2009 Press Releases
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Alison Barth, associate professor of biological sciences, has received a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from Germany's Humboldt Foundation. The award will allow Barth to spend seven months in Germany to work on research projects with neuroscientist Michael Brecht at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin. MORE
Alison Barth Receives Humboldt Foundation’s Bessel Research Award
Friday, December 11, 2009
Carnegie Mellon University's Neil Donahue and Allen Robinson are working with a team of more than 60 scientists, including researchers from the University of Colorado and the NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, to develop a more holistic approach to improving climate and air quality prediction models. Donahue and Robinson are co-authors of a study that appears in the Dec. 11 issue of the journal Science. MORE
Global Team To Improve Predictions About Air Quality and Climate
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Alison Barth and Brooke McCartney, both biological sciences faculty members, were named the most recent recipients of the Eberly Family Career Development Professorships in the Biological Sciences. MORE
Barth and McCartney Named to Eberly Chairs
Monday, November 16, 2009
Carnegie Mellon University is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) program, a joint interdisciplinary program between its College of Fine Arts (CFA) and Mellon College of Science (MCS). MORE
Carnegie Mellon's Bachelor of Science and Arts Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Do internet passwords protect personal information from unwanted intrusion? How can you be sure if someone on-line is who they say they are? Does anti-virus software really protect your hard-drive? To help with these questions and others associated with wide usage of the Internet, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) has created SAFE-Net, a program of cyber-security awareness. MORE
Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Introduces SAFE-Net
Monday, November 2, 2009
A new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodology being developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Roberto Gil has enabled a group of chemists to determine the correct chemical structure of a natural compound known as a withanolide, which has been shown to slow the growth of breast cancer cells. MORE
Carnegie Mellon Researchers Use NMR Methodology To Elucidate Chemical Structure of Natural Compounds
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Two esteemed members of the Department of Mathematical Sciences have been honored with named professorships. David Kinderlehrer received the Alumni Professorship in Mathematical Sciences and Dmitry Kramkov received the Mellon College of Science Professorship in Mathematical Finance. MORE
Math Honors Kinderlehrer and Kramkov
Monday, October 26, 2009
Automated methods for discovering astrophysical phenomena by sifting through massive amounts of cosmological data are being developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington. MORE
DOE Grant Launches Carnegie Mellon Initiative To Automate Discovery of Astrophysical Phenomena
Monday, October 19, 2009
In honor of Peter Andrews’ distinguished career, leading scholars in the field of Simple Type Theory contributed to a Festschrift. Andrews’ Festschrift is a collection of papers that includes reprints of eight seminal papers in Simple Type Theory as well as thirteen new articles, contributed by those who have been influenced by his work.
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Mathematics Professor Peter Andrews Honored at the 22nd International Conference on Automated Deduction
Monday, October 12, 2009
An international group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Goettingen Medical School in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have received a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant to develop molecular probes that will help researchers better understand the "cellular GPS" system that guides neurons to create a properly wired nervous system. MORE
Chemist Marcel Bruchez and Colleagues To Develop Probes To Understand Neuronal Navigation
Friday, October 9, 2009
Carnegie Mellon University has appointed Michael J. Tarr, a new professor of psychology, co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC). The CNBC is a joint project between Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh devoted to investigating neural mechanisms and their impact on human cognitive abilities. MORE
Carnegie Mellon Appoints New Co-Director Of Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Neuronal firing in the cerebral cortex is notoriously unreliable. In this area of the brain, a neuron will fire at varying rates — and sometimes not at all — in response to the same stimulus. Alison Barth and colleagues have found that firing reliability in the cerebral cortex can be significantly improved through pattern sensory activation, indicating that this unreliability isn't a necessary component for cortical function. MORE
Alison Barth and Colleagues Develop Method To Make Cortical Neuronal Firing More Efficient
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Family of Nobel Laureate John A. Pople To Present Nobel Medal To Carnegie Mellon at Inaugural John A. Pople Lectures
Carnegie Mellon University will become one of only a few universities in the United States to display a gold Nobel Prize Medal, through a generous bequest from the late John A. Pople. Pople's children will present their father's medal, which he received for winning the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to the university at the inaugural John A. Pople Lectures in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Biologist Gregory Newby Among Three Carnegie Mellon Alumni Named Fulbright Scholars
