Artificial Intelligence

George �鶹��Ƶ and King’s College London win Google Award to fight AI-driven romance scams targeting older adults

Nathan Kahl — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 23:23:41 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ and King’s College London win Google Award to fight AI-driven romance scams targeting older adults Nathan Kahl Sun, 10/26/2025 - 19:23

The term “catfishing” entered mainstream use with the release of the eponymous 2010 documentary investigating the practice of creating fake online personas, frequently to scam someone. Today, AI is pushing this practice to a frightening new level, with the prospect of older adults falling for what are called “romance scams.”

Sanchari Das, an assistant professor in �鶹��Ƶ’s Department of Information Sciences and Technology, and Ruba Abu-Salma, an associate professor in the department of computer science at King’s College London, received a $100,000 Google Academic Research Award to help keep older adults safe online. Their project, Scammed by Love: Toward Mitigating AI-Facilitated Romance Scams Against Older Adults Through Empirical and Cross-National Studies, will investigate the prevalence of such scams targeting older adults and will create educational tools to help them safely navigate dating apps.

The researchers will conduct a multi-national study spanning 13 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Das, who has published research on older adults and their online dating habits, said, “We think about older adults in terms of health care needs, but we don't think about dating and romance. I learned that a majority of older-adult scams come from scam dating, and the victims cannot even share that it happened with their support networks, like their children, because it would be such a taboo and embarrassing thing to share.” Das added that an estimated $3 billion is lost each year in the United States to romance scams across all age groups, based on reported figures. “And that’s only what’s being reported.” Das is concerned that while romance scams are among the most prevalent forms of fraud affecting older adults, this population remains understudied in this context.

AI is making romance scams even harder to detect. iStock photo.

With roughly 12 percent of Americans over 70 having used a dating app or site, there is significant exposure for financial harm. Given the rapid advances in AI-generated images, video, audio, and simulated emotional expression, these attacks are increasing. One news story (of many) tells of a UK resident who scammed at least 10 female victims over 11 years out of 100,000 British pounds.

Abu-Salma, who has also published research on older adults and other at-risk groups, noted that according to a recent 2025 study by Lloyds Bank, “Individuals aged 55 to 64 are the most targeted age group, accounting for 20 percent of romance scam victims, followed by those aged 65 to 74, who represent18 percent of cases.”

In response to these risks, Das and Abu-Salma’s project will proceed in three phases. First, they will analyze data from focus groups and surveys of older adults in countries with high dating-app adoption. Second, they will develop educational safety materials. Third, they will hold in-person community workshops in the United States and the UK, partnering with older adult communities to refine and disseminate these materials. The team will work with organizations worldwide to share their findings online.

Das said she is excited about this collaboration and grateful to receive such highly competitive Google Academic Research Award in the Trust, Safety, Security, and Privacy research domain, noting, “We all know about deepfakes, but the bigger issue is that scammers are no longer just swapping faces. They are creating entirely new personas that feel real, so you may not even question whether the person you are talking to exists.” She added, “Our goal is to equip older adults with simple tools and support so they can connect online with confidence.”

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Sanchari Das

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Cyber Security

Information Sciences and Technology Departmenat

Older Adults

Research

Google

Artificial Intelligence

$3 million National Institute on Aging grant will provide much-needed support to underserved dementia caregivers

Taylor Thomas — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:11:07 +0000

$3 million National Institute on Aging grant will provide much-needed support to underserved dementia caregivers Taylor Thomas Wed, 10/15/2025 - 09:11

More than 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), supported by 12 million unpaid family caregivers whose contributions are valued at $413 billion annually. As the U.S. population continues to age, the number of people with dementia and their caregivers will nearly triple by 2050. Innovative solutions to support family caregivers are urgently needed.

Y. Alicia Hong. Photo provided.

Now, with a $3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), �鶹��Ƶ digital health intervention researcher Y. Alicia Hong is poised to change that. Hong led an interdisciplinary team to develop the Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE) as a culturally tailored, digital health intervention to enhance caregiving skills and improve the well-being of dementia caregivers. The new grant will allow her team to further refine WECARE using artificial intelligence (AI) and evaluate it with a randomized controlled trial.

