Access to Excellence Podcast

Depending who you talk to, AI – artificial intelligence – is either the cutting edge of technology that can usher in a golden age of efficiency, precision, and capability that will allow humans to shake off the shackles of drudgery and guesswork, or it’s a resources-devouring shadow that’s going to strip us of our humanity, creativity, and connectedness.   On today’s episode of Access to Excellenc...

As society navigates rapid technological advancement and escalating challenges at home and abroad, it’s up to our educators to prepare students to meet the evolving needs of the state, the nation, and the world. We call this Advancing 21st Century Education for All: one of the key pillars of our Grand Challenge Initiative.  On today’s episode of Access to Excellence, Ingrid Guerra-López, dean of G...

The White House’s Situation Room is one of those real-life places that, because it plays such a key role in historic moments but is so rarely seen by outsiders, takes on an outsized air of mystery. And while it’s recently captured the public’s imagination again, thanks to the Netflix film A House of Dynamite, the Situation Room is just one point in a complex web of government security and intellig...

George Mason University proudly proclaims that we are All Together, Different. We are a school where non-traditional students are traditional students. And though they face unique challenges, these students bring important perspectives and experiences to our classrooms. Nowhere is this clearer than with our population of students connected to the military.   On this episode of Access to Excellence...

“Infrastructure” is one of those words that can mean a lot of different things to different people. At George Mason, we’re focused on infrastructure in terms of sustainability – how can we help innovate new systems for the world’s infrastructure that will be resilient and flexible enough to support a changing world.   On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined...

Oceans cover 71% of our Earth. Formed over 3.8 billion years ago, these vast depths could hold some of the answers to our questions about Earth’s long and mysterious history, as well as offer predictions for the future of our planet. And the key might be found in, of all places, rocks.    On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Washington speaks with Geoffrey Gilleaudeau, associate prof...

For this special "Best Of" episode, we've compiled some of our most thought-provoking and compelling conversations between President Washington and our accomplished faculty. We'll revisit discussions that are more relevant than ever—from the vast mysteries of the cosmos to the hidden power of coffee grounds—to see how George Mason is blazing a path of innovation to develop bold solutions for our w...

One small bite from a deer tick can lead to debilitating symptoms and a lifelong battle with Lyme disease. At George Mason University, researchers are developing innovative diagnostic technologies that are changing the landscape of Lyme disease detection. In this episode of the Access to Excellence podcast, George Mason President Gregory Washington speaks with Alessandra Luchini, professor in the...

Drawing on our roots as the university that overcame adversity to become the nation’s youngest-ever R1 institution—and one whose sponsored research funding has grown 64 percent since 2020—George Mason University is launching a university-wide strategy to sharpen our focus on humanity’s most pressing issues while maximizing our competitiveness for external research funding: the Grand Challenge Init...

George Mason has a long history of supporting the arts on campus and in the community. With seven academic programs, seven galleries, six community arts programs, two major venues, and the digital venue Mason Arts Amplified, Mason Arts continues to create a thriving artistic community right here in Northern Virginia.  On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined...

The December 2024 conflict index by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data initiative reported that global conflicts have doubled over the past five years. Now more than ever, we need experts in conflict analysis and peacebuilding. And George Mason University is ready to meet that call.   On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington is joined by Marc Gopin, the James H...

In his essay, "As Much Truth as One Can Bear," James Baldwin writes, "not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." It's a timeless quote, one that feels as relevant now in 2025 as it did in 1962. On this episode of Access to Excellence Distinguished Professor Keith Clark joins President Gregory Washington to discuss Baldwin's legacy, the powerful less...

In 2024, artificial intelligence dominated conversations across the globe from copyright lawsuits against AI art generators to developing legislation for artificial intelligence regulation. On this episode of Access to Excellence, President Gregory Washington and George Mason’s inaugural vice president and chief AI officer Amarda Shehu discuss the research possibilities of AI and the role of highe...

Another presidential election has come and gone. Reactions to the reelection of Donald Trump are wide and varied. And we’re facing a growing divide across our nation as we transition, once again, from one party in control to another. How did we get here? Are these truly unprecedented times? On this riveting episode of Access to Excellence, President Washington is joined by two experts on the polit...

Since putting the first man on the Moon in 1969, scientists have continued to push our knowledge and understanding of life and existence in vast unknown frontiers of space. Whether through Mars colonies or alien life forms, we're all wondering what and who can survive beyond Earth's atmospheres. In this episode of Access to Excellence, associate professor of computational and data sciences Anamari...

Every day at George Mason University, faculty like assistant professor Jeffrey Moran develop innovative solutions to the world’s grand challenges. And sometimes those grand challenges can have small solutions that come from the most unlikely of places. In this episode of Access to Excellence, join Moran and President Gregory Washington as they discuss the water-cleaning powers of spent coffee grou...

Ten years ago, Mason Korea opened its doors at the Incheon Global Campus in Songdo, South Korea. Now, the campus offers degrees in six undergraduate and two graduate disciplines to students from around the world. To recognize this anniversary, President Gregory Washington is joined by former campus dean Robert Matz and associate professor Gyu Tag Lee to discuss the growth of Mason Korea, the influ...

Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute and assistant professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, knows better than anyone the growing threats to national security during these rapidly changing times. In this fast-paced episode of Access to Excellence, Jaffer and George Mason President Gregory Washington discuss the U.S.'s positi...

Jeremy Campbell, associate director for strategic engagement in George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, says that at its current pace the vast Amazon rainforest, in five to 10 years, could pass a tipping point in which it could transform into grasslands. That process, fueled by deforestation and climate change, is a threat to the biodiversity and socio-cultural aspects that de...

Catherine Read is the first woman and first George Mason University alum to be mayor of Fairfax City, Va., the university’s hometown, and she isn’t shy about touting an institution she says helped teach her how to think critically. Want to know why it’s good to “disrupt the system,” why it’s important to get more women into policy-making decisions, and why our educational system doesn’t reward bol...

With oratory flair, Rev. Jeffery Johnson, pastor at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and Dr. Vernon Walton, pastor at First Baptist Church in Vienna, Virginia, guide us through some of the history and aspirations of the Black community using the lens of Black and African American History Month, Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech, the dissolution of Black-only communities, and the...

Forensic research on human donors is not for the faint of heart, Mary Ellen O’Toole, director of the Forensic Science Program in George Mason University’s College of Science, admitted to Mason President Gregory Washington. But the university’s new outdoor research and training laboratory—or “body farm,” as O’Toole, a former FBI profiler, calls it—is a valuable addition to the study of human decomp...

Missy Cummings, one of the country’s first female fighter pilots and director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center, calls herself a tech futurist, charged with making tech work better and safer. In a conversation with Mason President Gregory Washington, Cummings is unflinching in her critique of AI’s strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings, as well as that of humans. There is a...