GCI-Grand Challenge Initiative

Careers in space policy are lifting off. Aerospace veteran and Schar School graduate Hina Kazmi introduces a new course in space policy that takes graduate degrees to an elevated level in a burgeoning field of study.

At George Mason University, researchers are developing tools and techniques to support K-12 educators and improve student outcomes.

The George Mason University Police Department recently installed a soft interview room on campus to support survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. With support from Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission, a nonprofit organization, the soft interview room provides a critical component of trauma informed care to the campus community.

George Mason University researcher Anamaria Berea was selected to serve on NASA's Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (DARES) Task Force 1.

In spring 2025, students in EVPP 480 Sustainability in Action gave a crucial boost to Chesapeake Bay oysters by constructing oyster reef balls where the bivalves can attach, grow, and develop into natural reef structures.

An interdisciplinary George Mason University research team is breaking new ground in using artificial intelligence to develop a mobile app to accurately capture and document bruises of victims of interpersonal violence.

George Mason University has launched its Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI), a comprehensive research framework backed by an initial five-year, $15 million investment. The initiative will align university resources, faculty expertise, and educational programs around six interconnected solution areas addressing what George Mason President Gregory Washington describes as “humanity’s ultimate grand challenge”—securing a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future.

A faculty team from several programs within the School of Education at George Mason University has been awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant to train mental health services providers in Manassas City Public Schools. The grant is part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to expand student access to mental health services in high-need K-12 public schools. 

Andre Marshall, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact at George Mason, joins President Gregory Washington to discuss how the Grand Challenge Initiative will shape our future as an R1 institution. 

An undergraduate student-led Mason Impact project at Mason Korea results in a co-authored article published in the peer-reviewed international journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. “Accessible water quality monitoring through hybrid human–machine colorimetric methods” stems from the Mason Impact project focused on environmental conditions in the Seunggi-cheon stream in Incheon.