by Kelly Saavedra

Holly Hippensteel

Reports of sex discrimination, sexual violence and harassment make the headlines nearly every day. But many people affected by misconduct never report it to anyone.

This year, the university has a new office with staff dedicated solely to these areas. Located in West Wing, Suite 102, on the Pittsburgh campus, the Office of Title IX Initiatives is expanding the university’s efforts to raise awareness, change mindsets, provide support and effectively resolve issues that are reported.

“At Carnegie Mellon, we have long been committed to providing a safe environment to all community members and a culture that does not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” said Holly Hippensteel, who was appointed part-time interim director of Title IX Initiatives and Title IX Coordinator. “That said, there is always more that can be done.”

Hippensteel has worked closely with many individuals committed to Title IX and gender equity issues at Carnegie Mellon over the years, and says she was more than happy to take up the charge of building on the strong foundation that already exists.

“I know how passionately folks at Carnegie Mellon are working to raise awareness, and I hope that our new office is able to channel all of the positive initiatives already happening while also taking advantage of the fact that we now have staff members dedicated solely to these areas so that we can build and grow our efforts,” Hippensteel said.

In his announcement of the new office to the campus community, Vice President of Campus Affairs Michael Murphy praised Hippensteel for her exceptional contributions as a deputy Title IX coordinator. He described her as being “deeply committed to building a supportive climate in which each of our community members can thrive.”

Jamie Edwards

Serving alongside Hippensteel is alumna Jamie Edwards (DC’07), assistant director of Title IX Initiatives. Murphy said Edwards has established herself as “a rising leader in the field, demonstrating an enviable blend of a sharp analytical mind with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit.”

To Edwards, Title IX means ensuring that community members are not being discriminated against, harassed, excluded or otherwise harmed because of their gender.

“I want everyone to feel supported and to know that they have equal access and support,” she said.

Edwards is looking forward to implementing impactful prevention programs; connecting individuals with the support and resources they need; and ensuring a fair and just process for handling all claims of misconduct.

“Perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, I expect that an increase in the number of reports over the next few years will tell us we are doing our job,” Edwards said. “If we see an increase in reporting, we will know that more people are aware of the university’s efforts in the Title IX space, and that they have faith in the process.”

Hippensteel says the office’s top priorities include the creation and launch of a comprehensive web-based resource and a focus on high-quality community education. She said Murphy; Gina Casalegno, Lucas Christain and Jess Klein from Student Affairs; Dan Munsch and Jim Mercolini from Legal Affairs; and Everett Tademy and Dan McNulty from Human Resources have been instrumental in helping her and Edwards establish goals for the coming year.

“We are taking lots of input as we update our protocols and determine how our office can best support the work being done by others in units such as University Police, University Health Services, and Counseling and Psychological Services,” Hippensteel said.

“Lastly, we are trying to just get the word out about our office so that folks understand who we are, how to contact us (tix@cmu.edu) and when we might be helpful. This is very important work.”

By Jocelyn Duffy

Every coach wants nothing more than to see his or her team succeed. As team leader of the United States’ International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) team, Associate Professor of Mathematics Po-Shen Loh proudly watched as his team achieved the ultimate success — winning the IMO.

A “mathlete” himself, Loh was a silver medalist at the 1999 International Math Olympiad.

His experience in the realm of competitive mathematics was extremely influential in his life, and something he wanted to bring to other aspiring mathematicians.

In 2002, Loh began teaching at the Mathematical Association of America’s Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program, which prepares students for the international competition. In 2010, he was named the deputy team leader, and in 2014 he was appointed team leader — equivalent to the head coach — of the United States’ IMO team.

As team leader, Loh brought the summer training program to Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus.

Each summer, around 60 of the nation’s top high school mathematicians participate in the three-week-long boot camp where they are immersed in creative problem-solving techniques.

The idea that math can be seen as creative problem-solving is something that Loh teaches all his students, those in the Olympiad program and those at CMU.

He says that learning these skills will help students make the jump between what they have learned in their high school classes and the type of math that is done at the college-level, and from college math to the type of math that is done in academia and industry.

His hope is that he prepares his students to be successful not only in class or math competitions, but in their adult and professional lives. 

“Mathematics is not just about memorizing a bunch of formulas, but in fact is as creative as the humanities and the arts,” Loh told NPR after the competition.

Six high school students from across the country are selected for each year’s IMO team. In July, the team traveled to Chang Mai, Thailand, to compete against some of the world’s best teen-aged mathematicians.

In the two-day competition, each student did their best to complete six math problems in topics like algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics.

The problems are so hard, that often the best competitors complete only one. The difficulty is by design — the Olympiad aims to test students on creative problem-solving, not advanced techniques.

Loh and the team’s other coaches prepared the students well. At the international competition, five of the six high schoolers won gold medals and one won silver for their individual results, and team U.S.A. was awarded first place overall — something that they hadn’t accomplished since 1994.

“This historic result reflects an enormous amount of work by students, families, teachers and coaches, as well as an extensive national infrastructure for the cultivation of extraordinary mathematical talent,” Loh said. 

Po-Shen Loh (above, far left) poses with the IMO championship team. The title was the first for the U.S. since 1994.

By Denise Troll Covey

Keith Webster

University Libraries is hoping to engage CMU researchers in practices that will enhance the discovery, use and impact of their work.

With that goal in mind they have launched #OpenCMU, aimed at getting people to “open up” about openness. It’s a university-wide campaign emphasizing the many ways in which open access, open data, open licenses and open peer review can benefit them.

“Some people don’t have access to expensive books and journals, which hampers research worldwide, impedes the application of research findings and slows the pace of innovation,” said Keith Webster, dean of University Libraries. “Making the literature available with open access can turn these tides.”

Attempts to replicate research findings often fail, eroding the public’s trust. But making research data openly available could facilitate reproducibility, deter research misconduct and accel-erate the pace of scientific discovery. Open licenses granting designated usage rights also could speed things up, as would-be users wouldn’t have to seek out copyright owners and ask and wait for permission.

Most importantly, openness is just plain good for researchers.

“More access means more users, more citations, greater impact and enhanced recognition,” Webster said.

Throughout the fall semester, #OpenCMU will teach researchers how to increase access to their work as well as how to get credit for their work. Every couple of weeks, the Libraries will tweet and post information on a new topic, describing what it is, why it’s important, how it will benefit you, CMU’s position on it and what University Libraries is doing about it.

The topics will include discussion of ORCID IDs, CMU’s Research Showcase, publishing, copyright, author’s rights and licenses, and more.

Followers of the campaign on Twitter and Facebook will find information disseminated in bite-sized bits — quick to consume, and easy to digest.

To schedule a presentation or Q&A for your department or class, contact Denise Troll Covey, Scholarly Communications Librarian, at troll@andrew.cmu.edu or 412-268-8599. 

By Lisa Kulick

Researchers at CMU have developed a new approach to improve training for cryosurgery, a procedure used to treat prostate cancer by freezing and destroying the diseased tissues.

The new approach will shorten the learning curve for surgeons and improve the quality of the minimally invasive treatment for patients by reducing complications, shortening recovery times and lowering health care costs.

Yoed Rabin, a professor of mechanical engineering and a board member of the American College of Cryosurgery, has led the development of this first computerized training tool.

This intelligent training tool provides feedback to the trainee and offers advice on how to maximize the freezing of cancer tumors while preserving the healthy tissues surrounding the site.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men according to the American Cancer Society, which predicts that one in seven men will be diagnosed with the disease during his lifetime and one in 38 will die from the disease.

“As engineers, we can take advantage of recent developments in computer hardware and computation techniques to help doctors develop education methods for minimally invasive thermal surgery,” Rabin said.

In a recent article published in Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment, Rabin’s team demonstrated how its intelligent tutoring approach could shorten the learning curve of surgical residents.

The computerized system, which runs about 100 times faster than the actual cryosurgery procedure, uses novel algorithms to create 3-D thermal images of tumors in patients in a variety of scenarios. This allows the trainees to see firsthand the effects of the tissue they are freezing.

“Cryogenic technology today is far more advanced than the surgical treatment methods used by surgeons,” Rabin explained. “As engineers and surgeons collaborate, we can improve the quality of the applied methods and advance the widespread use of cryotherapy.”

By Kelly Saavedra

In their never-ending battle with harsh climates, farmers in Australia’s Wine Country deploy a variety of technologies, such as automated irrigation systems and soil sensors, to combat the hot and dry summers of the growing seasons.

But without a lot of real-time data tracking on which to base their decision-making, problems often aren’t being detected until after the damage has already been done. High costs and low returns have caused some growers to reduce operations, while others have been forced to shut down altogether.

James Laney, Constantin Baumgartner and Daniel Del Duca, former classmates at CMU’s Heinz College in Adelaide, just might have the answer for these farmers with their research project that involves an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Big Data analytics.

“In Australia, the laws allow you to operate a UAV as a service, which is something that you currently can’t do in the United States without obtaining the highly sought after FAA 333 exemption,” Laney said. “So we were trying to come up with any and every excuse to build a business model around one during our time in Adelaide and while the FAA figured things out in the U.S.”

They zeroed in on the agriculture industry, one of the few civilian industries that can really capitalize on the benefits of having autonomous systems, Laney said.

