student organizations

Mason ASCE teams hosted, competed in 2023

Teresa Donnellan — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 17:00:16 +0000

Mason ASCE teams hosted, competed in 2023 Teresa Donnellan Mon, 01/08/2024 - 12:00

In This Story

Every year, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) allows its college chapters to participate in competitions that showcase the engineering knowledge and finesse of civil engineering students across the country.

Two of ��ӽ紫ý's ASCE teams—Team Surveying and Team Sustainable Solutions—participated and won in the annual competition, which was held in early spring of 2023. Led by Doaa Bondok, assistant professor of structural engineering and Mason ASCE faculty advisor, the Mason teams competed in challenges like the Steel Bridge Competition, Surveying Competition, and Sustainable Solutions.

“These competitions present fun challenges where students extend their engineering knowledge, think through concepts, create innovative solutions, and consider sustainability practices in their final designs,” said Bondok.

Mason's student team competes in the Steel Bridge Competition at the annual ASCE Virginias' Conference, hosted by the student chapter of Mason’s American Society of Civil Engineers. Photo by Bethany Camp/Office of University Branding

Several Mason civil engineering students also won ASCE National Capital Section scholarships: Amber Brown, previous ASCE student vice president, received $2,500; Phillip Hunt, current ASCE student vice president, received $1500; and Kyler Resnick, ASCE recruiting and membership officer and the captain of the Steel Bridge Competition, received $1,500.

“My role as faculty advisor is to support the teams to achieve their goals,” said Bondok. “Personally, I see the most significant aspect of my role is to encourage and motivate them to overcome challenges along the way, help them grow professionally, uplift their spirit, and just being there for them.”

According to Bondok, being an ASCE student member is a rewarding experience that offers the chance to participate in and work on projects that may not be taught within a classroom and work closely with professional mentors in the industry.

Nicholo Gadiana, a Mason ASCE alum, was the project lead of the Sustainable Solutions Competition in 2022.

“One thing I would advise to anyone interested is don't be afraid to let your ideas be heard,” said Gadiana, who underscored the value of being a member of Mason's ASCE chapter. “Students should start having the mentality of networking and interacting with students, professors, and industry professionals when joining ASCE. After graduation, this attribute significantly improved how I approach other professionals in the industry.”

“Students have the ability to significantly improve their critical thinking abilities, gain management skills, and have a strong role on their resume that helps them be well-rounded and competitive as job candidates,” said Bondok.

The Mason ASCE chapter also received an honorable mention for their outstanding activities in 2022.

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Civil Engineering

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student organizations

Students

College of Engineering and Computing

Native American and Indigenous Alliance builds awareness and ‘family’ at Mason

Colleen Rich — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 16:46:10 +0000

Native American and Indigenous Alliance builds awareness and ‘family’ at Mason Colleen Rich Fri, 11/11/2022 - 11:46

��ӽ紫ý’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance (NAIA) works each semester to foster a sense of community for Mason’s Native and non-Native students. But the month of November is an especially busy time for this student organization.

That’s because November is National Native American Heritage Month (NAHM), an opportunity to honor the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans, past and present.

NAIA’s Spring Retreat to Nanjemoy Creek in Charles County, Maryland, in March 2022. Photo provided

“It’s the reality for many people that they are going to be uneducated about topics like Native American history and culture because the society that we live in perpetuates stereotypes and false histories,” said Domi Hannon, NAIA’s internal president and a senior foreign languages major. “So we are being that welcoming space and allowing anyone to come here and learn about Native American people as an actual people, not just as a stereotype.”

NAIA has filled its November calendar with numerous events, such as attending the dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, and holding a beading workshop led by NAIA Secretary Mariko Nojima-Schmunk of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

The goal is to educate people about Indigenous history but also to “celebrate Indigenous creativity” and have “moments of good times, joy, and family,” Hannon said.

At the start of their general body meeting on Nov. 3—focused on the history of NAHM—members filled their plates with squash, chicken, salad, and other filling foods they made for a dinner together. This, they said, is a tradition they do for anyone who joins their biweekly Thursday meetings.

