Carnegie Mellon University

The Piper

CMU Community News

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August 08, 2013

News Briefs

New Parking Assignments Issued

Parking and Transportation Services has issued parking assignments for 2013-14. All new assignments begin Aug. 26 for students and faculty, and Sept. 3 for staff.

New parking materials for the Dithridge Garage, 5th and Craig St., Zebina Way, GATF, Henry St. and Whitfield lots can be picked up from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Aug. 13-15 in the Dithridge Garage lobby.

Materials for all other lots can be picked up from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Aug. 19-21 on the lower level of the University Center.

Your CMU ID is required to pick up your parking permit. Send questions to parking@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-2052.

MPD Program Heading To Former PNC Site

PNC Bank at 4612 Forbes Avenue, across the street from the Panther Hollow Inn, has moved operations to the nearby PNC Bank at the corner of Fifth and Craig streets, clearing the way for a renovation of the site into a new home for CMU’s Master of Product Development Program.
 
Carnegie Mellon purchased the bank site in 2009 along with several other parcels along the south side of Forbes Ave.  Since that time CMU has leased the property to PNC Bank, which terminated the lease and vacated the building on July 31.
 
Campus Design and Facility Development is now working with a local architect on renovation plans for the MPD program, a joint offering of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the School of Design and the Tepper School of Business. The focus of the MPD degree is on the creation of products, services and interactive experiences that define new product opportunities that exceed user value expectations.

The MPD program has been consistently ranked among the top three Best Graduate Programs in Industrial Design by U.S. News & World Report. The MPD program at the PNC building is a first step in plans to develop a lively technology-arts gateway at the intersection of Craig and Forbes.

Plans are to have the facility up and running for MPD students in January 2014.

Tennis Courts Under Repair

The tennis courts are closed while repairs are being made. Cracks are being repaired and the overall surface will be re-coated. The work is expected to be completed by Aug. 23.  Questions should be directed to Kyle Tomer at 412-268-6332 or kt2n@andrew.cmu.edu.

Applications Being Accepted for Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows Program

Applications are now being accepted for the campus-wide James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows Program, which fast-tracks the careers of Carnegie Mellon graduate students who are passionate about entrepreneurship in the technology arena. This highly selective program, directed by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), is designed to develop each fellow’s entrepreneurial potential and leadership skills through coursework in entrepreneurship, mentoring, hands-on experiences and networking.

The core of the program is a mentored summer internship with a top tier, venture-backed startup within the high-tech, high-growth environment of California’s Silicon Valley. Mentoring from faculty, staff, alumni and members of the business community, cohort and community building, and two networking trips help to shape each fellow’s guided internship and career search.

The application deadline is 11:59 p.m., Monday, Sept. 9. Applications must be submitted to Emily Stark at vestark@andrew.cmu.edu

Applications must include a one-page resume and a personal statement no longer than two pages. The statement should include:

  • Entrepreneurial interests;
  • Goals (internship, immediately post-graduation, long-term);
  • Entrepreneurial successes and failures;
  • Plans to contribute to the evolution of CMU's entrepreneurial ecosystem;
  • Role of the Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows program in achieving your goals.

The applicant also must have two letters of recommendation sent directly to Emily Stark at vestark@andrew.cmu.edu

Successful candidates will be notified by Sept. 23.

For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/cie/for-students/james-r.-swartz-entrepreneurial-fellows-program/index.html

This program is made possible by James R. Swartz (TPR ’66), founder and managing partner of Accel Partners, a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm with more than $6B under management.

Facilitators Needed for Discussions of “The Last Lecture”

Carnegie Mellon staff, faculty, alumni and friends are needed to lead small groups of first-year undergraduate students in a discussion of “The Last Lecture” on Tuesday, Aug. 20. during Orientation. Each student received a copy of the book to read over the summer to prepare for these discussions, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and from 2 to 3:15 p.m. The two time frames are scheduled to accommodate the first-year class of more than 1,400 students. Facilitators will be paired with a Resident Assistant and Orientation Counselor and will be provided with questions to help guide the discussions.

If you would like to participate as a facilitator, please register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HfWy10Sl7Z7dKb0xhzvGlZJg6XeDWGgSAe-yt9NjeuA/viewform

C-MITES Offers Fun Classes for Bright Kids

The Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students (C-MITES) offers hands-on classes for gifted students in Kindergarten through 10th grade. One-day classes on selected dates in August through November include Robotics Programming and Design, Culinary Chemistry, Egg Drop Physics and Action-Packed Engineering.  Classes cost from $65 to $115 and financial aid is available.  For more information, see http://www.cmites.org.

New Online System Created for Research Conflict of Interest Disclosures

A new online system, SPARCS COI, became available to CMU researchers on July 15.  A team involving many campus affiliates created this secure system to comply with Conflict of Interest regulatory requirements and meet the needs of CMU’s research community. 

During the rollout of SPARCS COI, anyone who has Public Health Service (PHS) funding or expects to seek such funding in the next year is asked to complete an Annual Disclosure in SPARCS. This initial disclosure of significant financial interests must be completed between July 15 and Aug. 23.    

Researchers that have already submitted an annual disclosure using a paper form, will still need to create a new online disclosure during this six-week window. Paper forms are being phased out over time. 

The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC) is holding a series of workshops to provide assistance with SPARCS COI.  Registration for training (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SPARCStraining) is not required but is preferred. Researchers can complete their annual disclosures during a training session.  Please bring the financial information necessary to do this.

All training sessions will be held in Cyert Hall’s first-floor cluster in room 100-D. Dates and times are as follows:

  • Thursday, Aug. 8: 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. – Noon, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
  • Monday, Aug. 19: 11 a.m. – Noon, 1 – 2 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 20: 2 – 3 p.m.
  • Thursday, Aug. 22: 10 – 11 a.m., 3 – 4 p.m.

For more information as well as guidance, please visit: http://www.cmu.edu/research-compliance/conflict-of-interest/index.html

Alumni Award Nominations Open

The Alumni Association is accepting nominations in the Achievement and Service categories through Sunday, Sept. 1 for the 2014 Alumni Awards. Each year, the Alumni Association honors alumni, students and faculty who have given outstanding service to the university, and alumni who have achieved exceptional success in their chosen professions. 
A nomination form, list of previous award recipients and descriptions of the award categories can be found at http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/awards. All nomination forms should be submitted with the nominee's resume/vitae and at least two letters of support. For more information, contact Yulia Zhukoff at 412-268-7048 or yuliaz@andrew.cmu.edu.