Through their research group, Aero Laboratories, the trio has begun gathering data and input from local Australian grape farmers. Equipped with the VADAR engine they are developing — the acronym stands for Vegetation Analysis and Data Regression — the drone surveys the farmland capturing real-time images, and turning the raw images into digital maps. These maps provide a way of summarizing and approximating crop health and identifying in real-time anomalies within the field.

“The term that gets tossed around is precision agriculture,” Laney explained. “It’s the ability to take your large farm, segregate it and isolate different areas, and target the specific areas that may be lagging or experiencing crop stress. Then, you can try to fix just those areas versus applying a general treatment to the whole area.”

For starters, this could mean less money spent on water and fertilizer.

VADAR also fuses existing infield data into the digital maps and displays the information in a report through an easy-to-use, interactive mobile platform or desktop app.

“VADAR will help farmers analyze how various factors in the field correspond to plant health, and over time, provide predictive modeling that may lead to better crop management strategies,” Laney said. “Ultimately, we believe our system will help produce a more intimate growing strategy where crops are monitored on a plant-by-plant basis versus block-by-block or acre-by-acre strategies.”    

 Laney says their biggest challenge so far has been the fact that the technology industry grows rapidly, much faster than the agriculture industry — and plants, for that matter.

“It takes a full growing season before the benefit of new agriculture technology like ours can be measured. Many growers and producers already have a difficult time managing their crops and the technology they have already. They are hesitant to commit to a new technology that has yet to prove itself in the industry,” Laney said. “It hasn’t been easy to break this barrier to entry.”

That being said, the months of September and October mark the beginning of the Adelaide’s grape growing season, and plans are underway to work alongside Adelaide growers to track the growth from the first bud break to harvest.

“This will allow us to compare our results to the previous harvests and show the benefits that Aero Laboratories can provide,” Laney said.

Del Duca finished his Master of Public Policy and Management degree in Australia and is heading up Aero Laboratories’ operations there, while Baumgartner and Laney are in Pittsburgh to finish up their coursework.

This fall, the team is hoping to recruit a few of their fellow CMU students to be part of their spring capstone project and soon-to-be business.

Pictured: James Laney tests a drone that he and two of his Heinz College classmates developed to help farmers better manage their crops.

By Erin Keane Scott

When Sonia Manzano left Carnegie Mellon in the late ’60s to star in Stephen Schwartz’ (A’68) off-Broadway production “Godspell” in New York, she knew she wanted to change the world with her art but wasn’t yet sure how to make that happen.

As a child growing up in the Bronx with parents from Puerto Rico, Manzano says she remembers watching television and never seeing her life experience reflected in the shows of the time, offering “Leave It to Beaver” as an example.

“I had never seen any people of color on television, and on some level, I used to watch and wonder where I was going to fit into this world where I didn’t see myself represented,” she said.                 

One gloomy day in Pittsburgh while in Carnegie Mellon’s Skibo Café, she saw “Sesame Street” for the first time. The sight of James Earl Jones reading the alphabet to children intrigued her. Eventually, she saw the characters of Gordon, a schoolteacher, and his wife Susan, a nurse, African-Americans living in an urban atmosphere, and she found herself relating for the first time.

She auditioned for the role of Maria and went home with the job. The two were a match on many levels.

“Sesame Street was one of my first auditions in the city. I was coming of age at the time. It was the ’60s. I wanted to change the world, and so did Sesame Street. I had an idealistic fervor, and I was lucky to find a platform that embraced that and wanted to change the lives of children.”

Manzano’s work over the past four and a half decades has been tirelessly focused on this mission of bringing differing perspectives and views of the world to children.

“Sesame Street was an instrument of social change. The goal was to close the education gap and eliminate racism,” she said.

While she started on the show as a performer, her work evolved and she soon began writing scripts for the program. She won 15 Emmy Awards as a member of the show’s writing staff.

“I feel like I blinked and the years have gone by,” Manzano said.

She recently announced her retirement from the show after 44 years. And while she may be closing a chapter on her acting, it appears her writing pursuits will continue. Manzano has published four books since 2004, including her memoir, “Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx,” which was released on Aug. 25.

Manzano’s best advice for young people upon her retirement:

“I would say to be flexible. I didn’t know I was going to end up on TV on a children’s show. I always thought I’d try to do regional theater,” she said.

“You have to be flexible with your talents.”

Top photo: Sonia Manzano performs on "Sesame Street."

Bottom photo: Manzano stars in "Godspell."

By Erin Keane Scott

The School of Drama has announced its 2015-2016 season, featuring guest directors Patrick Wilson (A’95) and Sasha Illiev.

Wilson will be directing “The Full Monty,” in which he starred on Broadway, and Illiev will direct a devised Commedia dell’Arte piece based on Flaminio Scala’s “The Plague in Venice.”

“We’re thrilled to announce our coming season, particularly because our own talented faculty will work hand-in-hand with these wonderful guest directors,” said Professor Peter Cooke, head of the School of Drama. “That combination offers our students an incredible benefit, one that will enrich their education and experience, and best prepare them for careers beyond Carnegie Mellon.”

The Subscriber Series will open with William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” directed by faculty member Anthony McKay, Oct. 8-17. The school will present William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams and directed by Caden Manson, a faculty member in the John Wells Directing Program, Nov. 19-Dec. 5.

Wilson, who has found success on stage, screen and television, will direct “The Full Monty,” with book by Terrence McNally and music and lyrics by David Yazbek, Feb. 18-27. Faculty members Thomas Douglas and Tomé Cousin will music direct and choreograph, respectively. The season will finish with Illiev’s adaptation of “The Plague in Venice,” April 7-23.

Students in The John Wells Directing Program, named for Hollywood producer John Wells (A’79), will direct the following productions:

•   An adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” directed by Fellow Eleanor Bishop;

•   “Milk Like Sugar,” the Obie Award-winning play by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Fellow Terrence Mosley;

•   “Bob and Dave and Ren” adapted and directed by Fellow Ben Gansky; and

•   The Director Series, featuring “Cloud Tectonics” by José Rivera, “Jet of Blood” by Antonin Artaud and “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl.

The New Works Series continues to develop the innovative work of the Master of Fine Arts dramatic writing students, showcasing three new plays in October and three new plays in April by playwrights Eugenie Carabatsos, Karina Cochran, Amy Gijsbers van Wijk, Mora V. Harris, Levi Jelks and Joe Necessary.

Additionally, the Horizons Reading Series will continue next season in December and February. Horizons, which features new voices in a staged reading setting, provides community access to plays that may not fit into the school’s annual season; its aim is to broaden understandings of the range of theatrical writing, subject matter and stylistic form.

For package options or to place a subscription order, call the box office at 412-268-2407 between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Special discounts are available to all Carnegie Mellon alumni.

All Subscriber Series performances are at 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturdays in CMU’s Purnell Center for the Arts.

Pictured: Patrick Wilson (right) stars in FX's "Fargo" this fall.

By Bruce Gerson

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Carnegie Mellon’s Sam Ventura.

He’s not a play-making forward, a hard-hitting defenseman or a lightning quick goaltender, but the 27-year-old junior faculty member in the Statistics Department is hoping to make a big impact nonetheless.

Ventura is among the growing breed of statistical analysts in professional sports, an industry proliferated by Moneyball, the book and subsequent movie about the Oakland Athletics’ reliance on data analytics to build a successful baseball team. Last year, Karim Kassam, a former CMU professor of social and decision sciences, joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as their analytics and research coordinator.

“In any field, if you can objectively back up your decision with data, you’re doing yourself a favor,” said Ventura, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and Ph.D. in statistics at CMU.

A Pittsburgh native and lifelong hockey player and enthusiast, Ventura’s appointment as a consultant with the Penguins stems from his senior year at CMU and Andrew Thomas, a professor who taught a class about applying statistical methods to the sporting world.

Ventura said he and Thomas, a native of Toronto, had a mutual interest in hockey. They put their heads together on a project rating players in the National Hockey League that incorporated statistical properties that went beyond the standard plus-minus rating, which assigns a value to a player based on the total number of goals his team scores and the opponent scores while that player is on the ice.

The project led to a paper that was published in The Annals of Applied Statistics and a panel discussion at the Joint Statistical Meetings, the annual major statistics conference. Ventura was a panelist for “Advances in Methods for the Analysis of Ice Hockey.”

“It was a good discussion with a big Q&A with the audience. The conclusion was we thought our work was very good, but the common and advanced fans didn’t have access to it. There was no public presentation of our results,” Ventura said.

Enter War-on-Ice.com, a comprehensive visually appealing website that Ventura and Thomas co-developed to introduce fans to more statistical metrics.  WAR is an acronym that stands for Wins Above Replacement, which measures how many wins a player helps a team achieve over someone who would be his replacement.

While fans can go to NHL.com for player and team statistics, Ventura says War-on-Ice.com is different in two ways.

“War-on-Ice is geared to the more advanced fan, who is interested in stats that are good descriptors of what happened in the past but also good predictors of what will happen in the future,” Ventura explained.

“That’s what’s behind the core tenet of modern hockey stats. We like to present the metrics that are predictors, like WAR.”

Ventura said another big predictor is the total number of shots a team takes during a game, even the ones that are blocked and not officially logged as shots on goal.

“The idea is that the more shots a team takes, the more puck possession time they have. That’s a good predictor of wins and losses and future success,” Ventura said.

Ventura feels the website and the Pittsburgh Hockey Analytics Workshop, hosted by War-on-Ice and the Statistics Department at CMU last November, piqued the Penguins’ interest in him.

