Summary
George Mason University is driving rapid AI adoption and advancements across the Commonwealth.
As the largest and most diverse university in Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., George Mason University is leading the future of inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) and developing responsible models for AI research, education, workforce development, and community engagement within a modern university.
As AI reshapes industries, George Mason combines fearless ideas that harness the technology’s boundless potential to address the world’s grand challenges, while creating guardrails based on informed, transdisciplinary research around ethical governance, regulatory oversight, and social impact.
Led by the university’s inaugural vice president and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) Amarda Shehu with an AI Visioning Task Force, George Mason is reimagining operational excellence in every facet of the university.
Source: AI Webpage
George Mason University – 04/09/2024 (01:18)
George Mason University has named Associate Vice President for Research for the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) Amarda Shehu as the university’s inaugural vice president and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO). In this role, Shehu will lead the strategy and implementation of AI across research, academics, and partnerships for the university, maximizing opportunity and adoption in addressing the world’s grand challenges while leading on ethical considerations, governance, and risk mitigation
News
George Mason University will offer a master of science in artificial intelligence (AI) starting this fall, becoming Virginia’s first public university to offer a stand-alone master’s degree in this field.
Recently approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the degree will equip the next generation of AI innovators with a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum blending foundational theory with real-world applications, ensuring graduates are prepared to address complex challenges in industry and government.
Amarda Shehu, inaugural vice president and chief AI officer, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Computing, and professor in the Department of Computer Science, said, “Seeing this vision come to life has been incredibly rewarding, and I am deeply honored to have led this effort to create a program that will shape the future of AI talent in Virginia and beyond.”
Courses will span core domains such as machine learning foundations and practice; planning and decision-making for intelligent agents; and deep learning fundamentals; providing students with the expertise to build, deploy, and evaluate AI systems across various computing platforms.
“We had to completely rethink how we teach AI to students,” added Shehu. “Rather than hiding such courses behind long chains of prerequisites, the challenge that we answered is how to design these courses to be largely self-containing and yet offer a rigorous foundation in AI.”
Vadim Sokolov, associate professor, Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research, was one of the leading faculty in the working group designing curriculum. With his mathematics background and his extensive experience teaching the first deep learning course on campus in 2017, Sokolov has great interest in the field and what this means for students. “The idea is students are not just ‘prompt engineers’ but are supposed to understand the basics of the models and be able to tune them and train them for specific tasks.”
Sokolov added that the program is unique in how it enhances this foundation with real-world settings. According to the program, students will be adept in managing the full machine learning operations lifecycle, integrating open-source AI frameworks, and developing secure, scalable AI solutions while effectively collaborating with cross-functional teams and communicating complex AI concepts to diverse stakeholders.
“This program is carefully designed to meet the needs of our community, whether that is government or business, but it also provides a holistic experience to students, from AI ethics to AI policy, and from scalable and secure AI to advanced AI solutions, Sokolov said.
Shehu said, “As AI transforms the way we work, govern, and live, this master’s degree program is more than just a response to demand—it is a commitment to preparing students with both the technical expertise and ethical grounding to shape the future of AI responsibly.”
Mason News – March 3, 2025
At last week’s Board of Visitors meeting, George Mason University’s Vice President and Chief AI Officer Amarda Shehu rolled out a new model for universities to advance a responsible approach to harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and drive societal impact. George Mason’s model, called AI2Nexus, is building a nexus of collaboration and resources on campus, throughout the region with our vast partnerships, and across the state.
AI2Nexus is based on four key principles: “Integrating AI” to transform education, research, and operations; “Inspiring with AI” to advance higher education and learning for the future workforce; “Innovating with AI” to lead in responsible AI-enabled discovery and advancements across disciplines; and “Impacting with AI” to drive partnerships and community engagement for societal adoption and change.
Shehu said George Mason can harness its own ecosystem of AI teaching, cutting-edge research, partnerships, and incubators for entrepreneurs to establish a virtuous cycle between foundational and user-inspired AI research within ethical frameworks.
As part of this effort, the university’s AI Task Force, established by President Gregory Washington last year, has developed new guidelines to help the university navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI technologies, which are available at gmu.edu/ai-guidelines.
Further, Information Technology Services (ITS) will roll out the NebulaONE academic platform equipping every student, staff, and faculty member with access to hundreds of cutting-edge Generative AI models to support access, performance, and data protection at scale.
“We are anticipating that AI integration will allow us to begin to evaluate and automate some routine processes reducing administrative burdens and freeing up resources for mission-critical activities,” added Charmaine Madison, George Mason’s vice president of information services and CIO.
