Personal Mention

Jenna Wise, a software engineering Ph.D. student in the Institute for Software Research, has been named a 2021 Google Ph.D. Fellow in programming technology and software engineering. A fourth-year doctoral student, Wise is interested in the design of usable programming languages and practical software verification. Her current research aims to develop a novel approach to gradual verification — a method of software analysis that gives software developers explicit control over the trade-offs between static and dynamic program verification along a spectrum by tuning the precision of specifications. “Jenna is a fantastic student who understands both the mathematical and human sides of software engineering in a way that we rarely see, even at CMU,” said Jonathan Aldrich, Wise’s Ph.D. co-advisor alongside ISR's Joshua Sunshine. The fellowship supports students as they pursue doctoral degrees and connects them with Google Research Mentors. Wise was humbled by the honor and similarly eager to get to work. “It is really exciting to be working with my Google Mentor to explore how my work can enhance different development workflows at Google,” she said. “This honor means so much to me, as it shows that industry professionals are just as excited about my work and vision for the future of software verification as I am.”

Ignacio Grossmann, the R.R. Dean University Professor of Chemical Engineering and former department head, was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering Sciences degree from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. The award recognizes his “outstanding achievements in process engineering and generous social commitment to education and research.” Grossmann is an expert in the development and application of optimization methods for process design and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He studied chemical engineering at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and earned his doctorate at Imperial College in London. Grossmann joined CMU in 1979. The textbook "Systematic Methods of Chemical Process Design," which Grossmann published together with CMU colleagues Larry Biegler and Art Westerberg, is used around the world. He recently published a new textbook, “Advanced Optimization for Process Systems Engineering,” under Cambridge University Press. Learn more about Grossmann.

Andrew Lawson, senior manager of laboratory and research safety in Environmental Health and Safety, successfully obtained the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. The CSP designation is awarded to experienced health, safety and environmental professionals who pass the certification exam. Certified Safety Professionals perform at least 50% of professional level safety duties, including making worksite assessments to determine risks, assessing potential hazards and controls, evaluating risks and hazard control measures, investigating incidents, maintaining and evaluating incident and loss records, and preparing emergency response plans. Lawson joined CMU in 2004, and holds a Certified Industrial Hygienist credential from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. He won the Andy Award in the Commitment to Excellence category in 2018.