Miller ICA Presents STUDIO's 30th Anniversary Exhibition

Carnegie Mellon's Miller Institute for Contemporary Art presents "Intersections: Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry 30th Anniversary Exhibition," Oct. 12 through Nov. 17. This 30th anniversary group exhibition celebrates the atypical, anti-disciplinary, and inter-institutional spirit of the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, the research laboratory of Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Arts. The exhibition will highlight intersections of the arts, science, technology, and culture through a survey of cutting-edge projects cultivated at the STUDIO and developed by national and international artists.

"This exhibition is the culmination of the STUDIO's support for projects that redefine the role of artists in a quickly changing world," said STUDIO Director and Professor of Art Golan Levin. "For three decades, our laboratory has specialized in supporting emerging artists, faculty, staff and students who create and adapt new technologies, who reimagine social norms, and who instigate and advance culture into new frontiers."

The show includes database-driven interactive projects, real-time robotic installations, video sculptures, and virtual reality experiences, as well as documentation of more than 120 other projects from the STUDIO's archives.

An opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11 at the Miller ICA. Find out more.

Babcock, Tarr Reappointed as Department Heads

Linda Babcock and Michael Tarr have been reappointed to lead the Social and Decision Sciences and Psychology departments, respectively.

As department head, Babcock, the James M. Walton Professor of Economics, initiated the world’s first undergraduate major in Behavioral Economics, Policy and Organizations and two new doctoral programs — Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Marketing and Decision Research — with the Tepper School of Business. The department also developed the Executive Program in Behavioral Economics, an education program designed to help executives strengthen their brand, engage consumers, improve employee well-being and institutionalize an evidence-based approach to organizational decision-making and change management. Babcock also holds an appointment in the Heinz College, where she served as acting dean from 2000 to 2001. She is the founder and faculty director of the Program for Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society (PROGRESS), one of the founders of the Center for Behavioral Decision Research and the founder of the Leadership and Negotiation Academy for Women. Find out more about Babcock.

Tarr, the Kavčić-Moura Professor of Cognitive and Brain Science, has introduced a variety of initiatives to engage faculty, staff and students in charting the future of CMU’s highly ranked Department of Psychology. As part of this effort, he has built mechanisms for transparency and decision-making by launching an annual department retreat and committees dedicated to diversity and inclusion and strategic planning. During his first term as department head, Tarr increased financial support for undergraduate, graduate and faculty research, and he secured funding to increase the size of the graduate program. Since joining CMU in 2009, Tarr has been instrumental in advancing the university’s and the city’s positions in brain and behavioral sciences. From 2009 to 2014 he served as co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a joint program between CMU and the University of Pittsburgh, and he has been an important contributor to the launch of the new Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute. Learn more about Tarr.

Dietrich College Launches Humanities@CMU Initiative

Led by Andreea Ritivoi (center), head of the Department of English, the Humanities@CMU Initiative will pursue a number of goals and introduce new programs to benefit students, faculty and community members engaged in the humanities.

Carnegie Mellon's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences is launching an initiative that will promote and advance the university's strengths in the humanities. Among its many goals, the Humanities@CMU Initiative will identify intellectual areas involving the humanities that represent real opportunity for growth in education and research, and create strategies for forming a stronger community of students and faculty interested in the humanities.

Richard Scheines, the Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, announced the initiative in a letter to his college's faculty, staff, students and alumni today. The launch of the Humanities@CMU Initiative follows a town hall on the humanities held in April to solicit feedback and ideas from members of the university community.

"Students majoring in the humanities at CMU are among the best in the nation, both compared to other humanities students but also compared to STEM students. Likewise, humanities faculty at CMU are among the finest scholars and researchers in their areas, with national and international reputations on par with those of their peers at institutions known for strength in the humanities," Scheines said. "We thus have an excellent opportunity to create a distinctive CMU brand in which the humanities shine in their own right but are also integrated synergistically into all areas of a university."

Find out more.

Free Tickets Available to Thomas Friedman Lecture, Oct. 15

Free tickets to a lecture by Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, are available for Carnegie Mellon students, faculty and staff. Friedman’s lecture is at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Carnegie Music Hall.  

Friedman's lecture is the culminating event of the American Middle East Institute’s 12th Annual Business Conference featuring the themes of robotics, energy and advanced manufacturing, with dignitaries, business leaders and experts from the United States, the Middle East and North Africa.   

Please reserve you ticket online and use the code CMU.

Questions? Contact Maria C. Wagley.

Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion Celebrates LGBTQ+ Month

October is LGBTQ+ History Month and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI) is sponsoring several celebratory events. Highlights include:

Oct. 11 - National Coming Out Day Reception
3:30 - 5 p.m., CSDI, Cohon University Center, Lower Level 75
Casual, stop by for some light refreshments.

Oct. 14 - Screening of "Laramie Inside Out"
5 - 6:30 p.m., CSDI

Oct. 17 - CMUQ+ Graduate Student Dinner
5 – 7 p.m., CSDI

Oct. 22 – School of Art Lecture Series
Jongwoo Jeremy Kim, associate professor, School of Art
6:30 p.m., Kresge Theatre

Oct. 30 - Forum on Hate Crimes – Hate vs. Understanding: Start the Conversation
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Cohon Center
Keynote Speakers:  Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard
Cynthia Deitle, former FBI agent
The Matthew Shepard Foundation
Find out more and register for this free event.

Contact the Center for Student Diversity with questions at 412-268-2150 or csdi@andrew.cmu.edu.

Applications for ULS Co-Sponsorships Due Nov. 1

The University Lecture Series (ULS) is inviting applications for spring 2020 co-sponsorship events that complement and enhance the vibrancy of campus conversations on salient issues crossing disciplinary boundaries. ULS co-sponsorship aims to amplify important conversations occurring in departments, centers and student groups at Carnegie Mellon.

Due to high demand and limited funding, ULS co-sponsorship is shifting from a rolling application process. The submission deadline for spring co-sponsorship applications is Nov. 1. The ULS Committee will review and notify applicants of their co-sponsorship status no later than Dec. 1. Spring co-sponsored lectures will be announced in a campus-wide e-mail at the start of the semester with additional communication support of lectures provided by ULS.

Find out more information and apply for co-sponsorship on the ULS website.

With more than 60 events, Family Weekend has something for everyone!

All members of the Carnegie Mellon University community are invited to join in the celebrations with students, families and friends Friday, Oct. 11, through Sunday, Oct. 13.

“This is a special weekend for our students as they get to show off their campus and talents – on the field or on the stage – with their friends and loved ones,” said Julie Schultz, associate dean for First-Year Orientation and Family Engagement. “Likewise, CMU’s families and friends get to experience what life at Carnegie Mellon is all about, from productions by student organizations, to a full slate of athletic competitions, to academic sessions.”

While advanced registration has closed, on-site registration in the Cohon University Center will be available to those who want to attend.

Check out the full weekend schedule either on the Family and Parents’ website or by downloading the Events at Carnegie Mellon University App (available for download via iTunes or Google Play). While some events require advanced ticket purchase or RSVP, most are open on a first-come, first-served basis during the weekend. Feel free to attend as many or as few events as you are interested in joining. Family Weekend’s featured events are highlighted for first-time participants.

Here are just a few events to get excited about:

Friday, October 11
President’s Welcome Reception, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
President Jahanian welcomes families to campus.

Diwali Mela, 6 – 11 p.m.
Come out and join CMU's OM and Mayur SASA in celebrating Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights!

12th Annual Benefit Cabaret, 8 – 9 p.m.
Get ready for a night of music with Scotch'n'Soda Theatre, CMU's premier student theatre organization!

Saturday, October 12
Academic Sessions and Receptions, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Meet with faculty and learn more about CMU’s colleges.

16th Annual Chili Cookoff, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Grab a mug, sample chili and vote for your favorite.

“Tiger at the Gates,” 2 – 4 p.m. and 8 – 10 p.m. (also on Friday at 8 p.m.)
Presented by CMU’s School of Drama.

Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion Open House, 2 – 3 p.m.
Gather with members of the community from across campus and learn more about the initiative for first generation college students, FIRST Together.

The Festival on Scotty Saturday, 3 – 6 p.m.
Join us for activities, free food, family fun, CMU swag and lots of Tartan spirit.

Football vs. Waynesburg, 7 – 9 p.m.
Go Tartans!

