INSIDE Graduating senior profiles...... 4-8 The art of mentoring doctoral students...... 9 PittNewspaper of the University of PittsburghChronicle Volume IX • Number 15 • April 27, 2008 Commencement ’08 JIM BURKE/CIDDE 2 • Pitt Chronicle • April 27, 2008 Pitt, UPMC, U.S. Navy Unveil Center to Enhance Navy SEALs’ Performance, Lives

McGowan Institute Gets Key Role in Program to Use Regenerative Medicine to Help Wounded Soldiers By Michele D. Baum

The McGowan Institute for Regen- regenerative medicine projects. By Susan Manko erative Medicine, a collaboration between “Our goal is to use our position as the the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, international leader in developing restor- Sports medicine and training advances for our SEALs after their service.” has been selected as one of the leaders of ative therapies for battlefield trauma to developed for elite athletes now are being Physical training and conditioning are a national $85 million program to use the improve the outcomes for our wounded,” used to protect and enhance the performance the greatest cumulative source of acute and science of regenerative medicine to develop added Russell, who is founding president and lives of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs. chronic injuries in this group, according to new treatments for wounded soldiers. of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Top officials from the University of Pitt’s Scott Lephart, the grant’s principal A new federally funded institution— Medicine International Society. “Our ability Pittsburgh and Naval Special Warfare investigator and director of the new lab. the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative to provide these treatments is in part because unveiled on April 19 a new Human Per- Lephart is a professor in the Department Medicine (AFIRM)—will be made up of the of our team’s long experience in this field formance Research Laboratory, the first of Sports Medicine and Nutrition in Pitt’s U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and our broad pipeline of technologies.” facility of its kind within the U.S. Navy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and consortia involving one team led by Twenty-nine McGowan research teams to be applied specifically to Naval Special (SHRS) and in the Department of Orthopae- McGowan and the Wake Forest Institute for in Pittsburgh will be joined by 16 at Wake Warfare Group TWO’s East Coast-based dic Surgery in Pitt’s School of Medicine, and Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, Forest and 33 more research teams at 15 Navy SEALs. The laboratory is located founding director of Pitt’s Neuromuscular N.C., and another led by Rutgers University, other institutions and companies focusing at the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base Little Research Laboratory, located in the UPMC New Brunswick, N.J., and the Cleveland on regenerative medicine. Several developed Creek, Norfolk, Va. Center for Sports Medicine. Clinic. Each group was awarded treatments are now being evaluated in Designed by sports medicine research- “As with an elite athletic team, mus- $42.5 million. The McGowan- patients. More than 50 technologies ers at Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh culoskeletal injuries significantly limit the Wake Forest team includes from these researchers already Medical Center (UPMC), the new Human war-fighting capability and readiness of the collaborators from 15 other have had an impact on treat- Performance Research Laboratory will Naval Special Warfare combatant force. institutions. ments for illness and injury. study injuries and training techniques of the Optimal physical training and conditioning AFIRM will be codi- Researchers associated SEALs to optimize their tactical readiness. are the cornerstones of the maintenance of rected by Alan J. Russell, with McGowan have launched Researchers aim to reduce the incidence of the weapons platform of the Navy SEAL director of the McGowan more than 10 clinical trials preventable musculoskeletal injuries during operator,” Lephart said. Institute for Regenerative (three with the Army) using training, combat, and recreation; enhance “Collaborating with Dr. Lephart’s Medicine, and Anthony tissue-engineered products force readiness by maximizing the effects research team will enable us to identify Atala, director of the Wake that have now been implanted of training to reduce fatigue and optimize potential gaps in current programs and Forest Institute for Regen- in more than a million patients. performance; and prolong the operational develop a coordinated physical training erative Medicine. The massive In addition to receiving the life as well as enhance quality of life after continuum that is specific to Naval Special project will be dedicated to repairing Alan J. Russell announced government funding, the service. The lab uniquely combines impor- Warfare to prepare for their unique missions. battlefield injuries through the use of universities and the other partners tant advances in sports medicine science This will achieve a critical doctrinal change regenerative medicine―science that takes will provide more than $180 million from with the traditional excellence of the Navy’s in human performance strategies,” Heron advantage of the body’s natural healing academic institutions, industry, and state most elite warriors. said. “The new laboratory will provide the powers to restore or replace damaged tissue and federal agencies for the projects—for With a $2.1 million U.S. Department of impetus and vehicle to deliver Naval Special and organs. Therapies developed by AFIRM a total of more than $250 million available Defense grant, awarded to the Pitt research Warfare Group TWO SEALs with the next also will benefit people in the civilian popu- for soldier regeneration research. team over 2.5 years, the 2,200-square-foot level of individual operator performance lation with burns or severe trauma as a result laboratory employs state-of-the-art and overall musculoskeletal longevity,” of illness or injury. biomechanical and physiological he added. “For the first time in the history of instrumentation and tech- Under Lephart’s direction, regenerative medicine, we have the opportu- niques currently used for the lab is staffed by exercise nity to bring transformational technologies elite athletes. The new lab- physiologist Greg Hovey to wounded soldiers, and to do so in partner- PittNewspaper ofChronicle the University of Pittsburgh oratory is modeled after and certified athletic trainer ship with the armed services,” Russell said. Pitt’s Neuromuscular Anthony Zimmer, both “This field of science has the potential to PUBLISHER Robert Hill Research Laboratory, a from Pitt. Lephart’s coprin- significantly impact our ability to success- ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER John Harvith world-renowned facility cipal investigators are John fully treat major trauma.” EXECUTIVE EDITOR Linda K. Schmitmeyer for sports injury preven- Abt and Timothy Sell, both The McGowan team has committed to EDITOR Jane-Ellen Robinet tion and performance professors in the Depart- develop clinical therapies over the next five ART DIRECTOR Gary Cravener enhancement, located at ment of Sports Medicine and years that will focus on: STAFF WRITERS Sharon S. Blake the UPMC Center for Sports Nutrition in Pitt’s SHRS. Burn repair; John Fedele Medicine in Pittsburgh. Since The first SEAL (Sea, Air, Wound healing without scarring; Morgan Kelly 1990, the center’s scientists have Land) teams were commissioned Craniofacial reconstruction; Amanda Leff studied and published research Scott Lephart in 1962. Because of the dangers inher- Limb reconstruction, regeneration, Anthony M. Moore findings involving athletes’ body ent in Naval Special Warfare, prospective or transplantation; and Patricia Lomando White positioning and neuromuscular control as SEALs go through what is considered by Compartment syndrome, a condition CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michele D. Baum they relate to injury and performance. many military experts to be among the related to inflammation after surgery or Robert Knipple “The operator himself is the most toughest training in the world. The most injury that can lead to increased pressure, Gloria Kreps important weapons system of Naval Spe- important trait that distinguishes Navy impaired blood flow, nerve damage, and Gina Scozzaro cial Warfare,” said Captain Chaz Heron, SEALs from all other military forces is that muscle death. Susan Manko commander of Naval Special Warfare SEALs are maritime special forces—they AFIRM will have multiple research Group TWO. “We are always seeking ways strike from and return to the sea. Their teams working in each area. For example, The Pitt Chronicle is published throughout the year by to improve our operators’ success on the stealth and clandestine methods of operation in the area of burns, researchers will pursue University News and Magazines, University of Pittsburgh, battlefield. The last thing I want as a leader allow them to conduct multiple missions treatments including engineered skin 400 Craig Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, is for my men to be engaged in a fair fight. Phone: 412-624-1033, Fax: 412-624-4895, against targets that larger forces cannot products, bioprinting of skin in the field, E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.chronicle.pitt.edu I want every advantage possible to give my approach undetected. There are approxi- and repairs using stem cells derived from operators a better chance for success on the mately 2,600 SEALs in the Navy today, amniotic fluid. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal battlefield. We’re optimistic the research and supporting at least six geographic combatant Russell notes that the team’s ability opportunity institution that does not discriminate upon any practical applications from our Human Per- regions around the world on any given day. to deliver 11 new treatments is based on a basis prohibited by law. formance Research Laboratory will achieve Only men can serve as Navy SEALs. four-year history of working in partnership just that, while improving the quality of life with the U.S. Department of Defense on April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 3 UPJ’s Newman Named History Channel’s Teacher of the Year By Robert Knipple Awards Paul Douglas Newman, University of School students. In September, he and 15 students have collected hours of interviews Pittsburgh at Johnstown professor of his- students began conceptualizing, research- from more than 20 local vets, including tory, is the recipient of the History Chan- ing, producing, filming, and editing a one- U.S. Representative John Murtha of Penn- nel’s 2008 “Save Our History” Teacher of hour video documentary about Cambria sylvania.” the Year Award. He will be recognized at County Vietnam War veterans. The project The team filmed at locations in John- a ceremony Friday, May 2, in Washington, was coordinated with Karen Bowman, stown, Ebensburg, Northern Cambria, and D.C. Northern Cambria High School social Windber, all in Cambria County, “I am both honored and humbled to have studies teacher, who helped with Pa., and in Washington, D.C. been nominated for this prestigious national scheduling and running four The film will premiere on June award by my colleagues who teach history regional Vietnam Veteran Doc- 15 in Northern Cambria, at the secondary school and college levels. umentation Days. Her help Newman said, adding that And I am thrilled to accept it on behalf of was integral to the project’s he hopes to show the film the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, success, said Newman. publicly in Johnstown and Northern Cambria High School, and the October 2007 marked the Ebensburg as well. high school’s outstanding students and 50th anniversary of the first Newman earned his teachers,” Newman said. He also expressed U.S. combat death in Vietnam, bachelor’s degree at York gratitude to “all of my wonderful teachers Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. College of Pennsylvania and William E. Klunk (left) and Chester A. Mathis of Johnstown. The 50th anniversary throughout the years, and especially the Paul Douglas Newman master’s and doctoral degrees thousands of pupils it has been my great came and went without fanfare, at the University of Kentucky. He pleasure to teach and learn from over the Newman said. is the editor of Pennsylvania His- Klunk and Mathis Win last decade and a half.” “Our film gives local Vietnam Vets a tory: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies and In 2007, Newman coauthored, with venue for their voices to reflect upon this has published the book Fries’s Rebellion: Prestigious Potamkin Prize Anne Staples of the Coal Country Youth anniversary. It is our hope that it will spark The Enduring Struggle for the American Hangout in Northern Cambria, Pa., a a national remembrance and conversa- Revolution (University of Pennsylvania For Alzheimer’s Research $10,000 “Save Our History” grant from the tion about the Vietnam experience as we Press, 2004). He began his career at UPJ in By Gloria Kreps History Channel to fund a local research approach the 50th anniversary of President 1995 and teaches courses in early American project for select Northern Cambria High Johnson’s 1965 escalation of hostilities. The history. University of Pittsburgh research- ers William E. Klunk and Chester A. Mathis were awarded the 2008 Potamkin Prize for their work in Alzheimer’s disease research. Pitt Trustees’ Property and Facilities Committee The Potamkin Prize is a memo- rial award given to researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the study of Alzheimer’s disease Approves Projects Valued at $120 Million and related dementias. Over the years, By John Fedele this award has been given to some of the most recognized scientists in the The Property and Facilities Commit- field and has become known as the tee of the University of Pittsburgh’s Board “Nobel Prize of Neurology.” of Trustees approved 12 construction and The prize was awarded to Klunk, renovation projects totaling more than $120 a professor of psychiatry in Pitt’s million and a sublease from Magee Women’s School of Medicine, and Mathis, a Research Institute and Foundation for the professor of radiology in the medi- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute at cal school, in recognition of their its April 14 meeting. The construction and invention and development of the renovation projects are expected to create amyloid plaque imaging compound, 629 construction and 252 construction- Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB). This support jobs, and the University will pay radioactive compound, when coupled business privilege taxes of $188,436 on the with positron emission tomography construction. (PET) imaging, can be injected into The largest project is a $64,300,000 the bloodstream to enable researchers upgrade of Benedum Hall, home of the to visualize the brains of people with Swanson School of Engineering. The project the memory-stealing illness and see will add 27,000 square feet of space with the the location and distribution of the addition of a mezzanine level. It will involve beta-amyloid plaque deposits associ- creating new, state-of-the-art classrooms ated with Alzheimer’s. These plaques, and laboratories as well as upgrades to the which are thought to kill brain cells, infrastructure and power and ventilation distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from systems. other dementias. The committee also approved “Pittsburgh Compound B offers $21,111,000 to construct a 38,000-square- the first definitive way to detect foot academic wing for the Falk Laboratory Artist’s rendering of the proposed addition to the Swanson School of Engineering Alzheimer’s disease in living patients School. The new wing will contain 14 class- and—as soon as it’s cleared for clinical rooms for kindergarten through the eighth floor of Chevron Science Center to create an $3,251,800 to renovate the Sutherland use—will expand early diagnostic and grade, a new computer classroom, art room, organic chemistry research laboratory; Hall food service area, the primary dining potential treatment options for people library, cafeteria, science room, and support $1,418,900 for Fitzgerald Field House venue for students on Pitt’s upper campus, with this complex and devastating ill- areas. In addition, the project will renovate court and seating renovation, including the into an area similar to the popular Market ness. I applaud Bill and Chet on this more than 26,000 square creation of an National Central in Litchfield Towers; well-deserved honor and join with the feet in the existing facility Collegiate Athletic $1,753,000 to replace a steam line on entire research community here at Pitt for language arts, social The largest project is a Association (NCAA)- Thackeray Street that will serve the new in congratulating them,” said Arthur studies, music, physical regulation volleyball University Club and Benedum Hall; S. Levine, senior vice chancellor for education, theater arts, $64,300,000 upgrade of court and upgrades to $2,607,200 to renovate the sixth-floor the health sciences and dean of the and administration. The the other courts; inpatient unit of Thomas Detre Hall. The School of Medicine at Pitt. outdoor play area will be Benedum Hall, home of $8,978,0 0 0 for renovations will increase the bed capacity “Bill Klunk and Chet Mathis are relocated to the west side mechanical, electrical, from 24 to 32 while increasing the number two of the best examples of the superb of the building, which will the Swanson School of and plumbing infra- of single rooms. Upgrades to the mechanical, researchers at the University of Pitts- be renovated for that pur- Engineering. The project structure upgrades for electrical, plumbing, and fire-suppression burgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research pose, and a new play area Langley Hall, includ- systems also are planned; and Center who are fighting this dread will be constructed on the will add 27,000 square ing energy conservation $1,920,000 to upgrade the Trees Hall disease,” said Steven T. DeKosky, gym roof. upgrades and complete Natatorium (pool) to comply with NCAA chair of the Department of Neurol- O t h e r p r o j e c t s feet of space with the renovation of the third regulations. The project also will install a ogy and director of the University approved at the meeting floor into bioscience new diving board platform and railings and of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease were: addition of a mezzanine research laboratories; upgrades to the circulation, drainage, and Research Center. $ 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 f o r $2,334,700 to reno- heating systems. The $100,000 prize is to be upgrades to the chilled level. vate the third floor of The committee also approved a four- used toward continuing Alzheim- water plant in the Thomas Mervis Hall, creating year lease of 8,600 square feet from Magee er’s research and will be shared Starzl Biomedical Science new suites for adminis- Women’s Research Institute and Foundation equally among Klunk, Mathis, and Tower; tration and information technology services, to provide laboratory space for researchers Alzheimer’s researcher Clifford R. $1,239,800 for installation of fire- as well as a new suite for the Master of from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Jack Jr. of the Mayo Clinic. suppression sprinklers on floors 12-23 of the Business Administration program that will Center. The annual rental cost is $476,135, Cathedral of Learning; house the placement, admissions, and career and the lease runs from June 1, 2008, $5,370,000 for renovations to the 14th services departments; through May 31, 2012. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 4 GraduatingSeniorProfile At Home in the World Mothupi, Pitt’s inaugural Mandela Scholar and a Phi Beta Kappa inductee, ready to return to South Africa

