College of Science

Konrad Wessels, associate professor of geography and geoinformation science at George Mason University, is part of a NASA-funded team studying how ice levels and ecosystem carbon stock are changing—work that could impact climate resilience planning, disaster management, ocean navigation, and national security. 

Honors College Challenge Day brings teams of students together to solve strategic challenges for corporate and nonprofit partners.

This year, Graduate Student Life and Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA) created a brand new award to recognize the individuals, offices, and organizations across the university who work tirelessly to advance graduate student success and well-being at George Mason University. The purpose of the Graduate Student Champion Awards is to celebrate the champions who support the success and well-being of graduate and professional students at George Mason and to cultivate and elevate a university-wide culture of graduate student support and success.to cultivate and elevate a university-wide culture of graduate student support and success.

George Mason University adjunct professor Jennifer Lewis created two special topics courses in George Mason’s Environmental Science and Policy Department (ESP)—EVPP 490 Conservation Storytelling and EVPP 490/505 Media Production for Environmental Science and Policy.

According to the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Program rankings, George Mason University placed 20 programs in the national top 50, including seven in the top 10, reflecting broad strength across business, engineering, law, nursing and public health, public policy, education, fine arts, and sciences. Regionally, seven programs ranked in the top three in the Washington, D.C., region, with 13 programs topping at No. 1 in Virginia.

Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns. In the case of George Mason University lacrosse twins Kaitlyn and Regan Bestick, that road has split and come back together several times. Now, as they compete in their final season together and prepare to separate again, they reflect on their time in the Mason Nation.

George Mason University has been named to the top 100 U.S. universities for patents. This spring, the National Academy of Inventors ranked George Mason No. 92 on its list for patents granted during 2025.

As a professor in George Mason’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, Paul So is a theoretical physicist who specializes in dynamical systems analysis and its application to neuroscience. Outside his role as a physics professor, So is an artist. An avid painter, he also supports developing artists as a co-founder of Hamiltonian Artists, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art incubator based in Washington, D.C.

Tabitha King is a recent graduate from the George Mason University College of Science who obtained her PhD in Environmental Science and Public Policy in December 2025.

In January, George Mason University senior Angela Victoria Rojas Rivera represented the university at the National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC). Led and hosted by Harvard University, NCRC is the largest student-run research conference in the United States. Only 200 students are selected to attend.