Faculty Afoot

In this episode of Access to Excellence, associate professor of computational and data sciences Anamaria Berea discusses her research on Mars settlements and Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon as she and President Gregory Washington debate the age-old question: What are the chances of intelligent life beyond Earth?

Congratulations to Rachel Lewis, MAIS Women and Gender Studies concentration head, on receiving a 2024 Presidential Faculty award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Lisa Gilman, Professor of Folklore and English at George Mason University and IIR Faculty Affiliate, has released the Dzaleka Art Project website. The art project is a community-based collaborative project by and about the arts and artists living as refugees in the Dzaleka camp in Malawi.

Berea, an associate professor in the College of Science, is part of an independent study team looking at unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), formerly known as UFOs.

Dr. Anamaria Berea, MAIS Concentration Head for Computational Social Science recently published a new book, as an editor and co-author, “Technosignatures for Detecting Intelligent Life in Our Universe, A Research Companion”, that tackles the interdisciplinary approach to understanding life in our universe, with contributions from astrophysics and astronomy to history, economics and data science.

Interdisciplinary Studies concentration heads wear many hats. Because Mason is primarily a research university, faculty are first and foremost researchers, who produce new knowledge in their respective fields. Second, they are teachers who work with students in traditional classroom settings and as advisors to graduate students conducting their own research. And third, they serve as academic advisors and administrators, to Interdisciplinary Studies but also their home departments and even to the College of Humanities & Social Sciences itself. We are grateful for all their efforts!