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February 11, 2016

News Briefs

Newspaper

Celebrate Valentine's Day with the PSO

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is offering discounts to CMU students, faculty and staff for their upcoming shows at Heinz Hall. Students can purchase tickets for $15, and faculty and staff tickets are available for $20.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend with someone special! At 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, and at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14, the Pittsburgh Symphony brings a program full of romantic melodies and beautiful love themes. Slovakian conductor Juraj Valčuha returns with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Shakespeare-inspired musical tale of star crossed lovers with the Romeo and Juliet Overture, Dvořák’s most beloved cello concerto performed by Joshua Roman in his Pittsburgh Symphony debut, Wagner’s stunning “Prelude und Liebestod” from his opera Tristan und Isolde, and excerpts from Bizet’s impassioned and fiery Carmen suites.

At 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13, the PSO pays tribute to the wonderful talents of one of the greatest contributors to music over the last century, Marvin Hamlisch. As composer, Hamlisch won virtually every major award: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globes. This memorable concert will feature music from his vast array of timeless music from Broadway and motion pictures. CMU Drama School singers join guest vocalists Doug LaBrecque, Anne Runolfsson and Jessica Lea Patty for this one-night-only special performance.

Purchase tickets.

Recognize Your Outstanding Student Employees

Nominations for the 17th annual Student Employee of the Year (SEOTY) Award are due Friday, Feb. 19. This program recognizes the outstanding contributions of students who work while attending college.

The SEOTY nomination application and process are available on the SEOTY website. Questions? Contact Pati Kravetz  at pk13@andrew.cmu.edu.

Registration Open for Architecture Outreach Programs

Registration for the School of Architecture’s winter/spring Saturday Sequence and EQUIP Backpacks outreach programs for K-12 students is now open.

Saturday Sequence provides students with a mini-studio experience in which participants tackle authentic, age-appropriate design projects to explore the field of architecture. Teachers are top undergraduate and graduate students in architecture and engineering. Past themes have included computational design, urban design and sustainable design.

The EQUIP Backpacks program is an in-school experience that brings architecture professionals into third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms, where they work with students on active, architecture-themed STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) challenges.

For more program and registration information, visit http://soa.cmu.edu/architecture-explorations.

Questions? Contact Outreach Coordinator Samantha Carter at 412-268-5551 or scarter@andrew.cmu.edu.

CMU Hosts iD Tech Summer Camps for Kids

This summer, encourage the awesome in your child! At iD Tech summer programs, students between the ages of 6 and 18 can learn to code, design video games, mod Minecraft, model 3-D characters, engineer robots, create websites, discover photography, print 3-D models and much more.

Campers are taught in small groups of eight for personalized instruction. iD Tech offers a variety of summer programs for kids and teens, including an online learning platform for ages 10-18 (Tech Rocket), early-education STEM programs for ages 6-9 (iD Tech Mini), all-girls camps for ages 10-15 (Alexa Cafe), and two-week, overnight programs (iD Game Design & Development and Programming Academies) for teens wanting the most immersive, in-depth instruction.

Save $75 with code CMUTC2016 when you register and pay in full by June 1. (The savings for iD Tech Mini is $50.) Visit www.iDTech.com for more information or call 1-888-709-8324.

Responsible Research Conduct Sessions Offered

CMU's Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC) is once again sponsoring Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Brown Bag Sessions during the spring 2016 semester for faculty, students and staff. All sessions are from 12 – 1 p.m. in the Cohon Center’s Connan room, as follows:

  • Wednesday, Feb. 24: Overview and Open Q&A with the IRB;
  • Wednesday, March 23: Human Behavior Monitoring;
  • Wednesday, March 30: Export Control Update: Changes to OFAC Regulations and Sanctions;
  • Wednesday, April 20: Intellectual Property at CMU; and
  • Wednesday, April 27: Data Management Planning.

More information is available on the RCR website. Space is limited, so please register early.

Last Call: ProSEED/BrainHub and Simon Initiative Proposals Due Feb.12

Proposals for the next round of ProSEED/BrainHub and ProSEED/Simon Initiative seed grants are due Feb. 12.

ProSEED/BrainHub funds (typically $50-$100k) are available to support new activities in brain science and behavior research, with particular emphasis on multidisciplinary work.

ProSEED/Simon Initiative seed grants (up to $15k and 40 hours of technical support) are available to enable CMU faculty to pursue learning research or educational practice projects aimed at improving student learning outcomes at CMU and beyond.

Find out more about ProSEED grants.  Questions may be directed to proseed@andrew.cmu.

Last Call: Dietrich College Seeks Proposals Supporting TEL, Digital Humanities

The Dietrich College invites proposals for seed grants supporting Technology-Enhanced Learning and Digital Humanities. The program, funded by the A.W. Mellon Foundation, focuses on work in the humanities, and requires a Dietrich faculty member as principal investigator, but encourages collaboration across the university. An emphasis on learning science, measurable outcomes and collaboration makes this an interesting call for many faculty members.

The application process and timeline have been structured to integrate with the next round of ProSeed submissions. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 12.

Find out more.

Classes Offered in Defensive Driving

Defensive Driving training classes are being offered this semester by Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S). Classes will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the EH&S conference room.

Use your Andrew ID and password to register online.

The class dates are March 8, April 12 and May 10.

Questions? Contact Workplace Safety Manager Rebecca Cicco at rcicco@andrew.cmu.edu.

AED/CPR Training Offered

The Environmental Health & Safety Department is offering two AED/CPR training classes for members of the university community. Classes are:

  • 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Monday, Feb. 22 in Rangos 1, Cohon Center; and
  • 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Thursday, March 10 in Rangos 1, Cohon Center.

Class space is limited, so register early.  Questions? Contact Rebecca Cicco at rcicco@andrew.cmu.edu.

SURG and SURF Application Deadline is March 21

The application deadline for 2016 Summer Undergraduate Research Grants (SURG) and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) is 5 p.m., Monday, March 21.

SURFs are open to all undergraduates interested in any form of research. Awards of $3,500 are available for eight to 10 weeks of full-time summer research on campus in any field of study. Students may work alone or in a group, but must apply for the fellowship as an individual — no group awards are available. There are two types of proposals: Type I for students in the creative arts and humanities who will submit a research-based “making” project; and Type II for all other students submitting proposals.


SURGs are open to all undergraduates in any discipline. Grants of up to $500 are available for single entries and grants up to $1,000 are available for group entries to cover costs such as supplies and materials, time on laboratory equipment, or travel to another city for data.

To assist students with their applications, two workshops are being held in the Gates Center 4102. They are:

  • 4 – 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 28; and
  • 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 15.

Whether or not students attend a workshop, it is recommended that they submit a draft proposal for review at least one week before the deadline. Proposals can be reviewed by Undergraduate Research Office Director Stephanie Wallach (sw4s@andrew.cmu.edu) or Assistant Director Joanna Dickert (joannad@andrew.cmu.edu). Please send them email for an appointment.

Find out more and apply online.