CMU’S NEWS SOURCE FOR FACULTY & STAFF 1/14 ISSUE 4 C ONSTRU C TION W RAPS U P ON CMU P ARTI C LE D ETE C TOR P ROJE C T 6 ID E AT E I NITIATIVE O FFERS 8 N E W RoboRescue I NTER D IS C IPLINARY C ON C ENTRATIONS 1 0 S E C URITY P UZZLES I NSPIRE C O M POSER 1 2 S URESH H ONORE D BY C HINESE A C A D E M Y OF S C IEN C ES Writing Awards Students Invoke MLK’s Spirit Through Personal Reflections n Stephanie Williams Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality with his eloquent poetry and prose, and young high school and college students are paying it forward through Carnegie Mellon’s Martin Luther King Jr. Writing Awards, now in its 15th year. Dietrich College English Profes- sor Jim Daniels established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Awards in 1999 to encourage students to uncover personal experiences with race and discrimination. With a true passion OF DARPA IMAGE COURTESY for expressing oneself through poetry, T HE T ARTAN R ES C UE T EAM ’ S FOUR - LIMBED C HIMP ROBOT EARNED THE THIRD HIGHEST S C ORE AMONG 1 6 TEAMS C OMPETING IN Daniels wanted to share his experience THE D EFENSE A DVAN C ED R ESEAR C H P ROJE C TS A GEN C Y ( DARPA ) R OBOTI C S C HALLENGE T RIALS , D E C . 2 0 - 2 1 , IN H OMESTEAD , with students. F LA . I N THIS IMAGE , C HIMP WORKS TO C ONNE C T A FIRE HOSE DURING ONE OF THE DARPA TRIAL TASKS . R EAD THE FULL C ONTINUED ON PAGE TWO STORY ON PAGE EIGHT . Pittsburgh Health Care Hero Composers Martin’s Passion is Building a Healthier “U” n Bruce Gerson in wellness and human performance at “Paula has had a significant impact the University of Pittsburgh, Martin has on the nutritional health of the campus Paula Martin is taking the “build it and expanded her role at CMU during the past community at the individual and they will come” adage to a whole new eight years. She began as a dietitian who community level through her work with level. counseled students on nutrition. Today, Dining Services, Human Resources and The director of Health Promotions she continues to maintain a full counseling our clinical staff at University Health Programs at Carnegie Mellon doesn’t schedule, but also has created and further Services,” said Anita Barkin, director of have a new facility, event, specific pro- developed many outreach activities, and University Health Services. “She has a gram or curriculum in mind; she’s reach- collaborates with university partners to passion for health and wellness and ing higher to create a healthier lifestyle promote health and wellness. C ONTINUED ON PAGE NINE for the Carnegie Mellon community. Her myriad efforts are being rec- T HE P ITTSBURGH S YMPHONY ognized at the university and in Pitts- O R C HESTRA IS SHOW C ASING THE WORK burgh. She was named a finalist for the OF FIVE WORLD - RENOWNED C OMPOSERS Pittsburgh Business Times’ Health Care WITH C ARNEGIE M ELLON TIES . R EAD Heroes Award, which honors individuals, THE FULL STORY ON PAGE SEVEN . companies and organizations in western Pennsylvania for their contributions to improving health care in the region. A registered dietitian nutrition- ist who earned her master’s degree O NE Students Invoke MLK Jr.’s Spirit C ONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE “We want the students to be hon- est,” Daniels said. “To invoke the spirit S CHEDULE O F E VEN T S of Dr. King, without just quoting him. Selected poems will be published, and students will read their work during the We want them to think about his ideas Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at 12:30 p.m. in Rangos Ballroom in the … we want their poems and essays to University Center. be inspired by his spirit, openness, Carnegie Mellon celebrates MLK Jr. Day with “A Day On, Not a Day Off” through honesty and compassion.” community and civic engagement to honor Dr. King’s legacy of tolerance, peace The Writing Awards program, and equality. View the full schedule of events at www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/ which has received more than 200 sub- first-year/mlk/index.html missions this year, includes Pittsburgh- 11:30 – 12:15 p.m. 2 – 3 p.m. area high school and college students. Listening Tour on Diversity Story Circles: Race & Community Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing President Subra Suresh Danforth Lounge, UC Arts (CAPA) and Winchester Thurston OF JAMAR THRASHER PHOTO COURTESY Rangos Ballroom, University Center (UC) 2:30 – 3:15 p.m. high schools have been the “anchors” J AMAR T HRASHER ( HN Z ’ 1 4 ) , WHO WON 12:30 p.m. Arts Greenhouse Collaborative THE 2 0 0 3 W RITING A WARDS , HAS A since