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February 11, 2016

Personal Mention

Gerard CornuejolsGérard P. Cornuéjols, the IBM University Professor of Operations Research at the Tepper School of Business, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions an engineer can receive. Cornuéjols was cited for his “contributions to the theory, practice, and application of integer programming.” Much of his work the past few decades has focused on integer programming and decision-making in optimization. He and two European professors, who earned their doctorates at the Tepper School, received the prestigious international Frederick W. Lanchester Prize three months ago for their graduate-level textbook called “Integer Programming.” “We’re very happy for Gérard, who has been recognized around the world ... for his contribution to operations research and management science. Such recognition underscores how global, how vital, how interdisciplinary are the research, the faculty and the education at the Tepper School and Carnegie Mellon," said Tepper School Dean Robert Dammon. Cornuéjols will officially be inducted into the NAE in October at an event in Washington, D.C.

Bob KrautRobert Kraut, the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, has been named the recipient of the 2016 SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement in Research Award. Presented annually by the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, the award recognizes an individual for the most fundamental and influential research contributions to the human-computer interaction field. A founding member of the HCII, Kraut joined Carnegie Mellon in 1993, and his research has broadly focused on the design and impact of social computing. His recent work has focused on analyzing and designing online communities, including health-support communities, Facebook groups and guilds in multiplayer games. In this research, he's studied how these groups operate — how they socialize newcomers, for example, or coordinate their work — as well as interventions to improve their operation. "He has literally written the book(s) on how people use technology both at work and to work together, and how successful online groups are created. His work continues to inspire both the HCII at CMU and the larger human-computer interaction community," said HCII Director Anind Dey. Kraut will receive the award at the 2016 ACM Conference, May 7–12, in San Jose, Calif.

Andrew MooreIn his first visit to CMU-Q as dean of the School of Computer Science last week, Andrew Moore gave an inspiring look at the direction technology is heading. In his top recommendations for critical technology investments, Moore named artificial intelligence, augmented humans and autonomy. “Computers must understand all the entities in the world and how they relate to one another,” said Moore, who believes this is a critical step in the development of artificial intelligence. He cited augmented human technology as an example of the positive impact of Carnegie Mellon’s work. To illustrate, Moore described a type of robotic arm that is mounted on a motorized wheelchair. Carnegie Mellon is on a team that is developing this project that will offer greater independence to those with mobility and upper extremity impairments. Find out more.

Almeda BeynonGraduate students Almeda Beynon (right), Sharon Limpert (below, left) and Sophie Schneider (below, right), all working toward their master’s degree in fine arts this May, are among the 10 winners of the 2016 Young Designers & Technicians Awards in the Performing Arts. The awards are presented by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. Beynon will receive the Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award, Limpert is the winner of the Barbara Matera Award in Costume Making and Schneider will be presented with the Zelma H. Westfield Costume Design & Technology Award. "These awards are given to recognize and support young artists at the start of their careers. While we at CMU already know how great their work is, it's gratifying to see that our professional and educational peers from around the U.S. agree with us," said Joe Pino, professor of Sound Sharon LimpertDesign. 

"I am so grateful to receive the Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award. Winning this award is incredibly special, as there are so few that are specifically for theatrical sound designers. With this, I am able to take pride in my work, and join the ranks of some pretty spectacular sound designers," Beynon said.

"Barbara Matera was a giant in the theatre industry and continues to inspire costume makers like myself. This recognition in her name as reviewed by professionals in my chosen field helps affirm that the time I have invested in perfecting my craft at Carnegie Mellon University will allow me to be a valuable asset to the industry I am about to enter," Sophie SchneiderLimpert said.

"It is such a privilege to have my hard work recognized not only by my wonderful faculty who have gotten to know me during my time as a student and felt I was worthy of this nomination, but to be acknowledged and praised by a committee of venerated professionals in my field is an enormous boon to my confidence," Schneider said.

They will receive their awards March 17. Find out more

Obituary: Edgar Mitchell

Edgar MitchellEdgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon as an astronaut aboard NASA’s Apollo 14 in 1971, died Feb. 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 85.

After graduating from Carnegie Tech in 1952 with a degree in industrial administration, Mitchell joined the Navy. He earned a second bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from the Navel Postgraduate School and went on to earn a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT in 1964. He joined the astronaut corps in 1966 and the Apollo 14 mission was his only space flight.

It was simply "the highlight of an explorer's career — to go where humans had never been," he recalled during a visit to campus for Homecoming in 2003. "I would like to have had a lot more time gawking and looking at this new world."

Read his obituary in The New York Times.

Read about his visit to CMU in 2003