October 5, 2006

Vol. 17, No. 13

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.

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.

More than 1,500 alumni are expected to arrive on campus for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Oct. 12 - 15. Alumni and their families can choose from more than 100 activities and events throughout the weekend, featuring open classrooms and studios, college and school receptions, panel discussions and tours, and special events like the 100-year anniversary celebrations for Margaret Morrison Carnegie College, the Tartan and the Mechanical Engineering Department. Homecoming events are posted at http://alumni.cmu.edu/homecoming/schedule.html.

BUSINESSWEEK NAMES SCHOOL OF DESIGN A "TOP PROGRAM"

Carnegie Mellon's School of Design was ranked one of the "Top Design Programs" in the Oct. 9 issue of BusinessWeek magazine. The article lauds the school's Emergence Conference, a leading program in the area of service design, and its award-winning Integrated Product Development course. In a related story, BusinessWeek features Maggie Breslin, who received her master's degree in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon in 2004. Breslin is a designer and researcher at the Mayo Clinic's SPARC (See, Plan, Act, Refine and Communicate) Innovation program. SPARC was created to generate new ways to meet the needs of patients. "The world is finding out that we are doing innovative things that combine business, design, engineering and strategy," said Dan Boyarski, professor and head of the School of Design. Further information: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/dschoolindex.html.

HEINZ SCHOOL CREATES NEW INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL INNOVATION

The Heinz School has created the Institute of Social Innovation to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in the social sector. Funded by a two-year grant from The Grable Foundation and an anonymous donor, the institute will focus on creating new courses, conducting research and establishing outreach programs aimed at promoting innovation and societal change. The institute is being led by Denise Rousseau, the H. John Heinz II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Heinz School and the Tepper School of Business; Tim Zak, president of the Pittsburgh Social Innovation Accelerator and an adjunct professor at the Heinz and Tepper schools; and Marie Coleman, senior director of development and special projects at the Heinz School. In addition, 14 master's degree candidates in various Heinz School programs have been selected to help develop a curriculum to train social entrepreneurs. —Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/061003_isi.html.

UNIVERSITY SEEKS HONORARY DEGREE NOMINATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT

Members of the university community are encouraged to participate in the nomination process for honorary degree recipients at future commencements. Nominees must be distinguished individuals who have reached preeminent levels of distinction in their fields, and who have made extraordinary contributions to society. They must represent prominent fields and values of Carnegie Mellon, particularly those that support the arts, humanities, and science and technology. They should have connections to the university (i.e. alumni, former faculty, friends or collaborators) and represent diversity and the university culture. Nomination forms can be accessed and submitted online at http://www.cmu.edu/advancement/honorary/onlineform.html. The deadline for nominations is Oct. 31.

NEWS BRIEFS

—FedEx Kinko's in the University Center (UC) lower level is open and processing orders. Faculty, staff and student organizations qualify for special pricing when using an oracle string or a Tartan Card for payment. Monthly student specials will begin in November. To schedule Customer Introduction Training for your department, contact Len Mellinger at len.mellinger@fedexkinkos.com. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/kinkos/.

—President Jared L. Cohon will hold an open office hour for students at 4:30 p.m., Oct. 10. Students interested in meeting with him should contact Jennifer Church, dean of Student Affairs, at jcdg@andrew.cmu.edu.

PERSONAL MENTION

—Bonnie L. Dalmasse, business administrator in Computing Services, died of cancer at the age of 40 on Sept. 24. She was the wife of Robert Dalmasse, a lab technician in the Chemistry Department; and daughter of Carole McCoy, administrative coordinator at the Heinz School. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to St. Jude's Research Hospital, 2345 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15217.

—Colin Raney, a second-year MBA student at the Tepper School, has been named the William G. McGowan Scholar for the 2006-2007 academic year and will receive an $18,000 credit for tuition. The award, provided by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, is named after William G. McGowan, who organized MCI Communications Corp. in 1968 and helped create a telecommunications market.

—Computer Science Professor Manuela Veloso is spending her sabbatical year as one of 50 fellows at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Veloso was selected from a pool of more than 700 applicants for the highly competitive fellowship program. Veloso, who directs Carnegie Mellon's highly successful RoboCup teams, will be studying integrated intelligence in robots and teams of robots. She is scheduled to make a public presentation of her work Oct. 18 at the institute.

—Boris Sofman, a second-year graduate student in the Robotics Institute, has received the first Sandia National Laboratories/Carnegie Mellon University Excellence in Computing Fellowship. Sandia National Laboratories is one of the largest federal laboratories in the United States, with major laboratory locations in New Mexico and northern California. The new fellowship is part of a Sandia initiative to encourage innovation in multidisciplinary research by supporting outstanding doctoral candidates in science and engineering at major U.S. universities.

—Associate Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy Latanya Sweeney, an expert in the field of privacy technology, will be inducted as a fellow in the American College of Medical Informatics in Washington, D.C., this fall. Rarely does someone outside a medical center or a medical school achieve such an honor. Sweeney previously received the Privacy Advocacy Award from the American Psychiatric Association.

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

—Saturday, Oct. 7: Heinz School information session for the Master of Public Management (MPM) and Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) programs. 10 a.m. on campus (location will be sent to all who RSVP). A light breakfast will be served. For more on the programs, see http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/mpm and http://www.msit.cmu.edu. RSVP to Bridget Jakub at 8-2164 or jakub@andrew.cmu.edu.

—Sunday, Oct. 8: Film Screening. "A Day Without a Mexican." 4 p.m., Cooper Auditorium, Tepper School. Sponsored by Hispanic Heritage Month and hosted by the Latin American Business Club.

—Sunday, Oct. 8: Forum on reducing the size of the Pennsylvania legislature. 3 p.m., Hamburg Hall 1000. Panelists include Senator John Pippy, Representative Joseph Preston and Allyson Lowe, director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy at Chatham College. The moderator will be Jon Delano, KDKA-TV political analyst and adjunct professor of public policy at the Heinz School. Free admission.

—Monday, Oct. 9: The School of Architecture's David Lewis Lecture Series presents "Stepping up to the Scaffold: Post-Katrina Planning on the Gulf Coast" by architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. 6:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, Oakland. A pre-lecture reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Carnegie Museum Hall of Architecture. The lecture is free and open to the public.

—Monday, Oct. 9: Hispanic Heritage Month Keynote Lecture. "Current Immigration Issues in the U.S." Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi, co-writers, directors and stars of "A Day Without a Mexican." 4:30 p.m., Porter Hall 100.

—Monday, Oct. 9: Open Forum. President Cohon will field questions from students, faculty and staff. 4 - 5:30 p.m., Rangos 3, UC.

—Tuesday, Oct. 10: The "Speak Your Mind: Diversity Discussion and Dinner" series continues with a discussion on current immigration issues in America. 5 - 6:30 p.m., Connan Room, UC. Facilitator: Lisa Krieg, director of the Office of International Education. RSVP to Emily Half, ehalf@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-268-2075. Space is limited. Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

—Friday, Oct. 13: Seminar jointly sponsored by the School of Architecture and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "What Shapes Show and What Simon Says," presented by George Stiny, Department of Architecture, MIT. 10:30 a.m., Scaife Hall 125.

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