Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University

08/13/2024

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is hiring an Environmental Outreach Intern! This is a part-time, limited term position that supports their stewardship work across Fairfax County. This is an excellent opportunity for a student or early career environmental educator with a wide skillset to support local conservation efforts with a supportive and experienced team.

08/07/2024

Attention ESP graduate students!
EVPP 632 Qualitative Research Methods for Environmental Scientists is offered this Fall.
PhD students can use this course to fulfill their methods core requirement.
Details: https://tedhchen.com/ESS-ResearchDesign/

08/06/2024

Watch these bugs compete in the Cicada Olympics!
Video featuring ESP associate professor and PEREC K12 Education & Outreach Director Dr. Cindy Smith:
https://youtu.be/RIQZVP_cb0Y?si=8rRlU5HiLK3lIICY

08/06/2024

PhD Plus & SPI - Science Policy Fellowship Workshop

This workshop is open to all grad students in VA. Designed for graduate students and postdocs who are interested in pursuing science policy fellowship and internship opportunities.

Workshop: Aug 15, 2024, 1:30pm.
Register by: Aug 13, 2024, 12pm.
https://phdplus.virginia.edu/events/phd-plus-spi-science-policy-fellowship-workshop

08/06/2024

HELLO!
If you have a moment please take this survey for Tabitha King's (ESP PhD student) research.

Tabitha is a graduate student at George Mason University, and is conducting a study to better understand the fishes that people like to catch and eat from the Potomac River. She is also testing various game fishes for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or 'forever chemicals'). This information will be used to determine the risk of PFAS exposure for local fish consumers.

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd42yXY5ZbAEQ7P9ZvrDcrlqpGX8uJqcml9Jn25BZyz3ciIqA/viewform

08/06/2024

ESP assistant professor of energy and sustainability Jennifer Sklarew was featured as an expert guest on the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure Energy Month series.
In her interview, Dr. Sklarew highlighted the roles of awareness, finance, and community engagement in solving clean energy challenges. In describing these challenges, she explained that large hydropower infrastructure and power production can cause climate change effects such as increased drought and flooding, as well as dam infrastructure complications. Dr. Sklarew suggested that smaller hydropower systems can support local communities' electricity access while mitigating flooding.
Read more and watch the video here: https://science.gmu.edu/news/jennifer-sklarew-featured-expert-guest-energy-spotlight

07/13/2024

We wish Dr. Amy Fowler and her family all the best in Finland!
Read about the research she will be conducting here: https://science.gmu.edu/news/george-mason-university-environmental-scientist-selected-fulbright-us-scholar-program
College of Science at George Mason University
Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center
The Fulbright Program
Fulbright Finland

07/11/2024

A scholarship opportunity with a quick turnaround time - application deadline is July 26, 2024.
To be eligible students must be full-time undergraduates for the 2024-2025 academic year, and they must have a Mason cumulative GPA of a 2.00.
Center for the Advancement of Well-Being

06/20/2024

Congratulations to Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University graduate student Rachel Kelmartin on being selected as one of the six 2024 Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Fellows!
Rachel is a master’s student in professor T. Reid Nelson’s fisheries ecology lab. She is interested in applied science that will aid in keeping fisheries sustainable so that they may be utilized and enjoyed equally by everyone.
College of Science at George Mason University
Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center
https://vaseagrant.org/2024-graduate-fellows-announced/

06/07/2024

Join neighbors and friends, along with College of Science at George Mason University and Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University professor and director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center Dr. R. Chris Jones for a discussion on the health of our waterways and a sunset gala at the Potomac Science Center.
https://science.gmu.edu/events/HealthyWaterways

05/31/2024

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Fowler and her students on a successful poster campaign in the College of Science at George Mason University 2024 Undergraduate Research Colloquium in these categories:
Category Winner - Environmental and Earth Sciences
Honorable Mention - Life Sciences
Full list of winners:
https://science.gmu.edu/news/college-science-students-showcase-their-work-annual-undergraduate-research-colloquium

05/31/2024

ATTENTION graduate students!
GMU Fellowships is offering a free virtual 3-day bootcamp on June 5-7, 2024 for the National Science Foundation GRFP application.

05/21/2024

Calling all May 2024 graduates! Don't forget to take the Career Plans survey! Best wishes to all of you as you begin your career journeys.
University Career Services, George Mason University

05/17/2024

Congratulations to our Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University undergraduate student award winners and all our student graduates! 🎓🎓🎓
Pictures from the 2024 Department of Environmental Science and Policy Awards Ceremony and Spring 2024 College of Science at George Mason University Degree Celebration.
List of award winners posted here by department:
https://science.gmu.edu/news/2024-student-excellence-award-winners

05/15/2024

New article in PNAS:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407913121
“In the rivers, we’re still in the stage of learning and developing capacity to monitor,” says Rosalina Stancheva Christova, a freshwater ecologist specializing in benthic algae at College of Science at George Mason University, Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center and Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University.