“We’re excited to add someone of Sam’s talent to our organization,” said Jason Karmanos, the Penguins’ vice president of hockey operations. “Advance stats data continues to emerge and evolve daily, and Sam will be instrumental in helping us interpret new findings in that area.”

Ventura said areas in which quantitative analysis could provide value include research about which players play well with each other and against each other, and if it’s advantageous to play your starting goaltender in games on consecutive days.

This fall, Ventura will juggle his consultant duties with his responsibilities at CMU. As a freshly minted Ph.D. and visiting faculty member, he’ll be teaching Probability Theory and Random Processes, an introductory course aimed at computer science and engineering students.

He’s also a faculty co-adviser for the undergraduate Sports Analytics Club at CMU, and will be assuming his role behind the bench as an assistant coach for the CMU Hockey Club. Last year he helped the Tartans win its league championship.

“I only scored one goal and was injured. But I helped the team in other ways.

“That’s what statistical analysis is all about. You have to find niches where you can provide value,” he said.

The Penguins are counting on it.

Pictured: Sam Ventura is one of the growing breed of statistical analysts in professional sports.

By Kelly Saavedra

The signs are all over campus: there’s a new crime prevention initiative in town.

Campus police are well aware that CMU faculty, staff and students have a lot of demands on their time, but they also want to be sure women are educated about safety.

So starting this fall, they’re offering a two-hour safety awareness class, called “S.A.F.E.,” as an alternative to their well-attended Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) class, which requires much more of a time commitment. 

The S.A.F.E. program — an acronym for Self-defense Awareness and Familiarization Exchange — is an award-winning awareness and prevention program that provides women with information that may reduce their risk of exposure to violence and introduce them to the physical aspects of self-defense. 

The program’s purpose is two-fold: to prevent crimes of sexual violence in the community through education and training, and to educate women about realistic options that will help them avoid, escape and survive assaults if they do occur. 

“The advantage of this class over R.A.D. is that R.A.D. is a 12-hour class,” said Lieutenant Joseph Meyers. “Although R.A.D. is a popular choice for many on campus, we feel that a two-hour class would be more attractive for a good portion of our students, faculty and staff, and we want to reach as many people as we can with this important safety information to educate them.”

The S.A.F.E. class essentially focuses on three components: avoidance, escape and survival of physical attacks, particularly those of a sexual nature. Participants of S.A.F.E. can expect:

• a dynamic, super-graphic 13-piece full color folio packed with safety information every woman should know;

• a 17-minute motivational video shown as part of every program, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actress Sharon Gless, who starred in “Cagney & Lacey” and “Burn Notice”; and

• a 1-1/2 hour familiarization with physical self-defense.

Meyers says this particular program has been very successful at other universities.

“In just two short hours, the S.A.F.E. class provides women with solid, public safety awareness information they can incorporate into their everyday lives,” Meyers said. “It’s based on the premise that 90 percent of self-defense is awareness, risk reduction and avoiding confrontation. Only 10 percent of self-defense is physical. The focus of the class is on ensuring that people are both mentally and physically prepared.”

Security Officer Mikki Williams is one of three CMU police officers who have been certified as S.A.F.E. instructors. 

“There are a number of reasons why I am glad I am able to take part in the S.A.F.E. course,” Williams said. “The main reason that I believe the course is so important is that it empowers women to take a stand for themselves.”

Williams said women are often viewed as the weaker sex in any culture, and therefore are preyed upon more than men. 

“The S.A.F.E. course arms women with some of the necessary tools to avoid harm and protect themselves in many different situations.”  

Police Officer Stacey Griffin and Security Officer Jim Moran also are certified to teach the class. Police officers Don Campbell and Leah Boehler and Security Officer Erick Canizales will assist the instructors 
in their presentations.

By Bruce Gerson

At 3 p.m., Aug. 10, a train pulling tanker cars of liquefied petroleum gas and other hazardous materials abruptly screeched to a halt and caught fire on the tracks under the bridge over Forbes Avenue near the Robert Mehrabian Collaborative Innovation Center (CIC).

Thick black smoke billowed into the air and Pittsburgh Emergency Management ordered University Police to evacuate the campus to a quarter mile from the area.

Several sports camps and pre-college classes were in progress, and an international cybersecurity conference was in session at the CIC.

CMU’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) sprung into action at the direction of Environmental Health and Safety Director Madelyn Miller, who was conducting her 10th annual Emergency Response Desktop Drill.

At tables spread throughout Rangos 1, more than 45 staff members from across campus representing the EOC’s Executive Policy Group, Unified Command, and Communications, Operations, Safety/Security, and Planning and Risk Assessment teams huddled and began to map out their emergency response strategies and activities.

A CMU-Alert message was drafted and sent to the campus community asking those in the affected zone to evacuate to their home or convene at the assembly area nearest them. Facilities Management Services moved to shut down air handling intake units in nearby buildings. The Student Health, Housing and Dining, and Safety and Security teams activated to accommodate for faculty, staff and students as well as the visiting campers, pre-college students and conference attendees.

After 15 minutes of planning each group gave an overview of what they discussed and what actions were taken, in addition to raising issues and concerns.

After round one, new developments building on the existing scenario were introduced, followed by more team planning, group discussion and debate.

Representatives from the City of Pittsburgh, George Washington University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where a train pulling hazardous materials really did catch fire, attended the drill and were surprised by the involvement of so many staff members in the room.

The drill included staff from Athletics, Computing Services, Conference and Event Services, Environmental Health and Safety, FMS, Housing and Dining Services, Marketing & Communications, Risk Management, Student Affairs, University Health Services and University Police.

“What was impressive about this was the number of groups what were at the table to bring up all the things that you don’t normally think about in an emergency,” said Patrick Wolf, assistant director of Environmental Health & Safety at UMBC.

“With any emergency response you’re never going to have all the answers. The question is do you have the ability to communicate within your group to start talking about these issues ahead of time. This is what planning is all about,” Wolf said.

Jonathan Henry, an emergency management specialist for the City of Pittsburgh, said he normally doesn’t see participation from so many university components at desktop exercises.

“I was pleased to see the acknowledgement from Mr. Henry as to the turnout from the many different departments. I think that shows the seriousness with which we take emergency response and planning,” said Vice President and General Counsel Mary Jo Dively of the Executive Policy Group.

“As in every one of these that I’ve attended in a decade, I learned new things that we can do better. They’re always valuable.”

The 10th annual drill was a first for Vice Provost for Research Gary Fedder.

“It’s always useful to bring people together from across the university to think about these types of things that otherwise we wouldn’t necessarily take the time to think about, and to learn of all the different connections we can make,” Fedder said.

George Nunez, director of Emergency Management at George Washington, said being able to assess what you can’t do is just as important as assessing what you can do.

“Any institution or organization needs to recognize what resources it has to be able to handle incidents and emergencies, but also when we don’t have the resources we must look outward to our colleague institutions, across the county or nationally for help,” he said.

Miller said it was heartening to see so many people participating and communicating.

“You can’t respond to a complex emergency if you don’t get people together,” she said.

Whether it’s leading the Kiltie Band, helping students navigate through college finances, keeping campus safe, improving the research administrative process or improving the HR function for employees, the 2015 Andy Award winners all work diligently to make Carnegie Mellon a better place.

And they’ve succeeded.

Honored for their excellence at the 21st annual Andy Awards ceremony were:

Paul Gerlach for Outstanding Spirit; 
Don Campbell for Commitment to Excellence; 
Brian Fernandes for Commitment to Students; 
Rhonda Kloss for Innovative and Creative Contributions; and 
The CMU Works Project Team for Outstanding Teamwork and Collaboration.

SPIRIT — Paul Gerlach

Under Paul Gerlach’s leadership, the university’s Kiltie Band is the epitome of CMU’s Tartan spirit and one of the univeristy's great treasures, according to Josh Centor, director of Athletics, who co-nominated him for the award.

“Paul influences the students’ educational experience in a profound way. He teaches them about music, but moreover, he teaches them to have a passion for this university and community,” Centor said.

While Gina Casalegno, vice president for Student Affairs, believes Gerlach’s commitment has been demonstrated over the tenure of his career, she noted this year his dedication to Carnegie Mellon was on display under the most heartbreaking of circumstances.

This past November, Gerlach’s wife, Myra, passed away after a short battle with cancer.

“Throughout Myra’s illness, Paul maintained his commitment to the band while ensuring he was there for Myra every step of the way,” said Casalegno, who co-authored the nomination with Centor.

Just a couple short weeks after her passing, Gerlach took the director’s stand and delivered a moving and beautiful holiday concert in Kirr Commons.

“I was struck by his poise in the face of such loss and realized he was right where he wanted to be,” Casalegno said, “in the comfort of his CMU family where he has dedicated a lifetime of contributions to directly impact the lives of hundreds of students who played for him and thousands more who have enjoyed the celebrative environment brought to campus by the band all these years.”

Carl Glazer, a recent cheermaster and president of the Kiltie Band who worked closely with Gerlach, said Gerlach’s dedication extends far beyond the kilts and the instruments.

“The Kiltie Band serves as one of the first exposures to upperclassmen for many of the first-years, and the atmosphere of acceptance allows them to form bonds that are used for academic help, social guidance or simple lasting friendship,” Glazer said.

