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February
17, 2006
This internal publication contains information about recent coverage
of Carnegie Mellon that appeared primarily in national newspapers, magazines
and online publications. Please note that some sources may require registration
or a subscription in order to access their information online.
Please send comments and suggestions to thomas@cmu.edu
The media coverage archive is available at www.cmu.edu/clips
From February 10 to February 16,
2006 , Carnegie Mellon Media Relations counted
268
references to the university in worldwide publications. Here is a sample.
National News Stories
The Chronicle of Higher Education | February
17
Nature Magazine | February 16
The New York Times (AP) | February 15
The New York Times | February 14
Investor's Business Daily | February 14
Forbes | February 14
National Public Radio | February 13
Washington Post | February 12
Chemical and Engineering News | February 10
Discovery News | February 10
Bloomberg News | February 10
The Philadelphia Inquirer | February 10
Student Experience
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 13
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 13
Washington Post | February 9
Pittsburgh City Paper | February 9
Information Technology
Houston Chronicle | February 13
San Antonio Business Journal | February 10
Washington Post | February 12
Biotechnology
Pittsburgh City Paper | February 16
Local News Stories
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 16
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 12
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 11
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
International News Stories
The Globe and Mail | February 13
Reuters India | February 13
Aljazeera.com | February 10
-
-
National News Stories
The Chronicle of Higher Education | February
17
During the past four years, Carnegie Mellon University,
for example, has opened degree programs in Greece, South Korea, Qatar,
and Japan. But it has usually negotiated to have a local university
or government pay for facilities and nonacademic support. "We go
into this pretty comfortable that we don't have a lot of resources at
risk if things don't go well," says Mark S. Kamlet,
the provost. In choosing overseas sites, Carnegie Mellon tries to provide
something unique and to stay modest in its goals. It opened a graduate
program in computer security in Kobe, Japan, last fall. In South Korea
it plans to open a second graduate program this fall, in entertainment
technology for the gaming and tourism industries. In Australia it will
open a similar program this spring. The university seeks out countries
"thirsting for graduate degrees in areas we have a niche in,"
says Mr. Kamlet. "We don't want to be just another competitor."
http://chronicle.com/weekly/
v52/i24/24a04401.htm | back to top
Nature Magazine | February 16
In the aftermath of any disaster, satellite and aerial images are critical
for identifying priorities, planning logistics and working out access
routes for relief operations. Two events last year, Hurricane Katrina
in the United States and the Pakistan earthquake, catalysed a collaboration
between relief workers and the Global Connection project, a partnership
between Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
NASA/Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, Google and National
Geographic. The goal was to help communities and response agencies to
access post-disaster images quickly using the Google Earth geospatial
image browser. The emergence of a new breed of volunteers — online
data managers — highlights the potential of a web-based community
approach to disaster operations. ***Commentary by a team of authors
including Illah Nourbakhsh, assistant professor of
robotics and Randy Sargent, project scientist at Carnegie
Mellon.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/
v439/n7078/full/439787a.html | back to top
The New York Times (AP) | February 15
A group of scientific advisers to the Environmental Protection Agency
voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a recommendation that a chemical
used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant
products should be considered a likely carcinogen. ... Some members
of the review panel disagreed with the majority view that PFOA should
be classified as a ''likely carcinogen,'' a finding that went beyond
the EPA's own determination that there was only ''suggestive evidence''
from animal studies that PFOA and its salts are potential human carcinogens.
''Are we talking two-fifths of the panel, or are we talking about a
small number?'' asked SAB Chairman M. Granger Morgan,
head of the department of engineering and public policy at Carnegie
Mellon University.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/
national/AP-EPA-Teflon.html | back to top
The New York Times | February 14
"If popular culture has taught us anything," Daniel H. Wilson
says, "it is that someday mankind must face and destroy the growing
robot menace." Luckily, Dr. Wilson is just the guy to help us do
it. In his new book, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising," Dr.
Wilson offers detailed — and hilariously deadpan — advice
on evading hostile swarms of robot insects (don't try to fight —
"loss of an individual robot is inconsequential to the swarm");
outsmarting your "smart" house (be suspicious if the house
suggests you test the microwave by putting your head in it); escaping
unmanned ground vehicles (drive in circles — they'll have a harder
time tracking you); and surviving hand-to-hand combat with a humanoid
(smear yourself with mud to disguise your distinctive human thermal
signature and go for the "eyes" — its cameras). ...
