Carnegie Mellon University

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CMU Community News

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August 14, 2014

News Briefs

Global Learning Council Meeting on Campus, Sept. 4-5

The inaugural meeting of the Global Learning Council will take place at CMU Sept. 4-5, and the CMU community is welcome to attend all open sessions at this event. The GLC convenes leaders from the global academic, industry and for-profit sectors to develop standards, ethics, and protocols that promote collaboration and scale-up best practices for deploying technology-enhanced learning.

Scheduled speakers include Tom Kalil of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy; Joan Ferrini-Mundy of the National Science Foundation, and Jim Shelton, of the U.S. Department of Education. Additional panels will discuss ensuring stronger learning outcomes using learning science, issues in using learning data, and K-12 and college readiness. Learn more.

Make Your Office Certifiably Green

Sign-up begins Sept. 2 for the Scotty Goes Green Office Certificate Program, which aims to engage faculty and staff in an office make-over program that promotes environmental practices by reducing your office's environmental footprint.

Participants can choose to meet one of three levels of environmental-friendliness — bronze, silver or gold. 
 
The goals of the program are to:

  • Engage CMU faculty and staff in activities that will help to make CMU a leader in campus sustainability;
  • Recognize and reward leadership in sustainability;
  • Educate participants about how and why to take action;
  • Support the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan;
  • Further integrate sustainability into campus culture;
  • Conserve water, save energy, minimize waste and save money; and
  • Promote campus policies that support sustainability.

More details about the Scotty Goes Green program will be available soon at http://www.cmu.edu/environment/.

For more information contact Barb Kviz at bk11@cmu.edu or 412-268-7858.

Join the Carnegie Mellon Credit Union

The Carnegie Mellon Federal Credit Union is offering low rates on new and used vehicles as well as personal loans. The rates are as follows:

  • New vehicles as low as 2.25 percent for 36, 48 or 60 months;
  • New Vehicles as low as 2.75 percent for 72 months;
  • Used Vehicles 2007 thru 2014 as low as 2.99 percent; 
  • Used vehicles as low as 3.5 percent for 72 months;
  • Personal loans as low as 7.99 percent.

Learn more about the Carnegie Mellon Federal Credit Union at http://www.cmufcu.org/ or call 412-268-2905.

Tartans Offer Private Swimming Lessons

Carnegie Mellon’s intercollegiate swimming and diving team is offering private, one-on-one, 30-minute swimming lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced swimmers on Sept. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11. Lesson times are 4:30 – 5 p.m., 5 – 5:30 p.m., 5:30 – 6 p.m. and 6 – 6:30 p.m. in the Cohon University Center pool.

The cost is $20 for one lesson, $50 for three lessons and $100 for six. Make checks payable to CMU Swimming and Diving.

For more information and to register, contact Kellie Ayres at klayres@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-6082.

New Programming Language Accommodates Multiple Languages

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon have designed a way to safely use multiple programming languages within the same program, enabling programmers to use the language most appropriate for each function while guarding against code injection attacks, one of the most severe security threats in Web applications today.

A research group led by Jonathan Aldrich, associate professor in the Institute for Software Research (ISR), is developing a programming language called Wyvern that makes it possible to construct programs using a variety of targeted, domain-specific languages, such as SQL for querying databases or HTML for constructing Web pages, as sublanguages, rather than writing the entire program using a general purpose language.

Learn more.

Athletics To Expand Outdoor Recreation Program

The Carnegie Mellon Athletics Department will launch an expanded outdoor recreation program this fall to provide greater extracurricular opportunities for members of the university community.

“We are excited to expand our program in a strategic way to meet the needs of our students, staff and faculty. Our ambition is to provide more opportunities for social engagement through sport, competition and physical activity,” said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. “We have strategically invested resources in a way that we feel will maximize our potential in this realm.”

The department has purchased equipment for a number of popular outdoor games, including lawn volleyball, lawn badminton, bocce, corn hole, Kan Jam, Spike Ball, washer toss, croquet, wiffle ball and ladder ball. Throughout Orientation and the first week of classes, the Athletics Department staff will organize various games and activities on the areas adjacent to the Cut, across from Warner Hall, daily from 3-6 p.m.

Following the first week of classes, the department will offer structured outdoor activities from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The outdoor games will be available for checkout at the CUC equipment desk at other times. The department will also expand its physical education program to include more outdoor recreational activities during the academic year. Individuals or organizations interested in participating during the 3-6 p.m. timeframe should contact Sara Gauntner at sarap@andrew.cmu.edu.

Pick Up Your Parking Permit

Those who have received confirmation of their parking permits for 2014-15 can pick up their permits at the following times and locations listed below. You must bring your CMU ID to pick up your permit.

Permits for All Areas:
Aug. 18, 19, 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Cohon University Center (CUC) Lower Level by the FedEx/Kinkos

Permits for Dithridge/Fifth & Craig/4700 Fifth Ave./Zebina/GATF/Henry St./Whitfield:
Aug. 21, 22, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Dithridge Garage lobby

Permits not picked up by Aug. 31 will be considered unclaimed and will be cancelled and removed from the database. Faculty and staff should send email to parking@andrew.cmu.edu if you are unable to pick up the permit by Aug. 31, or if you wish to have someone else pick up your permit in your absence.

Please note that during permit distribution times the Parking Office in the CUC will be closed. 
Questions? Send email to parking @andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-2052.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Staff Council Offers Tickets to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival

Staff Council is offering discount tickets to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. The tickets are valid for weekends and Labor Day from Aug. 23 – Sept. 28.

The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival features a magical tour through time and legend. As you wander down the village streets and pathways of the festival, ready thyself to mingle with master revelers, watch artisans create original works of their ancient craft and be taken in by the tantalizing aromas of roast turkey, steak on a stake, fresh baked goods and much more. Enjoy interactive theater amidst jousters, jugglers, minstrels and maidens faire.

Ticket prices are $14.50 for adults and $7 for children. Purchase tickets from noon – 1 p.m., Aug. 18 and 19 at the fifth-floor entrance to the Gates Hillman centers (adjacent to Warner Hall). Cash only, please.

Tickets also can be purchased by contacting Sharon Cavlovich (sharonw@cmu.edu) or Nicole Stenger (nstenger@cs.cmu.edu).

For more information on the festival, go to http://pittsburghrenfest.com/.

Call for 2015 Alumni Award Nominations: Deadline is Sept. 1


The CMU Alumni Association is accepting nominations for the 2015 Alumni Awards. Each year, the association honors alumni, students and faculty for outstanding service to the university and alumni who have achieved exceptional success in their chosen professions.
 
We need your nominations! An online nomination form, list of current and previous award recipients and descriptions of each award category can be found on the Web at www.alumni.cmu.edu/awards. Packets may be submitted online or sent via email (alumni-awards@andrew.cmu.edu), fax 
(412-268-7239) or campus mail (Attention: Alumni Award Nominations, Office of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving, Alumni House, 2nd Floor).

Save the Date: The 2014 Alumni Award honorees will be honored beginning at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10 during Ceilidh Weekend. Learn about this year’s winners at www.alumni.cmu.edu/awards.



For more information, send email to alumni-awards@andrew.cmu.edu.