College of Science

With a new $3.69 million grant, the Research and Engagement for Action in Climate and Health (REACH) Center—which includes George Mason—is set to tackle the urgent intersection of climate change and public health in the nation’s capital.

It was a day that residents in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan areas won’t soon forget: March 26, 2024, when the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, killing six and leaving many more forever impacted. Since then, George Mason University professors Elise Miller-Hooks, Alireza Ermagun, and Shanjiang Zhu have received two NSF RAPID grants to study the cause and impact of the collapse, and potential preventative methods for the future.

The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s I-Corps program is an accelerator that helps entrepreneurs and researchers work together “to bring invention to impact.” Mason serves as an official I-Corps site, supporting local grantees through the exploratory stages of venture-building, as well as preparing them to apply for the national-level program.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the National Science Foundation has awarded more than 800 Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grants designed to get researchers into the field and lab quicker than the traditional grant process.