News Briefs
Hear Ideas Worth Spreading Sunday
TEDxCMU, an annual conference at Carnegie Mellon, gives some of the world’s most innovative and daring thinkers the chance to express ideas that might possibly change the world.
This year’s fourth annual conference will be held this Sunday, March 3 in McConomy Auditorium. Each speaker has up to 15 minutes to present their idea and highlight their creativity and passion. The conference challenges artists, scientists, educators and students to present “ideas worth spreading.”
Speakers this year include Rebecca Alford, a CMU freshman with a passion for medical research and computer science; Stephen Tonti, president of Carnegie Mellon’s Film Club, who is currently working on creating a collective of Film Enthusiasts; The Originals, an all-male a cappella group from CMU; Chinmayi Bhavanishankar, a first year MBA candidate at Tepper who is a trained South Indian Classical dancer; Steven Das, a CMU electrical and computer engineering alumnus who is focused on seasteading, a movement to build floating ocean-based cities; Jenn Lim, CEO of Delivering Happiness, a company dedicated to promoting happiness in everyday lives; and Rodrigo Arboleda, CEO of One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit organization that delivered nearly three million low-cost laptops and Internet connections to children in developing countries.
For more information, including the full list of speakers, visit: http://tedxcmu.com/.
Buggy Freeroll Practices Begin Saturday, March 2
Spring Buggy freeroll practices will start Saturday, March 2 (weather permitting). Practices take place on Saturdays (6 - 8:50 a.m.) and Sundays (6 - 9 a.m.) on Tech Street, Frew Street and Schenley Drive (weather permitting). During these times, vehicles will not be able to access or park on these roads. The Sweepstakes Committee will work with Pittsburgh Police Officers to tow any vehicles parked on the above roads during practice times. Please contact the Sweepstakes Committee at buggy@andrew.cmu.edu with any issues or concerns.
The practice dates are as follows (weather permitting):
March: 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31
April: 6, 7, 13, 14
Save the Dates
Annual Push Practice Begins. Beginning Sunday, March 17, there will be buggy practices occurring every Sunday through Thursday from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Tech Street and Frew Street. The purpose of these practices is for Buggy Pushers to practice pushing the buggies up Tech Street and along Frew Street. There is no freeroll down Schenley Drive.
Spring Carnival – Buggy Races: April 19 & 20 (Rain Date: April 21)
Margaret Morrison, Tech Street, Schenley Drive, Frew Street, Panther Hollow Bridge, & East & West Circuit Road will be closed from 5 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Students Invited To Participate in ID Card Redesign Contest
The HUB is asking for student input and designs for the new look of the CMU ID Card by holding a “CM-yoU ID Card Design Contest.” This summer, the campus will transition to SMART cards, which will offer upgraded technology for access to Port Authority transit.
Eligible design submissions will be evaluated by a design review board. The top three designs chosen by the board will be revealed and the CMU community will be encouraged to vote for their favorite design.
Participants should submit their designs to smartcards@andrew.cmu.edu no later than March 31. Design specifications for the contest can be found at www.cmu.edu/idplus/contest.html.
The winning design will be announced May 1.
ETC Co-Sponsors Contest To Create New Mobile Health Care Technologies
If you’re tech-savvy and think you have an idea for the next groundbreaking portable medical device, you’re in luck.Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) is partnering with the U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command's (USAMRMC) Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and Parallax Inc. to sponsor the 2013 National microMedic contest, an opportunity for inventors and students to create technical innovations using microcontrollers and sensors in the medical industry. More than $25,000 in prize money will be awarded.
Participants are encouraged to create medical applications and prototypes for use in the health care industry, medical simulation training and the battlefield. More than 100 free contest kits will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants. The kit contains microcontrollers, sensors, LED displays, infrared emitters, a blood pressure cuff and heart rate monitor among other components.
Scott Stevens, teaching professor, said the contest is just one aspect of the ETC’s partnership with the TATRC. Over the last year, ETC students have created three exhibits on advanced implant and prosthetic technology for the National Museum of Health and Medicine. “These exhibits attempt to convey the unusual feeling of learning a ‘new’ sense,” Stevens said. Museum visitors will learn what it’s like to hear with a cochlear implant, see with a retinal implant, and to move a leg with thought alone. Read more about the projects at http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/tatrc/.
The microMedic contest is open to people of all ages and the deadline for entries is July 31.
