OSCAR Student Zaine Wilson Seeks to Expand Research in the Field of Automated Generation of Cryptographic Hash Functions through the Use of Genetic Algorithms

The primary goal of my research is to expand research in the field of automated generation of cryptographic hash functions through the use of genetic algorithms. Cryptographic hash functions are one-way functions, that is, given an output D, it is computationally difficult to find the input to the function M, such that for a function f f(M)=D. Generally speaking, a hash function has a construction, the framework on which it is based, and a round function, which operates within the construction and permutes and digests the input to create the output. The procedure for automated generation is to select a construction, then apply a genetic algorithm to create a round function within that construction. In the past, this was done with a construction called Miyaguchi-Preneel, under the pretense that Miyaguchi-Preneel was a likely candidate for SHA-3, the US Government’s new standard cryptographic hash function. SHA-3’s actual construction, as selected in 2013, is the Sponge Construction. As such, my research applies the methodology from prior research while changing the construction to a more up-to-date version.

This project is a carry-over from my freshman HNRS-110 class. At the start of the class, I wanted to do a project related to cryptography and artificial intelligence. I already had some experience with hash functions, and after reading the prior research, this project seemed to fit well with my desires. Over the course of this project, I’ve learned a lot about the sponge construction, genetic algorithms, and hash functions in general. I currently plan to go into cryptography research, so this project also aligns well with my long-term goals.

It’s difficult to describe what I do week-to-week because, until recently, each week has been something different. The first few weeks were devoted to creating a pure-Java implementation of the sponge construction, the next few to the creation of the genetic framework, and more recently work has been devoted to tuning and running the algorithms. On average, the algorithm took around 4 hours to produce a good candidate for a weakened form of a round function (word size, which is typically 8-64 bits, was reduced to 1 bit). My current weekly work concerns attacking the full problem, with word sizes of 64 bits. This will necessitate some overhauling of the genetic framework, as well as the pure-Java sponge implementation.

Over the course of the semester, I have produced several candidate functions that satisfy properties of typically secure cryptographic hash functions. 12 candidates with word size 1 bit have been created, and work is currently underway to expand the word size to 64 bits. Of these 12 candidates, several can be shown to trivially have good randomness of output, with more rigorous testing of randomness still underway.

OSCAR Student Graham Matulis Looks at Applications of Exosomes as New Modes of Therapy and Vaccine Delivery

What most interested me to get involved with this project was the idea that Dr. Hakami’s lab looks at applications of exosomes as possibly new modes of therapy and vaccine delivery. Additionally, they work with primarily bacteria which establish an infection within cells. Both of these topics seemed very interesting to me, especially if, as a scientist, I am able to take part in the next development of medicine that helps save the lives of people around the world.

I see this project being related to my long-term goals in the sense that I both am contributing to research that may ultimately help people around the world, and due to the fact that the two bacteria we work with presently disproportionately impact populations who might not have the necessary medical care to address infections such as these. With this in mind, the fact that I eventually want to work in the field of infectious disease epidemiology, with a focus on diseases that are “neglected” by medical research, work with these bacteria is a perfect fit for me.

My weeks are pretty busy in the lab and vary from week to week. On Mondays, I run a sucrose gradient for exosome purification – a process that altogether takes 5 hours. On Mondays, I also set up any plates, flasks, or bacterial cultures that I will do experiments on later in the week. Tuesdays typically consist of an entire infection for the purpose of exosome production for our stockpile. Wednesdays I start another infection for exosome production, while Thursdays and Fridays are mostly extracellular vesicle purifications, a 4-hour process each day. Randomly throughout the weeks, I will run western blots, bacterial uptake, and clearance assays, and sample preps for other analyses such as flow cytometry, all while continuously checking on all of the lab items stock and creating order forms for anything that might be running low.

One thing I have discovered this term is the differential expression of CD68 and p38 in differing cell treatments.

OSCAR Student Melissa Wilson Analyzes Grocery Store and Farmers Market Locations and Public Transportation Options in Relation to Median Household Income

This summer, I have had the opportunity to continue to pursue two passions: geographic information systems (GIS) and food security.  My studies of food security began in a GIS course last fall where I identified food insecure neighborhoods within Washington, D.C. through various maps.  Intrigued by my findings, I was eager to expand my study to the Washington Metropolitan Area to better understand food availability within our community.  Ultimately, for my URSP research project, I will be analyzing the grocery store and farmers market locations, and public transportation options in relation to median household income.  By doing so, I hope to identify communities that are underserved with my produced maps and identify potential improvements. 

