Mariam Aburdeineh

There’s no shortage of creativity at George Mason University, and from March 11-13, students will accelerate innovation at the university’s annual hackathon. This year, two events will take place simultaneously: PatriotHacks, the signature hackathon focused on software programming, and HackOverFlow, a new hackathon with a focus on hardware engineering.

As a junior and senior at Annandale High School in Virginia, Emily Sample spent her summers as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She was a teenager who had just lost a friend to police violence, she said, and joining the museum’s Young Ambassadors Program resonated with her.

“I was fascinated and continue to be fascinated by this highly illogical idea of genocide,” said Sample, a PhD candidate at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

To support Afghan refugees needing to relaunch their careers in the United States, George Mason University is inviting scholars and researchers who have recently left Afghanistan to request an academic appointment as visiting scholars.

Since Michael Riggi was about six years old, his father and brother would take him to a “Cars and Coffee” show in Great Falls, Virginia, on weekends. Being around classic automobiles and luxury vehicles, Riggi said he developed an appreciation for cars, and other machines that go fast, including planes, boats, and rockets.

Now, as a junior at George Mason University, his career path has also been racing forward.

George Mason University has some of the nation’s best online master’s programs, with six of them in the Top 20, according to the just-released 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings.

Mason senior Eva Noroski spent a month assisting alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching elephant sleep patterns.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has not seen peace for more than three decades, but in November 2021, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution helped the country take a leap in a hopeful direction.

In the province of South Kivu, the school gathered representatives from 21 armed groups, the Congolese government, military, police, intelligence services, religious leaders, civil society groups, and peace advocates. Not only did everyone discuss a path toward peacebuilding, but they also signed a peace accord to solidify it.

Because elephants only sleep three to four hours a night, and frequently wake during that time, their sleep is a precious commodity.

That’s why George Mason University senior Eva Noroski has spent a month this semester assisting 2017 Mason alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at te National Zoo, researching how these massive mammals can get optimal sleep.

Solving climate change is a grand challenge facing the planet. As more individuals and leaders are recognizing the need to switch to environmentally friendly practices, George Mason University’s Local Climate Change Planning Initiative (LCCPI) is helping make that a reality for counties across Virginia.

“Our vision is to have Mason be the lead university in helping counties that lack the resources and expertise in [addressing climate change] get this done,” said Paul Bubbosh, a 1988 Mason alumnus and adjunct professor at the Schar School and College of Science.

Arturo Barrera is receiving his bachelor’s in conflict analysis and resolution. He said Mason supported him before he was a freshman.