May 30, 2002

Vol. 12, No. 45

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.

Carnegie Mellon and a coalition of leading businesses, software developers and federal agencies have formed the Sustainable Computing Consortium (SCC), a new collaborative initiative aimed at protecting the nation's computing infrastructure and improving the reliability of its information technology systems. William Guttman, distinguished service professor of economics and technology at the Heinz School, is director of the SCC. Co-directors are William Scherlis, principal research scientist at the School of Computer Science's Institute for Software Research International, and Ashish Arora, associate professor of economics and public policy at the Heinz School.

— The SCC will leverage nearly $30 million in existing research grants and member commitments, including an initial seed grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Software Industry Center at the Heinz School. Founding SCC members are AIG, Alcoa, Caterpillar, Cisco, CMP Media LLC, Confluence, General Atlantic Partners, Mellon Financial Corp., Merck, Microsoft, NASA, Oracle, Pfizer, Raytheon, RedSiren Technologies, Reed Smith, Tata Consultancy Services and the UPMC Health System. In addition, Carnegie Mellon's two-year-old High Dependability Computing Consortium, which includes 15 software industry companies and NASA, will form a High Dependability Working Group within SCC.

— "The issue of ensuring software quality and security is one of the most important technical and public policy issues facing the nation and the world," said Jeffrey Hunker, dean of the Heinz School. "The mission of the SCC and its members will be to drive new developments in information technology and to produce groundbreaking research on software economics, risk management, auditing and liability."

— For more information visit the Web at www.sustainablecomputing.org/

CONFERENCE CELEBRATES PROFESSOR EGON BALAS' 80TH BIRTHDAY

University Professor of Operations Research and Applied Mathematics and Thomas Lord Chair Egon Balas is being honored with a special conference on integer programming to celebrate his 80th birthday and his many contributions to the field of mathematical programming. Nearly 200 friends and colleagues from around the world will gather June 3-5 at the University Center for invited and contributed talks. Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon will open the event Monday morning.

— Balas has taught and conducted world-renowned research at Carnegie Mellon since he arrived in 1967 as the Ford Distinguished Research Professor. A recognized expert in mathematical programming with an emphasis on integer programming, discrete and combinatorial optimization, Balas has authored more than 180 publications. He is the author of the most frequently cited publications in operations research and serves on the editorial boards of numerous prestigious academic journals. In 2001, he was the first American to win the EURO Gold Medal from the European Association of Operational Research Societies. He was awarded the prestigious John von Neumann Theory Prize in 1995 and the Senior U.S. Scientist Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) for 1980-81. His research has been funded by such diverse grant resources as the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and NATO. In 2000, Balas published "Will to Freedom: A Perilous Journey Through Fascism and Communism," a memoir of his life in Eastern Europe before coming to the United States.

NEW CARNEGIE MELLON VIDEO AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

A university video created for the Carnegie Corporation's centennial celebration in New York City last December is now available on the Web by clicking on the bottom right-hand button on the Carnegie Mellon front door. The video (www.cmu.edu/video/) highlights how the interdisciplinary work being done at Carnegie Mellon in the areas of cybersecurity, cognitive learning, the arts, public policy, engineering and computer science is impacting the world. The video features Chuck Thorpe, director of the Robotics Institute; Joel Smith, vice provost for computing services, chief information officer and director of the Office of Technology for Education; David Kaufer, head of the English Department; Poet Jim Daniels, director of the Creative Writing Program; Jeffrey Hunker, dean of the Heinz School; and Kiron Skinner, assistant professor of history, political science and public policy and a member of the U.S. Defense Policy Board. The video was written, directed and produced by Ralph Vituccio, director of Media Services in the University Advancement Division.

BUSINESS SCHOOL RECOGNIZES FACULTY AND STUDENTS

The Graduate School of Industrial Administration (GSIA) recently recognized several faculty and students for outstanding academic achievement and teaching. Professor Duane Seppi received the George Leland Bach Teaching Award (MBA Program), Assistant Professor Adam Koch earned the B.S. Business Administration Teaching Award, Professor Stephen Spear garnered the B.S. Economics Teaching Award and Senior Lecturer Robert Dalton was awarded the B.S. Economics Special Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching. Wei Yang received the B.S. Business Administration Teaching Award for Ph.D. students and Aydogan Alti (GSIA) earned the Alexander Henderson Award in Economic Theory for Ph.D. students. Carter T. Butts (Social and Decision Sciences) received the Herbert A. Simon Doctoral Dissertation Award in Behavioral Research in the Administrative Sciences, and Marco Ceccagnoli (Heinz School) and Rahul Telang (GSIA) were awarded the William W. Cooper Doctoral Dissertation Award in Management or Management Science. MBA graduates John Thomas Amonett and David Betts garnered the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

NEWS BRIEFS

— The full text of U.S. Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge's keynote speech at commencement is available on the official.cmu-news bulletin board.

— Nominations for this year's Andy Awards are due July 2. The university-wide staff recognition program honors staff for innovation, enthusiasm, citizenship and dedication. Nomination forms and statement of support forms are available on the Web at www.cmu.edu/andyawards. Two one-page statements of support must accompany each nomination. Award winners will be announced at a fall ceremony.

PERSONAL MENTION

— Howie Choset, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, robotics and electrical and computer engineering, has been chosen as one of the world's 100 Top Young Innovators by MIT's Technology Review Magazine. The 100 Top Young Innovators include individuals whose innovative work in business and technology has a profound impact on today's world. Choset's research involves development of the snake robot and a variety of other mechanical and control strategies for urban search, rescue and structure inspections. He also has worked on developing robots to seek and remove land mines. Choset was honored during a May 23 event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called "The Innovation Economy: How Technology is Transforming Existing Businesses and Creating New Ones."

— Lou Fineberg, a technical support specialist for computing services in the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, recently authored "3 Rivers On 2 Wheels: An Explorer's Guide to Urban Pittsburgh." The book includes 10 self-guided bicycle tours that explore more than 25 Pittsburgh neighborhoods, highlighting the city's history and architecture. The book, available in area bookstores including the University Shoppe, was published with a grant from the Sprout Fund. The book is also online at www.3riverson2wheels.com.

— Head Football Coach Rich Lackner received the Bob Prince Award from the Catholic Youth Association of Pittsburgh, Inc., at a May 23 dinner at the Hilton Hotel. The award recognizes contributions to Pittsburgh area sports and the community. In 15 seasons as head coach, Lackner has led the Tartans to a 116-41-2 record and eight conference championships. He is a four-time University Athletic Association Coach-of-the-Year.

— Don Marinelli, co-director of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, was the keynote speaker at the First International Conference on Entertainment Computing at Sharp World Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Next year's conference will be held in Pittsburgh during April and will be hosted by the Entertainment Technology Center.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

— June 7 - 9: The Carnegie Symposium on Cognition. "Building Object Categories in Developmental Time." Giant Eagle Auditorium, Baker Hall. Free admission. Space is limited and pre-registration is necessary. Contact Rochelle Sherman at rochelle@andrew.cmu.edu with your name, address, phone number, email address and the days you plan to attend. For more information, visit the Web at www.psy.cmu.edu/categorydevelopment/

— Wednesday, June 5: Cancer Support Group luncheon meeting. Noon - 1 p.m. For details contact Margie Hinebaugh (8-2161), Anne Humphreys (8-3420), Mari Alice McShane (8-7834) or Linda Plazinski (8-5290).

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