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November 06, 2014

Personal Mention

Anna V. Fisher has received a James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Understanding Human Cognition-Scholar Award to provide an alternative theoretical account for advanced cognitive development. Fisher, associate professor of psychology in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, will use the six-year, $600,000 award to continue her research into the emergence of higher-order cognition in the course of child development. "Anna is a superb young scientist who is challenging conventional wisdom on how children learn to reason about the world around them," said Michael J. Tarr, head of the Department of Psychology. "This prestigious award is a clear signal that her innovative theories are having a significant impact on the field and she is poised, with the generous support of the McDonnell Foundation, to make many more game-changing advances regarding our understanding of how children think and learn." Learn more.

Alex Imas has won the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award, given annually to a young economist for displaying scientific originality, policy relevance and quality in behavioral economics. CESifo is a research organization in Europe that combines theoretically oriented economic research with leading empirical work from around the world. Imas, assistant professor of social and decision sciences in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, won for his paper "The Realization Effect: Risk-Taking After Realized Versus Paper Losses," in which he explored how prior losses influence a person's subsequent risk attitudes. Imas, who just joined the CMU faculty after spending the 2013-14 academic year as a postdoctoral fellow in the Social and Decision Sciences Department, is interested in behavioral and experimental economics, particularly how social concerns and emotions influence decision-making and preferences. Learn more.

After 28 years, Dario Donatelli (TPR’81) has announced his retirement as head cross-country and track and field coach at the end of the fall semester. "It is hard for me to convey in words what it has meant to me these many years to be intimately involved with Carnegie Mellon University and the track and field and cross country programs," Donatelli said. "I have had the pleasure of being an athlete and alumnus, parent of two student alumni and an employee of the university. However, I am most rewarded by the relationships I have had with many of these student-athletes over the years and the ones that continue today. I know I will miss most the close interaction with intelligent and dedicated student-athletes that we have had and continue to have in our programs." During his tenure, Carnegie Mellon has won seven conference titles (four in cross country, three in track and field) and he has earned conference Coach of the Year honors 12 times. He has coached a total of 41 All-Americans and led the men’s cross-country team to eight appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships. Learn more.

In recognition of their outstanding research contributions, two Tepper School of Business professors have been honored with faculty chairs. Peter Boatwright has received the Carnegie Bosch Professorship in Marketing established by the Carnegie Bosch Institute, and Javier Peña has received the Bajaj Family Chair in Operations Research established by the Kamalnayan Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.

  • Since joining the Tepper School faculty in 1997, Boatwright has been instrumental in creating and teaching popular business courses on topics that include new product management, pricing strategy and integrated product development. Co-director of Carnegie Mellon’s Integrated Innovation Institute, he has co-authored two books on the innovation of new products and services: “The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products” and “Built to Love: Creating Products that Captivate Customers.”
  • Peña, who joined the faculty in 1999 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, Calif., teaches a variety of analytical subjects, including popular master’s degree courses in data mining and financial optimization. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, including a prestigious CAREER Award. He was a recipient of the Caterpillar Research Chair in 2001 and an IBM faculty research award in 2010. In 2005, he received the George Leland Bach Teaching Award for Excellence in the Classroom.  
  • Learn more.