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August 3, 2006 Vol. 17, No. 4
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.
FIRST UNIVERSITY-LEVEL ROBOTICS COURSE DEVELOPED IN GHANA In collaboration with Robotics Institute Ph.D. student Ayorkor Mills-Tettey, faculty members Bernardine Dias and Brett Browning, who work at both the Doha and Pittsburgh campuses, are leading the design and implementation of the first university-level robotics course in Ghana. This course was a special collaboration between Ashesi University and TechBridgeWorld at Carnegie Mellon. Browning and Dias spent the month of June in Accra, where they helped to set up the course and explore potential application of Robotics in Ghana. Mills-Tettey is co-teaching the course with Ashesi University Professor Nathan Amanquah this summer. Based on their experience developing and teaching the autonomous robotics course at the Doha campus in fall 2005, Browning and Dias designed the course in Ghana with a project-oriented approach. Adding insight gained from work with other developing communities, the course also emphasizes creativity using available materials and developing sustainable solutions relevant to the local context. This course material will be made available through an open-source online repository for the benefit of other universities in developing communities. Ashesi University will not only continue to teach this course in future years, but will also act as a mentor to other universities in Ghana that wish to teach it. —Further information: http://www.techbridgeworld.org DEVELOPING COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO RECONSTRUCT GENETIC HISTORY A team of university researchers has received a three-year, $646,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop computational methods that will quickly identify key regions of the human genome that can be traced to prehistoric times. These regions can then be used to reconstruct human genetic histories. Ultimately the new tools, which draw from the latest techniques in population genetics, theoretical computer science and operations research, will help researchers address basic questions about human evolution and identify regions of the genome involved with diseases like cancer, diabetes and mental illness. The grant will also allow the team to develop new course material in the areas of algorithms and computational biology, and provide undergraduate and graduate student research opportunities at the boundaries of quantitative and biological research. The team includes Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Russell Schwartz, Computer Science Professor Guy Blelloch and R. Ravi, professor of operations research and computer science at the Tepper School. COMPUTER SCIENTISTS CHALLENGE PROGRAMMERS WITH NEW FORMAT Hundreds of programmers from around the world "virtually" flocked to the Pittsburgh area July 21 - 24 to decipher the "Monroeville Codex," the key to a series of programming challenges created primarily by four Carnegie Mellon computer science students for the ninth annual ACM SIGPLAN Programming Contest. The contest is sponsored by ACM's International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP), an annual, peer-reviewed meeting that focuses on the theory and practice of functional programming languages. The contest's theme was "computational archaeolinguistics," part of a fictional narrative created by the students to entice programmers. --The team included doctoral students Tom Murphy VII, Daniel Spoonhower and Dan Licata, and rising senior Chris Casinghino. Computer Science Professor Robert Harper and Associate Computer Science Professor Karl Cray oversaw their work. They are part of the Computer Science Department's Principles of Programming Research Group, ranked this year as the nation's premiere programming languages group by U.S. News & World Report magazine. Results of the competition will be announced at the ICFP meeting Sept. 18 - 20. —Further information: http://icfpcontest.org NEWS BRIEFS —The final summer session of the free Staff/Faculty fitness program runs Aug. 7 - 24. For more information, visit http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/StaffFacultyFitness/. —If you would like to receive the weekly 8 1/2 x 11 News in your e-mail, send your e-mail address to ed47@andrew. —The new Carnegie Mellon ID+Card will continue to give students, staff and faculty the ability to use the Port Authority Transit system. The cards of eligible students and benefits-eligible faculty and staff will display a white bus logo on the front of their card. This logo will alert PAT operators that the cardholder's ID+Card entitles them to use the PAT system. The ID+ Card will no longer require a PAT sticker. Students, faculty, staff, spouses/partners, dependents, retirees and affiliates will receive new identification cards in August. For more, see www.cmu.edu/idplus. PERSONAL MENTION —Iain Matthews, a systems scientist in the Robotics Institute, will be one of 100 motorcyclists from around the world to ride in Enduro Africa, a 14-day adventure that will take them across some of the most rugged and isolated terrain of South Africa this November. Each of the bikers is raising donations that not only will pay for the sojourn, but will leave behind at least 100 new motorbikes for use by African healthcare workers and a fund for their continued operation and maintenance. "ItŐs good fun and a really good cause," said Matthews, who has about three-quarters of the donation pledges he needs, thanks to colleagues in the School of Computer Science. —Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) Executive Producer Don Marinelli gave the keynote speech at the recent International Conference for the Integration of Science and Technology into Society, hosted by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology University (KAIST) in Daejon, Korea. He discussed how young people of the 21st century will be substantively different from preceding generations due to the influence of technology upon their growth and maturation. The four-day conference began in Daejon and then moved to Seoul for the remainder of the conference. Marinelli also participated in a panel session on the developing field of culture technology and served as an adjudicator for presentations of new culture technology ideas, products and potential companies crafted by student attendees of KAIST. "The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Korea and throughout Asia," Marinelli noted after critiquing the pitches. The ETC plans to open a campus in Korea in the fall of 2007. —Justin Hakuta, a 2004 Carnegie Mellon graduate, has received a Fulbright scholarship that will fund his field study in the Philippines. Sponsored by the U.S. government, the Fulbright scholarship is awarded to exceptional graduate students, educators and professionals to foster the program's goal of promoting greater understanding between cultures of the world. Hakuta earned a bachelor's degree in decision science with a minor in Spanish at Carnegie Mellon. "Justin was one of the first students in our new major in decision science," said Baruch Fischhoff, the Howard Heinz University Professor of Social and Decision Sciences and Engineering and Public Policy. "As one of our program pioneers, he helped to shape the major through his strong performance and leadership. He has a passion for life and justice." CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS —Monday, Aug. 7: The university's Arts and Culture Observatory will present a panel discussion titled "Audience Development and Diversification in the Cultural Sector" at 9 a.m. The discussion, held at the Cabaret at Theater Square in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District, is free and open to the public. To reserve a place at the forum, call 412-268-4890 or email artsobservatory@andrew.cmu.edu.
—Saturday, Sept. 30: Ninth Annual Carnegie Mellon Women's Basketball Golf Outing. Noon, shotgun start. Murrysville Golf Club, 3804 Sardis Road, Murrysville, Pa. 15668. The $100 entry fee includes dinner, green fees, cart, a Tartan gift, post tournament awards and raffles. Format: Four-Person Scramble. Questions? Call the Carnegie Mellon Basketball Office at 412-268-3306 or email Leah at lfeola@andrew.
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