George Mason is already equipping students with AI skills as a leader in developing AI-ready talent ready to compete and new ideas for critical sectors like cybersecurity, public health, and government. In the classroom, the university is developing courses and curriculums to better prepare our students for a rapidly changing world.
In spring 2025, the university launched a cross-disciplinary graduate course, AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society, and in fall 2025, the university is debuting a new undergraduate course open to all students, AI4All: Understanding and Building Artificial Intelligence. A master’s in computer science and machine learning, an Ethics and AI minor for undergraduates of all majors, and a Responsible AI Graduate Certificate are more examples of Mason’s mission to innovate AI education. New academies are also in development, and the goal is to build an infrastructure of more than 100 active core AI and AI-related courses across George Mason’s colleges and programs.
The university will continue to host workshops, conferences, and public forums to shape the discourse on AI ethics and governance while forging deep and meaningful partnerships with industry, government, and community organizations to offer academies to teach and codevelop technologies to meet our global society needs. State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) will partner with the university to host an invite-only George Mason-SCHEV AI in Education Summit on May 20-21 on the Fairfax Campus.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed Jamil N. Jaffer, the founder and executive director of the National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, to the Commonwealth’s new AI Task Force, which will work with legislators to regulate rapidly advancing AI technology.
The Virginia county’s Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management worked with George Mason University researchers to develop AI-enhanced video games for skills building.
Emergency response management is a high-stakes space. Each decision can mean life or death, which makes training and preparing for these scenarios critical.
Over the course of a year, a three-person team from George Mason University worked to improve preparedness via AI-powered games for the Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management in Arlington, Virginia.
Using an iterative process and feedback from Arlington County department members, the team created two interactive games, called Go-Repair and Go-Rescue, which simulated infrastructure maintenance, resource allocation and evacuations. The dynamic learning environment provided utility managers and volunteers with a wider scope and more flexibility than traditional training methods.
While the debates continue over artificial intelligence’s possible impacts on privacy, economics, education, and job displacement, perhaps the largest question regards the ethics of AI. Bias, accountability, transparency, and governance of the powerful technology are aspects that have yet to be fully answered.
A new cross-disciplinary course at George Mason University is designed to prepare students to tackle the ethical, societal, and governance challenges presented by AI. The course, AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society, will draw expertise from the Schar School of Policy and Government, the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS).
The master’s degree-level course begins in spring 2025 and will be taught by Jesse Kirkpatrick, a research associate professor in the CEC, the Department of Philosophy, and codirector of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC).
The course is important now, said Kirkpatrick, because “artificial intelligence is transforming industries, reshaping societal norms, and challenging long-standing ethical frameworks. This course provides critical insights into the ethical, societal, and policy implications of AI at a time when these technologies are increasingly deployed in areas like healthcare, criminal justice, and national defense.”
Debates about bias in AI systems, the governance of autonomous decision-making, and the risks of misinformation “underscore the urgency of equipping students and professionals with the tools to address the opportunities and challenges responsibly,” he added.
This course is designed for students and professionals from diverse fields, including policy, computer science, engineering, law, philosophy, and business.
The course is open to George Mason students and is a core component of the university’s new graduate certificate in Responsible AI, making it an essential step for those pursuing advanced study or leadership roles in ethical AI design and governance.
In addition to critical readings and written assignments, the course incorporates hands-on components such as workshops, interactive discussions, and practical tools includes algorithmic audits, ethical toolkits, and risk management frameworks.
“Students will also engage in scenario-building exercises and present collaborative projects that apply ethical AI principles to real-world challenges,” Kirkpatrick said. “The course also features distinguished guest speakers from academia, industry, and government, providing students with diverse perspectives on AI.”
As a MARC codirector, Kirkpatrick is engaged in “responsible AI” initiatives. “I bring a unique blend of academic expertise and practical experience,” he said. “My work spans creating ethical AI frameworks, consulting on AI policy, and teaching at the intersection of ethics, technology, and public policy.
He adds, “This course reflects my commitment to equipping students with the knowledge and tools to address the profound ethical challenges and opportunities posed by AI technologies in society.”
Mason News, – December 9, 2024
George Mason University gave the public its first look at Fuse at Mason Square and what’s in store for the metropolitan Washington, D.C., region with the building’s Dec. 6 commercial launch.
A state-of-the-art tech research hub intended to be a beacon for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs to come together and collaborate, Fuse will serve as the center for technological advances in the region, fostering innovation in various sectors while adding to the tech talent pipeline necessary to help fuel the economies of the region and the commonwealth of Virginia.
“The most surefire way to strengthen an innovation ecosystem is for a top-tier research university, local industry, and the community to join together in partnership,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington.
The 345,000-square-foot-building, which will welcome students in Fall 2025, features specialized labs for robotics and virtual reality and data visualization, as well as office spaces, retail, and co-working areas and classrooms.
Rep. Don Beyer, who is working toward a master’s degree in computer science at George Mason, was among the speakers to laud the project at the brief ceremony in Arlington. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding
Fuse cost roughly $254 million to construct, with $90 million each contributed by George Mason and the commonwealth’s Tech Talent Investment Program, as well as $78 million from Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate.
George Mason announced in October that the building’s first tenant, Cybastion, a cybersecurity and digital IT company focused on emerging markets, would move into Fuse in spring 2025. The restaurant Wood & Iron will be located on the ground floor. About 75% of the building’s commercial space has been committed.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who is enrolled at George Mason and working toward a master’s degree in computer science with a concentration in machine learning, was among the speakers to laud the project at the brief ceremony in Arlington, joining Washington; Liza Wilson Durant, George Mason’s associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement who is also the associate dean of George Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing and director of the Northern Virginia node of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative; Ryan Touhill, director of Arlington Economic Development; and Brian Naumick, vice president and managing director of Edgemoor.
George Mason’s Liza Wilson Durant took questions from the media about the new building.
Fuse at Mason Square supports the Tech Talent Investment Program, a 20-year initiative aimed at producing 25,000 additional tech graduates in Virginia. The building will house George Mason’s Institute for Digital Innovation and the new School of Computing, part of the College of Engineering and Computing, and will offer courses in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cybersecurity.
Washington expects the new building to be a catalyst for economic growth. “When we started the Fuse project in April of 2022, I said then that we’re not just breaking ground on a building—we’re breaking ground on Virginia’s future,” he said. “That future begins in earnest today with the Fuse leasing grand opening.”
Northern Virginia Magazine, – December 15, 2023
One of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots brings her maverick attitude to GMU’s autonomy and robotics center.
How are universities handling the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics? George Mason, for its part, is making its mark by bringing in a maverick to shake things up. Earlier this year, the school welcomed Mary ‘Missy’ Cummings, 56, as professor and director of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center. Cummings, one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots and a world-renowned AI expert, is teaching at the Fairfax campus, conducting research, and devising ways to “upskill” and “reskill” the area’s workforce in all things AI-related.
“I’m on a mission to educate people so that we’re making better decisions about how, why, when, and where to incorporate AI,” she says.
In addition to guiding the next generation of AI experts at the university, the former Duke University and MIT professor hopes to expand her reach throughout the DMV.
Government Technology, – October 16, 2024
Created by executive order at the start of the year, Virginia has now set its AI Task Force in motion, aiming to support and advise policymakers on the technologies. Ten members have been named; more may follow.
Virginia will join other states in launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force to support policymakers and government agencies in implementing the technology, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday.
States have taken various actions to advance AI, from establishing AI leadership positions to implementing governance. A good number have already stood up AI task forces of their own, including Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington.
Virginia’s AI Task Force was created by way of Executive Order 30 (EO 30), signed Jan. 18. The order created AI education guidelines for the classroom, implemented AI policy standards, and called for the secretary of administration to work with the director of the Office of Regulatory Management to establish such a task force. The group’s formation delivers on this order.
The following individuals make up the state’s task force: John Bailey, founder of Vestigo Partners; Bill Cleveland, former vice mayor of Alexandria, Va.; Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education; Zach Graves, executive director of the Foundation for American Innovation; Sam Hammond, senior economist of the Foundation for American Innovation; Tim Hwang, senior technology fellow at the Institute for Progress; Jamil Jaffer, professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; Lori Jennings, founder of Jennings ProSearch; Paige Kowalski, executive vice president at the Data Quality Campaign; and Naren Ramakrishnan, professor at Virginia Tech. More members may be added.
WASHINGTON — Don Beyer’s car dealerships were among the first in the U.S. to set up a website. As a representative, the Northern Virginia Democrat leads a bipartisan group focused on promoting fusion energy. He reads books about geometry for fun.
So, when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master’s degree in machine learning.
In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don’t understand emerging technology, Beyer’s journey is an outlier, but highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about AI as they consider laws that would shape its development.
The Brand Called You – August 12, 2023 (58:00)
S5 E016 JP Singh, Distinguished University Professor, George Mason University, USA
00:15 – About JP Singh
01:54 – Can you share some inflection points that shaped your career and life?