NAIA members, alongside Yapatoko drum members, at NAIA’s Spring 2022 Powwow on April 23. Photo by Hayley Madl/NAIA

Logan Varker, a graduate student in Mason’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, said he wasn’t aware of NAHM prior to the meeting. Not only has NAIA been helpful with understanding indigeneity, Varker said, but also with his work in his HIST 685 Community Engaged History class taught by Associate Professor Gabrielle Tayac.

Each NAIA event starts with a reading of a land acknowledgement statement, something the group hopes becomes standardized across Mason.

“It’s important to know whose land you’re on and the history of what these Indigenous people had to go through so that these huge buildings could be built,” said Sara Jefferson, NAIA’s external president who is also a junior conflict analysis and resolution major and a member of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe of Charles City County, Virginia.

NAIA is unique, as it’s a group for both the more than 45 Indigenous students on campus this semester and also for allies, Jefferson said. “We find strength in numbers, so having these allies come together to learn and amplify our voices is important.”

To honor LGBTQ+ History Month in October, NAIA collaborated with the LGBTQ+ Resources Center and the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment for a virtual conversation with Two-Spirit Elder Elton Naswood of the Near to the Water People Clan.

Naswood explained that a “two-spirit” is a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous tribes to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity.

“Terms are validating and understanding,” Naswood said. “If we had terms in our Native communities, that means we existed.”

Learn more about NAIA’s events on Instagram at @gmunaia.

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Students

student organizations

Native American Indigenous Alliance

Sen. Warner visits Democrats at Mason

Colleen Rich — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 19:36:38 +0000

Sen. Warner visits Democrats at Mason Colleen Rich Mon, 10/03/2022 - 15:36

Photo by DeRon Rockingham/Creative Services

U.S. Senator Mark Warner spoke with about 50 students Friday, Sept. 30, on ��ӽ紫ý’s Fairfax Campus at an event hosted by the student group Democrats at Mason. Warner is the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and serves on the Committee on Finance; Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Committee on the Budget; and the Committee on Rules and Administration.

The senator talked about infrastructure funding, including $20 million for a bicycle–pedestrian bridge across the Potomac River from Arlington to Washington, D.C., and the war in Ukraine, and he took questions from the audience, including ones about the polarization present in national politics.

He encouraged students to vote and to be politically active.

“Our democracy, for all its flaws, is worth fighting for,” Warner told the group.

Mason’s proximity to Washington, D.C., provides many opportunities for students to meet policymakers and engage with them on critical issues.

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Students

Mason Votes

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proximity to D.C.

Picture This

More women in STEM is this group’s benchmark

Colleen Rich — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:40:22 +0000

More women in STEM is this group’s benchmark Colleen Rich Wed, 08/24/2022 - 12:40

For Areeba Qureshi and Aiza Asam, president and vice president, respectively, of ��ӽ紫ý’s student-run organization STEMinists, their mission statement is clear.

Areeba Qureshi (left) and Aiza Asam of the student organization STEMinists. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

“The number of women in STEM fields is very low compared to the number of men,” Qureshi said. “We really want to battle that gender difference and increase women who are in science and engineering.”

The numbers do tell the story.

According to the Computer Research Association’s national 2020-21 Taulbee Survey, women accounted for just 22.3% of bachelor’s degrees in computer science, 17% in computer engineering and 22.7% in information technology.

Mason’s graduation numbers mostly mirror those statistics, with women accounting for 19% of computer science degrees in 2020-21, 18% in computer engineering and 25.6% in information technology.

For Asam, the numbers also speak to ethnic sensibilities.

“We are children of immigrants,” she said. “So immigrants, most of them don’t have a good idea of what STEM fields are. To them, career opportunities are very simple, very basic, like lawyer, doctor. There are roles for women outside of what they’re used to. They just need an outside source to give them that information, that inspiration.”

STEMinists is only a bit more than a year old, but claims 183 members on its Mason360 page.

Qureshi and Asam, both senior biology majors, have been there from the start, and collaborated on painting the colorful STEMinists bench you can’t miss as you walk north on campus past SUB I.

The organization is active.

In March, the group put on an in-person speaker event that drew an audience of 30 and included Ali Karim, founder of Global Shout, a nonprofit that, according to its website, helps those in need around the world attain the essential goods, tools and expertise to improve their lives; Lorraine Waltz, director of oncology at Virginia Hospital Center; and Soha Mohammed, a medical student at Howard University.