“With more than 1,441 already registered for Family Weekend, we are sure to have a campus filled with activity, engagement and excitement,” said Gina Casalegno, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students. “I am looking forward to meeting many of our students’ family members and friends this weekend as we come together and celebrate all that makes CMU so special.”

Steve Guenther is energized about the green energy on campus.

As university engineer and assistant vice president for Facilities Management and Campus Services, Guenther’s duties include managing Carnegie Mellon’s energy and utility consumption, its miles of complex utilities infrastructure, and the engineering aspects for new construction standards. He is passionate about CMU’s current green practices, its commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and its pledge to become even more sustainable.

“I’m excited the provost has chosen sustainability as one of the areas he wants to emphasize,” Guenther said. “Sustainability is in CMU’s strategic plan as a value of the university, but to hear it articulated that clearly as a value, and the commitments he has made for the university is tremendous.”

Earlier this year, Provost Jim Garrett announced the creation of a campus-wide Sustainability Initiative to strengthen CMU’s commitment, elevate its engagement with the 17 UN SDGs, and improve green education, research and practices on campus. Garrett named Guenther a co-chair of the initiative’s steering committee along with University Professor David Dzombak, head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and Sarah Mendelson, distinguished service professor of public policy and head of Heinz College in Washington, D.C.

“The provost wants to make sure we’re moving forward with sustainability in education, research and practices. I bring forward the operations point of view,” Guenther said.

After participating in a “Focus on Pittsburgh” panel on sustainability at the UN Climate Summit in New York, Garrett announced six university commitments in support of the SDGs, including creating a Voluntary University Review (VUR) by engaging the entire campus community. Garrett will report the findings at next year’s UN General Assembly.

“The VUR will look at our highlights and weaknesses. It will focus on where we’re excelling and opportunities where we can do better,” Guenther said.

CMU’s achievements include a 2019 gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, surpassing its silver rating in 2015. The university is ranked in the top 25% on the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools list and there are over 20 CMU buildings and renovation projects that have received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The university has made a major investment in green power. It recently purchased 100% of its electricity over the next five years from a wind farm that is on CMU’s electrical grid.

As a project manager for Campus Design and Facility Development (CDFD) in the early 2000s, Guenther floated the idea of seeking CMU’s first LEED certification for Stever House.

“I brought that concept to our director of housing and luckily other people were interested, too,” he said. “It turned into a great story. Stever House became the first LEED-certified residence hall in the country, and since then CMU has made a major investment in sustainable design and construction practices.”

The university also has made a major investment in green power. It recently purchased 100% of its electricity over the next five years from a wind farm in Macon County, Illinois, that is on CMU’s electrical grid.

“For the past 10 years, we’ve bought enough Renewable Energy Credits, the mirror image of a carbon tax, to cover all of our electricity needs from Duquesne Light. We’ve been on the Environmental Protection Agency’s 100% green power list for a decade. But now, we’ve upped our game,” Guenther said.

“The Radford’s Run Wind Farm is committed to producing all of our energy requirements. The amount of electricity we use here is being put into the grid by the wind farm.”

“I’m a true believer there’s an element of sustainability in every aspect of the university. How do we create awareness and make that connection with everyone here?”

While Guenther feels “CMU is in a great place” in regard to sustainability, he believes education may be the key to realizing opportunities for improvement. He said the Sustainability Initiative will be launching a knowledge and attitudes survey to measure campus perceptions and green IQ.

“We want to understand how the whole university community feels about sustainability and what their practices are,” he said. “We don’t want to just focus on the people who are passionate about it. We want to see how it looks across all demographics and populations.

“I’m a true believer there’s an element of sustainability in every aspect of the university. How do we create awareness and make that connection with everyone here?”

Guenther is in his second stint at CMU. After working for CDFD from 1999 to 2002 — he earned an MBA as a part-time student at the Tepper School — he became a regional, vice president for operations for a global management services company in Chicago. He soon was selected to run its National Operations Excellence Group for facilities and dining. His positions required extensive travel and put him in great standing with Marriott hotels and American Airlines — but his pre-teen children were growing up fast. 

“I realized I needed to flip the scenario and put family back on top,” he said.

He returned to CMU in 2013 as director of facility operations and was recently promoted to university engineer and assistant vice president.

“It was great to come back to CMU,” Guenther said. “I knew the institution, I knew the people here and family was in the area. It’s been wonderful.”

In his spare time, Guenther is very active with his local Boy Scout Troop. This past summer he took five scouts on a 36-hour train ride to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, where they backpacked for 12 days and climbed Mt. Baldy at 12,441 feet above sea level. But that wasn’t the highpoint for Guenther — he preferred a more sustainable aspect.

“The best part of the trip was observing the teenage boys’ transformation as they disconnected from the World Wide Web and connected with each other,” he said.

Have a suggestion for Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.   

Tartan Community Day Schedule Announced

Students, faculty, staff and alumni will come together Friday, Oct. 25 to connect, reflect, restore and have fun.

The inaugural Tartan Community Day, an idea initiated by the Task Force on the CMU Experience, includes a variety of exciting activities for all members of the university community. The recently announced schedule includes a fireside chat with alumna and Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, a community lunch and student talent show, a time to choose your own activity, a discussion with principal investigator David Creswell about the Life@CMU Project, and a performance by guest comedian Michelle Wolf.

“I am very thankful to work at a university that brings the entire community together and am excited for CMU staff to have the opportunity to celebrate with our students by participating in the various activities planned throughout the day,” said Michelle Piekutowski, associate vice president and chief human resources officer. “While understanding that business needs still have to be met, I encourage all supervisors to be as flexible as possible with allowing staff members to choose their personal Tartan adventure for the day. I personally hope to try out a free GroupX class.” 

Learn more about Tartan Community Day schedule.

Campus Conversations To Discuss Findings, Next Steps to Sexual Assault Survey

Results from the Association of American Universities’ (AAU) Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct, a study of 33 universities including Carnegie Mellon University, have been published on CMU’s Office of Title IX Initiatives’ website. The results include the aggregate report of all participating institutions, a CMU specific report, and a comparison summary compiled by CMU’s Office of Institutional Research and Analysis. 

Members of the CMU community are invited to attend upcoming campus conversations on the survey results at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22 in the Cohon University Center’s McKenna/Peter/Wright rooms and at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13 in the Citrone Room in the Tepper Building, Fifth Floor. These gatherings offer an opportunity to discuss the findings, share perspectives and discuss next steps.  

“The university remains steadfast in its commitment to a focused, collaborative and comprehensive approach to these issues,” President Farnam Jahanian stated in a letter to the Pittsburgh campus community. “Although we are making progress in deepening our understanding of students’ experiences, building greater awareness and engagement by our community, and dedicating resources to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct, long-term progress will require the sustained efforts of every member of our community,” Jahanian said. 

The university has increased resources in support of prevention and response, adding additional staff in the Office of Title IX Initiatives and expanding training, education and awareness campaigns and programming. CMU also has expanded its bystander intervention skill-building program, including the implementation of the Green Dot Initiative as a university-wide resource.

Gina Casalegno, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said this is the third sexual misconduct survey the university has administered since 2015.

“Each survey we administer helps us refine our education, prevention and response efforts to mitigate the effects of sexual violence in our community,” Casalegno said.

Find out more.

Danks, Genovese Reappointed as Department Heads

David Danks and Christopher Genovese have been reappointed to head the departments of Philosophy, and Statistics & Data Science, respectively.

Danks, the L.L. Thurstone Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, has raised the visibility of his department, which emphasizes interdisciplinary research that directly impacts the world in areas as wide-ranging as computer science, math, statistics, psychology, bioethics and human rights. As part of his work on ethical and social impacts of new technologies, Danks has provided research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to study AI through new courses like “AI, Society and Humanity,” which encourages students to explore AI and automation by integrating a range of disciplinary perspectives. Danks recently was named co-director of the new Center for Informed Democracy and Social Cybersecurity, which will be funded by a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He also serves as the chief ethicist of the Block Center for Technology and Society. Learn more.

Under Genovese’s leadership, the department changed its name from the Department of Statistics to the Department of Statistics & Data Science to reflect the broad reach of statistics at CMU, which encompasses the many facets of modern data science. A fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Genovese has been awarded funding from numerous agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, NASA and the Department of Energy. He is a recipient of a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and a Shannon Award from the National Institutes of Health. Genovese’s research focuses on solving complex and high-dimensional problems in the sciences, and his work has produced new methods and results in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, learning science and cosmology/astrophysics. In 2015, the American Statistical Association named CMU among the largest, fastest-growing undergraduate statistics departments in the country. Learn more. 

