February 28, 2008
Vol. 18, No. 30
In this issue:
Chemist Jean M.J. Fréchet To Receive Carnegie Mellon's Dickson Prize
Carnegie Mellon will award the 2007 Dickson Prize in Science to
Jean M.J. Fréchet, a polymer chemist best known for his contributions in a wide range of fields including modern electronics and biotechnology. Fréchet will receive the award before giving the annual Dickson Prize Lecture at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 19 in the Mellon Institute Auditorium. His lecture, free and open to the public, is titled "Polymer Science: From Plastic Electronics to Therapeutics."
"Fréchet has made an enormous impact on organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, microelectronics and biomedical engineering," said
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, the J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences, who nominated Fréchet for the award. "Very rarely has one individual influenced so many areas of science and engineering."
In his early work, Fréchet developed chemical amplification in high resolution imaging systems, a method that enabled the production of key components in the development of the modern computer and other electronics. Today, he is conducting research into the use of photovoltaics to efficiently harvest solar energy and the use of endosomal nanoparticles to deliver gene therapy. Fréchet is the Henry Rapoport Chair of Organic Chemistry and a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
The late Pittsburgh physician
Joseph Z. Dickson and his wife,
Agnes Fisher Dickson, established the Dickson Prize in Science in 1969. Carnegie Mellon awards it annually to individuals in the United States who make outstanding contributions to science.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/dickson-prize/about-the-prize/index.html
Drama's New Season of Plays Focuses on Dichotomy of Men, Women
Elizabeth Bradley, head of the School of Drama, has announced the 2008-2009 drama season, which features plays that speak to the different ways men and women process experience throughout history and across the world. The season includes
"The Other Shore" by Gao Xinjiang;
"Into the Woods," a musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine;
"The London Cuckolds," by Edward Ravenscroft, adapted by Terry Johnson; and
"A Bite of Brecht," a collection of musical cabaret and spoken highlights from Brecht's repertoire. The performances will take place in the Philip Chosky Theater, the Helen Wayne Rauh Studio Theater, the John Wells Video Studio and various locations around campus and Pittsburgh.
For more:
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/February/feb21_0809dramaseason.shtml
Tiered Tuition Increase Set for Undergraduates in Fall 2008
At its Feb. 22 meeting, Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees approved a tiered tuition increase for incoming and current undergraduate students for the 2008 fall semester. Tuition for entering undergraduate students will be $39,150, a 6 percent increase over last year, while current students will see a tuition increase of 4 percent. For students who entered Carnegie Mellon in 2003, 2004 or 2005, tuition will be $35,780. Tuition for students who came to Carnegie Mellon in 2006 will be $37,000. For students who entered in 2007, tuition will be $38,430. Room costs for all students will increase 4.1 percent to $5,860 and board will increase 4.1 percent to $4,160.
Carnegie Mellon uses tuition to sustain and grow programs that allow it to compete for outstanding students and faculty. Tuition also supports the expansion of undergraduate education initiatives and the improvement of laboratory facilities, however, tuition falls far short of the total cost of educating a full-time student. As a result, the university engages in energetic fundraising efforts to build its endowment and funding for programs and facilities.
"When we talk with parents and students about tuition, they always note how important it is that we maintain the quality of our educational programs," said Vice President for Enrollment
William Elliott. "The increase will help us to maintain that quality and provide a positive experience that allows students to lay the foundation for future success, both professionally and personally."
As of Feb. 1, Carnegie Mellon had received 21,747 applications for the 1,360 spots in its first-year class.
Alert Now Registration on the Rise; Sign Up Today
More than 6,700 students, faculty and staff have signed up for Carnegie Mellon's Alert Now Emergency Notification Service, which sends voice and/or text messages to registered phones in the event of a campus emergency. All members of the Carnegie Mellon community are encouraged to register for the Alert Now service online at
https://my.cmu.edu/site/main/page.alert (when you click on this link, you will need to login with your username and password to access this page).
The privacy of your contact information is guaranteed. You will be contacted by the Alert Now system only if there is an incident/event that threatens public safety or during tests of the system in the spring and fall semesters. Note that the text and voice options may carry a nominal fee for recipients, depending on your cell phone carrier and cell phone plan. The recipient is responsible for these fees.
Questions regarding the Alert Now service should be sent via email to
alertnow@andrew.cmu.edu.
News Briefs
- This spring Carnegie Mellon will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Mudge House residence hall. Those who lived or worked there are asked to share stories and/or photos no later than March 7 to dchicker@andrew.cmu.edu.
- C-MITES begins its annual summer program for academically talented 3rd-8th graders on June 16. C-MITES classes provide an exciting mix of hands-on learning and social interaction. This summer students will be building robots, exploring the science behind Harry Potter's magic, working as crime scene investigators and much more. Approximately 500 students will participate in the program, which continues through July 18. The application deadline is April 4. Financial aid is available to those who qualify. For more information, call 412-268-1629 or visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmites/
Personal Mention
- Alexei Efros, assistant professor of computer science and robotics, and Eric Xing, assistant professor of machine learning, are recipients of Sloan Research Fellowships for 2008, which include a two-year, $45,000 award to support their work. Efros focuses on the intersection between computer vision and computer graphics, including the use of machine learning techniques to help computers understand the 3-D world behind 2-D images, and finding ways to use the huge amount of visual information now stored on the Web. Xing studies biological problems using statistical learning approaches and also works on theory and application of graphical models, nonparametric Bayesian analysis and semi-unsupervised learning.
- Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Ronald D. (Shawn) Blanton has been named head of the prestigious Center for Silicon System Implementation. The center focuses on all aspects of chip design from system-level architecture to the physics and modeling of complexities found in semiconductor manufacturing. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/February/feb26_blantonCSSI.shtml
- Computing Services' Assistant Director of Network Services Dan McCarriar was recently quoted in the March/April issue of EdTech magazine about Carnegie Mellon's Wireless Andrew 2.0 project, which will result in a more powerful, faster wireless network. For more on the project, visit http://www.cmu.edu/computing/news/wireless2/index.html
- Paul Roth, a database application developer for the Heinz School's Information and Web Services team and an MBA student at the Tepper School, died of cancer on Feb. 25. He was 28. Friends will be received from 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 29 at the William G. Neal Funeral Homes, Ltd., 925 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., where services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 1. Memorial donations may be made in his honor to FJC, Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative (Ewings Sarcoma), 17 Bethea Drive, Ossining, New York 10562-1620.
Calendar Highlights
- Monday, March 3: Fulbright U.S. Student Program Information Session. Program Manager Walter Jackson will explain how students can receive funding to study, research, or teach English abroad for one year through this award. 12 p.m., Peter/Wright/McKenna Rooms, UC, and 4:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, UC. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/fso
- Feb. 29 - March 9: The Regina Gouger Miller Gallery presents "Transit 2008," an exhibit featuring the diverse work of students from Carnegie Mellon and Japan's Kyoto University of Art & Design, Nagoya Zokei University of Art & Design and Tokyo Zokei University. Opening reception, 5 - 8 p.m., Feb. 29. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/February/feb26_transit2008.shtml
- Thursday, March 6: Center for the Arts in Society (CAS) Fellowship Lecture. "Breaking Ground: Art and Urban Redevelopment in Hollywood, Calif.," by CAS Fellow Matthew Reynolds. Reynolds will discuss The Hollywood Redevelopment Project (HRP), an attempt to transform this now "seedy" location into a tourist-friendly theme park designed to profit from nostalgia for the city's golden years. 4:30 p.m., Adamson Wing, Baker Hall 136A.
- For more news and events, visit http://my.cmu.edu/site/events/
