March 21, 2002

Vol. 12, No. 35

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 HOSTS WORKSHOP ON STATE INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY

Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker and Vermont Governor Howard Dean will join some of the nation's leading state information technology officials, academic experts and Internet security specialists for a workshop here, March 27-28, to explore ways to strengthen the security of state information systems and network infrastructures. Dean, a member of the executive committee for the National Governor's Association and active in computer security matters, will be a keynote speaker as will Heinz School Dean Jeffrey Hunker, formerly the National Security Council's Senior Director for Critical Infrastructure in the Clinton Administration. Council. Schweiker is also expected to speak.

—Topics to be addressed during the two-day event will include identity, authentication and access control, balancing privacy and identity, trusted input devices, driver's licenses as a basis of identity, digital signatures and computer emergency response topics.

—"The issue of securing and protecting state resources has never been more urgent," said Robert Thibadeau, director of the Internet Security Laboratory in the Institute for Software Research International in Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science. "While there has been a focus on security for bridges, buildings and natural resources, there is an equally urgent need to address security for states' computer infrastructure and vital records. Keep in mind that terrorists on September 11 were holding false state driver's licenses for identification."

—Other speakers at the workshop will include Rock Regan, chief information officer for the state of Connecticut, and Richard Pethia, director of Carnegie Mellon's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). More information on the workshop, part of a security research series sponsored by Institute for Software Research International, can be found at www.security.scs.cmu.edu and at www.cmu.edu

—Attendance at the workshop, to be held in the Singleton Room of Roberts Engineering Hall, is by invitation only.

EAST CAMPUS GARAGE "PAY-AS-YOU-PARK SYSTEM" STARTS SOON

The Pay-As-You-Park System in the East Campus Garage begins Monday, April 1. Representatives from Parking Services will be available to provide information and answer questions about the new system from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday - Wednesday, March 25-27 in the Wean Commons, University Center (UC). Stop by to learn more about the various parking options, get your early morning cup of coffee and enter a raffle to win prizes.

—East Campus Permit Holders: The former plastic gate card for the East Campus Garage will not be compatible with the new equipment. Access will now be granted via "proximity cards," which will be distributed 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday - Wednesday, March 25-27 in Wean Commons in exchange for the old gate cards.

—There are two types of proximity cards: The Short-Range Prox Card will be standard issue to all garage permit holders. This card is waved in front of the reader at the entry and exit stations to raise the gate. You must be within 2 feet of the reader for the card to work.

—The Long-Range Prox Pass is an optional method for garage permit holders. The Prox Pass has long-range reading capability up to 6 feet. The Prox Pass can be mounted on your vehicle's dashboard. The pass costs $35.
—Permit holders new to the parking system this year have not been charged the access card fee. They may either pay the fee by cash, check, MasterCard/Visa. Parking Services has a list of permit holders required to pay this fee.

FLEXIBLE WORK HOURS MAY HELP EASE YOUR FORT PITT TUNNEL PROBLEMS

In light of the pending Fort Pitt Tunnell construction, Barbara Smith, assistant vice president, Human Resources, encourages supervisors to consider flexible working hours requests from impacted staff. The flexible working hours policy may be accessed at: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/FlexTime.html. Direct questions to your Human Resources representative or to hrhelp@andrew.cmu.edu

NEWS BRIEFS

—Carnegie Mellon's Software Industry Center hosted a roundtable discussion in conjunction with Information Week Magazine on the future of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networking on March 21 at the NASA Ames Visitors Center in Moffett Field, Calif. A panel of P2P experts from industry and academia, including Napster, Stanford University and Menlo Ventures debated a range of opinions on the future of P2P. Under discussion were the increasingly important role of P2P as a means of file sharing, its potential impact on enterprise computing architecture and its ability to deliver massively distributed computer processing.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Alan Fletcher, head of the School of Music, recently was the keynote speaker for an international conference on contemporary music at the Tainan Woman's College for Technology and the Arts in Taiwan. Fletcher talked about American music in the latter half of the 20th century with a view to the future. He was in Asia as part of the School of Music's Asian tour, hearing auditions and meeting musical leaders and alumni and friends in Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong.

—Peter M. Shane, director of the Heinz School's Institute for the Study of Information Technology and Society, advised a recent international development conference in Monterrey, Mexico, that "on-line tools for civic discussion and citizen engagement can fortify and accelerate" economic development strategies based on new information and communications technologies.

—Jeffrey Carpenter, manager of the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC), was featured in the February 2002 issue of Government Technology. In the article "Hole in the Web," Carpenter discusses the history and current role of the CERT/CC, trends in intruder attacks and how to slow the growth of security vulnerabilities on the Internet.

—Anastassia Ailamaki and Mor Harchol-Balter, assistant professors in the School of Computer Science, have received CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation. The award supports the early career development of "young faculty members... most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century."

—Kevin Gonzalez, a junior creative writing major, will receive the Gladys Schmitt Creative Writing Award at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 26 in the Gladys Schmitt Creative Writing Center, Baker Hall 260.

—Paolo Gualdi, School of Music graduate student, is the winner of a $5,000 First Place Award from the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters piano competition, held March 9. He will compete in the National Competition in Boca Raton, Florida, later this spring.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Thursday, March 21: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Seminar Series. "The UCITA Battle: Should It Be Legal for Software to be Defective?" Philip Koopman, associate professor, ECE. 4 - 5 p.m., Scaife Hall Auditorium, Rm. 125. Refreshments begin at 3:30 pm. See http://amp.ece.cmu.edu

—Friday, March 22: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Live Performance and the Mechanical Engineer." Larry Fitzkee, associate professor, Drama. 2:45 p.m., Chosky Theater, Purnell Center for the Arts.

—Saturday, March 23: The School of Drama presents a public performance by "Bread & Puppet Theater." 4:30 p.m., on the campus lawn (between the University Center and the Purnell Center for the Arts).

—Monday, March 25: Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Band Concert. 7:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC. Features the full Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Band, quintet and soloists. Free.

—Monday, March 25: University Lecture Series. "Crisis of European Pensions: Prospects for the future and the American model." Professor Gordon L. Clark, University of Oxford. 4:30 p.m., Adamson Wing.

—Tuesday, March 26: Gladys Schmitt Creative Writing Lecture. Food writer Catherine S. Vodrey (HS'85) will speak about her career. A member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, her work appears in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 4:30 p.m., Baker Hall 260.

—Wednesday, March 27: General Robotics Planetary Robotics Competition. Students from the class work in small groups to build teleoperated lego robots to complete several tasks on a sample martian terrain. They operate their robots through a camera that provides images to a remote station as if they were on Earth running a robot on Mars. 1 - 3 p.m., Rangos 3, UC.

—Thursday, March 28: Annual Buhl Lecture, sponsored by Department of Physics. "Supernovae, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Universe." Saul Perlmutter, leader of the international Supernova Cosmology Project, questions if the universe will last forever. 4:30 p.m., Mellon Institute Auditorium, 4400 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Free.

—Thursday, April 4: "Something's Wrong?" Interactive Theater on sexual harassment in the workplace, sponsored by Women Supporting Women. Noon. Dowd Room, UC. For women and men.

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