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September 16, 2004 Vol. 15, No. 11
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) 2001 Editions are available online. 2002 Editions are available online. 2003 Editions are available online. Previous editions are available online.
RESEARCHERS TO CREATE SILICON SPEECH RECOGNITION CHIP Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Rob A. Rutenbar is leading the development of a silicon chip that may revolutionize the way humans communicate. With researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, Rutenbar received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to move automatic speech recognition from software to hardware—a transition that could significantly impact America's homeland security. —Desktop computers recognize arbitrary speech, but smaller devices like cell phones or PDAs lack the power to do so. Rutenbar's goal is to create an efficient silicon chip architecture that not only does speech recognition, but does it 100 to 1,000 times more efficiently than a conventional computer. Researchers plan to unveil speech-recognition chip architecture in two to three years. —"We're still not even close to having a voice interface that will let you throw away your keyboard and mouse, but this current research could help us see speech as the primary modality on cell phones and PDAs," said Richard Stern, a professor in electrical and computer engineering and the team's senior speech recognition expert. —While a silicon speech recognition chip may have commercial applications, Rutenbar's main focus is homeland security. "Imagine if an emergency responder could query a critical online database with voice alone, without returning to a vehicle, in a noisy and dangerous environment," said Rutenbar. —For more, visit http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040913_speech.html WEB SITE HELPS CAMPUS COMMUNITY REGISTER TO VOTE With the 2004 presidential election less than two months away, time is running out to register to vote. Last spring, a group of Carnegie Mellon students created a Web site to help fellow students and others register, regardless of where they live. The Web site, www.hss.cmu.edu/registertovote/, was developed by students in the Freshman Seminar on Voting Theory, taught by Teddy Seidenfeld, the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Philosophy and Statistics. —The Web site lists the requirements to register to vote in each of the 50 states, including 2004 registration deadlines. Carnegie Mellon students using the site can use their campus address to register to vote in Pennsylvania, which is important for out-of-state students who have never previously registered to vote, because some states require residents to register for the first time in person. CYLAB TO OFFER EXECUTIVE SECURITY PROGRAM AT WEST COAST CAMPUS Starting in November, CyLab will offer a new executive certificate program in security in Silicon Valley to address the policy, management, and physical and technical issues facing government and industry. The Chief Security Officer (CSO) Executive Certificate Program will focus on developing skills for existing and future chief security and chief information security officers. The certificate program is designed for professionals with backgrounds ranging from technical to non-technical, taking participants with an interest in analyzing and creating security policy or managing security operations and equipping them with the analytical methods and management practices required for success as executives. —"The new certificate program addresses the professional skills so endemic to the success of current and future security executives," said Pradeep Khosla, dean of the College of Engineering and co-director of CyLab. "Given CyLab's interdisciplinary strengths in technology, policy and management, CyLab is strategically positioned to offer programs that can produce executives capable of solving complex security problems," he said. —The CSO certificate may be obtained by completing an eight-course curriculum. Program participants also may be eligible to earn credits toward a Master of Science in Information Technology-Information Security and Privacy (MSIT-ISP) from the Information Networking Institute at the West Coast campus. —For more, see http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040909_cylab.html NEWS BRIEFS —Carnegie Mellon research papers are among the top 1 percent of highly cited papers in the world in the field of neuroscience and behavior, according to Thomson ISI, which provides products and services for researchers. ISI scours the world's scholarly literature to find the researchers per subject whose work is cited most often in scientific articles. ISI considers this index a key measure of scientific influence. Carnegie Mellon is also 50th among 350 institutions worldwide for citations in the field of Psychology/Psychiatry. —The annual Andy Awards celebration will take place at noon on Monday, Sept. 27, in McConomy Auditorium, University Center (UC). The awards recognize outstanding staff who go above and beyond their job descriptions to help Carnegie Mellon become one of the nation's premier educational and research institutions.
—Applications for Head Orientation Counselor positions for Orientation 2005 are available at the University Center Information Desk, Student Affairs (Warner Hall 3) and outside the Office of Orientation (Morewood Gardens 1B8). Applications are due Oct. 15. For more information, contact Anne R. Witchner at 268-4886 or .
PERSONAL MENTION
—Assistant Professor Carlos Guestrin, Center for Automated Learning and Discovery, School of Computer Science, has received the 'best paper' award in VLDB 2004. VLDB is one of the most competitive and prestigious database conferences.
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
—Sept. 15 - Oct. 15: Carnegie Mellon's observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. The list of events is posted on official.cmu-news for Sept. 8.
—Monday, Sept. 20: SCS Special Industry Seminar. "Computer Science Careers in the Upcoming Century," Dr. Alfred Spector, vice president of Software, IBM Research. 2:45 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC.
—Thursday, Sept. 23: President Jared L. Cohon's State of the University Address. Faculty Senate and Faculty Organization members are invited to attend. 5 p.m., Posner Center Auditorium, Posner Center.
—Thursday, Sept. 23: The Pittsburgh Hip Hop Initiative Education Series. "Teach the Bourgeois and Rock the Boulevard: The Making of a Hip-Hop Intelligentsia." Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of black popular culture, Duke University. 6 p.m., Rangos Auditorium 1, UC. Free and open to the public. The lecture is part of the University Lecture Series sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Education and Student Development. Further information: official.cmu-news, Sept. 15.
—Thursday, Sept. 23: The Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE) in the Department of History launches its 2004-05 Speaker Series with a talk by Leslie M. Harris, an associate professor of history at Emory University in Atlanta. Harris' talk is titled "In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626-1863." 5 p.m., Singleton Room, Roberts Hall of Engineering. All events in the CAUSE Speaker Series are free and open to the public. CAUSE aims to link the historian's interest in race, work and economic change over time with contemporary analyses of politics, the urban labor force and employment policies.
—Friday, Sept. 24: "The Songs of Johnny Mercer" inaugurates the School of Drama's 2004-05 Final Fridays Cabaret Series. 11 p.m., Purnell Center for the Arts' Wells Studio. Further information: official.cmu-news, Sept. 10. The suggested donation for Final Friday cabarets is $5.
—Friday, Sept. 24: Carnegie Mellon Staff and Community Fall Blood Drive. 8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m., Rangos 2, UC. Interested donors can schedule an appointment directly with Central Blood Bank representative Susan Stonick at (412) 209-7059 or via email at SStonick@itxm.org.
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