College of Science Accolades: March 2021

College of Science faculty were recognized by students for teaching outstanding Mason Core course during the 2020 Fall semester, receiving a rating of 4.75 and above out of 5 on the element “My Overall Rating of Teaching.” The following faculty associated with courses in Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computational and Data Sciences, Environmental Science and Policy, Geology, Geography and Geoinformation Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics were recognized: James Bartlett, Gabriele Belle, Whitney Brewster, James Buecheler, Steven Burmeister, Susan Calderon, Eleanor Cheney, Lucas Cherry, Linda Chilin, James Colchao, Benjamin Dreyfus, Sarah Farinelli, Jorge Fernandez Davila, Gwendolyne Fondufe, Donna Fox, Greta Ann Herin, Keith Higginbotham, Hao Jing, Rebecca Jones, Nicholas King, John Kroon, Ajay Kulkarni, Chase LaDue, Arndt Laemmerzahl, Gwendolyn Lewis, Charles Madden, Lori Mandable, Austen Mathews, Margot Nelson, Matthew Nowinski, Christine Rosenfeld, Shobita Satyapal, Emma Schwartzman, Onic Islam Shuvo, Benjamin Stablow, Nishchal Thapa Magar, Mark Uhen, Stacey Verardo, Ian Ward, Joseph Weingartner, and Dominic White.

Kenneth Dere, Physics and Astronomy, was awarded $30,000 for “Single-Source, CHIANTI database and software maintenance” by NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center.

Travis Gallo, Environmental Science and Policy, co-authored a paper entitled “Urban bat occupancy is highly influenced by noise and the location of water: Considerations for nature- based urban planning” in Landscape and Urban Planning. Gallo also co-authored a paper entitled “Landscape-scale differences among cities alter common species’ responses to urbanization” in Ecological Applications. In addition, two of his students, Merri Collins, Environmental Science and Policy Doctoral student, and Angela Gaal, School of Systems Biology Master’s student, received the 2021 Trees Virginia Academic Research Scholarship from the Virginia Urban Forestry Council. Another student, Kate Ritzel, Environmental Science and Policy Master’s student, working with with him in his URBANxNATURE Lab was awarded an Ecological Society of America Graduate Student Policy Award. 

Nirmal Ghimirealong with Igor Mazin, doctoral student Peter Siegfried, and undergraduate student Dina Michel, Physics and Astronomy, co-published a paper entitled “Chiral properties of the zero-field spiral state and field-induced magnetic phases of the itinerant kagome metal YMn6Sn6” in Physical Review B. Ghimire along with undergraduate student Nicholas Bishop, Physics and Astronomy, also co-published a paper entitled “Isotropic Nature of the Metallic Kagome Ferromagnet Fe3Sn2 at High Temperatures” in Crystals.

Cing-Dao (Steve) Kan, along with Co-PI Dhafer Marzougui, Physics and Astronomy, Center for Collision Safety and Analysis (CCSA), was awarded $2,069,132 for “DOT IDIQ Roadside Safety Research and Federal Outdoor Impact Laboratory (FOIL) Technical Support Services” by U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT).

Barry Klinger, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences, was awarded $25,000 for a “Shukla Doctoral Fellowship” via the George Mason University Foundation Jagadish and Anastasia Shukla AOES Endowed Fellowship.

Lance Liotta, along with Co-PI’s Amanda Still and Alessandra Luchini, School of Systems Biology, Center for Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM), was awarded $30,000 for “Analytical studies to enable an FDA EUA filing for Healgen’s COVID-19 Ag and Flu A/B Rapid test” by Healgen Scientific LLC.

Rainald Löhner, Physics and Astronomy, demonstrated a technique for the United States Courts, where smoke trails are used in court rooms to clearly show how air flows in the closed space, so that court users may be appropriately separated and protected. These smoke tests have helped allow in-court proceedings continue in a safe manner during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Chao Luo, Chemistry and Biochemistry, published a paper entitled “Organic electrode materials for non-aqueous, aqueous, and all-solid-state Na-ion batteries” in Journal of Materials Chemistry A. He also published a paper entitled “Strategies in Structure and Electrolyte Design for High- Performance Lithium Metal Batteries” in Advanced Functional Materials. In addition, Luo published a paper entitled “A conjugated tetracarboxylate anode for stable and sustainable Na- ion batteries” in ChemComm.

Aarthi Narayanan, Biology, was awarded $18,800 for “Application of Mouse Models for Acute Viral Infections” via the George Mason University Foundation.

Ling Ren, Environmental Science and Policy, was awarded $114,231 for “Characterization of Phytoplankton Community Changes in Barnegat Bay Related to the Closure of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Combining Next Generation Sequencing and Microscopic Analyses - Year 3” by New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium.

Padhu Seshaiyer, College of Science Academic Affairs, was awarded $10,000 for “USA TEAMS: Teacher Engagement, Advocacy, Mentorship and Sustainability” by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. Seshaiyer was also chosen as one of 78 recipients for the National Center for Women and Information Technology’s 2021 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator “Equity in Computing” Award.

Jagadish Shukla, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences, was invited and will serve as a member of the Board of Directors of One Fair Wage, a national coalition, campaign, and organization seeking to end all sub-minimum wages in the United States.

Jennifer Sklarew, Environmental Science and Policy, co-edited and co-authored a book entitled “Managing Challenges for the Flint Water Crisis,” published by Westphalia Press.

Youhua Tang, Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems (CSISS), was awarded $387,363 for “Expanding Chemical Data Assimilation System to Support NOAA Unified Forecast System” by State of Maryland. Prime Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Daniel Tong, along with Co-PI Yunyao Li, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences, was awarded $499,202 for “Data-driven Forecasts of Hazardous Air Quality Events over North America” by NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center.

Andrea Weeks, along with Co-PI James Lawrey, Biology, was awarded $195,291 for “CSBR: Transfer of Ownership: Proposal to salvage, integrate and house the LFCC herbarium at George Mason University” by the National Science Foundation.