Student Spotlights

The College of Science features extraordinary students who conduct innovative research and make remarkable achievements.

Read past Student Spotlights.

Maggie Walker, Undergraduate, Biology

#DYK road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? Meet Maggie Walker, a Mason Biology, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, and Honors College student studying the negative effects of road salt on our environment. Road salt has been touted as a lifesaver when it comes to combatting icy roads. Yet using this snow-melting mineral has a dark side once it enters waterways. Read more here.

Jordan Sims, PhD student, Environmental Science and Policy

Mason Science congratulates Jordan Sims, second year PhD student, Environmental Science and Policy, for earning an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Sims, a student in The Salerno Lab, is studying microbial ecology of coral reef ecosystems to better understand the role that bacteria play in coral reproduction and disease. The fellowship will fund her ongoing project, “Understanding the Bacterial and Environmental Drivers of Stony Coral Settlement.” Read more about this exciting achievement here.

Team of CDS Students

Congratulations to the Mason team for winning second place for their presentation on Addressing Hunger with Bits and Bytes, the theme of the 2021 Virtual Virginia Datathon. The team, with Faysal Shaikh, MS student, Computational and Data Sciences, as team leader, also included Bikram Adhikari, PhD student, Computer Science; Amira Al-Khulaidy, PhD student, Computational Social Sciences; Kokou Wilfried Letsou, PhD student, Computational Science and Informatics; and Luke Palmieri, BS student, Computational and Data Sciences. The Mason team analyzed available data, in one scenario taking into account car ownership (or lack thereof) and reasonable access to a grocery store. Presentations were judged on impact, innovation, feasibility, completeness of idea, and presentation.

Carissa Hunter, PhD student, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Carissa Hunter, a Ph.D. Student studying Chemistry and Biochemistry at the #MasonScience, has volunteered with the Committee of Minority Affairs for a year. Composed of chemists from local universities, Hunter joined the American Chemical Society to become more involved and share important skills she learned while working with the Minority Affairs Committee. Hunter said, “I am really excited to see how far the Minority Affairs committee can grow…” Read more about Hunter’s story here.

Samantha Lawrence, Undergraduate, CDS

Congratulations to Samantha Lawrence, Computational and Data Sciences, for being awarded the Stanley Zoltek Memorial Scholarship. The Stanley Zoltek Memorial scholarship is an award established in memory of Dr. Stanley Zoltek, a professor at George Mason from 1980 to 2018. Lawrence said, "Paving my own way as a first-generation college student is difficult. This scholarship was a big deal for me..." Learn more about Lawrence's story.

Fall 2021

Happy #GISDay, #MasonNation! #DYK the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science offers various undergrad and graduate programs here at Mason? Such as urban informatics, geographical information systems, and more! Check out what #MasonScience alumni Amy Rose has to say about her experience in the GGS department.

Camille Goblet, a doctoral student co-advised by Cody Edwards, Associate Provost, Institute for a Sustainable Earth, & Executive Director, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, and Elizabeth W. Freeman, Associate Professor, School of Integrative Studies, is conducting genomic analysis of managed Eastern Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) populations in institutions of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This project will aid in management and conservation of the critically endangered black rhinoceros by performing genetic analyses of individuals within the North American population. Read more on her research.

Volunteers Around the World- Dental, Student Spotlight

Mason’s chapter of Volunteers Around the World-Dental (VAWD), a student-led organization that gives volunteers an opportunity to shadow dental professionals abroad. This past summer, a team of eight Mason students helped provide dental services in Cusco, Peru and found that the impact they made in the communities left an everlasting impact amongst themselves. The students helped set up a free dental clinic in a local elementary school to aid the rural community of Ccoyllorpuquio, near the city of Cusco. Biology student Julia Hakeem stated that “We helped them with the health of their teeth and therefore the health of themselves...”. Congratulations to this student organization for going above and beyond to help out communities in need of health services. Read the full story.

Marcus Chua, a doctoral student co-advised by HC Lim, Assistant Professor, Biology and Thomas Lovejoy, Professor, Environmental Science & Policy, is investigating the systematics and taxonomy of the living chevrotains- animals also known as mouse-deer. Read more about his research.

Louise Singer, Biology, Student Spotlight

Congratulations to senior Biology major, Louise Singer for being one of the three OSCAR students to be awarded the Summer 2021 Top Presentation. Singer used her OSCAR funding to examine snails from two different lakes in Fairfax, VA. Singer said that it was meaningful to design and execute her own research project. Watch her video presentation “Analyzing the Microbiome of Avian Schistosomiasis Vector Gyraulus Parvus.”

AmeAmor Blatchford Rodriguez, CDS, Student Spotlight

Congratulations to #MasonScience student AmeAmor Blatchford Rodriguez for being awarded the National Leader in Education award as a top 10 scholar of the year for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Rodriguez is majoring in Computational and Data Science and started the data science and computation society here at Mason. Learn more about her achievements.

Meet Mason Science student, Katheryn Hout, who is studying Environmental Science with a concentration in human and ecosystem response to climate change. She co-founded a sunrise chapter during the COVID-19 pandemic to enact change and provide other students with a voice. Hout has researched and worked with various climate models simulations to predict the climate for the next 100 years using dynamic models with previously collected data. Learn more about her efforts and research here.

Meet Mason Science alumni Dr. Jenna Cann, an astrophysicist with a BA in Astronomy and PhD in Physics from the Department of Physics and Astronomy here at George Mason University. Dr. Cann's research focuses on black holes in dwarf galaxies. Dr. Cann found their place in astronomy when she transferred to Mason from Nova Community College. She worked on various projects with blackholeGMU and is most proud of their work with spectrum.gmu, a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility advocacy group at Mason. As one of the co-founders, she worked relentlessly to acknowledge the barriers that members of under-represented groups face when pursuing STEM education and careers. Congratulations on your achievements Dr. Cann! Learn more about their story here.

Student Spotlights