Africa, there is a lot of theater, but none in very quickly. the rural towns.” “She has a profound internal love for Mothupi’s life at Pitt has been varied herself and an awareness of her strengths and busy. Along with a demanding course and weaknesses. She is able to carve out load, she volunteered and worked for a her own world,” said Lillie. “You can see number of organizations. She interned for in her eyes that she’s always been a wise two years with Pitt’s Center for Minority old soul.” Health, which exposed her to the public Mothupi has applied to medical school health field and took her into the heart of and she is preparing to return to Africa in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including East May. With the time remaining, she hopes to Liberty and Homewood. She also partici- spend as much time with friends as possible, pated in Pitt’s Student Volunteer Outreach even if it means sleeping less. Alternative Spring Break, helping to feed “I am really happy that after all of the the underprivileged in Chicago through experiences I’ve had here, I still want to Northwestern University’s Campus Kitchen go into medicine,” said Mothupi, who may Project in 2005. The following year, she specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. “My helped a family in West Virginia rehabilitate experience growing up was that women’s its home through the Appalachian South health, health in general, but women’s health Folklife Center. in particular, is more neglected. When I go “I expected the American environment to medical school, I will determine what to be urban,” said Mothupi, who is from a interests me the most.” rural village. “It was refreshing and sur- Before starting medical school in Janu- prising to see West Virginia and the rural ary at either the University of Cape Town or areas.” the University of Witwatersrand in Johan- Mothupi continued her volunteer work nesburg, where she has applied, Mothupi throughout the school term by tutoring high will be involved in several projects. In June school students in physics, chemistry, math- and July, she will work with the Nelson ematics, and English through the Job Links Mandela Children’s Fund Project in Johan- School 2 Career Program in Oakland. nesburg, preparing for Mandela’s birthday Mothupi also saw Africa in a different celebration in July. The organization funds light as she met more Africans from other agencies that work with children who are African countries. She is part of Pitt’s Afri- disadvantaged and predominantly orphans.

