September 22, 2005

Vol. 16, No. 12

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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The Tepper School of Business ranks third in the nation and third internationally in The Wall Street Journal's 2006 ratings of top business schools. The Wall Street Journal compiles its annual rankings of MBA programs by polling the opinions of top corporate recruiters. "These rankings measure how appealing the schools are to recruiters--the buyers of MBA talent. According to a survey of prospective MBA students by the Graduate Management Admission Council, these rankings were rated the 'most credible' of all media rankings," the Journal said.

—A few of the school's specialties also received accolades on the report's "Honor Roll." The Tepper MBA came in at No. 2 for information technology, No. 2 for operations management, No. 5 in finance and No. 10 for "Top Schools For Recruiting MBAs With High Ethical Standards."

—"We are pleased with the rankings because this report represents the perceptions of corporate recruiters regarding Tepper School graduates," said Dean Kenneth Dunn. "We know that our students make an impact in business and are glad to see that recognition extend to our corporate partners."

—For more information, visit http://business.tepper.cmu.edu/default.aspx?id=143278.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT RECEIVES NEARLY $1 MILLION IN BEQUESTS

The Department of Physics has received two bequests totaling more than $950,000. The department received a gift of more than $550,000 from the estate of the late Xerox Palo Alto Research Center executive George E. Pake (E'45,'45) and his wife, Marjorie S. Pake, to financially support doctoral students. A bequest of nearly $400,000 from the family of Raymond A. Sorensen (S'53,'55,'58), former head of the Physics Department, will be used to sustain and enhance leading programs in education and research.

—"This wonderful gift from the Pake family will be tremendously beneficial to our program, and it is particularly appropriate for it to be associated with a world-renowned physicist, George Pake," said Fred Gilman, head of the Department of Physics and Buhl Professor of Theoretical Physics. "Ray Sorensen was an outstanding physicist and valued colleague. His bequest, split between undergraduate scholarship funds and an unrestricted gift, will make possible support of both the educational and research goals of the department."

—For more information, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050919_bequests.html.

H1GHLANDER FLIPS OVER IN PRACTICE RUN FOR GRAND CHALLENGE

H1ghlander, one of the Red Team' s two robotic Hummers preparing to compete in the $2 million 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, a 150-mile race for autonomous robots in the Mojave Desert, flipped over during a practice session near Carson City, Nevada, earlier this week. Red Team leader William "Red" Whittaker said the vehicle hit a berm, dug in, spun and rolled over. Work to repair the fiberglass dome that houses H1ghlander's main navigation sensors is under way and team members are optimistic that the vehicle will be ready for the Grand Challenge semifinals, Sept. 28 - Oct. 5 at the California Motor Speedway in Fontana. The Grand Challenge is set for Oct. 8.

—Sandstorm, the Red Team's other robotic racer, flipped over during practice runs last year, but wound up traveling farther and faster than the rest of the field. For more information, visit http://www.redteamracing.org.

NEWS BRIEFS

—President Jared L. Cohon has been appointed to the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The board, composed of the presidents and chancellors of prominent U.S. universities, is designed to foster outreach and to promote understanding between higher education and the FBI. For a list of the board members, visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/050916_cohon.html.

—President Cohon and Provost Mark Kamlet are hosting a reception to welcome Hilary Robinson, dean of the College of Fine Arts, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 27, in the Great Hall of the College of Fine Arts. The campus community is invited to attend.

PERSONAL MENTION

—G. Richard Tucker, the Paul Mellon Professor of Applied Linguistics and a world-renowned language researcher, has been appointed to a third term as head of the Department of Modern Languages. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases05/050919_tucker.html.

—Second year Entertainment Technology Center student Jeremy Alan Carson has received the Electronic Arts-- Los Angeles' (EA-LA) "Action Award," given to a studio member who most impresses EA-LA management. Carson began as an intern with EA-LA this past summer, and has remained there this semester. His responsibilities include encompassing animation support, tool development and character development, and rigging (the process of setting characters up so they can be animated easily).

—Associate Professor of Art Suzie Silver, along with collaborator and Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Hilary Harp will present their collaborative project "The Happiest Day" on the New Media Architectures Panel at the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture 2005 Conference on Sept. 30 in Philadelphia. The single channel version of "The Happiest Day" will be screened in September as part of the Peekskill Project 2005 at the Hudson Valley Center of Contemporary Art in Peekskill, N.Y.

—Professor David Dzombak of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been tapped to serve as committee chair for National Academies committee to review implementation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act along the 10-state Mississippi River corridor. The first committee meeting is scheduled for Oct. 18 - 19.

—National LambdaRail, Inc. a major initiative of U.S. research universities and private sector technology companies, has appointed Gwendolyn Huntoon as interim director of operations. She currently serves as director of networking for the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and is a member of the NLR Board of Directors.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Saturday, Sept. 24: Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a kayaking trip on the Allegheny River. Buses will leave from the University Center turnaround at noon and return at 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the UC Information Desk: $10 for students, $50 for faculty and staff. For more information, contact Rion McKeithen at rmckeith@andrew.cmu.edu.

—Tuesday, Sept. 27: Andy Awards ceremony. Noon, McConomy Auditorium. Followed by a reception in Rangos.

—Tuesday, Sept. 27: Art Fall Lecture Series. Suzie Silver, associate professor of art. 5 p.m., McConomy Auditorium. Further information: http://artscool.cfa.cmu.edu/~silver/bio.html.

—Tuesday, Sept. 27: Web Forum Meeting. 9 a.m. - Noon, Peter/Wright/McKenna Room. Learn about Web Forum committees that facilitate information sharing about standards-compliant, accessible Web design and development; as well as tools and services to better manage Web servers, deploy Web applications, or evaluate your organization's Web presence.

—Wednesday, Sept. 28: The Graduate Programs Office Doctoral Career Path Seminar. "Is Doctoral Education Changing or Evolving? If So, How?" featuring Provost Mark Kamlet and Associate Professor of History Scott Sandage. Noon to 1:30 p.m., Connan Room, UC. Lunch will be served. Register at http://www.cmu.edu/adm/gpo.

—Thursday, Sept. 29: Chemical Engineering Seminar. "Optimization-Based Approaches to Integration of Process Design and Control--Some Recent Advances and Further Challenges." Professor Christopher L.E. Swartz, Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University. 10:45 a.m., Doherty Hall 1112.

—Friday, Sept. 30: Robotics Professor Chris Atkeson and associate computer science research professors Roger Dannenberg and Lorrie Cranor will talk at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Information Sciences and Telecommunications Colloquia. 11 a.m. - Noon, Room 403, Information Sciences Building, 135 N. Bellefield Ave.

—Friday, Sept. 30: Green Practices Living Roof celebration. Learn about the green roof on Hamerschlag Hall and the collaboration between several departments and Facilities Management Services to design the green roof for function, habitat, aesthetics and research. Noon, Hamerschlag Hall steps.

—Tuesday, Oct. 11: National Coming Out Day. Faculty, staff and students will show their support for the university's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community from noon to 5 p.m. at the Fence on the Cut. Participants can pick a time and something to do to show support, such as read a poem or an essay, tell their story or perform. If you are interested in participating, contact soho@andrew.cmu.edu by Monday, Sept. 26 with your availability and how you would like to participate. This October event is part of Pride Month.

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