CMU’S NEWS SOURCE FOR FACULTY & STAFF 3/16 ISSUE 5 ON THE BOOKSHELF HARD HAT TOUR “Birdman” Lands at ETC 6 10 ART THAT ROCKS 12 COMPOSER SPEED DATING Powerful Lineup Scott Institute Hosts Inaugural Energy Week, March 14-18 n Leigh Kish With great power comes great responsibility. Such is the case with Carnegie Mellon’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, home to a powerhouse of energy experts who are working to tackle energy in the 21st century, one of the biggest challenges in the world today. The 100 experts in the Scott Institute, under the direction of President Emeritus Jared Cohon, are working to create new solutions, new products and new ways of doing things in a variety of areas, to make energy more efficient, Award-winning actor, director and Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton (left), made his first trip to the Entertainment PHOTO BY TIM KAULEN affordable and sustainable. These areas Technology Center as a Visiting Scholar. Keaton is a longtime friend of ETC faculty member Ralph Vituccio (right). CONTINUED ON PAGE EIGHT Read the story on page nine. Patent Rockin’ the Ph.D. Lawsuit Roth Goes Nuclear, Eyes Pop’s Profession Settled n Kelly Saavedra The bridge from Newell-Simon Hall showed me some of the earliest data Spring Carnival. “I loved the food and the rides and Carnegie Mellon has settled its to Wean Hall is more than a physical visualization and human-computer running through the booths, especially patent infringement lawsuit against connection for Ph.D. candidate Mike interaction research, carried out by the ones that were multi-level,” he Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Roth. SAGE — System for Automated recalled. “We’d watch them build the and Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. For him, the popular walkway is Graphics and Explanation — his booths, and we’d watch them tear them A substantial share of the a bridge to his past and memories he research group in the Robotics Institute.” down. I remember seeing a guy break proceeds will go to the inventors, shared with his late father, Steven F. They sat through Tartan football CONTINUED ON PAGE ELEVEN José Moura, a professor in Carnegie Roth, who was a research professor games together, and never missed a Mellon’s Department of Electrical at Carnegie Mellon until he passed and Computer Engineering, and away in 2005. Aleksandar Kavcic, a former “I remember coming to Wean a lot doctoral student of Moura who throughout my whole childhood. My is now a professor of electrical dad had an office there. I’d come in to and computer engineering at the work with him whenever I didn’t have University of Hawaii. school. They had all these awesome Their scientific research and supercomputers, and I got to play video technological innovations had a games on them, which was really fun,” powerful impact on the ability to Roth said. “And though I didn’t fully CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO understand it at the time, my dad ONE Patent Lawsuit Settled CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE detect more accurately the data stored in the disk drives of computers sold worldwide in the last decade and a half, from large servers to small laptops. The data storage industry experienced tremendous progress recording larger and larger amounts of data in continuously shrinking domains. As disk drives decreased in size and the amount of data being stored increased exponentially, researchers became concerned about the ability to accurately recover and successfully read the stored bits of data. In the early 1990s, Moura and Kavcic set out to find an innovative way to accurately recover bits from the ever-shrinking storage disk drives of the future. Kavcic and Moura invented and patented a detector that could safely and accurately extract recorded data from disk drives. When the early 2000s recording technology changed to perpendicular recording, their detector José Moura (center) and Aleksandar Kavcic invented and patented a detector that could safely and accurately extract algorithm invention became a must-have recorded data from disk drives. technology. “A key part of Carnegie Mellon’s and researchers this university is built Today, Moura’s work extends beyond Carnegie Mellon education, helping all mission is making discoveries that have upon.” data storage and into signal, image students succeed while they are here, global impact,” said CMU President Moura and Kavcic made a conscious processing and data science in many and enhancing the student experience,” Subra Suresh. “We are pleased to honor decision to forego incremental application domains, ranging from Suresh wrote in an email to the global the work of José and Alek, two inventors improvements, and focus instead on data analytics to urban science. Moura Carnegie Mellon community. “I have who provided a major step forward in challenges they expected would arise in co-founded SpiralGen, a company charged a committee to provide me computing technology, at a time when years to come, as magnetic recording commercializing SPIRAL technology, recommendations on