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July 31, 2003 Vol. 14, No. 4
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
2001 Editions are available online. 2002 Editions are available online. Previous editions are available online.
CAMPUS POST OFFICE MOVING TO THE UNIVERSITY CENTER THIS WEEKEND The campus post office at 4902 Forbes Ave. (formerly the Student Center) will close at 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1 and reopen at its new location in the lower level of the University Center, near the Art Store, on Monday, Aug. 4. — The new postal facility will serve as a central mail hub for the university, incorporating all operations that formerly occurred at the Penn Avenue, Morewood Gardens, Donner Hall, West Wing, Mudge and 4902 Forbes Avenue locations. Postal services offered at the Mellon Institute will remain unchanged. —In addition to expanded window service, the new post office will have a specific area for shipping packages via UPS and Federal Express, a lobby area with a copy machine, stamp machine and mailing supplies, and more than 6,000 mailboxes for students and campus organizations. The lobby will be open 24 hours a day. —The new location is across the hall from the Art Store and can be easily accessed by the stairway near Entropy. PRESIDENT COHON APPOINTED TO FREEMARKETS BOARD OF DIRECTORS FreeMarkets, Inc., the leading provider of global supply management software services and information, has elected President Jared L. Cohon to its board of directors. Cohon has more than 25 years of technology, research, policy and management experience. "At Carnegie Mellon, our faculty and students devote themselves daily to the research, study and development of leading-edge technologies that enhance our society," said Cohon. "I am very pleased to be joining the board of an innovative company like FreeMarkets." —"We are thrilled to be adding a seasoned leader of Dr. Cohon's caliber to our board of directors," said FreeMarkets Founder and Chairman of the Board Glen Meakem. "Dr. Cohon brings extensive experience that will prove invaluable in advancing FreeMarkets business across the globe." Meakem is a member of Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees. ASTRONOMERS FIND EVIDENCE OF "DARK" FORCE IN UNIVERSE Robert Nichol, a Carnegie Mellon astrophysicist, appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman Monday, July 28, to discuss his recent discovery that "will change the way we look at the universe." Nichol and collaborators from the University of Pittsburgh discovered independent physical evidence for the existence of dark energy. The researchers found an imprint of dark energy by correlating millions of galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and cosmic microwave background temperature maps from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. The researchers found dark energy's "shadow" on the ancient cosmic radiation, a relic of cooled radiation from the Big Bang. Dark energy, a major component of the universe and one of the greatest conundrums in science, is repulsive rather than attractive like gravity. This causes the universe's expansion to accelerate in contrast to the attraction of ordinary (and dark) matter, which would make the universe decelerate. "This work provides a new way of looking at the universe and might help us determine the nature of the dark energy," Nichol said. —Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/mcs/about-mcs/news/030721-dark.html FIRST PHASE OF LIFE-SEEKING ROBOT EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS An autonomous, solar-powered robot and its advanced life-detection and geologic instruments, developed by Carnegie Mellon researchers, have exceeded expectations in the first phase of a three-year effort to develop and deploy a robotic system that may some day enable other rovers to search for life on Mars. —The robot Hyperion, operating in Chile's Atacama Desert, traveled farther (20 kilometers) and collected more data (27 data sets) while operating autonomously than any planetary rover tested to date. Its method of detecting life directly promises to represent the next generation of life-seeking technology. —Hyperion spent April in the Atacama, directed by a team of university and NASA Ames Research Center scientists. The team used Hyperion as a platform for conducting experiments and gathering information that will help them to design a system especially suited to looking for life in a desert environment. —The principal investigator on the project is William L. "Red" Whittaker, Fredkin Research Professor at the Robotics Institute. David Wettergreen, a research scientist at the institute, leads robotics research and field experimentation. Nathalie Cabrol, a planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute, leads the science investigation for "Life in the Atacama." Alan Waggoner, director of the Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center in the Mellon College of Science is principal investigator for the companion project in life-detection instruments. —Further information: http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/atacama USE OF HYDROGEN-FUELED CARS TO SAVE ENVIRONMENT IS QUESTIONED David Keith, associate professor of engineering and public policy, disagrees with the Bush administration's decision to fund more research in the development of hydrogen-powered automobiles. In an article published in the July 18 issue of Science, Keith and Alexander Farrell, an assistant professor in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, argue that hydrogen-fueled automobiles will not offer a cost-effective way to reduce automotive air pollution or emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide for at least several decades. —"Strong air pollutant rules and inspections, for example, could reduce air pollution at a cost roughly 100 times less than the costs associated with using hydrogen cars," Keith said. Similarly, it is much cheaper to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from large stationary sources, such as power plants that burn coal, than it is to reduce such emissions from cars, he added. —Keith noted that existing technology could be used to make large improvements in fuel economy and emissions today. While hydrogen may have a place as a transportation fuel many years from now, Keith believes there are other options, and argues that the government would be foolish to pick a winner prematurely. —Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/press_releases/index.html SIDEWALK AND CONCRETE REPAIRS BEGIN ACROSS CAMPUS Sidewalk and concrete repairs across campus began July 28 and will continue through the fall of 2003. The schedule of work will depend on weather conditions. The FMS project management and the contractor will communicate locations of the project whenever access is limited. See official.cmu-news, July 30. PERSONAL MENTION —John Anderson, dean of the College of Engineering, has been elected vice chair of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Deans Council Executive Board for 2003 - 2005. —Larry Powell, manager of disability resources in the Office of Equal Opportunity Services, recently participated in "Bridges to the Future," the Autism Society of America's national conference on autism. He was a panelist on a session titled "Surviving College for Those on the Autism Spectrum." For information about autism or services and accommodations for members of the university who may have a disability, contact Powell at 412-268-2013. —In recognition of his accomplishments and contributions in materials research, David Kinderlehrer has been awarded a joint appointment as professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Kinderlehrer, a member of Carnegie Mellon's interdisciplinary Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, is a professor of mathematical sciences at the Mellon College of Science. CALENDAR HIGHLIGHT —Aug. 19 - Aug. 24: "Orientation 2003: The World is Not Enough." Activities for first-year students. The full schedule is at http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/first-year/orientation/ |
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