October 9, 2003

Vol. 14, No. 14

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.

A team of Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh researchers has received a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance an intelligent, automated Reading Tutor that listens to children read and verbally assists them when it hears them stumble.

—The four-year grant will be used to improve and integrate speech and user modeling technologies in the Reading Tutor, which has been developed over more than a decade by Carnegie Mellon's Project LISTEN, led by research professor Jack Mostow.

—The Reading Tutor displays stories on a computer screen, uses a speech recognizer to listen to children as they read aloud, and responds when necessary with spoken and graphical assistance. It is being used in eight Pittsburgh schools and one in North Carolina. According to Mostow, it has helped to improve the reading skills of hundreds of children in the Pittsburgh area. About 600 elementary school students used the Reading Tutor in the 2002-03 school year, logging about 4,000 hours in more than 26,000 tutoring sessions.

—Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/031003_readingaid.html/

CARNEGIE MELLON TO HOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON B PHYSICS

An international group of theoretical and experimental physicists will gather at Carnegie Mellon to attend Beauty 2003, the 9th International Conference on B Physics. The conference, which runs from Tuesday, Oct. 14, to Saturday, Oct.18, will be held in Rangos 1, University Center (UC).

—"The Beauty conferences are the only conferences solely dedicated to beauty or b-quark physics," says Helmut Vogel, professor in the Department of Physics and member of the local organizing committee for the conference. More than 100 physicists are coming from as far away as China to review recent results in the field of B physics and CP violation, areas of particle physics that look for evidence to explain differences between matter and antimatter. Further information: www-hep.phys.cmu.edu/beauty2003/

DWIGHT BAUMANN REMEMBERED FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE, RESEARCH

Dwight M. Baumann, a mechanical engineering professor and professor of engineering design for 34 years at the university, died Tuesday, Sept. 30, after a long illness. He was 70 years of age.

—Baumann was executive director and founder of the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Inc., a non-profit, teaching laboratory and industrial experiment station affiliated with Carnegie Mellon since 1971.

—"He was insightful and engaging with a passion for helping students hone entrepreneurial skills," said Adnan Akay, head of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

FLU SHOTS ARE FREE TO FACULTY AND STAFF DURING BENEFITS FAIR

Free flu shots for faculty and staff will be available at the Benefits Fair from 9:30 a.m. ­ 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, in Rangos Hall.

—Student Health Services will be offering flu shots for $15 at its clinics on the following dates: 9 a.m. - Noon, Tuesday, Oct. 14; 1 - 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22; 1- 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 29; 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14.

NEWS BRIEFS

—President Cohon will hold an open student office hour at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Students interested in meeting with Dr. Cohon should send email to Dean Michael Murphy at mm1v@andrew.cmu.edu.

—Procurement Services has announced that Mellon Financial has been selected as the new card provider for Carnegie Mellon's Procurement Card program. The transition from Bank One to Mellon Financial will take place during November. Further information: official.cmu-news, Oct. 9.

—The Carnegie Mellon Women's Association is sponsoring a daylong bus trip to West Point Market in Akron, Ohio ("A Market Like No Other"), on Saturday Oct. 25. Cost is $20 per person. RSVP no later than Friday, Oct. 10 to Gloria Claus at gc2v@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-8430. Space is limited. Both your RSVP (via e-mail or phone) and payment must reach Claus for your reservation to be complete. Further information: www.cmu.edu/CMWA.

PERSONAL MENTION

—G. Richard Tucker, head of the Department of Modern Languages and one of the world's foremost experts on second-language acquisition, has been named the first Paul Mellon Professor of Applied Linguistics.

—orman Chigier, professor of mechanical engineering and president of the International Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems, presented the plenary lecture "Recent Advances in Spray Science and Technology" at the international conference in Sorrento, Italy, last summer. He is chair of the editorial board of the journal Atomization and Sprays, which he founded 13 years ago.

—Robert M. White, University Professor of electrical and computer engineering and head of the Data Storage Systems Center, has won the 2004 George E. Pake Prize for outstanding research in physics and leadership in industrial research and development. The $5,000 prize is awarded by the American Physical Society. Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/031003_industrialrd.html/

—Elaine A. King was the guest American curator for the 7th International Biennial of Drawings and Graphic Arts in Gyor, Hungary, that included works from more than 26 countries. The exhibition began Sept. 20 and continues through Nov. 16. She also was the president of the international jury that awarded nine prizes.

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

—S. Thomas Emerson, associate professor of entrepreneurship and director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship, has been awarded the David T. and Lindsay J. Morgenthaler Chair in Entrepreneurship.

—Professor Jonathan Cagan, Mechanical Engineering, Professor Craig Vogel, School of Design, and Associate Professor Laurie Weingart, Graduate School of Industrial Administration, have been selected to receive the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Board of Engineering Education's Curriculum Innovation Award for their work on integrated product development. They will receive the awards at the 2003 ASME Congress on Nov. 18, in Washington, D.C.

—The School of Computer Science has announced its Siebel Scholars for 2004: Aditya Agarwal, Nikhil Bansal, Jun Gao, Nicholas Hopper, and Aleksandar Nanevski. The Siebel Scholars program was established at Carnegie Mellon and 10 other schools in the U.S. Carnegie Mellon received a $2.5 million gift to recognize students who have distinguished themselves through academic and leadership excellence. Each Siebel Scholar award is $25,000; the student receives $2,500 and his/her unit receives $22,500 to help pay educational costs (tuition, stipend, fees, etc.).

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Sat., Oct. 11: Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble. Denis Colwell, conductor. 3 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. Ticket info: 412-268-2383.

—Wednesday, Oct. 15: Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. Juan Pablo Izquierdo, conductor. 8 p.m., Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. Ticket info: 412-268-2383.

—Friday, Oct. 17: A daylong commemoration of Barbara Lazarus, the university's associate provost for academic affairs who died on July 15. Hamburg Hall Auditorium. The schedule is posted on official.cmu-news, Sept. 24.

—Friday, Oct. 24: The Carnegie Mellon Black Alumni Association authors luncheon and book signing. Noon, Hunt Library, 4th floor. Featured authors: Sharon Freeman (HS'74), author of "Conversations with Powerful African Women Leaders," Anthony Butts, Carnegie Mellon assistant professor of English, author of "Little Low Heaven," and Kiron Skinner, Carnegie Mellon assistant professor of history, author of "Reagan: A Life in Letters." Register online at www.cmu.edu/alumni or via telephone at 1-800-226-8258. Cost: $18.

—Friday, Oct. 24: Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Seminar Series. "A Theory of Complexity and Applications." Nam Suh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 10 a.m. - Noon, Scaife Hall 125. Examples from diverse fields will be presented to illustrate the utility of the complexity theory and the concept of functional periodicity.

We would like to know how many of our readers use this Web edition of the newsletter. If you are a reader, please send a message (as brief as "yes") to ed47@andrew.cmu.edu

-Back to the top-