Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Students shine at Mason’s Andrew P. Sage Memorial Capstone Competition

Martha Bushong — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:57:47 +0000

Students shine at Mason’s Andrew P. Sage Memorial Capstone Competition Martha Bushong Mon, 04/24/2023 - 09:57

In This Story

George Mason University’s Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR) held its sixth annual Andrew P. Sage Memorial Capstone Design Competition on April 17, 2023. This student-focused competition is an international assembly for the design of complex systems and a leading showcase for undergraduate design projects. These projects are from capstone design courses or from baccalaureate, honors, or design-oriented graduate theses. The event honors Andrew P. Sage, the founding dean of the Volgenau School of Engineering, a pioneer and leader in systems engineering, a prolific author, and a dedicated educator.

Event organizer Songjun Luo, associate professor from SEOR said, “The competition provided students in systems engineering and related disciplines an opportunity to showcase how they apply what they learn in solving real-world problems. As they receive feedback from judges, who are industry experts, the students learned if their solutions are practical or not. Finally, by competing with teams from other universities, they learned from each other.”

Mason teams competed with groups from UPenn, Virginia Tech, and other domestic and foreign universities. Since its inception in 2018, the competition has grown to include more teams from foreign countries. This year there were 12 international teams from four universities.

Categories included design, network security, healthcare, software security, decision support systems, device security, and transportation and logistics. Teams from the Bachelor of Science in systems engineering and cyber security engineering represented Mason at the competition.

Independent judges commented on the outstanding quality of the presentations and the skill of the student presenters and described the methodologies as top-notch.

“I’d like to thank all of the people who contributed to the success of the event,” said Luo. “It was really an effort of many people.”

The judges for reading through all the papers (~60), asking tough questions, and giving honest and constructive feedback and evaluations.

The track chairs for working through all the technical issues and ensuring the smooth running of all sessions.
Justin Amoyal, CEO and Co-Founder of Impruvon, for a very inspirational keynote speech
George Donohue for hosting a wonderful (and humorous) award ceremony.
John Shortle and Lance Sherry for their advice and guidance.
SEOR and CYSE faculty for attending the conference.
Rania and Mike (our admins.) for the around-the-clock support in the last few days, and all 260+ students for their hard work!

Mason winners from Cyber Security Engineering Tracks"The projects consider all aspects of the systems engineering design process. It is very impressive what the students accomplish in a year,” said John Shortle, SEOR department chair.

Competition Winners

Track CS 1 Offensive / Defensive Network Security

Winner - Team 2

Authors: Advay Janardhan, Ryker Gogolkiewicz, Mathew Creeks, and Hassan Al Hani

Title: Development of a Packer and Loader System for Malware Delivery.

Honorable Mention - Team 5

Authors: Celeste Huang, Chetan Kala, Faris Shaheen, Jhonn Dalton Cardozo, Mohammad Alessa and Sahil Khan

Title: OpenStack Cloud Penetration Testing.

Track CS2 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Awards

Best paper award: Chat Application Analysis: Custom Tooling and Workflow

Team members: Sruthi Chavali, Rand Alaqeel, Mohamed Alfalasi, and Udhayvir Goraya

Honorable Mention: Mitigation Roadmap for Supply Chain Attacks

Team members: Johnathan Hy, Daniel Behrooz, Sahil Gulati, and Zain Shah

Track CS 3 Cyber-physical Systems

Best paper: Team 4, ‘Decentralized Privacy-Preservation Misbehavior Detection in Vehicular Networks Using Deep Learning’

Honorable mention: Team 2, ‘Design and Testing of a Secure Asset Tracking System’

Track CS 4 Software Security

Best paper: Team 4 (Mitigating Security Risks in the Software Supply Chain: A Continuous Inspection Framework within Azure)

Track CS 5 Hardware Security

Winner – Team 1

Authors: Casey Cho, Pacey Querubin, Michael Long, Uthra Muthukumaran, Dian Rajic, and Kelson Schira

Title: Detecting Unmanned Aircraft Systems on a Broadband Network and Long-Term Evolution

Honorable Mention – Team 3

Authors: Nathaniel Lovgren, Angelina Lee, Hashim Cheema, Brandon Avila, Jack Knobloch, and Lucas Artero

Title: Identifying Friendly Forces in the Battlefield

Track CS 6 Cyber-threat Intelligence

Best Paper Winner: Team 3

Authors: Rishi Shyamala, Luna Baral, Yonel Beaulieu, Haya Saeed, and Mosha Kamran

Title: Using Machine Learning to Perform Anomaly Detection

Honorable Mention: Team 2

Authors: Paulina Keifer, Simran Chhatwal, Hamza Aljaidi, Tashfin Hassan, Joycelyn Joo, and Nathaniel Kim

Title: ELK Stack Security Enhancement with Log Anomaly Detection and Analysis

Track SE 1 and 2 System Design

Best paper: Team 4

Design of a Portable and Renewable EV Battery Charging System (PREVBCS)

Authors: Michael Riggi, Amir Abrari, Nancy Reyes, and Jojo Taylor

Track SE 3 and 4 Industrial Applications

Most Promising Team. Team 6 for A Design of a Mason Recovery System to Meet Net Zero Pledge

Authors: Dominic Galarza, Nick Baxter, Christian Artz, and Aaron Bergantinos

Track SE 6 Software Tools and Platform

Best paper: Team 2

Authors: Joseph Privitera, Mikeal Lockard, and Ovidio Castillo

Title: Design of a Climate Related Financial Risk Tool for Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Topics

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

George Mason faculty study the “energy justice” challenges of adding millions of new electric and hybrid vehicles to our electric grid

Tama Moni — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 15:52:04 +0000

George Mason faculty study the “energy justice” challenges of adding millions of new electric and hybrid vehicles to our electric grid Tama Moni Fri, 01/27/2023 - 10:52

In This Story

Jie Xu

Wenying Ji

Plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles are the future of automobiles, with car companies from Bentley to Volvo pledging to be all-electric within the next several years. While the EV charging infrastructure ramps up to keep up with this growing demand, Jie Xu, Associate Professor with the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research at George Mason University, is looking at an angle that not many have considered – the energy justice implications. His transdisciplinary team also includes Mason faculty members Wenying Ji (Civil, Environment, and Infrastructure Engineering), Fengxiu Zhang (Schar School of Policy and Governance), David Wong and Chaowei Yang (Geography & Geoinformation Science), Saba Siddiki from Syracuse University, and Feng Qiu from Argonne National Laboratory.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Photo by iStock images.

Energy justice refers to an energy system that fairly distributes both benefits and costs of energy services and that has “impartial” energy decision-making. Funded by a grant received from the National Science Foundation’s Strengthening American Infrastructure program, Xu’s team is working with local utilities, governments, and communities to develop and apply an energy justice approach from both techno-engineering and social perspectives to assessing and reducing potential injustice emanating from the transition to an EV future.

Xu notes that once people make the initial investment in buying an EV, the purchase will yield financial benefits in their overall energy consumption. But underprivileged people – many of whom do not own or cannot afford EVs (because EVs in general are more expensive than traditional gas-fueled automobiles) – will likely see their home electricity rates go up because of the overall increase in electricity loads thanks to the increasing number of EVs on the road.

Studies may take multiple angles to understand how EVs interact with the electric grid, according to Xu. He notes, “You have even heard people say that EVs will help improve the performance of the grid because you can use all these battery packs in the EVs as energy storage systems.” But he adds, “It’s far from easy to expand the capacity of the grid, especially the transmission network. They will start by increasing electricity prices as demand increases.”

Ramping up the electricity distribution network is a big challenge that must be tackled, Xu says. “The electricity is generated far from where it is consumed. We would expect urban centers to use most electricity related to EVs, but that’s being produced by offshore windfarms or nuclear plants in the countryside.” The hope is the infrastructure will be built in a way to mitigate economic disparities.

For a problem that involves a system of engineering systems, Xu stresses that engineering and science have to be very sound in order to make policy recommendations. “We’re looking at how technology is transforming the behavior of society. We have to know the electricity loads in the future and the penetration of EVs in daily life to understand how renewable energy will be added to the grid, and how the electricity generation will be distributed. Once this is right, we can help policymakers understand the consequences of their decisions.”

The $750k grant runs through August 2025, with a goal of developing new computational optimization and analytics tools to study the future electric grid and the implications of increased EVs on the road, as well as a policy guide providing socially and technically feasible solutions to reduce energy injustice in the transition to EVs.

Topics

Electrical Vehicles

Energy

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Janis Terpenny appointed to NSF CMMI division

Martha Bushong — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 18:45:21 +0000

Janis Terpenny appointed to NSF CMMI division Martha Bushong Thu, 07/28/2022 - 14:45

Janis Terpenny, professor in the College of Engineering and Computing

College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) Professor Janis Terpenny has joined the National Science Foundation Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) where she will serve in the expert role and lead in the creation of CMMI’s Manufacturing System Integration program.

Terpenny came to the CEC in April as a professor with joint appointments in the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

She says the CEC’s growth and abundant opportunities are a big part of what drew her to the college. “Mason is very open to new ideas, innovation not only in research but in new programs and how we prepare the next generation … work with industry and community partners. All fit my passions well,” says Terpenny.

She is well known for her research on smart integrated systems and processes for design and manufacturing and her innovations and research in engineering design education. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion stems from personal experiences, and professional accomplishments. Terpenny is dedicated to inspiring, mentoring, and enabling diverse and inclusive education, research, and work environments.

