction (HCI) and artificial intelligence (AI), Hong and colleague Yotam Gingold, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science (CS) created ShadowMagic, a new human-AI collaboration tool designed to make one of the most time-consuming parts of comic creation faster and easier.

The idea for ShadowMagic emerged from interviews with professional cartoonists. Hong, Gingold and their PhD students wanted to reduce the burden of shadowing, a task many artists find repetitive and time-consuming.

“Professional cartoonists are sometimes producing content every other day,” said Hong, who is also director of George �鶹��Ƶ’s Alignment Lab. “You cannot commit to these kinds of deadlines doing everything by yourself. That's why the colorization industry is so helpful to professional cartoonists.”

Colorization is a multi-step process of line drawing, flatting, base colorization, adding shadows and lighting, backgrounds, and other special effects. It is “fairly standardized, especially in South Korea and growing throughout the United States,” said Hong, who is from South Korea. ShadowMagic builds on an earlier project, FlatMagic, another AI-driven colorization tool designed to support digital comic professionals.

While there are existing AI tools that help with colorization, Hong and Gingold found that these tools require more work than doing it manually. They wanted to design a system that better augments cartoonists’ work and cuts down on shadowing, a labor intensive and, according to cartoonists, decidedly uncreative part of the process.

“We looked at artistic challenges, usually tedious things that aren’t so fun for the artists and break down those problems, so that they can focus more on the creative parts of it,” said Gingold, who directs George �鶹��Ƶ’s Computational Reality, Creativity, and Graphics Lab.

Gringold explained that there are millions of pixels in an image, and if an artist wants to move or change the color of an object, they currently have to point at one pixel among the millions.

Yotam Gingold (left) and Ray Hong in Research Hall, presenting their colorization tool. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding.

Gingold’s research applies computer science to visual, geometric, and design problems. He has “always been interested in sketching and how computers can help us express ourselves.” Many of his algorithms automate filling in pixels and handling visual constraints.

“The computers will do the math where we can write formulas to update all the other millions of pixels. Another example would be keeping lines parallel and corners perpendicular, and that’s where a lot of my research comes in,” he said.

Chuan Yan, PhD ’24, was recruited by Gingold for this project and conducted research on sketching and painting. Yan, now a postdoctoral research at Stanford University, brought expertise in computer graphics and sketch-related computer vision techniques, which he had studied extensively with Gingold.

The team built ShadowMagic as an Adobe Photoshop plug-in, and since its release, it has attracted a lot of interest from professional artists.

“Artists have expressed a strong desire for a tool that could free them from the labor-intensive flatting process,” said Yan. “This response is both exciting and humbling. It confirms that our research is addressing a real need in the industry yet also highlights the remaining challenges in making [the tool] ready for widespread adoption.”

Yan believes ShadowMagic is just the beginning of a broader shift in creative industries towards tools that amplify creativity rather than replace it.

“I am excited to witness and contribute to this transformation, helping to shape a future where AI acts as a powerful tool that amplifies human creativity rather than replacing it,” he said.

Read the full paper: ShadowMagic: Designing Human-AI Collaborative Support for Comic Professionals’ Shadowing by Amrita Ganguly, Chuan Yan, John Joon Young Chung, Tong Steven Sun, Yoon Kiheon, Yotam Gingold, and Sungsoo Ray Hong. It was presented at UIST 2024.

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George �鶹��Ƶ faculty awarded 14 grants from 4-VA

Katarina Benson — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:32:04 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ faculty awarded 14 grants from 4-VA Katarina Benson Thu, 10/09/2025 - 12:32

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

“The core purpose of 4-VA is to improve efficiencies in higher education and launch novel research via collaborations that leverage the strengths of each university,” said Janette Muir, 4-VA @ �鶹��Ƶ campus coordinator and vice provost of academic affairs. “Through 4-VA, we encourage teamwork to bring great ideas to fruition.”

4-VA is funding four Collaborative Research Grants led by George �鶹��Ƶ faculty with partners from other institutions.

