January 2015 [.Pdf]
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CMU’S NEWS SOURCE FOR FACULTY & STAFF 1/15 ISSUE 2 DAVOS 2015 7 E XPLORING TH E C OSMI C D AWN 9 T O TH E M OON , A N D Y ! Shiver in the River 10 B ARKIN L E AV E S P OW E RFUL , H E A LT H Y L E GA C Y B E HIN D Michael Keaton Joins ETC n Kelly Saavedra Award-winning actor Michael Keaton won’t be changing careers any time soon, but he will be going back to school on occasion. As the Entertainment Technology Center’s new visiting scholar, Keaton will be stopping by the ETC to talk to students about their projects and offer his insights on storytelling and the best ways to engage an audience. PHOTOS BY KEN ANDREYO Keaton, who won a Golden Globe T HE C M U POLI C E DEPART M ENT TEA M TOOK ITS ANNUAL PLUNGE IN THE A LLEGHENY R IVER LAST M ONTH AND RAISED M ORE THAN Award for Best Actor in a Motion $ 1 2 , 9 0 0 TO SUPPORT S PE C IAL O LY M PI C S IN P ENNSYLVANIA . T EA M M E M BERS IN C LUDE ( LEFT TO RIGHT ) : S E C URITY G UARD Picture, Musical or Comedy for his J I M M ORAN , D ETE C TIVE J OE B ERNARDING , P OLI C E O FFI C ER L EAH B OEHLER , STUDENT A NDREW S C HWARTZ , S TUDENT L IFE performance in "Birdman," first came to H OUSEFELLOW L U C AS C HRISTAIN , S GT . R ANDY B AUER , S TUDENT L IFE H OUSEFELLOW B RYAN K OVAL AND L T . J OSEPH M EYERS . talk with students and faculty in the ETC ( I NSET P HOTO ) S GT . N ELLO BRUNO ( LEFT ) AND D ETE C TIVE B ERNARDING . C ONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR At the Helm Jefferson Award Winner Gerry Balbier Named Army Vet’s Mom Saluted for Support of Troops Executive Director n Kelly Saavedra Operation Troop Appreciation (OTA) in my own son or daughter,” Scalese said. SM of BrainHub West Mifflin in 2012, kicking her care “I will never meet these soldiers. They As the mother of a U.S. Army veteran, package prep skills into high gear for will never know who I am. But for these Darlene Scalese has a lot of experience n Michael Yeomans hundreds of far away troops, who, like couple of moments, they belong to me.” preparing thoughtful care packages for a her son, also longed for a few comforts One project had Scalese involved in Gerry Balbier is new to Carnegie soldier overseas. from home. organizing “Welcome Home” packages Mellon, but CMU is hardly new to him. During long deployments to the “I pack for them as if each one is C ONTINUED ON PAGE SIX Balbier, tapped recently to be the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, items on executive director of the university’s her son’s “wish list” ranged from thirst- BrainHubSM initiative, first became quenching Kool-Aid pouches to milk familiar with the university when he chocolate candies. joined the Heinz Endowments. “My son loves Sarris chocolate- Balbier had been a legislative assis- covered pretzels,” said Scalese, assistant tant to Sen. John Heinz until his death in to the head of Carnegie Mellon’s School 1991. It was soon thereafter that he was of Design. “Obviously, I did not ship invited to Pittsburgh to help manage the them during the summer months, but I foundation’s education programming. In did send them to him at Christmas and this role he became fascinated with the Easter.” cross-disciplinary research at CMU in Driven by a deep gratitude for the cognitive psychology, machine learning, sacrifices soldiers are making for her C ONTINUED ON PAGE EIGHT freedom, Scalese began volunteering at O NE Davos 2015 CMU Leading Integrated Intelligence n Greg Faist tor of CMU’s Field Robotics Center Ever since Carnegie Mellon’s Nobel and chairman and chief science officer Laureate Herbert Simon and Turing at Astrobotic, discussing robotics in Award winner Allen Newell pioneered rescue environments. the concepts of artificial intelligence and “As we integrate technology into machine learning in the 1950s, CMU has more aspects of society, we must ensure been at the forefront bridging the gulf that we attend to the cultural, social, le- between technology and humanity. gal and economic implications — as well Today, that fact is more relevant as the technical implications of those than ever. People, technology and technologies,” Cassell said. “In my own machines are becoming increasingly in- work, I pay attention to those aspects terconnected. Smart devices detect struc- of being human that are most important tural deficiencies on bridges before they to us: relationships with other people, cause injury and unaffordable repairs. interaction and a feel of rapport. I build Humans learn through apps and software technologies that highlight and preserve that were unimaginable a few years ago. Robots not only perform dangerous jobs that keep us safe, they are