“WECARE is one of the first personalized digital interventions for dementia caregivers,” said Hong, a professor in the College of Public Health's Department of Health Administration and Policy. "Though it is designed for Chinese American dementia caregivers, it can be adapted for other groups and serve the growing demand for digital support for dementia caregivers in an aging society

The seven-week program will provide participants with informational ADRD multimedia content, quiz games, social networking with other caregivers, personalized feedback, and additional individualized resources. WECARE’s success will be evaluated by measuring the depressive symptoms reported by participants. The project also intends to identify barriers to and facilitators of WECARE’s adoption and long-term use.

This resource comes at a critical time as the aging population grows, and more people with ADRD require caregivers. Additionally, most family caregivers have chronic conditions due to prolonged and intensive dementia caregiving, causing an increased need for resources that sustain the health of family caregivers.

Hong’s grant titled “WECARE: A Personalized Intervention for Underserved Chinese American Dementia Caregivers” will take place from September 2025 to August 2030, for a total of $3,088,427. WECARE is directly responsive to NIA’s priority of effective interventions for ADRD-affected populations.

Hong studies the intersection of health services delivery and consumer informatics. Her work explores chronic care and self-care solutions through innovative digital technologies to improve patient-centered outcomes and enhance health care accessibility. Hong’s research focuses on implementation and dissemination science and leveraging digital technologies to enhance health services delivery.

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Y. Alicia Hong, PhD

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Resilient robots in rough terrain

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 01:01:54 +0000

Resilient robots in rough terrain Nathan Kahl Mon, 10/13/2025 - 21:01

Xuesu Xiao oozes enthusiasm when he talks about his off-road robotics testbed in �鶹��Ƶ’s new Fuse building at �鶹��Ƶ Square.

The Robotixx team provided demonstrations to visitors during the Fuse grand celebration in September. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“I'm extremely excited about this because it’s an only-of-its-kind thing on the planet. Nowhere else has such abilities. Off-road mobility and autonomy is a very difficult area to study and investigate because you need to have supporting facilities, you need to have off-road terrain, and you need to have the vehicles. We have all of that,” said the computer science assistant professor.

Xiao is a roboticist who develops algorithms to make robots not only capable, but also intelligent. His goal is that robots will someday work in the real world; humans will stand aside while robots go places that humans don't want to—or simply cannot—go.

“We want them to go to a forest to search for a victim who is lost in the woods,” he said. “We have a proposal in review right now to build robot firefighters. We want them in the field, doing things like scientific exploration in the South Pole.”

Presently, autonomous driving generally involves road networks with traffic lights and lane markings. Xiao’s research focuses on motion planning: using machine learning to determine a series of movements to get a robot from a starting point to a goal while avoiding obstacles.

“That is where AI comes into place,” said Xiao. “We want robots not only to be programmed to do things, but also to learn from themselves, from the humans around them, and from each other.”

Xiao hosted visitors from the RoSys Group of the University of Catania, Italy. Pictured: assistant professor Giuseppe Sutera, Xiao, PhD student Francesco Cancelliere, and assistant professor Dario Calogero Guastella in the test bed. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

The testbed where Xiao and students put their robots through their paces is about 700 square feet of rocks and faux vegetation. Xiao is intimately familiar with the space, having placed most of the rocks himself. “I'm very, very proud of this testbed, which has more than seven tons of rocks. I took five of our students of seven or eight trips to the landscaping store. It was an exhausting week!”

The terrain is rugged, designed to represent a real-life situation. “Off-road environments may get the robot stuck because the terrain may be deformable—changing shape under weight,” Xiao said. “Off-road terrain may make the robot roll over because, if there are a lot of rocks, they may need to crawl over them. You don't want the vehicle to roll over on top of those things. Successfully maneuvering this terrain is a very, very big thrust of our lab.”

The testbed is built to a one-tenth scale. A motion-capture system of eight cameras (soon to be upgraded to 16) surveils the entire terrain. Xiao says that his team knows exactly how the vehicles are moving with six-degrees-of-freedom tracking.

