H&SS eNews, June 2006

Greetings from H&SS.

Whether you are a member of the media looking for a faculty expert on deadline, a student who wants to learn about the latest H&SS events, or an alumni who wants to catch up on campus news, this is a one-stop shop for H&SS news and events.

The H&SS eNews is a monthly electronic publication of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. The eNews is compiled and edited by Kelli McElhinny, director of media relations for H&SS. She can be reached at 412-268-6094 or kellim@andrew.cmu.edu. Contact Kelli to submit news about yourself and your fellow alumni, and to sign up for our newsletters.

For past eNews publications, please visit the H&SS eNews archive.

For news about the entire university, be sure to check out the university’s home page or the Carnegie Mellon Today website.

Alumni News

--Alan Houser (B.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1987; M.A. Professional Writing, 1989) has been named a fellow of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). The STC is a professional organization for technical writers, editors, illustrators, managers and educators as well as user experience professionals. Houser’s citation from the STC reads: “For significant contributions to the literature and discourse on technical writing tools and technologies, excellence as a technical communicator, promotion of the profession, and outstanding service to STC at the society and community levels.” Houser is the president and principal partner of Pittsburgh-based Group Wellesley Inc., which provides technical writing and publishing support to organizations in the U.S. and Europe.

Student News

--Karl Sjogren, a junior majoring in decision sciences and human-computer interaction, has been elected Carnegie Mellon student body president. Elected vice president was Andrea Hamilton, a junior in the Bachelor of Humanities and Arts program.

--Xiuyu "Kelly" Wang, a doctoral student in the History Department, is the winner of the department's annual Goldman Award, given to a graduate student with an outstanding teaching record. The award carries a $1,000 prize. It is funded by Michael and Eileen Goldman, the parents of alumnus Kevin Goldman. (B.S. Applied History, 1994). Wang received his Ph.D. at this year's commencement.

--The Spring 2006 edition of Polyglot, the undergraduate journal for the Department of Modern Languages, is now available online at http://ml.hss.cmu.edu/ml/Polyglot/Polyglot_S06/Polyglot_S06_htmlfiles/PolyglotS06_TOC.htm. Students of all languages, including English as a Second Language, are invited to contribute essays, poems and critical works. Expenses associated with the production of the journal are covered through the generosity of alumna trustee Patti Kenner, a 1966 graduate of Margaret Morrison Carnegie College.

College/Faculty News

-- Carnegie Mellon has appointed John Lehoczky, the Thomas Lord Professor of Statistics and Mathematical Sciences, to a second five-year term as dean of H&SS. A committee of H&SS faculty appointed by the provost to review Lehoczky’s performance unanimously recommended his reappointment. The committee’s report described Lehoczky as an excellent administrator who is well-liked and respected by department heads, faculty and staff.

Lehoczky has led H&SS since 2000, first as interim dean before he was appointed to a full five-year term. Lehoczky has overseen the launch of the college’s ambitious Humanities Initiative, a collaboration of Carnegie Mellon's humanities departments to produce alumni who have the skills to solve real-world problems, the flexibility to adapt to changing technology and markets, and a respect for intellectual and cultural diversity. Lehoczky also has been a strong advocate for developing Carnegie Mellon’s international programs, and while he has been dean, H&SS has launched an interdisciplinary International Relations Program, and now offers a major in Chinese.

Lehoczky received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Oberlin College and his master's and doctor's degrees in statistics from Stanford University. He joined the Carnegie Mellon faculty in 1969, was named professor of statistics in 1980 and professor of statistics and mathematics in 1988. Lehoczky was head of the Department of Statistics from 1984 to 1995, and in 1997 he was named the Thomas Lord Professor of Statistics and Mathematical Sciences. Lehoczky is a fellow of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, INFORMS, and is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.  For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/extra/060521_lehoczky.html.

--People with low incomes are more likely to be under stress than their wealthier peers, according to a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, by Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty Professor of Psychology.  Researchers measured the income and years of education for 193 people and then tested their urine and saliva for stress hormones. Cohen and his co-authors found that the lower the income and education levels, the higher the levels of three stress hormones: epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol. This finding was independent of race, age, gender or body mass index. The study also found that the lower peoples’ incomes and education levels were, the more likely they were to smoke and skip breakfast. (Eating breakfast is an indication of good health habits.) They were also less likely to have diverse social networks, which are known to relate to better health. For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060522_stress.html.

--Carl Olson, professor of cognitive neuroscience, has been named acting co-director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), a multidisciplinary research center operated jointly by Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. Olson, who has directed the CNBC Primate Physiology Laboratory since 1996, is renowned for studies of the brain that have revealed areas responsible for fundamental cognitive processes including attention, memory and spatial localization of objects in their settings. Olson is replacing Jay McClelland, Walter Van Dyke Bingham University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, who is leaving the university to become a professor of psychology at Stanford University, and the founding director of the university’s Center for Mind, Brain and Computation. McClelland co-founded the CNBC in 1994, and has been co-director ever since.

--The U.S. Department of Education has appointed Robert Siegler, the Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology, to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. The panel’s mission is to advise the president and secretary of education on how scientific research can advance the teaching and learning of mathematics. The panel consists of 17 expert members, including Siegler, and six ex-officio members. It will issue two reports containing policy recommendations on how to improve mathematics achievement for all students. Siegler’s research focuses on children’s reasoning and problem-solving abilities, particularly in mathematics and science. He has written seven books, edited four others, and authored more than 150 articles and book chapters. His book, “Emerging Minds,” was named one of the Best Psychology Books of 1996 by the Association of American Publishers. For more information, go to http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060518_siegler.html.

--Kiron Skinner, assistant professor of history and political science, was the commencement speaker for Molloy College in Rockville Centre, NY. The college presented her with an honorary doctor of laws degree. Skinner, the director of Carnegie Mellon’s International Relations Program, is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. A protégé of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Skinner is on the U.S. Defense Policy Board, the National Security Education Board and the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.

Events

--The Department of Psychology will host the 34th Carnegie Symposium on Cognition June 2-4 in the Adamson Wing of Baker Hall. The event will feature talks by some of the world's leading cognitive scientists, who will discuss the concept of embodiment - the idea that the way people perceive the world around them is influenced by their representations of themselves as part of that world. This year's symposium is organized by psychology professors Roberta Klatzky, Marlene Behrmann and Brian MacWhinney. For a complete list of speakers and schedule of events, go to www.psy.cmu.edu:16080/embodiment/.

In Memory

--We are saddened to report the death of Otto "Toby" Davis, the William W. Cooper University Professor of Economics and Public Policy, who died May 9. He was 72.

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