ANSYS Hall Opening Celebration Set for Oct. 31

The College of Engineering will host a grand opening celebration for its ANSYS Hall beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 in the ANSYS Hall Highbay, C-level.

Remarks and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by an 11:15 a.m. lunch reception with student exhibits and demonstrations.

The opening of ANSYS Hall marks the completion of another component of the College of Engineering’s Maker Ecosystem, where students can fabricate, tinker, build and learn to turn their ideas into physical products.

ANYSYS Hall is a 36,000 square-feet, four-story facility with a basement and mezzanine. It contains a spacious maker facility, where students can access physics-based simulation tools and cutting-edge technologies for making, assembling and testing their designs. A high-bay space will support large-scale student projects like Carnegie Mellon Racing. 

A primary goal of the space is to give students, faculty, croporate partners and ANSYS researchers a common space to collaborate and learn from each other.

Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion Celebrates LGBTQ+ Month

October is LGBTQ+ History Month and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI) is sponsoring several celebratory events. Highlights include:

Oct. 17 - CMUQ+ Graduate Student Dinner
5 – 7 p.m., CSDI

Oct. 22 – School of Art Lecture Series
Jongwoo Jeremy Kim, associate professor, School of Art
6:30 p.m., Kresge Theatre

Oct. 30 - Forum on Hate Crimes – Hate vs. Understanding: Start the Conversation
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Cohon Center
Keynote Speakers:  Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard
Cynthia Deitle, former FBI agent
The Matthew Shepard Foundation
Find out more and register for this free event.

Contact the Center for Student Diversity with questions at 412-268-2150 or csdi@andrew.cmu.edu.

Answer: Who is Lindsey Shultz? She’s the 2004 Carnegie Mellon alumna who won more than $100,000 on Jeopardy! over four episodes in March and returned to the game show’s Tournament of Champions, which will air in November. “I was stoked. The feeling of getting to do it all over again, it was amazing,” Lindsey said. “The first time you go in you have no idea what to expect. The second time, it’s like being an alum visiting a university. You know the people. You know the community.” Shultz earned her bachelor’s degree from CMU’s Science and Humanities Scholars program before completing her medical degree at Cornell University and master’s degree in public health at Columbia University. Today, she is working to change the world as a “physician who does not practice” by researching harm reduction and health policy. She focuses on promoting the need for safe needle exchanges and injection rooms as well as how to build upon and improve the Affordable Care Act. Find out more.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Newell Washburn has received a more than half-million-dollar grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a machine learning algorithm that could help design more durable and energy-efficient concrete. Creating more environmentally friendly concrete has proven to be difficult due to the composite’s complex composition. Washburn and his collaborators plan to create a method that uses machine learning to assess new formulations for concrete to identify products that can be created in a more sustainable manner while maintaining the high strength required for bridges, roads and other infrastructure. Washburn’s team includes Barnabás Poczos of the CMU’s Machine Learning Department and Kimberly Kurtis from Georgia Tech. Their work is especially novel because the development of a machine learning tool for accelerated materials discovery for infrastructure use has been largely overlooked. Find out more.

Haenyeo, a documentary by Ralph Vituccio, an associate teaching professor in the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), has been nominated for Best Short Documentary in the Rome PRISMA Independent Film Festival in Rome, Italy. The film follows the Haenyeo, an ancient culture of women divers from Marado Island off the coast of South Korea, as they dive for valuable shellfish. For hundreds of years, women in the South Korean island province of Jeju have made their living harvesting seafood by hand from the ocean floor. Known as Haenyeo, or sea women, they use no breathing equipment, although a typical dive might last around two minutes and take them as deep as 10 to 20 meters underwater. Eighty percent of the dwindling Haenyeo are over the age of 60, and it is predicted that within 10-15 years the Haenyeo will disappear. This documentary follows the last five remaining Haenyeo from the tiny island of Marado in the Korean Strait. Haenyeo will premiere at the Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival on Nov. 4.  Find out more.  

Rich Lackner officially takes his place among Carnegie Mellon royalty this weekend.

The winningest head football coach in Carnegie Mellon history with a record of 221-120-2, Lackner will be among the 18 inaugural inductees into CMU’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The class was selected by a 12-member committee, which included alumni, coaches, administrators, a member of the university’s board of trustees, a faculty member and student.

“To be honored by my peers by being selected into the Hall of Fame is one of the greatest honors I could ever receive,” said Lackner, who has garnered many honors and awards during his 34-year tenure as head coach. “I’ve spent my entire career at CMU, so to be recognized in this way is really very gratifying.”

Lackner has made an impact on CMU football since arriving in 1975 from nearby Mt. Lebanon High School. The star Tartan linebacker was a four-year starter and team co-captain at CMU. He was a three-time All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) pick and the PAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1976.

A history major, the two-time Academic All-American led the Tartans to a four-year record of 28-7-1, two conference championships and an NCAA playoff berth in 1978, the first post-season appearance for the Tartans since the 1939 Sugar Bowl.

“I see our players mature into young men, graduate, get incredible jobs and contribute to society in so many ways. Frankly, some of them are changing the world.”

Despite his prowess on the gridiron, Lackner credits his coaching record more than his playing days for his Hall of Fame induction.

“Coach [Chuck] Klausing used to say as a player I was small, but slow,” he said jokingly.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1979, Lackner joined Klausing’s assistant coaching staff. He was named head coach when Klausing left in 1986. Since then he has led the Tartans to 12 conference titles and two NCAA playoff selections. In 2006, he guided CMU to a 10-0 mark and a playoff win over Millsaps College, marking the Tartans’ most wins (11) in a single season. He is fourth among active NCAA Division III head coaches in total career wins.

“I always felt I had a great job here,” said Lackner, who recently was recognized for his 40 years of service to CMU at the Andy Awards. “My definition of a great job is when you walk on the field with your team on Saturday, you have a chance to win. I admire the administration for its commitment toward the athletic program.”

In addition to preparing his team for competition — he and his staff put in nearly 80 hours a week during the season — Lackner’s biggest challenge is recruiting student-athletes with the academic and athletic abilities necessary to succeed at CMU.

“I’ve loved what I’ve done here. I love the people I work with and I love this university.”

“Our recruiting has expanded from primarily a local and regional effort to a national recruiting plan. Our summers are incredibly busy attending camps for high school players from Boston to California. We probably have between 400 and 500 recruits in our system right now who have the smarts and talent to play at CMU,” he said.

After 34 years at the helm, Lackner said he still enjoys coming to work every day and teaching football.  

“Working with the players and my coaching staff is very rewarding,” he said. “Being able to work with young men between 18 and 22 years of age who are so passionate about the game and their studies is a lot of fun.

“Football builds character and teaches things you don’t necessarily learn in the classroom. I see our players mature into young men, graduate, get incredible jobs and contribute to society in so many ways. Frankly, some of them are changing the world.”

As a football coach, Lackner’s tenure at one school is atypical. He never pursued other opportunities, and he has no regrets.

“I’ve loved what I’ve done here. I love the people I work with and I love this university,” he said.

Have a suggestion for Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.   

Students, faculty, staff and alumni will come together Friday, Oct. 25 to connect, reflect, restore and have fun.

The inaugural Tartan Community Day, an idea initiated by the Task Force on the CMU Experience, includes a variety of exciting activities for all members of the university community.

“The Task Force on the CMU Experience was convened in 2016 to closely examine the Carnegie Mellon experience and take action to enhance a community in which all members can engage, build resilience and thrive,” said Provost Jim Garrett in a message to the campus community announcing the event. “From the start, the task force recommended a day off focused on gathering the campus for reflection, engagement and fun. Celebratory days like Founders Day and the Presidential Inauguration galvanized the task force’s commitment to shape an annual tradition our entire campus community could adopt.”

The Tartan Community Day schedule includes a fireside chat with alumna and Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, a community lunch and student talent show, a time to choose your own activity from a long list of options, a discussion with principal investigator David Creswell about the Life@CMU Project, and a performance by guest comedian Michelle Wolf.

“I am very thankful to work at a university that brings the entire community together and am excited for CMU staff to have the opportunity to celebrate with our students by participating in the various activities planned throughout the day,” said Michelle Piekutowski, associate vice president and chief human resources officer.