The year has been busy for Xiao, who in 2025 won the university-wide Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence and the College of Engineering and Computing’s Excellence in Research Award. He is also George �鶹��Ƶ’s sole nominee for the Rising Star Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

While he appreciates that recognition, Xiao isn’t one to rest on his laurels. He is particularly excited about what’s next in the lab: He just ordered an autonomous Polaris “side-by-side”—a $300,000 autonomous off-road vehicle that can hold two people. He also talked about a capability that allows the testbed to be used far from George �鶹��Ƶ.

“I was at a conference in Korea, and we opened our testbed to the entire world by using a web interface. So, the attendees of the Conference on Robot Learning in Korea could drive our robots in Fuse in Arlington, Virginia.”

With robots at George �鶹��Ƶ taking commands from the other side of the globe, Xiao is showing that in robotics, there are no borders—only new frontiers to explore.

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Fuse at �鶹��Ƶ Square

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�鶹��Ƶ Autonomy and Robotics Center

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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College of Engineering and Computing

comics

Tech Transfer

Artificial Intelligence

A one-woman team puts many eyes in the skies

Nathan Kahl — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:37:27 +0000

A one-woman team puts many eyes in the skies Nathan Kahl Wed, 10/01/2025 - 15:37

Fatima Majid, a �鶹��Ƶ senior majoring in cyber security engineering, was not just the only one-person team in the top 10 award winners at a recent National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) cyber competition, she was the only student team. Majid placed ninth out of 51 teams, most of them comprising industry experts.

“I went in, and they were all professional teams, like from Lockheed Martin. I thought, ‘I want to go home,’” said Majid with a laugh, describing her initial cold feet. “But I told myself I could do it. It helped that it was hosted at George �鶹��Ƶ, and I had professors there giving me support.”

Her project focused on how the Department of Defense (DoD) can protect critical U.S. infrastructure against low-cost drone attacks at scale, informed by Ukraine’s “Operation Spiderweb,” which used 117 drones to attack Russian air bases in June 2025.

Majid spent the summer in Richmond during a public policy internship. Photo provided

Majid’s lightbulb moment came with a flash as bright as a Virginia speed camera catching a lead-footed driver. Considering the significant network of traffic cameras in the commonwealth, she conceived SkyEyes. This applies an artificial intelligence (AI) model to the live feed of the Virginia 511 camera network, which provides real-time traffic information to citizens and transportation officials. SkyEyes demonstrated how a low-cost, AI-enabled surveillance layer could differentiate threats from non-threats, employing geofencing logic to define safe versus threat zones around sensitive sites.

“I understand how drones work because of what I’ve done at George �鶹��Ƶ’s MIX lab—and since I know how to build it, I also know how to jam it. I trained the AI model on a data set provided from a contest sponsor, and that data set had drone imaging and drone prototyping,” she said. “The camera feeds can find objects flying, but what if it’s an Amazon drone, for example? Then I added geofencing and threat analysis to observe the behavior of the drone—if it's a drone at 2 a.m., for example, maybe that's sketchy. So, the model gets smarter.”

Majid said that to access the cameras, all she had to do was make a phone call to the right person and explain her project. She cited time spent this summer at the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in the Undergraduate Policy Program (VASEM UPP) in Richmond as giving her confidence and exposure to how government works.

K. L. Akerlof, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George �鶹��Ƶ, said, “The VASEM UPP is a unique opportunity for undergraduates to learn about opportunities in science policy at the state level. The immersive experience of spending a week in Richmond visiting the General Assembly and state agencies, while getting a crash course in how research evidence relates to public policy, can open new doors and career pathways.”

Majid said the strong showing gave her tremendous exposure to influential professional contacts. She fielded several questions about her simulation and future professional plans from a man she only later realized was Retired Brigadier General and NDIA Executive Vice President Guy Walsh.

“Because he showed interest, after he walked away, a crowd of people gathered around to ask me questions. It was very validating.”

