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Academic programs that bring opportunity
Just outside the nation's capital, we've built connections with government agencies and industry partners working at the forefront of scientific research. Combine those with our advanced facilities for getting real-world work experience and options for tailoring your degree, and our students have more opportunity to land jobs, internships, and research collaborations that really help them stand out.
![Students work in Deborah Polayes Biology of Microorganisms Lab. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing](/sites/default/files/styles/partial_width_3_2/public/2021-08/200921806.jpg?h=ee390a05&itok=T-ou3NKt)
George Mason home to Landolt Space Mission that seeks to uncover the secrets of dark energy
George Mason University will be the home of the $19.5 million recently approved Landolt NASA Space Mission that will put an artificial “star” in orbit around the Earth. This artificial star will allow scientists to calibrate telescopes and more accurately measure the brightness of stars ranging from those nearby to the distant explosions of supernova in far-off galaxies. The project is led by principle investigator and Mason Science associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Peter Plavchan.
![Peter Plavchan in the Mason Observatory](/sites/default/files/styles/partial_width_3_2/public/2024-06/201026501.jpg?h=28121b77&itok=WpPgrZoi)
Graduate student uncovers possible solution to save Virginia plant species
An endangered perennial plant native to south-central United States now has a fighting chance thanks to the efforts of Environmental Science and Policy master’s student Emily Poindexter.
![Poindexter works at the National Herbarium at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, where she helps maintain the preservation quality of the flowering plants collection. Here she is seen handling folders of Astragalus specimens. Photo provided.](/sites/default/files/styles/partial_width_3_2/public/2024-05/PXL_20240419_173344265.jpg?h=6f0d5f13&itok=klqS4eLT)