From early Saturday morning pre-game rehearsals to Friday night pep band doubleheaders, Glazer said Gerlach’s commitment goes far beyond the standard 9 to 5.

“He never fails to be meticulously organized and prepared, spending countless additional hours outside of rehearsals and performances to ensure the students are not hampered in their ability to enjoy making music,” Glazer said. “Paul Gerlach serves as a living representation of the spirit that makes our campus and community so unique and special.”

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE — Don Campbell

When Tom Ogden was interviewing for the chief of police position at CMU, Bill Elliott, then vice president of Enrollment, pointed to Officer Don Campbell sitting on the steps talking to a student.

Elliott said, "If all police officers were like that one, your job would be a lot easier. Look at him with that student. He really cares and they know it."

Ogden was hired for the position, and it didn’t take long for him to recognize what Elliott meant.

“Don is one of the most dedicated and caring people that I have ever met,” Ogden said. “The university and its students, staff and faculty mean everything to him."

In his nomination letter, Ogden said Campbell takes time out of every day to speak with members of the campus community and to assist them in hundreds of different ways. He watches out for the students, giving advice, help and support during many difficult times in their lives.

“On those occasions when I need to call upon University Police to assist with a serious or emergency situation, I find myself 100 percent more calm and assured just by the mere sight of Officer Campbell arriving on the scene,” said John Hannon, associate dean of Student Affairs.

“Don is a multifaceted problem-solver and a phenomenal collaborator. He ensures that response is thorough and complete by raising gentle questions about things that may have been forgotten or missed, without ever making anyone foolish for overlooking them,” Hannon added. “He is incredibly decisive, and on more than one occasion, his swift actions have literally saved the life of one or more of our community members.”

In 1989, Campbell rescued a six-year-old girl from serious injury. In 1992, 2007 and 2014, he was recognized for saving the lives of students in three separate incidents. Ogden added that Campbell has made several high profile arrests of individuals victimizing members of the CMU community, and his file is full of countless letters and accolades recognizing his service and compassion.

Lieutenant Joseph Meyers offered Campbell as a role model in a time when police are coming under intense scrutiny.

“Law enforcement in parts of America has come under intense criticism for its lack of connectivity with and failure to support and engage with those communities that they are expected to protect and serve. That degradation occurred over an extended period of time and for a variety of complicated and intertwined reasons," Meyers said.

"I hold Officer Campbell up to the law enforcement profession as a model of professionalism, respect, caring and genuineness that should be emulated by all police officers if they are to start rebuilding a relationship of trust and support with their communities,” Meyers said. “He is truly what every police officer should be.”

OUTSTANDING TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION – CMUWorks Project Team

On Dec. 29, 2014, Workday launched at Carnegie Mellon. It was no easy feat. 

Implementing this multi-year cross-organizational initiative to evaluate, streamline and enhance the delivery of human resources, payroll, and benefits services for faculty, staff, and students across CMU’s campuses was a Herculean task.

The CMU Works Project Team — Kim Abel, Karen Eck, Jeff Houser, Bob Riddle, Linda Schmidt and Deanne Weaver — brought the project to fruition.

Cheryl Wehrer, associate director for Finance and Administration, was so impressed, she nominated the team for an Andy Award for their dedication, commitment, coordination and successful completion of the project.

“After four long and arduous years, they came together for an amazing finish to deliver a smooth implementation of Workday — arguably the largest and most complex system, process and reorganization project in recent CMU history,” Wehrer said.

In order to deliver this important project to campus, the project leaders brought together a number of key departments across the university, such as Finance, Computing Services and Human Resources.

“They managed a large cross-functional team of external consultants and campus representatives whose efforts focused in human capital management, conversion, payroll, reporting, security, absence and time tracking, technical issues, testing, change management and implementation of the CMUWorks Service Center,” said Liz Milavec, associate vice president for Finance, who also wrote a nomination letter for the team.

“They fostered collaborative relationships across groups and considered multiple perspectives to define and solve problems, reach agreements and ensure that campus users were well informed, educated, and ready to use Workday and the CMUWorks Service center,” Wehrer added.

The task was not without its challenges, including leadership changes and an aggressive implementation timeline, but the team persisted to ensure the right people were doing the right jobs and that everyone stayed on track toward the path of successful implementation.

“This team enabled a positive and recognizable difference in the university community that will impact current and future employees for years to come,” Milavec said. “The delivery of the CMUWorks project improved organizational efficiency and productivity at the university by eliminating manual, standalone and paper processes, realized cost savings by consolidating multiple systems and providing a lower total cost of ownership, and positioned the university to be agile in meeting changing business and compliance needs.”

Milavec said feedback from the campus and university leadership has been overwhelmingly positive regarding this project, and it is viewed as a vast improvement to the previous systems and processes.

INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS – Rhonda Kloss

Rhonda Kloss has always been a proponent of training in research administration for her staff and for campus. She participates regularly in Research Administration Council meetings and has presented in workshops and classes.

At conferences, she has networked with peers to learn about training initiatives implemented at their campuses.

“Obviously CMU has other valuable research training opportunities through the Research Administrators Council, but Rhonda often talked about other ways to broaden the knowledge and experience of CMU’s research administration professionals,” said Anne Marie Bosnyak, senior director of Sponsored Projects and Cost Analysis. “Her goal was to reinvent or reimagine the delivery of training. She also wanted to build a research administration community.”

Kloss finally saw her dreams come true in fiscal year 2015, when the Research Administration Training Series launched its inaugural year.

“What sets the Research Administration Training Series apart is the delivery of the materials,” Bosnyak said. “The series, which begins its second year this September, is a cohort style training program led by Carnegie Mellon’s own subject matter experts.  The cohort training brought together 15 CMU employees from different departments and with different skill levels for a year-long training program. The program was focused primarily around the life cycle of an award — from proposal to closeout.”

Of course, the talent of the presenters played a role in the success of the program’s first year, however the program existed because of Kloss’s vision, contributions and follow through.

“Rhonda managed the entire project, from soliciting help from CMU’s subject matter experts to do the training — she was also a trainer for several sessions — and coordinating the topics to moderating each session,” Bosnyak said.

The  new educational training series Kloss designed filled a gap in educational programming for staff and afforded all CMU employees the opportunity to get a 360-degree view of aspects of research administration in general, as well as the processes and procedures that are unique to the university.

“She likely spent considerable time building the comprehensive curriculum and identifying two to three appropriate subject matter experts for each of the 16 sessions,” said Colleen Mantini, ICES program manager, in her nomination letter. “Thanks to her taking on this challenge and organizing this series, 15 CMU staffers across campus — CIT, Tepper, Heinz, Deitrich, MCS, and Central Aministration — completed this series and gained valuable insights into research administration.”

Mantini said the gains were most likely greatest for staffers new to research administration or new to Carnegie Mellon research policies and procedures.

“However, staffers with 20-plus years’ experience in research admin at CMU also enhanced their knowledge of some administrative issues and/or processes of which they were previously unaware,” she said.

“Overall, all participants are carrying out their work activities with a greater knowledge base. We are able to spot issues that merit further attention and know whom to contact to resolve those issues,” Mantini said.

COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS – Brian Fernandes

Shernell Smith, associate director for the Dean of Student Affairs, says one of the stressful concerns for our student population is financial affordability during unexpected emergency situations.

“When I am faced with complex student situations that require a magical touch, I pick up the phone to call Brian Fernandes in Enrollment Services,” Smith said.

“I always know that Brian is going to work tirelessly to ensure that we are able to find a solution that meets the unique needs of the student.”

Smith called Fernandes a “consummate professional” who meaningfully engages with students and their families.

“One of Maya Angelou’s most empowering quotes is, ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ Brian Fernandes is an inspiring role model for our campus community who sincerely cares about the well-being of our students,” Smith said.

Smith recalled a complicated situation that featured a student who was academically soaring, but whose family was engaged in a number of financial setbacks.

“Through Brian’s guidance, the student and her family were able to work through their financial situation. That student is now a proud Loyal Scot, and someone who truly gives back to CMU because someone like Brian Fernandes was there when she needed support the most,” Smith said.

Fernandes has not only dedicated himself to meeting the critical challenges that sometimes surround Enrollment Services, but also to advancing new methods that meet the needs of students.

“Brian has done so in a way that highlights the values of leadership, integrity, professionalism, diversity and advocacy while respecting the core pillars of our university mission and fostering an environment for meaningful engagement with our students.”

Helen Wang, director of First-Year Student Life, said Fernandes has the ability to see work as a bevy of opportunities and welcomes challenges, rather than hurdles, barriers and impossibilities.

“That is a quality that makes someone not just good at their work, but exemplary. Brian is such a person,” Wang said. “I have never heard a negative comment come from him, despite the many challenges that are present in his work. Rather, he gathers the right information, seeks the right colleagues and makes good things happen where others might resign to the challenges. He is a bridge builder, often finding ways to collaborate when it would be easier not to.”

Renee Camerlengo, assistant dean of Student Affairs, recognizes that working with students in the intimate space of their financial circumstances requires artful navigation.

“Brian is a steadfast partner working with students facing significant physical and mental health needs, family dysfunction, employment interruption and tragedy. His empathy, compassion and can-do attitude bring a tremendous sense of relief to often overwhelming situations for our students,” Camerlengo said.

“I am deeply grateful to have such a talented colleague doing the work he does with and for our community.”

