George Mason University has recently announced the launch of its Grand Challenge Initiative, a comprehensive research framework backed by an initial five-year, $15 million investment. This initiative will align university resources, faculty expertise, and educational programs around six interconnected solution areas, addressing what George Mason President Gregory Washington described as “humanity’s ultimate grand challenge”: securing a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future.
This initiative was developed through a faculty-driven task force led by Andre Marshall, vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact, which focuses on six grand solutions:
- Advancing 21st-century education
-
Building a climate-resilient society
-
Driving responsible digital innovation and sustainable infrastructure
-
Improving human health, well-being, and preparedness
-
Advancing space exploration, research, and collaboration
-
And strengthening peace, trust, and engagement in democracy
The Grand Challenge Initiative will enhance educational opportunities, increase faculty talent and expertise, align current research projects, seed new proposals, and build essential infrastructure on George Mason campuses. Working in connection with the university’s billion-dollar Mason Now: Power the Possible campaign, this initiative seeks partnerships with government, industry, and nongovernmental organizations.
Several projects are already underway, including:
- A $5 million U.S. Department of Education grant to expand the number of counselors serving high-need schools
-
A $1 million Google-funded cybersecurity clinic partnership with Howard University
-
A $6 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to help local communities become climate-resilient
-
A $1.78 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to improve maternal and child health through a study on environmental impacts and health outcomes
-
The Landolt NASA Space Mission is George Mason’s first space mission and will place an artificial “star” in orbit to enhance telescope calibration
-
The Carter School was named a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Hub Chair, which is one of only two U.S. universities selected for peace and conflict resolution
KEY QUOTES:
“Our world is at a crossroads. It is time to either brace for global decline and a future that none of us want, or seize control of our destiny and work to reverse course. It will take all of us working together on all these solutions at once to alter the trajectory of our future.”
George Mason President Gregory Washington
“George Mason is driven by discovery. This means unleashing our bold ideas from their theoretical and laboratory boundaries, thoughtfully cultivating them as they take shape, and fearlessly deploying them as innovations that will transform our lives.”
Andre Marshall, vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact
