Faculty Research
Columbian College faculty are prolific authors, award-winning scholars and noted innovators and artists. They are recipients of Guggenheims, Pulitzers and NEH fellowships, cited in top media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, published in leading scholarly journals like Nature and Science, and affiliated with prestigious academic centers, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Faculty are also integral to GW's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU), the top tier of research universities in North America.
Faculty Research Conversations
Faculty Books
Communicating Across Careers: Writing Transfer and the Experiences that Shape a Professional Life
September 4, 2026
Jessica McCaughey (university writing) offers new insights about professional writing experiences and workplace writing transfer during moments of career change.
Public School Education Foundations: Advancing Opportunity, Excellence, and Innovation
September 3, 2026
Michael J. Worth and Sanjay K. Pandey (TSPPPA) examined foundations created for the purpose of raising funds to supplement public funding of school systems.
The Science of Surprising Catastrophes
August 19, 2026
Neil F. Johnson (physics) explores a broad vista of surprising catastrophes, from earthquakes and global pandemics, to cyberattacks and solar storms.
Inside Faculty Research
Columbian College Faculty Out Front
With prestigious fellowships, our community of faculty scholars are making an impact across the sciences, the social sciences, the arts and the humanities.
Faculty Grants & Awards
Major research grants from such institutions as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are helping to propel the work of Columbian College faculty in significant ways.
Research Support
At Columbian College, faculty take advantage of a variety of internal and external funding opportunities to facilitate research while encouraging scholarship and cross-disciplinary innovation.
Research Resources & Updates
The Columbian College Office of Research strives to provide opportunities and support to faculty participating in research activities. Visit their site to find updates, policies, events and more.
"We could be pushing the edge of what's thought to have been possible. We could be going beyond all of our boundaries."
Evangeline Downie
Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor of Physics