“While understanding that business needs still have to be met, I encourage all supervisors to be as flexible as possible with allowing staff members to choose their personal Tartan adventure for the day. I personally hope to try out a free GroupX class,” Piekutowski said.

Garrett also said he looked forward to participating.

“I look forward to being present with all of you on October 25^th as we look ahead to a CMU that continues to inspire our passion, build our ethic of care and leverage our community’s strengths,” he said.

Tartan Community Day Schedule

10 – 11:30 a.m.
A Conversation with Renée Elise Goldsberry

This student-focused event, features a light breakfast and discussion with Tony and Grammy Award-winning alumna Renée Elise Goldsberry. A star of stage and screen, Goldsberry originated the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway cast of “Hamilton,” for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Faculty, staff and alumni are welcome to view the event at a watch party in the PNC Foundation Event Spaces on the second floor or on a big screen located in the Welcome Center on the first floor of the Tepper Quad, where the event will be simulcast.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tartan Showcase and Community Lunch

Grab your complimentary lunch and head to Rangos to see some of CMU’s world-class talent featuring student performers and organizations. Pop-up attractions and roving artists can be found throughout the CUC.

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Choose Your Own Tartan Adventure

This is your day to use how you need it most, so choose your own adventure, from rock climbing and riding a zip line to yoga, Zumba and community service.  See the list of activities to choose from.

3:30 – 5 p.m.
Changing the Narrative About Life@CMU
Rangos Ballroom, Cohon University Center

The Life@CMU Project took the first steps to examine student behavior and how factors like stress and sleep affect and predict overall wellbeing. Now, principal investigator David Creswell, associate professor of psychology, asks how we change the story about our campus life and find better ways of supporting one another. Join the conversation and grab a complimentary Leona’s ice cream sandwich and personal wellness kit! Come early: President Jahanian will introduce the session and the first 50 attendees will receive a CMU blanket!

7:30 p.m.
Tartan Turn Up Presents Michelle Wolf
Rangos Ballroom, Cohon University Center 

Comedian Michelle Wolf has quickly become one of the most influential voices in the comedy landscape since her performance at the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner and her critically acclaimed variety sketch series “The Break with Michelle Wolf” on Netflix.

Learn more about Tartan Community Day schedule.

Laurie Z. Eisenberg was featured in a 60 Minutes segment Sunday about last year’s shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue and how Pittsburgh citizens of all faiths helped in the recovery. Eisenberg was interviewed by Lesley Stahl and spoke about the notes of support and items that were left at the synagogue following the shooting. “A lot of the items were religious reflecting the faith of the person who was leaving it, and not necessarily the faith of the victims …. Clearly, this was a Jewish event in that it’s an anti-Semitic attack in a synagogue. But other people weren’t seeing this as a Jewish event.” Eisenberg, a teaching professor in the Department of History, is an historian of the modern Middle East. Her areas of research and publication include the Arab-Israeli conflict and peace process; Israeli foreign policy; Israel-Lebanon relations; American foreign policy in the Middle East; the interplay of religion and politics in the Middle East; and the interactions of multiple Middle East countries and non-state actors. Watch the 60 Minutes segment.

Christopher Goranson, a distinguished service professor in Heinz College, and Yulia Tsvetkov, an assistant professor in the Language Technologies Institute, have each received grants of $90,000 from the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN). They were two of 27 awardees in the inaugural "Network Challenge,” which supports the development of new public interest technology initiatives and institutions in academia, and fosters collaboration among the network's partner institutions, which includes CMU.

Goranson’s grant will help develop an open-access, open-source starter kit and fellowship program that formalizes the course framework for his Policy Innovation Lab course, a new initiative that connects students with actual policy challenges and introduces an agile, design-driven framework to rapidly create solutions to those challenges. This fall students are investigating smart city policy challenges and building policy-driven prototypes shaped by user research. The starter kit will help PIT-UN member universities train future public interest technologists by adopting coursework that encourages rapid experimentation, novel approaches and viable solutions that meet the needs of end users. Find out more.

Tsvetkov’s grant will support a project that aims to bridge the ethical gap in computer science education by enhancing competency across institutions to teach socially responsible language technologies. Tsvetkov, along with LTI Professor Alan Black, teaches a course in computational ethics, which introduces students to real-world language technology applications while addressing ethical implications and risks posed by language technology and other artificial intelligence tools. The award will help to expand the course for graduate and undergraduate students and to develop open-access educational materials including video lectures and slides, lecture notes, assignments, creation of a textbook and sample course projects. Find out more.

Open Enrollment Begins Monday, Oct. 28

Open Enrollment for 2020 benefits begins on Monday, Oct. 28, and ends at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to review your benefit coverage options and make selections for the upcoming calendar year.

Elections made during Open Enrollment are effective Jan. 1, 2020, and will remain in effect for the calendar year. Open Enrollment is the only time you can change your benefit elections unless you experience a qualified life or family status change.

If you do not elect your benefits during the Open Enrollment period, you will be automatically enrolled in the benefits in which you are currently enrolled — except for flexible spending accounts, in which the IRS requires you enroll each year to participate.

Enrollment changes can be submitted online through Workday beginning Monday, Oct. 28. Workday Quick Guides will be available to assist you with the online enrollment process.

For information about 2020 benefits, including information on the UPMC – Highmark Consent Agreement, rates and the 2020 Benefits Guide, visit the Open Enrollment website. If you have questions, please contact the Human Resources Service Center at 412-268-4600 or submit a request for assistance and create a ticket.

The Office of Human Resources will offer benefits drop-in sessions throughout campus from Oct. 28 - Nov. 15. Stop by for a one-on-one consultation to review your 2020 benefit coverage options or receive assistance navigating Open Enrollment in Workday. See the drop-in schedule.

Benefits & Fitness Fair is Wednesday, Nov. 6          

Learn more about CMU benefit plans at the annual Benefits & Fitness Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 in the Cohon University Center's Rangos Ballroom. Representatives from the benefit plans and the Office of Human Resources will be available to answer questions.

Human Resources Service Center staff members will be located in the McKenna Room to assist with processing of Open Enrollment in Workday. For enrollment assistance, please come prepared with your Workday login information, including your mobile device for DUO authentication.

The fair also includes fitness demonstrations, free health screenings, raffles and giveaways.

Giant Eagle will be administering flu vaccinations at no cost to faculty and staff members. To obtain your flu vaccine, you will need to present your CMU ID card. No appointments are required for flu vaccinations during the Benefits & Fitness Fair. Remember to bring your Giant Eagle Advantage Card to receive a $5 credit.

ANSYS Hall Opening Celebration Set for Oct. 31

The spacious highbay area in ANSYS Hall offers students new resources to work on projects and prototypes for course work, competitions and club activities.

The College of Engineering will host a grand opening celebration for its ANSYS Hall beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 in the ANSYS Hall Highbay, C-level.

Remarks and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by an 11:15 a.m. lunch reception with student exhibits and demonstrations.

The opening of ANSYS Hall marks the completion of another component of the College of Engineering’s Maker Ecosystem, where students can fabricate, tinker, build and learn to turn their ideas into physical products.

ANSYS Hall is a 36,000 square-feet, four-story facility with a basement and mezzanine. It contains a spacious maker facility, where students can access physics-based simulation tools and cutting-edge technologies for making, assembling and testing their designs. A highbay space will support large-scale student projects like Carnegie Mellon Racing. 

A principal goal of the space is to give students, faculty, croporate partners and ANSYS researchers a common space to collaborate and learn from each other.

Trans, Non-Binary & Intersex Advocacy Group Provides Forum for Support

The Trans, Non-Binary, & Intersex Advocacy and Support Group is open to staff, faculty and students, and provides a safe and confidential space to seek affinity and support with other CMU community members. This group is open to those who identify with these identities or are questioning. It is not open to allies.  

The group provides a forum for support and opportunities to engage in advocacy efforts on campus and meets approximately once a month. To get on the group’s email list and find out more, visit tinyurl.com/CMU-genderinclusivity or contact nriley@andrew.cmu.edu. Participation in this group is confidential.

Honoring the Late Egon Balas

The Tepper School will host an academic symposium and memorial, Oct. 27-28, to pay tribute to University Professor of Industrial Administration and Applied Mathematics Egon Balas, who died earlier this year on March 18. He was 96.

After joining Carnegie Mellon in 1967, Balas became one of the world's foremost experts in mathematical optimization. 

