August 5, 2004

Vol. 15, No. 5

The "8 1/2 x 11 News" is published each week by the University Advancement Division. News of campus interest should be sent to one of the following editors:   Ed Delaney, 412-268-1609 (ed47@andrew.cmu.edu)
  Bruce Gerson, 412-268-1613 (bg02@andrew.cmu.edu)
  Susan Cribbs, 412-268-7521 (cribbs@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.

2003 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

Three recent Carnegie Mellon graduates will sound the opening of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange at 9:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 6, on behalf of their biotechnology start-up, EADevices Inc.

— Josh Gerlick (MBA'04), Yogesh Oka (CS'04) and Mark O'Leary (E'04) formed the company while they were attending Carnegie Mellon last year. This past May, they defeated 29 teams from around the world to win the 2004 MOOT Corp. Global Business Plan Competition, recognized as the most prestigious competition of its kind. Along with a $100,000 investment from MOOT Corp., EADevices earned the opportunity to open the NASDAQ market in an internationally televised ceremony with representatives from MOOT Corp. and NASDAQ.

— The company's featured product, the patent-pending EANeedle, combines circular ultrasonic energy with thin, interchangeable needles to provide a solution for difficult, early-stage biopsies. The needle is less invasive than current biopsy technologies and will result in fewer complications, providing patients with earlier opportunities for cancer detection and treatment.

— The NASDAQ market opening will air at 9:30 a.m., tomorrow (Friday) on CNBC and will be broadcast live on the NASDAQ Webcam at http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/marketsite_about.stm

WIRELESS ROBOT INSPECTS UNDERGROUND GAS MAINS

Carnegie Mellon robotics researchers, in conjunction with the Northeast Gas Association, the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA, have developed a remote-controlled, untethered, wireless prototype crawling robot designed to inspect underground gas mains. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York recently supported the first deployment of the robot in Yonkers, N.Y., where it successfully inspected hundreds of feet of 8-inch-diameter, live, cast-iron gas main sections originally installed in 1890.

— The robot, known as Explorer™, is segmented like a link sausage with front- and rear-fisheye cameras and lights. It interacts with a remote operator via wireless communication while it's inside a pipe. It can relay near real-time images of a pipe's interior, as well as other data, back to the operator who controls and views it from a street-side control van at the excavation site. Explorer can travel great distances from its point of entry into the pipeline. Its travel range is exclusively determined by its wireless communication range and battery power.

— Explorer was developed by Hagen Schempf, a principal systems scientist in the Robotics Institute, in conjunction with his engineering team in the institute's Hazardous Environments Robotics Laboratory at the National Robotics Engineering Consortium. "This kind of remote inspection technology is truly enabling and will change the face of infrastructure maintenance," Schempf said. "It is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using high-tech wireless inspection devices in areas traditionally thought to be inaccessible to human beings. The implications to potential cost-savings for preventative maintenance, inspection and emergency response should not be overlooked by any utility that has to manage its underground infrastructure."

— Further information: http://www.rec.ri.cmu.edu/projects/explorer and http://www.cmu.edu

ANNUAL BUS PASSES FOR FACULTY AND STAFF AVAILABLE AUG. 16

— Carnegie Mellon provides benefits-eligible faculty and staff with free use of the PAT Transit System. To ride free on PAT busses, inclines and the T, you must show a valid Carnegie Mellon ID with a current bus pass validation sticker. Faculty and staff may request a 2004 - 05 bus pass sticker through HR Connection starting Aug. 16.

— To request a sticker valid from Sept. 1, 2004 through Aug. 31, 2005, follow the Bus Pass link from the Human Resources Web site at http://hr.web.cmu.edu, and select the Bus Pass module in HR Connection. You will be asked to choose whether you will pick up your sticker or have it mailed to you.

— Call HR at 8-4747 if you've forgotten your PIN number, but then be sure to change it to something you'll remember when you enter the system in the future.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ANNOUNCE 2004 EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

Nominated by members of the campus community, Jean Alexander and Charlotte Trexler are the most recent recipients of the University Libraries' Excellence Awards. Alexander, a library faculty member and head of Hunt Library reference, received the Excellence in Forwarding the Instructional and Research Mission of the University Award for her work to meet the specialized and growing needs of the Department of Modern Languages. Trexler, a library staff member in Hunt Library circulation, received the Excellence in Increased Productivity Award for her exceptional work to automate fines and billing notices for overdue items.

— Faculty and staff honored for their years of service to the University Libraries were: Erika Linke, Melanie Myers (20 years); Ona Taylor (10 years); Mary Martin, Marguerite Zappa (5 years); Chuck Alcorn, Kristin Heath, Melanie Klaput, Mary Neubauer, Ryan Palmer, Erin Rhodes, Eric Sisak (1 year).

PERSONAL MENTION

— Amanda Bougades, document manager in the Office of International Education, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to attend the Brussels School of International Studies in Belgium where she will earn a master's degree in international conflict analysis. She is planning a career in human rights and peace advocacy. Bougades is enrolled in the Heinz School's Master of Science and Public Policy program.

— Together with publishers, librarians and other information professionals, Dean of University Libraries Gloriana St. Clair participated in an E-Journal Summit sponsored by Publications of the National Academies of Science on July 22. She reports that open access for scientific information is gaining support in the U.S.

— David Rampulla, a graduate student in chemical engineering, will receive a graduate student award at the 51st American Vacuum Society International Symposium for his work titled "Enantioselectivity of Chiral Copper Surfaces." The conference will be held Nov. 14 - 19 in Anaheim, Calif. His research advisor is Professor Andrew Gellman.

— Christos Maravelias, Ph.D. student in chemical engineering, has joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

CALENDAR

— Friday Aug. 13: Software Engineering Institute (SEI) - Mellon Institute Blood Drive, second floor of the SEI building in Training Rooms B and C. Signs indicating the location of the rooms will be displayed. The blood bank has a special promotion this year for those donating blood through Oct. 3, 2004. Each week during that period, a donor will be selected to receive a free gas card valued at $50 each month for 12 months. Just bring an acceptable form of ID with you. All who donate are eligible. Be sure to drink plenty of non-caffeine liquids on the day of the drive and eat something beforehand.

— Friday, Aug. 13: Future Tenant at 801 Liberty Avenue, downtown, will host a one-night-only, solo performance by musician and songwriter James Low. 7 p.m. Suggested donation: $5. Located in the heart of the Cultural District, Future Tenant is a project of Carnegie Mellon's Institute for the Management of Creative Enterprise and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The art space, which features alternative exhibitions and performances by emerging artists from the Pittsburgh community and beyond, is managed by a team of students from the Master of Arts Management program, a joint program of the College of Fine Arts and the Heinz School.

— Wednesday, Aug. 18: The 5th Annual Master of Science in Electronic Commerce (MSEC) Practicum Fair. 1:30 - 4 p.m., Mellon Auditorium, Posner Hall. Student teams will showcase their sponsored projects. This year's sponsors include Alcoa, CPA Consulting Services, Korean Trade Network, Tepper School Alumni Relations and Technology Implementation, Demonstration and Evaluation (TIDE) program. If you would like to attend, RSVP to csalerno@andrew.cmu.edu by Aug. 13.

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