MARY JANE BENT/CIDDE can Student Organization, whose members Mandela spends his birthday every year with are from Kenya, Nigeria, Congo, and other Mamothena Carol Mothupi the children who benefit from the organiza- African nations. tion’s work. “At home in South Africa, we’re some- In August, Mothupi will work on a By Patricia Lomando White how separated from other African cultures,” business-oriented project at a community said Mothupi. “I am much more interested center in Lesotho, a landlocked nation Mamothena Carol Mothupi, a graduat- ica and at Pitt as being “rich in so many in Africa than I ever was, and I learned that within the borders of South Africa where ing senior from South Africa, had never ways”—academically, by broadening her from living here.” most of her ethnic group is from. Nathan dreamed of studying in America. But her horizons; culturally, by exposing her to the- Mothupi said she will always be appre- Emery, a Pitt friend and a current student in past four years at the University of Pitts- ater; and socially, by giving her the chance ciative of the monetary and social support Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and Interna- burgh have put her one step closer to achiev- to form friendships. she received during her time at Pitt. “Some tional Affairs, is returning to South Africa ing her life’s dream of becoming a doctor, Vernell Lillie, founder of Pitt’s Kuntu students struggle to get housing, and, even to run the project, which involves marketing and they have even changed her perception Repertory Theatre and an emeritus profes- in America, people struggle to pay their indigenous herbs that have been turned into of her home. sor in the Department of Africana Studies, tuition fees. I am blessed to have received ointments and medicines. The project, which Mothupi is the inaugural recipient says she remembers seeing Mothupi step off the Mandela Scholarship. will help to create jobs for the local people, of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund an elevator one day. Lillie took one look and “When I first arrived, I was homesick a is particularly important to Mothupi. Scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh. said to Mothupi: “You’re my Sarafina!” lot of the time, even though I had so much “I’ve never done any developmental Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this spring, “She didn’t see herself as an actress, support,” she said. Mary Beth Favorite, her work, and it is interesting to me, since it is she is receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree but as a scientist or a social scientist,” Lillie academic advisor, helped Mothupi under- an African project,” she said. in anthropology with a concentration in revealed. “I remember her worrying about stand how the Pitt system worked. The What Mothupi is really looking forward premedicine. it. I told her, ‘Think about it; if you can’t chancellor’s office made sure her meal plans to is spending Christmas with her family. Mothupi had just enrolled in a South act, you can assist us in interpretation and were in order. She plans to spend the whole month of African college to study biochemistry when pronounciation of the Zulu traditions, his- Mothupi developed a close friendship December in her hometown. she received the Mandela Scholarship offer tory, and language.’” with Monique Thompkins, an adminis- “As long as I’m in my environment, I’ll in 2004. Torn about what to do, she had Mothupi starred in Kuntu’s 2007 pro- trative assistant in Pitt’s Department of be happy,” she said. hoped that her mother, a widow who had duction of Sarafina!, a musical depicting Africana Studies, and her family. Other Reflecting, Mothupi said, “I still remem- raised Mothupi and her two brothers alone, students involved in the 1976 antiapartheid Pitt administrators, staff, faculty, and stu- ber the day I came here. I am very grateful would help her make the decision. But her riots of Soweto. She played to rave reviews, dents also have reached out and become for my American experience. Hopefully, mother would not, leaving Mothupi, who including one from Pittsburgh’s City Paper an important part of Mothupi’s American someone else from my country can get the said she knew nothing about Pitt and had that said: “Kuntu’s Sarafina! has plenty to family. None of this comes as a surprise Mandela Scholarship and have these won- never thought about studying in America, offer an audience, not the least of which is to Lillie, who says Mothupi makes friends derful experiences.” to make her choice. Mamothena Carol Mothupi as Sarafina. This “In South Africa, you either major in kid’s got talent to burn.” science or in the arts,” she said. “It’s almost Mothupi enjoyed the role. “Because like being in professional school right away. it is a South African play, it’s as if I got to When I realized that I could have a more tell my story,” she said, adding that some liberal education in the United States, it things mentioned about South Africa in the helped me to decide to come to Pitt.” play were unknown to her. As a result, she Her education was, indeed, very broad. learned more about her own country while Not only did Mothupi dig into anthropology playing the role. and premed subjects, she blossomed into a “She does her own research,” said Lillie, theater star at Pitt’s Kuntu Repertory The- including researching her most recent role of atre. Her internships and volunteer activities Kuka, the best friend of the main character exposed her to public health issues, the intri- in Lavender Lizards and Lilac Landmines: cacies of poverty in America, and the educa- Layla’s Dream. tional needs of children from disadvantaged At one point, Mothupi considered families. Blessed with a social ease and the majoring in theater arts. But she decided to ability to make friends quickly, Mothupi continue with her anthropology and premed has created social circles that include homes majors and hopes instead to help establish a away from home here in America and even community theater in her hometown. a friend with whom she will work upon “I wish I had grown up around theater, MARY JANE BENT/CIDDE returning to South Africa. and I would love to make it popular in my Mothupi tutors Sean Thomas, an 11th grader, during an after-school session at the Job Links School 2 Career Program in She describes her experience in Amer- hometown,” she said. “In the cities in South Oakland. Called “Teenie” by the students, Mothupi was a favorite tutor for many. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 5 GraduatingSeniorProfile GraduatingSeniorProfile Documenting the Nooks and Crannies Gabriel Henschel photographs North Side neighborhoods before slots parlor opens Institute of Politics, professor emeritus of social work, and Henschel’s thesis advisor. “It’s a baseline not tampered with by speculation of the authors. Gabe has taken a bal- anced look at things; he’s very thoughtful and careful.” Henschel admits that what once was a casual inter- est in the North Side casino has now become a passion. Henschel plans to pursue a Master of Science degree in public policy administration at Carnegie Mellon Univer- sity, and he envisions himself one day working with this same topic, perhaps from the perspective of the Penn- sylvania Gaming Board and regulation. “The interesting part is how we’re going to interact—as a government and a people—to make things like this work. And coordinat- ing that is something I’d like to do in the future,” he said. Henschel’s involvement in the Brackenridge Fellow- ship stands out as his favorite Pitt experience. “Every Thurs- MIKE DRAZDZINSKI/CIDDE day, all these undergraduate Gabriel Henschel in front of the construction site for the Majestic Star slots parlor on the North Side. researchers from different disciplines got together and By Sharon S. Blake we heard what everyone else was doing. We shared our Graduating Pitt senior Gabriel Hen- struction worker asked Henschel whether he those who envisioned tourists streaming to triumphs and tragedies . . . It was like being schel knows the layout of a couple of neigh- was with a workers’ compensation commit- the region. The third archive is census data in on 50 different research projects,” he said borhoods on the city’s North Side almost tee. Someone else wanted to know whether on the residents’ age, race, employment, enthusiastically. better than his own . . . down to the back he was with the IRS. A truck nearly ran him education, and income. Another high point was his three-year alleys, fire hydrants, graffiti-covered walls, down at an intersection, and still another “The thing about this data is that you role as lead advisor for the Youth and Gov- and manhole covers. person indignantly demanded to know why can easily shift it to whatever you want to ernment Program at Pittsburgh’s Taylor To complete his Brackenridge Fel- he was taking pictures in the park where do in the community,” said Henschel excit- Allderdice and Schenley high schools. The lowship—an undergraduate research children were playing. edly. “It could aid historic preservationists, teenagers convened in mock sessions to run project through Pitt’s University Honors Once the photography was complete, or people who study street or pedestrian campaigns, elect a governor and lawmak- College—Henschel, 21, set out to capture a Henschel taped one-on-one interviews conditions, or those who evaluate housing ers, and appoint lobbyists. They also meet photographic portrait of Allegheny West and with eight key players in the slots parlor stock. Or the Majestic Star could use this each year in the State Capitol to learn how Manchester, the two North Side neighbor- story—among them local and state politi- data years from now to point out what could laws are passed. hoods that will be a stone’s throw away from cians, community representatives, and the be community improvements. The great part “They exercised a lot of talent,” Hen- Pittsburgh’s controversial Majestic Star slots head of No Dice, an antigambling initiative. is that the study itself is neither progambling schel said. parlor, scheduled to open in May 2009. Each was asked the same series of four or antigambling.” While at Pitt, Henschel was the recipi- Henschel’s 75-page study, “Gambling questions on their opinion of the casino and “It’s one of the best baselines on both ent of the Wilma Binder Zeder Scholarship, and Pittsburgh’s North Side: A Baseline speculation about its impact. The comments the physical nature and the demographics which is awarded through the School of Study of Neighborhoods Surrounding the ran the gamut from those who criticize the of the area surrounding the casino,” said Arts and Sciences and recognizes out- Majestic Star,” comprises an extensive pho- slots business as “a tax on poor people” to Morton Coleman, director emeritus of Pitt’s standing academic achievement. He con- tographic catalogue, an interview catalogue, sistently made the Dean’s List and earned and a neighborhood statistical analysis, all a Pitt Emerging Leaders Certificate. He of which will assist future researchers as completed internships with representa- they study the impact of the casino on its tives of Pittsburgh City Council, the state environs. legislature, and a Butler County child “There’s no substitute for a photo- support office. Overall, Henschel’s Pitt graph,” said Henschel, a native of Cabot, education has prepared him for a career Pa., who graduates today after earning a in urban government and planning. His Bachelor of Philosophy with a double major courses took him on walks through blighted in urban studies and politics and philosophy. neighborhoods, where he and his classmates He spent last summer walking through discussed housing, transportation, and Manchester and Allegheny West with a economic development. Canon S3IS camera, snapping photos of “Pittsburgh is the perfect urban studies buildings, alleys, churches, and row houses. classroom,” he noted. Frequently, he stood in the middle of an For now, he’s busy mounting his exten- intersection and slowly rotated 360 degrees sive photo archive on the University server while snapping 24 shots. The result is a huge so it can be available for researchers. But archive of accurate streetscapes—many of even urban studies scholars need a break. them panoramic—that capture “moments Henschel is looking forward to an annual in time.” canoe trip with his father along Buffalo Henschel amassed close to 4,000 photos Creek in northern Butler County. that show a variety of detail. But thanks to his Pitt education, his “Notice the construction under way heart is in the region’s urban core. on this building,” he said, pointing to one “This is a pivotal moment for Pitts- image. “Or the bars on these windows. It burgh,” he said. “The city has its problems, makes you wonder if these neighbors trust GABRIEL HENSCHEL but it also has the potential of being one of one another.” A photo of two homes on Page Street in Manchester, just one of 3,800 original photos in Gabriel Henschel’s archive. The the greatest small urban centers of America. Henschel said the photo-taking pre- pictures are part of a baseline “portrait” that Henschel made of the Manchester and Allegheny West neighborhoods prior to And I would definitely like to be a part of sented its own set of challenges. One con- the scheduled May 2009 opening of the North Shore’s Majestic Star casino. making that happen.” April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 6 GraduatingSeniorProfile Going Weightless for NASA Bennewitz, Bernardo, Chrin, and Wick to test research at NASA By Morgan Kelly

