Carnegie Mellon University

The Piper

CMU Community News

Piper Logo
May 16, 2013

Personal Mention

Marios Savvides, assistant research professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and director of the CyLab Biometrics Center, will be on CBS’ “60 Minutes” at 7 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, May 19. Savvides will be discussing his work on facial recognition in his Biometrics Lab as it relates to the recent Boston Marathon bombings. He also will address his work on PBS’ “Nova” at 9 p.m. (EDT), Wednesday, May 29. CBS’ “60 Minutes” is viewed by 55 million each week. PBS’ “Nova” reaches 18 million viewers weekly.  Earlier this month, Savvides was a guest on CNN. Watch his CNN appearance.

Director of Fitness and Health Donna Morosky, a member of the Carnegie Mellon community for 38 years, has announced her retirement, effective June 30. Morosky joined CMU in 1975 as the Tartans’ head men’s and women’s swimming coach and produced several All-America performers. She held the distinction of being the first woman to serve as head coach of a men’s NCAA Division III swimming team. In 1986 she joined the Division of Student Affairs as a health educator before returning to the Department of Athletics in 1989 to build its fitness and health programs. Morosky initiated the department’s group exercise program and fitness challenges and has played an instrumental role in raising awareness of and participation in the many fitness, recreation and health programs and activities now offered by the university. In 2005, Morosky and her colleague Pattye Stragar won the Andy Award in the Culture category.

Miller Gallery Director and Curator Astria Suparak served as a juror for the Alpert Award in the Arts "given to those who take aesthetic, intellectual and political risks, and challenge worn-out conventions." Five exceptional mid-career artists in dance, film/video, music, theatre and visual arts received prizes of $75,000 each. Read more about the awards and recipients.

Susie Cribbs, communications manager in the Data Storage Systems Center and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, will be leaving CMU to become manager of Web communications for Duquesne University's Office of Public Affairs. Cribbs, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in professional writing at CMU, was formerly the associate director of Internal Communications at Carnegie Mellon, and is an active volunteer for CMU's Kiltie Band. Her last day on campus will be Friday, May 17.

Obituary: Stan Charap

Stan Charap, an emeriti professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), passed away earlier this month. Charap joined ECE in 1968 and was a founding member of the Magnetics Technology Center, which was the forerunner of the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC). He served as an associate director of the DSSC until his retirement in 1996.
 
Charap was a former president of the IEEE Magnetics Society and a recipient of its Achievement Award. He also earned the Technical Achievement Award from the National Storage Industry Consortium. In 2000, Charap was awarded the IEEE Millennium and College of Engineering's Outstanding Research Award.