But if the scenarios are outlandish (so far) the information is real.
By the time readers have absorbed all the possible technological advances
rebellious robots could exploit, they have taken a tour of the world's
robotics labs, where, Dr. Wilson maintains, all of the techniques and
tools in the book already exist or are under development. For example,
he recalled, when he asked his adviser at Carnegie Mellon,
Chris Atkeson, how large a walking robot could be,
the question provoked a lively discussion in the lab, ending with a
consensus that they could probably be no taller than a telephone pole.
The next question was, "How would you take one down?" Actually,
making walking robots fall down is one current focus for Dr. Atkeson,
whose voice acquires a comically sinister edge as he describes the humanoids
in his lab. One goal of the work is to understand what happens when
people, particularly older people, fall. "Right now we are trying
to make robots fall down the same way people do," he said. "We
can very reliably get our robots to fall down; like people do is a little
harder."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/
02/14/science/14robo.html | back to top
Investor's Business Daily | February 14
The White House's two nominees to the Federal Reserve Board vowed to
promote growth through low inflation, echoing new Fed chief Ben Bernanke
and signaling broad agreement on interest-rate policy. Only one of the
five current Fed governors sat on the board in 2000. President Bush
has named or reappointed the entire lineup. Most spent the majority
of their pre-Fed careers working in financial services or researching
the subject — as opposed to broader economic issues. "Including
these two appointments, we've moved away from people who were specialists
in macroeconomics to specialists in banking and financial markets,"
said Allan Meltzer, political economy professor at
Carnegie Mellon University and a Fed historian. That's
partly because central bankers now largely concur on key issues, such
as whether high inflation is a necessary trade-off to economic and job
growth. The conclusion? It isn't. "They agree that the way to get
to low unemployment and (strong) growth is through low inflation,"
he said.
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.
asp?artsec=5&issue=20060214 | back to top
Forbes | February 14
Six years ago, Stanford brain scientist Brian Knutson accidentally set
neuroscience and economics on a collision course. Knutson wanted to
use MRI scanners--the same devices used in medical diagnosis--to literally
peer inside people's heads as they experienced intense emotions. He
tried showing volunteers pictures of nude and decapitated bodies. But
those reactions paled compared with what happened when he offered people
cash. ... "It helps explain why people have such bizarre attitudes
toward money," says George Loewenstein, an economist
at Carnegie Mellon University. "According to standard
economic theory, money is a means to an end. When you get money, you
shouldn't experience immediate happiness. What all the scanning research
is showing is that people get immediate pleasure and pain from obtaining
and losing money."
http://www.forbes.com/money/2006/02/11/
neuroeconomics-MRI-economics-cx_mh_money
06_0214neuroeconomics.html | back to top
National Public Radio | February 13
Many phones already have GPS chips that know your location, and more
sensors are on the way. [Motorola engineer Larry] Marturano says that
Motorola has one prototype that constantly checks in with your car's
computer to see what's going on ... So if the car tells the phone that
you're slamming on the brakes, you won't get interrupted by a call from
your son's little league coach. Similar experiments are underway at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa. This time, instead
of getting advice from a car, the phone relies on a wristwatch. The
"eWatch" looks like a big geeky digital watch. But it also
has sensors. One measures light, to see if you're in a dark room or
watching TV. A motion sensor can tell if you are typing on a keyboard,
and a microphone listens in to see if you're in a conversation.