05/15/2024

R. Chris Jones, director of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center and professor of freshwater ecology at Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University was at the 26th Annual Eagle Festival on May 11, 2024 at Mason Neck State Park.

Virginia State Parks
College of Science at George Mason University
Friends of Mason Neck State Park

05/07/2024

Congratulations to our graduate student Tabitha King on her recent publication in the The Journal of Science Policy & Governance - JSPG :
"Policy Memo: ​Setting PFAS-Based Fish Consumption Advisories for Virginia Waterways"
https://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/article_1038126_jspg240109.html

05/03/2024

Congratulations to our graduate student Sarah Roth who received the Dean’s Student Award for Excellence in Service! The award is given to a graduate student for significant contributions to the reputation and mission of College of Science at George Mason University and George Mason University.
List of all College of Science at George Mason University award winners: https://science.gmu.edu/news/2024-student-excellence-award-winners
Read about Sarah's groundbreaking Master's project: https://www.gmu.edu/news/2024-04/native-food-forest-takes-root-masons-fairfax-campus

04/25/2024

Visit: https://brand.gmu.edu/

Don’t miss a video from George Mason University, subscribe now: https://bit.ly/GeorgeMasonYouTubeSubscribe George Mason University today unveiled a completel...

04/22/2024

Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact
The Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact Expo will be held in-person this year in Dewberry Hall on April 29, 2024. There will also be video presentations posted that same week.
At the in-person event, there will be food, exhibits, student performances, and poster presentations by Mason undergraduate students who have done research, creative, or other projects this year.
https://celebration.oscar.gmu.edu/

04/22/2024

Celebrate by showing our planet some love! Join a local clean-up drive, advocate for change, and choose sustainable practices. Every little bit helps.
Learn more about Earth Day here: https://www.earthday.org/

04/19/2024

Learn About How Toxic Chemicals Affect Wildlife!
Join Wild Virginia on Thursday, April 25th at 6:30pm for a FREE webinar to learn about the effects of PFAS on wildlife.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-about-how-toxic-chemicals-affect-wildlife-tickets-860964978427?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

04/19/2024

Congratulations to ESP assistant professor Karen Akerlof, who received the Sustainability Hero Award on April 16, 2024 during the Mason Outstanding Achievement Awards! College of Science at George Mason University
https://science.gmu.edu/news/2024-outstanding-achievement-awards

04/18/2024

in Action students together with their instructor ESP assistant professor Jennifer Sklarew created food security and multistory gardens during a hands-on workshop on April 12, 2024. They were led by virtual guidance from collaborating experts in Kenya.
These vertical container gardens can hold up to 120 leafy green plants, helping to combat food insecurity and provide options for vertical farming in space-constrained locations.
https://science.gmu.edu/news/students-learn-how-create-food-security-and-multistory-gardens

04/17/2024

“We are planting America’s first campus-based native food forest dedicated to feeding both human and animal foragers,” said Mason and ESP professor of sustainability Dann Sklarew of what has been aptly named the Foragers’ Forest.
https://www.gmu.edu/news/2024-04/native-food-forest-takes-root-masons-fairfax-campus
Mason University Sustainability

04/17/2024

[DRUMROLL]
BIG congratulations to the seventeen Summer 2024 Sustainability Research Fellows especially our eight from ESP!
Mason's Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) and the Graduate Division announce the Summer 2024 Sustainability Research Fellows:
https://ise.gmu.edu/summer-research-with-organizations-on-the-front-lines-of-sustainability-challenges/
Graduate Division at GMU

04/11/2024

STUDENTS!
Two new scholarships just added - the White House Farm Foundation Plein Environmental Scholarship and the VAWP Student Research Scholarship.
Visit: https://tinyurl.com/mpbr6wzp to read about both scholarships and explore other opportunities (internships, jobs, fellowships).
Everyone is busy, but the last leg of the spring semester is the BUSIEST time for recruitment for jobs/internships/fellowships for the summer and fall to follow, as well as when scholarship applications are due.

04/11/2024

STUDENTS!
The Office of Fellowships is hosting Groundwork for Grad School April 15-19. This will be an exciting and informative event geared toward students who may benefit from or who are considering graduate school as part of their academic journey. They will be covering hot topics such as why a student might seek graduate education, how to pay for it, and how to find a program that is a good fit. They will also have sessions related to necessary skills such as writing personal statements and the importance of recommendation letters.
https://mason360.gmu.edu/MasonFellows/rsvp_boot?id=2266212

04/10/2024

Patriot Packout (PPO) is Mason’s annual end-of-the academic year donation initiative. PPO provides on-campus donation resources for all students, faculty, and staff affected by move-out. PPO diverts usable items from trash and redistributes them to Mason students, faculty/staff, and community members who can benefit from them.

All Mason Patriots can donate to PPO 2024 from April 15 - May 10.
Volunteer for Patriot Packout (PPO)!

Full details on how to volunteer, how/what/where to donate and more on the website: https://green.gmu.edu/patriot-pack-out-ppo/