GW Research Showcase Program

View a sampling of recent books authored by GW faculty and staff relevant to sustainability and equity. These books represent only a fraction of the GW-authored works that are informing public policy and advancing their fields of study. Several authors will be present to discuss their scholarship.

Meet staff from the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Tech Commercialization Office, and Development and Alumni Relations. GW’s College of Professional Studies will provide an orientation to its academic and degree programs.

3:00 PM
GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future and Sustainability Research Institute
Donna M. Attanasio, Managing Director, GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future And Dr. Robert W. Orttung, Director, GW Sustainability Research Institute
The George Washington University Alliance for a Sustainable Future is a bold, university-wide initiative that unites members of the GW community who support climate change and sustainability work. Under one banner, through a powerful strategic alliance of research institutes, academic programs, organizations, and individuals dedicated to the shared mission of combating climate change and promoting healthy and thriving resource systems for all, we will amplify our commitment to climate and sustainability work and increase our global impact.

The university’s broad sustainability research portfolio centers around the Sustainability Research Institute, a lively hub of scholars and practitioners that produces new knowledge about the environment, economy, and equity to enable policies and practices that help societies thrive while ensuring that future generations will have similar opportunities and resources. The Sustainability Research Institute collaborates with schools, departments, and institutes across GW's campus to address a wide range of issues related to sustainability. Because sustainability is a complex topic, finding solutions requires bringing a wide range of knowledge to bear. The Institute facilitates these kinds of collaborations, making it possible for existing entities to develop their own projects while working on big picture sustainability issues as well.

3:30 PM
Trustworthy AI Initiative (GW TAI)
Dr. Zoe Szajnfarber, Director of Strategic Initiatives for GW Engineering and Faculty Director for GW TAI
The George Washington University Trustworthy AI (GW TAI) initiative brings together a collection of research and educational efforts across the university to deliver timely education, foster problem-driven research and inform policy founded in deep scientific understanding. AI is changing how people work, communicate, learn and organize.  As transformative AI becomes increasingly embedded in complex systems, policy makers and researchers must determine how to govern and evaluate this emerging technology while balancing its potential to transform society for good against the risks and harms that arise from novel use cases.

GW is an emerging leader in the design of trustworthy artificial intelligence (TAI) in systems and for society. Building upon our recognized excellence in this area as co-lead of the NIST-NSF Trustworthy AI in Law and Society (TRAILS) Institute and our innovative educational programs such as the NSF Research Traineeship on the co-Design of Trustworthy AI in Systems (DTAIS), the initiative will leverage GW’s proximity to policymakers and the region’s growing tech sector to recruit the brightest and most diverse talent, establish strategic relationships with corporate entities and build a network of experts and individuals who will facilitate shared understanding of trust in AI and provide real-time solutions to this complex and fast-changing technology.

3:50 PM
Global Women’s Institute
Dr. Chelsea Ullman, Research Scientist, Global Women’s Institute
The Global Women’s Institute (GWI) is a leading organization that bridges research, education and action to advance gender equality and reduce violence and discrimination against women and girls. By strengthening the global knowledge base on gender issues and being a catalyst for change, GWI makes a difference in the lives of women at home and abroad. GWI finds interventions that work, explains why they matter, and takes action to bring about change.

GWI strengthens the case for change by producing quality research; developing a strong knowledge base about the causes of violence and gender inequality; and identifying effective solutions to improve conditions for women and girls.  GWI instills change by contributing deep expertise; creating opportunities for learning; developing tools for training; and guiding a new generation to be leaders for gender equality on campus and around the world.    GWI promotes change by standing with social movements and jointly creating evidence to shape policies, effective programming and smart investments that advance gender equality globally. 

4:10 PM
Institute for Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Equity (Equity Institute)
Dr. Dayna Matthew, Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law and Co-Founder, Institute for Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Equity
The GW Equity Institute exists to provide actionable new knowledge that effectively supports communities fighting to eradicate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequity worldwide. Our two-fold commitment is to create authentic community research partnerships that produce actionable solutions to address broad, systemic inequities, and to teach students the best practices to become impactful, community based participatory researchers.

Our motivation is found right where we live, in the heart of the nation's capital. We take seriously our role as an anchor institution and good neighbor in the District of Columbia.  Therefore, our work begins right outside our door, addressing the inequity that characterizes this nation’s capital. However, we do not stop here. The Equity Institute's faculty seeks to deploy interdisciplinary solutions to address the problems of individual, structural, and systemic inequity across the United States and around the globe.

