News Briefs

Grad Student Orientation is Aug. 11-13

The University-wide Graduate Student Orientation will take place Aug.11 - 13. Highlights include:

Monday, Aug. 11:
1 p.m., Wiegand Gym:
Welcome by President Subra Suresh, Interim Provost Nathan Urban, Dean of Student Affairs Gina Casalegno and Graduate Student Assembly President Carolyn Commer

Tuesday, Aug. 12:
8 a.m. – 3 p.m., International Student Orientation, Cohon University Center
   
3-5 p.m.
Graduate Student Resource Fair, Rangos Hall
Graduate Student Welcome BBQ by Graduate Student Assembly

Wednesday, Aug. 13:
12:30 - 5:30 p.m., Information Sessions

For more information, visit http://www.cmu.edu/graduate/programs-services/orientation/index.html.

Questions? Send email to grad-ed@cmu.edu

EH&S To Conduct Doherty Hall Evacuation Aug. 13

To comply with the City of Pittsburgh’s All Hazards Plan, Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) will conduct a building evacuation of Doherty Hall at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 13.

An evacuation announcement will be made over the building’s public address system, followed by the sounding of the fire alarm. Once the fire alarm sounds, occupants should quickly leave the building via their nearest exit and assemble in the building’s designated assembly area, which is by the Fence, the sidewalk along the Mall or the south side of the Gates and Hillman centers. Assembly areas can be found at http://www.cmu.edu/ehs/emergency-response/emergency-procedures/index.html.

Failure to leave a building when the fire alarm sounds is a violation of a City of Pittsburgh ordinance and can result in a fine and court appearance.

Questions about the evacuations should be directed to Richard Caruso at 412-951-3089 or rmcaruso@andrew.cmu.edu.

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.

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.

Computing Services Changes Email Address

To more appropriately tie its identity and services to its email address, Computing Services is changing its email address from advisor@andrew.cmu.edu to it-help@cmu.edu beginning Friday, Aug. 8.

Please direct any questions or comments to the Computing Services Help Center (412-268-HELP or it-help@cmu.edu) or to your departmental administrator or DSP consultant.

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 in Wean Commons of the Cohon University Center. 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/.

A Novel Way To Create Nanofibers

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon have developed a novel method for creating self-assembled protein/polymer nanostructures that are reminiscent of fibers found in living cells. The work offers a promising new way to fabricate materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. The findings were published in the July 28 issue of Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

"We have demonstrated that, by adding flexible linkers to protein molecules, we can form completely new types of aggregates. These aggregates can act as a structural material to which you can attach different payloads, such as drugs. In nature, this protein isn't close to being a structural material," said CMU Chemistry Professor Tomasz Kowalewski.

Learn more.

C-MITES Program Discontinued; Many K-12 Options Available

Several factors, including declining testing and program enrollments and an increase in similar program offerings through traditional and digital formats, have led Carnegie Mellon to discontinue the C-MITES (Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students) program. The university will continue to offer a broad range of enriching educational programs for K-12 students and professional development workshops for teachers that are more closely aligned with the work of Carnegie Mellon faculty and students.

In an email to C-MITES families, teachers and friends, Amy Burkert, vice provost for education, and Judith Hallinen, assistant vice provost for educational outreach, thanked C-MITES founder and director Ann Lupkowski Shoplik for "her vision and dedication to the program over the years."

"We also recognize the committed C-MITES staff — Pamela Piskurich, Raymond Budd, Evelyn Mann and Ruth Ann Maloney — and the many faculty, staff, student workers, and workshop instructors who have created and implemented enriching programs and activities. Carnegie Mellon sincerely thanks the foundations, organizations and individuals that have provided grants or gifts to enable C-MITES to positively impact so many," they said.

Carnegie Mellon offers more than 75 challenging programs for K-12 students and teachers each year. Some examples include Architecture Explorations, the Tech Nights program in the School of Computer Science, the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences and a Chemistry Carnival in late September.

For more information, including links to many other K-12 programs, visit the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach.

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.