October 16, 2003

Vol. 14, 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.

2001 Editions are available online.

2002 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

Carnegie Mellon scientist Robert Murphy has received $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of a five-year, $9.4 million multi-institutional grant headquartered at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This grant for "Next-Generation Bio-Molecular Imaging and Information Discovery" was one of eight large grants made this year by NSF's Information Technology Research Program.

—The ultimate goal of the project, which includes researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of California, Berkeley; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is to develop new information processing technologies that will enable researchers to extract detailed information from images depicting the distribution of biological molecules within cells.

—Working with Murphy are Carnegie Mellon co-principal investigators Tom Mitchell, director of the Center for Automated Learning & Discovery; Christos Faloutsos, professor,Computer Science; and Jelena Kovacevic, professor, Biomedical Engineering.

—Information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases03/031008_biomolimaging.html

HOMECOMING WEEKEND IS OCT. 24 - 26

Carnegie Mellon will welcome back alumni at this year's Homecoming Weekend, Friday, Oct. 24 - Sunday, Oct. 26. Homecoming events include college and department receptions, the Philharmonic concert celebrating the School of Music's 90th anniversary, the Alumni Awards ceremony, Saturday morning seminars, President Jared Cohon's address, the football game versus Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and reunion dinners and receptions. Alumni award winners are Ann Roth (A'53), Candace Sheffield Matthews (E'81), Rob Marshall (A'82), Ted Danson (A'72), Alex Condron (IM'89), Frank Millero (S'64, '65), Ricky Ian Gordon (A'80) and Jennifer H. Elisseeff (S'94). —Further information: www.cmu.edu/alumni/news-evts/homecoming/index.html

RAPE AGGRESSION DEFENSE PROGRAMS SET FOR 0CT. 29 AND NOV. 1

University Police will be presenting Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) programs from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 29, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 1. Both sessions will be held in Room 201, 4902 Forbes Avenue. RAD, a program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques, is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk-reduction and avoidance and moves on to the basics of hands-on defensive training. It is not a martial arts program. The course is taught by university police officers who are certified RAD instructors, and provides participants with a workbook/reference manual.

—Any Carnegie Mellon student, staff or faculty member, their spouses, children, and some extended family members (depending upon class size) can take the program. To register for the class contact the RAD instructors at rad-pd@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-6232.

—Further information: www.cmu.edu/police/rad.htm

REMEMBERING PAUL CHRISTIANO

Paul Christiano, the former provost, dean and department head who died in June 2001, is remembered as a compassionate teacher, mentor and leader. The staff of the University Libraries invites the campus community to celebrate Paul Christiano's life and contributions on Wednesday, Oct. 22, in ceremonies at each of the university libraries. Plaques in his memory, presented by the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, will be unveiled at the following times and locations: 3 p.m. at Mellon Institute Library, 4th floor, Mellon Institute; 3:45 p.m. at Hunt Library, 1st floor; 4:30 p.m. at Engineering & Science Library, 4th floor, Wean Hall.

PERSONAL MENTION

—The School of Design has appointed Ronald B. Kemnitzer to its Nierenberg Chair of Design. A practicing industrial designer, Kemnitzer holds more than a dozen U.S. patents. In 2001 he received the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. Widely regarded as the most prestigious and significant appointment in design education in the U.S., the Nierenberg Chair of Design is a visiting professorship established through the generosity of Carnegie Mellon alumnus and Emeritus Life Trustee Theodore D. Nierenberg, a founder of Dansk International Designs.

—The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a three-year, $750,000 grant to Psychology Professor David Klahr and postdoctoral fellow Junlei Li for a project aimed at improving middle school science education. The project's goal is to train teachers to apply cognitive models of scientific reasoning to their lesson plans in order to raise students' performance on high-stakes standards tests. The project will be conducted at four schools funded through the Extra Mile Education Foundation: Holy Rosary in Homewood; St. Agnes in Oakland; St. Benedict the Moor in the Hill District; and St. James in Wilkinsburg.

—Professor of Art James Duesing won the "Best in the World Prize" for "Tender Bodies" in the 4th International Festival for Animation in Baden, Switzerland, September 9 - 14.

—The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the nation's leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education, has announced the induction of Martha Chávez McGivney, director of the Heinz School's Master of Science in Public Policy and Management Program, into the 2003 HSF Alumni Hall of Fame. The HSF celebrates the achievements of Hispanics who demonstrate the power of higher education and mentorship to change a life and positively impact the world. McGivney was honored for breaking the cycle of under-education and becoming one of the first in her family to get a college degree. She came from Guanajuato, Mexico, with her parents, received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon. Further information: www.hsf.net/AHOF03/McGivney.htm

—Jim Kownacki, assistant manager of the Carnegie Mellon Bookstore, was one of 20 college store professionals honored by the National Association of College Stores as one of its "up-an-coming collegiate retail leaders under 40."

—The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., has announced that computer industry pioneer Gordon Bell, professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon from 1966 to 1972, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Museum at the annual Computer History Museum Fellow Awards celebration on Oct. 21. Bell was chosen for his key role in the minicomputer revolution.

—Jeffrey Docking, an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for 2003-2004, recently had an article published in The Journal of Value Inquiry entitled, "Moral Leadership: Ethics and the College Presidency." Docking is vice president of administration at Washington and Jefferson College and is at Carnegie Mellon this semester shadowing President Cohon as part of the ACE Fellows program.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Friday, Oct. 17: The University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences presents "To Undef Their Ears: The Spoken Word in a Multimedia World," Jerry Goldman, professor of political science, Northwestern University. 3 - 4 p.m, Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. The lecture is the first in the Digital Libraries Colloquium Series co-sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon University Library System, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the School of Computer Science. Reception follows in the Frick Fine Arts Cloister across from the entrance to Carnegie Library.

—Monday, Oct. 20: School of Design Lecture Series. Scott Summit, owner/principal, Summit ID. 7 p.m., Mellon Auditorium, Posner Hall. Reception follows. Information: 412-268-2828.

—Saturday, Oct. 25: The Carnegie Mellon Black Alumni Association (CMBAA) jazz discussion and jam session at 2 p.m., with James Alston (A'78), music specialist, who teaches the summer music programs at Carnegie Mellon. Register at www.cmu.edu/alumni or via telephone 1-800-226-8258.

—Saturday, Oct. 25: CMBAA business and networking lunch featuring Candace Sheffield Matthews, (E'81), president of Soft Sheen/Carson, a division of L'Oreal. Various businesses of CMBAA members will also be on display. Cost: $18. Register at www.cmu.edu/alumni or via 1-800-226-8258.

—Monday, Oct. 27: University Lecture Series. "Are Web Searchers Smarter than Ducklings? What's Next after Google." Raul Valdes-Perez, president and co-founder of Vivissimo Inc., will discuss Vivissimo's unique clustering engine that takes the top results from several popular search engines and organizes them into categories. 5 p.m., Rangos 2, University Center. Free and open to the public.

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