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December 10, 2015

Personal Mention

George WhiteGeorge White, distinguished career professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and the founder of the Al Fikra competition, was presented with a Prestigious Appreciation Award for his contribution in creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurship in Qatar. Al Fikra is a business development competition that incorporates education and coaching. “As an educator, I encourage entrepreneurship through my classes, and competitions like Al Fikra provide a platform for students to put their theory to practical use,” White said. Al Fikra is organized by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and runs over a three-month period. During this period, innovative ideas are recognized and supported by QDB and its strategic partners throughout the different stages of their development.

Christopher PhillipsChristopher Phillips (left), assistant professor of history, recently authored an op-ed in The New York Times. In “The Politics of Math Education,” Phillips addresses reforms in math education and questions what constitutes rigorous thought. Read his op-ed. 

John HookerJohn Hooker (right), the T. Jerome Holleran Professor of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, recently gave the inaugural Thomas M. Kerr, Jr. Distinguished Lecture in Ethics at CMU-Q. The lecture is named in honor of Thomas Kerr and his lifelong commitment to teaching law, ethics and civil liberties at Carnegie Mellon. Hooker discussed the way cultural differences have helped shape the new economic order. Using different examples from around the world, he outlined how cultural qualities inform business practices and shape some of the largest economies in the world.

Wilfried SiegWilfried Sieg, the Patrick Suppes Professor of Philosophy, recently delivered the John Patrick Crecine Distinguished Lecture in Social Sciences at CMU-Q. The lecture is named in honor of the dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences from 1976 to 1983. Sieg spoke about the move from mathematical thinking to computing and back to thinking, an evolution that has uncovered a refined proof search procedure. This in turn has been used as the basis for dynamic intelligent tutoring to support students’ efforts to learn logical and mathematical argumentation.

Lori HoltLori Holt, professor of psychology, received a 2015-2016 James McKeen Cattell Fund Fellowship to support her research on the cognitive aspects of auditory processing. The fund was established in 1942 to support scientific research and disseminate knowledge to advance the development of psychological science. Holt will use the funding to develop new experimental approaches in the field of auditory cognitive neuroscience. “Our experimental approaches have yet to fully tap into the complexity of real-world perceptual processing,” Holt said. Learn more

Zeinbab IbrahimZeinab Ibrahim, teaching professor of Arabic at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, was one of several individuals chosen by the Qatar National Research Fund to showcase her significant societal, academic and policy contributions at the World Innovation Summit for Education. Ibrahim presented a project titled “Advancing Arabic Language Learning in Qatar.” She is the head of a research team that is working to introduce educators to updated teaching methods and linguistic theories that deal with learning and language acquisition. Learn more about CMU’s presence at the 2015 summit. Find out more.

Jay AronsonJay D. Aronson, associate professor of science, technology and society in the Department of History and director of the Center for Human Rights Science (CHRS), secured over $1 million in funding for the center. The support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Oak Foundation and Humanity United will allow the center to develop new ways of collecting, processing, archiving and analyzing large volumes of user-generated photographic and video evidence. The hope is to give these organizations access to the kinds of technologies and methods currently only available to military, corporate and intelligence personnel. Find out more. 

Stephen BrockmanStephen Brockmann, professor of German, has authored his fifth book, titled "The Writers’ State: Constructing East German Literature, 1945-1959." The book, released by Camden House Publishing, explores the interplay between literature, culture and German national identity. “The culture of the immediate postwar period in both parts of Germany [East and West] was far richer and more nuanced than has generally been acknowledged,” Brockmann said. Read more

Alan McGaugheyMechanical Engineering Professor Alan McGaughey and researchers from Purdue University received the ASME Heat Transfer Division 2015 Best Paper Award. The article, titled "Mode-Wise Thermal Conductivity of Bismuth Telluride," was published in the Journal of Heat Transfer. The award was announced at ASME’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Houston, Texas.