Polansky Wins Lazarus Award...Susan Polansky, teaching professor of Spanish, won the 2006 Barbara Lazarus Award for Culture and Climate. Lazarus, who died in 2003, was associate provost for academic affairs. The award, which is given every year by President Jared L. Cohon as part of the university's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, is awarded to faculty and staff who, like Lazarus, have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and demonstrable impact on improving the culture and climate in the Carnegie Mellon community. "We all know that Susan has established, and maintains, exceptionally strong standards in terms of ensuring that the culture and the climate of Modern Languages is warm, welcoming and supportive," said department head Dick Tucker. For more, see https://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/060120_polansky.html.
Rousseau Named Sunningdale Institute Fellow...The U.K.’s National School of Government has named Denise M. Rousseau, H.J. Heinz II Professor of Organization Behavior, one of the first fellows of its Sunningdale Institute, a group of internationally rated academics and industry figures that advises government and public service organizations on operational and delivery issues. The institute offers knowledge exchange, consultancy, and learning and development activities for senior public servants. Fellows are available as speakers and to lead research projects, give advice to organizations and teams, and produce advisory documents. For more, see https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/whatsnew/2006/Rousseau.html.
Barth Receives Grant to Develop Seizure-Preventing Therapy...Alison Barth, assistant professor of biological sciences, has received a $50,000 grant from the Milken Family Foundation to accelerate the development of a novel therapy to treat epilepsy. Barth has developed a new approach to study the electrical activity of neurons following a seizure. Recent findings from Barth's lab show that the abnormal electrical activity of neurons following a seizure can be restored to normal by blocking a specific ion channel. Ion channels allow electrically charged atoms (or ions) into and out of cells. This activity starts and stops the electrical impulses by which neurons communicate with one another. For more, see https://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases05/051209_epilepsy.html.
Designers Chosen to Present at “PGH 100”...Several School of Design faculty and students were chosen to make presentations at the “PGH 100,” the annual show of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the AIGA, the professional association of design. Student participants included Andy Babb, Tammy Chang, Michael Sui, Margaret Szeto and James Soracco. Faculty participants were Kristin Hughes (for design of the School of Drama posters) and Stacie Rohrbach (for design of the alumni newsletter).
Bier Receives NSF Funding To Build Mass Spectrometer...Mark Bier, associate research professor and director of the Center for Molecular Analysis in the Department of Chemistry, has received a $546,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Instrument Development for Biological Research program to build a heavy-ion mass spectrometer. This one-of-a-kind device will characterize with unprecedented sensitivity large biomolecules, such as protein complexes, virus particles and DNA. It may also provide a new tool for analyzing large man-made polymers used in nanotechnology. "This is a new frontier in mass spectrometry research," said Bier. "We anticipate that this work will help to advance research in proteomics, virology, molecular biology and nanotechnology." For more, see https://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060110_heavyion.html.
Goodstein and Schweizer Earn Luce Fellowships...Michelle Goodstein and Vanessa Schweizer have each earned a Clare Booth Luce Fellowship, which promotes the advancement of American women through higher education in the sciences, engineering and mathematics. Goodstein is a Ph.D. student in computer science and Schweizer is a doctoral student in engineering and public policy. For more, see https://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/051101_luce.html.
Finance Professor Receives TIAA-CREF Institute Award...Richard Green, a professor at the Tepper School, and Jonathan B. Berk of the University of California, Berkeley, received the 2005 TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security. The pair received the award for their article, "Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets," which appeared in the December 2004 issue of the Journal of Political Economy. The award was recently presented at the Allied Social Science Association meeting in Boston. Green is the Richard M. and Margaret S. Cyert Professor of Economics and Management and chair of the Ph.D. program at the Tepper School. For more, see https://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060112_green.html.
Football Players Garner Academic All-America Honors...Junior defensive back Aaron Lewis and senior offensive guard Bryan LeBude earned First Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Lewis, a business administration major with a 3.95 GPA, earned First Team All-University Athletic Association (UAA) honors for the third straight year with a league-leading 115 (61 solos) tackles. He also ranked second in the UAA with six interceptions. LeBude, a biological sciences major with a 3.75 GPA, started every game and helped the Tartans average a UAA-leading 219.8 rushing yards per game. He led an offensive line that gave up only 13 sacks in 10 games, which also ranked first in the UAA. For more, visit https://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/051205_espn.html.
Freed’s Film Honored...Professor of French and Applied Linguistics Barbara Freed's film, "A Model for Matisse: The Story of the Vence Chapel," received the Pierre Salinger Award for the Best Documentary at the Avignon/New York Film Festival Nov. 13 in New York City. Previously, her film was honored as the best film for television at the 2004 International Festival of Film on Art in Montreal.
Music Major Wins Tuition in Poker Tournament...Jeremy Olisar, a senior from Naperville, Ill., won AbsolutePoker.com’s "Win Your Tuition" online poker tournament in October. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that he outplayed students from more than 300 colleges in a free No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament and survived a 5 1/2-hour final round to win the grand prize. Olisar, who is majoring in clarinet performance and music education, has four minors and a 4.0 GPA. Among his many campus activities are participating in the Kiltie Band and teaching in the Music Preparatory School. For more, see https://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/events/s_395648.html.
Levin Named WTN Fellow...Golan Levin, assistant professor of electronic time-based media in the School of Art, was named a World Technology Network (WTN) Fellow for the Arts. Voted by their peers in 20 categories like biotechnology, ethics, entertainment and space, the top individuals in each category win the distinction of WTN fellow. The WTN is a global meeting ground, a virtual think tank and an elite club whose members are focused on the business and science of bringing emerging technologies into reality. For more, see https://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=1107589XSL_NEWSML_TO_NEWSML_WEB.xml.
Urban Named a Top 50 Innovator by Scientific American Magazine...Nathan N. Urban, assistant professor of biological sciences and a member of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, has been named to the 2005 Scientific American 50 (SA 50). Recognized as the nation's top science magazine, Scientific American annually acknowledges people and organizations working on society's science and technology mysteries. The SA 50 recognizes scientists and business and policy leaders whose innovations in science and technology set them apart from their peers. Urban, a neuroscientist whose research involves the olfactory region of the brain, is being honored along with his lab members and outside collaborators for their research achievements in neuronal activity. For more, visit https://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/051128_urban.html.
