Prospective 2023 ASSIP Mentors
Select 1, 2, or 3 prospective 2023 mentors for your ASSIP application. Carefully read the linked information on this to match your interests. Previous intern research abstracts are published in Mason's open-access Journal of Student Scientist' Research (JSSR) where you can find out more about past projects. Some mentors publish certain abstracts in other journals; not all abstracts are in JSSR.
Prospective 2023 ASSIP Mentors
Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences
Natalie Burls, Scott Knapp and Alia Wolford
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: climatic role of ocean general circulation, ocean-atmosphere interaction and cloud dynamics
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Phytoplankton ecology and dynamics, and index for water quality assessment, harmful algal blooms in coastal and freshwater systems
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Emission, air quality, remote sensing, human health, air-borne disease transmission
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Tracks of mid-latitude cyclones; Tropical heating and Predictability of weather
Format: Fully remote
Research interests: Wildfire modeling/forecasts
Format: hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Climate, ocean temperatures and currents, weather statistics.
Bioengineering
Format: Undecided
Research interests: nanomaterial, mRNA, organic synthesis
Giorgio Ascoli and Carolina Tecuatl (also listed under Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience)
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Neuroscience: NeuroMorpho.Org, computational neuroanatomy, neuroinformatics, neuronal morphology, network connectivity, cognitive simulations
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Python coding, neuroscience, electrophysiology, neuron simulations, data analysis, Parkinson's disease, neuronal signaling pathways
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Tissue engineering articular cartilage bone biomaterials, blood coagulation
Quentin Sanders (also listed under Mechanical Engineering)
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Design of an elbow exoskeleton for industrial workers, Design of a hip exoskeleton
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Assist with neuroscience-related data analysis; assist with histology of brain slices
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Biomechanics related to human movement, health and disease, data analytics, biomedical image analysis
Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine
Isela Gallagher and Julia Wulfkuhle
Format: Undecided
Research interests: proteomic profiling of solid tumor tissues, including breast, thyroid, lung, and prostate for designing personalized therapeutic strategies, and functional signaling pathways underlying resistance to targeted therapies
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Cancer, bioengineering, proteomics, disease diagnosis, druggable targets, nanoparticles
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Nanotechnology, proteomics protein-protein interactions, drug targets, disease biomarkers for diagnostics
Format: Undecided
Research interests: personalized medicine cancer cell signaling oncology biomarkers
Center for Spatial Information Systems and Science
Format: Fully remote
Research interests: Cyber infrastructure, geoinformatics, deep learning, agricultural remote sensing, image classification
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: AI/Machine learning, remote sensing, climate change, smart agriculture, cyber infrastructure, geoinformation science
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Antimicrobial and antiviral peptide discovery, and peptidomic/proteomic mass spectrometry
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Metabolomics, enzymology, small molecule purification, protein purification, antibiotics, isoprene biosynthesis, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for disease diagnosis and forensics
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Drug discovery, enzymology, X-ray crystallography
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Nanoscience, nanoparticle synthesis, luminescence nanomaterials, photocatalysis
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Electrochemistry, rechargeable batteries, atomic layer deposition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, organic materials
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Design and synthesis of drugs for the treatment of cancer, emphysema, or addictions
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Biochemistry and protein design
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Discovery of functional and multifunctional inorganic solid-state materials, ranging from intermetallics to oxides, with applications in technology and energy conversion
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Advanced electrochemical materials for energy conversion chemistry
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Python or C++ coding, computational modeling of the electron/proton transfer processes in solutions, excitation energy transfer in nanostructures, photochemical pathways in solar cells, and novel energy production.
Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Coastal flooding, urban hydrology, storm surge
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work) Research interests: Data analytics in transportation |
Computational and Data Sciences
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Human factors, software engineering, machine learning
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Cognitive modeling, computer simulations, cognitive architectures, computational social science, theory of mind
Computer Science
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Computer graphics, geometric modeling, human-computer interaction, color creative tools
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Human factors, software engineering, machine learning
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Software testing and analysis, software evolution, software dependability, Artificial Intelligence, and software engineering
Format: Undecided
Research interests: How humans interact with code and design new ways to build software, designing new techniques to view and manipulate code, design of crowdsourced programming environments
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Design and analysis of online algorithms and scheduling
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Machine learning, optimization
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Software engineering, mobile machine learning, software testing
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Wireless networking, mobile computing, ubiquitous computing
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Data mining, machine learning, information retrieval, databases
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Intersection of robotics, machine learning, and planning
Format: Hybrid
Research interests: Everyday robots, cutting edge robotics
Cyber Security Engineering
Format: Undecided
Research Interests: Secure manufacturing, safety, and security of networked control systems, intelligent transportation systems (ITS); Next G, smart cities/buildings
Format: Undecided
Research interests: machine learning verification; explainable AI; optimization and abstraction; program analysis and testing
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: The intersection of 5G/NextG Wireless Network, AI/ML and Cybersecurity.
