January 17, 2002

Vol. 12, No. 26

The "8 1/2 x 11 News" is published each week by the Department of Public Relations. News of campus interest should be sent to
Ed Delaney, 412-268-1609 (ed47@andrew.cmu.edu) or Bruce Gerson, 412-268-1613 (bg02@andrew.cmu.edu). The newsletter is available on the official.cmu-news and cmu.misc.news bulletin boards.

Last year's editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS HONOR DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

—The Black Faculty and Staff Association invites the campus to a celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at 12:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18 in McConomy Auditorium. Staff members Tyrone Rice (Heinz School) and Sylvia Berry (Materials Science and Engineering) will read portions of King's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Musical selections will be offered by staffers Janelle Waller, Keris Clark and Priscilla Jarrett. Everyone is welcome.

—A series of programs in the University Center on Monday, Jan. 21, will honor the achievements of Dr. King. The schedule of events is posted on http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/first-year/mlk2002.html

CARNEGIE MELLON, PITT SHARE VP FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Mellon Pitt Corporation (MPC), a joint venture of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, has appointed Donald F. Smith, Jr. to the newly created position of vice president of economic development for the two universities.

—Smith will coordinate economic development activities between the two universities, leveraging their relative international strengths in engineering, science and clinical research and health care. Formerly executive director of Carnegie Mellon's Center for Economic Development, he will now serve as that center's chairman. A new executive director will be appointed.

—"It is unusual, and perhaps unique, for two world-class universities to collaborate through a shared economic development position like Don's," said President Jared L. Cohon. "The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon are committed to leveraging our complementary strengths in life sciences and information technology in order to position our region as a national research and corporate center in these growing fields."

—"We are enthusiastic about this initiative that brings Pitt and Carnegie Mellon closer as partners in economic development," said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "Our excitement is directly related to our strong commitment to Western Pennsylvania and to our shared belief that by working more closely, the universities can have an even more dramatic impact on the economic health of our home region."

NASA GIVES SCS $23 MILLION TO BUILD COMPUTING PROGRAM

NASA's Ames Research Center has signed an agreement to award $23.3 million to the School of Computer Science to develop a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional High-Dependability Computing Program to improve NASA's capability to create dependable software.

—The incremental, five-year cooperative agreement is part of a broad strategy for dependable computing that links Carnegie Mellon, NASA, corporate partners and other universities. Carnegie Mellon experts will collaborate with NASA scientists and researchers from universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, University of Southern California, University of Washington, and the University of Wisconsin to measure and improve the dependability of NASA's systems.

—"We are delighted to work with Carnegie Mellon," said Ames Center Director Dr. Harry McDonald. "Carnegie Mellon is a leader in computing and robotic technologies. We see this as a cornerstone as we move forward with the development of the NASA Research Park." Further information is posted on official.cmu-news, Jan. 16.

CIT NAMES WINNERS OF FACULTY AWARDS

The Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) has named its 2001-2002 Faculty Awards recipients, who will be honored at the CIT Awards Banquet on Jan. 26. —Jeanne VanBriesen, Civil and Environmental Engineering, received the George Tallmann Ladd Research Award for her research, professional accomplishments and potential.

—Ed Schlesinger, Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Benjamin Richard Teare Teaching Award for his excellence in teaching, innovations in course development and leadership, and significant contributions to curriculum development and implementation.

—Michael Domach, Chemical Engineering and Biomedical and Health Engineering, received the Philip L. Dowd Award for excellence in education and research. The award will enable him to complete his new textbook, "Introduction to Biomedical and Health Engineering."

—Chris Hendrickson, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ulrich Flemming of the School of Architecture, received the Steven J. Fenves Award, which acknowledges significant contributions to systems research in areas relevant to the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems.

—Mechanical Engineering Professor Jerry Griffin received the Outstanding Research Award for his research in turbomachinery and concentration on aircraft turbine engines that has changed the way these products are designed and manufactured.

—Art Westerberg, Chemical Engineering, received the Distinguished Professor of Engineering Award in recognition of his groundbreaking research and lifelong contributions in process systems engineering and multidisciplinary design research.

NEWS BRIEF

—An information session for the Master of Science in Information Technology program will be held from noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 29, in room 2503, Hamburg Hall. Lunch will be served. RSVP by Friday, Jan. 25, at 8-4720 or msit-info@andrew.cmu.edu The program offers evening classes and a distance-learning format. Classes start in January, May and August.

PERSONAL MENTION

—John R. Anderson, professor of cognitive science, has been named the R.K. Mellon University Professor of Psychology and Computer Science. The chair was originally held by the late Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon.

—School of Drama professor Peter Frisch (A'69) is leaving Carnegie Mellon to become creative producer for the long-running CBS daytime drama "The Young and the Restless." On Jan. 22, Frisch will begin coaching performances, supervising directors, making final script adjustments and overseeing the online post-production editing of the popular show.

—Richard J. Fruehan, U.S. Steel Professor and co-director of the Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research, has been awarded the second Brimacombe Prize from The Centre for Metallurgical Process Engineering, University of British Columbia. The award is given for outstanding accomplishments in materials process engineering.

—Michael Laffin, former manager of media relations at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, has joined the Graduate School of Industrial Administration as associate director of media relations. Before joining Children's, Laffin was assistant director of financial aid at Carnegie Mellon.

—Dennis Prieve, Gulf Professor of Chemical Engineering, has become one of three editors of "Colloids and Surfaces A," an international journal devoted to publishing papers on the principles and applications of colloid and interface science. Prieve will handle all manuscripts submitted from the western hemisphere. Information about the journal is available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/colsurfa

—Two School of Music voice students, Thomas Octave (A'05) and Liam J. Bonner (A'03), received first place honors at The Pittsburgh Concert Society's annual Young Artists Auditions on Jan. 5. The honorees, both baritones, were each granted a $500 scholarship. They will be featured in one of two formal concerts sponsored by The Pittsburgh Concert Society on Jan. 27 and Feb. 17.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Thursday, Jan. 17: School of Art Lecture Series. Nancy Davidson. 5 p.m., McConomy Auditorium. Artist bio is posted on official.cmu-news, Jan. 15. Reception at the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery following the lecture.

—Tuesday, Jan. 22: Graduate Women's Gathering. "Balancing Your Life/Managing Stress and Anger." 12:15 - 1:15 p.m., Rangos 3. The physical attributes of stress and anger will be described and stress management techniques reviewed. Register at http://www.cmu.edu/adm/apaa/gpo/women/GWG.html

—Tuesday, Jan. 22: Graduate Programs Office Professional Development Seminar. "Budgeting/Creating a Business Plan." 6 - 8 p.m., Rangos 3. Register online at http://www.cmu.edu/adm/apaa/gpo/graduates/PD.html

—Thursday, Jan. 24: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series. "Engineering Education in Japan: Perspectives of an Expat (and Some More Recent Interests)." Panos Papamichalis, director of Texas Instruments Imaging and Audio Lab within the Data Signal Processing R&D Center, Dallas, Texas. 4 - 5 p.m., Scaife Hall Auditorium, Rm. 125. Refreshments begin at 3:30 p.m. Information: http://amp.ece.cmu.edu.

—Thursday, Jan. 24: School of Art Lecture Series. Vitaly Komar & Alex Melamid. 5 p.m., McConomy Auditorium. Bios of the lecturers are posted on official.cmu-news for Jan. 15.

—Friday, Jan. 25: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Complete Sensor-based Coverage of Unstructured Environments: Incremental Construction of Hierarchical Cellular Decompositions." Ercan U. Acar, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Mechanical Engineering. 2:45 p.m., Scaife Hall 125.

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