By Bruce Gerson / bgerson@cmu.edu

Provost Farnam Jahanian, Heinz College Dean Ramayya Krishnan and College of Engineering Dean Jim Garrett (l-r) listen to Rick Siger's presentation at the Strategic Plan Update meeting.

Carnegie Mellon’s Strategic Plan will be unlike any other.

It won’t be bound. It won’t be in a slick and glossy publication.

Instead CMU’s new 10-year strategic plan, which will guide the university’s growth to 2025, will live and breathe on an innovative website that allows users to see the connections across a rich web of goals and strategies. The Web presentation will change and evolve over time, reflecting plans for realizing these ambitions, and progress toward goals.

Rick Siger, director of Strategic Initiatives, gave an update to the university community at a town hall meeting last Thursday (Sept. 24) in Posner Hall. He said the plan, which now resides on a staging server, is still being completed in preparation for review by the Board of Trustees in late October.

If approved by the board, he expected the plan to launch on the Web sometime in November.

After more than 100 committee meetings, 125 comments and questions from the university community, and participation from more than 1,200 individuals, the plan was drafted to include three categories, 12 goals and 24 strategies, to achieve those goals.

Rick Siger said the plan will be reviewed by trustees in late October.

“Each goal has very specific, concrete action items, and the strategies can support several goals,” said Siger, who noted that most university plans are not as detailed.

The three categories are Individual Experience, University Community and Societal Impact.

Siger said existing measures and new metrics will be established to track progress toward each goal, which will be recorded on the website. He said individual strategies will have their own metrics, and some core metrics will be relevant across the board. Senior leadership will meet annually to evaluate the progress.

In closing the meeting, Provost Farnam Jahanian thanked Siger, the Faculty Senate Working Group, and the many members of the CMU community who were involved in the strategic planning process.

“The process and journey are just as important,” Jahanian said. “The real product is the conversation that has taken place in the process. The outcome reflects the robust interaction that has taken place across this campus.

“The hard part is now implementation,” he said. “The only way this will work is if it is embraced by faculty and staff.”

College of Engineering Dean Jim Garrett agreed.

“We all have to participate in making it happen. It can’t just be top down,” Garrett said.

For more information, watch the town hall meeting.

By Kelly Saavedra / ksaavedra@cmu.edu

Pope Francis was recently in a “New York State of Mind,” prompting legendary singer and songwriter Billy Joel to respond with one of his familiar refrains: “I’m movin’ out.”

The piano man suspended his regular gig in Madison Square Garden for a day in late September to make room for a rare and wildly anticipated papal visit.

Tait Towers — a company that’s been providing staging, lighting and scenic design for live entertainment since 1978 and whose dazzling portfolio includes elaborate rigging for Madonna, U2, Elton John, Lady Gaga and the Olympic Ceremonies — built the stage from which Pope Francis celebrated mass and handled other details, including sculpting a 12-foot-tall Crucifix suspended above the altar.

David Lasky, Tait’s lead sculptor and a 2009 graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s Bachelor of Humanities and Arts program, was handed the task of carving Jesus.

“It was one of the most mind-blowing experiences I’ve had,” he said. “Sculpting the Crucifix was such an honor. It’s such a rare occasion that I would have the opportunity to present my work before the Pope, and I wanted to make sure that Jesus was expressing the emotion, the meaning of his life.”

Lasky completed his divine assignment in seven days, although he says he wishes he’d had more time.

“As artists, we agonize over our work. And this time was no different,” he said.

Lasky did not get to see the final product installed at the world famous venue, as he had already begun work on another assignment. But he did admit to his emotions almost getting the best of him toward the project’s end.

“While sculpting, the life and death of Jesus really began ruminating with me,” he said, “and on the last day, before we had to send the Crucifix to Madison Square Garden, I was almost in tears with all of the emotion.”

Lasky says he felt like he was given the opportunity not just to do something cool, but also to witness something special.

By Bruce Gerson / bgerson@cmu.edu, Byron Spice / bspice@andrew.cmu.edu
and Robert Vickers / rvickers@andrew.cmu.edu

Carnegie Mellon is helping to set the agenda in the U.S. and the world.

Consider this impressive two weeks in mid-September. In a span of just 14 days Carnegie Mellon dominated the world stage in Dalian, China, was summoned to the White House twice and hosted dignitaries from the U.S. and India. 

“As these powerful two weeks demonstrate, Carnegie Mellon is one of the most sought-after thought leaders among U.S. universities,” said Director of Strategic Initiatives Rick Siger, who prior to joining CMU was chief of staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“During my time in the federal government — especially in the White House — my team relied heavily on talent and ideas from CMU on issues ranging from robotics, to high-performance computing, to advanced manufacturing. Being at CMU for the last year, I’ve been honored to witness this leadership firsthand, and to be a part of a university that continues to gain momentum nationally and globally,” Siger said.

Fifteen faculty members, the largest delegation of any university, participated in the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in China, where they led discussions and demonstrations among global thought leaders in business, government and academia on robotics, artificial intelligence and data analytics.

A few days later, university leaders and professors were twice called to the White House as founding members of a new national alliance aimed at improving urban infrastructure and services, and as experts in technology-enhanced learning.

On the heels of the visits to the nation’s capital, the university hosted U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his back-to-school “Ready for Success” bus tour promoting STEM education and improving college access for America’s youth.  

One day later, Carnegie Mellon hosted Arun Kumar Singh, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S., who spoke about the need to collaborate with universities, such as CMU, to improve higher education in India.

Shortly after, Singh’s counterpart, Richard Verma, the U.S. Ambassador to India, came to CMU. He said Carnegie Mellon was symbolic of the strong ties that exist between India and the U.S.

Take the two-week tour.

Summer Davos

Leading the CMU contingent at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions, often referred to as “Summer Davos,” were Justine Cassell, Andrew Moore, Jason Hong, Tom Mitchell, Daniel Neill, Aarti Singh, William “Red” Whittaker, Ralph Hollis and Illah Nourbakhsh.

“Carnegie Mellon is always on the cutting edge of technology innovation, particularly technologies that collaborate with people to address the most pressing challenges of our time, so the World Economic Forum meetings are natural venues in which to share our ideas and demonstrate our technologies,” said Cassell, CMU’s associate vice provost of Technology Strategy and Impact, and a member of several WEF councils and committees on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the Future of Health and New Visions for Education.

Moore, the dean of the School of Computer Science, presented a session on Machine Learning for Health, which discussed ways in which artificial intelligence can make people healthier.

CMU’s dominance in robotic technology was on display in a “Meet the Robots” exhibition. Whittaker led a demonstration for participants that enabled them to drive CMU’s lunar rover “Andy” remotely around a mining site in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Mifflin. 

Hollis presented his “Ballbot,” a robot about the size of a person that moves atop a sphere the size of a bowling ball. Ballbot can maneuver in homes, offices and other environments to assist humans.

Pictured: Using a video wall, Illah Nourbakhsh presents at the World Economic Forum on using satellite imagery to better understand massive amounts of data.

White House Workshop

Helping people learn English is an integral part of U.S. public diplomacy and Amy Ogan (right), assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, is part of a new working group that will help the U.S. Department of State use technology to make their English educational outreach efforts more effective.

Ogan was among a select group of academic, industry and government representatives invited to participate in Technology in English, a daylong workshop at the White House Conference Center.

Ogan said State Department officials would like to use technology, such as mobile technology, natural language processing, open learning platforms and massive open online courses, or MOOCs, to increase worldwide access to these high-quality resources.

The workshop participants spent much of the day brainstorming about how that could be achieved and about the kind of partnerships that might help make that a reality.

“Rather than simply discuss, participants in the workshop used human-centered design techniques to start developing solutions, something that is second nature at the HCII,” said Ogan, who is among faculty members developing technology as part of the university’s Simon Initiative.

Named for the late Nobel and Turing laureate Herbert Simon, the Simon Initiative aims to leverage decades of research in learning science to develop technology to improve student-learning outcomes.

MetroLab Network

You could say the Memorandum of Understanding between CMU’s Metro21 and the City of Pittsburgh signed in summer 2014 has gone viral. 

It was the catalyst for the MetroLab Network, a new alliance among more than 20 city-university partnerships in the U.S. committed to researching, developing and deploying innovative technologies to address critical challenges in urban areas.

The network was announced at a White House event attended by university leaders including Provost Farnam Jahanian, College of Engineering Dean Jim Garrett, Heinz College Dean Ramayya Krishnan and Distinguished Service Professor Rick Stafford, founder of Traffic21, an initiative that began in 2009 to leverage technology to improve the city’s transportation infrastructure. 

Traffic21 led to the creation of Metro21, an effort led by Garrett and Krishnan to take a more comprehensive “smart cities” approach to the overall urban infrastructure. Metro21 is an initiative that taps expertise across the university to improve the economy and quality of life in metro areas through research, development and deployment.

“The MetroLab Network is a new way to solve old problems,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who called the catalytic MOU between CMU and Pittsburgh “historic.”

“It was the first time ever that a city and institution of learning entered into this type of agreement. For CMU it means the City of Pittsburgh becomes an urban lab. For the City of Pittsburgh, I now have a research and development arm,” Peduto said.

The MacArthur Foundation has provided $1 million to CMU to cover MetroLab Network administrative costs, including the hiring of an executive director.

Pictured above at the White House event are (l-r) College of Engineering Dean Jim Garrett, Provost Farnam Jahanian and Heinz College Dean Ramayya Krishnan.