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Neuromorphic computing, neural architecture search and Bayesian optimization across the full stack of materials, devices, circuits, systems, algorithms, and applications
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Wireless security, software defined radio, UAV, connected cars
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Autonomous driving, the application of artificial intelligence in safety-critical systems, assured autonomy, human-systems engineering, and the ethical and social impact of technology
Environmental Science and Policy
Format: Undecided
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Aquatic invertebrate ecology, invasive species
Format: hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Environmental microbiology, bacterioplankton, field work, molecular biology, bioinformatics and data analysis
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Basic fields of ecology, applied aspects of fisheries and aquatic resource management, and the intersection of these two avenues. Specifically interested in fish movement and migration, life history diversity, age and growth, population dynamics, predator-prey interactions, and anthropogenic impacts on fishes and aquatic ecosystems
Finance, School of Business
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: blockchain and Web3
Forensic Science
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Forensic trace analysis, Forensic drone photography
Geography and Geoinformation Science
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Geosimulation, social media platforms as data sources for modeling, agent-based modeling, individual-based modeling, complex systems theory, geographic information science, geographic information systems
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Wireless communications, infrastructure, risk analysis, geospatial engineering
Xianjun Hao
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Remote sensing data analysis and applications, climate data records and climate change, natural hazards detection and assessment.
Format: Undecided
Research Interests: Atmospheric science, convective transport, mesoscale modeling, air quality, wildfire Emission
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Climate change and sustainability, remote sensing, wildfires, natural resources, climate science, soil moisture and drought, clean energy, water, and food security
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Geographical information science, spatiotemporal computing, Geo, AI, spatial cloud computing, big spatiotemporal data
Format: Undecided
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Transportation analysis, human mobility and travel behavior modeling, community resilience and sustainable development, automation, electrification, and mobility-as-a-service, social equity and justice in infrastructure planning and delivery
Global and Community Health
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Violence against women and girls, migrant and refugee health, endometriosis
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Infectious disease epidemiology, multi-disciplinary and multi-species field research, interventions, transmission, and impact of infectious disease
Information Systems and Operations Management, School of Business
Information Sciences and Information Technology
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Vulnerability analysis, election security, misinformation/disinformation defense.
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Artificial intelligence, intelligence analysis, education
Myeong Lee (also listed under Computational Data Sciences)
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Understanding the dynamics of local communities, technology-enabled groups, and information inequality to contribute to civic engagement, policy-making, socio-technical systems theories, and information access
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Internet of things, Edge computing, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence
Institute for Digital Innovation
Format: Undecided
Research Interests: Broadening Participation in Computing, Tech-Ready Community Frameworks, Computing Curriculum Development
Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience
Giorgio Ascoli and Carolina Tecuatl (also listed under Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience)
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Neuroscience: NeuroMorpho.Org, computational neuroanatomy, neuroinformatics, neuronal morphology, network connectivity, cognitive simulations
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Non-equilibrium physics and the brain, neurophysics
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Postnatal emergence of spatial learning and memory (AMPA and NMDA receptors), real-time neural network activity in relation to spatial navigation (electrophysiological and optical recording in vivo), behavioral and neural regulation of the transition from attentive to automatic task performance, early life stress and adult cognitive ability
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Cell signaling, cardiac physiology modeling, computing and algorithms, high-performance computing
Frank Krueger (also listed under the School of Systems Biology)
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Psychology and neuroscience of social cognition & human interactions such as trust
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Environmental neurotoxicology, electrophysiology, neuroscience, molecular biology, neurotransmitter receptors
Mathematical Sciences
Format: Undecided
Research Interests: Mathematical modeling for disease and epidemiology, computational mathematics, scientific computing, computational biomechanics
Mechanical Engineering
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Mechanical failures, materials microstructure performance, mechanical and environmental loadings
Format: hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Nanomaterials, atomically-thin 2D materials, micro/nano manufacturing, nano-photonics, opto-fluidics, optoelectronics, plasmonics
Quentin Sanders (also listed under Bioengineering)
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Design of an elbow exoskeleton for industrial workers, Design of a hip exoskeleton
Physics and Astronomy
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Topological & correlated materials, mesoscale magnetism, crystal growth, transport properties
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Observational astronomy, exoplanets, telescopes on Earth and in space
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Planetary Science, atmospheres on other planets
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Gravity waves, Mars, space weather, thermosphere, planetary atmospheres
Format: Undecided
Analysis of solar spacecraft data, understanding energy processes in solar atmospheres
School of Integrative Studies and Sustainability
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Pollinator Landscaping, Forensics
School of Systems Biology
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Bioprospecting, characterizing, and testing antimicrobial compounds (peptides)
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Viruses, transcription and chromatin virology, HIV HTLV exosomes
Frank Kreuger (also listed under Neuroscience)
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Psychology and neuroscience of social cognition & human interactions
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Calcium ion signaling in cardiac and neurodegenerative diseases
Format: Fully remote
Research interests: Biomedicine, biomolecular simulations, machine learning
Format: Fully in-person
Research interests: Cellular and viral mechanisms of HIV infections
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Different areas of computational biology and bioinformatics, with a specific focus on understanding correlations between protein sequence, structure, and function using machine learning models.
Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Conservation genetics or genomics; wildlife genomics
Virginia Serious Games, Computer Game Design
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Production and live management of games, training games and simulation
Format: Undecided
Research interests: Mixed/extended reality (AR/VR), Game-based learning, Simulation and metaverse
Systems Engineering & Operations Research
Jie Xu |
Format: Hybrid (some remote work and some in-person work)
Research interests: Electric vehicle grid integration