April 18, 2002

Vol. 12, No. 39

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.

SPRING CARNIVAL: BUGGY RACES, FIREWORKS, BOOTHS, BANDS, RIDES

Spring Carnival, April 18-20, offers comedians, bands, carnival rides, the buggy races, booths and fireworks. Buggy races will be held from 6 a.m. - noon, Friday and Saturday. Margaret Morrison, Tech and Frew streets and Schenley Drive will be closed during this time. Fireworks, to be launched from the intramural field, will be held at 9:30 p.m., Saturday. Seating will be available in the Gesling Stadium bleachers. For more information on carnival, visit www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/carnival/.

RESEARCHERS STUDY IMPACT OF SEPT. 11 TERRORISM

An unusual national experiment on American emotions conducted by researchers in Social and Decision Sciences reveals a national psyche deeply influenced in opposite ways by anger and fear and enormously impacted by media coverage of events post 9-11. Professors Jennifer Lerner, Baruch Fischhoff and Ph.D. students Roxana Gonzalez and Deborah Small were able to quickly pull together an experiment that studied the emotions and perceptions of the risks of terrorism of nearly 1,000 American women, men and teens following the terrorist attacks.

—The team drew four major conclusions from the study: Americans who experience anger about the Sept. 11 tragedy are more optimistic about the future, less likely to take precautionary actions, and more likely to favor aggressive policy responses than those who experience fear. They see themselves as less vulnerable than the "average American," while still perceiving strikingly high personal risk in the wake of Sept. 11. Men experience more anger about terrorism than women, leading them to be more optimistic than women. Media portrayals of the terrorist attacks strongly influence emotional responses, producing anger in some instances and fear in others.

—The experiment results may have implications for better understanding of consumer behavior, the role of the media and public support for war on terrorism. See www.cmu.edu/PR/press_releases/020409_terror.html

CEREMONY TO HONOR WINNERS OF THE UNIVERSITY'S EDUCATION AWARDS

The university's Education Awards ceremony takes place on Monday, April 29. A reception at 5 p.m. in Rangos Hall, University Center, will be followed by the awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. The awards and their recipients are:

—Robert Doherty Prize for Excellence in Education: Harry Faulk, associate dean (emeritus), Heinz School

—William H. and Frances S. Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching: Laura Lee, associate professor, School of Architecture

—The Undergraduate Academic Advising Award for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Advising and Mentoring: Steve Garoff, professor, Department of Physics

—Graduate Student Teaching Award: Rocio Dominguez, Modern Languages

—Graduate Student Service Award: Jacques Katz, Psychology Department.

THREE H&SS STAFF MEMBERS HONORED FOR EXCELLENT WORK

At the sixth annual College of Humanities and Social Sciences staff awards ceremony and luncheon on April 16, Queenie Kravitz, Vera Lampley and Marilyn Walgora were honored for job performance, dedication, positive attitude and citizenship. Kravitz, graduate program coordinator in the Psychology Department, and Lampley, graduate program coordinator and assistant to the department head in Modern Languages, won the Outstanding Service Award. Walgora, administrative assistant in Social & Decision Sciences, received the Newcomer Award.

HUNT INSTITUTE EXHIBIT: "ORDER FROM CHAOS: LINNAEUS DISPOSES"

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation presents "Order from Chaos: Linnaeus Dispose," April 28 – July 31. Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707�) devised comprehensive, consistent schemes for classifying and describing plants and animals and for assigning two-word scientific names to all species, thus laying the foundations of modern biological taxonomy. Pages of manuscripts, plant portraits, portraits of botanists and rare books from the institute's archives, art department and library, including the Strandell Collection of Linneana, will highlight the achievements of Linnaeus in the broader context of botany over two millennia.

—The exhibition will be on display on the fifth floor of the Hunt Library building. 9 a.m. - noon and 1 - 4 p.m., Monday – Friday and 1 - 5 p.m., Sunday. The institute does not have Saturday hours.