The Bus Stops Here

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan saved Carnegie Mellon for his last stop on his seven-state bus tour.

“This could be an ivory tower type elitist institution, but it’s not,” Duncan said. “It’s got real heart for the community, a real heart for giving back. The commitment to bringing more women in [computer science], the commitment to increasing the number of PELL recipients you serve and helping them graduate means a huge deal to me personally. It’s an example for other universities to follow.

“I’m thrilled to be here. I’ve been an admirer from afar,” he said.

During his stop, Duncan participated in a town hall discussion about STEM education and college preparedness. He saw several demonstrations of the work CMU is doing to improve student learning through the use of technology and through its Simon Initiative, and to enhance educational opportunities for K-12 students. 

The exhibits included displays from Women@SCS, a support program for women in computer science; Professor Jack Beuth’s 3-D Printing Lab; Justine Cassell’s ArticuLab, which bridges the gap between language skills practiced outside and inside the classroom; and CreateLab, which develops technology to support social innovation.

Also represented was the Leonard Gelfand Center for Service Learning and Outreach, which conducts more than 75 educational outreach programs for K-12 students and teachers each year.

“Arne Duncan’s visit to Carnegie Mellon clearly shows that we’re a spot to visit when you want to know how technology can serve educational goals,” Cassell said. “We’re proud to have him come see what we’re doing with the Simon Initiative. That really shows what a model we are.”

Pictured: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan participates in a technology-enhanced learning demonstration. Among the onlookers are Justine Cassell and Farnam Jahanian.

Ties to India

With more than 1,000 current students and 1,800 alumni from India, Carnegie Mellon celebrated its strong ties to the country with visits by ambassadors Arun Kumar Singh (top photo) and Richard Verma (bottom photo).

During a talk hosted by CMU Trustee Sunil Wadhwani, Singh, the Indian Ambassador to the U.S., spoke broadly about his nation’s need for an expansion of higher education.

He said he is hopeful that of the approximately 100,000 Indian students now studying in the U.S. many will return to help create world-class institutions and educational partnerships that the country needs.

This past July, CMU forged a new partnership with India’s Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to support outstanding students from India who want to pursue doctorates in math, science and engineering at CMU.

Verma, the U.S. Ambassador to India, spoke about the cultural ties between the two countries.

“At its core, the story about the U.S. and India is a story about personal connections and shared values,” Verma said. “It is about the bonds between our people, our cultures, our shared commitment to learning and innovation, and our democratic ideals that knit us more closely together.

“Carnegie Mellon is, in many ways, representative of that story, and is symbolic of the strong people-to-people ties that define the U.S.-India relationship, enriching both of our societies.”

Whether it’s leading the Kiltie Band, helping students navigate through college finances, keeping campus safe, improving the research administrative process or improving the HR function for employees, the 2015 Andy Award winners all work diligently to make Carnegie Mellon a better place.

And they’ve succeeded.

Honored for their excellence at the 21st annual Andy Awards ceremony were:

Paul Gerlach for Outstanding Spirit; 
Don Campbell for Commitment to Excellence; 
Brian Fernandes for Commitment to Students; 
Rhonda Kloss for Innovative and Creative Contributions; and 
The CMU Works Project Team for Outstanding Teamwork and Collaboration.

SPIRIT — Paul Gerlach

Under Paul Gerlach’s leadership, the university’s Kiltie Band is the epitome of CMU’s Tartan spirit and one of the university's great treasures, according to Josh Centor, director of Athletics, who co-nominated him for the award.

“Paul influences the students’ educational experience in a profound way. He teaches them about music, but moreover, he teaches them to have a passion for this university and community,” Centor said.

While Gina Casalegno, vice president for Student Affairs, believes Gerlach’s commitment has been demonstrated over the tenure of his career, she noted this year his dedication to Carnegie Mellon was on display under the most heartbreaking of circumstances.

This past November, Gerlach’s wife, Myra, passed away after a short battle with cancer.

“Throughout Myra’s illness, Paul maintained his commitment to the band while ensuring he was there for Myra every step of the way,” said Casalegno, who co-authored the nomination with Centor.

Just a couple short weeks after her passing, Gerlach took the director’s stand and delivered a moving and beautiful holiday concert in Kirr Commons.

“I was struck by his poise in the face of such loss and realized he was right where he wanted to be,” Casalegno said, “in the comfort of his CMU family where he has dedicated a lifetime of contributions to directly impact the lives of hundreds of students who played for him and thousands more who have enjoyed the celebrative environment brought to campus by the band all these years.”

Carl Glazer, a recent cheermaster and president of the Kiltie Band who worked closely with Gerlach, said Gerlach’s dedication extends far beyond the kilts and the instruments.

“The Kiltie Band serves as one of the first exposures to upperclassmen for many of the first-years, and the atmosphere of acceptance allows them to form bonds that are used for academic help, social guidance or simple lasting friendship,” Glazer said.

From early Saturday morning pre-game rehearsals to Friday night pep band doubleheaders, Glazer said Gerlach’s commitment goes far beyond the standard 9 to 5.

“He never fails to be meticulously organized and prepared, spending countless additional hours outside of rehearsals and performances to ensure the students are not hampered in their ability to enjoy making music,” Glazer said. “Paul Gerlach serves as a living representation of the spirit that makes our campus and community so unique and special.”

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE — Don Campbell

When Tom Ogden was interviewing for the chief of police position at CMU, Bill Elliott, then vice president of Enrollment, pointed to Officer Don Campbell sitting on the steps talking to a student.

Elliott said, "If all police officers were like that one, your job would be a lot easier. Look at him with that student. He really cares and they know it."

Ogden was hired for the position, and it didn’t take long for him to recognize what Elliott meant.

“Don is one of the most dedicated and caring people that I have ever met,” Ogden said. “The university and its students, staff and faculty mean everything to him."

In his nomination letter, Ogden said Campbell takes time out of every day to speak with members of the campus community and to assist them in hundreds of different ways. He watches out for the students, giving advice, help and support during many difficult times in their lives.

“On those occasions when I need to call upon University Police to assist with a serious or emergency situation, I find myself 100 percent more calm and assured just by the mere sight of Officer Campbell arriving on the scene,” said John Hannon, associate dean of Student Affairs.

“Don is a multifaceted problem-solver and a phenomenal collaborator. He ensures that response is thorough and complete by raising gentle questions about things that may have been forgotten or missed, without ever making anyone foolish for overlooking them,” Hannon added. “He is incredibly decisive, and on more than one occasion, his swift actions have literally saved the life of one or more of our community members.”

In 1989, Campbell rescued a six-year-old girl from serious injury. In 1992, 2007 and 2014, he was recognized for saving the lives of students in three separate incidents. Ogden added that Campbell has made several high profile arrests of individuals victimizing members of the CMU community, and his file is full of countless letters and accolades recognizing his service and compassion.

Lieutenant Joseph Meyers offered Campbell as a role model in a time when police are coming under intense scrutiny.

“Law enforcement in parts of America has come under intense criticism for its lack of connectivity with and failure to support and engage with those communities that they are expected to protect and serve. That degradation occurred over an extended period of time and for a variety of complicated and intertwined reasons," Meyers said.

"I hold Officer Campbell up to the law enforcement profession as a model of professionalism, respect, caring and genuineness that should be emulated by all police officers if they are to start rebuilding a relationship of trust and support with their communities,” Meyers said. “He is truly what every police officer should be.”

Honored with the Andy for Commitment to Excellence was Officer Don Campbell (above, center) a role model for his colleagues Lt. Joseph Meyers (right) and Lt. Gary Scheimer.

OUTSTANDING TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION – CMUWorks Project Team

On Dec. 29, 2014, Workday launched at Carnegie Mellon. It was no easy feat. 

Implementing this multi-year cross-organizational initiative to evaluate, streamline and enhance the delivery of human resources, payroll, and benefits services for faculty, staff, and students across CMU’s campuses was a Herculean task.

The CMUWorks Project Team — Kim Abel, Karen Eck, Jeff Houser, Bob Riddle, Linda Schmidt and Deanne Weaver — brought the project to fruition.

Cheryl Wehrer, associate director for Finance and Administration, was so impressed, she nominated the team for an Andy Award for their dedication, commitment, coordination and successful completion of the project.

“After four long and arduous years, they came together for an amazing finish to deliver a smooth implementation of Workday — arguably the largest and most complex system, process and reorganization project in recent CMU history,” Wehrer said.

In order to deliver this important project to campus, the project leaders brought together a number of key departments across the university, such as Finance, Computing Services and Human Resources.

“They managed a large cross-functional team of external consultants and campus representatives whose efforts focused in human capital management, conversion, payroll, reporting, security, absence and time tracking, technical issues, testing, change management and implementation of the CMUWorks Service Center,” said Liz Milavec, associate vice president for Finance, who also wrote a nomination letter for the team.

“They fostered collaborative relationships across groups and considered multiple perspectives to define and solve problems, reach agreements and ensure that campus users were well informed, educated, and ready to use Workday and the CMUWorks Service center,” Wehrer added.

The task was not without its challenges, including leadership changes and an aggressive implementation timeline, but the team persisted to ensure the right people were doing the right jobs and that everyone stayed on track toward the path of successful implementation.