An event about networking is planned for next spring. There also is a planned partnership with Women in Bio, an organization of professionals that promotes careers, leadership and entrepreneurship for women in the life sciences. The groups will join forces, that will help develop prospects for internships and jobs.

That STEMinists has grown so rapidly is a testament to Mason’s culture, said Asam, who transferred to Mason from Northern Virginia Community College.

“I always say this to everyone, but I just love how diverse Mason is and how you can learn so many new things just by having a conversation,” she said. “It gives me a sense of unity, which is very nice.”

Even so, STEMinists had some growing pains.

“Before every single meeting we were always panicking. ‘Is anyone going to show up?’” Asam said. “But we always have somewhat of a turnout and it always makes us happy.”

“I feel like we accomplished something,” Qureshi said. “I feel like we’re making a difference.”

For more information about STEMinists, go to its Instagram page @gmusteminists.

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Students

student organizations

College of Science

Rising senior Alaina Ruffin and incoming Mason NAACP president honored for her activism at NAACP Annual Conference

Colleen Rich — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 16:40:32 +0000

Rising senior Alaina Ruffin and incoming Mason NAACP president honored for her activism at NAACP Annual Conference Colleen Rich Tue, 08/09/2022 - 12:40

Alaina Ruffin. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

Alaina Ruffin joined ��ӽ紫ý’s NAACP chapter her freshman year. Three years later, the rising senior English major is the organization’s incoming president.

“I was very curious because coming from my background, I had known the NAACP as such a revered, and frankly, old civil rights organization,” she said. “Especially housing big names like Ida B. Wells and W.E.B. DuBois.”

Although Ruffin, who is from Herndon, Virginia, has been an advocate since she was 15, she said she wondered what the NAACP would want with younger people, and how her generation could even contribute to the cause.

She began attending general membership meetings and getting more involved with NAACP events. Her passion for activism led Ruffin to gain more responsibility and leadership roles.

Ruffin was initially a part of the Political Action Committee and the Education Committee for Mason’s NAACP chapter, and in her sophomore year served on the Executive Committee as the social justice chair.

Although the pandemic and organizational difficulties resulted in Mason’s chapter being placed on hold, Ruffin continued to advocate during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement, holding multiple check-ins, discussions, and voter registration drives in the Fairfax area. “I went rogue,” she joked. “I kind of just took matters into my own hands.”

Ruffin played a pivotal role in officially reactivating the formerly inactive chapter in May 2021.

Philip Wilkerson, the manager of industry advising and employer development in University Career Services, has been the faculty advisor for Mason’s NAACP chapter since 2019.

“Alaina was built for this,” Wilkerson said. “Every president before her has gone on to do great things, and I know she will too.”

In addition to serving as the chapter’s vice president her junior year, Ruffin served as the first vice president in the Virginia NAACP Youth and College Division for an interim period. She also reactivated NAACP chapters in the Loudoun Youth Advisory Council, the Stafford Youth Council, and the University of Lynchburg.

For all of her hard work, Ruffin is the recipient of two NAACP Annual Conference Awards: the 2022 Gloster B. Current Organizer of the Year Award and the Medgar Wiley Evers Youth Leadership Award in the College Short Story Category.

“I wasn’t expecting to win one, let alone both,” she said.

The latter award, presented in honor of the Civil Rights figure, has three categories: an essay, a short story, and a poem.

Evers is one of Ruffin’s idols, and she compares her feelings as a Black woman in contemporary America to how Evers, the first NAACP field secretary, must have felt at times, and takes strength knowing that he forged ahead.

“The award is a testament to his memory and the work he did, not just as a civil rights figure but as a character in conceptualizing how we perceive racial justice advocacy today,” Ruffin said.

As the incoming president of Mason’s NAACP chapter, Ruffin said she can’t wait to join forces with other students in hopes of creating a more just world.

“Advocacy is multifarious,” she said. “There is a place for you in the movement. Even when we doubt ourselves, we still have something to contribute to our futures.”

