Tartan Olympics!

Carnegie Mellon's Student Athletic Advisory Council is staging a "Tartan Olympics," open to all students. Form a team with your friends and email your contact info, your team's name and your preferred event to: cmusaac@gmail.com.

The Tartan Olympics is a multi-contest event engaging different student organizations(dorms, fraternities, sororities, clubs, honor societies, religious groups, music groups, random groups of friends).

Choose an event: Juggling, Rubik's Cube relay, singing/karaoke, DDR, kickball, ice-rink/sled riding, wall-ball, spelling bee, tug-of-war, eating competition, volleyball, pool/splash competition.

The winning student group of the Tartan Olympics will receive a prize of $500.

The Tartan Olympics will take place over the weekend of January 23-25. In addition to the competition, there will be various activities and social events around campus.

Innovation Tournaments

The Center for Product Strategy and Innovation and professors Jonathan Cagan and Peter Boatwright present "Innovation Tournaments," a talk by Karl Ulrich, a professor of entrepreneurship and e-commerce at the Wharton School of Business (one of the top business schools in the country). Ulrich is co-author of the leading graduate textbook on product design.

Thursday, November 13
5:30 p.m.
Scaife Hall 125
A reception at 4:30 p.m. in Scaife 224 will precede the lecture.

"Stuff the Bus", College of Engineering toy drive

Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering students host their annual toys for tots (kids) holiday campaign with former Steeler Jerome Bettis. The student toy drive, "Stuff the Bus," is expected to raise more than $1,000 to help purchase toys for needy children. Students will collect and send toys to local Marine Corps reserve units for distribution nationwide.

"Toys for Tots" was established in 1947 by the U.S. Marine Corps to help less-fortunate children during the holiday season.

1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16, WPXI Television, 4145 Evergreen Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15214

http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/October/oct16_toysfortots.shtml

Yahoo! VP Heck from Yahoo Labs, technical talk

Talk: "An Introduction to Yahoo! Labs," Friday October 17, 2008, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, 1305 NSH

Presenter: Larry Heck, Vice President
Search & Advertising Sciences, Yahoo! Labs

Abstract: Yahoo! Labs is the central advanced research and development organization of Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. We're responsible for innovating the Internet: all the way from the big invention through to deploying that invention into production. Our goals are nothing short of inventing the future of the Internet and creating the next generation of businesses for Yahoo! In this talk, I will give an overview of Yahoo! Labs and provide a glimpse into the technical problems we are working hard to solve. BIO: Dr. Larry Heck is Vice President of Search & Advertising Sciences at Yahoo. In this role, Dr. Heck leads the teams responsible for the scientific development and deployment of Yahoo search and monetization algorithms. He received the PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Doctoral Career Path Seminar, Oct 21

CMU has a great grad programs office; they sponsor a lot of different activities. Coming up for doctoral students: Doctoral Career Path Seminar, "Doing Research Outside the Academy/ Consulting Careers," includes lunch, October 21, 12:00. This seminar will feature three industry insiders:

* Amelia Haviland, Statistician, Rand Corporation (PhD in Statistics and Public Policy);
* Antonio Fernandez, Engineering Consultant, Paul C. Rizzo Associates (PhD in Civil Engineering);
* David Nakles, Consultant, ENSR/AEComm and Adjunct Faculty, Steinbrenner Institute

To attend this seminar, register before Oct 17: http://education.andrew.cmu.edu/graduateprograms/graduate_program_registration.php

Mobot info session, Oct 14

Carnegie Mellon has a great "Mobot" tradition, mobile robots that race each other in the spring. This is why there are wavy white lines in front of Wean Hall, in case you were wondering! Whether you're an undergrad, grad, alum, faculty or staff member, you are invited to attend the Mobot Fall Open House, Tuesday, October 14, Wean Hall 5409. Eating of Nutritious Pizza at 6:00 pm. Talks start at 6:15 pm.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mobot

There will be presentations and discussions on the Mobot Competition and information on Mobot construction. Members of the Mobot Committee, the 2008 Course Record Champs, and representatives from the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Club will be available to answer any questions you have about the competition.