The video is so familiar to them that John Bennewitz, José Bernardo, Michael Chrin, and Adam Wick talk excitedly about their favorite part long before it comes. On Bernardo’s laptop screen, a group of undergraduate college students soar above the Gulf of Mexico in a NASA aircraft. The plane banks into a sharp nosedive and the students rise from the plane’s bare metal floor as inertia cancels out gravity. Bernardo cuts to the scene. The four shush each other. A girl somersaults in midair for five seconds. “That’s so cool,” Bernardo says, smiling. The others agree. They will get their turn—soon. Bennewitz, Bernardo, Chrin, and Wick graduate from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering today, three with bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering, and one, Chrin, in electrical engineering. But their last project as Pitt students is still two months off and several miles straight up. They are the first Pitt team to participate in NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, or Microgravity University, wherein undergraduate teams propose and test in zero gravity research of value to NASA. Forty teams were invited

this year to Houston’s Johnson Space Center MORGAN KELLY/PC to test their ideas aboard a reduced gravity aircraft—a C-9 airplane plummeting toward From left: John Bennewitz, José Bernardo, Michael Chrin, and Adam Wick update a virtual design of their experiment in Pitt’s Benedum Hall machine shop. Earth, resulting in about 30 seconds of weightlessness. They designed a box with one straight “My driving force is to be an astronaut,” turned out to be more educational and dif- The Pitt team, called Phoenix, flies in tube and three tubes with varying degrees said Bernardo, who also will attend Georgia ficult than the team expected, Chrin said. June with an experiment of their design that of bend, two pumps, and two bladders Tech in the fall. After the team applied for “There’s a big difference between could improve the onboard thruster system of water and a water-ethanol solution to the NASA program, Bernardo nervously designing something in class and produc- that keeps a satellite in orbit. Pressurized simulate thruster fuel. But NASA limits awaited the verdict. The whole team wanted ing it,” he said. “This project has changed helium used to regulate the flow of thruster each experiment’s size to 300 pounds and it, but Bernardo depended on it. drastically since we first designed it. When fuel creates bubbles that plug the satellite’s 24-by-60-by-60 inches, a lab in a box. The “This program is a big step for me,” we started to build it, we found that many fuel lines and interfere with the navigational team must squeeze the pumps, tubes, and Bernardo continued. “I’ll be able to experi- of our original ideas wouldn’t work.” thrusters. The problem could stem from mechanisms into a box roughly the size of ence space, meet astronauts, network, and To manifest an idea, to be hampered the fuel tubes on modern satellites being a pet store aquarium. get a glimpse of the life I hope to have. I by good concepts that don’t work in reality, either straight or sharply bent, Bennewitz Once in Houston, the team will conduct want to say that I’ve been through training, or to ditch an entire design and start over— explained. The team proposed using curved 40 trials in zero gravity over two days. As to know how I’ll react, to say that I’ve been these define life as a working engineer. tubes to prevent the blockage. NASA called the plane dives, the tubes—one per trial— in microgravity and didn’t throw up. I want “In school, we are told the difficulties the proposal “technically strong,” Wick said. will be flooded with the faux fuel until a to know if…” of building something, but we don’t expe- Now they will see if it works. bubble plug forms. Once the team knows “…if he has the right stuff,” Wick inter- rience it,” Bernardo said. “In college, you how much fluid must pass through a cer- rupted, referencing the iconic book about the produce the project to get the grade—no Space Dreams tain tube before it becomes blocked, it can American space program. one has to use it or live in it. The experi- Four guys with a lifelong fascination determine which bend degree is the least The team’s most intense personality, ence here is invaluable. We’ve learned the with space can’t help but smile excitedly susceptible to obstruction, Bernardo said. Wick, of Karns City, Pa., is as quick with importance of details, the little things that when talking about their upcoming flight, A testament to the caliber of the team’s a wisecrack as he is intent on not wast- matter when building a real object.” no matter how seriously they take the sci- experiment is that many of the other teams in ing time. He’ll head to the University of ence end. the NASA program come from universities California at Los Angeles in the fall to study Looking Up “That’s why we applied,” Bennewitz with an aerospace focus, including Purdue astronautics. The teammates are part excited, admitted. “We wanted to know what it’s like University, one of the world’s premier aero- “I grew up on Star Trek: The Next Gen- part nervous, part curious about the June to be an astronaut.” space institutions, said the team’s advisor, eration and was making Lego spaceships flight. As a kid growing up in Easton, Pa., Jeffrey Vipperman, a professor in the Swan- when I was knee-high,” he said with a mix- “We still don’t know what to expect,” Bennewitz built model rockets with his son School’s Department of Mechanical ture of sincerity and self-mockery. “People Bernardo said. He’s asked about the som- father, a mechanical engineer. Now he plans Engineering and Materials Science. should explore space. Limiting our existence ersaults from the video. to build real ones. Bennewitz will attend The Swanson School does not have a to this half-green, half-blue ball of dust is “Oh, we’re all going to do those,” he the Georgia Institute of Technology in the formal aerospace program. narrow-minded. As a species, we need to said. “I’m sure.” fall to pursue a PhD degree in aerospace “They were accepted to a program that want more if we’re going to progress.” The team writes a blog about its ongo- engineering with a concentration on rocket draws largely from formal aerospace pro- ing work and plans to post dispatches from propulsion. grams, and it’s a really elite group of under- The Real Thing Houston at adam.lylix.net/microgravity Chrin, of West Chester, Pa., also plans graduates who are accepted,” he said. Constructing a functional experiment for a life behind the machines that go into “These four found a problem somewhat space. A robotics enthusiast in high school, outside of their expertise, they researched it, Chrin knew after the 2004 landing of the and put together a comprehensive approach NASA Mars rover Spirit that he wanted to to solving it. For them to participate says build robots that explore space. Unfortu- that they are natural scientists and engi- nately, the robots get all the fun. neers, but it also means that Pitt students (c) “Our flight in June is the closest I’ll get can successfully compete in this program,” to going into outer space,” lamented Chrin, Vipperman added. who will go to work for a local power con- (b) version company after graduation. “The Right Stuff” (d) “This is my last chance, really.” Bernardo owns two copies of the movie Apollo 13 and casually admits to watching (a) Zero Gravity Test it at least a dozen times. Born in Perú and (e) Finals, graduation, and plotting life’s raised in Pittsburgh since age 5, Bernardo next step means the four scrounge for time in saw the film when he was 10, and he’s never Once weightless, the team will pump a water/water-ethanol solution from the bladder (a) and into four tubes—one the Benedum Hall machine shop to assemble thought of being anything but an astronaut at a time—until a bubble plug forms. The straight tube (b) represents those currently on satellites. The experiment their experiment. since. is to see whether the curved tubes (c,d,e) better prevent bubble plug formation. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 7 GraduatingSeniorProfile GraduatingSeniorProfile A Tale of Two Passions Ciampoli is a gentleman, scholar, athlete...and nurse By Amanda Leff