“This team enabled a positive and recognizable difference in the university community that will impact current and future employees for years to come,” Milavec said. “The delivery of the CMUWorks project improved organizational efficiency and productivity at the university by eliminating manual, standalone and paper processes, realized cost savings by consolidating multiple systems and providing a lower total cost of ownership, and positioned the university to be agile in meeting changing business and compliance needs.”

Milavec said feedback from the campus and university leadership has been overwhelmingly positive regarding this project, and it is viewed as a vast improvement to the previous systems and processes.

Representing the CMUWorks Project Team are: front row (above, left to right) Christa Cardone, Efthia Barron, Linda Schmidt, Deanne Weaver, Karen Eck and Shannon Konek; second row (left to right) Jeff Houser, Amir Rahnamay-Azar, Dan McNulty, Liz Milavec, Bob Riddle, Kim Abel and Amanda Perkins.

INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS – Rhonda Kloss

Rhonda Kloss has always been a proponent of training in research administration for her staff and for campus. She participates regularly in Research Administration Council meetings and has presented in workshops and classes.

At conferences, she has networked with peers to learn about training initiatives implemented at their campuses.

“Obviously CMU has other valuable research training opportunities through the Research Administrators Council, but Rhonda often talked about other ways to broaden the knowledge and experience of CMU’s research administration professionals,” said Anne Marie Bosnyak, senior director of Sponsored Projects and Cost Analysis. “Her goal was to reinvent or reimagine the delivery of training. She also wanted to build a research administration community.”

Kloss finally saw her dreams come true in fiscal year 2015, when the Research Administration Training Series launched its inaugural year.

“What sets the Research Administration Training Series apart is the delivery of the materials,” Bosnyak said. “The series, which begins its second year this September, is a cohort style training program led by Carnegie Mellon’s own subject matter experts.  The cohort training brought together 15 CMU employees from different departments and with different skill levels for a year-long training program. The program was focused primarily around the life cycle of an award — from proposal to closeout.”

Of course, the talent of the presenters played a role in the success of the program’s first year, however the program existed because of Kloss’s vision, contributions and follow through.

“Rhonda managed the entire project, from soliciting help from CMU’s subject matter experts to do the training — she was also a trainer for several sessions — and coordinating the topics to moderating each session,” Bosnyak said.

The  new educational training series Kloss designed filled a gap in educational programming for staff and afforded all CMU employees the opportunity to get a 360-degree view of aspects of research administration in general, as well as the processes and procedures that are unique to the university.

“She likely spent considerable time building the comprehensive curriculum and identifying two to three appropriate subject matter experts for each of the 16 sessions,” said Colleen Mantini, ICES program manager, in her nomination letter. “Thanks to her taking on this challenge and organizing this series, 15 CMU staffers across campus — CIT, Tepper, Heinz, Deitrich, MCS, and Central Aministration — completed this series and gained valuable insights into research administration.”

Mantini said the gains were most likely greatest for staffers new to research administration or new to Carnegie Mellon research policies and procedures.

“However, staffers with 20-plus years’ experience in research admin at CMU also enhanced their knowledge of some administrative issues and/or processes of which they were previously unaware,” she said.

“Overall, all participants are carrying out their work activities with a greater knowledge base. We are able to spot issues that merit further attention and know whom to contact to resolve those issues,” Mantini said.

Rhonda Kloss (above, second from right) revamped research administrative training to focus on delivery, earning her an Andy for Innovative and Creative Contributions. She’s pictured with (Left to right) Anne Marie Bosnyak, Amir Rahnamay-Azar and Liz Milavec.

COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS – Brian Fernandes

Shernell Smith, associate director for the Dean of Student Affairs, says one of the stressful concerns for our student population is financial affordability during unexpected emergency situations.

“When I am faced with complex student situations that require a magical touch, I pick up the phone to call Brian Fernandes in Enrollment Services,” Smith said.

“I always know that Brian is going to work tirelessly to ensure that we are able to find a solution that meets the unique needs of the student.”

Smith called Fernandes a “consummate professional” who meaningfully engages with students and their families.

“One of Maya Angelou’s most empowering quotes is, ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ Brian Fernandes is an inspiring role model for our campus community who sincerely cares about the well-being of our students,” Smith said.

Smith recalled a complicated situation that featured a student who was academically soaring, but whose family was engaged in a number of financial setbacks.

“Through Brian’s guidance, the student and her family were able to work through their financial situation. That student is now a proud Loyal Scot, and someone who truly gives back to CMU because someone like Brian Fernandes was there when she needed support the most,” Smith said.

Fernandes has not only dedicated himself to meeting the critical challenges that sometimes surround Enrollment Services, but also to advancing new methods that meet the needs of students.

“Brian has done so in a way that highlights the values of leadership, integrity, professionalism, diversity and advocacy while respecting the core pillars of our university mission and fostering an environment for meaningful engagement with our students.”

Helen Wang, director of First-Year Student Life, said Fernandes has the ability to see work as a bevy of opportunities and welcomes challenges, rather than hurdles, barriers and impossibilities.

“That is a quality that makes someone not just good at their work, but exemplary. Brian is such a person,” Wang said. “I have never heard a negative comment come from him, despite the many challenges that are present in his work. Rather, he gathers the right information, seeks the right colleagues and makes good things happen where others might resign to the challenges. He is a bridge builder, often finding ways to collaborate when it would be easier not to.”

Renee Camerlengo, assistant dean of Student Affairs, recognizes that working with students in the intimate space of their financial circumstances requires artful navigation.

“Brian is a steadfast partner working with students facing significant physical and mental health needs, family dysfunction, employment interruption and tragedy. His empathy, compassion and can-do attitude bring a tremendous sense of relief to often overwhelming situations for our students,” Camerlengo said.

“I am deeply grateful to have such a talented colleague doing the work he does with and for our community.”

Pictured above: Brian Fernandes, known as a “go-to guy” for students facing financial challenges, won the Andy for Commitment to Students. Congratulating Brian is Renee Camerlengo.

By Byron Spice / bspice@andrew.cmu.edu

Carnegie Mellon has joined with The Boeing Company to establish the Boeing/Carnegie Mellon Aerospace Data Analytics Lab, a new initiative that will leverage the university’s leadership in machine learning, language technologies and data analytics to help make aircraft operations safer, more reliable and more efficient.

The goal is to find ways to use artificial intelligence and big data to capitalize on the enormous amount of data generated in the design, construction and operation of modern aircraft. Creating a maintenance schedule determined by the actual flight history and component performance for each airplane, rather than historic norms for similar aircraft, is just one of the possibilities.

Boeing will provide $7.5 million for the lab over the next three years. Jaime Carbonell, the Allen Newell University Professor of Computer Science and director of the Language Technologies Institute, will lead the new research endeavor, which will tap world-class expertise from across the School of Computer Science and the CMU campus at large. John Vu, a former Boeing chief software engineer who now is a professor in language technologies and computational biology, is playing a key role in establishing and overseeing the lab.

Aeronautics is one of today’s most data-intensive industries. Today’s aircraft contain sensors and embedded computers that are constantly generating data. Together with voluminous information gathered during the manufacture and regular maintenance of each of thousands of aircraft, this data provides opportunities for gleaning new insights that could improve aircraft operations.

“Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Boeing have enjoyed a collaborative relationship for more than 30 years and we're proud of the fact that hundreds of our graduates are working at Boeing,” said President Subra Suresh. “This new agreement will extend this relationship even further, leveraging the distinctive intellectual strengths of CMU to benefit everyone who steps onto an airplane.”

Ted Colbert, Boeing’s chief information officer, described the lab as a unique aerospace partnership that will address the company’s evolving business needs.

“We’re aiming to push the technology envelope,” Colbert said. “We have the best and the brightest faculty at a leading institution focused on how we can innovate and solve business challenges for today and into the future.”

The lab will tap the expertise of CMU’s Language Technologies Institute, including such capabilities as automatically analyzing written reports for evidence-based predictive maintenance, and the Machine Learning Department, which specializes in finding patterns in large databases.

“The mass of data generated daily by the aerospace industry overwhelms human understanding,” Carbonell said, “but recent advances in language technologies and machine learning give us every reason to expect that we can gain useful insights from that data. The new algorithms and methods should create a stronger aerospace industry and be applicable to many other important endeavors.”

More than half a dozen initial Boeing-directed projects have been identified. CMU anticipates the Boeing lab will involve at least 20 faculty and graduate student researchers.

“We couldn’t be more excited to engage with and leverage the research power and incredible knowledge of a premier academic institution,” said Nancy Bailey, vice president for Boeing IT Business Partners.

By Bruce Gerson / bgerson@cmu.edu

Carnegie Mellon President Subra Suresh hosted his first fall town hall meeting on Sept. 30 with members of the university community in Pittsburgh, while the global CMU family watched via webcast.

Suresh said he would be holding these meetings annually to provide students, faculty and staff with the opportunity to provide him with ideas and suggestions as well as to ask questions and raise issues and concerns of importance to the university.

“It’s a chance to have a dialogue,” he said. “These [meetings] are very important for me to hear what’s on your minds and for you to hear what’s on mine.”

During the meeting in McConomy Auditorium, Suresh answered questions from individuals representing the student body, faculty and staff. He also fielded several that were submitted previously online.

Questions covered many topics, including: how staff can engage and support the new strategic plan that is nearing completion; industry-university partnerships; student engagement with global locations; sexual assault on campus; innovation and creativity; technology-enhanced learning; diversity; and the challenges international graduate students face.

