The Mason Spirit

A new paper by researchers at George Mason University and the University of Otago in New Zealand shows a strong link between the diversity of organisms at the bottom of the food chain and the diversity of mammals at the top. Mason geologist Mark D. Uhen says that throughout the past 30 million years, changes…

Continue Reading New Study Finds Link between Marine Algae and Whale Diversity

When you think of people suffering from social anxiety, you probably characterize them as shy, inhibitive, and submissive; however, new research from Mason psychologists Todd Kashdan and Patrick McKnight suggests that a subset of socially anxious people act out in aggressive, risky ways—and that their behavior patterns are often misunderstood. In their new study, “The…

Continue Reading Some Bullies Are Just Shy

My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer Anousheh Ansari, BS Electrical Engineering ’89 (with Homer Hickam) Macmillan, March 2010 My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer tells the story of space pioneer Anousheh Ansari’s childhood in Iran and her family’s move to the United States after the…

Continue Reading My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer

About 13 years ago, I was getting ready to give a talk on activities at Mason. I was meeting with then-vice president of university relations Helen Ackerman, MA English ’86, and we were talking about what universities do. What we came up with was the old faithful, that is, teaching, research, and service, and we…

Continue Reading Sometimes a Great Typo

Searching for a photo of the King shaking hands with Richard Nixon? Or perhaps a snapshot of Nixon playing the dulcimer is more to your liking? Then look no further than George Mason University. Likely unknown to most of Mason’s political junkies is that Fenwick Library has a treasure trove of original photographs of the…

Continue Reading Worth a Look: Nixon, Sammy, and the King

Two eyes and a mouth illuminated by a melted candle just don’t cut it at Mason alum Noel Dickover’s Centreville, Virginia, home. How about a pumpkin carved to resemble R2-D2? Or, say, SpongeBob? Leaving the typical jack-o-lanterns to us amateurs, Dickover, BA ’90, is a much-heralded artist when it comes to transforming plain, old lifeless pumpkins…

Continue Reading Alum Making ‘Gourd’-geous Pieces of Art Out of Pumpkins

Just as a sculptor needs his hands, a broadcaster needs his face. So when Lee Thomas, BA Speech Communication ’91, found patches of white on his scalp, he was understandably concerned. Thomas was subsequently diagnosed with vitiligo, a chronic condition that affects the skin’s melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair,…

Continue Reading Lee Thomas: A Voice for Those in Hiding

Hey, Mason resident students! Your room could be featured in an upcoming issue of the Mason Spirit, the magazine for the George Mason University community that goes out to 140,000 Mason alumni, donors, faculty, staff, and friends. The editorial staff of the Spirit is looking to show off the residential population at Mason by running a six-page spread…

Continue Reading Show Us Your Crib and You Could Win!

While Lisa McCarty, BFA ’05, would certainly love to pull out a victory, just being in the running is already paying off. “I’m getting more hits on my website and more inquiries about my work,” says this photo-based artist. McCarty, a graphic designer working in D.C., is among a small group of artists talented enough to…

Continue Reading Vote, Vote, Vote! Mason Alum Among Final 10 in Post Artists Contest

Move over President Obama, Real Housewives of DC, and Beltway traffic. The biggest news in Washington is always the trials and tribulations of the Redskins. And fans of sports radio know one reporter who is always on top of the latest injury, heartbreaking loss, or Dan Synder sighting is Mason’s very own Grant Paulsen. Paulsen, a senior…

Continue Reading From Letterman to the ‘Skins, Senior Is Climbing Broadcasting Ranks