Daniel Siewiorek, who helped design the eWatch, says these
sensors work well on the wrist, but they wouldn't work on the phone
itself. "If I put it on my cell phone, the light sensor would be
in my pocket and wouldn't do me much good, while the wrist is out there
and it's also one of the more active parts of your body," Siewiorek
says.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=5201273 | back to top
Washington Post | February 12
It was not so long ago that crime was routinely described as "out
of control," that crime-ridden neighborhoods were widely considered
unsalvageable, that crime-fighting strategies for cities were compared
to deck-chair-shuffling strategies for the Titanic. ... Urban America
had gone to hell, and it felt like there was no way out. ... It turns
out that aggressive policing really can defeat an anything-goes mentality,
that entrenched criminal cultures really can be reformed, that potential
offenders tend not to offend when they believe their crimes will be
witnessed, reported and punished. "At some point, people have to
say: Enough is enough," said Carnegie Mellon University
criminologist Alfred Blumstein, author of "The
Crime Drop in America."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2006/02/10/AR20060
21001790.html | back to top
Chemical and Engineering News | February 10
The National Academy of Engineering has elected 76 new members and nine
foreign associates. They bring the total U.S. membership in NAE to 2,216
people and its foreign associate membership to 186 people. New members
and foreign associates who are chemists or chemical engineers or who
work in chemically related areas include the following: ... Krzysztof
Aleksander Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh... *** Five Carnegie Mellon professors were elected
to the NAE this year, the most of any institution. Inductees include:
Cristina H. Amon, Egon Balas,
Manuel Blum, Pradeep K. Khosla and Krzysztof
A. Matyjaszewski.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/
84/i07/8407nae.html | back to top
Discovery News | February 10
The ability of a virus and a speck of gold to automatically pair up
could lead to microscopic, multipurpose shuttles that target and destroy
disease in the human body. The tiny platform could deliver drugs, genes
or restorative stem cells to different parts of the body, and could
even be used to grow stem cells. ... The simplicity came as a surprise
to the researchers, who originally thought that in order to create the
so-called nano-shuttles, they would have to genetically manipulate a
string-shaped virus, known as a phage, to bind with a speck of gold.
... To encode the nano-shuttle, the scientists genetically inserted
a protein into the shell of the phage that matched the zip code of the
location of the desired tissue. ... "It's a very clever combination
of two technologies," said biomedical engineer Philip LeDuc,
an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
"But there are all kinds of challenges that exist inside this particular
area of research. One of the hardest part is making sure you are specifically
attaching these things to the right area." The scientists are chipping
away at such challenges with hopes of someday translating the research
into real clinical applications.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/
20060206/nanoshuttle_tec.html | back to top
Bloomberg News | February 10
Alan Greenspan spent 18 years as Federal Reserve chairman guarding his
words like gold. Now he is cashing in. Greenspan, who quit the Fed Jan.
31, has earned tens of thousands of dollars this month talking privately
with investors. He has at least one more paid appearance Feb. 22 with
clients of ABN Amro Inc. in New York. Nothing bars Greenspan from selling
his opinions about the economy and interest rates, and supporters say
the price he commands is a just reward for a longtime public servant
who turns 80 next month. ``He's a free agent now,'' said Allan
Meltzer, Fed historian at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/
news?pid=10000103&sid=aalQNIfZQy
6w&refer=news_index | back to top
The Philadelphia Inquirer | February 10
Gov. Rendell's once-commanding re-election lead has shriveled to just
three percentage points against Republican Lynn Swann, according to
the latest Daily News/CN8 Keystone Poll. ... Jon Delano,
adjunct professor of politics at Carnegie Mellon University,
said that Swann's huge celebrity makes him a force to be reckoned with.
"In western Pennsylvania, the guy has something that Ed Rendell
does not have, this 'Oh, wow!' celebrity status. As Bill Scranton found
out, he is not someone to be trifled with... Having said that, Swann
has to demonstrate to voters that he has the skills to govern Pennsylvania."
Delano said that Swann's chances would depend on a series of hurdles:
first, putting together a successful campaign in his first run for public
office.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/
news/13836504.htm | back to top
Student Experience
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Grades and standardized-test scores remain the most important criteria
in the college admissions process -- but it's the story behind them
that matters most to admissions officials. ... Carnegie Mellon
University uses minimum GPA and test scores to create a pool of prospective
freshmen, then uses other factors to determine who gets in, said Michael
Steidel, director of admissions. About 75 percent of applicants
probably can do Carnegie Mellon work, he said.
http://www.post-gazette.com/
pg/06046/655195.stm | back to top
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
No student wants to include unflattering information on a college application.
