Leadership

Pamela Norris
Vice Provost for Research

Dr. Pamela Norris previously served in roles as the executive dean, the executive associate dean of research, and the associate dean of research and graduate studies in the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Engineering and Applied Science and as the Frederick Tracy Morse Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. She joined the faculty at UVA in 1994 after receiving her undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University, her MS and PhD degrees from Georgia Tech, and completing post-doctoral studies at UC Berkeley.

She is recognized globally as a leading expert in nanoscale heat transfer, especially interfacial thermal transport with a focus on thermal management across a range of length scales. She holds patents for innovative thermal management techniques for jet-blast deflectors as well as for applications of aerogels in areas ranging from biological warfare detection to lab-on-a-chip, to thermal insulation. She has served as the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than 45 sponsored research projects representing well over $25 million from the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, industry, and foundations. Dr. Norris is well-known for her mentoring skills and for her dedication to increasing diversity in the STEM disciplines. She is also well known for leadership in the field of nanotechnology education.

Current Appointments/Service

Norris currently serves as editor-in-chief of Nanoscale and Microscale Thermophysical Engineering, is chairing the 2024 Annual International Conference on Micro/Nanoscale Heat and Mass Transfer sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the 2025 American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers Conference, is a member of the advisory board for Lumineo, Indie Lab, and TMM Industries LTD, and is an organizing committee member for the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE 20th anniversary program.

Email [email protected]

Gina M. Lohr
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research and Administrative Dean, Virginia Science & Technology Campus

Gina Lohr has served in multiple roles at the George Washington University (GW) and currently has two appointments in support of the academic and research missions. She has more than 15 years of experience in academic research administration and operations at GW.

Within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Gina serves as the deputy to the Vice Provost for Research, providing strategic and operational oversight and support to OVPR and the broader research community. Her portfolio includes sponsored projects, research development, core facilities, data management and analysis, human resources related to research, divisional finance and budgeting, cross-disciplinary initiatives, communications, systems/applications innovation, and general operations.

Gina also serves as the Administrative Dean of the Virginia Science and Technology Campus (VSTC) where she is responsible for the financial management, planning, facilities, and general operations of the campus.

She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in forensic sciences, both from GW.

Sonya Hadrigan
Associate Provost for Research Integrity and Compliance

Sonya Hadrigan has over 20 years of experience in translational research oversight, compliance and business operations. She has served in leadership roles at academic medical centers, university systems, and national oversight agencies. Sonya is a recognized expert at effectively assessing processes, developing gap analyses, and proposing and implementing sustainable solutions for optimal, ethical, and compliant research operations, focused on organizational culture, change management and collaboration.

Sonya is a Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified IRB Professional, and is completing her Master’s in Jurisprudence.

James Chung
Associate Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Jim Chung is the Associate Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the George Washington University, and a co-principal investigator for the NSF Innovation Corps Node in Washington DC (DC I-Corps). He was previously the Director of the Mtech VentureAccelerator and the Founding Director of the Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund at the University of Maryland. Prior to Mtech, he served as a Director for New Business Development at the Corporate Executive Board. He was also Vice President at Cherington Capital (now Intervale Capital), a middle market private equity firm in the oilfield equipment and services industry.

Jim started his private sector career as an early stage venture capital investor, most recently at incTANK Ventures, where he was the managing director. Some previous and current investments include Agamatrix, Nexaweb, Ulterra, Zymetis (now Aemetis), FlexEl, FiscalNote, and TravelBank. Before becoming an investor, Jim was an academic researcher studying how business, government, and academia work together to create new innovations in high technology industries. He has been a researcher at MIT, Harvard, University of Tokyo (Fulbright Fellow), ETRI (NSF EAPSI Fellow), STEPI (Korea), and KAIST. He was named in 2015 by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Top 100 Tech Titans in DC and by Hot Topics as one of the Top 100 Entrepreneurship Professors worldwide.

Jim received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Stanford University and was a Ph.D. candidate at MIT.

Sylvia Ezekilova
Assistant Vice Provost for Sponsored Projects

Sylvia facilitates sponsored project activities across the George Washington University and provides leadership to the central sponsored projects office. In this role, she oversees compliance review and submission of proposals, negotiation of a wide variety of agreements, subawards and award management.

Sylvia has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of sponsored projects administration: pre-award, award acceptance and negotiation, post-award, subaward management, compliance, and reporting. Sylvia has participated in National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) meetings as presenter and moderator. She currently serves on the NCURA Select Committee on Global Affairs and co-chairs the NCURA Global Working Group. 

Prior to her tenure in research administration, Sylvia worked in international development as a member of the startup team setting up the American University in Bulgaria and managed USAID/American Schools and Hospitals Abroad funded constructions, business systems, library acquisition and operations projects. Sylvia also served on national and international working groups for outreach and technical assistance for nongovernmental organizations in transitional economies.
Sylvia holds a MBA in social and economic information, with a minor in statistics and business systems and a post graduate certificate in accounting and finance from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria.