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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Dear Graduate Studies leaders:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">I want to bring to your attention a new five-year project of the Louisiana EPSCoR (please see attached PDF) called “Louisiana Networks of Excellence for Tomorrow” (LA-NEXT). The first annual meeting of LA-NEXT
will be in Baton Rouge on <b>January 8, 2026</b>. In conjunction with that meeting, we are planning to hold a Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Requests: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Please disseminate this information on your campus among graduate advisors and students.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Please
<b>nominate two competitors*</b> from your campus to participate in the 3MT by <b>
Friday, December 12</b>. [I know the timing is terrible; we hope to do better next year.]<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Please share information about LA-NEXT with the researchers and research leaders on your campus and encourage them to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">[<b>*</b>If you are holding a 3MT competition on your campus, these could be the winner and runner-up; otherwise we will accept two students nominated by the institution’s graduate school. In spite of the
holidays, we plan to use the time between December 12 and January 8 to provide more information to the students, answer questions the students may have, and to collect their slides for the competition.]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">This could be a dress-rehearsal for the 3MT competition at the
<a href="https://www.csgs.org/annual-meeting">Conference of Southern Graduate Schools</a> to be held in Baton Rouge in February.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">We hope to provide travel support to the competitors. The Winner, Runner-up, and People’s Choice will be given scholarships to be paid through their institutions (subaward from the Board of Regents).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">You will be getting a Save the Date email from Shannon Domingue, Board of Regents. Please watch for it. I hope to see many of you at the LA-NEXT meeting.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Best regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Ramu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">B. Ramu Ramachandran<br>
Interim Vice President for Research<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">T.L. James Eminent Scholar Chair Professor <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">P.O. Box 8597, Louisiana Tech University<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruston, LA 71272, USA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">+1-318-257-4304<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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