What Does Peace Mean?

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Peace. Shalom. As-Salaam-Alaikum. In any language, peace is something we all want to attain—for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the world. During this festive season, Columbian College faculty from an array of disciplines were asked to define what peace means to them. Read more.

Satellite Images Reach New Heights

Today’s satellite imagery is picture perfect—clear, accurate and readily available. But as Geography’s Ryan Engstrom devises new ways to map developing world slums, he faces new challenges: making sense of big data and finding the frames that will change lives. Read more.

Dancing to a Different Tune

For two dancers, the MFA dance program offered more than an opportunity to hone their skills and further their professional ambitions. The graduate students took advantage of the hybrid curriculum to create deeply personal performances that explored their cultural identities and touched very close to home. Read more.

Human Brain Molded by Environment

What it is about the human brain that makes us so different than chimpanzees? New research led by postdoctoral scientist Aida Gómez-Robles discovered that human brains exhibit more plasticity than our ape ancestors, and eased our evolution in response to environmental and other influences. Read more.

Research Team Ventures Into Arctic

A $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a cross-disciplinary team of GW geographers, political scientists, migration experts and other researchers as they examine environmental issues in the far north and explore sustainability in extreme climates. Read more.

Marine Turns Hardship Into Leadership

Graduate student and Marine Corps Capt. Matt Lampert lost both his legs in Afghanistan. Now he is mentoring other service members facing challenges as part of the Leadership Education and Development Program, a partnership between GW and the U.S. Naval Academy. Read more.

Observing a Star’s Death by Black Hole

Physics’ Alexander van der Horst and a team of astrophysicists became the first to observe the destruction of a star by a black hole. The scientists witnessed a supermassive black hole swallow a star and eject a flare of matter—a cosmic burp—at nearly the speed of light. Read more.

Alumna Finds her Strength on Skates

At Columbian College, Samantha McGovern, BA '05, met her husband, found a career and took up an unusual hobby that turned into a passion: roller derby. With encouragement and determination, she’s become a whiz on skates and a stalwart in the GW community. Read more.

In the Spotlight

Shelley Brundage co-wrote the book Writing Scientific Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Tara Donovan, BFA ’91, had her work displayed in the Smithsonian-Renwick Gallery’s Wonder exhibition.

Oleg Kargaltsev was awarded a $23,307 grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute to study GLIMPSE-C01, a massive intermediate-age stellar cluster.

Sandi Moynihan, BA ’13, won an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Rachel Riedner wrote the book Writing Neoliberal Values: Rhetorical Connectivities and Globalized Capitalism.

Chet Sherwood received a $999,000 grant from NSF to examine vocal learning among chimpanzees.