10:48 – How was it like to get the opportunity to study in one of the top universities in the US? 19:33 – Do you think there is going to be a realization of India’s rich history?
27:27 – What are your thoughts on the pointers that indicate India to be leading the world soon?
34:31 – What do you hope to achieve through the Minerva program?
In this conversation, we have the privilege of speaking with an accomplished individual, JP Singh, who has made significant contributions to academia, global organisations, and the advancement of human-machine partnerships.
Driven by a passion for creative problem-solving and a deep understanding of political economy, Professor Singh has embarked on a remarkable career that has spanned regional, national, and international spheres.
Through his insights, we gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of global development and the potential for technology to create a brighter future for all.
[00:15] – About JP Singh- –
JP Singh is a distinguished professor at George Mason University.
-He is the co-director of the Center for Advanced Human Machine Partnership.
-Professor Singh has written 10 books and over 100 articles.
-He has advised international organisations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.
Devices that rely on sensors to accurately navigate and perceive the world around them are more and more commonplace, from drones to autonomous vehicles to ground robots on rescue missions. Parth Pathak, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at George Mason University, is working to ensure the sensors have 20/20 vision.
Pathak received $660K in funding from the Army Research Office (ARO) for this work, some of which is done in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California, Davis, where he did his post-doc.
“Conventional sensors rely on cameras or LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to pursue objects around them, but they don’t work very well when there’s smoke, fog, or generally a visually degraded environment,” said Pathak. “But the mmwave wireless radar sensors that we are working on don’t get affected by that. If there is dirt on the sensor, well, that’s okay. They can see through things and see around things.”
Imagine a rescue robot going into a building filled with smoke, trying to navigate with little to no visibility, Pathak said. “These wireless sensors can enable them to perceive the environment and even self-localize without cameras, LiDARs, or other positioning systems.”
Another positive aspect of the devices is that while they can sense…they don’t sense too much, which is important for privacy concerns. The disadvantage, of course, is that when a sensor depicts an object such as a car, the resolution is not particularly good, and the images are “noisy.” Pathak is not just improving navigation and perception, but using multiple robots, for example, cooperatively. In a rescue mission, a swarm of robots can share their data, allowing them to collectively “see” a better picture.
“They can self-localize based on what they see, like how our brains work. But the robots only have wireless sensors to rely on, so part of the work is developing very good signatures of what they see from these very low resolution and noisy images,” said Pathak. “We can build 3D models of a room by scanning it through the wireless sensors and using machine learning to capture and recreate every minute detail. This is something that these sensors were never designed for. We are developing custom-tailored deep learning models of wireless sensing, essentially pushing the limits of what they can perceive using wireless signals.”
In addition to the research, ARO’s funding also supports testbed-to-prototype development and solution evaluation.
Pathak and colleagues published this research at the Association for Computing Machinery’s ACM Mobicom conference and have submitted it to other conferences for potential publication. Two PhD students from his team, Ahmed Kamari and Rezoan Ahmed Nazib, are working actively on the project, along with three high school students who participated in prototyping over the summer as part of George Mason’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program.
Autonomous systems can be programmed to always make the logical, “best” decisions, given a set of circumstances. But what happens when human judgment and decision-making is introduced to a system? Xuan Wang, an assistant professor in George Mason University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, is asking this question as part of a recent $344,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Wang stressed that this research is particularly important given technologies on the horizon. “The operation of many real-world systems involves the co-existence of human and autonomous agents. Inadequate coordination among these agents can lead to significant performance degradation or safety risks.”
Wang is turning the idea of humans controlling machines on its head. “The key novelty of this research is, instead of thinking about how humans can program robots, we are thinking about the ways that the autonomous agents can impact humans,” he says. “Assuming human response can’t be coded in the way we can control a robotic agent’s behavior, then how we can design the robot’s behavior so they’re impacting human behavior in a way that is beneficial for the overall system?”
Because human agents, who are very diverse, use observations to see occurrences in the world around them and respond accordingly, traditional optimization approaches are less effective at predicting behavior. Wang says that he’ll use a framework relying on game theory, which assumes each agent has their own objective function, and that function is coupled with another agent’s decisions and actions. Then both human and autonomous agents ideally will optimize their overall behavior to coordinate across a whole system, creating a better output.
This human-response alignment mechanism is bidirectional, allowing for communication moving in opposite ways at the same time. For robots, they will investigate new approaches that allow them to adapt more intelligently to human behaviors with uncertainties; for humans, they will study how they can be incentivized during human-robot interaction so that human responses favor the efficiency and robustness of the entire system.