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Students

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

student organizations

A winning legacy: Mason Debate celebrates its long-time director

Colleen Rich — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:14:08 +0000

A winning legacy: Mason Debate celebrates its long-time director Colleen Rich Thu, 06/16/2022 - 15:14

Dean Ann Ardis, Warren Decker and Mason alum Leonard Bennett at the reception. Photo provided

As ��ӽ紫ý launched the celebration of its 50th Anniversary as an independent institution, one of its most successful teams celebrated the career of its coach—a career that spans nearly as long.

Warren Decker, director of Mason’s debate program, joined the Department of Communication in 1976, in a year in which the fledgling program included only one student who had ever been to a tournament.

“I came to Mason when it was still in its infancy, and it was a neat place to be,” said Decker. “There were no other state universities in the area, so it was a great place for a debate program.”

By 1979, Mason sent its first team to the National Debate Tournament, and the success of the team has grown ever since. During Decker’s nearly 50 years of tenure as director, the Debate Team has become one of the most successful debate programs in the country, boasting top spots in the American Debate Association, Cross Examination Debate Association, and National Debate Tournament ranking championships.

Coach Warren Decker (far right) with the Mason Debate Team in April 2022. Photo provided

In 1984, Decker was recognized as Faculty Member of the Year by the Mason Alumni Association.

On April 8, during the week that Mason kicked off the celebration of its first 50 years, the group invited team members and alumni to a reception in Decker’s honor.

During the reception, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Ann Ardis lauded the team’s success. “Under Warren’s direction, Mason Debate has qualified to attend the National Debate Tournament 36 times and has ranked in the top two teams in the country for the last decade,” she said. “Warren has directed and coached more debate students than any other college debate coach in the country—and changed the lives of countless students.”

The reception brought together debate team members and alumni, and colleagues from the Department of Communication to celebrate the contributions that Decker made to the team and to Mason. The many tributes included those from Jackie Poapst, assistant director of debate; debate team captains; and Debate Team alums Burton Gray, BA Economics and English ’95; Leonard (Len) Bennett, BA Finance ’89, JD ’94; Laura Tuell, BA Government and Politics ’91; Alan Stewart, BA International Studies ’91, MA International Transactions ’97; and Stephen Karbelk, BA History ’92.

Dean Ardis joined in offering a toast to Decker, noting the enthusiasm with which his students and former students gathered to celebrate him, and remarking on their great generosity. Ardis announced donations to the Debate Team Endowment in Decker’s name, an expansion of the Burton and Yardley Gray Debate Student Scholarship Fund, and a leadership gift from Leonard Bennett that endows the position of Debate Team Director as the Warren D. Decker Professorship Endowment.

The support of these team members, past and present, allows Decker to leave behind a legacy of continued growth and learning for his students: a true legacy of winning.

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Masonat50

Faculty and Staff News

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

student organizations

Alumni

Shafuq Naseem: Seizing Opportunities, Winning Honors

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 17 May 2022 15:17:02 +0000

Shafuq Naseem: Seizing Opportunities, Winning Honors Andrew J Schappert Tue, 05/17/2022 - 11:17

In This Story

Bonnie Stabile

Heba F. El-Shazli

Shafuq Naseem: ‘I’m really fortunate to have met such inspiring and kind student-leaders who are willing to take the time and support me and the work I am doing.’

It’s been quite an active junior year for Shafuq Naseem. While many Schar School of Policy and Government students are busy enough with their studies, Naseem took on a new role as a research assistant for a project that she helped conceptualize—and for that her effort and other achievements, she received the Gender and Policy Center (GAP) Leadership Award.

That was just one of the honors bestowed on the government and international politics major this year. In October, Naseem was one of only 68 students in the country chosen to attend the Harvard Kennedy School’s Public Policy and Leadership Conference.

Naseem, it would seem, has made the most of the opportunities afforded by the Schar School and ��ӽ紫ý.

In addition to attending the highly competitive conference at Harvard, the Springfield, Virginia, native has broadened her experience, made meaningful relationships, and assisted those in need throughout her college career, all while maintaining a parent-pleasing GPA.

She spent 10 weeks in the fall of 2021 as an intern for the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Women’s Rights Project. And this spring semester, she wrapped up an internship with Workplace Fairness, a worker’s rights resource organization.

