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June 2, 2005 Vol. 15, No. 45
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. 2004 Editions are available online. Previous editions are available online.
CARNEGIE MELLON RESEARCH FUELS COMMERCIAL BIODIESEL PLANT Thanks to a new "green" process developed at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Advanced Fuel Technology (CAFT), a Pittsburgh-area plant will soon become Pennsylvania's first commercial producer of biodiesel fuel, a clean-burning alternative to petroleum. Richard Jackson, president of Capital Technologies International (CTI), said the new process, which causes no harm to the environment, produces biodiesel more quickly and is less expensive than standard methods. The technology has been licensed to CTI and patents are pending. David Purta and Marc Portnoff of CAFT were principal developers of the new process. —Made from domestic agricultural products, biodiesel fuel can be burned or blended with petroleum in diesel engines without vehicle modifications. Certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the preferred low-cost alternative fuel, biodiesel emissions reduce public health risks associated with air pollution. Biodiesel is less volatile, non-toxic and biodegradable. —The conventional method to produce biodiesel often requires complicated systems, high production costs and the use of potentially hazardous materials called liquid caustics. "We have produced a safer, more streamlined method for making biodiesel," Jackson said. "It will produce a cleaner product at a lower cost with no emissions or odors." Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050527_biodiesel.html/ TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER HOLDS CONFERENCE ON UNIVERSITY SPIN-OFF FIRMS Carnegie Mellon's Center for Technology Transfer (CTT) recently hosted a conference on university spin-off firms for banks and other lenders in the Pittsburgh area. The conference, which was part of CTT's Enterprise Creation initiative, focused on the financing needs of small, growing technology companies in the region and the role local lenders can play in supporting these endeavors. The conference highlighted the facts, experiences and myths behind university-based start-ups. Conference presentations by CTT staff and local entrepreneurs included discussions of the process of developing a technology, financial profiles of university spin-offs, case studies of successful Carnegie Mellon spin-offs and the risk-reward profile behind these ventures. The event also included a "sneak preview" of the revolutionary technologies under development in Carnegie Mellon's labs. —Robert Lowe, Carnegie Mellon's director of venture development, described the value of bringing together many of the region's top banks. "In working closely with our start-up companies, we have found that their funding needs are often well aligned with banks' and other lenders' products.....We were excited by the enthusiastic support of local lenders in supporting our firms." —A wide range of banks and lenders participated in the event, from national and super-regional banks such as National City Bank and Fifth Third Bank, to leading local lenders like Dollar Bank and development funds such as the CL Fund. Further information: http://www.carnegiemellonctt.com/ CARNEGIE MELLON HOSTS TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS FOR SENIOR GAMES Carnegie Mellon will join a city-wide celebration of the 2005 Summer National Senior Games beginning next week. More than 10,000 athletes will travel to Pittsburgh for the games, which are sponsored by the National Senior Games Association every two years. The university will host the track and field events June 7-17 in Gesling Stadium and will provide room, board and parking for some participants. Athletes ages 50 and over will come from as far as Hawaii to compete in 18 Olympic-style sports including basketball, cycling, swimming, track and field, and road racing at various venues throughout the region. All athletic competitions at the games are free and open to the public. For the schedule of events, visit http://www.2005seniorgames.org/home.jsp/ NEWS BRIEFS —Poet Maureen Seaton has won The Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry for her book "Venus Examines Her Breast," which was published in 2004 by the Carnegie Mellon University Press. The award was given by The Publishing Triangle, an association of gay and lesbian writers, and is named for the late Audre Lorde, an award-winning poet and activist. The Carnegie Mellon University Press was founded in 1975 by English Professor Gerald Costanzo, who runs the press with the help each year of five to seven student interns from his editing and publishing course. —Wisconsin-based sculptor Gail Simpson installed the sculpture "Broken Hardscape" in Pittsburgh's Frank Curto Park May 26 - 28 as part of the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry's Persephone Project. Simpson built her sculpture on the old exposed roadbed that is next to the cinder-walking path in the park, which lies on Bigelow Boulevard overlooking the Strip District. Carnegie Mellon STUDIO fellow Stephanie Flom leads the Persephone Project, a community-focused initiative sponsored by the Studio for Creative Inquiry that aims to educate the public about art and the environment by exhibiting gardens as art and introducing gardeners as artists. The Persephone Project is made possible by the support of the City of Pittsburgh and by financial contributions from the Sprout Fund, local foundations and Pennsylvania Partners. For more, visit http://www.cmu.edu/studio/ PERSONAL MENTION —The university has announced the addition of four members to its Board of Trustees: Frank Brunckhorst (IM'87), CEO, Boar's Head Provision Co. Inc; William B. Ellis (E'62), retired chairman and CEO, Northeast Utilities; Teresa Heinz, chairman, Heinz Family Philanthropies; and Jonathan M. Rothberg (E'85) CEO, president and chairman, CuraGen Corporation. The new trustees begin their three-year terms July 1. —Debra Germany Morrison, administrative coordinator for the Software Engineering Measurement and Analysis group in the Software Engineering Institute, will be the keynote speaker at Columbus Middle School's "Ending Violence in Our Communities and School" forum at 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, June 2. Morrison's talk is part of her work for Divine Intervention Ministries, a non-profit organization she co-founded that aims to end violence in Pittsburgh, support families who have lost loved ones to homicide and encourage those who have witnessed crimes to come forward to police. Further information: http://www.divineinterventionministries.org/ —Amy Staloch, who just completed her freshman year as a chemical and biomedical engineering major, received All-American honors in tennis by reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Individual Championships last weekend in Kalamazoo, Mich. She lost to the top-seed in the semifinals, but finished the year with a 26-5 record in singles tennis. Staloch was first-team All-University Athletic Association and rookie of the year. CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS —Friday, June 3: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Special Seminar, "Smart Antennas, From Theory to Practice to Theory." Cornelius van Rensburg, Samsung Telecommunications America, Wireless Systems Lab. 2 p.m., Porter Hall B34. Information: official.cmu-news, May 24. —Monday, June 13: Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and Mellon Institute Bone Marrow Typing Blood Drive. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., SEI Training Room A. To make an appointment, contact Anna Mosesso (8-6166, aam@sei.cmu.edu) or Francine Pugsely (8-7699, fj10@andrew.cmu.edu) no later than Friday, June 3.
—July 6 - 8: "Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security" (SOUPS), Singleton Room, Roberts Hall. The program includes a talk by Bill Cheswick, co-author of "Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker"; two panel discussions, "When User Studies Attack: Evaluating Security By Intentionally Attacking Users" and "Usability of Security Administration vs. Usability of End-user Security"; 10 refereed papers; 20 posters and four parallel discussion sessions. Early registration is due Friday, June 3. For more information, visit http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/
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