how best to allocate computing was transforming our world.” devices pushed toward their physical under license from Carnegie Mellon. these proceeds to achieve these goals, “José Moura is a pioneer in using limitations. After legal fees and related expenses, both now and in the university’s long- advanced signal processing techniques “When the industry faced the the inventors and the university will term future. That committee consists of to solve a wide variety of challenging inevitability of its own success, it needed share remaining proceeds from the Provost Farnam Jahanian; James Garrett, problems,” said College of Engineering a fundamentally new approach,” Moura settlement. dean of the College of Engineering; Dean James Garrett. “He is an excellent said. “Our solution could read back, “There is broad consensus across and David Coulter, a member of the example of the world-class professors with few errors, the enormous amount of the university that we should dedicate Executive Committee of the Board of data industry was packing in very small a substantial majority of this resource Trustees.” spaces. The rest is history.” to helping qualified students afford a PIPER Faces of Conflict 3/16 ISSUE CMU’s International Film Festival Runs March 17-April 3 PUBLISHER Ken Walters n Shilo Rea, Emily Stimmel Humanities and Social Sciences. “The conflict. It’s a war film for people who EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Bruce Gerson Kelly Saavedra Focusing on topics ranging from festival offers more perspectives and a don’t like war films,” Lion said. terrorism and propaganda to war and chance to discuss these issues. In this In honor of the festival’s 10th WRITERS way, our goal is for audience members anniversary, opening night will feature Jennie Dorris Kelly Saavedra civil rights, the 2016 Carnegie Mellon Chuck Finder Abby Simmons International Film Festival, “Faces of to understand the world and each other posters from the festival’s archives. Bruce Gerson Byron Spice better.” CMU artists and high school students Leigh Kish Emily Stimmel Conflict,” will run March 17 – April 3 Shilo Rea at various locations around Pittsburgh. Opening night will feature “A from Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 have War” at 7 p.m., March 17 in CMU’s manipulated and altered the posters’ DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY The festival — celebrating its 10th Digital & Creative Services anniversary — will screen 16 award- McConomy Auditorium. Nominated designs and the custom artwork will be for an Academy Award for Best Foreign part of a silent auction. To contact The Piper staff, call 412-268-2900 winning films from 15 countries, or email [email protected]. including Denmark, Mexico and Poland. Language Film, the movie, screening Also to mark a decade of bringing Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admis- for the first time in Pittsburgh, tells the films from around the world to sion, employment, or administration of its programs or Following the festival’s tradition, each activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, screening also will feature a special story of a Danish military company in Pittsburgh, the festival offers two handicap or disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identi- ty, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic event, such as appearances by the Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban. educational components. Middle and information. Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon University does high school students at CAPA and not discriminate and is required not to discriminate in viola- director or someone else associated with The soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire tion of federal, state, or local laws or executive orders. Pittsburgh’s Kentucky Avenue School Inquiries concerning the application of and compliance the film, panel discussions, presentations during what was supposed to be a routine with this statement should be directed to the vice president will participate in the festival’s Youth for campus affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes and culinary displays relevant to the mission, and in order to save his men, the Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, telephone 412-268-2056. commander makes a decision that leads Outreach Program, which will screen Carnegie Mellon University publishes an annual campus film’s themes. security and fire safety report describing the university’s to him being charged with a war crime. films appropriate for younger audiences. security, alcohol and drug, sexual assault, and fire safety “We’re exploring complex conflicts policies and containing statistics about the number and the mainstream media typically portrays “‘A War’ provides the traditional College students who attend any of type of crimes committed on the campus and the number and cause of fires in campus residence facilities during the with very hard lines — left wing versus stages for conflict — Afghanistan, a the schools represented by the Pittsburgh preceding three years.