September 8, 2005

Vol. 16, No. 10

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.

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2004 Editions are available online.

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In a Sept. 8 memo to the campus community, President Jared L. Cohon expressed his gratitude for the way the university has supported those who have been impacted by Hurricane Katrina. He said Carnegie Mellon students, faculty and staff from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama "continue to receive support from all corners of the campus."

—President Cohon also noted that 15 undergraduate college students from affected schools, primarily Tulane University, have enrolled at Carnegie Mellon this semester, and 10 or more are expected to arrive shortly. "Faculty and academic staff have been terrific in their support throughout. Students, as well as faculty and staff, have offered up housing, clothes and all manner of support to ensure that these students are truly our guests this semester. Consistent with the proposal by the AAU and others, the tuition these visiting students have paid to Tulane will remain there, without further charge for classes taken here this semester."

—Fund-raising initiatives and other special events in support of the relief effort are being posted on the Web at http://www.studentaffairs.cmu/Katrina.

SOFTWARE ENABLES HURRICANE VICTIMS TO VIEW THEIR HOMES ONLINE

Software developed by Carnegie Mellon and NASA researchers is being used on the Google Earth Web site (http://earth.google.com) to reveal highly detailed images of the destruction wrought in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. More than 6,000 photos taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been overlaid onto Google Earth since Friday via the Carnegie Mellon/NASA software, enabling New Orleans residents to see the damage to their homes and other properties. These high-resolution detailed images can be downloaded without charge by anyone with a Windows-based computing system.

—The software is part of the Global Connection project, which has been under development with support from Google since January. Illah Nourbakhsh, associate professor in the Robotics Institute, is the project's principal investigator. His research team includes project scientist and lead Randy Sargent, headquartered at Carnegie Mellon's West Coast campus; Anne Wright, who works at NASA's Ames Research Center; and Brian Dunlavey of the Robotics Institute.

—"Since last week our team has been working day and night to allow FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), NOAA and the public access to high resolution data," Nourbakhsh said.

CONFERENCES HIGHLIGHT ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

The Center for Nonlinear Analysis (CNA) and The Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE) will celebrate anniversaries this month with conferences featuring preeminent speakers in their respective fields. The CNA is celebrating its 15th anniversary Sept. 8-10 with the conference "Frontiers in Applied Analysis," which will bring together an impressive group of mathematicians whose innovative work places them at the leading edge of the field of applied analysis. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050906_frontiers.html

—CAUSE will celebrate its 10th anniversary Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with a conference entitled "African Americans and the Post-Industrial Age: New Challenges of Urban History and Policy-Making." The conference features some of America's most distinguished scholars of the black experience. For more on the CAUSE conference visit: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases05/050830_cause.html.

NEWS BRIEFS

—The University Libraries have compiled Hurricane Katrina information and resources at http://www.library.cmu. edu/Research/Genref/HurricaneKatrina.html. The page includes news and information, charities and relief agencies, missing persons and survivor information, emergency agencies, blogs and images. Melissa Harvey, computer science librarian at the Engineering and Science Library, spearheaded the information-gathering effort.

—The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is holding a limited opportunity for professionals who have basic level proficiency in the Personal Software Process (PSP) methodology to become some of the first SEI-Certified PSP Developers. The beta exam for this certification will be held Sept. 21 at the Renaissance Hotel in Pittsburgh. If you are PSP-trained, knowledgeable in the methodology, and/or currently practicing PSP on the job, fill out the form at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/certification/cert-beta.html to be considered for this beta exam. Limited seats are available.

—Carnegie Mellon was recently ranked as one of the top 10 most spirited schools in the Students' Guide to Colleges. Further information: http://www.studentsguide.com.

—Human Resources and Staff Council have announced a free Meditation Program for staff and faculty. The 30-minute sessions will be held at noon every Tuesday in Morewood Garden A-Tower Multipurpose Room. Come and learn how to de-stress with leader Kevin Henry, M.Ed., L.S.W. No pre-registration or special dress is required; you will be comfortably seated in a chair, so you can come straight to the class from work and return directly to work.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Silvia Pessoa, a doctoral student in the Department of Modern Languages, has co-authored a Spanish textbook, "Mas Alla de laPpantalla: El Mundo Hispano a traves del Cine" ("Beyond The Screen: The Hispanic World Through Film.")

—Faculty members Jeannette Wing, Manuela Veloso and Tina Blaine will be honored Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Women and Girls Foundation event honoring Women in Science at the Carnegie Science Center.

—ETC faculty member Gerard Christopher Klug has been accepted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Annual Faculty Seminar, Nov. 8 - 12, in Los Angeles. Twenty faculty members from around the country--chosen by a selection committee--are invited to the Television Academy every year. During their week in L.A., they will enjoy five days of discussions, presentations and interactions with major studios, production companies, networks, and top production and programming executives.

—The Tepper School has appointed Ramamoorthi Ravi as associate dean for intellectual strategy. Ravi, professor of operations research and computer science, has been a member of the faculty since 1995.

—The School of Computer Sciences' (SCS) two nominees for the Association for Computing Machinery doctoral dissertation award for 2004-05 are Angela Demke Brown for "Explicit Compiler-based Memory Management for Out-of-core Applications" and Sanjit Seshia for "Adaptive Eager Boolean Encoding for Arithmetic Reasoning in Verification." Their advisors are Associate Professor Todd Mowry and SCS Dean Randal Bryant.

—Chris Langmead, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department, has been selected to receive a three-year, $300,000 Department of Energy Career Award for his interdisciplinary research entitled "Modeling Protein Structures with Conditional Random Fields."

—Professor of Art James Duesing is featured in a 10-page article, "Hyperanimation: Digital Images and Virtual Worlds, an Interview with James Duesing," in the Summer 2005 issue of "Cartoons: The International Journal of Animation," published in association with the International Animated Film Association.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Sept. 11 ­ Dec. 22: The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in collaboration with the National Agricultural Library presents "Inspiration and Translation: Botanical and Horticultural Lithographs of Joseph Prestele and Sons." Joseph Prestele (1796-1867) was a flower painter and a master of lithography, the technique of engraving on stone.

—Wednesday, Sept. 14: Nash Distinguished Lecture. Harry M. Markowitz, world-renowned financial expert who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990. 4:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, University Center. The lecture, entitled "Portfolio Theory: Past, Present and Future," is free and open to the public.

—Thursday, Sept. 15: "Media Boot Camp." Carnegie Mellon's Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research and the College of Engineering will host five journalists at a special media panel from 11 a.m. ­ 1:30 p.m., Singleton Room, Roberts Hall. The series is designed to help faculty and researchers better understand the needs of reporters covering science and the environment. Open to Carnegie Mellon faculty.

—Thursday, Sept. 15: University Lecture Series. "The Living Constitution in the Information Age," hosted by History Professor Scott Sandage with remarks by Adjunct Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Public Policy Peter Shane. 4 p.m., Posner Center. An original copy of the Bill of Rights will be on display.

—Friday, Sept. 16: Morris H. DeGroot Memorial Lecture. Professor Donald B. Rubin, Harvard University.
4:15 p.m., Rangos Ballroom. Reception will follow in McKenna/Peter/Wright rooms. This biennial event is hosted by the Department of Statistics to honor the memory of its founding head, Morris H. DeGroot.

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