Filed under: Art, Carnegie Mellon, Computer science, Culture, Education, Technology
When Alyssa Reuter had to choose a college, she wanted one that offered programs in computer science and the arts. “The one school that was strong in both was Carnegie Mellon,” she says.
But how could she combine her two passions? Getting undergraduate degrees from both SCS and the College of Fine Arts—a double major—would have meant an extremely heavy workload, because the majors don’t have many overlapping courses.
As it turns out, Reuter wasn’t the only student asking to combine the disciplines into one undergraduate degree, says Franco Sciannameo, director of Carnegie Mellon’s Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BHA) and Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) programs—joint efforts between CFA, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Mellon College of Science.
Students were literally “knocking on my door,” Sciannameo says. From game design and computer animation to computer music and robotic art, technology and the arts are no longer separable, he says. More >
Filed under: Carnegie Mellon, Computer science, Culture, Education, Language, Technology, Translation
Maxine Eskenazi knows how much can depend on the meaning of a single word. While she was living in France, her French mother-in-law sent one of her American aunts a gift of delicate chiffon fabric. But the French have a different name for the sheer material—mousseline—while “chiffon” means “rag.” Eskenazi’s mother-in-law received, therefore, a well-intentioned note thanking her for the “nice rags.”
Such incidents, along with Eskenazi’s experiences teaching English in France, instilled in her a lifelong appreciation for the intricacies of language learning. More > (PDF p. 15)
Perry Jones, age 6, stands in a field on his grandfather’s Virginia farm. He hears a buzz and looks up to see a plane flying overhead. “Grandpa, that’s what I want to do when I grow up,” he says eagerly. “I want to drive that airplane.” “Perry, if you want to drive that airplane, you can do it,” his grandather tells him. Jones would go on to become the first Black airline pilot for Pan Am. More > (PDF p. 12)
Kent Harries is bouncing around in a Jeep in the remote Darjeeling region of India when suddenly his life flashes before his eyes. A large military truck is coming the other way down the one-lane road, and he knows it’s not getting out of the way. He and student Derek Mitch hang on as the Jeep driver veers out of the truck’s path, narrowly averting disaster. More > (PDF p. 7)
Filed under: Carnegie Mellon, Computer science, Culture, Education, Technology
Si Yang Ng was thrilled with the guest lecturer in his improv class—a well-known motion picture actor. Ng willingly participated at every opportunity, which didn’t go unnoticed. “You’re from Asia, but you speak up quite openly,” the movie star said to Ng. “Can you tell me why I’m having so much trouble getting Asians to speak up in my improv classes?” More >
Filed under: Culture, Education, Geology, Pitt, Pitt Engineer, Profiles, Technology
Oil erupts from the ground with a whoosh! Dirt-poor Jett Rink (James Dean, in Giant, his last film role) staggers backward, arms outstretched, letting the “black gold” rain down on him.
Watching this movie as a child in Cairo, Egypt, Mahmoud Dabbous was enamored not only with the excitement of striking oil but also with the American geography and way of life it depicted.
He went on to found the Improved Petroleum Recovery (IPR) Group of Companies, of which he is president and chief executive officer. More (Large PDF) >
Having just come from a full day in charge of five-year-olds, Denise Sheffey Powell claims to be “a walking zombie.” If that’s true, looks are deceiving: Zombies’ faces aren’t expressive and warm. It’s easy to imagine the kindergarten students she teaches in her day job falling in love with her gentle way. It’s even easier to imagine aficionados of classical music falling in love with her rich voice. More (PDF) >
Women are missing from boardrooms and executive positions worldwide. School of Arts and Sciences Mellon Associate Professor of Economics Lise Vesterlund is working to discover why—and what we might be able to do about it. More >
Why would a gourmet who has lived in 