Younsung Kim in the College of Science (COS) received funding for a project titled “Designing Experiential Learning Modules for Stormwater Management and Climate Adaptation via Spatial Analysis Tools.” She is working with faculty at the University of Virginia (UVA) and Virginia Tech (VT).
Quentin Sanders of College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) is working on “Enhancing Daily Living Activities in Stroke Survivors Through Semi-Autonomous Hand Exoskeletons with Multi-Modal Sensing” with faculty at UVA.
Shaghayegh (Shay) Bagheri, also of CEC, is working on a project titled “Bio-Inspired Metamaterials: Design for Additive Manufacturing” with collaborators at VT and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Yanika Kowitlawakul of the College of Public Health received a grant for her project titled “Development and integration of Escape Room games to enhance undergraduate nursing students’ collaboration, problem-solving skills, and academic performance.” She is working with collaborators at UVA and VCU.

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

Silvia Danielak of the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is working on “Environmental peacebuilding as an approach for promoting just and sustainable data center governance in Virginia” (James Madison University [JMU]).
David Luther, COS, for “Sound Ecology: Acoustic Niche Partitioning and the effects of 17-year cicadas on avian communities across an urban gradient” (JMU).
Armita Kar, COS, for “Safe Streets: AI-Powered Digital Twin Framework for Enhancing Urban Pedestrian Safety” (VT).
Ziwei Zhu, CEC, for “Towards Fair Decision Systems: Augmenting LLMs with Causual Graph Discovery” (UVA).
Ethan Ahn, CEC, for “CMOS-CIM Collaboration on CMOS+Xarrays for Compute-in-Memory” (UVA).
Xijin “Emma” Zhang, CEC, for “Safety Machine Learning-Driven Bio-Upcycling of Waste Concrete into High-Value Materials” (VT).
Tamara A. Maddox, CEC, for “Designing a Classroom Platform for Accountable Use of Generative AI in Writing” (VT).
Gregory Stein, CEC, for “Leveraging Digital Twin Environments and AI-Embodied Reasoning Models for Human–Robot Collaboration in Construction Tasks” (VT).

Additionally, George �鶹��Ƶ faculty members were awarded grants to support course redesign and bring updated and relevant materials to students in a cost-efficient manner.

Tammy Stitz of University Libraries (assisted by George �鶹��Ƶ faculty James Baldo, Bernard Schmidt, and Susan Lawrence) is updating the course DAEN 690 Data Analytics Engineering.

Sara-Lynn Gopalkrishna of CEC is renovating the course CS 108 Introduction to Computer Programming.

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Cyber security engineering student excels at his internship for the second time

Shayla Brown — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:15:06 +0000

Cyber security engineering student excels at his internship for the second time  Shayla Brown Mon, 10/06/2025 - 10:15

When �鶹��Ƶ cyber security engineering student Noah Hinger interned at Surefire Cyber in summer 2023, his managers were so impressed with his work that they invited him back. Thanks to his previous experience, the Honors College student was able to take on more responsibility this summer at the computer security company and contribute to more projects.

“The experience from my first summer here let me understand what was happening and contribute across the company,” said Hinger, who is a sophomore in the College of Engineering and Computing. “Surefire Cyber has an amazing internship program. They're investing in us by having professional development meetings and providing us with the opportunity to talk to experts from different fields.” said Hinger.

“I think it’s helped me a lot to be able to practice my independence and accountability,” said Hinger, who also competes in George �鶹��Ƶ’s Chess and Competitive Cyber Clubs. “I've had the chance to do projects on my own without necessarily needing to report to someone, and I've also learned so much from all the smart people at Surefire Cyber.”

Noah Hinger. Photo provided.

What made you choose Surefire Cyber for your internships? 

Surefire Cyber is a digital forensics and incident response company. When an organization gets hacked, they call Surefire Cyber to conduct an investigation and restore systems so that everything's OK. As a technology intern, I am helping develop the code that our forensic analysts use to figure out what's happened and retrieve all the essential data. Surefire Cyber is really exceptional at using a lot of automation tools so that the forensic analysts can focus more on the big picture and the data they’re working with. 

What does a typical day interning at Surefire Cyber look like for you? 

I work under two groups: software development and information operations, or DevOps, and security engineering. For DevOps, I help to manage company infrastructure and work on a lot of coding assignments. 

Traditionally, there are software developers, and there are operations, which maintain it. DevOps is kind of a hybrid role, which means it entails coding, setting up servers, and being responsible for maintaining the infrastructure. 

How would you say George �鶹��Ƶ has helped prepare you for this role? 