APRIL ISSUE OF CARNEGIE MELLON NEWS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

The April issue of Carnegie Mellon News, the university's 12-page news periodical, is available on the Web at www.cmu.edu/cmnews/020411/020411_main.html Among the feature articles are: "SCS is #1 Says U.S. News & World Report's Annual Survey," "Greenhouse Attracts First Company; Gets $33.33 Million in State Funding," "Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge to Deliver Keynote Address at Commencement," "Boyarski Named New Head of Design School; Buchanan Credited with Restructuring Curriculum," "Prestigious Seminar for Women Held at Business School," "New Center Addresses Growth of Wireless, Broadband Networking" and "University Helping to Improve Education for Thousands in India."

PERSONAL MENTION

—Dan Martin, associate professor of Drama and director of the Master of Arts Management Program, was the closing speaker at a two-day national conference on Culture Marketing at the University of Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart, Germany. Martin spoke before more than 200 students and arts managers from across Germany on the integration of information and computer technology tools and systems in strategic arts marketing to develop new audiences and strengthen the relationships with existing market segments.

—Elaine A. King, professor, history of art, recently was an international fellowship reviewer for the American Association of University Women in Washington, D.C. She chaired the International Art & Humanities panel.

—Steve Kurtz, associate professor, School of Art, is a member of Critical Art Ensemble, which is presenting a mini-retrospective in Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle through Aug. 25. The exhibit will travel to the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum and the Frederick Weisman Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Information: www.gene-sis.net/splash.html

—Professor Jim Daniels, director of the Creative Writing program, has had three poetry books published in just one month. The new titles, Digger's Blues, Night with Drive-By Shooting Stars and Greatest Hits, give Daniels a total of 16 published books, a one-act play and a screenplay. Further information: official.cmu-news, April 16.

—Physics senior Carl Dahl has won the Phi Kappa Phi Award of Excellence for Graduate Study for the 2002-3 academic year. He will begin graduate school at Princeton University in the fall. His main interest is in theoretical high-energy physics, and he plans eventually to conduct research in physics either as a professor or at a national lab. Dahl also received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the Department of Defense.

—Ted Massalski, professor emeritus, Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected "Honorary Fellow" by the Council of the Institute of Materials in London. There are 12 such fellows.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—April 18 - 20 and 24 - 27: School of Drama presents Stephen Sondheim's "Company." 8 p.m. Matinees at 2 p.m., April 20 and 27. Purnell Center for the Arts Philip Chosky Theater. Information: Drama box office, 8-2407.

—Friday, April 19: 8th Annual Mobot Slalom Races & MoboJoust. Noon (rain or shine). The racecourse is in front of Wean Hall. See: www.cs.cmu.edu/~mobot

—Tuesday, April 23: Secretary's Day. See official.cmu-news, April 11.

—Tuesday, April 23: Sigma Xi Initiation Lecture. "The Mineralogy of Michigan's Copper Country." Marc L. Wilson, curator, Minerals and Gemstones, The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh. 4:30 p.m., Connan Room, UC, followed by the Initiation and Awards Ceremony for 19 new associate and four new full members.

—Tuesday, April 23: Pittsburgh Bioterrorism Lecture Series. "NIH and NIAID: Counter Bioterrorism." John La Montagne, deputy director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 3 p.m., main auditorium G-23, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, corner of Fifth Avenue and DeSoto Street, Oakland. Open to the public.

—Thursday, April 25: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Seminar Series. "Practical Aspects of Secure System Verification." Dave Maher, CTO, InterTrust Technologies Corporation and director of InterTrust's StarLab. 4 - 5 p.m., Scaife Hall Auditorium, Rm. 125. Refreshments begin at 3:30 p.m.

—Friday, April 26: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Real-time Path Planning For Robots in Changing Environments." Seth Hutchinson, associate professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 2:45 p.m., Scaife Hall 125.

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