March 1, 2007
Vol. 17, No. 31
In this issue:
Gender-Neutral Pilot Housing Program Planned for 2007-08
Carnegie Mellon will offer gender-neutral housing to students on a limited basis as part of a pilot program during the 2007-08 school year. During the March room draw, students can preference one or more roommates of either gender to live with in the Shady Oak Apartments on Clyde Street in Oakland. First-year students will be excluded from the program. Tim Michael, assistant vice president for campus services, said students, particularly groups of friends, siblings and members of the GLBT community, have expressed interest in the gender-neutral option for the last few years. He noted that gender-neutral housing is offered at more than 30 colleges and universities in the U.S., including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, the University of California at Berkeley and The Ohio State University.
Controlling Emissions From Livestock Could Reduce Health Risks
Reducing barnyard emissions can help reduce the harmful effects of tiny atmospheric air particles that can cause severe asthma in children, and lung cancer and heart attacks in some adults. Carnegie Mellon researcher Peter J. Adams argues that improved control of ammonia emissions from barnyards is more economical and efficient than trying to control the effects of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution from some industrial plants. Adams' research was featured in the 2007 winter edition of Environmental Science & Technology.
Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/February/feb26_ammonia.shtml/
Carnegie Mellon Software Powers NASA’s Robotic Sub
Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed software that is guiding NASA's underwater robot as part of the Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX) mission. Shaped like a flattened orange, the autonomous underwater vehicle maneuvered untethered within La Pilita, a 115-meter-deep sinkhole, during tests this month in Mexico. The mission was a prelude to its effort to probe the mysterious nether reaches of the world's deepest sinkhole, the more than 282-meter deep El Zacaton in the Mexican state of Tamalipas. The autonomous navigation and mapping software was developed by a team of university researchers led by
David Wettergreen, associate research professor in the Robotics Institute.
Further information:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/February/feb28_depthx.shtml/
University’s Employee Orientation Program Praised
The Human Resources Department has been named a finalist in the People Do Matter Awards, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association, for its new employee orientation program that uses a CD and online resource to help introduce new faculty and staff. The orientation team includes
Karen Beaudway,
Lori Bell,
Gemma Green,
Gloria Gruber,
Ron Placone and
Everett Tademy from Human Resources, and
Charles Palmer from the Entertainment Technology Center. The Carnegie Mellon orientation program includes a semi-annual luncheon for new employees to meet informally with other university newcomers, and guidance for supervisors on welcoming new hires. Finalists will be recognized and an overall winner named at an awards dinner April 11 at the Sheraton Station Square.
News Briefs
Lee Gutkind, professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh, is the author of the new book "Almost Human--Making Robots Think," a behind-the-scenes look at the people and projects inside the Robotics Institute (RI). The book features four Carnegie Mellon faculty members, including Computer Science Professor
Manuela Veloso, Associate Research Professor
David Wettergreen, Robotics Professor
William "Red" Whittaker and Biological Sciences Professor
Alan Waggoner, as well as NASA scientist
Nathalie Cabrol and dozens of other RI faculty, students and staff. Information:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/February/feb22_gutkind.shtml/
Personal Mention
- Naum Kats, adjunct professor of Modern Languages, will lead 13 students on a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, March 7 - 18. The students will visit the city's major historic and cultural attractions, including the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, Russian Museum and presidential palace. The trip is part of Kats' freshman seminar course, "Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization," and is sponsored by Student Affairs, the H&SS Dean's Office, and Modern Languages and History.
- Elaine A. King, professor of art history/theory, is the invited guest curator for the mid-career exhibition, "Artist Interrupted: Selected Works by Maria Mater O' Neill, from Post to After 1983 - 2006," at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. The exhibition will be on view until Sunday, April 22. King invited fifth year architecture student Andrew Caruso to design an innovative installation for this exhibition that reflects a new attitude toward displaying a large body of work by a single artist.
- Zach Harris, a senior creative writing major, is one of 10 students nationwide selected to attend this summer's Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets. Zach is the third Carnegie Mellon student to attend the seminar in the past five years. He also recently won honorable mention in the poetry category in the Atlantic Monthly's writing contest.
- Eunice Keem, a School of Music graduate student, has been chosen to participate in the upcoming Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in Moscow this June.
- The Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania has announced the winners of the 2007 Collegiate Level Piano Competition. School of Music students have received the top three awards. First prize: Hyemin Kang, second year graduate student of Hanna Li, associate professor of piano and piano pedagogy. Second prize: Eric Clark, senior student of Enrique Graf, artist lecturer in piano. Honorable mention: Desta Hailu, junior student of Enrique Graf.
- Stephen Lee, professor of architecture and LEED™ accredited professional research faculty for the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics has been awarded the "Shades of Green Leadership Award" given by the Green Building Alliance. The award highlights the efforts of distinctive persons in Western Pennsylvania who have contributed to the region's environmental transformation through green leadership within the built environment.
- Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Mohammad F. Islam has received the National Science Foundation's most prestigious honor for new faculty members, the Faculty Early Career Development Award. Islam will receive a five-year, $500,000 grant to investigate how building blocks like atoms and molecules are organized in certain crystals and alloys. Further information: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/February/feb28_career.shtml/
- Ian Ingram and David Tinapple, MFA candidates in the School of Art, have been selected for the "NewInSight" exhibition during "ArtChicago," April 26 - 30. The exhibition will feature work from students from the top ten MFA programs in the country. Lectures and panel discussions will also be part of the five-day event. Further information: http://www.artchicago.com/
Calendar Highlights
- Friday, March 2: Center for AfricanAmerican Urban Studies and the Economy Lecture Series. "Up South: A Social Movement Perspective on the Rise of Black Power in the Urban North." Matthew Countryman, associate professor of history and American culture at the University of Michigan. Refreshments: 4:30 p.m.; lecture and discussion: 5 - 6:30 p.m., Singleton Room, Roberts Hall
- Monday, March 5: Environmental Lecture Series. "Environmental Challenges to Human Fertility: Three Case Studies." Shanna Helen Swan, professor, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester. 4:30 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker Hall 136A.
- March 8 - 9: "TK60," a symposium celebrating the 60th birthday of world-renowned robotics and computer vision expert Takeo Kanade, the U.A. and Helen Whitaker University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics. The list of speakers and schedules is posted at http://www.ri.cmu.edu/events/tk60/
- March 9 - 16: Spring Break. Classes resume Monday, March 19.
- Through March 30: Miller Gallery Exhibit. "Tides," an exhibition of new work from Northern Ireland's most innovative artists. See: http://millergallery.cfa.cmu.edu/.