I definitely think more critically when problem-solving this time around, and I think that's in part due to George �鶹��Ƶ, especially the Honors College research and literature classes that I’ve taken. I'm learning about a lot of new technologies in real time, so I have to be able to research and read about them and then apply that knowledge to my work. The courses have definitely helped me when it comes absorbing the information I’m reading about and then transferring it to my assignments at Surefire Cyber. 

Another thing about the Honors College is that I get to meet different people from different disciplines, and that's really helped me at Surefire Cyber when connecting and networking with colleagues. I think that's been really rewarding and something that George �鶹��Ƶ's helped prepare me for. 

I've also gotten a lot of experience in my systems engineering and digital systems engineering classes, and getting to see what goes into a lot of security minded decisions is very similar to what I’m doing in this internship. 

What’s your favorite thing about interning at Surefire Cyber? 

My favorite thing about the company is that it’s always driving innovation and new discoveries within cybersecurity and digital forensics. They're always pushing for the best and trying to help people. That's the whole point of digital forensics is to be there for and helping them out on the worst day of their life. 

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Four George �鶹��Ƶ faculty members inducted into the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Katarina Benson — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:39:19 +0000

Four George �鶹��Ƶ faculty members inducted into the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Katarina Benson Fri, 10/03/2025 - 11:39

Four �鶹��Ƶ faculty members have been elected to the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM) and were recognized at the 2025 VASEM’s annual summit held at the Virginia Tech Institute for Advanced Computing in Alexandria, Virginia.

Since 1863, the National Academies have tapped the expertise of the country’s most accomplished and innovative leaders in science, engineering, and medicine, and tasked them with providing nonpartisan, objective guidance to decision-makers across the nation.

In 2013, with the support of Senator Mark Warner, National Academy members and other key individuals from Virginia formed a similar group to serve the commonwealth by providing nonpartisan, objective guidance to decision-makers in Virginia. According to its website, the VASEM is charged with informing and educating the state’s executive branch agencies, as well as its residents, on issues related to policy, the economy, and quality of life. The organization also promotes research, the application of knowledge, and engagement of future generations.

The 2025 elected class includes two College of Science professors and two College of Engineering and Computing professors.

Missy Cummings. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Missy Cummings

Professor, College of Engineering and Computing, Director of the Responsible AI Program and �鶹��Ƶ Autonomy and Robotics Center

Cummings’ research interests include the application of artificial intelligence to safety-critical systems, assured autonomy, human-systems engineering, and the ethical and social impact of technology. She holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. A naval officer and military pilot from 1988 to 1999, she was one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and recently served as the senior safety advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Lance Liotta. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Lance Liotta, MD

Distinguished University Professor, College of Science, School of Systems Biology

Prior to joining George �鶹��Ƶ in 2005 as the codirector of the Center For Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, Liotta served in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute as chief of the Laboratory of Pathology, chief of the Section of Tumor Invasion and Metastasis, and NIH deputy director of intramural research. As a highly cited ISI investigator, he is recognized internationally for his pioneering work in the molecular mechanisms of cancer invasion and metastasis, and as an inventor of medical research analytical tools in the fields of laser microdissection, proteomics, biomarker discovery, and personalized therapy. He received the NIH PHS Distinguished Service Award and Commendation Medal, and the U.S. Surgeons General Medallion. He received the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award in 2015, the George �鶹��Ƶ Dean’s Challenge Award in 2021, and George �鶹��Ƶ’s Lifetime Innovation Award in 2023. He is a Fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering.

Elise Miller-Hooks. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Elise Miller-Hooks

Professor, College of Engineering and Computing, Bill and Eleanor Hazel Endowed Chair in Infrastructure Engineering, Chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Miller-Hooks was a program director at the National Science Foundation and is a former faculty member at the University of Maryland, Pennsylvania State University, and Duke University. Her research applies operations research concepts to transportation and infrastructure, with emphasis on disaster protection and resilience. Miller-Hooks served on the U.S. Congress-initiated Transportation Resilience Metrics Committee for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and as chair for the 2023 Roundtable on Transport System Resilience at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s International Transport Forum. She is founding editor-in-chief of Sustainability Analytics and Modeling and has advised the World Bank.

