September 18, 2003

Vol. 14, No. 11

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 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon's CERTŪ Coordination Center (CERT/CC) to create US-CERT, a coordination point for prevention, protection and response to cyber attacks across the Internet. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge called US-CERT "a key element to our national strategy to combat terrorism and protect our critical infrastructure."

—Ridge said the recent cyber attacks such as the Blaster worm and the SoBig virus highlight the urgent need for an enhanced computer emergency response program that coordinates national efforts to cyber incidents and attacks.

—"Carnegie Mellon is proud and pleased to have this opportunity to work with the Department of Homeland Security," said President Jared Cohon. "We are committed to maintaining our longstanding leadership in cyber security and to building additional strength in this critical area."

—Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/030915_cyberpartner.html

ROBOTIC DEMONSTRATIONS HIGHLIGHT OPENING OF CONVENTION CENTER

Sony will demonstrate its new AIBO robotic dog, the ERS-7, with Carnegie Mellon's CMPack'03 robot soccer team at the grand opening of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Sunday, Sept. 21. The robot soccer presentation is part of "Keeping Current: An Afternoon of Entertainment for the Entire Family," a day-long event displaying the region's most enlightening and energizing attractions and activities with experiences designed to entertain, teach and connect families to the best of southwestern Pennsylvania. CMPack'03 will be featured in the Sports and Leisure venue during the following times: 1:40 - 2 p.m.; 2:50 - 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 - 4:30 p.m. Further information: www.pittsburghpowersup.com/

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS FOR SMALL W.VA. TOWN BEING DEVELOPED

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation have given researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Appalachian Network Access (CANA) $250,000 to implement a new, wireless broadband network linking Glenville, W.Va., to the rest of the world via high-speed wireless Internet connectivity. Like many small, rural communities, Glenville, a town of 2,000 in an isolated part of central West Virginia, has been overlooked by commercial Internet providers.

—CANA, co-founded by Associate Professor of Computer Science Bruce Maggs, aims to bring the Internet to Appalachian communities like Glenville and raise the literacy and economic profile of the region. Further information: www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/030828_wirlessglenville.html

DONORS NEEDED FOR SEPT. 30 FACULTY/STAFF BLOOD DRIVE

The next Faculty/Staff Blood Drive will take place 8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, in the Connan Room, University Center (UC). To schedule an appointment, contact Susan Stolnick (SStonick@itxm.org) at 412-209-7059 or call 1-866-DONORS1. Walk-in donors are welcome. Blood supplies in the Pittsburgh area are at a critical low.

NEWS BRIEFS

—Applications for 2004 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships are due in early November. These fellowships are awarded for graduate study leading to research-based master's or doctor's degrees in science, mathematics and engineering. Further information: www.orau.org/nsf/nsffel.htm/

—The Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship will hold its "Commercializing Technology and Biotechnology" program starting Oct. 6. This non-credit program helps participants develop successful marketing plans and commercialization strategies for their new venture ideas. The cost is $795. Contact John DiRicco at 8-7758 or diricco@andrew.cmu.edu for more information.

—Buggy practices begin Sept. 27 - 28 in preparation for the Spring Carnival Sweepstakes Race. Practices are from 6 to 9 a.m. in Schenley Park on weekends throughout the fall and spring semesters. Tech Street, Frew Street and Schenley Drive will close at 6 a.m. each weekend morning and reopen promptly at 9 a.m.

—The Chemical Engineering Lubrizol Analytic Laboratory dedication will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Doherty Hall A100. The Lubrizol Corporation's $100,000 grant was used for the laboratory renovation, spearheaded by lab instructor Matt Cline.

—The list of speakers and topics in the University Lecture Series during September is posted on official.cmu-news, Sept. 17.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Professor Granger Morgan, head, Engineering and Public Policy, discussed research from his new book "Science and Technology Advice for Congress" Sept. 15 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The book, co-authored by Jon Peha, associate professor, Engineering and Public Policy, is designed to help Congressional leaders improve the way they tackle key issues, including cascading blackouts, future space shuttle launches, Internet and homeland security, identity theft and the evaluation of new weapon systems. The authors argue that Congress and its many committees need more than bare facts and brief interactions with technical experts to analyze and solve some of the nation's most challenging issues.

—Tom O'Boyle, author of "At Any Cost: Jack Welch, General Electric, and the Pursuit of Profit" (Alfred Knopf, 1998), has joined the Department of English as an instructor, teaching both an introductory (fall) and advanced (spring) course in journalism. O'Boyle, who earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University, has been a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a foreign correspondent in Bonn, Germany. For the past decade, he has worked full-time for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His book has been translated into four languages and was named one of the best books of 1998 on public affairs by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

—Ayanah Moor, assistant professor of Art, has a solo exhibit of prints, "A to Z Like Me," at Anchor Graphics in Chicago. Further information: www.anchorgraphics.org/

—School of Art professors Mary Weidner and Carol Kumata are exhibiting "condition: human" at the A.I.R. Gallery, 511 West 25th Street, New York City, through Oct. 4.

—Professor of Chemical Engineering Myung Jhon has been selected as the Carnegie Institute of Technology faculty chair-elect. In addition to outstanding research in multi-disciplinary areas, he has received several teaching awards including the Ryan Award.

—The Carnegie Mellon Research Administrators Council has announced the 2003 recipients of certification as University Research Administrators: Sandra Brenner Hill, Biomedical & Health Engineering and the Bone Tissue Engineering Center; Barbara Bugosh, Engineering & Public Policy, Center for Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change; Patrick Carr, Physics; Kathy Majors, Psychology; Sharon McCann, Sponsored Projects Accounting; Timothy Sager, Chemistry; Ruth Staudacher, the Heinz School.

—Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Herman Schmit won the Michal Servit Best Paper Award at the 13th International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications last week in Lisbon, Portugal. The paper was titled "Extra-dimensional Island-Style FPGAs."

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Monday, Sept. 22: Study Abroad Information Session. What are the benefits of study abroad? Where can I go? How do I pay for study abroad? Can I use my financial aid? Answers will be provided by students who have studied abroad and from the Study Abroad and Exchange advisor, Eva Mergner. 5 - 6 p.m., McKenna Room, UC.

—Sept. 25, 2003 to Feb. 29, 2004: Exhibition, "The Healing Plants of Ida Hrubesky Pemberton." Featured are watercolors of medicinal plants painted between 1935 and 1942. Hunt Botanical Institute, fifth floor, Hunt Library. Further information: official.cmu-news, Sept. 16.

—Friday, Sept. 26: Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Seminar Series. "Why There Is No Perfect Design." Henry Petroski, Duke University. Design involves constraints, some of which contradict others. If all constraints cannot be satisfied exactly, choices must be made. This leads to compromise, which means nothing's perfect. Illustrative examples will be presented. 10 a.m - Noon, Scaife Hall 125.

—Monday, Sept. 29: The Andy Awards ceremony; noon, McConomy Auditorium, UC.

—Saturday, Oct. 4: Franklin Toker discusses his new book, "Fallingwater Rising," 2 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall. Reception and book signing follow the talk.

—Monday, Oct. 6: Award-winning architects Fred Koetter and Susie Kim discuss urban planning and building as part of the university's David Lewis lecture series. 6:30 p.m., Kresge Recital Hall.

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