the beginning. CAPA was the first 15th Annual MLK Jr. Writing Awards & Writing Workshop DEEP C ONNE C TION TO HIS FIRST - PLA C E school to participate and Winchester Celebration Featuring a Tribute from the Kirr Commons, UC Thurston joined in 2002. POEM “ A N U NFORGETTABLE J OURNEY , ” School of Drama WHI C H WAS WRITTEN AFTER HE VISITED Rangos Ballroom, UC 4:30 p.m. “You can’t hide in a poem. There’s G HANA IN THE SUMMER OF 2 0 0 2 . Keynote Address & Reception a kind of openness and honesty in the 12:30 – 3 p.m. Featuring Jendayi E. Frazer, best poems,” Daniels said. “We want Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr.! Distinguished Public Service Professor the students to tell their own personal some of the things they write. I really The Children’s Programming of the Heinz College, Director of the Center stories of dealing with race and differ- admire them.” & MLK Tribute for International Policy and Innovation Sing-A-Longs with Book Readings Student Speakers: ence. We want them to make it more Jamar Thrasher (HNZ’14), winner & Arts Activities Vijay Jayaram, Electrical & Computer complicated. Not simplify it.” of the 2003 Writing Awards, has a deep Connan Room & Wean Commons, UC Engineering, Junior A nominee for the 2014 Martin connection to his first-place poem “An Millard McElwee, Civil & Environmental Luther King Jr. Distinguished Leader- Unforgettable Journey,” which was Engineering, Junior ship Award, Daniels has committed written after he visited Ghana in the Rangos Ballroom, UC himself to helping students express summer of 2002. themselves in “safe environments,” “It was my first time being in Africa, Thrasher and five previous MLK “The audience’s reception at the where they can speak freely and express and as a black man it was a powerful Writing Awards’ winners traveled to Chautauqua Institute showed me that the their own hardships and dreams. experience,” Thrasher said. “The piece the Chautauqua Institution in New piece, even after all of these years, still “If we can be a center where there’s was my coming-of-age story about my York state last year to read their work has power,” Thrasher said. acceptance and understanding, I’m all experiences as a black teen growing up as part of the institution’s lecture series Winners will travel to the Chautau- for that,” Daniels said. in a black Pittsburgh neighborhood and “Emancipation: Where Do We Go From qua Institution again this June. “Some of the most moving things traveling to Africa.” Here?” for me have been during the recep- tions we have afterward where I meet the kids’ families,” Daniels said. “A lot of these kids have to be brave to write Daniels’ “Birth Marks” Named Notable Book n Shilo Rea The Library of Michigan has an- recognize their value. Reading is more landscape affects its residents as they nounced that “Birth Marks,” a col- important than ever. This list helps to struggle to establish a community on lection of poetry by Carnegie Mellon steer people to the ‘good stuff.’” streets that can easily be tainted by PIPER English Professor Jim Daniels, has Growing up as the son and grandson distrust and the threat of random vio- 1/14 Issue been named to the 2014 Michigan of autoworkers in Detroit left an imprint lence. Topics range from parenting P UBLISHER Notable on Daniels. In “Birth Marks” he captures and addiction to baseball and music, Ken Walters Books list. the gritty culture of working-class urban and Daniels uses longer poems with E DI to R M ANAGING E DI to R Bruce Gerson Heidi Opdyke The annual life. He uses the 39 poems to take read- more juxtaposition to tell sharp sto- W RI T ERS list features ers on a tour of post-industrial Detroit ries about difficult situations. Byron Spice Jocelyn Duffy 20 books and Pittsburgh to tell the tales of cities “Birth Marks” is Daniels’ 14th Bruce Gerson Chriss Swaney Heidi Opdyke Ken Walters published in and their residents who came out swing- collection of poetry and his work Shilo Rea Pam Wigley the previous ing when the economy collapsed around frequently crosses different genres. Abby Simmons Stephanie Williams Kelly Solman calendar them. He has published four books of short year that “I have always been interested in stories and has written three films, D ESIGNER Melissa Stoebe are about ordinary people in ordinary circum- including 2010’s “Mr. Pleasant,” Communications Design and Photography Group Michigan stances and the small moments in their which appeared in more than a dozen P H oto GRA P HY Ken Andreyo or the Great Lakes region, or are lives that create a subtle shift in per- film festivals across the country.