But if a student has ever been arrested or suspended or expelled from
a school, there's a good chance he or she might have to address that
question and explain the details in writing. A "yes" answer
won't automatically ruin the student's chances. Smoking in the bathroom
and playing hooky a time or two are not going to cause most admissions
officers to agonize over an application. ... Carnegie Mellon
University's application process requires high school counselors to
weigh in on a student's disciplinary history. "Counselors are permitted
to answer the question if their school districts allow it," said
Michael Steidel, Carnegie Mellon director of admissions. "Counselors
are typically honest in telling us there was a problem, but will refer
us to the student for any details. "What we're really looking for
are issues surrounding academic integrity. We're not looking for kids
caught smoking in the bathroom. The university community at large is
really dependent on kids doing their own work and not cheating."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/
06046/655193.stm | back to top
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
For Mike Steidel, director of admissions at Carnegie
Mellon University, relatively equal gender representation improves
the educational experience, as well as the social one. "We need
to have women and men," said Mr. Steidel. "Women bring a different
element -- they bring those points of view that make for a more electric
environment." Overall, Carnegie Mellon admits about 37 percent of the males
who apply and 50 percent of the females. Its student body is about 60
percent male and 40 percent female. Mr. Steidel said that for programs
at Carnegie Mellon where women are underrepresented in the applicant pool, gender
is "definitely a factor, definitely a consideration. ... We sit
up straight whenever we find a great candidate who happens to be a woman."
Those programs include many of Carnegie Mellon's strongest specialties, like electrical
engineering and computer science. On the flip side, men are underrepresented
in the theater department, another of Carnegie Mellon's most highly regarded programs.
In theater, Mr. Steidel said, admissions preferences can favor males.
He said that in either case, however, gender is just one of many nonacademic
factors that admissions officers consider after they determine that
a student is academically qualified.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/
06046/655194.stm | back to top
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 13
Robots have feelings, too. Sort of. Abandoned by his father, Marion
"Tank" LeFleur -- the new robot receptionist at Carnegie
Mellon University -- failed as a satellite robot at NASA. A
CIA reconnaissance mission to Afghanistan also was a bust. Or so goes
a tongue-in-cheek story-line scripted by Carnegie Mellon drama students,
who created the character of Tank and wrote his complex narrative as
part of the Social Robots Project. The project is a collaboration between
the university's Robotics Institute and School of Drama. It was launched
to study long-term human-robot interactions and determine how to make
robots both informative and entertaining, said Carnegie Mellon robotics professor
Reid Simmons, the creator of Tank and his predecessor,
Valerie.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/
trib/pittsburgh/s_423352.html | back to top
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 13
Nuveen Marwah hopes Carnegie Mellon University students
getting ready to graduate will view their winter and spring breaks as
more than just a chance to cut loose and have a good time. The Carnegie Mellon senior
has set up a program for students to use their classroom respite to
help the needy.
Marwah, 21, of Franklin Park, recently launched a program called Alternative
Break, which organized a trip for students in the university's Fifth
Year Scholars Program to do relief work in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf
Coast. Another trip is planned during spring break.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/
trib/pittsburgh/s_423356.html | back to top
Washington Post | February 9
Even those who usually would hit South Padre wearing Oakleys are putting
on old jeans and heading to the Gulf Coast this year to lend a hand
to the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort, which in some places is still
in the cleanup phase. With tons of work to do, a diverse group is thankfully
heeding the call. For one, there's "Katrina on the Ground,"
a far-flung effort organized by hip-hop artists, that's recruiting everyone
from "community colleges ... to the Ivy Leagues." U.S. Sen.