In a typical week, I research literature on varying topics within my scope of the study, collect data, and produce maps to illustrate my findings.  The work I have completed thus far has helped me improve my research capabilities, and enhance my technical skills with ESRI ArcGIS.  My most valuable resource for my research pursuit has been my mentor Dr. Rice of Mason’s Geography and GeoInformation Science department.  With his support, it has enabled me to achieve my goal of creating and presenting undergraduate research. 

In the future, I hope to be able to continue using GIS as a tool to solve environmental/community concerns.  The research and analysis I have created with my project is one way that I can explore the capabilities and power of technology to identify patterns within indirectly associated parameters.  I hope to be able to expand my understanding of not only the topic of food security, but the functionality and applicability of GIS in future classes at George Mason and beyond.  

OSCAR Student Jocelin Diaz Works with Elementary School-aged Children in Fairfax to Create Nutrition-education Tools

Hello everyone! My name is Jocelin Diaz and I am a Communications student who is minoring in Public Health and on the Pre-Medicine track. My Summer Impact project is working with elementary school-aged children in Fairfax to create nutrition-education tools. I became interested in CONNECT (Community-Supported Development of Nutrition Tools) because it aligns with my interest in pediatrics. CONNECT is researching methods that can change the behavior of elementary school children. We want students to have the knowledge and skills that will allow them to make healthy food choices. Specifically, our research wants students to reach for vegetables, fruits, and water, instead of reaching for heavily processed foods, sweets, and sugary drinks. 

CONNECT aligns with my long-term goals because as a pediatrician, I want to be able to advise parents and children on how to make healthier food choices. My main interest is ensuring that low-income parents and students are making the healthy choices to decrease their chances of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. This program has given me new tools with which I can proceed to help low-income students live healthier lives. It has allowed me to understand the process of shopping healthy while remaining on a budget. This is important because of the misconception that healthier foods are more expensive.

This term has also allowed me to understand the methods used in education to ensure that students retain the information given to them. On a weekly basis, we plan lessons, come up with recipes and create assessment tools. Creating lesson plans for the ages of eight and 11 requires understanding the different developmental stages of the students we would be working with. With the information that CONNECT gathers this term, we hope to find methods that allow students to make the healthy-eating choices that will allow them to continue developing, both mentally and physically.

OSCAR Student Ruth Maul Learns about the Socioeconomic & Cultural Experiences of Latina Immigrants who Experience Intimate Partner Violence

The reason I got interested in this summer impact grant project, created by Drs. Gupta, Sutter, and Gring-Pemble, is because it aligns perfectly with the things I am most passionate about: women issues, migrant issues, human rights, and the creation of social support projects for Latin@ minorities in my community. The IPV project tackles all of them with one single goal: “to adapt global economic and social empowerment programs to improve the well-being of Latina immigrants.”  With this two-part study, we aim to learn about the socioeconomic and cultural experiences of Latina immigrants who experience Intimate Partner Violence, and the immigration-related stressors that can impact their physical and mental health; as well as compiling data collected through surveys for preparing recommendations for future programming.

I am very thankful to take part in this project where my abilities as a bilingual student, and my interest in women and migrant issues, can provide effective contributions to the work of the IPV team. I am glad to have been given this opportunity to learn about this type of social research; it has been very educational and informative. So far, one very important thing that I have discovered about conducting social research is the complexity of the protocols needed to create, administer, and report on one’s research. The team and I had to take certifications prior to the creation of our surveys and the follow-up work. It has been an intense process with repetitive work, countless revisions, and constant submission of our work for oversight from our mentors. We have conducted weekly meetings with our mentors, and daily face to face meetings with team members for revisions, and oral practices of the surveys. The only setback we have experienced so far was the delayed approval from the IRB which delayed our survey delivery by two weeks, but which gave us extra time to polish our survey interview skills.

Finally, we were given the opportunity to put into practice what we have been preparing for months: the delivery of the surveys to the clients of the community clinics, MAPS, in Manassas and Culmore. I look forward to the presentation of our final work. It will be an exciting presentation.