"A beloved member of the CMU faculty for more than half a century, Egon Balas was a pre-eminent and legendary scholar who was enormously influential in the fields of operations research and applied mathematics," said President Farnam Jahanian. "Throughout his long and distinguished career as a researcher and teacher, he applied bold, focused and independent thinking to solve complex problems and also demonstrated a profound sense of humility, character and good humor. His extraordinary life and legacy will continue to serve as an inspiration to the entire CMU community."

Find out more.

Help Center Now Offers Sunday Walk-In Support

The Computing Services Help Center is now offering walk-in support in addition to email help on Sundays through the end of the fall semester. Visit the Help Center in Cyert Hall 119 for computing help from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or email it-help@cmu.edu.

Students, faculty and staff took a break from their normal routine to relax, recharge, enjoy the company of others and have fun during the inaugural Tartan Community Day.   

Initiated by the Task Force on the CMU Experience, Tartan Community Day (Friday, Oct. 25) included a variety of exciting activities for the mind, body and spirit — from an insightful conversation with alumna Renée Elise Goldsberry and student talent show, to riding a zip line, yoga and the comedy of Michelle Wolf.

“From the beginning we’ve worked to engage the campus community and that is what this day is all about,” said Gina Casalegno, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students.

Take a look back at Tartan Community Day. 

Shane Chaplin has always been fascinated by the work of John Snow. Not the ill-fated regal from Game of Thrones, but the “father of epidemiology” who systemically discovered the root cause of London’s 1853 cholera outbreak and, by closing down an infected water pump, saved the lives of countless people.

Chaplin, a psychologist, has a special interest in community health and the hidden ways each student’s experience can paint a picture of a larger challenge. He joined Carnegie Mellon University in the summer of 2019 as executive director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS), a role that excites him as the university has made larger investments in student health, allowing him and his staff the bandwidth to explore.

The university has made larger investments in student health, allowing Chaplin and his staff the bandwidth to explore.

Early in his career, Chaplin attended a series of lectures with Isaac Prilleltensky, a community psychologist specializing in interdisciplinary approaches to community wellbeing. Prilleltensky, like Snow, was intrigued by data and making meaning from it. He told Chaplin of his experiences collecting data in hospital emergency departments, making note of how many visits were due to car crashes or dog bites. When Prilleltensky took these observations to local church and community leaders, they explained that someone had stolen the stop signs at dangerous intersections and a pack of feral dogs was roaming the streets. Phone calls to the department of transportation and animal control took care of these hazards, and ER visits went down.

Chaplin found this to be profound.

“What a remarkable change in perspective,” he said. “Information and data can do that!”

Since 2016, CMU has more than doubled the clinical staff at CaPS, and Chaplin said clinicians now have the capacity to design outreach programming to reach students with skill-building material in a wide array of topics.

“Treatment is treatment,” he said, noting that he is unlikely to see major breakthroughs in clinical approaches to student mental health. “Prevention and upstream intervention are the new focus of innovation in collegiate mental healthcare.”

Since Chaplin’s arrival at CMU, CaPS has begun to use a tool called The Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS). The digital screening device is available to students via easy-to-use electronic tablets — a simple change made possible by increased administrative resources at CaPS — and serves several purposes. The CCAPS screener, an evidence-based tool, not only helps the counseling center determine appropriate pathways of support for individual students, but together with demographic data may help researchers like Chaplin collect pieces of the mental health puzzle that can lead to preventative services before students require counseling.

“We at counseling centers are repositories of knowledge. We see so many people from our community. I want to look at the data and find patterns, find challenges specific to each school and each college.”

The tool allows CMU to participate in national studies using deidentified CCAPS data to compare with peer institution services and outcomes for students facing depression, anxiety or stress levels, among other concerns. 

“We can start to utilize this data proactively to inform stakeholders on campus,” he said.

Chaplin wants to gather population data for how many students are coming from each school or major and at what point in their college careers.

At West Virginia University, his previous institution, Chaplin and his co-workers were able to identify, among other trends, that education majors tended to seek counseling in their third year of enrollment. When he took this information to the school of education, he learned this was when those students face their Praxis exam determining their placement for student teaching. In partnership with the education department, the counseling center developed a series of workshops teaching skills for test preparation, anxiety management and more, tailored for their junior students.

“We began to think of ways to help those students before they faced a crisis,” Chaplin said. “It’s a reach goal, but I want to do that here, too.”

Chaplin is thrilled by the interdisciplinary and collaborative ethos at CMU, where stakeholders are eager to come together and create opportunities to tackle student concerns before they become a problem.

“We at counseling centers are repositories of knowledge,” he said. “We see so many people from our community. I want to look at the data and find patterns, find challenges specific to each school and each college.”

Chaplin and the CaPS outreach team hope to then collaborate with those schools to design programs to help students, to build their skills and improve overall mental health and well-being. Chaplin is energized by the promise of integrating CCAPS and demographic data to design interventions at a systemic level, to create positive change for students at the university.

“I want to break the water pump,” Chaplin said of his plans to weave mental health education into academic curriculum. “I haven’t seen anyone else do this.”

At the helm of a center supporting over 35% of CMU’s student population, and with the ability to partner with the world’s best data scientists, he is well-positioned to make a splash.

Have a suggestion for Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.  

Anita Williams Woolley is the lead investigator of an interdisciplinary CMU team that has received a $2.8 million DARPA grant to explore how AI can help humans work together better. Woolley, an associate professor of organizational behavior and theory at the Tepper School of Business, believes the award is an important achievement not only for her and her co-investigators, but also for Carnegie Mellon. "As leaders in both teams research and technology, it's an important acknowledgement of the role we have played and continue to play in pushing the frontiers of these disciplines," she said. The research team includes Cleotilde Gonzalez, a research professor in the Dietrich College, and Henny Admoni, an assistant professor at the Robotics Institute. The researchers will study team collective intelligence and the theory of mind involving human and machine interactions. Team collective intelligence relates to the ability of a team to work together across a range of tasks. Theory of the mind explores how a person can understand what others are thinking, and how they may react to something, based on subtle nonverbal cues. Find out more.

Shawn Brown has been selected as the next director of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), a joint research center of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Brown, whose work uses high performance computing, informatics and computational modeling to advance research in scientific fields, including neuroscience and public health, will join the PSC on Nov. 27. Brown joins the PSC from McGill University in Montreal, where he served as chief technology officer of the Neurohub Project and associate director of research software development at the McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience. While at McGill, he led the development of the infrastructure of two large-scale platforms, Neurohub and CBRAIN, which use high performance computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze diverse datasets to advance neuroscience and mental health research. This marks Brown's second stop at the PSC, having previously served as director of public health applications. While at PSC from 2005-2017 he developed six computational platforms for public health research and published research on obesity prevention, infectious disease and vaccine strategies. Find out more. 

A new book authored by Associate History Professor Ricky Law, “Transnational Nazism: Ideology and Culture in German-Japanese Relations,” examines the partnership between Nazi Germany and Japan that culminated in the Tokyo-Berlin Axis. The study of interwar German-Japanese relations offers an incisive look at how the seemingly narrow Nazi ideology gained broad prominence and popularity beyond its obvious core demographics. The book explains interwar German-Japanese rapprochement from ideological and cultural perspectives and the role of the national media in both countries. Law will host a symposium at 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 1 in the Baker Hall Adamson Wing (136A) to discuss the book. Sheldon Garon of Princeton University and John Eicher of Penn State Altoona will offer comments. Law has received grants and fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Japan Foundation and the Royster Society of Fellows. Find out more.

Carnegie Mellon University launched a redesigned homepage on Wednesday as part of the public announcement of “Make Possible,” CMU’s $2 billion fundraising campaign. The homepage is often the first place visitors from around the globe come seeking information about academics, research and what life is like at CMU. The new cmu.edu showcases the talent, creativity and technological expertise of the university with a clean and engaging layout incorporating elements from the new brand blueprint.

The lead element, or “Cover,” is a looping video that focuses on the CMU experience, using aerial shots of campus spliced with vibrant footage of campus, faculty, researchers and student activities. Scrolling past the “Cover,” the new wordmark square appears and stays with the current navigation bar while perusing the rest of the page. Top news stories will be displayed in a section referred to as “Spotlight” as well as in a news section further down the page. There is a section where CMU stories are told “in depth” that highlight major themes that cross the university.

“We set out to create a homepage that displays the passion and energy of the people that make Carnegie Mellon one-of-a-kind.” — Key Nuttall

There are three sections with “Points of Pride,” where animated icons will break up the content blocks and highlight CMU’s unique culture, its thought-leadership and its faculty, alumni and student awards.