GW Nanofabrication and Imaging Center
The George Washington University (GW) Nanofabrication and Imaging Center (GWNIC) features two imaging suites with the latest light, confocal and electron microscopes and ~5,000 sq ft of Class 100 cleanroom with major instrument clusters for lithography, deposition, etching, measurement and characterization. The GWNIC provides university-wide core infrastructure for research in engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, public health, medicine and biomedical sciences and is a catalyst for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Solid State Structures Lab
Research efforts in the Cahill research group focus own the synthesis, structural and spectroscopic characterization of materials relevant to the nuclear fuel cycle. Of particular note is the expertise in X-ray crystallography, which provides and atomic level ’names and addresses’ of atoms and molecules in crystalline solids.

Wilbur Harlan Greenhouse
Discover the fascinating world of ecology, climate change, and biodiversity at the Wilbur Harlan Greenhouse. With over 300 plant species on display, including aquatic plants and animals, our facility offers an engaging glimpse into cutting-edge research. Prepare for an immersive experience that will ignite your curiosity and deepen your understanding of our natural world.

New Drugs for Bad Bugs
The Dowd lab is dedicated to the design and synthesis of new antibiotics. In this lab, researchers use organic and medicinal chemistry techniques to generate drugs with novel mechanisms of action, and the primary interests are tuberculosis, malaria, and the ESKAPE pathogens. Collaborating with several labs in the US and abroad, they study molecules from design to synthesis to biological evaluation and development.

Xenopus Laevis Frog Facility
The tour will take visitors to a Xenopus laevis frog research facility. These frogs are integral to the study of the evolution of the immune system and the roles of specific immune components in antimicrobial defenses.

Genetics and Evolution of Butterfly Wings
How does DNA encode the tremendous diversity of colors and shapes found in the living world? This laboratory is leveraging the natural diversity of butterfly color patterns to tackle this question. In this short lab tour, we will witness how CRISPR genome editing is used to generate butterfly with modified wing patterns and what kinds of fundamental insights are gained into our own biology.

Laser Analytics Laboratory
Houston Miller’s Laser Analytics Laboratory develops laser sensors to address problems in combustion/fire chemistry and atmospheric science. (Although forays into biotechnology and fine art provenance have occurred!). For the former, although considerable past work has focused on optical properties of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, the lab’s current focus in this arena is on development of standoff detectors for wildfire detection and characterization. Sensors for both vertical and horizontal profiling of greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost and coastal wetlands have dominated the recent atmospheric science work.

Robotics and Autonomous Systems
This tour will provide an overview of research and education activities spanning multiple departments relevant to the broad area of autonomous systems and AI. Topics covered will include autonomous aerial/ground vehicles, urban air mobility, human-robot interaction, security, and cyber-physical systems. The tour will be hosted at our new motion capture laboratory, where attendees will have the opportunity to view displays and demonstrations of various unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, as well as companion robots.

Experimental Biophysics Lab
In this experimental biophysics lab, physical ideas and tools are being exploited to study and decode the rules of living systems, from the basic building blocks of biomolecules to functional organisms like microbes and primates. For instance, the same physical principles as cooking by heating can be applied to investigate the mechanics of biomolecules in action, or thermal stimulation can be done with a laser at precision to learn the neuronal responses and spatial circuitry within a nematode worm.

The Inside Look: Science and Engineering Hall
Embark on a captivating journey through George Washington University's Science and Engineering Hall (SEH), a groundbreaking 14-story complex designed by The Lighting Practice and Ballinger. Encounter a vibrant hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, where researchers from diverse fields, ranging from civil engineering to hominid paleobiology, converge to innovate and tackle complex challenges.  

Welcome Remarks
Christopher Alan Bracey, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

3-Minute Thesis Presentation
Leah Kaplan, PhD Candidate in Systems Engineering. "AI Behind the Wheel: Work, Economics, and Preferences in the Era of Autonomous Vehicles"

3-Minute Thesis Presentation
Prachi Mahableshwarkar, PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience. “Investigating How the Human Brain Understands Spatial Information in Images”

3-Minute Thesis Presentation
Li Liang, PhD Candidate in Finance. “Financial Illiteracy and Behavioral Biases in Trading"

New Venture Competition Style Pitch
Team Ellexco, a research team led by assistant professor Xitong Liu and doctoral student Lingchen Kong was one of three winners of the U.S. Department of Energy’s first-ever American-Made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize. The prize funds new technologies that efficiently extract the in-demand element from geothermal wastewater. Liu’s team, Ellexco, won $500,000 for its chemical-free extraction process.

Closing Remarks and Research Video
Dr. Pamela Norris, Vice Provost for Research