Personal Mention
Manuela Veloso is among the top 10 women engineers in the world, according to a list compiled by Academic Influence, the academic rankings system that uses artificial intelligence to search massive databases and measure the impact of work by individuals in various fields. On June 23, in celebration of International Women in Engineering Day, Academic Influence announced its compilation of the 35 women making the greatest impact in engineering. Veloso, who was ranked in the top 10, is renowned for her research on teams of autonomous agents — exemplified by her work on robot soccer — and pioneered the concept of symbiotic autonomy with her CoBot robots. She is a past president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and of the RoboCup Federation. Veloso joined the Computer Science Department faculty in 1992 after earning her Ph.D. there. As the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Computer Science, she led the Machine Learning Department from 2016 to 2018 before taking a leave to become head of artificial intelligence research at J.P. Morgan Bank. Find out more about Veloso.
Ignacio Grossmann has recently published a new textbook, “Advanced Optimization for Process Systems Engineering,” under Cambridge University Press. “The first part of the textbook covers basic mathematical optimization concepts,” Grossmann, a university professor of chemical engineering, explains. "But then it goes into topics that are relatively recent research interests and that are areas still being developed motivated by problems in Process Systems Engineering. The emphasis in the book is both in the modeling as well as in the solution algorithms.” While mathematical optimization, which is the focus of Grossmann’s new book for graduate students, is not a new field, Grossmann approaches it in a unique way. Most textbooks only focus on optimization problems with continuous variables, while this textbook differentiates itself from others by addressing linear and nonlinear optimization models involving discrete variables, namely Mixed-integer Linear/Nonlinear Programming. Furthermore, inspired by research at CMU pioneered by University Professor Egon Balas, the textbook also deals with Generalized Disjunctive Programming, an active research area in Grossmann’s group over the last 15 years. Learn more about Grossmann and the new textbook.
Rick Siger was among a group of nine Pittsburgh leaders invited to participate in the Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program, an effort that brings together representatives from metropolitan communities to discuss ideas to foster a more shared prosperity. Siger, senior advisor to the president for economic development and community engagement, was recommended by Leadership Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and a panel of civic leaders. As senior advisor to President Jahanian, Siger leads a broad set of initiatives that require him to build relationships with stakeholders across the public, private and non-profit sectors, to translate big ideas into actionable plans, and to drive change and deliver results across a range of university activities. Prior to coming to CMU, Siger served President Barack Obama for more than seven years — including as chief of staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and deputy chief of staff at the Department of Commerce.