“In the process of reimagining our brand in action, we took a hard look at its main touch points. We set out to create a homepage that displays the passion and energy of the people that make Carnegie Mellon one-of-a-kind,” said Key Nuttall, vice president of Marketing and Communications for CMU.

Homepage analytics show that the majority of visitors to Carnegie Mellon’s homepage are new visitors to the site. The redesign tailors content to appeal to those external audiences, including prospective students, parents and partners, while also giving internal audiences quick access to the links important to them. At this time only CMU’s homepage is changing. The rest of the site’s navigation remains the same, although over time, some graphic elements on the homepage will be available for all sites.

“Carnegie Mellon is a pioneer in combining technology, art and design. We want the homepage to reflect that,” Nuttall said.

Neuro Week To Celebrate Brain Research at CMU 

The Neuroscience Institute will celebrate innovations in brain research at Carnegie Mellon with a series of research symposiums, showcases, panel discussions and lectures, Nov. 4-8. 

The week begins with a welcome breakfast followed by a symposium on leveraging technology to beat brain disease. CMU alumnus Robert Bowser from the Barrow Neurological Institute will give the keynote address. Later in the week, the Neuroscience Institute will award the Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Science to renowned neuroscientist Eve Marder of Brandeis University.

As the birthplace of artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, CMU brain scientists have had real-world impact for over 50 years. From the creation of some of the first cognitive tutors, to the development of the Jeopardy-winning Watson, to recent cutting-edge work on the genetic basis of autism, Carnegie Mellon has been, and will continue to be, a leader in the study of brain and behavior.

Here’s a glance at the week’s featured events

Nov. 4
Welcome Breakfast
9 – 10 a.m., Simmons Auditorium B, Tepper Building

Symposium: Leveraging Science and Technology To Beat Brain Disease
10 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Simmons Auditorium B, Tepper Building 

Nov. 5
Neuroscience Institute’s Presidential Fellows Showcase
4 – 6 p.m., Steinberg Auditorium, Baker Hall A53

Nov. 6
Celebration honoring Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, the George A. and Helen Dunham Cowan Professor in Auditory Neuroscience
4 – 6 p.m., Citrone Room, Tepper Building 5600 

Nov. 7
Panel Discussion: Diversity in Science
2 - 3:30 p.m., Connan Room, Cohon University Center 

Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences Lecture
4 – 5:30 p.m., Rashid Auditorium, Gates Hillman 4401

Nov. 8
Victor Bearg Lecture: The Neuroscience of Laughter by Sophie Scott
12 – 1:30 p.m., Kresge Theater, College of Fine Arts

Find out more about Neuro Week and the Neuroscience Institute.  

Provost Sets Office Hours for Students, Faculty, Staff

Provost Jim Garrett has three remaining dates this fall to meet with students, faculty and staff on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment is necessary.

Garrett encourages members of the university community to use the time to discuss what’s on your mind, and to share your experiences, ideas and aspirations for Carnegie Mellon. 

Office hours, below, will be held in the CCR East on the first floor of Warner Hall.

Friday, Nov. 1, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15, 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Thursday, Dec. 12, 3 – 4:30 p.m.

Emergency Response Drill Set for Nov. 5

From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 5, members of the university’s emergency preparedness and response team will conduct an emergency response drill at Scott Hall. This practice exercise is designed to simulate a hazardous materials release. It is intended to practice and test the university’s emergency response protocols, in coordination with external emergency agencies to help ensure the safety and well-being of our community. 

This is only a drill. The CMU community will NOT be in any danger.

As part of the exercise, emergency vehicles and response activities will be inside and near Scott Hall. Signage will be posted nearby to remind members of the community that a drill is in progress. Classes and events in Scott Hall and nearby buildings will not be impacted.

If you have questions about this emergency response exercise, contact Melaine Lucht, associate vice president and chief risk officer, at mlucht@andrew.cmu.edu.  

Benefits & Fitness Fair is Wednesday, Nov. 6          

Learn more about CMU benefit plans at the annual Benefits & Fitness Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 in the Cohon University Center's Rangos Ballroom. Representatives from the benefit plans and the Office of Human Resources will be available to answer questions. Open Enrollment for 2020 benefits began Monday and ends Nov. 18. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to review your benefit coverage options and make selections for the upcoming calendar year.

Human Resources Service Center staff members will be located in the McKenna Room during the Benefits & Fitness Fair to assist with processing of Open Enrollment in Workday. For enrollment assistance, please come prepared with your Workday login information, including your mobile device for DUO authentication.

The fair also includes fitness demonstrations, free health screenings, raffles and giveaways.

Giant Eagle will be administering flu vaccinations at no cost to faculty and staff members. To obtain your flu vaccine, you will need to present your CMU ID card. No appointments are required for flu vaccinations during the Benefits & Fitness Fair. Remember to bring your Giant Eagle Advantage Card to receive a $5 credit.

Dining News: Exchange To Reopen Nov. 6

The Exchange, which has been closed for renovations since May 2019, will re-open for business on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The updated design features an open kitchen environment, expanded seating and a refreshed look. 

Located on the first floor of Posner Hall, The Exchange has been an integral part of the Carnegie Mellon community for 17 years. A favorite dining location for students, faculty and staff, The Exchange is known for its exceptional customer service, custom deli sandwiches, made-to-order salads, housemade soups and hot entrées. The core menu remains unchanged, but the renovation allows the team to expand the menu of daily specials, including homestyle favorites like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, jambalaya with Cajun rice and chicken gorgonzola. Find out more.

Seeking Nominations for Engineering Staff Awards

The College of Engineering Staff Recognition Awards Committee is seeking nominations for the college's annual Staff Recognition Awards program, which honors staff for their outstanding leadership, innovation, continued excellence and spirit.  For more details on the process, including nomination criteria and a list of eligible staff members, visit the awards website.  The online nomination deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13. 

When Marge Maallo was a physicist working in digital holography, she liked the work, but there was one problem — she didn’t like working by herself.

“My first job was working with lasers in a dark room. I learned something about myself, and I knew I wanted my Ph.D. to be something that was collaborative,” Maallo said.

After a earning a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Queensland in Australia, Maallo found a very collaborative job, where she doesn’t just get to work with people, she gets to help them. As a postdoctoral researcher in  Professor Marlene Behrmann’s laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, Maallo is working with children and adolescents who need surgery to manage their epilepsy.

“The kids we work with have seizures multiple times a day and don’t respond to medicine, so surgery is one option that can help them,” Maallo said.

“I’m constantly amazed at how resilient the brain can be.”

In most cases, doctors are able to successfully remove the part of the brain where the seizures originate, and the children become seizure-free. Maallo and her team collaborate with medical and surgical doctors at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to understand how the brain recovers from the surgery and how it’s possible to support normal behavior with the remaining parts of the brain.

“I’m constantly amazed at how resilient the brain can be,” Maallo said.

Behrmann’s lab is interested in understanding what happens to visual behavior if parts of the visual cortices are removed. Their work has shown that even if you take out a large portion of the brain, including the visual cortex, patients can still behave normally compared to typically developing children. “That’s exciting and surprising,” Maallo said.

Using cutting-edge equipment in the CMU-Pitt Brain Imaging Data Generation & Education (BRIDGE) Center, Maallo scans the brains of patients to examine the structural and functional connectivity in their brains. 

“We look at the white matter pathways, the connection between the different parts of the brain,” she explained. “We study that in scans and compare them to brains of typical children of the same age.”

Maallo sees neuroscience through the eyes of a physicist.

In work they hope to publish soon, Maallo and her colleagues found that the damage to the white matter pathways in the brain of patients who had surgery did not spread out beyond the resection site. Even more important, they found that the side of the brain that doctors did not operate on was normal compared to other children.

Maallo sees neuroscience through the eyes of a physicist.

“Sometimes I find that the work I’m doing reminds me of my physics background. In physics, I loved making circuits and taking them apart. In a way, the brain is something like that. We want to know what happens if you don’t have a certain part of the brain.”

It’s not unusual for researchers from diverse backgrounds to find their way to neuroscience, said Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, director of the Neuroscience Institute at Carnegie Mellon.

“I started my own career as an engineer,” Shinn-Cunningham said. “To make progress in brain research we need biologists, computer scientists, engineers and more. When you bring all of these people together you can start to answer fundamental questions about the brain.”

