10-08-2008

A Daughter of Pennsylvania

Jeannette M. Wing, the President’s Professor of Computer Science, was honored Wednesday, Oct. 8, by Gov. Ed Rendell and First Lady Judge Marjorie O. Rendell as one of seven Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania during a luncheon at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg.

"This year’s Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania have done extraordinary work in so many different capacities," Rendell said. "Their contributions to Pennsylvania and the nation have come at the executive level, in medicine, journalism, in academics, as mentors and as community leaders. I am grateful for the work that these women have done on our behalf to strengthen our state and the qualify of life for so many residents."   

Wing, now serving as assistant director for the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering directorate, was cited for her work in trustworthy computing, formal methods, programming languages, concurrent and distributed systems and software engineering, as well as her vision to make "computational thinking" a common part of science and math education.

She was honored along with Meg Cheever, founding president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy; Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association; Philadelphia Inquirer foreign affairs columnist Trudy Rubin; Deborah M Fretz, president and CEO of Sunoco Logistics Partner L.P.; Stephanie Naidoff, founding president of Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; and Susan Weiss Shoval, a Philadelphia insurance executive and philanthropist.

The commonwealth has honored women as Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania since 1949. To be selected, women must be nominated by organizations within the commonwealth for accomplishments of statewide or national importance. They receive medals and citations.

Byron Spice

10-03-2008

Tartans on TV

For the first time in almost 25 years to the day, a Carnegie Mellon football game will be televised live. The Tartans’ Oct. 11 game at Allegheny College will be broadcast on FSN Pittsburgh. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.

Ironically, Allegheny College was the Tartans’ opponent the last time they appeared on live television (Oct. 8, 1983) and the game was also in Meadville, Pa. That day Pittsburgh sportscaster John Steigerwald and former NFL quarterback Greg Landry called the game for a regional ABC-TV audience. The Tartans soundly defeated the Gators by a score of 35-0. 

Could it be déjà vu, all over again? Check your local listings for all the action.

Bruce Gerson

09-29-2008

The Latest in Computer Wear

If you’re looking for the latest computing gadgets out there, you won’t want to miss the “gadget show” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30 at the Sheraton Hotel in Station Square. The show is part of the IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC), hosted by Carnegie Mellon. The conference runs through Oct. 1.

Wearable computers are very much a reality today, says Asim Smailagic, a research scientist at Carnegie Mellon’s Institute for Complex Engineered Systems. He says wearable computing devices, cell phones, on-body wireless media devices, electronic textiles, and medical implants are just a few examples of wearable platforms.

The symposium also includes a tour and demos at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, where you can take the opportunity to interactively chat with Ben Franklin; verbally joust with Quasi, an animatronic silver robot; explore various  stations on the bridge of a star ship; explore the History of Technology wall; and visit the inductees into the Robot Hall of Fame.

Anne Watzman

09-25-2008

Wired Faculty

Snake robots, dancing Keepon robots, breathtaking GigaPan Camera panoramas and a sheep that mows grass instead of eating it are Carnegie Mellon’s contributions to this year’s Wired NextFest, hosted by Wired Magazine at Chicago’s Millennium Park Sept. 25-Oct. 12.
   
The snake robots developed for urban search and rescue by Associate Robotics Professor Howie Choset, can crawl, swim and climb poles.
   
Robotics doctoral student Marek Michalowski will showcase three small yellow robots named Keepon. Originally designed by a Japanese researcher to interact with children with developmental disorders, Michalowski has given Keepon a new role in human-robot interaction by teaching it to dance. This new attribute has brought Keepon and its developers international acclaim and monetary prizes.
         
Carnegie Mellon’s GigaPan camera system developed by Associate Robotics Professor Illah Nourbakhsh and Project Scientist Randy Sargent at the Silicon Valley campus will also be on display. The Gigapan is a robotic device that attaches to any digital camera, enabling the user to shoot interactive, multibillion-pixel panoramas that can be explored in great depth on the Internet. In addition to featuring breathtaking panoramas from around the world, this exhibit will include a kiosk featuring iconic pictures of the city of Chicago.
   
The fourth exhibit is “Mower,” or Moe, a robotic Styrofoam sheep that mows lawns. Mower is the creation of Osman Khan, a visiting assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon, and Joshua Shapiro, a researcher at the Robotics Institute’s CREATE Lab.
    
Wired NextFest is described as “the premier showcase of the global innovations transforming our world. Now in its fifth year, Wired’s gallery of the future includes unique and bold exhibits of sustainable design, next generation healthcare, interactive art and games, humanoid robotics and more.”

Anne Watzman