January 17

The Future Of Energy Is Nuclear (CIT doctoral student Daniel Schnitzer)
Schnitzer profile: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45jdde/daniel-schnitzer-27/
Working in impoverished Haiti, Schnitzer's EarthSpark International is distributing cheap solar-charged lamps and energy-efficient stoves and working to develop pay-as-you-go "micro-grid" electric systems. Schnitzer is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and on Twitter @earthsparkintl

Article/slideshow: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/12/17/30-under-30-the-future-of-energy-is-nuclear/<

Art & Style (Alumni Eric Koger and Susan Gregg Koger)
Koger profile: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mkl45jfhj/eric-koger-and-susan-gregg-koger-28-fashion-retailers-4/
These high school sweethearts launched ModCloth the summer before they started at Carnegie-Mellon University in 2002, selling clothing Susan had picked up in thrift stores. The online retailer now offers vintage, vintage-inspired and independent label fashions, as well as home decor items like lighting, rugs and laptop sleeves. It has democratized its wares through crowdsourcing product selection and design competitions. In May it completed a $25 million round of funding, bringing its venture funding total to $44.8 million.

Article/slideshow: http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/12/17/30-under-30-the-bright-young-stars-of-art-and-style/ 

January 16

A team from Carnegie Mellon University looked at data from the 100 most popular apps in Google’s Android store to see which collect private information. They published a list of the top 10 biggest surprises. On top is the handy illuminating app Brightest Flashlight, which collects users’ locations and device IDs — a unique number that every smartphone has.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/angry-birds-flashlight-apps-track-location-article-1.1241250?localLinksEnabled=false

January 14

What do you get when you join a Carnegie Mellon robotics engineer with a Northwestern MBA grad? In the case of 4moms, a whole new take on the stroller and infant seat. Now flush with $20 million in Series A funding from Bain Capital Ventures in Boston, 4moms can add more designers, engineers and production staff to its inventive child-care products business.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225016#

January 13

Erin McCarty, 24, grew up playing such fare. She went to engineering school at Carnegie Mellon University, with a goal toward working in the video game industry.

January 13

"This is really a bridge," said Ragunathan Rajkumar, a computer science professor who is leading a Carnegie Mellon University automated driving research project partly financed by General Motors. "The driver is still in control. But if the driver is not doing the right thing, the technology takes over."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/science/drivers-with-hands-full-get-a-backup-the-car.html?hpw&_r=0

January 9

A decade ago, my grandfather waxed rhapsodic about my first job out of college at a big publishing house in Manhattan, excited by every detail. That is, he was excited, until we got to my paycheck, which bore a paltry number that was irreconcilable with the cost of living in New York.

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/01/dont-ask-dont-get-how-to-fix-the-gender-gap-in-salary-negotiations/267024/

January 9

A research project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh called Livehoods aims to track information from 18 million public tweets and check-ins to collect geographic and demographic data about a location and the person visiting that location, essentially to tell the story of neighborhoods of a city. These snapshots of the various areas could potentially give businesses a way of targeting their product and advertising to the right customer based on the demographics of a region.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/225436#

January 8

Carnegie Mellon University today announced as the new head of its computer science department a professor instrumental in updating the university's introductory computer science curriculum.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/cmu-names-new-computer-science-department-head-669514/

January 7

Many tech-savvy kids can operate a smartphone before they can swim or make their own meals. If the folks behind Lego Mindstorms have their way, they'll be creating robots before doing those other things, too.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/technologylive/2013/01/07/ces-2013-lego-mindstorms-ev3/1810489/ 

January 7

Fifty years ago today, Ivan Sutherland introduced the first graphical computer application: a drafting program called Sketchpad. At a time when computers were operated with punch cards and command lines — and the mouse had not yet been invented — Sutherland used a light pen to manipulate lines and shapes on a screen. With Sketchpad, you could draw perfectly straight lines, change the size of shapes without altering the proportions, and create "rubber band lines" you could bend and stretch — many of the things you can do today with programs like AutoCAD and Adobe Illustrator.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/01/grandaddy-gui/

January 3

Tech titans are vying for home-field advantage in the home, the latest battlefield for billions of dollars in revenue as consumers spend more time using technology at home.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/01/03/apple-google-microsoft-nest/1725311/

January 3

Howie Choset, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, has spent years creating mechanical snakes with names such as Uncle Sam, Betsy Ross, Pepperoni, and Monster Max that can climb up poles, swim across ponds, and burrow into tight places. The reptilian bots have as many as 75 specially constructed joints with tiny motors, and some borrow movements, like sidewinding, from desert snakes and other living creatures. Now Choset, 44, is working on versions that could be used in search and rescue after earthquakes and that slither along pipes at power plants to detect cracks and leaks that could cause accidents.