Carnegie Mellon University

The Piper

CMU Community News

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May 09, 2013

News Briefs

Parking Restrictions, Stadium Closed for Commencement

Due to significant site preparation for commencement on Sunday, May 19, parking on Margaret Morrison Street will be restricted, and Gesling Stadium (including the track) will be closed today, Thursday, May 9, through 11 p.m., Friday, May 24.

Barricades will be placed on Margaret Morrison Street to indicate where parking is prohibited and signs also will be posted. Please do not park in this area. University Police will be on patrol around the clock and cars will be towed, if necessary. Deliveries are being coordinated to limit the congestion and noise levels.

"Girl of Steel" Wins National Dean's List Honor

Naoka Gunawardena, a junior at The Ellis School and a member of the Girls of Steel, a robotics team sponsored by Carnegie Mellon's Field Robotics Center, was one of 10 national winners of Dean's List honors at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Championship April 27 in St. Louis. George Kantor, a systems scientist in the Robotics Institute and adviser to the Girls of Steel, said Gunawardena has been a leader since the team's inception in 2010. "Her contributions both as an engineer and as a business person have been central to the team's success," he said. She also led several educational outreach efforts, including mentoring a FIRST LEGO League robotics team at The Ellis School. Naoka is the daughter of Ananda Gunawardena, associate teaching professor in the Computer Science Department. Read more.

Carnegie Mellon Today Wins Communicator Awards

Carnegie Mellon Today magazine has won four 2013 Communicator Awards. The magazine won awards of excellence for its April 2012 feature article “Duet” and for its July 2012 “First Word” column. CMT won awards of distinction in the Overall Design and Magazine-Educational Institution categories. The annual competition, which received more than 6,000 entries, is judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts whose membership includes media companies such as Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, HBO, MTV, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Wired and Yahoo. Read more about the awards.

Costco Invites Teachers To Shop

Faculty, staff and families of area teachers are invited to a special event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 11-12, at Costco's West Homestead location, 501 W. Waterfront Drive, West Homestead, Pa., 15120. For more information, download a flier or contact Costco Marketing at 412-205-1010 ext. 288 or email w649mbr@costco.com.

Credit Union Loan Rates

The Carnegie Mellon Credit Union is offering the following loan rates:

  • New Vehicle, 2.25%
  • Used Vehicle, 2.99%
  • Personal loans, 9.99%
  • Computer loans, 9.50%
  • Home Equity Loans, as low as 3.50%

For more information visit http://www.cmufcu.org.

Andy Award Nominations Now Open

It’s time to nominate staff for the 2013 Andy Awards, the university-wide recognition program that honors individual staff members and teams of colleagues for their outstanding performance, commitment to excellence and significant impact on the university. Awards are given in six categories: Dedication, Commitment to Students, Innovation, Culture, University Citizenship and Community Contributions. The deadline for nominations is July 10. For information on the nomination process, go to http://www.cmu.edu/andyawards/nomination/index.html.

Libraries Call for Nominations

University Libraries are accepting nominations from the CMU community through May 10 to honor library personnel for outstanding service in 2012-13. The libraries’ Excellence Award recognizes library employees’ excellence in any of five areas: Citizenship, Customer Satisfaction, Innovation, Outreach or Productivity. The Transformation Award, new this year, recognizes library employees for activities that have dramatically changed thought or action within the libraries. Nomination forms and library award program details are available at http://tinyurl.com/cnxsufb.

New SMART ID Cards To Be Issued for Pittsburgh Campus

The Pittsburgh campus will upgrade to SMART ID Cards this summer. The new SMART Card will provide faculty, staff and students with more efficient access to Port Authority Transit within Allegheny County.

All benefits-eligible faculty and staff members on the Pittsburgh campus will be re-carded this July. Returning students will be re-carded in September.

For more details and distribution information, visit www.cmu.edu/idplus/smart. If you have questions about the transition, send email to smartcards@andrew.cmu.edu.