Jagadish Shukla. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of University Branding

Jagadish Shukla

Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, College of Science, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Science

During his time at George �鶹��Ƶ, Shukla founded the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Science and the Climate Dynamics Doctoral Program. His research on monsoons, deforestation, and climate predictability led to the concept of predictability in the midst of chaos, and he contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Shukla has authored more than 250 scientific papers and received honors including India’s Padma Shri Award, the Walker Gold Medal, NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal of the Indian Meteorological Society (IMS), the Rossby Medal, and the International Meteorological Prize. He serves as a fellow of the IMS and an associate fellow of the World Academy of Sciences and the Indian Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. Shukla and his wife, Anastasia, founded Gandhi Degree College in his home village in India to empower rural students, especially women, through education.

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George �鶹��Ƶ researchers awarded $4.65 million NIH grant to explore chronic knee pain

Colleen Rich — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 21:31:42 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ researchers awarded $4.65 million NIH grant to explore chronic knee pain Colleen Rich Tue, 09/30/2025 - 17:31

For millions of Americans, chronic musculoskeletal pain is a daily reality that makes even simple activities like walking across a room, playing with grandchildren, or just getting through a workday feel daunting. At �鶹��Ƶ, researchers at the Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI) are leading a new $4.65 million National Institutes of Health-funded R01 study to better understand what shapes those experiences, and how to improve care.

Photo by Getty Images

“Like many people all over the world, I have known close family members living with unexplained chronic pain,” said the project’s lead investigator Siddhartha Sikdar, professor of bioengineering and director of CASSBI. “I have seen firsthand how frustrating it can be to navigate a disjointed health care system that often does not prioritize patient voices. That’s why I’m so excited about this project. It prioritizes understanding each person’s lived experience of pain, so we can come up with better guidelines for personalized management of chronic pain.”

Chronic musculoskeletal pain is one of the world’s most common—and least understood—health conditions. It refers to ongoing pain in soft tissues of the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, or legs. Lower back and knee pain are leading causes of disability worldwide, disrupting work, family life, and well-being.

Despite its prevalence, the condition is poorly understood. Pain perception is difficult to measure, and each individual’s experience of chronic pain is unique. Findings on currently available diagnostic tests paint an incomplete, and sometimes misleading, picture of the underlying problems. Too often, people with chronic musculoskeletal pain encounter fragmented care, misdiagnoses, or treatments that are expensive, invasive, and ineffective. Many report feeling dismissed or unheard.

The research team will work to solve this problem by studying how physical, biological, emotional, and social factors come together to shape the daily experience of living with chronic knee pain. They will look at whether analyzing multiple symptoms over time can help identify important turning points in a person’s pain journey, and how each individual’s particular mix of stress, biology, and movement plays a role in achieving maximal potential for function.

Siddhartha Sikdar. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding.

Over the next four years, the team will recruit participants with chronic knee pain who are receiving treatment at Optimal Motion, a community-based physical therapy clinic. For one year, participants will be followed closely, with data collected every three months on their biomechanics, physical function, biological health, and psychosocial well-being. A smartphone app will also allow participants to share daily reflections, giving researchers an unprecedented look into the lived experience of chronic pain.

“Chronic pain is not just about an abnormal finding in a single body part,” Sikdar explained. “It’s an individual, day-to-day experience that cuts across physical, emotional, and social dimensions.”

Improving chronic pain management without overreliance on opioids and other medications with harmful side effects is a critical priority for addressing the ongoing public health crisis of opioid and other medication misuse, addiction, and overdose in America. Better understanding the factors that shape pain could lead to more effective personalized care and help reduce the devastating ripple effects of medication misuse and addiction.

This study is different from traditional pain research in three important ways. First, it uses a whole person focus. Instead of viewing knee pain only as a local problem in the joint, the team is taking a holistic approach that considers the entire person and the many factors influencing their pain. Second, it puts patient voices at the center. By using advances in large language models, researchers will analyze patient narratives, stories, and reflections, capturing rich perspectives often overlooked by conventional assessments. Third, it will track change over time. Rather than relying only on one-time snapshots, the study will follow patients’ pain experiences as they shift from day to day and month to month.