When she’s not in the lab, you may find Maallo pursuing another passion, science communication. She’s the Pittsburgh coordinator of Pint of Science, a nonprofit organization that brings scientists to pubs and cafes for themed science talks for the general public. You can expect to see some Pint of Science events in Pittsburgh this May.

 Have a suggestion for Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.  

Many people take the quality of our water for granted — drinking it, cooking with it, and showering in it without giving it much thought.

But after a water crisis in Flint, Michigan, made headlines, Carnegie Mellon University decided to take a proactive approach to ensure the quality of drinking water on campus.

Carnegie Mellon’s water is provided by the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA). PWSA treats Allegheny River water and distributes it through pipes to customers, including Carnegie Mellon.

“Treated drinking water does not contain lead, but as it enters building plumbing, lead can leach from the fixtures into the water,” said Jeanne VanBriesen, the Duquesne Light Company Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CMU. “Drinking water utilities apply chemicals to control this corrosion reaction and reduce the potential for customers’ water to contain lead. PWSA applies corrosion control chemicals continuously; however, the utility has reported elevated lead concentrations in some of their routine sampling since 2016.”

Led by Rebecca Cicco and Christina Goyda in CMU’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS), the university began testing drinking water in Housing first, looking to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines that identify testing protocols as well as the recommended action level with regard to test results for lead.

“Lead enters drinking water by being leached out of piping or other plumbing components and into the water. Given the age of some of our buildings on campus, their internal plumbing and fixtures could contain lead, so it is also possible we could have lead levels in the drinking water above the EPA action level,” Cicco said. “We wanted to get a sense of: do we need to be concerned? And if we do, what do we need to do with this information? How do we make sure our community is getting the best quality water?”

Earlier this year, EHS presented the water quality program to university leadership and proposed a voluntary program for all academic, administrative and housing facilities on campus to be tested regularly. Under the program, there will be initial baseline testing of water from all fixtures that supply drinking water in all buildings. Fixtures where the water exceeds the action level will be removed from service.

After the baseline testing is completed, the results will be maintained for recordkeeping purposes. Then, the water from every drinking water fixture located in buildings on campus built before 1986, when a ban on plumbing materials containing lead was imposed, will be tested at least every two years. Drinking water fixtures that will be tested within academic and administrative buildings include water fountains, kitchen sinks, and bottle fillers. In addition to these fixtures, bathroom sinks will also be sampled in Housing.

Over the summer, EHS conducted drinking water sampling in all CMU residence halls and apartments, as well as Mellon Institute. The testing locations were removed from service for 8 to 18 hours prior to sampling to allow the water to stagnate. Stagnation allows extended contact with potential lead-containing fixtures, such as might happen when water is not used overnight.

Mellon Institute was the first academic building tested in the program. More than 100 drinking water fixtures were tested, and nine were found to have lead concentrations in the water above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level for schools and child care facilities of 15 parts per billion (ppb). Remedial actions have been taken, and before any of these fixtures are put back in service, the water at these fixtures will be retested to assure that remedial efforts were effective.

Testing of the drinking water in the following academic and administrative buildings has been underway since September and will continue through the end of December: Porter/Baker Hall, Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall, Doherty Hall, College of Fine Arts, Hamerschlag Hall, Hamburg Hall, Skibo Gymnasium, Smith Hall, Hall of Arts (formerly GSIA), Hunt Library, Warner Hall, GATF Building, Cyert Children’s Center, 6555 Penn Avenue Children’s Center, and the Margaret Morrison Children’s School.

All potential drinking water outlets, including water fountains, bottle fillers and kitchen sinks, will be sampled in accordance with the following schedule:

• EHS will remove the outlet from service in the afternoon around 2-4 p.m., and post signage indicating that the outlet is not to be used.
• The following day, between 7 and 9 a.m., EHS will collect a sample of the water.
• The signage will be removed immediately after sampling, and the outlet will be available for use.

A team led by Materials Science and Engineering Professor Anthony Rollett has received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E) to create high temperature heat exchangers using new methods and techniques for 3D printing. The project is one of 18 projects being supported by the Department of Energy for high-temperature materials and is part of the High Intensity Thermal Exchange through Materials and Manufacturing Processes program. Heat exchangers are devices that transfer heat from one fluid to another without the fluids coming into contact. They are commonly used in engines of cars, ships and planes, and in heating and cooling systems, including air conditioners and refrigerators. The overall ARPA-E initiative is supporting the creation of critical heat exchangers for thermal energy use in applications such as electricity, nuclear reactors and transportation. The grant will bolster Rollett's research for three years and support Ph.D. students and help advance materials research and additive manufacturing. Through 3D printing, the exchangers will be able to have wider variations in their shapes, he said. Find out more.

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham received the George A. and Helen Dunham Cowan Professorship in Auditory Neuroscience at a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Shinn-Cunningham joined CMU in 2018 as director of the Neuroscience Institute, which comprises faculty from five of CMU’s seven schools and colleges, harnessing the university’s core strengths in cognitive science, computation, data science, biology and engineering. Her research combines behavioral, neuroimaging and computational methods to understand how the brain processes sound. Alumnus George Cowan and his wife, Helen, established the chaired professorship. Shinn-Cunningham plans to use funding from the chair to support research on brain stimulation and its effect on control of attention, as well as fund graduate students to assist in these goals.

Physics Professor Markus Deserno has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Deserno was nominated by the APS Division of Biological Physics “for pioneering contributions to the theory and simulation of biological membranes and proteins, and their interactions, leading to improved understanding of cellular mechanics and self-organization.” Deserno’s work focuses on the physical problems that occur within the context of molecular cell biology, focusing on cells’ lipid membranes and the molecules that interact with those membranes to carry out vital processes. His coarse-grained simulations have been used to explain a number of cellular processes, including dynamic-driven membrane fission and viral assembly. Find out more.

Drinking Water Quality Program Extends Across Campus

Carnegie Mellon is taking a proactive approach to ensure the quality of drinking water on campus by instituting a campus-wide testing program.

Led by Rebecca Cicco and Christina Goyda in CMU’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS), the university began testing drinking water in Housing first, looking to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines that identify testing protocols as well as the recommended action level with regard to test results for lead.

“Treated drinking water does not contain lead, but as it enters building plumbing, lead can leach from the fixtures into the water,” said Jeanne VanBriesen, the Duquesne Light Company Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CMU. “Drinking water utilities apply chemicals to control this corrosion reaction and reduce the potential for customers’ water to contain lead. PWSA applies corrosion control chemicals continuously; however, the utility has reported elevated lead concentrations in some of their routine sampling since 2016.”

Under the drinking water quality program, there will be initial baseline testing of water from all fixtures that supply drinking water in all buildings. Fixtures where the water exceeds the action level will be removed from service. Drinking water fixtures that will be tested within academic and administrative buildings include water fountains, kitchen sinks and bottle fillers. In addition to these fixtures, bathroom sinks will also be sampled in Housing.

Find out more.

Support CMU’s 26^th Annual Food Drive Through Nov. 18

Carnegie Mellon’s 26^th Annual Food Drive, sponsored by Staff Council, is underway through Monday, Nov. 18.  Look for the food donation barrels located around campus to make your non-perishable food donations. Cash donations can be made online.

Last year, the CMU community came together to help the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank with $28,160 in monetary donations and 7,298 pounds of food, including 445 pounds of peanut butter and 1,156 snack bags for kids. This year, the goals are $30,000 in monetary donations and 8,000 pounds of non-perishable food. If these goals are reached, the CMU community will provide over 150,000 meals for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank!

Since the beginning of CMU’s Food Drive in 1994, the monetary and non-perishable donations made by the campus community have helped to provide over half a million meals to local communities.

This year’s Snack Bags for Kids Packing Party is 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14 in the Athletics Conference Room 151 in the Cohon University Center.

The annual Cans Across the Cut event is 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday, Nov. 18. Sign up your team to compete to see which group can gather the most canned goods and/or cash. The goal is to create a line of canned goods that stretches across the Cut.

Apple Faculty and Staff Appreciation Sale

Carnegie Mellon faculty and staff are invited to take advantage of the lowest prices of the season on Apple iPad Pros, MacBook Airs and Pros, and iMacs during the Apple Faculty and Staff Appreciation Sale. Items can be pre-ordered now and picked up at the University Store on the sale date, Dec. 5. If you would like to order a custom configured item, please place your order before Nov. 19.