The U.S. Student Fulbright Program has named three recent Carnegie Mellon University graduates 2009 Fulbright Scholars. Gregory Newby, who received a bachelor's degree in biological sciences in 2009, will conduct research at the Biochemistry Institute of the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, the J.C. Warner Professor of the Natural Sciences and University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, received the 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Matyjaszewski, the second Carnegie Mellon professor to receive the award, was recognized in the academic category for the development of an environmentally low-impact form of Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP), a widely used method for preparation of functional polymers. MORE
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski Receives EPA's Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Biological Sciences Professor Aaron Mitchell has identified a novel regulatory gene network that plays an important role in the spread of common, and sometimes deadly, yeast infections. The findings, which establish the role of Zap1 protein in the activation of genes that regulate the synthesis of biofilm matrix, were published in the June 16, 2009, issue of PLoS Biology. MORE
New Mechanism Fundamental to the Spread of Invasive Yeast Infections Identified by Aaron Mitchell
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Gene regulatory networks in cell nuclei are similar to cloud computing networks, such as Google or Yahoo!; each system keeps working despite the failure of individual components. This finding by computational biologist Ziv Bar-Joseph helps explain not only the robustness of cells, but also some seemingly incongruent experimental results that have puzzled biologists. MORE
Cells Are Like Robust Computational Systems, Carnegie Mellon-Led Team Reports
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Murphy, the Ray and Stephanie Lane Professor of Computational Biology, has been appointed to the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council. The council, composed of leaders in biological and medical sciences, education, health care and public affairs, perform the second level of peer review for research and research training grant applications assigned to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and also offer advice on policy and program development of the NIGMS.
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Carnegie Mellon's Bob Murphy Appointed to National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Natalie Weir, a 2009 graduate with a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry, received the 2009 Judith Resnik Award during commencement weekend. The award is presented annually to an outstanding woman graduating in the sciences or engineering who plans to attend graduate school and whose academic performance, creativity and vision illustrates potential for high academic achievement in her field. MORE
Natalie Weir Receives 2009 Judith A. Resnik Award
Thursday, May 7, 2009
On May 6, faculty, staff and administrators gathered in the Mellon Institute to honor MCS staff members for their dedication and service to the Mellon College of Science.
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MCS Staff Awards, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Peter Berget, associate professor of biological sciences, is this year’s recipient of the Julius Ashkin Award for Excellence in Teaching. Berget has been teaching for more than two decades and his passion for science continues to inspire students every day. MORE
Peter Berget Receives the Julius Ashkin Award for Excellence in Teaching
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The winners of the Dr. J. Paul Fugassi and Linda E. Monteverde Award, Guy C. Berry Graduate Research Award and Hugh D. Young Graduate Teaching Award were announced at the MCS Annual Meeting.
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Mellon College of Science Students Earn Education and Research Awards
Monday, May 4, 2009
"We have found a new anticonvulsant compound that eliminates seizures in a model of epilepsy," said Alison Barth, associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon's Mellon College of Science. "The drug works by inhibiting ion channels whose role in epilepsy was only recently discovered. Understanding how these channels work in seizure disorders, and being able to target them with a simple treatment, represents a significant advance in our ability to understand and treat epilepsy." MORE
Carnegie Mellon Researchers Identify New Drug To Prevent Seizure Progression in Model of Epilepsy
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Meeting of the Minds is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon's Undergraduate Research Office, which encourages and supports undergraduates to engage in the type of research and innovation that at many institutions is the sole domain of faculty and graduate students. Many projects grow out of students' coursework in their majors, while others typify Carnegie Mellon's emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration to solve real-world problems. MORE
Carnegie Mellon Student Work Showcased at Undergraduate Research Symposium, May 6
Thursday, April 23, 2009
MCS Professor Leonad Kisslinger along with H&SS's Linda Flower were the first co-recipients of the Gelfrand Award. Established in 2009, the Gelfand Award is given annually to a member of the university community who has combined sustained, effective community service with academic coursework.
