August 25, 2005

Vol. 16, No. 8

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.

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2003 Editions are available online.

2004 Editions are available online.

Previous editions are available online.

Carnegie Mellon ranked 22nd and it undergraduate programs in business and engineering ranked 5th and 8th, respectively, in U.S. News & World Report magazine's annual survey of "America's Best Colleges." In business specialty offerings, the Tepper School ranked 2nd in management information systems, quantitative analysis, and production and operations management, 5th in supply chain management, 9th in finance, 19th in entrepreneurship, 20th in marketing and 24th in management. In engineering specialties, the College of Engineering ranked 3rd in computer engineering, 10th in electrical engineering, 11th in materials science engineering, 13th in civil engineering, environmental engineering and mechanical engineering, and 14th in chemical engineering.

—The Tepper School ranked 16th in Forbes magazine's biennial rankings of national full-time business schools. The school was also ranked 8th among national part-time MBA programs.

— For more, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050818_usnews.html.

NSF AWARDS $52 MILLION FOR THE PITTSBURGH SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER

The National Science Foundation has awarded $52 million over the next five years to support operations of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) as a leading partner in the TeraGrid, NSF's program to provide national cyberinfrastructure for education and research. Built over the last four years, the TeraGrid is the world's largest, most comprehensive distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research.

—Much as physical infrastructure such as power grids, telephone lines and water systems enables modern life, cyberinfrastructure makes possible much of modern scientific research. Through high-performance network connections, the TeraGrid integrates high-performance computers, data resources and tools, and high-end experimental facilities at eight partner sites around the country.

—"This award represents an opportunity to play an important leadership role," said PSC co-scientific directors Michael Levine and Ralph Roskies, physicists at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively. "We look forward to meeting the challenges ahead with TeraGrid in harnessing the full range of information technologies for coordinated, distributed, productive work enabling leading-edge science."

—Established in 1986, PSC is a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and the Westinghouse Electric Company. It is supported by several federal agencies, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and private industry. For more, visit http://www.psc.edu/.

MILLERS MAKE $4.5 MILLION ENDOWMENT GIFT TO CARNEGIE MELLON

Alumna Regina Gouger Miller (A'59) and her husband Marlin Miller Jr. have made a $4.5 million endowment gift to Carnegie Mellon. The gift includes $3 million to name the professorship for the Head of the School of Art, which will be awarded this fall, and $1.5 million to fund scholarships for freshman art students. This generous donation builds upon the Miller's 17-year history of giving to Carnegie Mellon, including the 9,000-square foot Regina Gouger Miller Gallery in the Purnell Center for the Arts and the multipurpose Miller Meeting Room in Doherty Hall.

INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO SPEAK ON CAMPUS AUG. 30

Ronen Sen, India's Ambassador to the U.S., will address the university community about the future of U.S.-India relations, the changing business and investment climate in India, the evolving relationship with Pakistan and the war against terrorism from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Rangos Hall, University Center. The talk, part of Student Activities' University Lecture Series, is free and open to the public. Ambassador Sen has a wealth of international experience, having served as India's Ambassador to Germany, Russia and Mexico, as well as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He has participated in more than 160 summit meetings around the world.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Mechanical Engineering Professor Norman Chigier has been sole editor of the scientific journal "Progress in Energy and Combustion Science" since it began publishing in 1974. Chigier reports that the journal's citation index has reached an impact factor of 4.0, with a ranking at or near the top among energy, fuels, thermodynamics, chemical and mechanical engineering archival journals. All papers published in the journal are extensive reviews invited by Chigier.

—NeuroLife, a startup company co-founded by Tepper School graduate Daniel McChesney and first-year MBA student Ernest Braxton Jr., is one of five finalists in FORTUNE Small Business magazine's national business plan competition. NeuroLife aims to develop and commercialize a non-invasive medical device that measures brain pressure faster, more safely and more easily for the 500,000 patients per year who suffer from traumatic brain injuries, and more than 8.5 million American patients at risk of brain damage as a result of elevated brain pressure. For more information, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050823_neurolife.html.

—Patricia Li, a graduate student studying piano performance, was an intern this summer for the award-winning National Public Radio. The Fulbright Scholar was one of 45 students selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants to learn the ins and outs of radio programming and operations at NPR. For more, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050822_li.html.

—Deboshri Banerjee, a doctoral candidate in chemistry, has received a $10,000 Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research Award for her innovative green chemistry research to rid water of biohazards and persistent toxic chemicals. Funded by the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation, the annual awards provide exemplary graduate students from nine institutions around the country with financial support to enhance their research aimed at providing effective solutions for environmental problems and enriching public understanding of emerging environmental issues. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases05/050823_coleman.html/

—Andrew Pueschel (HSS'00), global marketing project manager for the Information Networking Institute, recently placed 6th in the nation at the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dance Championships in Minneapolis.

—Wai Fong Boh, who earned her Ph.D. in information systems from the Tepper School last May, recently received the Best Dissertation Award at this year's Academy of Management meeting. The award was given by the academy's Organizational Communication and Information Systems Division. Her dissertation, entitled "Learning, Knowledge Sharing and Expertise Management in Project-Based Knowledge Work," involved in-depth field studies that she conducted at several high technology and consulting firms.

—Grisha Coleman, a research fellow at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, has received a grant from Pittsburgh's Multicultural Arts Initiative to develop a public performance of the second installation of her project, echo: system. Entitled "ActionStation #2-The Desert," the project is a series of site-specific installations with live music and performance that recreates natural habitats such as the bottom of the ocean, an open prairie, a volcanic island and a desert. A laboratory performance, giving a preview of the work, will be presented at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9, at the Helen Wayne Rauh Studio Theater, Purnell Center for the Arts. Admission is free. For information and reservations, call 412-268-3454.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Friday, Sept. 2: Institute for Complex Engineered Systems Seminar. "Modeling Cerebral Aneurysm Development and Remodeling." Anne M. Robertson, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. 1 - 2 p.m., Hamburg Hall 1202. Refreshments will be served.

—Saturday, Sept. 3: Memorial service for Effion Brown III. 5:30 p.m., Alumni Concert Hall, College of Fine Arts. Brown, a rising fourth-year student in the Psychology Department and an active leader on campus, died at his home in New Jersey on June 28, 2005. For more information, contact Student Affairs at 412-268-2075, Jennifer Church at jcdg@andrew.cmu.edu or Kim Long at kslong@andrew.cmu.edu.

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