The interdisciplinary project will involve medical scientists, community-based medical professionals, engineers, data scientists, neuroscientists, and CASSBI’s chronic pain advisory board of patient advocates and community-based practitioners. George �鶹��Ƶ faculty collaborators include:

Kevin Lybarger, assistant professor, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, College of Engineering and Computing (expertise: artificial intelligence, natural language processing)
Secili DeStefano, adjunct faculty, Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Public Health (expertise: physical therapy)
William Rosenberger, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Statistics, College of Engineering and Computing (expertise: statistics)
Seiyon (Ben) Lee, assistant professor, Department of Statistics, College of Engineering and Computing (expertise: statistical modeling of complex data)
Samuel Acuña, research assistant professor, Institute for Digital Innovation, Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact (expertise: rehabilitation engineering, human-centered product design)
Cameron Nowzari, associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (expertise: robotics)
Lynn Gerber, MD, professor emerita, medical doctor, Inova Center for Integrated Research (expertise: rheumatology, internal medicine, rehabilitation)

The team is also partnering with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and community-based providers such as Optimal Motion.

The project supports NIH’s interest in advancing the understanding of individual differences in pain with a whole person approach to personalized medicine. It also aligns closely with CASSBI’s mission to bring together scientists, engineers, health care professionals, and community members to drive real-world medical innovation.

For more than a decade, George �鶹��Ƶ researchers at CASSBI have been working across disciplines to better understand chronic pain and this new study builds on that legacy with fresh tools, new partnerships, and functional outcomes that reflect wha patients have expressed is important to them .

“Pain is a uniquely personal perception and experience,” said Sikdar. “Our goal is to listen more closely, understand more fully, and translate those insights into better care guidelines and treatments. Ultimately, it’s about helping people get back to living their lives.”

Find more innovation on the CASSBI website

Discover how George �鶹��Ƶ research is tackling the greatest obstacles facing humankind. Our Grand Challenge Initiative seeks to focus our multidisciplinary research strength to create bold solutions for a changing world.

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Fulbright Specialist program takes professor back to Finland to improve engineering doctoral training

Martha Bushong — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 12:44:40 +0000

Fulbright Specialist program takes professor back to Finland to improve engineering doctoral training Martha Bushong Fri, 09/26/2025 - 08:44

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Aditya Johri

Professor Aditya Johri from �鶹��Ƶ's Information Sciences and Technology Department recently returned from an impactful three-week mission to Aalto University in Finland as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program. This initiative, run by the U.S. Department of State, empowers U.S. academics to engage in dynamic, project-based exchanges at institutions worldwide. This was Johri’s second trip to Finland through the Fulbright program.

During his visit, Johri collaborated closely with Miloš Mladenović, the vice dean of research in Aalto's engineering school, and Maija Taka, the academic coordinator for doctoral education. Together, they aimed to enhance the university's doctoral training practices. Like many academic institutions, Aalto University is committed to improving student support during the doctoral process, reducing the time to graduation, and providing professional development opportunities.

"With changes in the nature of the research enterprise—more interdisciplinary and computational—and limited opportunities for future researchers in academia, it has become increasingly important to revisit how we train doctoral students,” said Johri. “We need to prepare them for a career beyond academia and for a context where AI, especially generative AI, is likely to play a transformative role."

From left: Miloš Mladenović, Aditya Johri, and Maija Taka co-leading the workshop on revamping the doctoral engineering program. Photo provided

Johri codesigned three workshops created to gather feedback from faculty and students and codevelop an improved doctoral feedback and review process. Drawing from his extensive experience and literature, Johri proposed several innovative alternatives. He successfully coconducted the first workshop, engaging 25 faculty members, with two additional workshops scheduled to follow in the coming months.

Beyond refining doctoral education, Johri shared his deep expertise in engineering education with his hosts. He participated in a pre-conference workshop on engineering education research, mentored at a doctoral consortium during the European engineering education society's annual conference, and presented a co-authored paper with Mladenović. Interestingly, Johri and Mladenović's professional relationship began when Mladenović, then a doctoral student at Virginia Tech, took Johri's class on engineering education.

Johri said, “We had always been in touch and then when I got my first Fulbright to go to Finland, he helped us acclimatize to living there and invited me to give a talk on engineering education. We also collaborated on a conference paper about integrating sustainability throughout the engineering curriculum. When he became a vice dean, one of his mandates was to improve research training of students and we put together the proposal for a Fulbright Specialist visit.”

�鶹��Ƶ the Fulbright Program:

Supported by the U.S. Fulbright program in collaboration with the Fulbright Finland Foundation, Johri's visit marks his second Fulbright journey to Finland and Aalto University. In 2021, he served as a Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair, focusing on the ethics of AI education with his host, Lauri Malmi, a professor in Computer Science.

