Mellon Institute building exterior

2024 Year in Review

Heidi Opdyke

What an incredible year!

From welcoming Barbara Shinn-Cunningham as the incoming Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science, to pioneering cutting-edge research and breaking ground on the new Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences, MCS is transforming discovery. The college community celebrated many accomplishments and came together through activities and events. Here are a few of the most-read stories and most-liked social media posts that showcase what made 2024 unforgettable. To see all our stories from 2024, visit the 2024 news archives.

Two women holding up a quilt

Tartans Weave Through Loose Ends Project's Success

A nonprofit pieces together unfinished gifts with love and a global network of volunteers.

Shovels hit the dirt at the groundbreaking for the Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences.

Carnegie Mellon Breaks Ground for Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences

The innovative facility will bring together foundational science, computer science and art.

 

The high altitude balloons captured images of the eclipse after they were launched. This image shows the shadow of the moon cast onto the Earth's surface from the perspective of the high altitude balloon.

Research During Solar Eclipse Could Shed Light on Shadow Bands

Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh researchers studied a phenomenon known as shadow bands during the April 8, 2024 total eclipse.

Five Mellon College of Science faculty members

MCS Faculty Honored with Professorships

Five Mellon College of Science faculty members have been honored with professorships to support their work in biological sciences, mathematical sciences and physics.

 

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham Named Mellon College of Science Dean

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham has been named Carnegie Mellon University's Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science (MCS), effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Four HPCWire 2024 awards sitting on a tabletop

HPCwire Awards Honors 4 PSC Projects

Parkinson's research, evolution of vocalization, AI training tool and naitonal AI collaboration underlie high performance computing achievements.

 

Biological Sciences

Mia Carrarini works in the DeFranco lab at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mia Carrarini Researches Medical Solutions: Carnegie Mellon University senior Mia Carrarini investigates potential treatments for premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

An international team of researchers including Carnegie Mellon University's Eric Yttri and Alex Hsu have created an open-source platform that can learn and predict user-defined behaviors from video. A-SOiD can pick up on small movements and differentiate them, such as the difference between the movement of dropping a ball versus the movement of tossing one.

Neuroscientists Create AI Tool To Analyze, Catalogue Behavior: Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Bonn have created an open-source platform known as A-SOiD that can learn and predict user-defined behaviors from video.

While an individual S. pneumoniae bacterial cell is orchestrating how it is "talking," it is still "hearing" what the rest of the nearby bacterial community is saying.

Study Suggests Bacteria’s Internal Dialog Controls External Messaging: New research from Carnegie Mellon University scientists reveals that individual bacterial cells coordinate their messaging internally before sending it out to their neighbors. 

Chemistry

Evgeny Gutkin, Ben Koby and Filipp Gusev created a method that allows for computational drug candidate discovery. Because of their work, they and their colleagues won the CACHE Drug Discovery Challenge #1.

CMU-UBC Team Wins Challenge To Advance Parkinson's Disease Research: Carnegie Mellon University chemists and University of British Columbia researchers have found a potential target for Parkinson's disease treatment and won the CACHE Drug Discovery #1 Challenge.

Gizelle Sherwood

Sherwood To Lead Undergraduate Studies for Chemistry: Effective June 1, Gizelle Sherwood replaces Karen Stump, who served in that role for 24 years and will retire next summer.

Graphic of cartoon fish and pharmaceutical pills

TAML Catalysts Efficiently Break Down Pharmaceuticals in Polluted Waters: Carnegie Mellon University scientists have found that an environmentally friendly process involving a TAML catalyst and hydrogen peroxide effectively degrades several drugs found in municipal secondary wastewater and contaminated river and lake water.

Mathematical Sciences

Mathematical Science Professor Po-Shen Loh has been appointed to advisory committee of $10M AIMO Prize.

Loh Appointed to Advisory Committee of $10M AIMO Prize: Po-Shen Loh will serve on an advisory committee to support the development of the Artificial Intelligence Mathematical Olympiad (AIMO) Prize.

Thomas Lam of the University of Michigan was one of four GSCC plenary speakers at the Graduate Student Combinatorics Conference 2024.

Mathematical Sciences Conference Finds the Right Combination for Success: Four plenaries, student speakers, socializing and a few riddles engaged participants at the Graduate Student Combinatorics Conference 2024.

Carnegie Mellon University participated in Market Making Game on March 23, which was hosted by the Quant Club and sponsored by Optiver.

Market Making Game Gives Students Experience, Connections: Carnegie Mellon University students participated in an annual math competition hosted by the Quant Club and sponsored by Optiver.

Physics

Visualization of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch by May 2027. The telescope will unveil the cosmos in ways that have never been possible before. Credit: GSFC/SVS

Readying for Roman: Carnegie Mellon physicists Rachel Mandelbaum and Matthew Walker are among scientists laying the groundwork for the Roman Space Telescope.

The South African Large Telescope is one of the most recent instruments that researchers at the McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics have access to for collecting data.

McWilliams Center Name Change Reflects Expanded Research Scope: CMU's McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics researchers explore elusive dark elements to light up understanding of the universe.

An aerial shot of a large group of people on a lawn

APS Particles & Fields Meeting Draws Physicists to Pittsburgh: Curtis Meyer welcomed participants to the APS Division of Particles & Fields Meeting co-hosted by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh May 13-17.