Alumni of the George Washington University hail from all around the globe, but they can’t wait to return home to GW every year for its annual Alumni & Families Weekend. Hundreds of GW alumni came home in September to participate in a slew of activities that show off the best the university has to offer alongside current students, friends, and families of GW. The School of Engineering & Applied Science (GW Engineering) welcomed them back to the Science & Engineering Hall on Saturday, September 30, to engage in conversations with the visionary leader of GW Engineering, Dr. John Lach, tour our state-of-the-art building, and stay for brief lectures by select GW Engineering faculty.
The lectures allowed GW Engineering to show off its cutting-edge, world-class education and teaching to its community members. Each one touched on a different topic, but all highlighted how students can become highly involved in their research. For example, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Samer Hamdar kicked off the series with his lecture, “Human versus Machine: AI in Transportation Engineering,” which offered sample demonstrations of the applications of big data and artificial intelligence in transportation that he and his students developed to solve some of the latest problems seen on our roadways.
The next two lectures followed suit. Biomedical Engineering Professor and Department Chair Vesna Zderic detailed the many years of work she and countless students from all levels have conducted on developing a novel, non-pharmacological approach for treating Type 2 diabetes using ultrasounds. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Gina Adam shared the work she and her students are conducting in the Nanofabrication Laboratory on designing more efficient computer software.
Simultaneously, a previous GW Engineering student also presented at the University Student Center. In the lecture, “Techequity: Social Justice and Technology for All Backgrounds,” Alumni Rubin Roy, B.S.’23, and Dr. Maranda Ward, Assistant Professor of Clinical Research and Leadership in the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, discussed what the intersection of technology looks like and what we are doing to ensure that technology is truly built for all of us.
By attending the GW Engineering Open House and “Best of GW Faculty Lectures,” families got to catch a glimpse into the life of their students while alumni got to take a step back into the past in addition to a glimpse into the present and future. Each lecture demonstrated the innovative work the GW Engineering community is doing and how it prepares students to have an impact on the world.
Dean Lach described this perfectly in his opening remarks: “Our students are well positioned to have a positive impact on the world, and you can see that in our alumni.