Cross-disciplinary teams are always welcome...and we mean ALL disciplines.

Robotics celebration Oct 24-25

In conjunction with the university's homecoming celebration, the Robotics Institute (RI) will celebrate University Professor William L. (Red) Whittaker's 60th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the RI's Field Robotics Center, which he founded in the early 1980s. For a full schedule of the Oct. 24-25 program, visit http://fr25.org/.

Dowd fellowships info, Oct 16

Dowd ICES fellowships support grad students who are conducting cutting-edge research on projects for which traditional sources of funding may not be available. Come find out more about this program at a seminar followed by a reception: October 16, 4:00pm, Singleton Room, Roberts Hall.

CMU DSO event Oct 8, technology to developing countries

Carnegie Mellon's Development Solutions Organization (DSO) is hosting an event to introduce students to opportunities to work on impactful global projects and to build a community around this vision. Check website http://cmudso.org for more info. Wednesday, October 8, 5:00 - 6:30; Wean 5409. If you can't make all of it, drop in anytime to socialize. Food will be provided.

Kennywood Fright Nights

Hi everyone,

Just fyi, you may or may not know that our great and local amusement park Kennywood has "Fright Nights" in October. The park is open Fri and Sat nights from 7pm to 1am; it's a really fantastic time to go because the park isn't very crowded and it's a lot of fun (and a lot more scary!) to ride the rollercoasters in complete darkness. Here's the link for more info: http://www.phantomfrightnights.com/

Political fair for grad students

Carnegie Mellon University's Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) will hold a political resource fair and reception at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3 in Rangos Hall in the University Center. The event is for graduate students (with free tickets) and invited guests only.

Several members of Pittsburgh City Council, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and State Senate have been invited to attend. Carnegie Mellon Students for Barack Obama, the Carnegie Mellon Republican Club, the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project and The Pennsylvania League of Young Voters will also participate.

The evening will begin with the reception and an information fair for graduate students and guests. Later in the evening, The Pennsylvania League of Young Voters and members of Pittsburgh City Council will sponsor a game of political trivia. In addition to voter registration, the event will engage Carnegie Mellon students with regional elected officials and open up a dialogue as the November election approaches.

This is a great opportunity for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens to learn more about the election and process. For details, click to http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/September/sept26_gsapoliticalfair.shtml.

HCII Seminar Series, Wednesday, October 1st, 4:00pm-5:00pm, Newell Simon Hall 1305: Gregory Abowd, Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. "HCI Research: Does it really matter?" Brief: We must work on problems that children, grandparents, and politicians understand and believe are important. When we connect what we do to the challenges of everyday life, two things happen. First, people pay attention. Second, we see just how complicated real life is to explore and impact as a researcher. http://calendar.cs.cmu.edu/hcii/events

Writing grant proposals panel (with snacks), Oct 7

GPO professional development seminar especially for science, engineering, and computer science students: "Writing Grant Proposals II: Research Grant Awardees: How They Did It." Desserts and coffee will be served. This Graduate Programs Office seminar will feature major grant winners explaining how they wrote successful proposals:

-Birku Akinci, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and NSF Career Grant Awardee
-James Antaki, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Collaborative Project with Pitt, CMU, and UPMC
-Greg Lowry, Associate Professor, CEE
-Robert Tilton, Professor,Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Interdisciplinary Project, CMU

Date: Tuesday, October 7
Time: 1:00 - 2:30
Place: Rangos 2, UC

If you would like to attend this seminar, please sign up at http://education.andrew.cmu.edu/graduateprograms/graduate_program_registration.php.

Registration for this event will close on October 3. 

