URSP Student Alayna Bigalbal Quantifies the Impact of Vegetation In Coastal Wetlands on Storm Surge Erosion

The research I am conducting involves quantifying the impact of vegetation in coastal wetlands on storm surge erosion. What initially got me started in coastal research was my professor and now mentor, Dr. Ferreira. I joined his Flood Hazards Research Lab during my Junior year at Mason where I have been exposed to an extraordinary research environment working closely with other undergraduates, master and doctoral students. Among other great things, I have obtained a deep understanding of physical processes in coastal and riverine environments. During this time in the lab I used numerical models to analyze the influence of sea-level rise effects on storm surge inundation in the Chesapeake Bay. I am now expanding this research to examining the impact of the vegetation in the marshes during storm surge events.

On a weekly basis, I run the two-dimensional model XBeach. XBeach is a depth-averaged two-dimensional numerical model that was originally used to simulate dune erosion along the shore and incorporates vegetation. I simulate hurricane like conditions in my study area, Magothy Bay, located in the Chesapeake Bay, to quantify the amount of erosion with and without vegetation. Not only do I run the model, this research requires vegetation data from Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve. In the marsh, vegetation species, density, diameter, and height will be measured to implement into XBeach.

One thing that I have discovered so far in my research is the importance of patience. Many issues have come up in learning XBeach and figuring out how implement it in my circumstance. However, it is important to keep pushing through and be patient with yourself. I know that things will get completed one step at a time and that this experience will bring me one step closer to my dream of becoming a well-rounded water engineer.

URSP Student Lottye Lockhart Researches How Student Feel About "Timely Warning" Emails

I never expected to study what I study right now. The idea for my project first came about while I was sitting in my dorm, procrastinating on thinking about what research I wanted to do for my Communication 490 class by reading the school newspaper.

On the inside of the first page, there is always the crime log. As I looked through the crimes that had happened in the first week, a sexual assault case caught my eye. I remembered, vividly, seeing the email in my email inbox: “Timely Warning”. Those two words, over the past four years had always made me uneasy, and hesitant to open and read the body of the email.

And then I began to wonder if other students felt the way I did about Timely Warning emails. I could have asked my friends, but I spoke to my professor, Chris Clarke about using my thoughts as a research question, and he encouraged me to stay in that vein of thought, and make my question more specific.

During the time I was narrowing my research question and working on a literature review, I also interned at the White House, responding on behalf of President Obama to any and all mail related to health. This work, along with my research, has helped me realize that even small steps, like a response to a letter, can go a long way in bettering the community I am part of. Although I do not think I will go into politics, this work has made me more aware of the ability to use Public Relations for good, and for a cause that I truly care about.

I plan on continuing this work throughout this semester- researching more to build on my literature review, letting students at George Mason know about the results once I have them, and hopefully working to improve one aspect of the community at George Mason.

URSP Student Osaze Shears Explores How to Create and Filter Multivariate Data Sets

My name is Osaze Shears and I am a junior Computer Engineering major conducting research in the fields of machine learning and computer hardware acceleration. Since high school I have always had a passion for conceptualizing the various applications of general artificial intelligence. It amazed me to see the research being conducted in the field, and applied to robotics and data analytics. Early in my junior year I started to learn more about various machine-learning algorithms as a means to predict dynamic real world information.

My research career in machine learning began when I met with my faculty advisor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Houman Homayoun, and he gave me the opportunity to conduct research with his graduate student, Maryam Heidari. We realized that the real estate market has heavy implications for investors and prospective home owners when it comes to making decisions regarding buying and renting properties. The price value of the house is among the most important features considered in these decisions, and so it is useful to gain accurate approximations of a house’s value in order to determine where it ranks in comparison to similar properties.

Because I was interested in learning about the different ways in which machine learning could be applied, this research project has allowed me to explore how to create and filter multivariate data sets in order to improve the prediction capabilities of machine learning algorithms. By going through this process I have gained insight on what house features carry the most weight when the value of a house is determined, and furthermore how to decide which modeling algorithms are best to implement when dealing with various data sets. This research will definitely assist me in my future career goals when I am creating computer hardware devices that are used to accelerate the rate at which these computations can be trained and applied.

URSP Student Veronika Lozano Researches the Role that Exosomes have During the Infection of Yersenia pestis

My name is Veronika Lozano and I am a senior majoring in Biology. My project deals with learning about the role that exosomes have during the infection of Yersenia pestis, which is the causative agent of the plague. After taking microbiology I was intrigued to learn more about microbial mechanisms and I began to take an interest in infectious diseases shortly thereafter. When I learned about the research that was occurring in Dr. Hakami’s lab it was very interesting to me and I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to join the team. 

Exosomes are an important mode of communication between cells as they carry genetic material and proteins between donor and recipient cells. Even though it has become known in recent years that exosomes can play a central role in regulating the spread of some pathogens, the mechamism of action is not completely understood. We know from previous research that exosomes derived from infection with an attenuated strain of Y. pestis causes uninfected monocytes to slow down their growth, increase cell attachment, and have a prolonged G1 phase during the cell cycle. 

It was initially planned that I would be evaluating these effects from exosomes obtained from a virulent strain of Y. pestis, but this has not been possible due to unexpected difficulties in getting clearance from BSL-3 into BSL-2. Being able to adapt and adjust quickly to situations has been important because experiments may not go quite as planned. Research has been a very valuable experience and, as an aspiring physician, I hope to be able to use the skills that I have developed through research in the future. It is exciting to think about how my project can contribute to further studies involving the development of novel therapeutics and vaccines. 

URSP Student Shaza Ali Researches the Effect of High School Mathematics and Testing on College Engineering and Performance

My name is Shaza Ali and I am a junior year as a student at George Mason University’s Volgenau School of Engineering, studying Biomedical engineering with a concentration in signals and systems. My project is The Effect of High School Mathematics and Testing on College Engineering Performance. For several decades, a trending misconception is that only students with a strong math and science background could pursue an engineering degree and succeed in such career. With the exception of highly selective universities, many engineering programs now admit students at varying levels of mathematics competency. The purpose of my project is to understand the correlation between mathematics and engineering performance, and consequently better serve and prepare students. The effect of high school mathematics and standardized testing on their success in engineering programs and possible retention in the program is being studied.

This project interested me because growing up in Egypt with a poor quality of life and out-of-date technology, especially in the educational and engineering fields, made want to learn all about new technologies and techniques. Back in Egypt, only high school students with grades above 95% in mathematics and scientific subjects are allowed and accepted in engineering schools, any students who gets a grade below 95% automatically are not accepted in any engineering school. After Dr. Bray introduced the idea to me, we thought this project is a good fit for me. This program will be the first and most important step towards achieving my long-term goals and beginning my career towards my engineering field. 

So far this semester, I collected data for all bioengineering students have entered the program since it started in 2011. Once the data have been collected, I started organizing the data by creating a table. The table is consisting of several columns, including high school mathematics classes and grades, SAT scores, math placement test results, mathematics and engineering classes and respective grades taken at Mason, and graduation rates. And I meet with my mentor in a weekly basis to stay on track and do data analyzing to eventually find out the results and come up with the conclusion.