Carnegie Mellon University

The Piper

CMU Community News

Piper Logo
September 13, 2012

Personal Mention

A number of compositions by Reza Vali, associate professor of composition, are on concerts' slates this month. On Monday, Sept.10, Folk Songs (Set No.9) was performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Mikhail Istomin (cello) and Lorena McGhee (PSO's principal flute) as part of the Pittsburgh Chamber Players' concert at the Rodef Shalom Temple. On Sept. 15-16 the Carpe Diem String Quartet in Columbus, Ohio, will premiere his string quartet Geryân (Calligraphy No. 12). Additionally, Vali was recently featured on American Public Media's program Composers Datebook.

Miller Gallery Director Astria Suparak has been nominated for the Independent Curators International’s Independent Vision Curatorial Award, a prize bestowed upon emerging figures in the field, who have shown “exceptional creativity and prescience in their exhibition-making, research and related writing." The 15 nominees include independent curators and major museum staffers from a dozen countries. The winner will be announced Nov. 19 at the ICI’s fall benefit auction and gala. Read the full story. The U.S. premiere of “Imperfect Health: The Medicalization of Architecture” opens at the Miller Gallery this Friday, Sept. 14, with a tour and reception beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Josh Centor has been promoted from assistant director of athletics to associate director of athletics for finance, NCAA compliance and communications. Centor’s main responsibilities are managing the department’s financial operations and data analysis, overseeing the annual budget, assisting with revenue generation, alumni cultivation and strategic planning for athletics communications. He also oversees NCAA compliance, the department’s corporate partner program and works closely with the Carnegie Mellon Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Read the full story.

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Holly Hippensteel has been appointed to the faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as an instructor for 2012-13. Hippensteel is teaching Management of Organizational Behavior this fall and Assessment and Evaluation in Student Affairs in the spring. She also will manage the academic component of the Practicum in Student Affairs course each semester. Hippensteel is retaining her assistant dean position at CMU on a part-time basis this year.

The Simons Foundation has awarded Yuan Zhou, a Ph.D. student in the Computer Science Department, has received a Simons Graduate Fellowship in Theoretical Computer Science for his project "New Directions in Approximation Algorithms and Hardness of Approximations." The fellowship seeks to identify emerging stars in theoretical computer science, choosing graduate students with an outstanding track record of research accomplishments. The two-year award covers tuition, fees, travel and other expenses. Read more.

The Seibel Scholars Foundation has named five Carnegie Mellon graduate students — Sanjiban Choudhury, Ruta Desai, Min Kyung Lee, Martina Rau, Zeyu Zheng — to the 2013 class of Seibel Scholars. The Siebel Scholars program recognizes the most talented students at the world's leading graduate schools of business, bioengineering and computer science. They are chosen based on outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated leadership. On average, Siebel Scholars rank in the top 5 percent of their class, many within the top 1 percent. Each receives a $35,000 award for their final year of study. Read more.