Carnegie Mellon University

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October 15, 2015

Personal Mention

Lynn Banaszak BruscoLynn Banaszak (Brusco), executive director of CMU’s Disruptive Health Technology Institute (DHTI), has won the 2015 Greater Pittsburgh ATHENA Award for her “professional excellence, contributions to the community and mentorship of other women.” The award was presented by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. At the DHTI, Banaszak has directed more than $4.5 million to 36 new, disruptive technologies that are bringing improvements in the affordability, accessibility, quality and simplicity of health care solutions. She also is known for providing extensive mentoring activities and commitments for women to help foster leadership skills, civic engagement, professional and personal development and entrepreneurial creativity. She is described as a “connector … who is thoughtful and strategic about making sure that the most constituents as possible can benefit from any situation, particularly women and girls.” Find out more at http://bit.ly/1Ryp2zQ.

Ken KoedingerKen Koedinger will deliver the opening keynote speech at the first Open edX Universities Symposium on Nov. 11 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Koedinger’s research aims to understand human learning and create educational technologies that increase student success. He is widely known for developing cognitive models and cognitive tutors, computer simulations of student thinking and learning, and software applying artificial intelligence to guide students through problem-based learning. Koedinger is a professor of human-computer interaction and psychology and a co-coordinatior of CMU’s Simon Initiative. Learn more

David DanksDavid Danks, head of the Department of Philosophy, recently spoke at the Future of Just War Conference in Monterey, Calif. Danks, who looks at how humans and machines interact in instances of cyberconflict, presented "Cognitive Challenges to Proportionality & Discrimination in Cyberconflict” with Joseph Danks of the University of Maryland. Learn more about the conference. http://jwtconference.weebly.com/

Sue-mei WuSue-mei Wu has received funding from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (CCKF) for the project "Weathering the Storm: Hand Puppet Theater and Taiwanese Opera Amid Social Change in Taiwan." In December 2014, Wu received the CMU Berkman Faculty Development Funding to support her research on these two performance forms. With the support of CCKF and the Berman funds, Wu will conduct ethnographic fieldwork and develop interactive online Hand Puppet Theater and Taiwanese Opera language and culture learning modules that incorporate artifacts and insights from the fieldwork. Wu is a teaching professor of Chinese Studies in the Modern Languages Department, and is currently teaching Chinese Folk Performance Traditions, a course that incorporates elements of her fieldwork research, technology and hands-on activities into an engaging and innovative language and culture learning experience for students. Find out more.

Joel TarrJoel A. Tarr, the Richard S. Caliguiri University Professor of History & Policy, authored an op-ed in the Oct. 11 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The opinion piece addresses the role of railroads in improving air quality. Read “Railroads should join civic groups in a mission to improve air quality.”

Gabrielle EichmannsGabrielle Eichmanns Maier, associate teaching professor of German, has authored a new textbook titled “Deutschland im Zeitalter der Globalisierung” (Germany in the Age of Globalization) for advanced learners of German. Released by Yale University Press, the book “is the first attempt within the realm of German Studies to offer a teaching aid on a phenomenon that has become a buzzword in the second decade of the 21st century and that is changing our immediate surroundings, as well as the world, in an unprecedented way.” Learn more

Priya KambhamArchitecture doctoral candidate Priya Kambham has answered all questions correctly during the first two weeks of the 2015 Knovel Academic Challenge. Knovel is a digital library resource containing hundreds of reference books to help users solve engineering and science problems. The Knovel Academic Challenge continues through October, so students still have time to join Kambham and help CMU move up the 2015 leaderboard. Instructors can implement real-life engineering and science practices into their curriculum and immerse their students in a professional problem-solving environment. Students will learn to use Knovel's trusted content and interactive tools while competing for points and prizes each week. Students can win an Apple iPad Air, SONOS speakers or a $100 Amazon gift card. Join the Knovel Academic Challenge at knovelac.com.

Melanie Diaz, a junior majoring in English and professional writing, interned at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs last spring while she was in the Washington Semester Program. A report Diaz wrote, "How U.S. Private Prisons Profit From Immigrant Detention," was recently referenced in a Huffington Post opinion piece authored by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic candidate for president. Read Sanders' "We Must End For-Profit Prisons." 

Obituary: Richard C. Green

Richard GreenCarnegie Mellon professor and former senior associate dean Richard C. Green, whose intellect and affability earned him respect as a teacher, researcher and leader at the Tepper School of Business and one of the presiding financial economists of his generation, died Oct. 9 at home in Pittsburgh from an aggressive form of cancer. He was 62.

His research created an enduring impact on the field, from corporate finance to personal finance to asset pricing. Widely published and steeped in a wide range of financial topics, Green served as an associate editor, co-editor or editor at five different journals. He was editor of the internationally esteemed Journal of Finance.

Green came to Carnegie Mellon in 1982. He served as head of the Tepper School Ph.D. program (2003-08), associate dean for research (2008-09) and senior associate dean of faculty and research (2009-14). He was awarded the Richard M. and Margaret S. Cyert Chair in 1999.

“It was clear to me from the first time I met Rick in the Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin that he was someone special — exceptional intellect, friendly personality and a wonderful sense of humor,” said Robert Dammon, dean of the Tepper School and professor of financial economics. “Throughout his career, Rick was an outstanding researcher and teacher, but also a dedicated colleague and friend to so many of us who had the good fortune to know him personally. His impact and contributions to the field of finance, the Tepper School of Business, and Carnegie Mellon University are significant and will be long-lasting. He will be deeply missed.”

Green is survived by his wife, Stephanie; two daughters, Emily of Pittsburgh and Julia of Oakland, Calif.; and a sister, Karen Hobson, of Tucson, Ariz. Services will be private. A remembrance of his professional life will be held at Carnegie Mellon at a later date.

Read the full obituary.