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8 1/2 x 11 Newsletter - June 26, 2008
June 26, 2008
Vol. 18, No. 47

In this issue:

National Transplant Games Come to Campus in July

Carnegie Mellon will play host to athletic competitions in swimming, racquetball and track and field for the 2008 U.S. Transplant Games, July 11 - 14. More than 2,000 athletes, who have received a life-saving organ transplant of some type, will compete in 12 Olympic-style athletic competitions at 11 venues in the Pittsburgh area, July 11-16. Presented by the National Kidney Foundation since 1990, the games draw participants from all over the country who are organized into 50 state teams.

Carnegie Mellon is the venue for three of the 12 competitions. Swimming will be held in the University Center pool from noon to 4 p.m., Friday, July 11, 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 12, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 13. Racquetball will be held at the University Center courts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 13. Track and field competition in Gesling Stadium is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, July 14.

Conference and Event Services is the site coordinator for the events at Carnegie Mellon. For more on the games, visit: http://www.kidney.org/news/tgames/index.cfm

Robot250 Features Carnegie Mellon Creations

Robots with ties to Carnegie Mellon will be featured in Robot250, a citywide program celebrating the art and technology of robotics conceived by Associate Robotics Professor Illah Nourbakhsh and College of Fine Arts graduate Carl DiSalvo. The program was developed in conjunction with Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. Eleven huge robotic installations, called "BigBots," will be on display at major cultural locations around the city during a two-week festival, July 11 - 27.

Robots with a Carnegie Mellon connection include "You're #1," a gigantic foam hand designed by Robotics Institute (RI) senior research associate Ian Ingram, which will be mounted atop the Andy Warhol Museum. Art student Jennifer Gooch's work will be on display on Schenley Park's Flagstaff Hill. Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Osman Khan's creation will be on the lawn of the Phipps Conservatory. RI Project Scientist Garth Zeglin's work will be on display in the Carnegie Library, and Art Professor Golan Levin's robot will be shown at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

In addition to the BigBots, the festival will also feature smaller robots built by some of the nearly 500 participants who attended the Robot250 workshops during the past year. An invitation-only kickoff event for Robot 250 will be held Thursday, July 10 at the Purnell Center for the Arts. More: http://www.robot250.org

Andy Award Nominations Due July 2

Nominations for the 2008 Andy Awards are due no later than Wednesday, July 2. The university-wide recognition program 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. Along with the nomination, two letters of support are required to be considered by the review committee. The 2008 Andy Award ceremony will be held at noon, Sept. 12 in McConomy Auditorium. For nomination forms and more information, visit: http://www.cmu.edu/andyawards

News Briefs

  • The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) is joining with Carnegie Mellon's Information Technology Services Qualification Center (ITSqc) to expand research in the field of outsourcing and promote industry standards focused on quality developed at the university. The ITSqc will work closely with the association to educate professionals about the latest trends, best practices and innovation impacting outsourcing. IAOP will join the ITSqc Research Consortium, Carnegie Mellon's multidisciplinary group that address the needs of IT-enabled service providers and their clients. "We are looking forward to collaborating with the IAOP," said ITSqc Director Jane Siegel. "It will enable us to work with leaders who are building the sourcing profession and to expand our complementary efforts around the globe."
  • Environmental Health and Safety will hold two AED/CPR training classes in July. They are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 16, and 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 30. Each class is limited to 20 participants. For more information, call 412-268-8182 or visit http://www.cmu.edu/ehs and follow the training links.
  • Davis Vision will be sending new member ID cards to participants at the end of June or early July. The new cards use a unique member ID, rather than social security numbers, to better protect members' information. Your coverage will be unaffected by the new cards. Please discard your old cards when the new ones arrive.

Personal Mention

  • Don Marinelli, Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) executive producer, was a panelist at the Games in Education Summit, June 10 - 11, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Marinelli was on a panel titled "Professional/Graduate Programs: What Works, What Doesn't."
  • The ETC student-pitched animated short, "Superhero Training Center", was selected as a finalist in the UFVA (University Film and Video Association) NextFrame International Student film festival. The project was the work of students Ken-Yu Chou, Michelle Hwang, Yun-ling Lee, Si Yang Ng and Priscilla Tang. Internationally recognized as the world's premiere touring festival for showcasing student work, NextFrame is run entirely for and by student filmmakers at Temple University's Film & Media Arts Department.
  • The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry has named arts administrator and media education consultant Teresa Foley to head the Pittsburgh Creativity Project. Foley will lead the project's efforts to research and execute new initiatives supporting the local artistic community through funding and development. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/June/june17_teresafoley.shtml
  • Jay Devine has been named associate dean for Undergraduate Studies for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS). In this role, which combines several of his current responsibilities with additional duties related to the undergraduate academic experience in H&SS, he will oversee the college's newly created Office of Undergraduate Studies, along with H&SS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Kristina Straub. Devine previously served as an associate dean and director of the H&SS Academic Advisory Center.
  • Carnegie Mellon student Maxwell Hutchinson came in second in undergraduate research for his work with solenoids in the National Science Foundation's TeraGrid Student Research competition. Hutchinson, a student programmer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, expressed interest in creating "gateways" — also called portals — to help simplify the process of research with high-performance computing. For more: http://www.teragrid.org
  • FedEx Kinko's has appointed Debbie Kearney manager of the on-campus store located in the University Center - Lower Level. Kearney has more than 18 years of experience and a wealth of knowledge in the printing and sign and banner areas. All new orders will receive an additional 5 percent discount through July 31. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/kinkos
  • Ryan Wolfe, director of financial operations at Carnegie Mellon since 2006, has been appointed director of Campus Services, effective Aug. 1. Wolfe will oversee Conference and Event Services, Copy Centers, Parking and Transportation Services, Photography and Graphic Services, Postal Services, Printing and Mailing Services, and University Stores. "Ryan's knowledge of Carnegie Mellon, background in financial operations, and customer service orientation make him the perfect choice to support the ongoing initiatives of Campus Services. In this senior role, he will serve the new Campus Affairs group with great distinction," said MichaelMurphy, who this past May was named vice president for Campus Affairs, effective July 1. Wolfe received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Pitt's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

Calendar Highlights