The sale price is an additional $25 off iPad Pros and an additional $75 off MacBook Airs, Pros, and iMacs on top of the daily educational discounts offered by the University Store. Learn more.

MSIT Hosts Information Session for CMU Employees

Heinz College’s Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program will host an information session for CMU employees from noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 19 in Hamburg Hall 1214. Learn more about the program, admissions process and chat with other CMU employees from the MSIT program during this lunchtime session.  

Th MSIT part-time program offers graduate study in IT Management, Information Security & Assurance, Business Intelligence & Data Analytics, and Software Design & Management. The curricula is practical, flexible and accessible to busy professionals. With its online and evening class options, CMU employees can complete their MSIT degree from any university location.

MSIT is ideal for experienced, tech-savvy professionals who want to deepen their technical expertise and gain key analytical and management skills to become leaders in their field. Applicants must have at least three years of relevant professional experience and a bachelor’s degree. Learn more about the program.  RSVP for the session.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is Nov. 15-22

Celebrate the entrepreneurial and innovative culture at Carnegie Mellon during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 15-22, and be a part of the world's largest celebration of innovators and job creators.

Events include a showcase of student startups, a networking reception, TED-X style presentations from innovators, a pitch competition, a startups for good fireside chat and a job fair for students and alumni.

Learn more about this year's partnering organizations and see the full schedule.

Provost Sets Office Hours for Students, Faculty, Staff

Provost Jim Garrett has two remaining dates this fall to meet with students, faculty and staff on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment is necessary.

Garrett encourages members of the university community to use the time to discuss what’s on your mind, and to share your experiences, ideas and aspirations for Carnegie Mellon. 

Office hours, below, will be held in the CCR East on the first floor of Warner Hall.

Friday, Nov. 15, 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Thursday, Dec. 12, 3 – 4:30 p.m.

Seeking Nominations for Engineering Staff Awards

The College of Engineering Staff Recognition Awards Committee is seeking nominations for the college's annual Staff Recognition Awards program, which honors staff for their outstanding leadership, innovation, continued excellence and spirit.  For more details on the process, including nomination criteria and a list of eligible staff members, visit the awards website.  The online nomination deadline is 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13. 

Veterans Day has special meaning for Richelle Bernazzoli. Her nine-year service in the U.S. Army National Guard, which began at age 17, changed her life.

“It made me really think about what it means to be responsible for other people and accountable to other people, and to set my own needs aside for a larger mission,” said Bernazzoli, associate director of Carnegie Mellon’s Undergraduate Research and National Fellowships Office.

Bernazzoli grew up fast, attending basic combat training for nine weeks at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, after her junior year of high school. She was among the youngest in her camp.

“I was pretty athletic so the physical challenge wasn’t the hard part for me,” she said. “Mentally it was tough. I was used to being a perfectionist and I realized shortly after I got there that there was no perfection. You were not going to make it out of there without being singled out for doing something wrong.”

She was right — she earned her share of attention — but passed basic training hurdling all obstacles and began spending one weekend a month at the First 104^th Aviation Battalion in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, near her hometown of Portage. In between her national guard duties, she graduated from high school, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at The Pennsylvania State University and landed a job with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Headquarters in Washington, D.C

Her TSA duties soon took a backseat.

Bernazzoli comforts a child at an orphanage in Kosovo.

In 2005, she was deployed to the Republic of Kosovo in southeastern Europe, following the Kosovo Conflict involving the Serbs, Albanians and the government of Yugoslavia. Working in an aviation task force of several hundred soldiers, Bernazzoli did personnel and paralegal work for the battalion, helping to administer benefits, such as life insurance and payroll. She also had a hand in humanitarian aid, delivering supplies to an orphanage in the capital city of Pristina.

“It was considered a hostile fire zone so you had to carry weapons and ammunition everywhere, but it was pretty quiet,” she said. "I had the experience to get to know really good hardworking people. I value the connections I made, and Veterans Day is a good time to reflect on that.”

One of those connections led to another life-changing experience. While in Kosovo, she met her husband, Maximilian Geise, a Blackhawk Helicopter crew chief and door gunner.

“I had the experience to get to know really good hardworking people. I value the connections I made, and Veterans Day is a good time to reflect on that.”

When the couple returned to the states they married and Bernazzoli enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study political geography, a field that examines “how politics shape the places we live and how where we live shapes political activity,” she explained. She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. at Illinois and stayed on as a visiting faculty member for a year, teaching courses in international conflict and advising undergraduates in the department. 

“I always had an interest in international affairs,” Bernazzoli said.

Today, she advises students at Carnegie Mellon, helping some achieve their international aspirations of studying abroad through scholarships and fellowships, such as the Fulbright, Gates Cambridge, Churchill and Shwarzman awards. She helps others find and pursue opportunities to conduct undergraduate research and to appreciate how research can be an important component of their CMU experience.

“I love partnering with students in their intellectual development."

“I do lots of one-on-one advising to help students figure out where they want to go, what their larger life goals are, and to find themselves intellectually and professionally,” Bernazzoli said. “I love partnering with students in their intellectual development, helping them to identify as scholars in their own right, and to start to really define a little piece of their field they can call their own.

“The two missions this office serves really give students something invaluable above and beyond the base undergraduate experience,” she said.

Working with students is challenging and rewarding. Bernazzoli said it’s gratifying to see students achieve and succeed. Recently, she heard from two Fulbright Scholarship recipients who are conducting research in Germany.

“They were so excited to get started. It is great to see the really hard work we do helping students complete demanding scholarship applications translate into exciting moments for them, when they feel they have arrived and know they’re going to have this life-changing experience,” she said.

Bernazzoli knows about life-changing experiences.

“As I get older, I think more and more about the privilege to have been able to serve in the military,” she said.

Thank you for your service, Specialist Richelle Bernazzoli.

 Have a suggestion for Staff Spotlight? Send it to piperweekly@andrew.cmu.edu.  

Dan Martin has announced he will step down as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the conclusion of the academic year and return to the faculty in the School of Drama. As dean, Martin facilitated the emergence of a transdisciplinary culture in CFA, developing a sense of cohesiveness among CFA programs while allowing each to retain its own unique identity. His interdisciplinary approach led to the expansion of the BXA Intercollege Degree programs, and he oversaw the creation of the engineering and arts additional major. During his 10-years as dean, CMU became the first, exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards, a partnership that annually presents the Excellence in Theatre Education Award to a K-12 teacher who inspires students through theater arts education. CFA expanded under Martin by creating maker spaces for exploration and collaboration across the arts and media technologies. He led efforts to expand support for the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, and for faculty and staff in the Drama and Design schools. “I am grateful to Dan for his service as dean for the last decade,” said Provost Jim Garrett. “His dedication has served to highlight and celebrate the impactful work of the remarkably diverse and high-ranking programs housed within the College of Fine Arts, increasing the visibility and reputation of CFA.” A national search to find Martin’s successor will be announced later this fall. Find out more.

Erica Cochran Hameen, an assistant professor of architecture and CMU alumna, recently received the Presidential Leadership Award at the National Organization of Minority Architects’ 47th National Conference for her dedication and leadership in conference planning and architecture-related social justice work. Cochran Hameen, who has spent her career working to build bridges among architects and architecture work to advance social justice, is co-director of the Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, track chair of the Doctor of Professional Practice program, track co-chair of the Master of Science in Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management program, and track chair of the Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management Ph.D. program at CMU. Her architectural experience includes more than 50 educational, media and broadcast, residential, community and transportation facilities. Her previous honors include Best Proposal in a Department of Energy Competition, a Pittsburgh Courier Woman of Excellence Award, and an American Institute of Architects Diversity Recognition Program Award for the UDream program at CMU. Find out more.

Joseph Mertz has been named director of Carnegie Mellon’s Information Systems program (IS). A joint unit administered by the Dietrich College and Heinz College, IS is a unique blend of technology, business, humanities and social sciences. Mertz, a teaching professor in IS, was named interim director last July. He succeeds Randy Weinberg who led the program for 18 years and retired in December 2018. Mertz’s teaching focuses on two threads: developing technical-professional leadership skills and using technology for sustainable development. In 1998, he developed and taught “Technology Consulting in the Community,” an experiential service-learning course that engaged students as technology consultants with local nonprofits. The course was adapted into the IS capstone class, “Information Systems Consulting Project,” and the courses have engaged more than 500 students in helping more than 300 nonprofit organizations, schools and businesses in the Pittsburgh region. Find out more.