She also had a long conversation about her project with Harley Stout, acting chief digital and AI officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Majid is still pleasantly shocked by her top-10 finish. She is working with Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in Cyber Security Engineering, on expanding the research. She is confident that such a cost-efficient solution for critical infrastructure protection against drone attacks will attract more funding opportunities.

She credited the supportive culture at �鶹��Ƶ—and her family—for keeping her grounded and encouraging her throughout, saying their support made the accomplishment even more meaningful.

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Mohamed Gebril

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Cyber Security Research

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

competitions

Drones

Students

Artificial Intelligence

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CEC students

George �鶹��Ƶ researcher is using AI to identify human trafficking hot spots

Katelynn C Hipolito — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:20:46 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ researcher is using AI to identify human trafficking hot spots Katelynn C Hipolito Mon, 09/29/2025 - 14:20

Illicit massage businesses (IMBs) run by human trafficking rings are rampant in the United States. A �鶹��Ƶ professor has helped build what may be the best artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tool to root them out.

Human trafficking rings are at their most dangerous when they masquerade as legitimate commercial activity. IMBs are one of the most common ways in which exploitive networks operate in plain sight.

The Network, an anti-trafficking nonprofit, estimates that there are more than 13,000 IMBs active in the United States, raking in annual total revenue of more than $5 billion.

Abhishek Ray

“You are stuck in a massage business. You’re not allowed to go out,” says Abhishek Ray, assistant professor of information systems and operations management at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George �鶹��Ƶ, describing the plight of IMB workers. “Your passports are taken away, and you’re supposed to do a certain amount of business every day and give the money to the trafficker. It’s a really abhorrent form of abuse.”

Ray is one of a growing group of researchers exploring how various forms of AI could help resource-constrained law enforcement agencies differentiate between IMBs and the legitimate enterprises they try to mimic. His ongoing research using graph neural networks has yielded more promising results than rival approaches, when put to the test in a recent experiment.

His co-researchers on the IMB project are Lumina Albert and Swetha Varadarajan of Colorado State University.

According to Ray, “Graph neural networks are just a fancy way of saying that if I get a graph of a city or locality at one point in time, and I add data to it, can I predict future patterns on this graph if I know the past?”

This approach made sense for detecting IMBs, because try as they might to appear above board, they have geographical needs that conventional businesses don’t. “IMBs don’t allow their trafficked employees to go out of the parlor,” Ray says. “But since they’re humans, they need sustenance. They have to be near groceries, gas stations, where they can get stuff and come back.”

The researchers combined several graph neural networks into a framework called IMBWatch. The training data-set for IMBWatch comprised publicly available information such as online customer reviews, arrest and raid data for known IMBs, and advertisements from websites promoting illicit activities (e.g., the infamous Backpage). The result, in essence, was a series of snapshots mapping the evolution of the IMB network in a given city or county over a period of time. This could then be overlaid on geographical maps to tease out hidden patterns.

To gauge IMBWatch’s relative performance, the researchers let it loose on a testing data-set alongside four other AI models, which were not as sensitive to the nuanced interplay of spatial and temporal factors. Of the five models, IMBWatch provided the most accurate, precise and informative predictions. In other words, it outperformed the others at spotting IMBs among a larger mass of local businesses.

While encouraging, these outcomes require further confirmation with a larger data-set. “IMBWatch was trained on data from Georgia and Louisiana, not the entire United States,” Ray says. “These were small, manageable data-sets, but we will now scale up to major states such as New York and California.”

The researchers are also looking at enhancing IMBWatch with data related to how workers end up wandering into trafficking webs. These might include “proximity to hospitals, religious places, etc. because a lot of times people are coerced by religious compulsions, or because they’re pregnant and need some care,” Ray says.

This is not Ray’s first foray into the field of AI-fueled anti-trafficking. Previously, Ray co-developed a model for improving machine learning-based detection of human trafficking activity at transit stations and on fishing vessels.

However, law enforcement agencies and other pertinent stakeholders (e.g., business owners) are often wary of adopting AI-based solutions, due to a lack of trust in the technology. Ray and his co-researchers are currently devising a framework that will clarify how these stakeholders can work together with tech experts and, perhaps most importantly, human trafficking survivors to make the best possible use of AI.