The Fulbright Specialist Program, a prestigious initiative of the U.S. Department of State, recognizes individuals for their academic and professional achievements and leadership in their field. It aims to foster long-term cooperation between U.S. and international institutions through two- to six-week, project-based exchanges.

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AI plus mathematical modeling equals a new tool for teaching

Sarah Holland — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:36:49 +0000

AI plus mathematical modeling equals a new tool for teaching Sarah Holland Tue, 09/23/2025 - 12:36

“Where am I going to use that?” is, according to Jennifer Suh, a common complaint in math classrooms. The real-world applications of algebra, geometry, and probability are often lost in the shuffle of textbook questions and equations. But this professor of mathematics leadership education is hoping to change the narrative.

Ziyu Yao, PI, assistant professor in the Computer Science Department in the College of Engineering and Computing; Suh, co-PI, professor of mathematics specialist leadership in the College of Education and Human Development; and collaborative site-PI Janice Zhang of William and Mary received a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL) program to develop MathVC: a virtual classroom where middle school students can work through mathematical modeling problems with AI-powered chatbot students. A preliminary version of this project was sponsored by Microsoft’s Accelerating Foundation Models award, also led by Yao.

“We're trying to build these 21st-century skills in collaborative problem-solving while preparing students to solve global challenges, all while making math modeling a more inclusive practice,” said Suh.

Mathematical modeling creates a mathematical representation of a real-world scenario to help teach students math concepts in context. These can be small scale scenarios—calculate costs for a party—or global challenges—supplying clean water to a city after a major flooding event.

A demo of MathVC with Yao communicating with the virtual students. Photo provided.

These types of math problems combine computational skills and soft skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and communication: identifying the problem, defining the variables, analyzing solutions, iterating on the model, and reporting findings.

“These are problems with real-world applications,” explained Suh. “It helps students understand the value.”

While mathematical modeling is an incredibly effective tool for math education, it comes with its own set of challenges. “Schools vary greatly in their access to classroom resources, teacher resources, education research...and as a result not all students are given the opportunity to engage with this type of learning,” Suh said. “And on an individual level, some students find the communication aspect of this more challenging than others.”

MathVC is one way to bridge those gaps of accessibility.

Within the virtual classroom, the human student can collaborate with generative AI students to work through these mathematical models.

“We see the benefits for multilingual students, as well as for students who want to develop their communication skills for math reasoning and justification through math talk,” said Suh. And for teachers, MathVC allows students to ask questions and be prompted through the problem without their intervention: a benefit for teachers with large classroom sizes who are otherwise unable to monitor every group.

Once the program is deployed, access will be as simple as logging into a website. “Our system is developed using state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs). The cost of these tools is reducing, the programming required is reducing, so it’s an incredibly practical solution,” said Yao.

From the student perspective, MathVC’s success is dependent on how accurate the generative AI student voices are. Part of the grant supports the development of Math EdVentures Camp, a week-long program for students to build their skills in mathematical modeling, as well as an opportunity for Suh and Yao to collect valuable data on student problem-solving and communication techniques.

“AI safety is paramount,” explained Yao. “Authentic simulation prevents the students from losing the social skills of communicating with real-life peers, as well as makes the human-AI interaction more engaging.”

Students in Math EdVentures Camp explore how many water drops could fit on a coin. Photo provided.

This past summer, students in the Math EdVentures Camp explored STEM problems both large and small—from bridge engineering to calculating the number of water drops that could fit on a coin—in three-person teams with guest professors Theresa Wills and Andy Gilbert. Teachers provided feedback as they worked through the modeling problems. On the last day, Yao led the students through a demonstration of the MathVC and asked for their feedback.

All of this is helping mold the generative AI.

“We found that students don’t want to be told the answer,” said Yao. “They prefer the interactive learning, where they get thought-provoking questions that help them find the solution.”

Math EdVentures Camp leadership. Photo provided.

“Watching our fantastic team of Math EdVentures instructors and George �鶹��Ƶ student researchers work with the middle schoolers was also a rich source of data to improve how the AI will support student problem-solving and critical thinking,” said Suh.

Yao and Suh discovered some surprises, too.