John Edwards, meanwhile, is leading a group specifically to New Orleans
called "Opportunity Rocks". Of course, many church groups,
like Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Secular schools,
too, are organizing trips, either to Louisiana or Mississippi, formally
through their campus's "alternative spring break" program,
or informally, through outside groups. Hamilton College, Stanford University,
Northwestern University, University of Pittsburgh, Utah State University,
Carnegie Mellon University, and Williams College have
all announced student plans to head to the Gulf.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020
901272.html | back to top
Pittsburgh City Paper | February 9
Click on "Bike Crash," and Maphub"s default layout
-- a detailed street map of Pittsburgh -- is sprinkled with small bicycle
icons, each representing a real accident input, by address or GPS location,
by anyone who has signed up for the free hub. Click again, and each
icon reveals details about the accident: All the information about Hoffman"s
accident -- from the location to the hospital bill -- can be gleaned
from the accident"s icon. Click again, and registered users can
share their comments on the incident, from a heartfelt "bummer"
to advice on avoiding accidents in that spot. ... "The goal is
to provide a tool for bicyclists to communicate," says Bike Pittsburgh
Executive Director Scott Bricker. In fact, some 200 users have signed
up to be members of the bike-accident hub alone. But Bricker also hopes
it will "effect positive change within the city" by showing
"where it"s obvious that we need new bicycle parking, or
where we might want a bike lane." This kind of thinking is music
to the ears of Maphub"s creators, Carnegie Mellon
University graduate Nathan Martin and doctoral student Carl DiSalvo,
and programmers Jeff Maki and Evan Merz. It"s hardly the destination
they could have charted for themselves when they first conceived of
Maphub more than five years ago. But in recent years, particularly with
the launch of tools such as Google Maps, online mapping has become big
news. And Martin, DiSalvo and Co. have found their Maphub project changing
from an art piece into a powerful tool -- one capable of hacking directly
into Pittsburgh"s communities.
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/
archive.cfm?type=Main%20Feature&
action=getComplete&ref=5672 | back to top
Information Technology
Houston Chronicle | February 13
Crossroads Systems, Inc., a leading provider of Business Information
Assurance (BIA) solutions for guaranteed access, resiliency and security
of enterprise information, today announced the formation of its Strategic
Advisory Board and its initial five members. Crossroads' Strategic Advisory
Board is comprised of business and technology leaders that bring in-depth
industry expertise and knowledge to the company. The group will provide
Crossroads with critical insight, which will help shape business and
product developments. ... Members of Crossroads Strategic Advisory Board
include ... Rhonda MacLean, an information security
leader who was the CISO for Bank of America and responsible for information
security at The Boeing Company. In 2002, MacLean was appointed as the
chairperson of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for
Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security by the Secretary
of Treasury. Additionally, in December 2003, she was named as one of
the 50 most powerful people in the network industry by Network World
Magazine. MacLean is now the CEO of MacLean Risk Partners, LLC, and
is Distinguished Senior Fellow at Carnegie Mellon's
CyLab.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/
prn/texas/3655178.html | back to top
San Antonio Business Journal | February 10
Small and medium-size companies increasingly are gaining access to the
potential for unlimited expansion of their technological capabilities
and, thereby, more efficient ways of doing business. These options have
become available as a result of the expanded use of optical fiber, which
has been deployed for many years primarily to supply long-distance phone
service and cable television access from a central distribution network.
Now, telecommunications providers are eliminating the copper wiring
that typically links groups of businesses and residences to these centrally
located fiber-optic networks, and extending this optical fiber all the
way to individual commercial locations and homes. This process is known
as Fiber-to-the-Premises or FTTP. ... Beyond giving individual companies
the ability to maximize their technological potential, there is new
evidence that FTTP could have an even broader economic impact in its
role as the latest form of broadband technology. Researchers at Carnegie
Mellon University and MIT have published a study that found
that broadband access has played a role in furthering overall economic
growth in many parts of the country. The data showed a strong connection
between the level of broadband access within particular ZIP codes and
the levels of business expansion, job growth, and IT growth in these
areas, as well as the increases in their rental rates. The research
indicated that, between 1999 and 2002, communities with broadband did
far better in these categories than communities without such access.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/
stories/2006/02/13/focus3.html | back to top
Washington Post | February 12
Last month, I looked at how long it took Microsoft to issue security
updates for known software flaws in the Windows software that powers
most of today's computers. Last week, I conducted the same analysis
on free software produced by the Mozilla Foundation, perhaps best known
for its Firefox Web browser. Over the past year, Mozilla averaged about
21 days before it issued fixes for flaws in Firefox, compared with the
135 days it took for Microsoft to address problems. ... Last month,
several researchers from Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburgh reported they had examined some 438 vulnerabilities in
programs made by 325 software vendors and found the patching speed of
open-source vendors was roughly 60 percent faster than that of the closed-source
vendors they studied.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/
11/AR2006021100217.html | back to top
Biotechnology
Pittsburgh City Paper | February 16
[Chief salesman for Capital Technologies" approach to biodiesel,
Bob] Banerjee would say the company started with a process founder Richard
C. Jackson devised for extracting oil from "tar sands." The
process "cracks petroleum," Banerjee explains, using "low
energy to separate the oil from the sand" with something "very
close to a vibrational technology." Jackson saw potential to use
similar principles elsewhere -- like making biodiesel. He sought Carnegie
Mellon University"s help in refining the technology,
and Capital Technologies was spun off from that collaboration. Today
the firm has offices in Hazelwood"s high-tech office park, with
a production facility in the South Side.
