October 17, 2002

Vol. 13, No. 15

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.

The purpose of this "Critical Infrastructure Protection Board Pittsburgh Town Hall Meeting" is to raise awareness on the draft "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," educate individuals on the strategy and develop a vehicle for interested parties to provide input. The draft strategy is at www.securecyberspace.gov. Panel members include Howard Schmidt, vice chairman of the President's Critical Infrastucture Protection Board; Richard Pethia, director, CERT Centers, Software Engineering Institute; Martin G. McGuinn, chairman and CEO, Mellon Financial Corporation, and William Guttman, distinguished service professor, Heinz School.

—The Town Hall meeting is 7 - 9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, in McConomy Auditorium, University Center (UC). Everyone is invited. Please RSVP at www.cmpinc.net/cyberspace.

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OPENS OFFICE IN GERMANY

Carnegie Mellon has announced the international expansion of its Software Engineering Institute (SEI) with the opening of an office in Frankfurt, Germany. SEI-Europe, in partnership with its licensees, will provide the training, knowledge and research to support the development of quality software. The opening is in response to strong European demand for the development of products based on quality software.

—"Over the past five years, Europe has grown to be a very strong commercial-user community in the usage of new SEI technologies," said Stephen E. Cross, SEI chief executive officer. "This office demonstrates our commitment to our diverse European stakeholders, licensees, industry users and academia."

—The SEI-Europe office will promote the institute's commitment to quality software development through public course offerings, colloquia and meetings, as well as university-level courses. Heading the SEI-Europe office is Geir Fagerhus, founder and former chief executive officer of Q-Labs, a leading international professional services company specializing in software engineering practices headquartered in Denmark.

—Further information: official.cmu-news, Oct. 15.

NSF $35 MILLION AWARD LINKS PITTSBURGH WITH ULTRAFAST "GRID"

The National Science Foundation has awarded $35 million to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) and its two sister supercomputing centers to create a new technological infrastructure that will harness the nation's most powerful computing systems for open research into a seamless "grid."

—The grant will tie LeMieux, PSC's terascale computing system—the most powerful system in the country committed to unclassified research‹into the world's fastest network. This optical-fiber, dedicated research network will transmit data at 30 gigabits per second‹500,000 times faster than typical Internet dial-up. This is fast enough to download 750 copies of the complete works of Shakespeare every second.

—With central hubs in Chicago and Los Angeles, the network will connect PSC and four other research centers in a unified national resource called the TeraGrid. Analogous to an electrical power grid, the TeraGrid will make computational power available to scientists and engineers nationwide, who will submit their work without regard to geographical location of the systems. "This award will create the first wide-area computational grid encompassing terascale systems of differing architectures," said PSC scientific directors Mike Levine and Ralph Roskies in a joint statement. "This heterogeneity, which results from linking Pittsburgh and the TeraGrid, will enable new forms of science by coordinating resources at the five sites."

—"This investment in technological infrastructure builds on our recent successes," said Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon. "PSC, home of the most powerful computing resource for public research in the country, will now be linked with other powerful systems on the fastest public research network. It's one more statement that the high technology assets of this region are second to none."

$9.3 MILLION NIMH GRANT AWARDED FOR MODELING HUMAN COGNITION

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded $9.3 million over five years to an international team of investigators to develop neurobiologically informed models of human cognition. The team, headed by James L. McClelland, University Professor of Psychology and Computer Science and co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, consists of investigators at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and several other universities in the U.S. and U.K. Topics to be explored include perception, language, semantic cognition and executive functions, as well as learning, memory, cognitive disorders and cognitive development. Functional brain imaging studies, single- and multiple-neuron recording experiments and behavioral investigations of normal and impaired individuals will complement the group's efforts to develop explicit computational models incorporating principles of neuroscience.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Professor Hyung Kim has been appointed head of the Department of Chemistry for 2002-2007. Kim is recognized internationally for his work in the theory of condensed-phase chemical processes.

—David Dzombak, professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been appointed to the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman.

—Former H&SS Dean Charles Kiesler died Friday, Oct. 11, in San Diego. He was dean of H&SS from 1983-1985. At the time of his death, he was directing the Fund for the Advancement of Psychological Sciences for the American Psychological Society. He had been chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia and provost of Vanderbilt University.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Monday, Oct. 21: Lecture. "My Father Sees Muons in the Driveway or How to Explain Science to Everybody Else," Science writer David Kestenbaum. 4:30 p.m., Wean Hall 7500. Open to the campus community and public.

—Tuesday, Oct. 22: Dowd Seminar. Michael Domach, professor, chemical engineering and biomedical engineering. Domach, the Philip L. & Marsha Dowd fellow for 2001-2002, will discuss his new introduction to his biomedical engineering textbook. The Dowd fellowship is awarded annually to an engineering faculty member to recognize educational contributions and encourage educational projects. 4:30 - 6 p.m., McKenna Room, UC.

—Tuesday, Oct. 22: University Lecture Series. "Visualizing George Crumb's Music." Ken Hiebert, University of the Arts. 7 p.m., Kresge Hall, CFA.

—Wednesday, Oct. 23: "Disability Resources and You." Brown bag session sponsored by Human Resources. Noon - 1:30 p.m. , Connan Room, UC. Learn more about working with staff and students with disabilities. Cookies and soda will be provided. RSVP hrhelp@andrew.cmu.edu or www.cmu.edu/learning-programs.

—Wednesday, Oct. 23: University Start-Ups (Guidelines, Procedures and Valuation). 4 - 5:30 p.m. Newell-Simon Hall, Room 3305. RSVP phyllis@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-7393. Refreshments will be provided.

—Wednesday, Oct. 23: "Reflections on Work with Refreshment: The Solar Decathlon Project." The Center for the Arts in Society will host Stephen Lee, professor of architecture, who will discuss the design and construction of the solar-powered house that was entered in the United States Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon and exhibited earlier this month on the Mall in Washington, D.C. 4.30 p.m., Intelligent Workplace, Margaret Morrison 415.

—Wednesday, Oct. 23: University Lecture Series. "A New America in a Changing World: What it Means for Research Universities." Orlando Taylor, Dean, Graduate School, Howard University. 4:30 p.m., Connan Room.

—Wednesday, Oct. 23: Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. Music of George Crumb. Juan Pablo Izquierdo, conductor. 8 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall.

—Thursday, Oct. 24: University Lecture Series. "Artists as Building Blocks for Community Revitalization." Jeff Dorsey (A'94), arts district manager, Penn Avenue Arts Initiative. 4:30 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker 136A.

—Thursday, Oct. 24: MSIT Information Session. 6 - 7 p.m., Hamburg Hall, Room A202 (basement level). RSVP to msit-info@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-4720. Snacks will be provided.

—Friday, Oct. 25: "Nanotechnology and the Many Nanotechnology Initiatives." James S. Murday, director, National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office. 11:30 a.m., Singleton Room, Roberts Hall. Refreshments 11:15 a.m.. Hosted by the Center for Interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Research.

—Through Oct. 25: Hispanic Heritage Month. UC Art Gallery. An art show filled with expressions by Carnegie Mellon students, faculty and staff of their "Visions of the Spanish Speaking World."

—Friday, Oct. 25: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Multiattribute Decision Making in Design: Principles for Centralized and Decentralized Approaches." Kemper Lewis, associate professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering, University of Buffalo. 2:45 p.m., Scaife Hall 125.

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