Whether he’s wearing his wrestling uniform or nursing scrubs, Joe Ciampoli is always on top of his game. He is a star Division I wrestler who, as of last semester, holds a 3.917 cumulative GPA—including 4.0s in five of his seven terms at Pitt. As a student, Ciampoli was named to the Pitt Director of Athletics’ high honor roll each year, and he is the winner of the 2008 Emma W. Locke Award, which recognizes graduating seniors for high scholarship, character, and devotion to the ideals of the University. The listings could go on. Ciampoli will graduate today from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. He will leave the John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen Events Center armed with a Bach- elor of Science degree, impressive academic and athletic records, a love of volunteering, and a hopeful vision for his future. But if his résumé exudes success, his passions scream contradictions. Ciampoli is a compactly built, 149-pound wrestler who sometimes shows up for wres- tling practice in his nursing scrubs. He is as comfortable pinning a wrestling opponent to the mat as he is gently placing an I.V. into a patient’s arm. And while he has received ribbing for the nursing garb at practices, Ciampoli said he looks forward to beginning his career. “Nursing allows you to imple- ment a strong knowledge, based on science, while helping people at the same time. It is the humanistic aspect of the profession,” he says. JOE KAPELEWSKI/CIDDE A wrestler since he was 5 years old, Joe Ciampoli works in the School of Nursing’s Human Simulation Lab, a state-of-the-art facility designed to replicate an actual clinical setting, complete with a responsive and talking man- Ciampoli seriously began considering Pitt nequin (behind on bed). as he was being recruited for its wrestling team. He describes his decision to come to “It was pretty hectic,” he says. “I’m excited—with the understand- hopes he can one day give back by doing the University as a “no-brainer.” Ciampoli somehow finds time to do ing that there is a lot to learn and there the same for novice nurses. “Pitt’s nursing program is nationally community service between his grueling will be difficult times,” he says. “I know He says that although his time at Pitt ranked,” he says. The school’s “curriculum conditioning and academic schedule. As I’ll need to rely on the more experienced has been a challenge, it also has been offers a lot of opportunities that many other a sophomore, he was awarded the Tony faculty around me for information and rewarding. nursing schools don’t offer—like simulation and Mildred Sherry Savino Scholarship direction.” “We’re very proud of him at the School training and the clinical opportunities with in recognition of his academic standing Ciampoli acknowledges that expe- of Nursing,” says Albrecht. “I know he’s UPMC.” and community service. “When there is an rienced nurses have already taught him going to be successful at nurse anesthesia Pitt professor Susan Albrecht, School of opportunity to do community service and a great deal about the profession, and he and whatever else he decides to do.” Nursing associate dean for Student/Alumni I have an opening in my schedule, Services and Development, calls Ciampoli I like to take advantage of it,” he one of the school’s top students and a role says. model for student athletes. “He carries In particular, he enjoys volun- one of the highest GPAs in his class,” says teering at Children’s Hospital of Albrecht. “He’s very committed to becom- Pittsburgh, where he says he can ing an excellent professional nurse. He’s tell that “I’m making an impact received excellent reviews from his clinical on the kids. I can tell that they instructors commending him on his profes- look up to college athletes and are sionalism and critical thinking skills when excited to meet us. By making the providing nursing care to others.” children smile, I know that I am His wrestling record exemplifies simi- taking the focus away from their lar excellence. For the majority of the past illnesses.” season, Ciampoli was a starter on Pitt’s He also has volunteered his wrestling team. He contributed to the team’s time to encourage males to enter 23rd national ranking in the final regular the nursing profession and has season. The team went on to finish 16th at assisted the School of Nursing in the NCAA Championships on March 22, recruiting prospective students. “It with 33.5 points. makes sense to help attract people Though he concedes it wasn’t easy, to a school that is such a great place Ciampoli managed to juggle his schooling to get an education in nursing,” he with 20 hours of weekly strength and condi- says. tioning sessions, intense afternoon wrestling Ciampoli hopes to continue his practices, and personal training and travel education at Pitt in the fall of 2009 for competitions. As part of the nursing in the nurse anesthesia program. school’s curriculum, he completed 270 hours Because the competitive program of clinical time, sometimes working 12-hour requires candidates to complete shifts, all the while maintaining excellent one year in the field before being grades. Because the nursing school sets its admitted, he already has accepted a students’ course schedules, Ciampoli had to position in the cardiothoracic inten- cross his fingers that his courses wouldn’t sive care unit at Altoona Regional

conflict with wrestling practices. Inevitably, Hospital. Ciampoli would like to PITT ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT there were some conflicts, he said, but with be a volunteer coach for his former his coaches’ cooperation, he made up missed high school’s wrestling team if his Ciampoli (top) has been a key player on the wrestling team during his tenure at Pitt. He was a starter for most of this past season and, practices on his own time. work schedule allows. as a student, was named to the Pitt Director of Athletics’ high honor roll each year. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 8 GraduatingSeniorProfile A Realistic Idealist Phi Beta Kappa member Czaicki sees world’s problems, seeks to be part of solution children. As a student at Pitt, Czaicki “It was our objective to provide support for the has been active in a number of parents as well as the kids,” Czaicki said. “We would campus organizations, including have spa days for the moms, and we would go to hospitals the Blue and Gold Society, an and put on parties for the kids as a break from hospi- organization of student leaders tals and stress.” who have been chosen to act as As a student at Pitt, Czaicki has been active in a liaisons between the student com- number of campus organi- zations, including the Blue munity and the Pitt Alumni Asso- and Gold Society, an orga- nization of student leaders ciation; and the Pitt chapter of the who have been chosen to act as liaisons between the American Chemical Society, the student community and the world’s largest scientific society. Pitt Alumni Association; and the Pitt chapter of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific “They were the most eager students society. She is a Beckman I have ever encountered. If you asked a Scholar, one of the nation’s question, every hand would literally fly foremost fellowships sup- up, and that’s something you never see porting undergraduate here [in American schools],” said Czaicki. research in biochemistry, In Tanzania, “education is stressed as the chemistry, and the biological way out of poverty: ‘This is your way to and medical sciences. She grow up and make a success of yourself.’ also was a recent Phi Beta It was very inspiring.” Kappa inductee and will Looking ahead to Chicago, she hoped graduate from Pitt today to be able to inspire her American students with a bachelor’s degree in —and be inspired by them. chemistry and a 3.9 GPA, as “I’ve put a lot of thought into what of last semester. I want to teach my students. When they While Czaicki said her leave my classroom, what do I want them work with Rainbows for to know?” said Czaiki, who plans to attend Kids was rewarding, she Emory University in the fall semester of called her time in Arusha 2010. “I hope that they retain scientific a perspective-changing literacy, being able to read the science experience. Through Cross- section in the newspaper and understand Cultural Solutions (CCS), how it pertains to their lives. Also, I want a nonprofit international them to grasp the scientific process, and volunteer organization, even if they are no longer working with Czaicki said she gained a science, they can take that same problem- life experience that cannot solving process and apply it to everyday be found in a classroom. situations in life.” In Africa, she confronted a health epidemic that took the lives of more than 160,000

