Career Center

NRT Project Coordinator
Center Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions

The George Mason University, Center Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions (CASBBI), seeks a proactive, organized, and self-reliant Project Coordinator who will administer, oversee, and coordinate the daily operational activities for a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship grant (NRT). George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason's academic and culturally inclusive environment.

The CASBBI NRT program is training the next generation of leaders to take on some of the most challenging problems faced by society today. CASBBI NRT trainees are graduate students from engineering, data science and social science programs working on tackling the opioid use epidemic, mental and behavioral health disorders, and enabling individuals with disabilities to participate fully in needed and desired life roles and activities. These complex problems cannot be addressed by one individual or even one discipline. The next generation of leaders charged with addressing these challenges must work together across traditional academic disciplinary boundaries to integrate engineering, data science and social science knowledge, while meaningfully engaging with stakeholder communities in a mutually beneficial manner.

The NRT Project Coordinator will work closely with the NRT faculty, trainees, and staff from different academic units across Mason, as well as with the external evaluator and external community partners, to accomplish the goals of the NRT program.

Responsibilities:

Organize and Facilitate NRT Project Activities:
In collaboration with the program, faculty and other internal and external stakeholders plan and facilitate the annual bootcamp, summer workshops, annual retreat, community-engaged projects, weekly social hour, professional development events, and seminar series.

Compile Program Records and Documentation:
Develop best practice guidelines and plans, organize and maintain files, reports, program artifacts, record meeting minutes, coordinate with the external evaluator, prepare annual reports for funding agencies, and create content for the NRT website.

Coordinate Recruitment:
Create recruitment materials for trainee cohorts, monitor applications, communicate with prospective applicants, coordinate information sessions, and coordinate interviews and admissions in collaboration with program faculty.

Manage Budget:
Coordinate with fiscal administrators across units to facilitate trainee fellowships, tuition awards, and travel awards. Assist invited guests with travel arrangements and itineraries.

Communicate with Trainees:
Maintain regular communication with current and former trainees, clarify program expectations, and monitor progress and compliance with degree requirements in trainees' home academic programs.

The Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions (CASBBI) was chartered in 2018 by the Office of the Provost as part of a university-level initiative for establishing Transdisciplinary Centers of Advanced Study. The vision for CASBBI is to explore new ways to enable all people to fully participate in needed and desired life roles and activities. CASBBI researchers focus on transdisciplinary research questions of major public health and societal significance, such as chronic pain, substance misuse and addiction, autism spectrum disorders, and mobility impairments. Recognizing that disability is characterized by dysfunction in multiple inter-related systems across physical biological and psychosocial domains, CASBBI brings together experts in neuroscience, physics, engineering, psychology and rehabilitation to create translational innovations. CASBBI faculty currently have over $24 million of active federally-funded research grants. The core methodological expertise is in multiscale neuromodulation and neuroimaging, human machine interactions, and sensorimotor integration and human movement. The core facilities include shared research instrumentation, core imaging facilities, shared wet and dry lab facilities on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. Many CASBBI researchers have state-of-the-art laboratory space in the Peterson Health Sciences Building.

The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) at George Mason University is comprised of the Volgenau School of Engineering and a new School of Computing. The College is a fast-growing force for innovation in research and education. Ranked nationally in the top 100 in both undergraduate and graduate education, the College boasts more than 9,100 students in 37 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs, including several first-in-the-nation offerings. Of the 271 full-time faculty who comprise the College, 91 are tenured, 59 are tenure-track, 89 are instructional faculty, and 32 are research faculty. As part of a nationally ranked research university, its research teams expended more than $75 million in sponsored research awards in the past year and has projects with over $400 million in current and anticipated awards. The College stands out for its leading research in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics engineering, cybersecurity engineering, biomedical imaging and devices, community-based healthcare, autonomous systems, 5G/Next G communications, systems architectures, computational biomedicine, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and more. The College encourages multidisciplinary research and provides ample opportunity for faculty to work with other disciplines.

George Mason University is the largest and most diverse public research university in Virginia, with an enrollment of over 39,000 students studying in over 200 degree programs. Mason is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. It was classified as an R1 research institution in 2016 by the Carnegie Classifications of Institutes of Higher Education. Mason has campuses in Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William. Its proximity to Washington, D.C. provides unmatched geographical access to a number of federal agencies and national laboratories. Northern Virginia is also home to one of the largest concentrations of high-tech firms in the nation, providing excellent opportunities for interaction with industry. The region is consistently rated as being among the best places to live in the country, and has an outstanding local public school system.

In conjunction with Amazon's decision to establish a second headquarters in Northern Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia announced a multi-year plan to invest in the growth of degree programs in computing. George Mason University has committed to accelerate its plans to grow its capacity in computing and high-tech fields. Among the exciting initiatives being undertaken by the university is the launch of the Institute for Digital InnovAtion, a university think tank and incubator to serve the digital economy, and the expansion of its Arlington Campus with a planned 400,000 square foot building that will house the new Institute for Digital InnovAtion. These initiatives reflect hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment by Mason that will rapidly elevate the university's already leading national position in computing and related areas.

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George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in both academics and research. Mason holds a top U.S. News and World Report