But how can systems—autonomous or controlled by humans—ever guarantee safety, say in the use of unpersoned vehicles?
Wang says, “When we are deriving safety criteria, there might be some uncertainties, so given the inputs of the system there will be an upper and lower bound that allows you to know what is the worst case that will happen. Given that, if all assumptions are satisfied, one can guarantee that there will be no crash.”
Wang and team are also working with the Army Research Lab to develop collaborative autonomous vehicles working in unknown environments, ensuring the vehicles can coordinate and gain advantage when there are potential threats in the environment.
In This Story
Related Stories
- October 15, 2024
- May 9, 2024
- March 4, 2024
- November 10, 2023
- July 27, 2023
Learn more: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
Mason News, – March 5, 2024
George Mason University today announced an anonymous $4.85 million gift to advance groundbreaking research on bruise and injury detection for individuals who experience interpersonal violence.
The funding will help develop new tools in imaging technology using a light source that is five times better than white light for identifying and visualizing bruising across all skin tones for use by forensic nurses, social service providers, and law enforcement.
“This single largest gift to support research in the College of Public Health’s history underscores Mason faculty’s leadership in life-changing work affecting those who experience interpersonal violence,” said Melissa J. Perry, dean of the College of Public Health. “A gift of this magnitude brings transformative resources to Mason’s cross-disciplinary research and collaborative approach that takes ground-breaking research to new heights with the potential for greater use and impact.”
Mason’s acclaimed interdisciplinary research in using Alternate Light Sources for bruise detection, as featured on NBC Nightly News, is led by researchers Katherine Scafide, David Lattanzi, and Janusz Wojtusiak. The funding will expand the team’s bruise detection system that leverages artificial intelligence (AI), imaging and light technologies, forensic reports, and clinical expertise to increase data collection and access to care for trauma victims. The technology can be used across all skin tones and responds to deficits in the identification of physical injuries particularly among people with darker skin tones.
“By improving documentation of physical trauma, we hope to address disparities in clinical care which can lead to improved healthcare for all as well as legal recourse for all survivors of violence,” said Scafide, forensic nurse, research leader, and an associate professor of nursing in Mason’s College of Public Health. “This gift expands Mason’s leadership in developing new technologies to empower vulnerable communities.”
One in three women worldwide experience physical trauma at the hands of an intimate partner or stranger. In the United States, more than 10 million women and men grapple with intimate partner violence each year. Among domestic violence survivors, bruises and soft tissue trauma are the most reported injuries. When injuries are accurately documented, survivors are more likely to participate in the criminal justice process, according to recent studies on interpersonal violence and reporting. In addition, family and partner violence and elder abuse can lead to a host of other public health issues, such as infectious and noninfectious diseases, mental health trauma, and reproductive health problems.
“A vital piece to success is ensuring that any AI tool has access to in-depth data from all skin tones and skin characteristics alongside human expert analysis,” said Lattanzi, an associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering in the the College of Engineering and Computing.
Supporters working on ending domestic violence commended the announcement.
Ruth Glenn, president of Survivor Justice Action, applauds the groundbreaking work. “In a nation where domestic violence disproportionately impacts communities of color, this innovative research holds immense promise. By prioritizing inclusivity and recognizing the unique challenges faced by survivors with darker skin tones, Scafide’s research aligns seamlessly with our vision to end domestic violence in our lifetime. Continued research on this technology not only has the potential to revolutionize the identification of bruising in diverse populations but also signifies a vital step toward justice and empowerment for those who have long been marginalized. Survivor Justice Action stands firmly in support of initiatives that demand systems change and establish resources for survivors and advocates.”
“The Scafide team’s research and findings are revolutionizing medical forensic examinations. The ability for medical professionals to visualize and identify previously ‘invisible’ injury substantively advances quality medical assessment and patient care. Visibility and documentation of trauma/ injury provide valuable forensic corroboration for law enforcement and the courts to hold offenders accountable,” said Ann Burdges, CEO of End Violence Against Women International.
This project is led by Mason’s College of Public Health in collaboration with the College of Engineering and Computing. More information on the study can be found at bruise.gmu.edu.
WASHINGTON — Don Beyer’s car dealerships were among the first in the U.S. to set up a website. As a representative, the Northern Virginia Democrat leads a bipartisan group focused on promoting fusion energy. He reads books about geometry for fun.
So, when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master’s degree in machine learning.
In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don’t understand emerging technology, Beyer’s journey is an outlier, but highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about AI as they consider laws that would shape its development.
About
Overview
George Mason is building a nexus of collaboration and resources on campus, throughout the region with our vast partnerships, and across the state, called AI2Nexus.
As a model for universities, AI2Nexus is based on four key principles:
- Integrating AI to transform education, research, and operations;
- Inspiring with AI to advance higher education and learning for the future workforce;
- Innovating with AI to lead in responsible AI-enabled discovery and advancements across disciplines; and
- Impacting with AI to drive partnerships and community engagement for societal adoption and change.
Source: Website
Integrate AI: Advancing Operations with NebulaONE
George Mason is reimagining operational excellence, equipping every student, faculty member, and staff with access to hundreds of cutting-edge Gen AI models through the revolutionary NebulaONE platform rolling out in early spring.
Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence at George Mason University
AI infrastructures are a national security and human safety issue, Mason professor says
Through his Minerva Project, J.P. Singh, Schar School of Policy and Government, wants to understand “how preferences or interests from society, business, or other government actors shape policy in terms of what countries are doing with their national AI infrastructures.”
Learn more about J.P. Singh’s Minerva Project
Inspire AI: Designing Curriculum for the Future Workforce
George Mason is equipping students with AI skills as a leader in developing AI-ready talent ready to compete and new ideas for critical sectors like cybersecurity, public health, and government. In the classroom, the university is developing courses and curriculums to better prepare our students for a rapidly changing world.
In Spring of 2025, the university launched a cross-disciplinary graduate course, AI: Ethics, Policy, and Society. In Fall 2025, the university is debuting a new undergraduate course open to all students, AI4All: Understanding and Building Artificial Intelligence. A master’s in computer science and machine learning, a master of science in AI (fall 2025), an Ethics and AI minor for undergraduates of all majors, and a Responsible AI Graduate Certificate are more examples of Mason’s mission to innovate AI education. New academies are also in development.
READ: George Mason launches Virginia’s first public master’s degree in AI
Research using AI to track Amazon rainforest species produces landmark results
George Mason students receive real-world, hands-on experience with AI. An example is the team of undergraduate researchers that worked under researcher David Luther to analyze acoustic recordings from the tropics to identify animals. Hear more about Luther’s tracking research.
Thanks to the tenacity of a George Mason University biology professor, animals in the Amazon have a lot less privacy these days, but that’s good for scientists who want to know what’s going on in the Brazilian rainforests.
Innovate with AI: Building a Responsible Ecosystem
Fuse Building construction at Mason Square. Photo by: Ron Aira/Creative Services/George Mason University
Fuse at Mason Square fosters collaboration and innovation by creating spaces for students and researchers to work side-by-side with industry leaders. View the space.
George Mason’s ecosystem of AI teaching, cutting-edge research, and incubators for entrepreneurs foster interdisciplinary collaborations and substantiate a virtuous cycle between foundational and user-inspired AI research within ethical frameworks.
The university hosts workshops, conferences, and public forums to shape the discourse on AI ethics and governance while forging deep and meaningful partnerships with industry, government, and community organizations to co-develop impactful AI technologies for a richly diverse global society.
George Mason partners with tech leaders like Google and Amazon Web Services to offer certifications in data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, enhancing student expertise.
LISTEN to Access to Excellence Podcast – EP 46: Missy Cummings: Artificial intelligence is artificial and not intelligent
Impact AI: Driving Community Engagement and Adoption
George Mason is tackling the world’s most urgent challenges with a purpose and vision for societal change. The university’s AI-in-Government Council is a partnership between academia, public-sector tech providers, and government. It is a trusted resource for advancing AI approaches, governance frameworks, and robust guardrails to guide the development and deployment of responsible AI in government. Leading experts and faculty also participate in statewide efforts.
George Mason collaborates with other universities across the country to bring together experts and students to advance research. Gentopia, with North Carolina State University, George Mason University, and Carnegie Mellon University, aims to push the boundaries of natural language processing. Gentopia lets researchers develop and share tool-augmented natural language models and discover new ways of using them for various tasks and domains.
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed Jamil N. Jaffer, the founder and executive director of the National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, to his new AI Task Force, which will work with legislators to regulate rapidly advancing AI technology. Learn about Jaffer’s appointment to the AI Task Force.