Naseem gets her physical exercise amid her academic and extracurricular activities by running whenever she has the chance. Would she also have time to join a club? Well, actually, not only does she belong to a club, but she founded it—in her freshman year.

“It’s the Patriot Period Project,” she said. “Our mission is to address menstrual equity and period poverty on Mason's campuses.”

The pilot program, which distributes free menstruation products at campus bathrooms, began in the fall of 2021 and is expected to continue into 2022. Of course, at the time of founding the organization, the then-first-year student would hardly know the intricate ins-and-outs of beginning a brand-new, student-operated organization at a large academic institution such as Mason, and for that she worked with a network of student leaders with more experience, including the present and past student body presidents.

“I’m really fortunate to have met such inspiring and kind student-leaders who are willing to take the time and support me and the work I am doing. Many have become some of my closest friends at Mason,” she said of the relationships she’s developed. “I definitely owe it to a lot to my family, friends, and professors who continue to support me.”

One of those faculty members is Heba F. El-Shazli, an assistant professor with the Schar School and director of undergraduate programs. As an example of how faculty members can help students achieve their goals beyond the classroom, Naseem said the Women’s Rights Project specifically mentioned in their acceptance email the powerful letter of recommendation from El-Shazli.

“It is such a wonderful feeling when one can help another—when I can help such a deserving, hard-working, and dedicated student,” said El-Shazli.

That the professor knew Naseem so well is not an accident. She was El-Shazli’s student during a summer intensive course in which 14 weeks of study is condensed into five weeks.

“Let us say it is not a kind, gentle way to be introduced to a professor and their courses,” El-Shazli confides. “Yet, Shafuq came to as many office hours as she could three to four out of the five weeks” for wide-ranging conversations that touched on everything from workers’ rights in developing countries to environmental degradation to books, with Alka Joshi’s The Henna Artist being a particular favorite in common.

This year Naseem worked alongside a student team of researchers in the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) to help Associate Professor Bonnie Stabile, director of the Gender and Policy Center, perform advanced research on a subject titled “Pink Taxes and Period Poverty.”

The topic, Stabile said, “was brought to my attention by Shafuq.” Her inspiration and her work led to the GAP Leadership Award.

Naseem recommends all students “open yourself up to meeting new people and getting to know your professors,” she said. “Not only do they want you to succeed in the classroom, but they also want to support you outside the classroom, with professional opportunities, or anything you find interesting.”

Topics

Government and International Politics

student organizations

Schar School News May 2022

Gender and Policy Center

Schar School BA in Government and International Politics

Schar School Student Spotlight

Rising Health Care Leaders at Mason and MHA Alumnus Win Distinguished Quill Awards

John Brandon Cantrell — Tue, 17 May 2022 14:17:23 +0000

Rising Health Care Leaders at Mason and MHA Alumnus Win Distinguished Quill Awards John Brandon C… Tue, 05/17/2022 - 10:17

In This Story

Maria Uriyo

Brenda Sheingold, Rehan Saeed, and Maria Uriyo

Congratulations to the Rising Health Care Leaders at Mason (RHLM) student organization for receiving the Community Enrichment Award at Mason's Distinguished Quill Award Celebration. The award recognized RHLM for its efforts to enrich students' academic and professional prospects by organizing and planning networking events, such as the 2022 RHLM Symposium in March.

"I have observed tremendous growth and confidence amongst the RHLM organization's current leadership," said Maria Uriyo, assistant professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy. "During the 2021 – 2022 academic year, the RHLM organized events that reinforced the importance of academic learning and addressed the individual differences of student learning. This was met by arranging in-person and virtual networking events with department faculty and industry health care leaders."

The Distinguished Quill Awards commend Mason leaders and organizations that have profoundly impacted the University's community.

In addition to RHLM winning the Community Enrichment Award, Rehan Saeed, RHLM's former president and a recent graduate of the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program, received the Mentor of the Year Award to honor his dedication to the student group's growth and professional development during his leadership.

"Rehan is an amazing mentor and has always been of great support for all our initiatives," said the current President of RHLM, Akshaya Chinnathevar Ramesh. "He is usually the first person to come in and stay until our event is complete, standing with us, encouraging, and motivating us. I strongly feel he deserved the 'Mentor of the Year' Award."