“This qualitative piece is required to make sure that people who are on the sidelines, on the fences about using this actually start using it, because that’s the need right now,” Ray says.

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Helping older adults embrace AI and emerging technologies with a National Science Foundation grant

Taylor Thomas — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 16:08:43 +0000

Helping older adults embrace AI and emerging technologies with a National Science Foundation grant Taylor Thomas Fri, 09/26/2025 - 12:08

In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more integrated into our lives, older adults are being left behind. Poor digital literacy is more than being unable to use social media. It increases the risk of poor health outcomes as it may exclude anyone, especially older adults, from finding and using information that sustains and promotes health. With a highly competitive grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), digital technologies researcher, Y. Alicia Hong, is helping older adults keep pace with evolving technology and setting them up for success in the future.

Y. Alicia Hong. Photo provided

“Our project equips older adults to adapt to emerging technologies, such as AI, and become more resilient in a rapidly changing digital landscape,” said Hong, professor in �鶹��Ƶ’s Department of Health Administration and Policy.

From online banking to electronic health records like MyChart, people need to interact with digital technology on a daily basis. Hong’s project will incorporate youth, who are more adept with technology, to aid older adults’ skill-building. At senior centers, a youth and an older adult will walk through scenes where they may encounter AI technology. A web platform will guide them to collaboratively develop a digital life story with realistic scenarios with support from AI tools.

"The project seeks to strengthen AI literacy, social connectedness, and resilience among older adults while cultivating responsible AI awareness in youth," Hong said.

Hong will co-design the web-based platform that facilitates intergenerational engagement between youth and older adults in narrative-style storytelling to improve their understanding of digital technologies and AI. They will use multiple AI-based tools, including ChatGPT for script generation, Runway ML for image creation, Eleven Labs for audio, and Descript for editing.

Hong will work alongside the project’s PI, Dr. Yixuan (Janice) Zhang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at College of William & Mary. Collaboration with a computer scientist will ensure refined evaluations of usability, accessibility, and participants’ ability to use the web-based platform independently, while also taking into consideration cultural sensitivity. Their interprofessional, intercollegiate partnership will optimize resource allocation and program performance.

“We aim to deliver a community-based model for AI literacy that helps older adults confidently and safely use AI, strengthens intergenerational bonds by positioning youth as tech partners, and gives community-based organizations a practical toolkit they can sustain after the grant,” said Zhang, co-PI with Hong. “The award converts a co-designed concept into a tested, transferable, and sustainable platform and program to enhance AI literacy among older adults.”

“The project will inform future programs aimed at underserved groups and foster more inclusive, accessible, and meaningful engagement with emerging technologies,” said Hong.

NSF grants are awarded to researchers whose projects have demonstrated the capacity for advancing research and education across science and engineering. The project entitled “Enhancing AI Literacy and Resilience through Intergenerational Digital Storytelling among Older Adults” is a three-year, $661,478 grant.

As a digital health behavioral interventionist, Hong studies the intersection of health services delivery and consumer informatics. Her work explores chronic care and self-care solutions through innovative digital technologies to improve patient-centered outcomes and enhance health care accessibility. Hong’s research focuses on implementation and dissemination science and leveraging digital technologies to enhance health services delivery.

Powering Artificial Intelligence at George �鶹��Ƶ

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Older Adults

Young Adults

Digital Accessibility

Artificial Intelligence

HAP Faculty

Research

National Science Foundation

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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College of Education and Human Development

College of Engineering and Computing

Artificial Intelligence

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Colleen Rich — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:50:37 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ researchers are using all areas of artificial intelligence (AI) to create new and better solutions. They are using machine learning to predict social isolation among caregivers, detect bruising across a variety of skin tones, and improve the diagnosis and treatment of vision problems. Researchers are using natural language processing to develop a technology that can automatically translate lesser-known languages. They are working with augmented reality to improve workplace safety. And that’s just a glimpse of the work, powered by AI, being conducted by George �鶹��Ƶ faculty and students.

As the largest and most diverse university in Virginia, George �鶹��Ƶ is leading the future of inclusive AI and developing responsible models for AI research, education, workforce development, and community engagement within a modern university.

