November 11, 2004

Vol. 15, No. 19

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.

The Open Enrollment period for electing your 2005 benefits is almost over. HR Connection can be used to review or change your benefit selections and dependent data through 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 12. This is your ONLY opportunity during the year to make changes to your 2005 benefits, unless you experience a qualifying life or status change.

—Go to http://hr.web.cmu.edu/default.asp?sectionID=3700 to read the Benefits Workbook, log into HR Connection, review plan documents/summaries, access forms and view the HR Connection help sheet.

—Contact Human Resources at 412-268-4747 or hrhelp@andrew.cmu.edu with any questions or concerns.

PSC'S "RED STORM" WINS AWARD FOR "MOST INNOVATIVE IMPLEMENTATION"

HPCwire, the online news service for high-performance computing, has announced that the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's (PSC) newest system, "Red Storm," has won its 2004 Reader's Choice Award for Most Innovative Implementation.

—Red Storm, the newest high-performance system from Cray Inc., has processors twice as powerful as its predecessor, LeMieux, along with a state-of-the-art internal network that allows the processors to communicate and share data more than 10 times faster than any similar competing system. The PSC will evaluate this new architecture on representative research applications, which will include blood-flow modeling, protein simulations, storm forecasting, global climate modeling and simulations of earthquake ground vibration.

—For information on Red Storm see: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040929_redstorm.html

RESEARCHERS TO HOST SECOND ANNUAL BIOLOGICAL LANGUAGE CONFERENCE

Computational biologists and experts in language technologies will gather at Carnegie Mellon Nov. 18 - 19 to learn about the latest advances in computational biolinguistics, a new field of research, at the second annual Biological Language Conference. The event, hosted by Carnegie Mellon's Center for Biological Language Modeling in cooperation with the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, will showcase ongoing results in understanding protein dynamics, function and structure by combining language technologies with computational biology. For information on the conference, see http://flan.blm.cs.cmu.edu/blc2004

ANIMATION STUDIO IN INDIA PARTNERS WITH ETC

Paprikaas Animation Studios based in Bangalore, India, has formed a partnership with Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to develop the animation industry in India. The ETC will assist Paprikaas employees by providing education and training programs in digital animation, games, visual effects and entertainment. "Faculty from the ETC along with their content (course material) will train our employees and upgrade their skills in animation. This is the only way to ensure that the talent pool is created so that this industry can take off," Paprikaas President Srini R. Raghavan told The Telegraph in Calcutta, India. The first course will be offered in mid-2005.

UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION BY 20 PERCENT

Carnegie Mellon's United Way Campaign runs through Nov. 22 with the goal of increasing participation by 20 percent. Several incentives, including the chance to win a $250 American Express gift card, are offered this year to encourage involvement in the campaign.

—For more information or to donate online visit http://www.unitedwaypittsburgh.org/uwac/carnegiemellon

NEWS BRIEFS

—Staff Council is selling the 2005 Entertainment Books for $20. The books can be used immediately for discounts at restaurants, movies, sporting events and attractions. Two editions are available: "Pittsburgh" and "Pittsburgh East." The east edition includes coupons for Pittsburgh and eastern suburbs. Both editions are available from the following Staff Council representatives: Patty Porter, Tepper School of Business, 8-3705, Barbara Price, Tepper School, 8-3688, Bea Mitchell, Human Resources, 8-4747, and Kathleen Bossick, Mellon Institute, 8-3172.

—Help make a child's holiday wishes come true by donating gifts to Academic Development's (AD) Salvation Army Angel Tree. Visit the AD office at 212 Old Student Center, take a stocking assigned to a child and buy him/her a gift. Call AD at 8-6878 for further information. Gifts are needed by Dec. 2.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Robert Siegler, the Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology, has won the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for 2005. The award honors psychologists who have made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. Siegler's research focuses on children's reasoning and problem-solving abilities, particularly in science and mathematics.

—Electrical & Computer Engineering professors L. Richard Carley and Rob A. Rutenbar have been awarded the Semiconductor Research Corporation 2004 Technical Excellence Award for contributions to "Electronic Design Automation for Analog/Mixed-Signal Design." The award is given annually to researchers whose work has had a significant impact on the U.S. semiconductor industry.

—A Carnegie Mellon research team won the Best Paper Award for their work, "Integrated Resource Management and Scheduling with Multi-Resource Constraints," which will be part of the 2004 IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS). Co-authors of the paper are Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) graduate student Sourav Ghosh, ECE and Computer Science Professor Ragunathan Rajkumar, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems Research Scientist Jeff Hansen, and John Lehoczky, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Thomas Lord Professor of Statistics. Rajkumar is the General Chair of RTSS this year.

—The Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of the Sciences and Humanities, has elected Stephen E. Fienberg, the Maurice Falk University Professor of Statistics and Social Science, a Fellow in recognition of his fundamental and innovative contributions to the statistical theory and methodology for analysis of categorical data.

—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded Creative Writing Fellowships to Jim Daniels, the Thomas Stockham Baker Professor of English, and Terrance Hayes, associate professor of creative writing.

—During the National Association of Teachers of Singing Tri-State Chapter Fall Adjudication competition on Oct. 30, students from the School of Music won 21 out of a possible 39 awards. More than 160 singers from 10 universities in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia competed. The names of the Carnegie Mellon winners are posted at http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/041108_music.html

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Saturday, Nov. 13: School of Art Lecture Series. Elizabeth A. T. Smith, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. 2 p.m., Carnegie Museum of Art Lecture Hall.

—Sunday, Nov. 14: The School of Music's Baroque Ensemble. 5 p.m., Alumni Concert Hall. Further information: http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html

—Monday, Nov. 15: Graduate Support Programs Professional Development Seminar. "Budgeting 101 for Future Faculty Members." 1 p.m., Connan Room. Register at http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html Lunch will be served.

—Monday, Nov. 15: Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies Kenya Dworkin will speak at 7 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Public Theater as part of its Mondays with the Public Series. He will discuss the Pulitzer-Prize-winning play "Anna in the Tropics." Reservations are encouraged. For more information, call 412-316-1600.

—Wednesday, Nov. 17: Doctoral Career Paths Seminar, hosted by Graduate Support Programs. "The Public Sector, Part 1: Large Government Agencies." Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel, founder, chairman and CTO of Akustica. Noon, Rangos 3. Lunch will be served. Register at http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html

—Thursday, Nov. 18: Graduate Women's Gathering. "Advisors, Mentors, Friends: Different Roles, Different Rules." Brooke McCartney, professor, biological sciences.12:15 p.m, Rangos 2. Lunch will be served. Register at http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html

—Thursday, Nov. 18: School of Art Lecture Series. Chrissie Iles, curator, Whitney Museum of American Art. 5 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC.

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