June 7, 2007
Vol. 17, No. 45
In this issue:
Robotic Sub Finds Bottom of World's Deepest Sinkhole
A robotic vehicle designed for underwater exploration plunged repeatedly into the depths of Mexico's mysterious El Zacatón sinkhole in late May, finding its previously undiscovered bottom 318 meters below the surface and generating a sonar map of its inner dimensions.The vehicle employed autonomous navigation and mapping systems developed by Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, http://www.ri.cmu.edu/ .
"We're very pleased about the performance of the DEPTHX system," said David Wettergreen, an associate research professor who headed Carnegie Mellon's contingent of the research team. "We hit our technical objectives in creating a system that could explore and map autonomously."
In addition to Wettergreen, the Carnegie Mellon team included graduate student Nathaniel Fairfield, undergraduate David Stone, senior research programmer Dominic Jonak and project scientists George Kantor and Peter Coppin.
Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/May/may31_depthx.shtml
South Craig Street Buildings are Now Officially "Green"
Carnegie Mellon buildings at 300 and 407 S. Craig Street have received Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for their energy efficiency, sustainability and use of green design principles during recent renovation projects. Both structures include environmentally friendly features such as paint, sealants and adhesives that produce limited emissions of volatile organic compounds; certified, sustainable wood for interior doors; carpeting made from recycled materials; air conditioning systems that do not use reheat coils; carbon dioxide monitors to regulate fresh air; chlorofluorocarbon-free refrigerants for the air conditioning and water cooler systems; and bicycle racks for employees who wish to bike to work.
The buildings join four other university structures that have received LEED certification, giving Carnegie Mellon six of the 22 "green" buildings in Allegheny County. The New House and Henderson House residence halls were awarded silver designation in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The Posner Center was certified in 2005 and the Collaborative Innovation Center received a Core & Shell Gold citation in 2006.
Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/May/may31_leed.shtml
Andy Award Nominations Due July 9
Nominations are being accepted for the 2007 Andy Awards, the university-wide recognition program that honors individual staff members and/or teams whose outstanding dedication and performance have had a significant impact on the university. Awards are given in five categories: dedication, innovation, commitment to students, citizenship and culture. This year the commitment to students category replaces enthusiasm. The new award honors those who go above and beyond their job description to understand and meet the immediate as well as underlying needs of our students.
The deadline for nominations is July 9. Awards are open to all non-faculty university employees. Nomination forms and further information are available at http://www.cmu.edu/andyawards/. The 2007 Andy Award ceremony will be held at noon, Sept. 21 in McConomy Auditorium.
News Briefs
- The new academic-year calendars are available in the Lower Level Bookstore for $1.75.
- Carnegie Mellon's Institute for the Management of Creative Enterprises (IMCE) won a "Work of Art" award from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council for their collaborative work with the Union Project. They won the award for researching cooperative ceramics studios around the country and creating a credible, well-informed business model for Union Project Potters, the organization's social enterprise venture. This new model, which enables the Union Project to reach at-risk youth in a sustainable way, drew national attention with an article in Ceramics Monthly, and exemplifies "best practices" for similar ventures nationwide. Jerry Coltin, director of the Master of Arts Management and the Master of Entertainment Industry Management programs, accepted the award May 24 at the awards ceremony in the New Hazlett Theater on the Northside.
- The Presidential Review Committee's report recommending the reappointment of President Jared L. Cohon is available on the Faculty Senate Web site at http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/org/fac-senate/Docs.html. As previously reported, the Board of Trustees has appointed President Cohon to a third five-year term.
- A recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review featured two TechBridgeWorld V-Unit projects focused on technology for vision and hearing impaired individuals. The article resulted from the final project presentations conducted by Robotics Institute graduate students who developed "BlindAid: Navigational Assistance for the Visually Impaired" and "DeSIGN: An Intelligent Tutor for American Sign Language," conducted in collaboration with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. The article is available at:http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_505261.html
Personal Mention
- Rob Rutenbar, the Stephen Jatras Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Circuit and Systems Industrial Pioneer Award for his groundbreaking contributions in the development of electronic design automation tools for synthesis of analog-mixed integrated circuits for the semiconductor industry. Analog circuits are critical in applications ranging from high definition televisions to cell phones.
- Jim Morris, dean of Carnegie Mellon West, has received a Golden Quill Award from The Press Club of Western Pa. for his article "Google Knows How To Flirt" that appeared in "The Pittsburgh Quarterly."
- David Dzombak, the Walter J. Blenko Sr. Professor of Environmental Engineering, has been appointed the new faculty director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research (SEER). He succeeds founding SEER Director Chris Hendrickson, the Duquesne Light Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and former head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Dzombak will work with SEER Executive Director Deb Lange.
- Dan Jenkins has been named associate director for the Office of Corporate Relations. He comes to Carnegie Mellon from Cornell University, where he served in various fund-raising, advising and development roles since 1987. Jenkins will advance the university's commitment to building strategic partnerships with industry and technology. He earned his bachelor's degree in social relations from Cornell, where he recently designed the Master of Engineering Scholars Award Program.
- Brittany McCandless, a senior majoring in professional writing and creative writing, has received a $1,500 scholarship from the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh. She was an academic intern in the spring at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This summer, she will be doing an internship at ABC World News in New York City, funded in part through a Marion Mulligan Sutton Internship award.
- George Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology, lectured recently to a packed house at the Tinbergen Institute in the Netherlands. Loewenstein taught a mini-course there on behavioral economics from May 23 to 25.
- Judy Hallinen, director of the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach, has been appointed Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Outreach. She has been coordinating outreach activities at Carnegie Mellon since 1988, and in her current role supports numerous university outreach efforts. She has also conducted professional development programs for teachers, including the Research Experiences for Teachers, funded by the National Science Foundation.
- Maya Nigrosh of Computing Services received her master's degree in Lighting Design at commencement last month. The title of her thesis was "The Freaks of the Side Show."
Calendar Highlights
- June 7 - 8: Workshop on the Economics of Information Security. Experts will discuss what information security is worth to individuals and companies. Hosted by the Heinz School and Carnegie Mellon CyLab, and supported by Dartmouth University's Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection and Microsoft. Further information: http://weis2007.econinfosec.org/
- June 8 - July 13: Regina Gouger Miller Gallery Art Exhibit. "Glassnost," featuring the work of artists Patricia Bellan-Gillen, Ron Desmett, Hilary Harp and Suzie Silver, Andrew Johnson, Carol Kumata, Kathleen Mulcahy and Martin Prekop. Further information: http://millergallery.cfa.cmu.edu/inviteglassnost.htm
- Sunday, June 10: U.S. Senator Bob Casey will be the featured speaker at town hall meeting at 4 p.m. in McConomy Auditorium, University Center. Casey will discuss U.S.-India relations, immigration and his first six months in office. The meeting will include a Q&A session. To register online, go to
http://alumni.cmu.edu/townhall.htm. Email questions to kmcquoid@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-3293.
