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<p class="xxmsonormal">Dear Professor,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="xxmsonormal">(all bcc’ed) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="xxmsonormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="xxmsonormal">Hope your fall semester is going well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The 8th Annual Sage Conference held this April was a great success, with over 200 students from eight universities participating. Forty-one student teams presented their impressive capstone projects, and awards were given to ten Best Papers, ten Honorable
Mentions, and—for the first time—two outstanding posters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>We are excited to announce the <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">9th Annual Sage Conference (SMDC-26)</span></strong>, which will take place on
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Monday, April 20, 2026</span></strong>, at
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">George Mason University in Fairfax, VA</span></strong>. The competition welcomes
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">undergraduate seniors and graduate students</span></strong> showcasing their capstone projects in
<b>Systems Engineering related areas</b> such as <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal">Systems Design and Improvement, Sustainability, Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Transportation & Logistics,
Operations Research, and Data Analytics</span></strong>. Online participation will also be available for teams unable to attend in person.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Detailed information—including the conference website, abstract submission, and registration—will be shared in December. In the meantime, we would greatly appreciate it if you could
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">encourage your students and capstone program coordinators to save the date</span></strong> and consider participating.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The Sage Conference offers a valuable platform for students to demonstrate their systems engineering skills and apply analytical and design thinking to today’s complex global challenges.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>We look forward to your students joining us on <strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">April 20, 2026</span></strong>, for another inspiring and engaging event.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Warm regards, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="xxmsonormal">Songjun<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#1E6238;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Songjun Luo</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;color:#1E6238;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#262626;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Associate Professor
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#262626;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Department of SEOR<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#262626;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">College of Engineering and Computing
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Email:
<a href="mailto:sluo4@gmu.edu"><span style="color:blue">sluo4@gmu.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#323130"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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