JOE KAPELEWSKI/CIDDE Tanzanians in 2007 and has left more than 12 million Nancy Czaicki children orphaned across the continent. By Anthony M. Moore With CCS, she and other volunteers were in For many college students, the summer in being a part of as many social solutions as daily contact with terminally ill persons, before their senior year is viewed as signifi- possible. And she wants to do that now. making door-to-door visits to counsel cant for a number of reasons. Some use the So Czaicki, who was accepted into four patients on medical and mental health issues. time to garner valuable internship experi- of the country’s top graduate programs of Because AIDS patients’ fears of public ence. Others indulge in carefree activities public health, including Pitt, decided to ostracism were so high, the volunteers before facing a world that will be anything defer graduate school for two years. Instead, would sometimes make their rounds under but. Pitt School of Arts and Sciences gradu- she will be spending that time working in the guise of missionary workers to protect ate Nancy Czaicki chose a different path Chicago with Teach for America, a national the health status of those hiding their illness. for her summer of 2007: She traveled to the organization of recent college graduates and The group also worked with the general city of Arusha in the Republic of Tanzania young professionals teaching in urban and public dispelling the many HIV myths to work with AIDS patients and to teach rural public schools. She said she views the within the noninfected community. small children. nation’s inner-city school systems as a pool “One of the most eye-opening moments “Part of me was drawn to the social of potential that has never been tapped, was when I realized how widespread the issues and things that were going on there. and she feels a social obligation to give myths about contracting and spreading I wanted to see what that part of the world them the same opportunities that she’s had. AIDS still were,” said Czaicki, who recalled was like for myself,” said the St. Louis, Mo., While Czaicki does not plan to become a a number of them. “If you have sex with a native, who was pleased by her reception teacher, she said she looks forward to the virgin, you’ll be cured. You shouldn’t use upon arriving in the East African country. experience. condoms, because they’re bad. I knew a lot “It was a new culture and a new country, and It was a decision spurred by her summer of these beliefs had been culturally prevalent I didn’t speak very much of the language. in Africa as well as other social service in the past, but I thought a lot of the informa- But everyone was very welcoming and activities in which she has been involved. tion would have been a little more cleared warm towards all of the volunteers.” As a high school student, Czaicki up than I actually found it to be.” The decision to travel to a foreign land volunteered with Rainbows for Kids, a St. One of the most refreshing aspects of and assist with humanitarian efforts speaks Louis organization that sponsors events Czaicki’s time in Africa was seeing the Czaicki holds Nashipae, one of her female students at a to everything Czaicki stands for. As a realist, for children with cancer and their families. always smiling faces of her young students. Tanzanian orphanage where the Pitt graduate taught English. she said she knows she cannot solve all of the She assisted in event planning and fund- In one school, she taught English to students “They were the most eager students I have ever encountered world’s problems, but she is a firm believer raising, as well as other activities with the from the local orphanage. in my life,” Czaicki recalled. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 9 GraduatingSeniorProfile Graduate and Professional Education: Mapping the Future The Art of Mentoring Training tomorrow’s professors requires passion, people skills, and time

This is the fifth article in a series about the University of Pittsburgh’s programs in graduate and professional education. BRADEN WOLFE/CIDDE Kenneth Jordan, Pitt Distinguished Professor of Computational Chemistry, talks with a former mentee, Jan Steckel, at the Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring reception April 15. Steckel, who earned her doctoral degree in 2001 at Pitt, is a research scientist in the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

By Jane-Ellen Robinet

By the time Andrea Cuéllar received trial and error, a balancing act. When you scenes. But to the doctoral student, the rela- Jeff Bridge acknowledged his inex- her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from sit down and talk about mentoring, it’s really tionship with a mentor is very much at the perience in many of those areas when he the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, easy to start pontificating and sound like forefront of his or her agenda. The nature began pursuing his doctorate in psychiatric she knew her next stop would be graduate God up there, tweaking a puppet’s strings. of that relationship can make all the differ- epidemiology at Pitt in 1993. While earn- work at the University of Pittsburgh. Hers None of us are God, and you hardly ever ence between academic success or failure, ing bachelor’s degrees in psychology and was an easy decision based upon the promi- know if you’re doing the right thing,” said personal happiness or agony. English literature at Pitt, he also worked nence and reputation of one faculty member: Drennan, a winner of the 2007 Provost’s “I honestly believe that (mentoring) is at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic Robert Drennan, a Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Mentoring. the most crucial element to graduate stud- (WPIC). Bridge researched risk factors for in the Department of Anthropology within The most effective mentor-doctoral ies,” said Mikael Haller, another Drennan teen suicide and worked closely with David Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences. student relationships mentee, who earned A. Brent, academic chief of child and ado- It wasn’t only that Drennan, a member involve a healthy his PhD degree in lescent psychiatry at WPIC and a professor of the National Academy of Sciences, is amount of tension The most effective mentor- archaeology/anthro- of psychiatry, pediatrics, and epidemiology internationally renowned for his archeo- between what the pology at Pitt in in Pitt’s School of Medicine. logical work and findings in China, Meso- student needs and doctoral student relationships 2004. He now holds a The experience “piqued my interest in america, and northern South America, it was how much the mentor tenure-track position doing research as a career,” he said. When also because Drennan has a stellar reputation should give. Students involve a healthy amount of in the Department Bridge decided to explore earning a doctor- as a mentor of doctoral candidates. begin a doctoral pro- of Anthropology at ate in psychiatric epidemiology within Pitt’s “As for what propelled me to … Pitts- gram and face a bevy tension between what the St. Francis Xavier Graduate School of Public Health, Brent burgh, it was Professor Drennan himself. My of challenges: defin- student needs and how much University in Nova suggested that he talk with Nancy Day, head undergraduate mentor had been his student, ing a thesis, learning Scotia. In addition, of the psychiatric epidemiology program. and by the time I got my undergraduate how to write grant the mentor should give. the Canadian govern- A winner of the 2007 Provost’s Award for degree, I was already familiar with his work. proposals to fund ment has funded his Excellence in Mentoring, Day has mentored The depth of his influence on generations of research, and fine- Students begin a doctoral archeological inves- about 30 Pitt students since 1980. She is a students is remarkable,” said Cuéllar, who tuning their critical tigations for the next national expert on the long-term effects of is now a professor of anthropology at the thinking, to name program and face a bevy of three years. fetal alcohol exposure. University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. a few. “I knew someone else who had started Cuéllar’s dissertation focused on the role of T he mentors challenges: defining a thesis, Coming in Green in the psychiatric epidemiology training economic specialization in the development walk a tightrope learning how to write grant T h e r e i s a program before me, and I asked him some of complex societies. Her fieldwork was done between pushing common misper- questions about Dr. Day. He said, ‘Just be in Eastern Ecuador. their students to proposals to fund research, and ception among non- prepared. She will get the most out of you, overcome hurdles academicians that but she can be intimidating until you know A Balancing Act independently, and, fine-tuning their critical doctoral students hit her. She does not suffer fools gladly,’” In his 30 years at Pitt, Drennan has at the same time, the ground running, recalled Bridge with amusement. Bridge’s served as either principal advisor or co- ensuring that those thinking, to name a few. armed with their dis- doctoral dissertation focused on the risk of advisor to 30 doctoral students. His students hurdles don’t derail sertation topics and major depressive disorder in teens exposed have been extremely successful in landing a project. They must the research skills to to a friend’s suicide. He is now an investiga- prestigious grants, including many from the strike a balance between too-gentle encour- complete them. That is not, however, gener- tor in the Center for Innovation in Pediatric National Science Foundation, to fund their agement and setting the research bar too ally the case. In fact, probably most doctoral Practice, part of The Research Institute at dissertation research. Many of his former high. students enter a program with only a vague Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Colum- students, or “mentees,” rave about him, but Doctoral mentoring at Pitt varies from idea of dissertation topics, little insight bus, Ohio, and continues to research teen Drennan makes no claims of having per- school to school, department to department, into how much work the doctoral process suicide. fected the mentoring process. Far from it. professor to professor, and student to student. requires, and little experience with original “Mentoring is a continual process of To the outsider, it is very much behind the thinking and designing research projects. Continued on Page 10 April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 10 The Art of Mentoring Continued from Page 9 He said that while he believed his previous experience at WPIC had trained him to do research and original thinking, he quickly learned that wasn’t true. “I was very much ‘a newbie.’ … Most of us got into the program because we were good students and someone recognized our potential. But we were just clay molds, and we needed years—and years after our dissertation—to develop a shape.”