George �鶹��Ƶ’s Approach

Led by Amarda Shehu, the university’s inaugural vice president and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO), and an AI Visioning Task Force, George �鶹��Ƶ is working with partners throughout the region and across the state to build a nexus of collaboration and resources called AI2Nexus.

As a model for universities, AI2Nexus is based on four key principles: integrate AI to transform education, research, and operations; inspire AI to advance higher education and learning for the future work force; innovate AI to lead in responsible AI enabled discovery and advancements across disciplines; and impact AI to drive partnerships and community engagement for societal adoption and change.

“I knew when I started my research in this field over 20 years ago that AI would unleash enormous speed and power in innovation, which is at the heart of what drives George �鶹��Ƶ. Power lies in our ability to harness this technology in sustainable and democratic deployment that improves society and the human condition.”

Amarda Shehu, CAIO

INTEGRATE AI

Advancing Operations with PatriotAI

George �鶹��Ƶ is reimagining operational excellence, equipping all students, faculty, and staff with access to cutting-edge generative AI models through George �鶹��Ƶ’s enterprise AI platform, PatriotAI, which is the first major outcome of our strategic partnership with Microsoft and Cloudforce.

PatriotAI is a suite of six specialized AI tools, called agents, offering secure, university-managed access to large language models (LLMs) that can aid academic work and student life. Co-developed with members of the campus community, these AI tools are designed to enhance learning, instruction, research, and administration across campus.

In addition, the university has established guiding principles for the use of AI. These resources provide framework and guidance for the responsible and ethical use of AI across the academic community to help faculty, staff, and students. These guidelines are expected to evolve as the tools, student expectations, and pedagogical approaches change.

“When we talk about ‘integrate' in the context of AI, we’re not just referring to adopting new tools—we’re talking about rethinking how we work, teach, and serve,” says Charmaine Madison, George �鶹��Ƶ’s chief information officer. “AI is no longer optional; it’s a transformative force that’s already reshaping higher education. The challenge before us isn’t whether to use AI, but how to integrate it thoughtfully and effectively into the fabric of our university.”

Patriot Chat — A general-purpose conversational assistant
DocuMate — A large-scale document analysis assistant
PatriotPal — A virtual assistant for students, providing George �鶹��Ƶ-specific information about administrative procedures, academic policies, and services
NourishNet — A resource connector for student food insecurity
CourseMate — A student learning assistant that helps students understand lecture content, analyze research articles, inter-pret textbook materials, and prepare for exams
SyllaBright — A course design assistant that helps faculty develop and refine educational materials

“Artificial intelligence is transforming industries, reshaping societal norms, and challenging long-standing ethical frameworks. This course [AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society] provides critical insights into the ethical, societal, and policy implications of AI at a time when these technologies are increasingly deployed in areas like health care, criminal justice, and national defense.”

Jesse Kirkpatrick, co-director of the �鶹��Ƶ Autonomy and Robotics Center

INSPIRE AI

Designing Curriculum for the Future Workforce

As a leader in preparing career-ready talent for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, George �鶹��Ƶ is developing courses, curricula, and degree programs to better prepare our students for a rapidly changing world.

AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society, an interdisciplinary graduate course, debuted in spring 2025. Designed to prepare students to tackle the ethical, societal, and governance challenges presented by AI, this course draws expertise from the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Engineering and Computing, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In fall 2025, a new undergraduate course open to all students, AI4All: Understanding and Building Artificial Intelligence, taught by Shehu, will be offered for the first time.
In addition to a master’s degree in computer science and machine learning, a 14-credit ethics and AI minor for undergraduates of all majors, and a responsible AI graduate certificate, George �鶹��Ƶ is Virginia’s first public university to offer a stand-alone master’s degree in AI. The first students in this program begin this fall.
A new PhD in Robotics, recently approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, is the first of its kind in the commonwealth and is already drawing interest from students.

George �鶹��Ƶ also partners with tech leaders like Google and Amazon Web Services to offer certifications in data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, enhancing student expertise.

