CONNECTIONS

We are a place of powerful connections.

We have a wonderful culture of breaking down the barriers between disciplines to frame problems in new ways and collaborate on solutions (e.g., multidisciplinary capstones).

Photo by Evan Cantwell

Conservation Incentives May Improve Water Sustainability

CLEAN WATER IS a vital component of life, and without it, human existence as we know it would quickly cease. This is largely why water conservation is an important and ever-growing concern, particularly when it comes to natural resources, like rivers, and to the allocation and management of freshwater resources.

Shima Mohebbi, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University, together with researchers from the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University,

Clark University, Oklahoma State University, and Florida International University, received a nearly $1.6 million project grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for Conservation Incentives and the Socio-Spatial Dynamics of Water Sustainability.

Although this project focuses on the Red River, the second-largest river basin located in the southern part of the United States, Mohebbi says the solutions and lessons gained throughout are transferable to water systems around the world.

“Water resource management is a complex problem that is affected by water scarcity, the impact of climate change on water supplies, and decision-makers’ behavior (behind water conservation policies),” Mohebbi says. “Capturing the complex feedback between social and environmental systems over time can raise new fundamental questions in the field of operations research and system engineering. This in turn can help with further understanding the intricacies behind water resource management and incentives allocation.”

Under this grant, Mohebbi will develop novel game theory models to understand how conflicts and propensities for cooperative behavior among water users—including farmers—might vary over time across the river network.

The project started in January 2022 and will run for five years. Working alongside colleagues from fields including geography and environmental sustainability, ecology, and agricultural engineering, Mohebbi says the project’s end goal is to demonstrate how voluntary conservation incentives—like offering subsidies to water users—could potentially be used to achieve water sustainability.

“Along with my student researchers, we will work closely with collaborators, use data collected on user’s belief and behavior, formulate the game theory models, and discover novel and fair solutions around water conservation incentive schemes,” Mohebbi says.

Capturing the complex feedback between social and environmental systems over time can raise new fundamental questions in the field of operations research and system engineering.

— SHIMA MOHEBBI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH

Students work in the new Cyber Living Innovation Lab at Mason Square. Photo by Ron Aira

People, Ideas, and Resources Converge at Innovation Pilot Space

LAST SPRING, CORPORATE partners COMSovereign, Widelity, and OPNT unveiled the latest addition to the Mason Square lab space’s growing technological capabilities. COMSovereign has provided a portable, compact, easily deployable standalone communications system. The system could keep an entire city’s secure communication structure up and running—especially during national emergencies, says Mohan Tammisetti, COMSovereign’s senior vice president and chief engineer.

“Partners like COMSovereign, OPNT, and Widelity, who integrate commercial-grade equipment and their expertise with the Mason research enterprise, accelerate the timing for our solutions to impact the public and commercial sector,” says Liza Wilson Durant, associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement. “We are operating as an integrated team invested not only in the mutual success of the new technologies and solutions we are developing, but in the success of the training ground our partnership creates for the next generation of talent.”

Widelity, who was instrumental in bringing the two other partners into the project, recently signed a lease to occupy three offices adjacent to the lab. “Widelity recognizes our industry-faculty partnership’s intrinsic value in advancing robust national network infrastructures,” says Paul Altoz, CEO at Widelity. “We believe collaboration with Mason will be a vital component in hardening and scaling our communications capabilities in the years ahead.”

The new testbed will power connected devices in the lab and beyond. It focuses on portability and adaptability. OPNT has provided the software to create precise timing for the system, which is crucial to 5G applications.

Parag Singh, managing director at Widelity, says, “Widelity is a proud industry partner and system integrator to George Mason University. Via joint orchestration with Mason and our industry partners, Widelity has successfully created an organic and secure 5G capability at the vibrant innovation center at Mason Square with one common goal—transforming our nation’s critical infrastructure and networks to provide more security, resilience, and reliability.”

Singh adds, “Today, we continue to serve Mason researchers in 5G network development to improve our community’s safety by facilitating pilot programs in positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), security, smart cities, industrial internet of things, and multi-access edge computing.”

Break Through Tech Sprinterns Intern at Top Companies

MOST STUDENTS LOOK at winter break as a time to rest and catch up with family and friends. But a select number of George Mason University students used it to gain valuable professional experience through the Break Through Tech Sprinternship program.

These Sprinternships (or, mini-internships) took place in January 2022 and ran about three weeks. The program, which is targeted toward women and students from underrepresented groups, allowed Mason participants to bring their tech talents to top companies that included Microsoft, Booz Allen Hamilton, Mastercard, and Verizon.

According to Shvetha Soundararajan, site lead for Break Through Tech at Mason, the Sprinternship program is a wonderful opportunity for students to gain real-world experience, tech-industry resume credentials, and build professional networks.

“This was the first iteration of the Sprinternship program at Mason, and 32 Sprinterns were a part of this cohort,” she says. “Some of our Sprinterns have already received return offers for summer internships. We are immensely proud of them.”

Sprintern Shruti Sekar, a computer science major at Mason, saw her experience at Mastercard as a useful introduction to learning how the professional world works. “It was actually the first opportunity for me to have an internship,” says Sekar. “I wanted real-world experience and to learn collaboration, and how a company works in general.”

Neha Acharya, also a Mastercard Sprintern, saw her Sprinternship as a way to open doors to bigger and better opportunities in the tech world.

“This was a great opportunity to gain experience and explore potential careers,” says Acharya, a sophomore studying information technology. “We had networking opportunities at Mastercard and were introduced to a wide variety of career options.”

Negative stereotypes about intern positions involve boring tasks and intimidating surroundings. Iza Lazaneo, a Sprintern at Microsoft and a junior studying computer science, was thrilled to find a welcoming environment, challenging projects, and plenty of support from seasoned colleagues.

“Students nervous about Sprinternships shouldn’t be,” says Lazaneo. She points out that any new experience can be stressful, but a Sprinternship is well worth the work. A refresher course before beginning a Sprinternship can help ease nerves, especially if working with unfamiliar coding language.

Acharya says students can use knowledge gained in classes and apply it to a Sprinternship, especially when it comes to coding. “Bring your questions and jump in,” she says.