March 6, 2003

Vol. 13, No. 32

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.

2001 Editions are available online.

2002 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

The Office of the President has released a new emergency response plan that outlines how the university will respond to crises affecting the campus community. The plan, a result of Sept. 11, 2001,is a collaborative, university-wide effort that includes specific procedures to prepare for, respond to, mitigate and recover from emergencies.

—All members of the university community have received an overview of the plan from the Office of the President that includes a campus evacuation guide and instructions for creating an emergency response plan at home.

—Further information: www.cmu.edu/home/emergency/

NSF INCREASES ITS GRANT TO VIOLENCE RESEARCH CENTER

Carnegie Mellon 's National Consortium of Violence Research (NCOVR) has been awarded an additional $3 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) over the next three years. The consortium has about 80 scholars and 12 fellows at more than 30 universities around the world.

—"This award represents a strong affirmation of the contributions... of the consortium and provides a good opportunity for building the nation's capacity to carry out research on problems related to violence," said Alfred Blumstein, director of NCOVR and a University Professor at the Heinz School. "The nation's rates of violence came down rather sharply through the 1990s, but there are strong indications that the rates are starting up again."

—Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/press_releases/index.html

CARNEGIE MELLON ROBOTS TO AIR ON JEOPARDY

Milibots, Grace and the Snake Robot‹autonomous robots built by Carnegie Mellon researchers‹will air on Jeopardy at 7 p.m., Friday, March 7, on WPXI-TV. The program will air segments on Carnegie Mellon and then incorporate the robots into clues for the show's contestants.

POWERFUL HEWLETT-PACKARD GS1280 ALPHASERVERS ARRIVE AT PSC

The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) has received two GS1280 AlphaServers from Hewlett-Packard (HP), each housing 16 of the newest generation of the powerful Alpha processor, the EV7.

—The two new systems‹dubbed Jonas and Rachel, for medical pioneer Jonas Salk and environmentalist Rachel Carson‹are among the first GS1280s to roll out of HP production. Each has 32 gigabytes of shared memory, and each represents the first phase of what eventually will be two 128-processor GS1280 systems at PSC.

—Jonas will be dedicated to biomedical research and Rachel will support NSF science and engineering.

TARTANS NAMED TO ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION BASKETBALL TEAM

Michelle Sodini, Carissa Sain and Erin Brady, members of Carnegie Mellon's women's basketball team, and Ross Freeman, Matt Kaitz and Eliot Goren of the men's squad, have been named to the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) teams by league coaches. Sodini, a senior guard who averaged 12.1 points per game, and Sain, a junior forward who led the team with 14 points per game, were named first team All-UAA, while Brady, a senior forward was a second-team selection. The Lady Tartans posted a 13-12 overall mark this year.

—Freeman, Kaitz and Goren were honorable mention selections. Kaitz led the men with 13.7 points per contest. The Tartans were 11-14 overall this season.

GREEK SING BENEFITS RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE

Carnegie Mellon's Greek community has announced that their annual Greek Sing philanthropy event will take place at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 15, at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. Fraternity and sorority chapters will culminate their fundraising efforts with an impressive theatrical performance and competition.

—All proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House.

NEWS BRIEFS

—The next class for drivers of university vehicles will be held at 8:30 a.m., Friday, March 14, in the 3rd floor conference room of the FMS Building. Anyone who drives a university vehicle, or any other vehicle on behalf of the university, must take this class every three years. To register for the class, contact Jim Gindlesperger in Environmental Health & Safety, at 8-3760 or jg57@andrew.cmu.edu.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Kanae Igarashi, a doctoral student in Modern Languages, died on Feb. 26. "Kanae was a wonderful colleague and friend to many members of the campus community," said Dean of Student Affairs Michael Murphy. Richard Tucker, Modern Languages head, described Kanae as '"a very talented young researcher and an extraordinarily gifted teacher." A campus memorial service will be announced when arrangements have been confirmed with the family.

—Michael Witmore, assistant professor of literary and cultural studies in the Department of English, is a co-winner of this year's Barbara Perkins and George Perkins Prize from the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature. He received the award for his book "Culture of Accidents" which examines the role of accidental events in the study of science and philosophy during the early modern period in England.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Monday, March 10: Adamson Visiting Writer Series. Kathleen Lee, author of the short story collection "Travel Among Men." Her work has appeared in the 2001 and 2002 editions of "Best American Travel Writing." 8 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker Hall.

—Monday, March 10: The Last Lecture Series. "Ten Reasons Why This May Be My Last." WQED Producer Rick Sebak. 4:30 p.m., Rangos 2, University Center (UC). Sebak is a friendly guide to various aspects of American culture, reminding viewers of people and places in their neighborhoods, explaining the history of things we take for granted.

—Wednesday, March 12: Annual Computational Biology Symposium. "Human Genetics and Genomics: Computational Challenges." 12:30 - 5:30 p.m., 3305 Newell-Simon Hall. Reception, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. The list of speakers and their topics is posted on official.cmu-news, Feb. 27. For registration/more information: www.cs.cmu.edu/~durand/symposium03.html

—Wednesday, March 12: Carnegie Mellon's School of Music, Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music and University of Pittsburgh's Music on the Edge present the U3 Festival, a 3-day collaboration among these schools. 8 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. See official.cmu-news, March 4, for the festival's various locations.

—Wednesday, March 12: "Plato's Cave and the Light Within." James Turrell, artist-in-residence at the Mattress Factory. 7:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC.

—Thursday, March 13: Verizon Foundation Distinguished Lecture. Bruno Lanvin, program manager for the World Bank's outreach program. 12:30 p.m., Hamburg Hall. Lanvin will discuss the global "digital divide," as well as efforts to foster international social and economic development through technology. Free and open to the public.

—Thursday, March 13: Joint SCS/CIT Technology Leader Seminar. "The Silicon Pathway to the Digital Future." Patrick P. Gelsinger, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Intel Corporation. 4:30 p.m., Singleton Room, Roberts Hall. Refreshments at 4:15 p.m.

—Friday, March 14: Information Session for the Master of Public Management (MPM) and the Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) Programs. Noon - 1 p.m., McKenna Room, UC. Lunch will be provided. RSVP by Wednesday, March 12 to Amy George at 8-4720 or ageorge@andrew.cmu.edu. Visit the MPM Web Site at www.heinz.cmu.edu/mpm and the MSIT Web Site at www.msit.cmu.edu

—Friday, March 14: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Engineering in a Mickey Mouse World." Mario J. Scarabino, manager, Ride Engineering, Walt Disney World Design & Engineering. 2:45 p.m., Scaife Hall 125.

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