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Physicist Leonard Kisslinger is the co-awardee of the first Mark Gelfand Service Award for Educational Outreach Award
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Renowned physicist Edward W. "Rocky" Kolb will deliver Carnegie Mellon University's annual Buhl Lecture, titled "Mysteries of the Dark Universe," at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday April 21 at the Mellon Institute Auditorium, 4400 Fifth Ave., Oakland. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception in the Mellon Institute Lobby.
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Physicist To Discuss Mysteries of the Dark Universe At Carnegie Mellon's Buhl Lecture, April 21
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Physicist Curtis Meyer, spokesperson of the Gluonic Excitations Experiment or GlueX, was at the groundbreaking for a $310,000,000 upgrade to the Jefferson Lab facility. A key part of this project will help physicists understand why quarks are trapped inside the protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus of an atom. MORE
Carnegie Mellon GlueX experiment makes a big step forward with the Department of Energy groundbreaking
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Mathematical Sciences Professor Noel Walkington has been named associate dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs. Walkington has been a faculty member in the Department of Mathematical Sciences since 1989. MORE
MCS Names Noel Walkington Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs
Monday, March 30, 2009
“High-performance computing is transforming physics research,” said Ralph Roskies, co-scientific director of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), during a presentation on Friday, March 20, at the American Physical Society Meeting, held in Pittsburgh, March 16-20. MORE
TeraGrid is Transforming Research, Say Physicists at the American Physical Society Meeting in Pittsburgh
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Fifty years ago, NMR spectroscopy was a young field, with spectroscopists spread across the country. They wanted to meet with each other to share their ideas, and Emeritus Professor Aksel Bothner-By was one of the men who got the ball rolling. Bothner-By and his colleague Barry Shapiro hosted the second through 11th Experimental NMR Conference (ENC). At age 88, unable to travel to California for this year’s ENC, Bothner-By’s colleagues at Carnegie Mellon are hosting a symposium in his honor. MORE
Colleagues Celebrate Bothner-By’s Work in NMR Spectroscopy
Monday, March 16, 2009
Using rigorous computer calculations, researchers have established evidence that supercooled silicon experiences a liquid-liquid phase transition, where at a certain temperature two different states of liquid silicon exist. The two states each have unique properties that could be used to develop new silicon-based materials. MORE
Carnegie Mellon Scientist Confirms Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition in Silicon
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Carnegie Mellon University will award its 2008 Dickson Prize in Science to Richard M. Karp, a computer scientist best known for his work in developing algorithms to solve some of the world's most complex problems. Karp will receive the award, which includes a medal and a cash prize, before giving the annual Dickson Prize lecture. MORE
Renowned Computer Scientist Richard M. Karp To Receive Carnegie Mellon's Dickson Prize
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The new Astrid and Bruce McWilliams Fellows are changing the status quo. From refining procedures for preparing magnetic storage material to creating techniques for developing new polymers, graduate students Chip Hogg and Renaud Nicolaÿ exemplify the purpose of the fellowship — to support graduate students conducting leading-edge research in emerging fields such as nanotechnology, biophysics and cosmology. MORE
New McWilliams Fellows Named
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tiziana Di Matteo, associate professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University, is harnessing the power of supercomputing to recreate how galaxies are born, how they develop over time and, ultimately, how they collapse. Di Matteo presented an overview of her cosmological simulations as part of the "Big, Small, and Everything in Between: Simulating Our World Using Scientific Computing" session at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, Feb. 15 in Chicago. MORE
Carnegie Mellon's Tiziana Di Matteo Presents Detailed Cosmological Simulations at AAAS Meeting
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Biological Sciences Professor Aaron Mitchell has been appointed a section editor for PLoS Pathogens, an open-access journal that publishes original research articles on pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, and their interactions with their hosts. He will review and edit submitted papers that deal with fungal pathogenesis. MORE
Aaron Mitchell Appointed Section Editor for PLoS Pathogens
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Carnegie Mellon University team of experts in computational biology and machine learning is among four finalists in the inaugural Elsevier Grand Challenge on Knowledge Enhancement in the Life Sciences, a contest designed to encourage development of tools dealing with the ever increasing amount of online life sciences information.
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