also now ca- R EAD mo RE AB O U T pable of interacting autonomously, both CM U ’ S J USTINE C ASSELL WILL DIS C USS ROBOTS AS FRIENDS AND C O M PANIONS CMU’ S INV O LV E M EN T with people, and with each other. AT THIS YEAR ' S W ORLD E C ONO M I C F ORU M IN D AVOS , S WITZERLAND . This new reality — a state of WI T H T HE W O RLD integrated intelligence — is unfolding the state of the world by engaging busi- • Justine Cassell, associate vice-provost E co N om I C F O RU M WWW . cm U . at a blinding pace, bringing vast, new ness, political and academic leaders, and for Technology Strategy and Impact EDU / W O RLD - E co N om I C - fo RU M / opportunities for governments, business, other leaders of society, to shape global, and co-coordinator of The Simon health care and education to significantly regional and industrial agendas. Initiative, discussing robots as friends improve human life. But it also intro- CMU’s leadership and expertise and companions; those aspects.” duces implications and questions about around integrated intelligence will Faculty also are presenting during • Illah Nourbakhsh, professor in the the shared future of humans, robots and continue to be highlighted beyond Davos sessions on extreme robotics (Whittaker) Robotics Institute and director of the technology that must be explored today. through a number of opportunities in and the implications of greater human- CREATE Lab speaking about human A group of CMU faculty, led by 2015, including a gathering of alumni, machine interaction (Nourbakhsh). empowerment and how robotic tech- President Subra Suresh, has been invited donors and corporate partners in San “By combining our strengths in nologies can enhance and challenge by the World Economic Forum to lead Francisco in February. sociology, design, machine learning, ro- society; discussions on integrated intelligence at botics and human-computer interaction, CMU at Davos Carnegie Mellon is demonstrating how the forum’s annual meeting in Davos, • Tony Stentz, research professor at culture, big data and massive Internet Switzerland, Jan. 21-24. The forum President Suresh will represent CMU the Robotics Institute and director of connectivity can be forged into new tools is the world’s foremost international during the annual meeting of the forum’s the National Robotics Engineering that serve humanity,” said Nourbakhsh. organization committed to improving Global University Leaders Forum —a Center, exploring robots in the work To further engage with industry and select group from 25 global institutions place; and (11 from the U.S.) — and also introduce government leaders attending Davos, the the university’s IdeasLab presentation • William (Red) Whittaker, the Fredkin university is also hosting a networking University Research Professor, direc- reception. PIPER featuring: 1/15 Issue Collective Intelligence P UBLISHER Ken Walters E DI to R M ANAGING E DI to R Online vs. Face-to-Face Teams Bruce Gerson Kelly Saavedra W RI T ERS n Mark Burd PLOS ONE. Mark Burd Jocelyn Duffy Human interactions and office team- “Our previous research was able Greg Faist to identify factors that correlate with Bruce Gerson work are increasingly taking place Shilo Rea through online communication chan- collective intelligence,” Woolley said. Kelly Saavedra “For instance, we found that having a Byron Spice nels. And just as with face-to-face Pam Wigley teams, organizations can greatly benefit lot of smart people in a group does not necessarily make the group smarter. D ESIGN & P H oto GRA P HY from the ability to predict online group Digital & Creative Services performance. However, we also found a significant correlation between the individuals’ To contact The Piper staff, call 412-268-2900 Building on her groundbreaking or email [email protected]. research on “collective intelligence,” ability to reason about the mental states Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admission, of others — an ability called Theory of A NITA W OOLLEY C OINED THE TER M employment, or administration of its programs or activities on the a term she helped coin to describe a basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, Mind — and the collective intelligence “ C OLLE C TIVE INTELLIGEN C E ” TO age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, measure of the general effectiveness of belief, veteran status, or genetic information. Furthermore, of the group.” DES C RIBE THE GENERAL EFFE C TIVE - Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and is required a group on a wide range of tasks, Anita not to discriminate in violation of federal, state, or local laws or One way Theory of Mind is mea- NESS OF A GROUP ON A WIDE RANGE executive orders.