April 24, 2008
Vol. 18, No. 38
In this issue:
Carnegie Mellon Establishes McWilliams Cosmology Center
Bruce and Astrid McWilliams have donated more than $5 million to the university, including funding toward a new Cosmology Center bearing their name in the Mellon College of Science. Researchers at the Bruce and Astrid McWilliams Center for Cosmology will strive to unravel the mysteries of the dark part of the universe through multidisciplinary efforts and various approaches in astrophysics, particle physics, computer science and statistics.
A member of Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees, Bruce McWilliams earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in physics at Carnegie Mellon. He is chairman and CEO of Tessera Technologies, the world's leading provider of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry. He and his wife, Astrid, are dedicated supporters of science education in public schools and at Carnegie Mellon. The center will be housed in Wean Hall.
For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april22_cosmologycenter.shtml
Hollinger Directs New Program To Help Severely Injured Troops
Jeffrey Hollinger will receive $2.1 million over the next five years to direct the Craniofacial Program at Carnegie Mellon, one of five research programs in the Rutgers University-led Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The program will enable clinical treatments to be developed for U.S. troops and support personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, who incurred severe combat injuries to the face and jaws.
"This is a profoundly essential and necessary mission that will address the compelling need to produce regenerative therapies for our wounded service members," said Hollinger, a professor of biomedical engineering and biological sciences in the colleges of engineering and sciences, respectively, and the director of Carnegie Mellon's Bone Tissue Engineering Center. The funding also will enable Hollinger and
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, the J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences, to support a postdoctoral student.
Newell Washburn, an assistant professor in the departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, is part of a second consortium out of Wake Forest University. Washburn will focus on developing advanced therapies to promote scarless wound-healing.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april17_hollinger.shtml
Six To Receive Honorary Degrees at Commencement
In addition to giving the keynote address at this year's commencement, former U.S. Vice President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Al Gore will be among six honorary degree recipients. Gore, who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, will be joined by:
Norman R. Augustine (Doctor of Public Policy), former president and CEO of Martin-Marietta and Lockheed Martin, and chair of the National Academies Committee that produced the influential report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," which spoke about ensuring American competitiveness through science, engineering and education; Amazon.com CEO and founder
Jeff Bezos (Doctor of Science and Technology); famed artist and sculptor
Elizabeth Catlett (Doctor of Fine Arts); Carnegie Mellon alumnus
Suh Nam Pyo (Doctor of Science and Technology), president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; and scientist and educator
Patrick Colonel Suppes (Doctor of Science and Technology), the Lucie Stern Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Stanford University, where he was director of the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences. Bezos will also be the guest speaker at diploma ceremonies for the Tepper School of Business and the School of Computer Science.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april21_commencement.shtml
H&SS To Offer New Major in Global Politics Beginning Next Fall
In order to prepare students to succeed in an increasingly international workforce and make contributions as citizens of a global society, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS) will be offering two new programs — one in global politics and another in innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development (IEE) — beginning next fall. Students will be able to select global politics as a primary major, an additional major or a minor, while the IEE course of study is available as a minor. Both programs are initiatives of the Global and International Relations Program, which is directed by
Kiron Skinner, an associate professor in Carnegie Mellon's Department of Social and Decision Sciences (SDS).
The global politics program will give students a broad understanding of the complex, interdependent connections among politics, cultures, markets and technology around the world. The interdisciplinary IEE minor was created to provide students with the opportunity to pursue academic interests in entrepreneurship, innovation management and economic development. The new programs are available to all students.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april22_globalpolitics.shtml
Architecture Professor, Student Create Robot Blocks for Kids
Architecture Professor
Mark Gross and Ph.D. candidate
Eric Schweikardt have designed "roBlocks," small, magnetic robot-blocks that children can plug together to form complex robots. The 19 roBlocks comprise four categories: sensor, actuator, logic and utility. The five sensor blocks detect light, sound, touch, motion and distance. The actuator blocks respond to the stimuli the sensor blocks detect by creating motion, light or sound. The five logic blocks — And, Or, Not, Nand and Xor — allow children to refine the manner in which their robots respond to stimuli. Utility blocks provide power.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/March/march28_roblocks.shtml
News Briefs
- In recognition of May being Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Student Health Services will hold a Dermatological Screening from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Thursday, May. 8. To schedule an appointment with the dermatologist, please call 412-268-2157 and press "appointment advice" to schedule your visit.
- For the second time in as many years, art students are displaying their work on Pittsburgh-area billboards as a result of a collaboration between the School of Art and Lamar Outdoor Advertising. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april8_billboards.shtml
Personal Mention
- Creative Writing Professor Terrance Hayes will be the subject of an upcoming Poet Profile on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. The story is tentatively slated to run Friday, April 25. Check your local listings.
- Egon Balas, University Professor of Industrial Administration and Applied Mathematics and the Thomas Lord Professor of Operations Research at the Tepper School of Business, recently received an honorary doctorate at the University of Liege, in Liege, Belgium.
- Engineering and Public Policy Professor Jon Peha testified at an April 17 FCC hearing at Stanford University. He recommended that Comcast be investigated for false advertising because they blocked peer-to-peer traffic on their network and may have deliberately misinformed their customers about the practice. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april17_pehatestifies.shtml
- Researchers Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews argue in an upcoming article in the prestigious Environmental Science & Technology journal that it is dietary choice, not food miles — the distance that food travels from farm to plate — which most determines a household's food-related climate impacts. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april17_foodmiles.shtml
- German Professor Stephen Brockmann has been elected vice president of the German Studies Association for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2009. His term as VP will be followed by a two-year term as president.
Calendar Highlights
- Friday, April 25: Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Research Symposium. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Grand Room, 3rd Floor, Posner Hall.
- Monday, April 28: The Authors' Rights and Wrongs Series presents a panel discussion on "Open Access in Chemistry" with professors David Yaron, Jay Apt, DavidDzombak and Hyung Kim. 4:30 - 6 p.m., Connan Room, University Center. Webcast: http://www.library.cmu.edu/AuthorsRights.html
- Monday, April 28: Strategic Plan Town Hall Meeting with a focus on finance and infrastructure. 6 - 8 p.m., Rangos 3, University Center. Questions? Contact MichaelMurphy at mm1v@andrew.cmu.edu.
- Friday, May 2: The Adamson Visiting Writer Series presents novelist Russell Banks. Following the talk, the English Department will present its annual Adamson Awards to honor student writing. 8 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker Hall 136A. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/April/april17_russellbanks.shtml
- Monday, May 5: Strategic Plan Town Hall Meeting with a general focus. 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Danforth Lounge, University Center. Questions? Contact Michael Murphy at mm1v@andrew.cmu.edu.
- For more news and events, visit http://my.cmu.edu/site/events/