“They were actually really interested in how we developed the program,” said Yao. “Students were asking me what classes they needed to take in high school or college in order to develop a platform like this themselves. And we had good discussions about keeping a critical mind while using AI.”

MathVC represents one way that George �鶹��Ƶ researchers are leveraging transdisciplinary collaboration to advance 21st education for all, a part of the university’s Grand Challenge Initiative. And there’s another goal as well—changing the narrative of math education.

“When we talk to middle schoolers, a lot of them have math phobia. But these more collaborative learning models get them excited and interested,” Suh said. “We want all kids to see that they are math people.”

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This information sciences and technology instructor is a Patriot through and through

Shayla Brown — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:42:15 +0000

This information sciences and technology instructor is a Patriot through and through  Shayla Brown Mon, 09/15/2025 - 14:42

When Hussna Azamy arrived on �鶹��Ƶ’s Fairfax Campus for her first advising session as a Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) transfer student, she had no idea it would be the beginning of a lifelong calling.

“Dr. [Irene] Bruno shaped me into the professor I am today,” said Azamy, recalling that 2013 meeting with the advisor who became her mentor. “Her guidance, her kindness, her belief in students—it inspired me to rise to my best self.” 

Hussna Azamy. Photo provided.

Azamy’s path to teaching wasn’t linear. After earning her BS in cyber security engineering in 2015, she ventured into the corporate world, working with Accenture, Fannie Mae, Fortune 500 companies, and Amazon Web Services. She led teams and projects, built secure systems, and navigated high-stakes environments—experiences she now brings into the classroom in the College of Engineering and Computing. 

“I always tell my students, the theories we learn are powerful—but seeing them in action is what makes them real,” she said. “When I share stories from my time in industry, I see their eyes light up. It connects the dots.” 

Even as she climbed the tech ladder, she was simultaneously pursuing her master’s through �鶹��Ƶ’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program. That led her back to Bruno—this time as a graduate teaching assistant in the Information Systems and Technology (IST) Department. 

“I was thriving professionally, but mentally drained,” Azamy admitted. “Then I’d walk into class, see my students’ energy, and suddenly I felt alive.” 

By 2017, she had earned her master’s in applied information technology—and clarity. Teaching wasn’t just a job. It was her purpose.   

Just as she realized this, a full-time faculty position opened in the IST department. It felt like fate. 

“I was scared to make such a big leap,” she said. “But since becoming full-time faculty, I’ve never looked back. The students, the colleagues, the energy—it feels like home.” 

Azamy brings that energy into her classroom with a twist: gamification. 

“I turn lessons into team competitions,” she said. “It sparks excitement and keeps students engaged.”   

She uses buzzers for trivia contests inspired by “Jeopardy!” and tracks team points across sessions. Winners earn fun prizes like assignment extensions or chocolates.  

“The students love it,” she said with a smile.

Azamy, who currently teaches the courses IT 372 Applied Generative AI and IT 429 Security Accreditation of Information Systems, recently expanded the games to include artificial intelligence (AI) tools, helping students explore how technology can boost their learning.   

While Azamy credits many mentors, her bond with Irene Bruno remains special. Bruno, now retired, was her undergraduate advisor and a guiding force at George �鶹��Ƶ. 

“She’s brilliant and a phenomenal problem solver,” Bruno said. “Hussna stood out in class—sharp, detail-oriented, and dependable.”   

Azamy even helped edit Bruno’s Discrete Mathematics textbook for IT 102, catching everything from math errors to grammar slips. 

“She was my go-to,” said Bruno, who hired Azamy as an adjunct in 2017. They worked side by side until Bruno’s retirement in 2022. 

“I’d sit in on her classes often,” Bruno said. “She had a gift, explaining complex ideas in ways students could grasp. That’s what makes her exceptional not just in cybersecurity, but in teaching.” 

Now, as a full-time faculty member, Azamy continues to bridge real-world experience with academic insight, creating a classroom environment where students feel seen, challenged, and inspired. Her journey from student to industry professional to educator is a powerful reminder that believing in others can spark transformation. And for every student she mentors, Azamy hopes to be the kind of guide who helps them discover not just what they can learn—but who they can become. 

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What made you choose Surefire Cyber for your internships? 

What does a typical day interning at Surefire Cyber look like for you? 

How would you say George �鶹��Ƶ has helped prepare you for this role? 

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