More than $25,000 in awards will be presented to 24 winners — 14 from the education category and 10 from the public sector. The award ceremony will be held in September at TATRC’s Prototyping, Integration & Testing Lab at Fort Detrick, Md.
For more information on the contest, visit http://www.Parallax.com/micormedic.
Men’s Indoor Track Team Wins First UAA Title
The Carnegie Mellon men's track and field team dominated the competition to win its first University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Team Championship this past weekend at Case Western Reserve University.
The Tartans’ 52-point margin of victory was paced by three individual UAA titles and the 1,600-meter relay crown. Junior Zachary Erra-Hernandez became a two-time UAA champion in the shot put, winning the event with a mark of 15.48 meters. In the 55-meter hurdles, senior Daniel Ching crossed the finish line in a career-best time of 7.74 seconds to claim the UAA title. Sophomore Thomas Vandenberg was the third Tartan to record a UAA title on Sunday when he placed first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.89.
Junior Mike Standish, sophomore Douglas O'Connell, sophomore Thomas Vandenberg and senior Noel Titus won the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:23.68.
Read the full story.
C-MITES Weekend Workshops To Begin
Registration is open for the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students (C-MITES) Weekend Workshops. The workshops — half day and full day classes — will be held in March, April and May for students in grades K-10. Classes include Bubbleology, Write Your Own Web Page and Guts of the Matter: Dissection. Classes are offered at Carnegie Mellon, Winchester Thurston North in Allison Park and in two locations near Philadelphia.
Visit http://www.cmu.edu/cmites/weekend_workshops.html for more information or to register online. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and financial aid is available.
C-MITES has offered challenging and fun classes for academically talented students for 20 years. For more information, visit www.cmites.org or call the C-MITES office at 412-268-1629 ext. 1.
Children's School Hosts Family Water Festival
Carnegie Mellon's Children's School is hosting a Family Wonders of Water Festival for its families from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., today (Thursday, Feb. 28). Participants will learn about water filtration, explore the various properties of water through water play, and participate in water experiments and water art. Attendees will discover how water is necessary to keep our bodies clean and healthy.
You can help those who need water by donating to the school's "Build a Well" project through WaterAid.org at http://WaterAid.org. Donors will be entered into a raffle for two tickets to a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. The evening will end with a tour of the CMU pool complete with swimming and diving demonstrations by the CMU Swim Team and a family swim from 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Roberts Road To Close for Scott Hall Utility Work
Campus Design and Facilities Development (CDFD) is scheduling two separate shutdowns of Roberts Drive for the last week of February and two weeks in mid-March to accommodate utility work for Scott Hall. Roberts Drive will be closed at the top near Scaife Hall and at the bottom at the west end of Wean Hall by the FMS pedestrian bridge. During these times, there will be no thru traffic or access to the four parking spaces at the lower Hamerschlag lot adjacent to the nitrogen tank.
Here are the specifics:
- Underground utility work will has begun and will run thru March 1, closing vehicle and pedestrian access to Roberts Drive from Scaife Hall to Wean Hall.
- Roberts Drive will reopen from March 4 to March 11.
- From March 11 thru March 22 Roberts Drive will be closed to complete this phase of underground utility work. There will be no vehicle and pedestrian access to Roberts Drive from Scaife Hall to Wean Hall.
- Access to the Roberts Hall loading dock will be maintained.
- Roberts Drive will not be open on weekends.
- Pedestrian access from Wean/FMS bridge to Roberts Hall and Hamerschlag Hall will not be permitted during the above road closures.
Additional information can be found at http://www.cmu.edu/cdfd/NBET/current-progress.html
Credit Union Offers Special Rate
Carnegie Mellon’s Credit Union is offering a loan special through March 31. Take advantage of the promotional fixed rate of 7.50% APR and pay off those higher interest rate credit cards. Borrow up to $10,000 for a maximum term of 48 months.
Loan Amount / Maximum Term:
$2,500-$5,000 / 36 Months
$5,001-$10,000 / 48 Months
Save a Life: AED Training Classes Scheduled
Two AED training classes have been scheduled for those who have never had the training or for those whose certifications have expired or are about to expire. The classes are:
- March 15, 10 a.m., Rangos 1, University Center
- April 12, 10 a.m., Dowd Room, University Center
To register, go to http://www.cmu.edu/ehs and click on the Training tab at the top of the page, then go to AED Training. The link to the registration page is at the end of the course description. The classes are open to all students, faculty and staff. Class sizes are limited, so register early.