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March 2, 2006 Vol. 16, No. 32
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. 2005 Editions are available online. Previous editions are available online.
OPEN MEETING OF PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 8 The university's new Public Art Policy has been approved and the newly constituted Public Art Committee has met to consider siting two works of public art, which were accepted by the university early last year. The two works are "Walking to the Sky," a sculpture by alumnus Jonathan Borofsky, and "Mao Yisheng," a memorial statue honoring the first individual to earn a Ph.D. from the university. As specified in the Public Art Policy, an open meeting will be held for the committee to receive input from the campus community on the new proposed site for "Walking to the Sky" and the proposed site for "Mao Yisheng." To learn about and provide input on the proposed sites, please attend the open meeting from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 8, in Rangos 2, University Center (UC) BIOINFORMATICS PIONEER TO RECEIVE DICKSON PRIZE IN SCIENCE The university will present its prestigious Dickson Prize in Science to David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). Haussler, a leader in the field of bioinformatics, will receive $50,000 and deliver a public lecture as part of the prize ceremony at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 9, in McConomy Auditorium, UC. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Haussler directs the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering at UCSC and is scientific co-director of the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research. He has done pioneering work in the fields of computational learning theory and bioinformatics, and has been instrumental in establishing strong and productive interdisciplinary interactions between computer scientists and molecular biologists. —The Dickson Prize was established by a gift to Carnegie Mellon from the estate of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Dickson to fund an annual prize to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science in the United States. Dr. Dickson was a prominent physician in the Pittsburgh area. —Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060224_dickson.html. RESEARCHERS FIND CELL PHONES POSE RISK TO AIRPLANE NAVIGATION A study by researchers in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) has found that cell phones and other portable electronic devices, like laptops and game-playing devices, can pose dangers to the normal operation of critical electronics on airplanes. The study will be featured in an article appearing in the March issue of IEEE Spectrum. "We found that the risk posed by these portable devices is higher than previously believed," said Bill Strauss, who recently completed his doctorate in EPP at Carnegie Mellon. "These devices can disrupt normal operation of key cockpit instruments, especially Global Positioning System receivers, which are increasingly vital for safe landings." Strauss is an expert in aircraft electromagnetic compatibility at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, Md. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060228_cellphone.html. NEWS BRIEFS —Carnegie Mellon's men's basketball team (20-5), winners of its first University Athletic Association (UAA) championship, has earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament and will play Baldwin-Wallace College (24-4) at 6 p.m., Friday, March 3, at Wittenberg University. Students can attend by taking a fan bus for $5. For bus tickets go to UC 103. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/060227_madness.html. —Parking Services has acquired leased spaces at 4570 Fifth Avenue (Fifth and Craig Street) that are available immediately. This is a valet parking garage with operating hours as follows: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. Closed Sundays and holidays. Permits for this location are $90 per month. If interested, complete the online application and choose Lot #44. The Parking Services Web site is: http://bizservweb.pc.cc.cmu.edu/parking/. If you have any questions, contact mporter@andrew.cmu.edu. —On March 1, the Department of Modern Languages launched its third annual international film festival with the French film "Bon Voyage." All films in the series will be screened in McConomy Auditorium. The festival runs through April 19 and features a film every Wednesday (except March 15). The original version of each film will be shown with English subtitles. The films are free and open to the public. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060223_iff.html. —The "Environmental Science & Engineering Journal," the world's most-cited journal in the environmental field, has named "Should We Transport Coal, Gas, or Electricity: Cost, Efficiency, and Environmental Implications," coauthored by Tepper School Professor Lester B. Lave and Joule A. Bergerson (E, 05) director, Carnegie Mellon Green Design Initiative, as the top environmental policy paper of 2005. PERSONAL MENTION —Thomas M. Kerr Jr., associate professor emeritus of law and industrial administration at the Tepper School of Business, died on Feb. 25 after an extended illness. He was 86. Kerr served on the faculty of the Tepper School for nearly 37 years, teaching courses in business ethics and antitrust law until his retirement in 2001. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., March 18 in McConomy Auditorium. Further information: http://business.tepper.cmu.edu/default.aspx?id=143611. —Carlos Guestrin, assistant professor in the Center for Automated Learning and Discovery; Doug James, assistant professor in the Robotics Institute; and Adrian Perrig, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and engineering and public policy, have received Sloan Research Fellowships in computer science. A Sloan Fellowship is intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. —Music Professor Marilyn Taft Thomas has been appointed interim head of the School of Music. She succeeds Alan Fletcher, who is now president and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, Colo. —The 2005 School of Computer Science's Allen Newell Awards for Research Excellence have been granted to National Robotics Engineering Consortium (NREC) Director John Bares and his NREC collaborators Chris Fromme, Bill Ross and David Stager, and to Research Professor Stephen Smith, director of the Robotic Institute's Intelligent Coordination and Logistics Lab. Further information: http://www.cs.cmu.edu. —A design submitted by a team of Carnegie Mellon faculty and graduate students has been selected as the best overall winner in phase one of the Tor graphical user interface competition, sponsored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and judged by a distinguished panel of judges. The Carnegie Mellon team was led by Carnegie Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory faculty members Lorrie Cranor (Institute for Software Research International/Engineering & Public Policy) and Jason Hong (Human Computer Interaction Institute). Student participants were Serge Egelman, Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, Cynthia Kuo, Sasha Romanosky, Janice Tsai, and Kami Vaniea. The Carnegie Mellon team proposed a new version of the Firefox Web browser called Foxtor that would make it easy for users to browse the Web anonymously. —Three artists affiliated with the School of Art have been awarded 2006 Creative Capital Foundation Grants. Assistant Professor of Art Golan Levin received a grant for his project "Observation as Interaction: Eye Contact Systems." Alumnus and School of Art Advisory Board Member Paul Vanouse (A '96) was awarded a grant for his multimedia installation, "Latent Figure Protocol." Grisha Coleman, a recent STUDIO for Creative Inquiry Fellow who taught in the School of Art, received funding for the series of installations called "echo: system." —On March 12, 26 MBA students will travel to Germany to participate in the Management Study Abroad Program at the Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management in Koblenz. Students from the FlexMode and FlexTime classes are participating for the first time since the program was developed in 2002. They will study for four weeks in Koblenz and one week each in Bratislava, Prague and Berlin. This year's participants are listed on official.cmu-news, March 1, and www.tepper.cmu.edu. CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS —Friday, March 10: "Failte: A Conference on First Year Student Success." 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., UC. "Failte" is the Scottish-Gaelic word for "welcome." This one-day conference will explore how faculty, staff and advisors can create a welcoming environment for first year students by better understanding their needs and the resources available to them. Open to Carnegie Mellon faculty and staff. There is no fee. For information and to register, see http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/events/failte/.
—Friday, March 10: Mechanical Engineering Seminar. "Heat Transfer and Thermoelectric Effects in Electronic Devices." Presented by Kevin Pipe, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Michigan. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Scaife Hall 125.
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