February 24, 2005

Vol. 15, No. 31

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.

2004 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

Edmund M. Clarke, Fore Systems Professor of Computer Science, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for making important contributions to engineering theory and demonstrating unusual accomplishments in pioneering new and developing fields of technology. It is one of the highest professional distinctions an engineer can achieve.

—Clarke was elected to the academy for his contributions to the formal verification of hardware and software correctness. He developed technology that reduces the number of errors in digital circuit designs, a problem that has become more significant than manufacturing difficulties in bringing new computer products to market. His technique, called model checking, is superior to simulation, the only other technique available to detect flaws in computer circuits.

—Clarke joins a distinguished list of Carnegie Mellon faculty who are members of the NAE. Others include Hubert I. Aarenson, Alfred Blumstein, Randal Bryant, Robert F. Davis, Richard J. Fruehan, Ignacio Grossmann, Angel G. Jordan, Takeo Kanade, Harold W. Paxton, Raj Reddy, Daniel P. Siewiorek, Herbert L. Toor, Arthur W. Westerberg and Robert M. White.

—Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases05/050223_nae.html

UNDERGRAD TUITION FOR ENTERING STUDENTS TO INCREASE IN FALL

The university has announced a 3.26 percent increase in undergraduate tuition to $31,650 for students entering in fall 2005. Room costs will increase 4.49 percent to $5,187, and board will rise 4 percent to $3,696. For students entering in fall of 2005, the overall cost to attend Carnegie Mellon, including tuition, room, board and fees, will be $40,927. Tuition for students who entered prior to fall 2003 will be $31,185, reflecting the 3.26 percent increase. These students entered under a tiered tuition scale.

—Vice President for Enrollment William Elliott points out that admission applications continue to set records. As of Feb. 1, Carnegie Mellon had received 15,436 applications for the 1,360 spots available in the 2005 freshman class, an increase of 15 percent from last year. Further information: official.cmu-news, Feb. 21.

INAUGURAL CELEBRATION PLANNED FOR QATAR CAMPUS, MARCH 9 - 10

The Qatar Foundation will host a celebration in Doha, Qatar, March 9-10, to honor the opening of Carnegie Mellon in Qatar, the university's first international branch campus. The celebration will include an academic symposium featuring a panel of distinguished Carnegie Mellon experts in computer science and business, and an evening gala that will be attended by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missnad, chairperson, Qatar Foundation.

—Symposium participants will share with colleagues and students in Qatar their latest research papers and insights in a series of lectures and discussions that will give Qatar's academics unparalleled access to the latest thinking and developments in business management and computer science.

—Participants include the following Carnegie Mellon faculty: Linda Argote, Randy Bryant, Dennis Epple, Provost Mark Kamlet, Sunder Kekre, Pradeep Khosla, Kenneth Koedinger, Lester Lave, Ramamoorthi Ravi, Raj Reddy, Duane Seppi, Vice Provost Joel Smith and Chuck Thorpe, dean of the Qatar campus. Further information: http://www.qatar.cmu.edu/media/opening.php

NEWS BRIEFS

—This fall will mark the second annual Relay For Life of Oakland. Students, faculty, cancer survivors and local teams will walk around the Carnegie Mellon track for 24 consecutive hours to raise money for cancer research. Past participants, team captains and anyone interested in participating in Relay for Life are invited to attend the Kickoff Party at 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25, in the Danforth Lounge, UC. RSVP to Scott Smith scottsmi@andrew.cmu.edu.

—The Feynman Lecture Series on The Character of Physical Law begins Tuesday, March 1. These lectures were given as part of the Messenger Lecture Series at Cornell University in November 1964, when Richard Feynman was professor of theoretical physics at Cal Tech. ECE Professor Jim Hoburg will host the seven lectures in Doherty Hall 2210 from 4:30 - 6 p.m. on the following Tuesdays: March 1, March 15, March 22, March 29, April 5, April 12 and April 19. On March 1, Professor Feynman will lecture on "The Law of Gravitation." Information: official.cmu-news, Feb. 21.

—Staff Council is examining how well it represents staff on campus. As part of this process, it is offering a short survey asking how Staff Council can serve you better. The 5 - 7 minute online survey is available until March 8 at http://www.cmu.edu/staff-council/. Completion of the survey will make you eligible for one of five $50 cash prizes. Your responses will be submitted anonymously. If you choose to give your Andrew ID for prize eligibility, it will not be connected with your survey response. Further information: official.cmu-news, Feb. 22.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Michael D. Smith, assistant professor of information technology at the Heinz School, has received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award from the National Science Foundation. The program offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.

—Lisa Brownsword and Jim Smith, members of the Integration of Software Intensive Systems Initiative within the Software Engineering Institute Dynamic Systems program, won the best paper award at the Fourth International Conference on Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) Based Software Systems, in Bilbao, Spain, for their work titled "Using Earned Value Management for COTS-Based Systems: Issues and Recommendations."

—Robert A. Heard has been appointed as the first associate teaching professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department. The appointment is for a term of three years, effective July 1, 2005.

—The annual Young Members Night of the Pittsburgh Golden Triangle Chapter of ASM International last week proved to be a winning night for many Materials Science and Engineering students. Senior Jennifer Singelyn received the "Outstanding Senior Award," doctoral student Christopher Roberts was named "Chapter Outstanding Young Member" and junior Diana Chan and sophomore Nicole Cates each received the "Past Chairpersons' Education Assistance Award." MSE students fared equally well in the poster competition with doctoral student Ying Pang receiving first place (graduate competition) for her poster "Correlation between GB Segregation and Character in Nb-doped TiO2." Junior Eric Vanderson received second place (undergraduate competition) for his poster "Deformation Behavior of Rolled Cu-Nb Micro and Nano Composites." Juniors Selina Brownridge and Diana Chan shared third place for their "Comparative Analysis of Processing Techniques on Y-Ba-Cu-O Superconductor."

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Friday, Feb. 25: Best Practice: Accessible Web Pages, 1:30 - 3 p.m., Hamburg Hall Auditorium. Well-designed Web pages can accommodate users with low vision, color blindness, blindness, limited motor skills and other accessibility issues. Everyone welcome. Sponsored by Carnegie Mellon's Web Forum.

—Monday, Feb. 28: Staff and community blood drive. 8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m., Rangos 1, UC. For more information, or to make an appointment, contact Susan Stonick at SStonick@itxm.org.

—Tuesday, March 1: Department of Chemical Engineering Seminar. "Molecular Surface Science of Polymers and Biopolymers." Professor Gabor Somorjai, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. 10:45 a.m., Doherty Hall 1112.

—Tuesday, March 1: Graduate Support Programs Professional Development Seminar. "Finishing the Dissertation: Managing Up." Nancy Klancher, director of Graduate Support Programs, and Judy Hill, post-doctoral fellow and alumna, Civil and Environmental Engineering. 1 p.m., Connan Room. Lunch will be served. To register, go to http://gposerver.as.cmu.edu/registration/multiregis.html/

—Thursday, March 3: The Carnegie Mellon Women's Association will host "Nutrition for Women," noon to 1 p.m. in the Connan Room, UC. Donna Hansen, M.A., R.D., a nutritionist with Student Health Services, will teach attendees what and how they should be eating to maximize health and well-being. A sampling of delicious food for women will be available. RSVP no later than Tuesday, March 1, to Denise Fazio at fazio@andrew.cmu.edu

—Friday, March 4: ICES seminar. "Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: The Value of Modeling Epistemic Uncertainty." Chris Paredis, assistant professor, G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. 2:30 - 3:30 p.m., 1202 Hamburg Hall. Refreshments will be served.

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