Topics

College of Engineering and Computing

Volgenau School of Engineering

mechanical engineering

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Systems engineering team wins award at West Point competition for project Design of COVID-Safe Airport

Martha Bushong — Thu, 06 May 2021 10:02:03 +0000

Systems engineering team wins award at West Point competition for project Design of COVID-Safe Airport Martha Bushong Thu, 05/06/2021 - 06:02

In This Story

George Donohue

“Air transportation is a critical engine of the economy,” says Charlie Wang a senior system engineering major. “Not only does it provide rapid, safe, and relatively inexpensive transportation over long distances, there are 750,000 direct U.S. airline jobs and an estimated 10 million jobs in the supply chain. More than 75% of these employees were furloughed or laid off. We had to do something to address this problem.”

That is why Wang and his team of system engineers chose to explore the challenge of keeping passengers safe in the age of COVID with their Senior Design Capstone project.

The team conducted an in-depth analysis of the contagious properties of the virus and the sequence of events in which passengers are processed while traveling on an airline. For this work they won Best Paper - Decision Analysis Track at the General Donald R. Keith Memorial Capstone Conference (GDRKMCC-21) hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

“As passengers travel, there is a sequence of stages in which they have to queue or be in close proximity. Examples include bag check, TSA, waiting in the lounge, boarding, on the aircraft, etc. At each one of these stages, airborne contagion is possible depending on the presence of infected passengers, their viral load, and their proximity to others” says team member Michael Strain.

“The process is too complex to analyze mathematically and relies on the interaction of a large number of probabilities,“ explains team member Dongwan Lim. “Examples of these probabilities are the probability of a random passenger at the airport being infected, the probability of proximity to other passengers in the queues, the probability of dispersion of the viral load, the probability of being in queue for longer than a time threshold, …etc. To manage this we had to build a simulation.”

“In systems engineering, we know that a multi-layered defense is better than a single layer,” says team member Bryan Kurt Fabela. “So we looked at mandatory masking, social distancing, temperature checks, contact tracing, and more. You name it, we looked at it. We even looked at the difference between surgical and non-surgical masks.”

After running the simulation using a Monte Carlo approach, the team found that the most cost-effective approach depended heavily on the base rate of infection in the community.

Wang says, “Like everything in life, there is a trade-off between benefits and cost, but the most cost-effective options are mandatory surgical masking, temperature checks, and enforced social-distancing. Speeding up processing in the queues, such as TSA and airplane boarding, is also important because it improves social distancing and reduces exposure times.”

“This was a non-trivial systems problem,” says System Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR) Professor George Donohue and sponsor of this project. “Too many times in society we jump to a solution without fully understanding the inter-relationships, unintended consequences, and life-cycle costs. This student team demonstrated the power of systems engineering to strip away the noise and focus on the important issues.”

The team will also be briefing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local airport authorities.

Team members included: Charles Wang, Michael Strain, Daniel Lim, and Bryan Fabela

Topics

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Senior Capstone Project

Volgenau School of Engineering

coronavirus; covid-19

Systems Engineering and cyber security engineering represent Mason at Andrew Sage Competition

Martha Bushong — Mon, 03 May 2021 23:29:43 +0000

Systems Engineering and cyber security engineering represent Mason at Andrew Sage Competition Martha Bushong Mon, 05/03/2021 - 19:29

Mason’s Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR) held its fourth annual Andrew P. Sage Memorial Capstone Design Competition on April 26.

This student-focused competition is an international assembly for the design of complex systems and a leading showcase for undergraduate design projects. These projects are from our capstone design courses or from baccalaureate, honors, or design-oriented graduate theses.

Our teams competed with groups from the United States Military Academy at West Point, University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, Virginia Tech, and the College of Engineering and Computing's SEOR department. Categories included design, network security, healthcare, software security, decision support systems, device security, and transportation and logistics.

Teams from the Bachelor of Science in systems engineering and cyber security engineering represented Mason at the competition.

The event honors Andrew P. Sage, the founding dean of the Volgenau School, a pioneer and leader in systems engineering, a prolific author, and a dedicated educator.

Honorable Mentions

Upcoming Sessions (Registration opens approximately two weeks prior to each event).

Due to COVID-19 all information sessions and VSE hosted graduate admission events will be held virtually until further notice. For questions regarding graduate programs and the admissions process, please contact our office at vsegadm@gmu.edu.

Session Type	Date	RSVP	Location	Start Time	End Time
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Sat, Feb 6, 2021	Event Passed	Zoom	10 a.m.	10:45 a.m.
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Wed, Mar 10, 2021	Event Passed	Zoom	10 a.m.	10:45 a.m.
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Mon, April 19, 2021	Event Passed	Zoom	12 p.m.	12:45 p.m.
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Wed, May 19, 2021	RSVP	Zoom	10:00 a.m.	10:45 a.m.
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Wed, Jun 30, 2021	TBA	Zoom	6:00 p.m.	6:45 p.m.
Information Session (Prospective Students)	Fri, July 9, 2021	TBA	Zoom	9:00 a.m.	9:45 a.m.