LISTEN to Access to Excellence Podcast — EP 59: Jamil Jaffer: Cybersecurity and the global threats of tomorrow
Web Links
Videos
Welcome, Amarda Shehu | Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
(01:18)
By: George Mason University
George Mason University has named Associate Vice President for Research for the Institute for Digital Innovation (IDIA) Amarda Shehu as the university’s inaugural vice president and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO). In this role, Shehu will lead the strategy and implementation of AI across research, academics, and partnerships for the university, maximizing opportunity and adoption in addressing the world’s grand challenges while leading on ethical considerations, governance, and risk mitigation
J.P. Singh | Artificial Intelligence
September 15, 2023 (02:17)
By: George Mason University
As companies and consumers rush to figure out just what artificial intelligence (AI) applications can do, J. P. Singh is more concerned about how these technologies are created. A Distinguished University Professor with Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government and co-director of @georgemasonuniversity‘s Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership (CAHMP), Singh’s research focuses on how cultural preferences can shape both global policy and technology.
Learn more about Singh at https://www.gmu.edu/different
David Luther | Biodiversity in Tropical Rainforest
November 25, 2024 (01:36)
By: George Mason University
Thanks to the tenacity of a George Mason University biology professor, animals in the Amazon have a lot less privacy these days, but that’s good for scientists who want to know what’s going on in the Brazilian rainforests.
Discover more: https://www.gmu.edu/news/2024-11/rese
Research Centers….
Explore more AI research News at George Mason
Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC)
Source: Website
The Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC) conducts research and provides unique educational opportunities to address local and global needs in autonomy, embedded artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.
Our interdisciplinary activities take a holistic approach to growing technological demands by combining computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, systems engineering, psychology, philosophy, and policy education and research.
Working in conjunction with our other research affiliates and technology partners has created a proven and repeatable technology development program, uniting faculty, students, government agencies, and corporate sponsors.
Mason CEC – 15/04/2024 (00:12)
OnAir Post: Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC)
C5I Center of Excellence
Source: Website
The C5I (Center of Excellence in Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Cyber and Intelligence) at George Mason University is the nation’s first and only civilian university-based entity offering a comprehensive academic and research program in military applications of information technology and cyber security.
Vision
To serve as a multi-disciplinary hub connecting faculty and researchers with interests in the Center’s mission and be widely recognized as a premier source of knowledge and innovation to military and civilian authorities.
Mission
The Center’s mission is to perform advanced research in defense, intelligence, and security-related applications in IT and Cyber; bridging cultural gaps and aligning requirements between government, industry, and academia.
OnAir Post: GMU C5I
People
Amarda Shehu
Source: CEC webpage
Shehu is an accomplished administrator, teacher, and scholar. She currently serves as George Mason’s Inaugural VP and Chief AI Officer in which capacity she also continues to provide leadership for the Institute of Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) for which she served as Associate Vice President for Research during 2022 and 2024.
Shehu also serves as an Associate Dean for AI Innovation in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), where she is also a tenured Professor in the Department of Computer Science.
OnAir Post: Amarda Shehu
Missy Cummings
Source: CEC webpage
A naval officer and military pilot from 1988-1999, Cummings was one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots. She is now the director of Mason’s Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC) and a professor at George Mason University. She holds faculty appointments in the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science departments. She is an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fellow and recently served as the senior safety advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Cummings received her BS in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1988, her MS in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, and her PhD in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004.
OnAir Post: Missy Cummings
J.P. Singh
Source: Schar webpage
J.P. Singh is Distinguished University Professor at George Mason University (USA), and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow with the Robert Bosch Academy, Berlin. He is also co-director of the Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership (CAHMP) at George Mason.
Singh has published 10 books and over 100 articles. His latest books are: Cultural Values in Political Economy (2020), and Sweet Talk: Paternalism and Collective Action in North-South Trade Negotiations (Stanford, 2017).
OnAir Post: J.P. Singh
Jesse Kirkpatrick
Source: GMU webpage
Jesse Kirkpatrick is a Research Associate Professor, Acting Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and Co-director of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC) at George Mason University.
Jesse is also an International Security Fellow at New America and serves as a consultant for numerous organizations. His most recent consulting engagement is with Noblis Inc., a non-profit science, technology, and strategy organization that delivers technical and advisory solutions to federal government clients, where he is a member of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Committee; AI Review Board; and Biosafety and Bioethics Committee.
OnAir Post: Jesse Kirkpatrick
Alan R. Shark
Source: Schar webpage
Alan R. Shark is an associate professor in the School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. His research focuses on technology leadership, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, governance, cybersecurity, and civic engagement.
In addition to and formerly, he served 20 years as executive director of the Public Technology Institute (PTI).
OnAir Post: Alan R. Shark
Janusz Wojtusiak
Source: Public Health page
Dr. Wojtusiak, Professor of Health Informatics and Director of the Machine Learning and Inference Laboratory, has expertise that spans machine learning, health informatics, artificial intelligence in clinical decision support and knowledge discovery in medical data, and a wide range of applications of these fields in health care. His particular area of interest is in developing algorithms that derive simple, transparent and usable models from complex health data to predict patient and population outcomes. He studies how to create and evaluate reproducible, unbiased and trustworthy algorithms and models.
