July 25, 2002

Vol. 13, No. 3

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's National Robotics Engineering Consortium (NREC), part of the Robotics Institute in the School of Computer Science, has been awarded $5.5 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build and test a prototype robotic unmanned ground combat vehicle that can operate successfully on all types of terrain.

—The DARPA award calls for the Robotics Engineering Consortium and its subcontractors-Boeing, PEI Electronics and Timoney Technology of Ireland-to build and roll out a prototype vehicle by the end of 2002. A rigorous, one-year period of field trials and evaluations will follow. Boeing will build the frame, hull, nose and payload compartment of the vehicle at its Seattle, Wash., facility.

—Further information is posted on official.cmu-news for July 22 and on the Web at www.cmu.edu/PR/press_releases/020722_darpa.html

RESEARCHERS STUDY EFFECT OF CONCUSSION ON STUDENT ATHLETES

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine will objectively study, for the first time, the effects of single and multiple concussions on the brains of high school and college athletes. The study, funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help determine when athletes can safely return to play following a concussion.

—A concussion occurs when the brain is rocked violently inside the skull due to a blow to the head or upper body. Approximately 10 percent of all athletes in contact sports suffer a concussion each season. Concussion can disturb brain activity and symptoms may include disorientation, confusion, dizziness, amnesia, uncoordinated hand-eye movements and sometimes unconsciousness.

—"To our knowledge there have been no studies examining the effects of concussion on high school athletes. Yet, most at-risk athletes are at the high school level or younger. The majority of the 17 athletes who died following a second concussion between 1992 and 1997 were high school students," said Donald Marion, M.D., professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.

—William Eddy, Carnegie Mellon professor of statistics and an acknowledged world leader in the analysis of fMRI data, is providing statistical support for the study.

—Further information is posted on official.cmu-news, July 18.

RESEARCH TEAM IS DEVELOPING A ROBOT WITH SOCIAL SKILLS

GRACE (Graduate Robot Attending Conference), an autonomous six-foot-tall drum-shaped robot with social skills being developed by a team of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon computer scientist Reid Simmons, will compete in the mobile robot challenge at the American Association of Artificial Intelligence's national meeting in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 31. The challenge requires GRACE, which has a digitally animated face on a flat computer screen, to find the conference center's registration booth, register and find "her" way to a conference room where "she" will give a speech about "herself" and answer questions.

—Simmons has been coordinating the GRACE team for the past year with help from the Naval Research Laboratory, Swarthmore College, Northwestern University and defense contractor Metrica, Inc.

SCIENTIST COMBINES BIOMEDICAL AND MUSICAL CAREERS

George Stetten, M.D, a research scientist in the Robotics Institute and biomedical engineering faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, has invented an imaging device called the Sonic Flashlight, a real-time ultrasound scan that enables doctors to look directly beneath the body's surface as they operate. It was recently featured in Discover Magazine.

—The Sonic Flashlight shows blood vessels, muscle tissue and other aspects of internal anatomy. It enables surgeons to operate with an image directly in front of them instead of looking away from their hands to a display in another location. Although doctors use ultrasound to guide invasive procedures like inserting a needle in a vein, they must look away as they do it, which causes a displaced sense of hand-eye coordination. The sonic flashlight promises more accurate, less painful surgical procedures.

—Stetten is also a musician. Last month he released 10 of his original songs on his first CD, "Awake at the Wheel," a mix of folk, rock and jazz, on his own independent label, "stetten.com," which is available through the on-ine music store, CD Baby, www.cdbaby.com. Stetten performs all the instrumental parts and produced and recorded the CD in his home studio with his wife and daughters singing backup.

—For more information on George Stetten and his activities, see www.stetten.com/george/rttr

NEWS BRIEFS

—Freshman Orientation 2002, six days of programming designed to acquaint first-year students with Carnegie Mellon life, begins Tuesday, Aug. 20, Focusing on academic and social growth, it offers freshmen opportunities to meet friends and get to know staff and faculty. To learn more about Orientation 2002, attend a Town Meeting from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2 in the McKenna Room, University Center. Further information is available by contacting Anne Witchner, assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of Orientation and First-Year Programs, 8-4886 or aw0w@andrew.cmu.edu. Also see www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/first-year/orientation/

—The Forbes Avenue entrance to Hamburg Hall is closed for renovations until 5 p.m., Aug 14. The four entrances to Hamburg on the Smith Hall side of the building are open.

—Housing Services invites the campus community to a one-time sale of surplus furniture items from its inventory, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Saturday, July 27, at the warehouse facility at 6555 Penn Avenue. The inventory consists of various furniture pieces, including desks, chairs, bed frames and drawer units at reduced rates. The sale is cash and carry, with no refunds or returns.

—Limited full-time spaces are available in the Preschool III program at the Cyert Center for Early Education for Carnegie Mellon families. The program is for children born between March 31, 1998 and Oct. 31, 1998. The full-time space is available Aug. 26 through August 2003. If you are interested, send email to droulia@cmu.edu requesting an opportunity to visit the school and meet the director. An online application is available at www.cmu.edu/cyert-center. A $25 enrollment application fee is required.

—Equal Opportunity Services is in need of volunteers to read books onto audiotape for students who are learning disabled or visually impaired. The tapes are needed for the upcoming semester. Tapes and recording equipment will be delivered and picked up. If you are interested, contact Larry Powell at 8-2013 or lpowell@andrew.cmu.edu.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Economics Professor Kathryn Shaw has been awarded the Ford Distinguished Research Chair for demonstrating sustained excellence in research, teaching and service to the profession and to the country. The chair, established in 1957 by a grant from the Ford Foundation, provides a faculty research fellowship at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration.

—University Professor Gérard P. Cornuéjols has been named the IBM Professor of Operations Research, a distinction associated with a long and distinguished history of academic excellence in operations research. This chair was awarded along with an endowment to Carnegie Mellon by IBM in 1980 for the purpose of furthering research in areas relating to operations research.

The Web editions of the "Carnegie Mellon Magazine," the "Carnegie Mellon News" and the "8 1/2 x 11 News" are available at www.cmu.edu/news/index.html

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