Topics

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

Systems Engineering and Operations Research

All-star line-up at 14th annual STAR-TIDES

Martha Bushong — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:49:32 +0000

All-star line-up at 14th annual STAR-TIDES Martha Bushong Thu, 10/29/2020 - 12:49

The 14^th annual demonstration of the global STAR-TIDES knowledge-sharing network, coordinated by George Mason University’s new Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities, was held virtually October 20-22.

Mason President Gregory Washington kicked off the "Converging Approaches to Sustainable Resilience" capabilities demonstration by highlighting the broad scope of STAR-TIDES and how the university’s three institutes, Sustainable Earth, Digital InnovAtion, and Biohealth Innovation, align with the World Economic Forum’s view.

"It is a tribute to the foresight of George Mason's leadership over many years that the university is positioned to adapt to the many dimensions of this changing, accelerating times and lead in teaching and research related to them,” Washington said.

This is an example of how Mason’s thought leadership in these areas recognizes that the physical, digital, and biological worlds are fusing.

The audience for the event included members of the national security, human security, emergency management, and sustainable development communities. The overall theme focused on how the complex, accelerating challenges that the world faces require coordinated approaches.

The 22 separate events and 10 parallel breakout tracks focused on diverse areas including technologies, narrative and storytelling, and ethics. Students interacted with professionals for advice on job search approaches, as well as practitioners from areas such as global health, geospatial information, emergency management, development, and sustainable resilience during a career track session.

The conference featured 25 speakers and approximately 70 panelists, including several national and international figures.

During his keynote address, Thomas L. Friedman, the New York Times Pulitzer-prize-winning columnist, discussed the fast, fused, deep, and open forces that increasingly affect our lives.

Lt. Gen Michael Plehn, USAF, Military Deputy Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, and Claire Melamed, PhD, CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, presented keynotes on the second day of the conference.

Participating exhibitors shared examples of how they applied their capabilities in real-world situations. These included perspectives on Navy operational energy, low-cost shelters, power grid cost reduction, advanced disinfectants, and supply chain risk management for open source software, as well as a compelling example of how STAR-TIDES network members helped rebuild a medical clinic in South Sudan.

STAR-TIDES is a global knowledge-sharing network that focuses on building sustainable resilience, promoting human security (freedom from want and freedom from fear), and creating life-changing social and economic activities. These roles have evolved from original support by the U.S. Defense Department’s TIDES (Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support) program to four defense-related mission areas: building partner capacity, humanitarian assistance and foreign disaster relief, defense support of civil authorities, stability and peace-keeping operations.

Follow-up activities will continue throughout the coming year.

Andrew Sage Capstone Competition goes forward online

Nanci Hellmich — Fri, 01 May 2020 17:40:04 +0000

Andrew Sage Capstone Competition goes forward online Nanci Hellmich Fri, 05/01/2020 - 13:40

Just like previous competitions, the students demonstrated outstanding skills in systems engineering, and all were very competitive.

— Tom Clemons, an associate professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research

Mason’s Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR) held its third annual Andrew P. Sage Memorial Capstone Design Competition virtually on April 27.

The competition is a student-focused international forum for the design of complex systems and a leading showcase for undergraduate design projects. Projects include those from capstone design courses or from baccalaureate, honors, or design-oriented graduate theses.

A total of 132 students from George Mason University, University of Pennsylvania, and the United States Military Academy at West Point presented 34 projects to peers and a panel of judges in seven areas. Categories included design, network security, healthcare, software security, decision support systems, device security, and transportation and logistics.

The judges selected awards for the best paper in each of the areas. Teams from the bachelor of science in systems engineering and cyber security engineering represented Mason at the competition.

Teams from all participating universities received awards at the virtual event. Competition chair Tom Clemons, an associate professor in SEOR, says that despite the challenge of organizing an online conference, the sessions went very smoothly and all the students did a fantastic job. Just like previous competitions, the students demonstrated outstanding skills in systems engineering, and all were very competitive. “The judges had a hard time deciding between the outstanding projects,” Clemons says.

Conference planning began last year at the end of the second annual competition. In March, with papers already accepted for presentation, the department decided to shift gears to a virtual format due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Tom felt confident that he could move the conference online, so we went with that plan. It was executed to perfection,” says John Shortle, SEOR department chair.

The event honors Andrew P. Sage, the founding dean of the Volgenau School, a pioneer and leader in systems engineering, a prolific author, and a dedicated educator.

See the full list of award winners here.