Using AI in the Classroom

At University Career Services, career counselors are already seeing the impact of AI on graduates’ job searches. Many companies are expecting grads to arrive well versed and prepared to handle AI in the workplace. Faculty members are preparing these students by introducing AI in the classroom.

In the Costello College of Business, students are introduced to AI and LLMs in ACCT 661 Advanced Accounting Analytics I, and in later courses, the students are asked to think creatively about how they can use AI to change the future of accounting and auditing, says Professor Steven Maex.
The capstone project in Maex’s ACCT 771 Audit Analytics class asks students to develop a new tool or use case for AI or analytics that can improve the efficiency or effectiveness of traditional ways of working.
In her MGMT 421 Advanced Human Resource Management course, Cindy Parker, BS Psychology ’92, MA ’94, PhD ’98, has students use generative AI to help them develop a structured interview guide, after they do some initial work on their own. “I teach them some prompt engineering best practices, and they are asked to critique the output generated by AI,” says Parker.
Professor Tyler Cowen, BS Economics ’83, is using his book GOAT: Who Is the Greatest Economist of All Time and Why Does It Matter? as the primary text for his ECON 895 History of Economic Thought course. Published in GPT 4 and Claude 2, the book comes with a chat bot, allowing students to ask questions and receive responses.

INNOVATE AI

Building a Responsible Ecosystem

George �鶹��Ƶ researchers are focused on tackling the world’s most urgent challenges with a vision for societal change. The university’s ecosystem of cutting-edge research, incubators and other resources for entrepreneurs, a robust tech transfer program, and industry partners helps foster interdisciplinary collaborations and substantiate a cycle between foundational and user-inspired AI research within ethical frameworks.

The university hosts workshops, conferences, and public forums to shape the discourse on AI ethics and governance while forging deep and meaningful partnerships with industry, government, and community organizations to develop impactful AI technologies for a richly diverse global society.

Schar School of Policy and Government researcher J. P. Singh has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative to study the economic and cultural determinants for global AI infrastructures and their implications for international security.
College of Public Health researchers Farrokh Alemi and Kevin Lybarger have received George �鶹��Ƶ’s first Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute award for developing an AI system, using LLMs, that helps patients find the right depression medication.
College of Engineering and Computing researchers Abolfazl Safikhani and Tianshu Feng are using machine learning to develop a tool to improve transparency and assist government decision-makers and urban planners with land use and development.
Costello College of Business researchers Yi Cao and Long Chen are exploring how individual investors can use LLMs, like Gemini, to glean market insights from publicly available data about companies.

IMPACT AI

Driving Community Engagement and Adoption

The university’s AI-in-Government Council is a partnership between academia, public-sector tech providers, and government. It is a trusted resource for advancing AI approaches, governance frameworks, and guardrails to guide the development and deployment of responsible AI in government.

Leading experts and faculty also participate in statewide efforts. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin appointed Jamil Jaffer, the founder and executive director of the National Security Institute (NSI) at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Antonin Scalia Law School, to his AI Task Force, which is working with legislators to regulate rapidly advancing AI technology. Jaffer and NSI Fellow Zach Graves are two of the 10 appointees to the task force.

Shehu and Padhu Seshaiyer, a professor of mathematical sciences in the College of Science, were appointed by Youngkin to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s EO30 task force. EO30 refers to Youngkin’s Executive Order 30, which calls for the “Implementation of Standards for the Safe Use of AI Across the Commonwealth.”

Even the summer camps are getting involved. The Accelerated College and Employability Skills (ACCESS) Academy lab school brought high school students to Fuse at �鶹��Ƶ Square for an AI Summer Camp where students explored the basics of machine learning through hands-on projects. Students in the monthlong AI4Defense summer program not only gained technical and communication skills but also engaged in customer discovery—working directly with mission partners to define problems and tailor AI solutions accordingly.

In May, George �鶹��Ƶ hosted the AI in Education Summit with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, bringing K-12 educators together with thought leaders from academia and industry. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

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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George �鶹��Ƶ’s Approach

INTEGRATE AI

Advancing Operations with PatriotAI

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