A Mentor’s Mission The mentoring relationship is key to that molding. The mentor’s role is to teach the inex- perienced graduate student how to think originally, how to design research projects, and how to implement that research. “I tell my students that ‘I know you have facts, but I want to know if you can think,’” Day said. “I could assign them a (dissertation) topic, and it would be helping me with my research. But that’s not what it’s all about.” Mentors train their students how to ask the right questions—and how to answer them—so that the students move their respective fields of study forward. In other words, the mentoring process is crucial to creating the next generation of scholars and professors. Bridge remembers Day telling him exactly that during their first meeting. JOE KAPELEWSKI/CIDDE “Initially, she told me what her expectations Nancy Day, head of the psychiatric epidemiology program in the Graduate School of Public Health, has mentored about 30 Pitt students since 1980. “I tell my students, ‘I know were, and that they were very high,” he said. you have facts, but I want to know if you can think,’” she says. “She made it very clear that she didn’t want her students to be ‘lifers.’ ‘Make your mark in the field,’ she said. ‘Sure, do well in the classroom, too, but go out in the field and casually past students’ desks to check in from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seemingly endless revisions of students’ make an impact.’” with them. Jordan, a winner of the 2008 Pro- National Science Foundation, and National dissertation descriptions, grant proposals, vost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring, Gallery of Art and 10 Chancellor’s fellow- job applications, and other documents. Lin- Tools of the Trade is Distinguished Professor of Computational ships in Chinese studies. duff’s red pen is legendary. It is not uncom- Successful mentoring requires the Chemistry at Pitt. He also is director of the To help her students obtain grant mon for her to critique six or more drafts of mentor to have fine-tuned people skills, a University’s Center for Molecular and Mate- funding and land field-research positions, students’ papers and grant proposals. considerable amount of time available for rials Simulations as well as a member of Linduff taps her extensive network of peers, consults, an open mind, a nurturing instinct, Pitt’s Petersen Institute for Nanoscience and which she has developed over the past When It Doesn’t Work and a passion for training the next genera- Engineering. He has mentored 23 doctoral 25 years. She said that placing a doctoral Not every mentoring relationship is tion’s scholars. students at Pitt and is currently advising student in a field-research position, for successful, of course. Leon Gleser, professor of statistics in six others. example, more often than not requires that “It’s not terribly uncommon for the the School of Arts and Sciences, said he— Jan Steckel, a mentee of Jordan’s, said she personally know the person in charge relationship to not work out effectively,” like most mentors—works hard to find the if her work was going well when Jordan and visit the site. It takes years to solidify Drennan said. “If it’s not working or it looks delicate balance between helping a student would make a walk-by, “our interaction was such academic relationships—something like the student would work better with other too much and too little. limited to a quick greeting or perhaps a short that Linduff concentrates on to the benefit people, then the student needs to shift. Stu- One of the easiest mistakes to make progress report. If I happened to be having of her students. dents have shifted both to and from working as a mentor, he said, is to overdirect some kind of difficulty, his casual visit or In addition, Linduff is praised by a with me when it seems someone else might students. “This is short e-mail provided an number of mentees for encouraging students guide them better. It often coincides with a easy to do with easy opportunity for me to publish research papers and then to pres- student’s shift in academic interest … or it’s some students, Mentors train their to mention the problem to ent them at various national conferences related to the personal relationship.” because they want him,” she said. she chairs. Sometimes, it’s just a difference of you to tell them students how to ask the right She added that Jordan Finally, another key tool for mentors what to do at every would also encourage is the simple red pen. Mentors use it in the Continued on Page 11 step, and some are questions—and how to answer students to form study so timid that you groups. “If I or another feel like you’re them—so that the students student expressed frustra- taking over. But move forward their tion or confusion about real growth comes anything, he would often with making your respective fields of study. In reappear a few minutes own mistakes, so I later with a book or an try to suggest steps other words, the mentoring article. … If more than to try and then let one student was interested them choose what process is crucial to creating in the concept, he often they will do,” said suggested that we form Gleser, a winner the next generation of a study group. He would of the 2008 Pro- scholars and professors. suggest an introductory- vost’s Award for level problem that we E xc el l e n c e i n could all work on and then Mentoring. Gleser meet to discuss.” is graduate director for the Department of Steckel is currently a research scientist Statistics and has supervised a total of 23 working in the U.S. Department of Energy’s doctoral dissertations, including 10 at Pitt. National Energy Technology Laboratory. His students have received tenure-track or Another key role for the mentor is to postdoctorate positions at Harvard Univer- introduce students to professional contacts sity, the Cleveland Clinic, and Vanderbilt and to encourage them to publish their University, among others. research. Katheryn M. Linduff, who holds “On the other hand, it is also easy to a joint appointment in the Department of neglect the students who seem to know what the History of Art and Architecture and the they’re doing and makes advising too easy Department of Anthropology, has helped a for you. Sometimes they have problems that number of her doctoral students win fellow- they don’t tell you about until it is almost too ships and internationally competitive grants. A Pitt team traveled to Inner Mongolia in 2001 to do fieldwork. Standing, from left, are Richard Drennan, Pitt Distinguished late to fix them,” he added. She is an expert on ancient Chinese art and Professor in the Department of Anthropology; Christian Peterson, who earned a PhD degree in anthropology at Pitt in 2007; To determine the difference, Profes- archaeology, and her doctoral students have and four of the research team’s Chinese colleagues. Sitting, from left, are Katheryn M. Linduff, a Pitt professor of anthropology sor Kenneth Jordan is known for walking a record of obtaining fellowships, including as well as the history of art and architecture, and Gideon Shelach, who received a PhD in anthropology from Pitt in 1996. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 11 The Art of Mentoring Continued from Page 10 approach. Learning Goes Both Ways Gleser said he has had “difficulty dip- Doctoral students aren’t the only ones lomatically telling students that they are not who gain something from the mentoring succeeding at what they are trying to do, and relationship. The professors do, too, and then helping them to find a different path.” they cite their continued learning as one of He recalled a situation before he came the reasons they love to mentor. to Pitt where his mentee “had a fixed idea of Jordan recalled talking with a former what a ‘successful’ research solution must doctoral student about potential disserta- be, but the problem he was attempting was tion topics. “He proposed a problem very not suitable for a solution of this kind. I could different from anything that I was work- not get him to change his outlook, and he ing on at that time. Fortunately, I agreed thought I should help him find a solution of to let him pursue this project rather than the type he was seeking.” trying to convince him to work on a project The student eventually completed his already under way in the group. This now doctorate with another advisor. has evolved into one of the main areas of “I’m glad he achieved his goal, but I research in my group,” he said. know that I could have handled the situation Linduff said she, too, finds it exciting better,” Gleser said. to watch a student develop into a researcher. She also enjoys the learning she does as part The Personal Side of getting up to speed on the specifics of a But when the relationships do work, doctoral student’s dissertation topic. they often result in lifelong academic and “The process is very stimulating intel- personal relationships. Networking and lectually, and I like learning new ways