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/
scripts/printIt.cfm?ref=5707 | back to top
Local News Stories
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 16
Pittsburgh is preparing to save PNC Financial Group $18 million on a
new $170 million skyscraper with a special tax-financing offer, and
that plan -- almost guaranteed approval by local taxing bodies -- would
edge the city closer to a state-mandated limit on such deals. ... In
early March, City Council and two other taxing bodies -- Allegheny County
Council and Pittsburgh Public Schools -- are expected to award PNC a
20-year tax-financing package commonly known as a TIF, which uses the
difference in tax money before and after construction to retire government-issued
bonds. ... Robert Strauss, a Carnegie Mellon
University economics professor, said the state limits TIFs to stop local
governments from "giving away too much of its taxable land,"
a practice that ultimately raises the property tax burden for homeowners.
"If you ask PNC or anyone looking at major new construction, 'do
they need a TIF?' they're obviously going to say yes, because they will
prefer paying less tax to more," Strauss said. "My guess is,
if the subsidy weren't there, somebody would come in and do it anyway."
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/
trib/pittsburgh/s_424452.html | back to top
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 15
Every now and then you read, hear or see a very small act and it speaks
volumes of information. It could be someone's posture in a meeting or
one brief line in an e-mail. The act itself is of little consequence
but what the action often says is profound. The small act in this case
is the city government's new policy limiting Internet access by city
employees to 30 minutes a day (in 10-minute chunks). The window on reality
is the tragic quality of governance in our city. ... Mark DeSantis
is a management consultant and adjunct professor at the Heinz School
of Carnegie Mellon University.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/
06046/655314.stm | back to top
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | February 12
On the cusp of earning his doctorate in computer science, John Hainsworth
doesn't have a job -- just yet. But the recent transplant from Kansas
isn't worried, either. That's because optimism and hiring are on the
upswing in Pittsburgh's technology sector, ending a nearly 4-year-old
cold spell that left some workers scrambling for jobs and others grasping
theirs tightly. In recent months, a slew of local firms have confirmed
they are adding workers and are prowling for talent, from entry-level
positions to high-end researchers. The most prominent name, of course,
is search engine giant and new high-tech star Google Inc., which late
last year said it will open a local engineering and research office
on or near Carnegie Mellon University's campus that
insiders say will employ 100 to 200. ... The local tech industry, which
typically trails the nation, appears to have bottomed out in 2003, well
after slumps elsewhere, said Jerry Paytas, the director
of the Center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University
who tracks tech jobs and companies in the area. "It's steadily
crawling back," he said.
http://www.post-gazette.com/
pg/06043/654254.stm | back to top
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | February 11
The closing of the West End police station has not significantly affected
crime in the area. A Pittsburgh Tribune-Review analysis of city police
statistics shows that major and less-serious crimes largely remained
stable or even decreased since the old Zone 4 station closed Aug. 29,
2003."No one could argue that there's a dramatic change as a result
of closing the station. There's just regular fluctuations," said
Alfred Blumstein, a criminology expert and professor
of operations research at Carnegie Mellon University.
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/
trib/pittsburgh/s_422843.html | back to top
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
Of the three casino companies that have lined up in an attempt to win
a $50 million slots casino license in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas-based Harrah's
Entertainment Inc. appears to be by far the strongest financially, according
to bond ratings of the three companies by Standard & Poors. ...
An analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings of all three
companies reveal that the companies carry substantial debt, but that's
not necessarily a sign of weakness, according to a local finance professor.
"Just because a company is highly leveraged doesn't mean that it
is a poorly managed company," said Bryan Routledge,
an associate professor of finance at the Tepper School of Business at
Carnegie Mellon University. One of the potential casino operators
said casino companies in general have the capital needs and the cash
flow to require and pay for debt.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/
stories/2006/02/13/story6.html | back to top
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
Although local technology companies are still struggling to secure venture
capital, signs are looking up for those hoping to land first-time investments.