Shernell Smith of Student Affairs asked how CMU staff can become involved and engaged with transforming the CMU experience, one of the overarching areas of the university’s strategic plan.

Suresh acknowledged the “unprecedented” support by staff in the strategic planning process, thanking hundreds for their participation in the various working groups and town hall discussions.

He said the plan will have a dynamic presentation on the Web, will be updated periodically and progress toward goals will be recorded.

He encouraged staff to become engaged by reading the plan and becoming involved in the progress.

A student in the School of Computer Science asked if a partnership with one company would prevent a company’s competitor from doing business with CMU.

“What CMU has today other universities want to emulate,” Suresh said, pointing to university relationships with competitors, such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Google.

He also noted the recent partnership with Tata Consultancy Services, a competitor of Cognizant, whose CEO is
a member of CMU’s Board of Trustees.

“CMU pushes the boundaries of human intelligence. We don’t take sides,” he said.

Responding to a question by Student Government representative Michael Gormley about student interaction with university locations abroad, President Suresh noted that often students from global locations, such as Qatar and Rwanda, visit the Pittsburgh campus and mentioned the IMPAQT program, which sponsors student trips between Pittsburgh and Doha.

He said technology is another way in which students from around the world can connect.

A question about sexual assault on campus came from the live audience.

In response, Suresh spoke about the recent survey that was conducted on campus and among AAU institutions.

“The upshot is that CMU is in line with the national average. And that’s nothing to cheer about,” he said, reaffirming the university’s commitment to keep students safe.

He talked about the efforts made by Dean of Student Affairs Gina Casalegno and her staff to meet with student leaders and the broader student population, and the creation of the new Office of Title IX Initiatives. He said Student Affairs would be holding additional town hall meetings to discuss the role we can all play.
Architecture Professor Omer Akin posed a question in which he spoke about CMU’s history of creativity and suggested that the Forbes Avenue corridor between Craig Street and Morewood Avenue be called the “Innovation and Creativity Corridor.”

Suresh said the “Innovation Corridor” came about organically from the many companies that have established offices near campus to work with faculty and students.

“The activities of our faculty led to more than 125 companies coming to campus, bringing about $500 million in external funding,” Suresh said. “What is so unique about Forbes is that east of Silicon Valley, it is the place with the highest capacity to create enterprise.”

Suresh asked how we could make Forbes a distinctive place between the arts meccas of New York and Los Angeles.

“We need to do the legwork to have all the ingredients in place,” he said.

Graduate student Ankita Sharma inquired about CMU’s support of graduate students regarding funding and visa issues.

Suresh said it’s a priority of his to create and implement a mechanism to financially help to support students so CMU can attract the best, brightest and most diverse student body.

He pointed to the establishment of the Presidential Fellowships and Scholarships program, but said much more needs to be done. He said student support would be one of the top priorities in the next capital campaign.

Regarding student visas, Suresh said CMU is participating in the national conversation along with other AAU institutions regarding reform.

Suresh said he would be continuing the conversation with the university community with periodic informal meetings with small groups of students, faculty and staff.

He will give his second annual university update this spring.

By Emily Baskin Gauthier / ebaskin@andrew.cmu.edu

Open Enrollment for 2016 benefits will begin Monday, Nov. 2 and end at 5 p.m., (ET) Monday, Nov. 16.

During this time, faculty and staff have the opportunity to review their benefit options and make new elections for 2016. Faculty and staff who do not elect their benefits during this period will be automatically enrolled in the same benefits they currently have in 2015 (except for flexible spending accounts, in which employees must actively enroll each year to participate).

Elections made during Open Enrollment are effective beginning Jan. 1, 2016, and will remain in effect for the entire calendar year. Employees can only change benefit elections during Open Enrollment, unless they experience a qualified life or family status change during another time of the year.

This year’s Open Enrollment features a redesigned and improved Benefits Guide, in which employees can find plan, rate and additional benefit information for all domestic full-time and part-time faculty and staff.

There are no changes to medical plans or providers for 2016, with many plan rates remaining consistent with 2015 rates. Moderate rate increases will apply to a few plan options. In addition, the Health Care Flexible

Spending Account (HCFSA) limit is increasing from $2,500 to $2,550 in 2016.

Employees will enroll in benefits through Workday, the human resources, payroll, time-tracking and benefit management system. Workday Quick Guides will be available to assist employees through the process.

Additionally, representatives from Benefits and the CMUWorks Service Center will be on hand at Workday Open Enrollment Workshops to provide one-on-one assistance to employees as they enroll through the system.

Upcoming Events

Staff Council’s Benefits Open Forum
Tuesday, Oct. 27
Noon – 1 p.m.
Rangos Ballroom, Cohon University Center

Workday Open Enrollment Workshops
Monday, Nov. 2 and Tuesday, Nov. 10
9:30 – 11 a.m. and 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Near and Far Clusters, Hunt Library
Representatives from Benefits and the CMUWorks Service Center will be on hand to provide one-on-one assistance to employees as they enroll in Workday.

2015 Benefits & Fitness Fair
Wednesday, Nov. 4
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Rangos Ballroom, Cohon University Center
Benefits and fitness vendors will be available to answer your questions. The fair also includes fitness demonstrations, free health screenings and flu shots, raffles and giveaways.
For more information, visit www.cmu.edu/hr/benefits/fair.html.

By Sherry Stokes / stokes@cmu.edu

Kathryn Whitehead has proven that persistence pays off.

The chemical engineering professor was determined to design a nanoparticle that could shuttle therapeutic drugs directly to the cells in the body that need them. In her labor-intensive quest — some have called it unorthodox — she tested thousands of nanoparticles just to identify a select few that had the potential.

The feat was challenging, in part, because the body’s immune system considers therapeutic nanoparticles to be foreign substances that need to be destroyed. However, Whitehead’s nanoparticles circumvent the immune system and are free to deliver medicine to cells in many parts of the body, including the liver, the skin and the intestine.

Her research group is now using her nanoparticles to engineer therapies for maladies that include inflammatory bowel disease, chronic wounds and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

Her innovative work has earned her a place this year on Popular Science’s Brilliant 10 list. Her research will revolutionize how we treat formidable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and hereditary disorders.

“Cancer therapy is so difficult for patients, in large part, because of the toxic side effects of chemotherapy,” Whitehead said. “In contrast, our targeted nanoparticles deliver drugs only to cancerous tissue, sparing healthy cells. We expect these targeted treatments to extend the lives of cancer patients while increasing their quality of life through a reduction in side effects.”

Popular Science annually combs through hundreds of nominations from around the country to select the brightest minds in engineering and science. Whitehead’s approach to finding the right nanoparticles for drug delivery was unorthodox in that it required her to examine a very large number of nanoparticles using high-throughput screening.

“Although high-throughput screening has not been a well-accepted approach to scientific discovery, I felt strongly that we needed to test many compounds to maximize our chances of success,” Whitehead said.

Not only has her hard work paid off in the discovery of these versatile nanoparticles, she has broadened the scientific community’s understanding of how drug delivery chemistry affects efficacy.

She is now able to predict which nanoparticles will work in living animals.

“The Popular Science Brilliant 10 award acknowledges the power of Katie’s ideas and the important contributions that faculty members can make early in their careers,”said James H. Garrett, dean of CMU’s College of Engineering.

By Tara Moore / trmoore@andrew.cmu.edu

Jay Whitacre is leading the charge for renewable energy.

His invention, the Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI^TM) battery, a reliable, eco-friendly, cost-efficient energy storage system that is often used with solar and wind energy systems has earned him this year’s $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize.

Whitacre’s battery can store significant amounts of energy at a low cost and allows for around-the-clock consumption.

The materials scientists and professor in the College of Engineering developed the battery using abundant and inexpensive resources including water, sodium and carbon, which can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and make sustainable energy a viable alternative.

His company, Aquion Energy, has fully scaled manufacturing and commercialized the battery with global distribution channels and installations in many locations including Australia, California, Germany, Hawaii, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The Lemelson-MIT Prize honors outstanding mid-career inventors improving the world through technological invention and demonstrating a commitment to mentorship in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Whitacre plans to contribute a significant portion of the money from the prize to create a fellowship that will support graduate students and nurture interest in innovative energy solutions.

“We are proud to recognize Jay Whitacre as this year’s Lemelson-MIT Prize winner,” said Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “Jay is passionate about sharing his experiences with young people, and is intent on inspiring them to cultivate an interest in STEM and invention. He personifies the mission of Lemelson-MIT through his commitment to mentorship, his desire to solve some of our world’s greatest problems and his ability to commercialize his technologies.”

Storing energy for use when the sun isn’t shining or a breeze isn’t blowing has remained an expensive hurdle, and is the greatest technical challenge associated with harnessing electricity from renewable sources. And energy storage batteries for stationary applications have historically been based on lead-acid chemistry that pollutes and is largely unreliable, or lithium-ion chemistry that has proven to be unsafe at times.

Whitacre’s goal in founding Aquion Energy was to bring to market a new class of aqueous sodium ion functional battery. The resulting Aquion battery systems help customers increase use of renewables, reduce reliance on diesel, control peak energy costs, provide power stability, bring access to electricity in under-electrified regions, and improve power reliability to areas with unstable grid infrastructure.

It is the industry’s first-ever Cradle to Cradle Certified™ battery while offering superior value when compared to other energy storage products on the market.