August 17, 2006

Vol. 17, No. 6

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)

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Carnegie Mellon will welcome 1,449 first-year students to campus on Sunday, Aug. 20 for Orientation 2006. This year's orientation will introduce incoming students to Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh and each other through a weeklong series of events on and off campus. The week's activities begin on Sunday when first-year students move into campus housing. Dean of Student Affairs Jennifer Church will welcome parents and students and answer questions in sessions at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in McConomy Auditorium, University Center. President Jared L. Cohon will cap the day's activities with his annual welcome address and reception at 4 p.m. in the tent on the Baker Hall lawn. Various academic and social events will continue throughout the week. For a complete orientation schedule, visit www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/first-year/orientation/2006/

—The Class of 2010 -- 560 women and 889 men -- represents 31 countries and 44 states (including the District of Columbia), with Mississippi, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and the Dakotas missing from the distribution. More than half (51 percent) of incoming students are from the Middle Atlantic States, while 4 percent come from the Midwest and 4 percent hail from the Southwest. New England, the South and the West each claim 8 percent of the first-year class, and 19 percent of the Class of 2010 calls Pennsylvania home. International students make up nearly 20 percent of the incoming class, representing Belgium, Canada, Dominica, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jamaica, Korea, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Oman, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, China, Peru, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

RESEARCH SAYS U.S. CITIES ARE MAKING CHILDREN OBESE

Research by Carnegie Mellon Associate Teaching Professor Kristen Kurland demonstrates that urban neighborhoods lack adequate space for physical activity and healthy food choices for children, contributing to the high rate of childhood obesity. Her studies recommend ways to modify cities' built environment and reduce the tremendous costs of this growing problem.

—Kurland leads an interdisciplinary team from Carnegie Mellon, Highmark Insurance, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Children's Hospital. In an effort to better understand obesity in targeted areas, the team mapped low-income urban neighborhoods, focusing on food sources, parks and fields, sidewalk conditions, neighborhood amenities and safety, and demographic information like race and income. The team also created Geographical Information System (GIS) maps that show a five- and 10-minute walking radius of a school. The research reveals that the way cities are built influences children's weight. Prominent factors include how much exercise they receive and what food sources are nearby.

—Kurland holds a joint faculty appointment in the School of Architecture and the Heinz School. She teaches courses in GIS, computer-automated facilities management software, public policy and infrastructure planning to executive physicians in the Heinz School's Master of Medical Management program. She and her team will present their research at Highmark's Childhood Obesity Summit Sept. 16 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

—Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060811_obesity.html

NEW TYPE OF MOBILE ROBOT BALANCES ON A BALL

Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed a new type of mobile robot that balances on a ball instead of legs or wheels. "Ballbot," a self-contained, battery-operated, omnidirectional robot that balances dynamically on a single urethane-coated metal sphere, weighs 95 pounds and is the approximate height and width of a person. Because of its long, thin shape and ability to maneuver in tight spaces, it has the potential to function better than current robots in environments with people. Ballbot's creator, Robotics Research Professor Ralph Hollis, says the robot represents a new paradigm in mobile robotics. What began as a concept in his home workshop has been funded for the last two years with grants from the National Science Foundation.

—Hollis is working to prove that dynamically stable robots like Ballbot can out perform their static counterparts. Traditional, statically stable mobile robots have three or more wheels for support, but their bases are generally too wide to move easily among people and furniture. They can also tip over if they move too fast or operate on a slope. "We wanted to create a robot that can maneuver easily and is tall enough to look you in the eye," Hollis said.

—Hollis and his team, including Robotics Institute Project Scientist George Kantor and graduate students Tom Lauwers, Anish Mampetta and Eric Schearer, have demonstrated Ballbot moving on carpeted surfaces. Future plans for Ballbot include adding a head and a pair of arms. Swinging the arms, said Hollis, would help to rotate and balance the body.

—Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060809_ballbot.html

NEWS BRIEFS

—Carnegie Mellon's Solar Decathlon team has begun preparations for the October 2007 Solar Decathlon competition by partnering with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Powdermill Nature Reserve. Working with Powdermill as their client, Carnegie Mellon students will design, build, operate and exhibit an 800-square-foot, solar-powered house at the competition in Washington, D.C. After the competition, the solar house will be permanently installed at the Rector, Pa., Powdermill Nature Reserve, a biological field station that is both a laboratory and a reserve for the study of natural processes. The house will provide living quarters for visiting scientists and an exhibit space showcasing solar energy and sustainable living methods. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060814_decathlon.html

—Stephen L. Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), kicked off a Carnegie Mellon brownfields workshop this past Monday at the Ambridge Regional Distribution and Manufacturing Center. The workshop was designed to showcase the region's success in converting old, blighted industrial properties into thriving commercial developments. The EPA director was joined by President Jared L. Cohon; College of Engineering Dean Pradeep K. Khosla; and U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart (R-Bradford Woods).

—Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060814_brownfields.html

PERSONAL MENTION

—Chemical Engineering Professor Dennis Prieve is president-elect of the International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists (IACIS). He will become president in 2009. IACIS is a scientific organization, centered in The Netherlands, whose main activity is to organize a tri-annual meeting. The last meeting was held in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, in 2003. The next meeting is in October in Beijing.

—Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) doctoral student Christopher Roberts has been named the 2006 International Symposium on Superalloys Scholar by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The $2,000 award is available to undergraduate and graduate students majoring in metallurgical and/or materials science and engineering with an emphasis on all aspects of the high-temperature, high-performance materials used in the gas turbine industry and all other applications.

—MSE senior Nichole Cates has been awarded the TMS Electronic, Magnetic & Photonic Materials Division Gilbert Chin Scholarship. The $2,000 award is available to an undergraduate studying subjects related to synthesis and processing, structure, properties, and performance of electronic, photonic, magnetic and superconducting materials.

—Stephen Brockmann, professor of German, has been named acting director of the Center for the Arts in Society for one year while director Judith Schachter is on leave. The center is a collaboration of the College of Fine Arts and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

—Eight artists affiliated with Carnegie Mellon presented their work in ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge and the 13th International Symposium of Electronic Art, Aug. 7 - 13. The artists were Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Fabian Winkler; Marc Bohlen (A'99); former exchange student Beatriz Da Costa; Ken Goldberg (CS'90); Paul Vanouse (A'96); Takehito Etani (A'06); Tiffany Sum (A'06); and undergraduate humanities and arts student Jonathan Minard.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Monday, Aug. 28: Fall semester classes begin.

—Friday, Sept. 8: The Department of History's Center for AfricanAmerican Urban Studies and the Economy Annual Fall Reception. Refreshments: 4:30 - 6 p.m. Presentation and Discussion: 6 - 7 p.m., Hamburg Hall 1000. Assistant Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies Stephanie Batiste will read "Stacks of Obits," a rhythmic contemplation of the street murder of young people of color in Los Angeles. RSVP Nancy Aronson at na@andrew.cmu.edu by Aug. 25.

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