Local technology-based investment companies are funding more companies
than in past years and the amount of venture capital going to earlier-stage
companies is on the rise. Yet, overall, the amount of venture capital
invested in southwestern Pennsylvania's technology companies fell. ...
[PA Early Stage partner Ching] Zhu said there are two primary reasons
why PA Early Stage wants to invest in this region. First, there is a
lack of venture capital presence in the region, which gives them an
opportunity to move in and gain traction. Second, there is a great deal
of technology generated through the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University
that is ripe for commercialization. ... Don Smith,
director of economic development for Carnegie Mellon University and
the University of Pittsburgh, said an increase in early-stage funding
helps to validate the work of local economic development organizations
such as Innovation Works, the Greenhouses and Idea Foundry.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/
stories/2006/02/13/focus3.html | back to top
Pittsburgh Business Times | February 10
While outsourcing technology services has become common practice for
many industries, what is becoming a new trend is where they're doing
it. Outsourcing is still most popular in India, according to analysts,
but other countries are quickly emerging as offshore partners. While
Canada and China are growing hubs for outsourcing, Russia is becoming
the hottest spot, according to analysts. ... Sonya Boralv, spokeswoman
for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, which recently announced it
will set up an office in Oakland at the edge of Carnegie Mellon
University's campus, said the tech giant chose Russia for the
same reason it chose Pittsburgh. Google looks for a well-educated local
talent pool, great commitment to education at all levels -- including
world-class universities and a good quality of life for future employees,
Boralv said. "As a company, Google has been growing rapidly and
this (Pittsburgh) office is part of our worldwide effort to build engineering
centers in locations where there are great engineers -- which is what
you're also seeing in other parts of the world," Boralv said.
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/
stories/2006/02/13/focus1.html | back to top
International News Stories
The Globe and Mail | February 13
Welcome to Education City: the epicenter of the university franchising
business. Built on the outskirts of Doha, the capital city of the energy-rich
gulf state of Qatar, Education City is perhaps the most ambitious attempt
to create a knowledge economy anywhere in the world. ... The university
directors brought in from the United States to manage Education City's
branch campuses are quick to point out that these are not franchise
operations. The admissions criteria, selection process and tuition levels
are identical to those in the United States (although Qatari students
and some non-Qataris who attend here are largely subsidized by the Qatari
government or local corporations). When students graduate, their degrees
makes no mention of which campus they attended. "We're not like
Carnegie Mellon [University]," says Carnegie Mellon's Qatar
branch dean Charles Thorpe. "We are Carnegie Mellon."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
LAC.20060213.IBDOHA13/TPStory/Business | back to
top
Reuters India | February 13
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India's top software services company,
said on Monday it had entered into a five-year tie-up with Stanford
University to conduct research on data privacy. S. Ramadorai, the company's
chief executive officer and managing director, told a news conference
the company has committed $1 million for the research project. ... As
part of the collaboration, Tata will become an industrial partner in
a new data security initiative that includes Berkeley, Cornell University
and Carnegie Mellon University.
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.
aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-02-
13T183006Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-
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Aljazeera.com | February 10
According to an article published by the Christian Science Monitor web
site, Washington's new campaign is the government's latest attempt to
use broad data-collection and powerful analysis in the fight against
the President's so-called "War on Terrorism." ... ADVISE system
involves data-mining - or "dataveillance," sifting through
data to look for patterns. For instance if a supermarket finds that
one of its customers bought cider as well as fresh-baked bread, it might
group the two together, CSmonitor stated. ADVISE, according to a report
summarizing a 2004 DHS conference in Alexandria, Va., is designed to
collect massive amount of corporate and public online information -
from the citizens" financial records to news stories – Information
collected will be stored as "entities" - linked data about
people, places, things, organizations, and events. ... "It isn't
a bad idea, but you have to do it in a way that demonstrates its utility
- and with provable privacy protection," says Latanya Sweeney,
founder of the Data Privacy Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon
University.
http://www.aljazeera.com/
me.asp?service_ID=10548 | back to top
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