Learn more about Rising Health Care Leaders at Mason.

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Awards

HAP News

CHHS News

Rising Healthcare Leaders

student organizations

Department of Health Administration and Policy

Mason’s “small but mighty” Forensics Team takes second place at national competition

Colleen Rich — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 12:02:20 +0000

Mason’s “small but mighty” Forensics Team takes second place at national competition Colleen Rich Thu, 04/14/2022 - 08:02

Mason’s Forensics Team recently recently competed at the 43rd American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament. Photo provided

��ӽ紫ý’s Forensics Team recently added another prestigious honor to its long list of successes: national runner-up at the 43rd American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST).

“It was the most gratifying experience I’ve had in my whole speech career,” said Prem Ganesan, a freshman economics major at Mason who participated in five tournament events.

From April 2-4, 14 students from Mason’s Forensics Team competed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the AFA-NST, which brings students together from across the nation to compete for national championships.

Mason's team, which won the 1979 national championship, has been ranked in the top five nationally every year since 2007, and in the top 35 nationally since 1975.

Ganesan said the team worried it wouldn’t hold its top-five ranking with a smaller competing squad of 14 students compared with up to 25 members in previous years.

Dawn Lowry, Mason’s director of forensics, said that with the pandemic, “It has been a tough two years on everybody, and to have something that we could all work on together means a lot.”

Forensics' Eleni Mercer, Prem Ganesan, and Izzie Larson at the national competition. Photo provided

The 11 competitive events are categorized in three genres: prepared public speaking (informative speaking, persuasion, communication analysis, and after dinner speaking), limited preparation public speaking (extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking), and oral interpretation performance events (prose, poetry, dramatic interpretation, program of oral interpretation, and DUO, which is the only interpretation event requiring two performers).

Several students received individual honors, including José Quinones, 20th place; Izzie Larson, 18th place; and Eleni Mercer, 11th place.

Mercer, a sophomore government and international politics major, and Larson, a senior integrative studies major, were also named national champions in the DUO event. Their piece, they said, is about how health care providers are not equipped to care for transgender bodies, and how modern medicine ignores and mistreats transgender people.

“We care so deeply about our topic, so creating something we were passionate about came really easily,” Larson said. “Going into nationals, we were already so proud and excited about what we had created that the win was just the cherry on top.”

The coaches, Lowry said, “have really tried to create an environment where students can talk about issues that have a profound effect on them.”

Ganesan used his program of oral interpretation event, in which he placed fourth, to speak on how British colonialism in India has impacted the Hindu faith in promoting homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and colorism.

The students began preparing in August and have been competing mostly online since October.

The team is coached by Lowry and Tyler Watkins, the assistant director of forensics, as well as graduate students Brenna Fuhr (MFA Creative Writing) and Peter Figueroa (MA Interdisciplinary Studies), and alumni Kate Polit (BS Public Administration ’12; MA Communication ’14) and Lucas Muratore (BA Film and Video Studies ’18).

“Every single person on this team has an incredible story, message, and personality behind them. I always feel like I’m winning when I’m with them,” Mercer said. “Getting second place overall for the first time in over 10 years just validated that experience for us.”

Next on their schedule is the National Forensics Association's National Tournament for both speech and debate from April 14-18 at Illinois State University.

To see a list of all Mason results, click here.

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Students

Forensics Team

student organizations

Department of Communication

Spirit Fall 22

Racing toward Mason’s first 3D-printed solar car

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:50:29 +0000

Racing toward Mason’s first 3D-printed solar car Mariam Aburdeineh Wed, 11/17/2021 - 12:50

Hypernova Solar, Mason's student-run solar car team, meets at the MIX to discuss progress and moving forward with building a 3D-printed, solar-powered car for competition. The team is building the 3D printer, pictured here, that will be used to build the car. From left to right: Mason undergraduates Abigail Kennedy, Phoenix Lee, Brandon Escobar, Kareem Elsharkawy, Petr Soucek. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��ӽ紫ý.

Most people with access to a 3D printer find themselves creating small objects or gadgets. But one student group working at the MIX at ��ӽ紫ý each Friday is driven by a different dream.