Graduate support programs

FYI for students in Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon has a graduate programs office (GPO) that does a lot for grad students including conference and research funding, lunch-n-learn sessions, professional development, doctoral career paths, support for women and students of color, and more. This is a friendly and helpful organization, plus their activities (including lunches and networking receptions) are free! 

Speaking of international...

Speaking of international festivals, Carnegie Mellon hosts its own international festival each year with events, speakers, food, crafts and more. This year's event is coming up October 10 with many of the activities in the campus university center. View the OIE website for details.

World food festivals in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is home to many ethnic groups, many of which are hosting food festivals in the coming weeks. There are also a lot of farms that are doing special fall events (hay rides, corn mazes, etc.). These are great options for getting out for a couple of hours! View the PG article for more details.

EPP joint kick-off event Friday at IST and Carnegie Mellon

Come find out more about the new PhD in Engineering and Public Policy. This is a joint kick-off event with a location at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisboa and at Carnegie Mellon. To find out more: http://www.cmu.edu/portugal/calendar/

Welcome to the Carnegie Mellon|Portugal blog

Friends, welcome and  bem-vindo to our blog! We are an international education and research partnership between Carnegie Mellon and several top-ranked research universities Portugal. Members of our community (students, faculty, alumni, staff) are strongly encouraged to join our blog and add your comments about your experiences in the program. To join, please email us at icti-info@andrew.cmu.edu.

To find out more about our program, including our academic programs, our campuses, our research grants, and news items, please visit our website at www.cmu.edu.portugal. You can also visit our YouTube site to see videos of our students, programs, and faculty members, or subscribe to our Twitter account.

Sign one of the steel beams in the new Gates Center

Campus news: Sign one of the steel beams in the new Gates Center

Be part of Carnegie Mellon history by leaving your personal message on a steel beam that will be used in the construction of the School of Computer Science Complex, the future home of the Gates and Hillman centers. The beam is available for all students, faculty and staff to sign from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 25-26.

The beam will be located in a corner of the construction site, just behind the Purnell loading dock and Cyert Hall. The best way to get to the beam from The Cut is to go through the Warner Hall parking lot.

Once signed, the beam will be hoisted into place during a Topping-Off Ceremony for the SCS Complex, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 29. A topping-off ceremony is a construction-industry tradition marking the moment when the crew puts in place the highest structural point of a building. In addition to signing the beam, it is also customary to put an evergreen tree on one of them as a good luck charm for the workers and future occupants of the building.

Technical Opportunities Conference

Students, the TOC is a great opportunity for you to meet and network with US and international companies who have all come to Carnegie Mellon specifically to recruit students. For more information, view the TOC's website. This is an annual event. It's usually held in conjunction with the BOC, the Business Opportunities Conference.

Pausch memorial, simulcast tickets (CMU ID required)

Campus news: 

The memorial service for Randy Pausch, "Remembering Randy: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Randy Pausch," will be simulcast at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22 in McConomy Auditorium. A limited number of tickets to this simulcast are available at the University Center Information Desk. A Carnegie Mellon ID card is required to receive a ticket. Tickets will be
distributed one per person.

In addition to the simulcast in McConomy, the service can be seen at the following campus locations: 7500 Wean Hall; Giant Eagle Auditorium, Baker Hall; and Philip Chosky Theatre, Purnell Center for the Arts.

Links to the live webcast hosted by ABCNews.com will be available at http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture, and video of the memorial service will be posted soon afterward on the Carnegie Mellon channels of YouTube and iTunesU, as well as http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LastLecture.

The service will include recollections and tributes from a number of Pausch's friends and colleagues, including Jared L. Cohon, Carnegie Mellon president; Randal E. Bryant, dean, Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science; Andy van Dam, Brown University computer science professor; Dennis Proffitt, University of Virginia psychology professor; Dan Siewiorek, head of Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII); and Don Marinelli, co-founder and executive producer of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center. Questions about the memorial celebration can be directed to randy-memorial@andrew.cmu.edu.