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July 31, 2014

Personal Mention

Jay Apt, professor of technology in the Engineering and Public Policy Department and at the Tepper School of Business, is testifying today at the United States Environmental Protection Agency public hearing on the agency's proposed Clean Power Plan. His statement, focusing on innovations and strategy for existing power plants, is being presented in Pittsburgh and is part of four, two-day public hearings being conducted by the EPA on the proposed rulemaking. The Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule was issued June 2, 2014, and outlines ways in which states can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that operate by combusting fossil fuels. It provides goals for each state to help the nation significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020. "The EPA's proposed rule will foster innovation and create jobs. This proposed rule provides the proper incentives for low-pollution power, and the flexibility for states to reduce pollution in sensible ways," Apt said. Read more.


Shirley Ho
, assistant professor of physics and a member of the McWilliams Center for Cosmology, has been named a co-winner of the 2014 Outstanding Young Researcher Award from the International Organization of Chinese Physicists and Astronomers. The Macronix Prize, which is given to young, ethnic Chinese physicists or astronomers working outside of Asia, recognizes Ho for her leadership in large, international collaborations that have resulted in the most precise measurement of cosmic distances and contributed to the understanding of the nature of the expansion history of the universe. Ho conducts research that seeks to provide a greater understanding of our universe, including dark matter and dark energy. She is best known for leading the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III teams that completed the most precise measurement of a standard ruler of the universe — baryon acoustic oscillations — both perpendicular to and along the line of sight of observers, and completed the most accurate calculation of the distribution of matter in the universe to date. Learn more.


Materials Science and Engineering Professor Robert Davis recently gave a TEDxPSU talk at Penn State on more efficient lighting for cleaner air. He spoke about how the majority of the energy used to "burn" standard incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs is lost as useless heat. Much more efficient light-emitting diodes are now replacing these forms of lighting. Quantum dot-based LEDs may replace those devices in the future. Watch his talk.


Joan Stein
, principal librarian for assessment, marketing and training in the University Libraries, will receive a Library Assessment Career Achievement Award from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) on Aug. 5 in Seattle. The award recognizes "substantial contributions to effective, sustainable and practical library assessment as evidenced through presentations, publications, methods, service, advocacy and other work." Throughout her career, Stein has been guided by understanding user needs and developing services — based on data and evidence — that provide real value to users. She has served on the editorial board of Performance Measurement and Metrics since 1998, and has chaired the American Library Association Library Research Round Table. Her most significant contributions have been as a participant in the Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services, where she has been a presenter, keynote speaker and member of the editorial board. Her role as a host in helping to bring the Fourth Northumbria Conference to the United States in 2001 was a catalyst for developing the library assessment community in North America. Stein will retire from CMU in October 2014.


David Klahr
, the Walter van Dyke Bingham Professor of Cognitive Development and Education Sciences in the Department of Psychology, was featured in a podcast for "People Behind the Science." The interview focuses on his research that looks at how children learn science and how to help them think scientifically. Listen to the podcast.


Cornell LeSane
, associate director of Admission, is leaving Carnegie Mellon to become the dean of Admission at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.  LeSane has served the Office of Admission for the last 14 years, most recently leading the office’s Targeted Recruitment Initiatives Team, which focuses on recruiting and enrolling diverse and under-represented populations, coordinating Celebration of Diversity Weekends, Pre-College and SAMS (Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science) recruitment, and outreach to sophomores and juniors expressing early interest in Carnegie Mellon.  LeSane also served as the admission liaison to the Athletics Department and to the College of Engineering, and has led the team of application readers for the College of Engineering for many years.  A send-off reception is planned from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 6 in the Danforth Lounge of the Cohon University Center. Please RSVP to lmacioce@andrew.cmu.edu by Monday, Aug. 4.


Recent graduate Katie Cecil, a member of the women's tennis team, has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for excelling academically and athletically. She will receive a one-time grant of $7,500 to be used for part-time or full-time postgraduate study at a university or professional school. Cecil graduated from the Mellon College of Science last May with a cumulative 4.0 grade point average. The biological sciences major won numerous academic awards including two Academic All-America citations and two straight NCAA Elite 89 awards as the competitor with the highest cumulative GPA at the NCAA Division III Tennis Championships. On the court, Cecil was a two-time All-American in singles and led the Tartans to two NCAA quarterfinals appearances during her three years. She was honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in her sophomore year as the National Player to Watch and as the National Arthur Ashe Jr. Award winner for leadership and sportsmanship as a junior. Learn more about Cecil.