Dr. Wojtusiak serves as the Division Director for Health Informatics in the Department of Health Administration and Policy. He oversees undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs in health informatics. Dr. Wojtusiak teaches several courses focused on machine learning, data mining, artificial intelligence and computing applied in medicine, healthcare and individual/population health.
He authored or co-authored over 100 research publications and presentations and continues to collaborate with multiple national and international institutions.
OnAir Post: Janusz Wojtusiak
Thema Monroe-White
Source: GMU page
Thema (pron: Tay-mah) Monroe-White is an Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government and Department of Computer Science (joint) at George Mason University. Her broad interests include bias mitigation in artificial intelligence (AI), critical quantitative and computational methods, and racial equity in innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E).
As an interdisciplinary scholar, her work explores the systemic biases that affect the workforce and educational journeys of racially minoritized groups within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. She is particularly concerned with understanding the pathways to achieving social and economic empowerment for minoritized groups via I&E, AI literacy, and emancipatory data science.
OnAir Post: Thema Monroe-White
Dasha Pruss
Source: GMU webpage
Dasha Pruss is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science at George Mason University and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
Previously, she was a 2023-2024 fellow at the Berkman Klein Center and a postdoctoral fellow in the Embedded EthiCS program at Harvard University. In 2023 she received her PhD in history & philosophy of science from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was a National Science Foundation fellow, and she holds a BS in computer science.
Dr. Pruss draws on interdisciplinary methods from critical data studies, feminist philosophy of science, and the qualitative social sciences to examine how AI systems shape (and are shaped by) their social contexts. Her research critically interrogates the social impacts of algorithmic decision-making systems promoted by ‘evidence-based’ reforms in the US criminal legal system.
In 2024, she organized Prediction and Punishment: Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Carceral AI, which brought together scholars and activists from around the world to address technologies designed to police, incarcerate, surveil, and control human beings. Dr. Pruss is also an activist and has co-organized efforts to ban facial recognition and predictive policing in the city of Pittsburgh.
OnAir Post: Dasha Pruss
Programs
Master of Science in AI
Source: : Website
Launching in Fall 2025, Master of Science in AI
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across industries and government is revolutionizing business practices, enhancing public services, and reshaping the workforce. As artificial intelligence transforms an increasing number of economic sectors, decision-making across the government, and daily life, there is a growing demand for professionals who can ethically design, interpret, and deploy artificial intelligence systems
Become an AI Innovator
Enroll in the Master of Science (MS) in Artificial Intelligence, a cutting-edge graduate program in the College of Engineering and Computing. Designed to equip the next generation of AI innovators, this program offers a solid, interdisciplinary education that blends foundational theory with real-world application, preparing graduates to address complex challenges in industry, government, and beyond.
OnAir Post: Master of Science in AI
Ethics and AI Minor
Source: GMU Catalog
This minor is designed to equip students to tackle the moral complexity of AI-enabled technologies. It provides students with core competencies for thinking critically about the impact of AI in social and global contexts and allows them to apply their knowledge and skills via case studies, debates, and individual or team projects.
The minor seeks to make ethical and social considerations a forethought in the design, development, deployment, and use of AI-related technologies. Given the role of AI-enabled technologies in our increasingly digital society, the minor is of relevance to all Mason students as engaged citizens and offers vital competencies to those planning for careers in such areas as computing and technology, government, public policy, health, law, education, and the media.
OnAir Post: Ethics and AI Minor
Responsible AI Graduate Certificate
Source: GMU Catalog
The graduate certificate in Responsible AI provides students with the fundamentals of artificial intelligence (AI), how AI systems are architected, the principles of systems engineering as they relate to AI systems, theories of AI safety and risk, how to test and evaluate such systems to meet risk thresholds, and how to identify ethical, legal and regulatory issues that arise in such systems.
Students will be prepared to develop and manage complex systems with embedded AI, including identifying unique requirements for systems with embedded AI, testing and certifying these systems, and defining and maintaining safe levels of performance for deployed AI. Graduates will also be able to develop acquisition plans for complex systems with embedded AI, and develop AI maintenance programs including auditing. Areas of application include safety-critical physical systems like self-driving cars, air taxis and health applications, as well as software-based systems like financial and banking systems, and those that support education and research.
OnAir Post: Responsible AI Graduate Certificate
