Job Description

Salary Commensurate with education and experience
Web Announcement
NRT Project Coordinator
Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions

The George Mason University, Center for 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.

About the Program:

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.

About the Position:

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.

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in a science, engineering, or clinical field such as Neuroscience, Bioengineering, Psychology, Rehabilitation Science or a similar field of study;
Exceptional oral, written, interpersonal and organizational skills;
2 years of experience working in interdisciplinary settings; and
Experience in project management.

Preferred Qualifications:

Master’s degree in a science, engineering or clinical field such as Neuroscience, Bioengineering, Psychology, Rehabilitation Science or similar field of study;
Experience working with a range of stakeholders including industry and community partners;
Experience with graduate training programs; and
Experience managing budgets.

About the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions:

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.

A Force for Innovation in the Heart of Northern Virginia’s Technology Corridor:

The College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University is comprised of the Volgenau School of Engineering and the 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 10,000 students in 37 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, including several first-in-the-nation offerings. Of the 302 full-time faculty who comprise the College, 93 are tenured, 75 are tenure-track, 82 are instructional faculty, and 52 are research faculty. As part of a nationally ranked research university, its research teams expended more than $70 million in sponsored research awards last year and has projects with over $400 million in current and anticipated awards. Located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor, Mason Engineering stands out for its research in many leading areas including artificial intelligence, data analytics engineering, cybersecurity engineering, biomedical imaging and devices, autonomous systems, 5G communications, systems architectures, computational biomedicine, community-based healthcare, advanced materials and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and more. The College highly encourages multidisciplinary research and provides faculty with opportunities to work with other disciplines.

George Mason University is the largest and most diverse public research university in Virginia, with an enrollment of 40,000 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 is located in the city of Fairfax in Northern Virginia at the doorstep of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, with 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. Fairfax 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 increase its capacity in engineering and computing. Some of the university’s exciting plans are 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 360,000 square foot building­–Fuse at Mason Square. Fuse will become the nexus of Mason’s transdisciplinary research, entrepreneurship, and academic program efforts in digital innovation, and will unite the public and private sectors in a collaborative alliance to address the world’s grand challenges.
Special Instructions to Applicants
For full consideration, applicants must complete the online application for position number F764AZ at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; and attach a cover letter, resume, a statement of what diversity and inclusion mean to you (to attach as ‘Other Doc’), and a list of three professional references with contact information. Full consideration will apply to applicants who submit their completed application by May 30, 2023; however, review of applications will continue until the position is filled.