“We build, design, test and plan to compete in solar-powered car competitions,” said Michael Riggi, president of Mason’s solar car team, Hypernova Solar. “[We believe] our car, when complete, will be the world’s first and only 3D-printed solar car.”

Riggi, a junior studying systems engineering, said the team aspires to compete in the American Solar Challenge, which involves racing a couple thousand miles across the country against other university teams. Their subsequent goal is to race in the World Solar Challenge in Australia.

When Hypernova Solar was founded in 2019 by Mason alum Alex Hughes (BS Bioengineering, Honors College '21), Riggi said the group laid the logistical groundwork for parts, designs, and fundraising. Today, the group’s 50 members comprise everyone from Mason freshmen to seniors, and a few students from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and local high schools.

Their momentum has been strong.

“We’re in the process of building our own car, Hypernova One, that we plan to complete in about a year,” Riggi said, adding that the car’s steel frame that they weld on Mason’s Science and Technology Campus is halfway done.

From left to right: Johnnie Hall (ME Lab Shop Technician, Volgenau School) and mechanical engineering major Abigail Kennedy welding the new suspension for Orion in May 2021. Photo by Michael Riggi.

From left to right: Johnnie Hall, Exploratory Honors College student and EIP alum Elyas Shafiq, and Environmental Science major Brandon Escobar welding Hypernova One's frame in October 2021. Photo provided by Hypernova Solar.

Hypernova One will be the team’s proof-of-concept car, he said. Once it’s complete, they’ll review it to see what could be done better, and then build a second car for competition.

The group has also been working on a car that was donated to them in 2020 from the University of California, Berkeley team.

“We’ve completely revamped the suspension, the motors, the aeroshell and repainted it,” Riggi said of the 10-year-old vehicle they renamed Orion. “It gave everyone a good experience on what actually goes into a solar car.”

Michael Riggi, president of Hypernova Solar, with Orion. Photo provided by Hypernova Solar.

They’ve also been benefiting from Mason’s resources and experts.

“My systems engineering coursework has helped me manage the team, understand business concepts, as well as understand the engineering aspects and challenges presented to us,” Riggi said. “I’ve also taken a MIX workshop on 3D printing and am applying this knowledge to building a 3D belt printer to create the shell of our first car.”

A model of Hypernova One's shell. Image provided by Hypernova Solar.

Why is the team developing their own 3D printer?

“Unlike a 3D printer where you’re printing layer by layer going up, ours is tilted at a 45-degree angle and prints on a conveyor belt, so you can actually print on an unlimited axis,” said Ross Clark, Hypernova Solar’s lead designer and a NVCC student who said he’s transferring to Mason.

The unique printer helps make the car resilient and safe, he said. Printing vertically would make it more susceptible to breaking along the X-axis.

“The shell is going to be sturdy and meet safety regulations,” Clark said. “We’re also using a special plastic, PETG, which doesn’t break, it flexes more, and is a lot more heat resistant.”

“I’ve been impressed by the team’s passion and drive,” said faculty advisor Colin Reagle. “They are constantly pushing boundaries on what they can do within a university setting.”

“The opportunity to build a unique machine like this is a huge draw to a diverse group of students,” said Reagle, who teaches in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “I can’t wait until you see them rolling around campus in this vehicle inspiring the next surge of students.”

Exploratory student Kareem Elsharkawy drills holes in aluminum at the MIX to help create a 3D belt printer, November 2021. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��ӽ紫ý.

Overall, Hypernova Solar is about more than just building cars.

“The most rewarding part is seeing progress on the car and watching team members develop new skills,” Riggi said. “Our goal is to develop the skills of the students, make them more well-prepared for the workforce, and also just make friends.”

In addition to the thrill of problem solving, and the joy of mentoring new members, Clark and Riggi said another benefit is the group’s inclusivity.

“We have a spot for everyone—even if you’re not an engineering major,” Riggi said. “Some members aren’t huge car people, but want to develop personal skills, or do business and fundraising.”

“That’s why I love this project so much,” he said, “you can tailor it to what you want to get out of it.”

Hypernova Solar, Mason's student-run solar car team, meets at the MIX in November 2021. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��ӽ紫ý.