grant proposal revisions aside, mentors also to think or to solve a problem,” Linduff BRADEN WOLFE/CIDDE play key roles in students’ and their families’ said. The winners of the 2008 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring were recognized at an April 15 reception in the personal lives. Linduff, for example, recalled It’s not surprising that mentors and William Pitt Union. From left, Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James V. Maher, Louise Comfort, Leon Gleser, the story of one of her students, a young, their students develop close personal and Donald DeFranco, Kenneth Jordan, and Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies Patricia Beeson. pregnant woman from the People’s Republic professional friendships that literally last of China whose family was restricted by the a lifetime. After the students receive their U.S. government from entering the United doctorates and begin their careers, the States to help with the delivery. Linduff phone calls go both ways—they call their remembered coaching the young student mentors for advice and their mentors call Four Pitt Faculty Members Win 2008 on breathing exercises in her office and then them with questions. Finally, they have sending one of the student’s classmates as become peers—and friends—at the same Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring her coach into the delivery room. time. Many of Linduff’s students are from The doctoral process “was a long China, and a number of them face language one, and I am still amazed at how much our members of the University of Pittsburgh faculty are recipients of the 2008 Provost’s Award for Excellence struggles as well as daily life struggles once I matured as an investigator and a person in Mentoring, an honor that recognizes faculty for their mentoring of doctoral students. This is the third year they arrive in Pittsburgh. Linduff frequently during my time at Pitt,” said Haller, who the awards have been granted. picks these students up at the airport upon completed his doctorate in archaeology The awardees were selected from 31 nominations made by Pitt doctoral students and faculty. under the guidance of Drennan. their arrival in the United States; helps them FThe honorees are Louise Comfort, professor of public and urban affairs in the Graduate School of Public and find apartments and roommates; aids them “Overall, the best testament to how in establishing both social and academic net- influential Dr. Drennan’s mentoring is International Affairs; Donald DeFranco, professor of pharmacology in the School of Medicine; Leon Gleser, professor of works; and holds an annual Thanksgiving the fact that I have implemented the same statistics in the School of Arts and Sciences; and Kenneth Jordan, Distinguished Professor of Computational Chemistry dinner that all current and former mentees, strategies in my own teaching, research, in the School of Arts and Sciences. Each of the four winners will receive a cash prize of $2,500. called “Thanksgiving Alums,” can attend. and mentoring. … Therefore, not only did “Fundamental to the success of our doctoral training programs are the faculty members who serve as men- Christian Peterson, whose coadvisors Dr. Drennan have a great impact on my tors to our graduate students,” said Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James V. Maher. “Our faculty mentors were Linduff and Drennan, recalled how, academic life, he has indirectly influenced provide intellectual and professional guidance that helps support, encourage, and promote the growth of our students. after he was injured during field work in the success of students here at St. Francis The faculty selected for these awards exemplify our commitment to the excellence of graduate education at the Eastern Inner Mongolia, Drennan allowed Xavier University, and many more to come University of Pittsburgh.” him to recover in his home. in the future,” Haller said. Brief biographies of the recipients follow.

Louise Comfort is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a Fulbright Senior Scholar. Comfort has chaired 16 doctoral dissertations, served on 22 doctoral dissertation committees, and is currently advising 11 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring additional students. Her students have participated in a variety of research projects, including the Interactive, Intel- ligent Spatial Information System (IISIS), which is computational software that helps community leaders manage 2008 Winners risk during disasters and better link communities together when public safety is at risk. Comfort, who directs the Louise Comfort, professor of public and urban affairs in the Graduate School operation, and the IISIS team have spent several years researching and compiling data and are now conducting field of Public and International Affairs demonstrations in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region. Alumni who have studied under Comfort have gone on to hold Donald DeFranco, professor of pharmacology and chemical biology in both academic positions and high-level policy-setting administrative positions throughout the world. the School of Medicine, member of the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases Donald DeFranco has made significant contributions to the graduate experience of all pharmacology students as the current graduate director. A number of projects in his laboratory are focused on examining the molecular Leon Gleser, professor of statistics in the School of Arts and Sciences basis of neuronal cell death. He has implemented a student journal club where students sponsor the presentation Kenneth Jordan, Distinguished Professor of Computational Chemistry in of a paper by the weekly invited visiting seminar speaker and later meet with the visiting scientist to discuss the the School of Arts and Sciences, director of the Center for Molecular paper. Throughout the past 23 years, DeFranco has advised 17 doctoral students and is currently advising three and Materials Simulations others. His students have been very successful in securing tenure-stream or postdoctoral positions at distinguished medical schools. 2007 Winners Kathleen M. Blee, Distinguished Professor of Sociology in the School of Arts Leon Gleser has, since the inception of the Department of Statistics in 1997, advised all incoming students in his and Sciences role as graduate director. He has enjoyed a distinguished research career and was the executive editor of Statistical Nancy Day, professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine Science. Gleser has supervised a total of 23 doctoral dissertations, 10 of which have been at Pitt. He is currently Robert Drennan, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology in the School advising three other students. His students have been placed in tenure-stream or postdoctoral positions at Harvard of Arts and Sciences University, the Cleveland Clinic, and Vanderbilt University, among others. Noreen Garman, professor of administrative and policy studies in the School Kenneth Jordan is the director of the University’s Center for Molecular and Materials Simulations and a Fellow of Education of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also is a member of Pitt’s Petersen Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering and an associate faculty member in the Department of Computational Biology. Jordan 2006 Winners is an expert in the use of theoretical and computational methods for understanding the properties of molecules, Celia Brownell, professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences clusters, and surfaces. In recent years, he has been especially interested in hydrogen bonding and how excess electrons Katheryn Linduff, professor in the Department of the History of Art and and protons localize in clusters of water. Jordan’s research on water was included in Science magazine’s top 10 Architecture in the School of Arts and Sciences scientific breakthroughs of 2004. During the past 30 years at Pitt, Jordan has advised 23 doctoral students and is Esther Sales, professor in the School of Social Work currently advising six others. His former students maintain successful research careers at both research universities Alan Sved, professor of neuroscience in the School of Arts and Sciences, and national laboratories. codirector of the Center for Neuroscience —By Amanda Leff 12 • Pitt Chronicle • April 27, 2008 Pitt Honors College Mock Trial Team Pitt’s Windows on the World Places Fifth in National Competition By Patricia Lomando White

The University of Pittsburgh Honors College Mock Trial Team recently competed in the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Championship, finishing third in the 32-team division and fifth overall out of the 64 teams at the championship.

The competition was held earlier this JIM BURKE/CIDDE month in Minneapolis, Minn. Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxem- The competing teams represent the 64 JOE KAPELEWSKI/CIDDE bourg, presented a distinguished lecture at Pitt on best teams out of more than 700 teams that On behalf of the University of Pittsburgh, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg formally received the entire European Union April 10. In introductory remarks, Pitt Chancellor Mark began the 2007-08 AMTA season. delegation library, the most extensive collection of public EU documents and publications in North America. John A. Nordenberg said Juncker is the longest-serving “The qualifying process to be among Bruton, ambassador of the European Commission to the United States, and Samuel Zbogar, Republic of Slovenia head of government in the European Union and “a that field is almost as challenging as the ambassador to the United States and Mexico, made the presentation to Pitt’s University Library System (ULS) during an championship itself,” said Jennifer Satler highly respected leader.” Juncker has strongly sup- April 9 ceremony in the Thornburgh Room of Hillman Library. From left, Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James ported research collaborations involving Pitt faculty (LAW, ’00), Pitt’s Mock Trial Team coach. V. Maher, Nordenberg, Bruton, Zbogar, and University Librarian Rush Miller, ULS director. “This was our highest finish in our nine and scholars in Luxembourg. years in the program and will almost cer- tainly move our national ranking up to the single digits.” In the AMTA competition, the Pitt team beat Northwestern University, Villanova University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the University of Virginia (U.Va.), the back-to-back returning national champions. This was U.Va.’s first loss at the champion- ship tournament since 2005. These People Have a Life. Among other schools, Pitt finished ahead of Columbia, Cornell, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, New York, Penn- sylvania State, Princeton, Stanford, Wash- They’re all Life Members of the Pitt Alumni Association ington and Lee, and Yale universities and (and they all work together, too, in Pitt’s alumni relations office.) the Universities of California-Los Angeles, Chicago, Michigan, Notre Dame, Southern California, and Texas. A tax-deductible Life Membership contributes to an endowment that The Honors College Pitt Mock Trial benefits the University in perpetuity, furthering Pitt’s mission Team was founded in 1998 with six mem- bers, the minimum number of students and ultimately helping Pitt alumni worldwide. required to field a competing team in the AMTA. During the 1998-99 season, Pitt’s team attended one tournament, the mini- Isn’t it time you joined us? Upgrade to Life! mum number required to maintain member- Payment plans are possible. ship in AMTA, finishing with a record of 1-7 and no program or individual awards. Pitt was unranked out of a total of approximately 500 teams that competed that year. This season, Pitt’s team fielded a record 25 competing members on three separate squads and attended 10 tournaments prior to the AMTA National Championship. In the 10 qualifying tour- naments, Pitt’s team won nine program awards, including one First Place finish and two Third Place finishes at the two most competitive invi- tational tournaments in the country. In addition, Pitt students have won a total of 13 individual awards, three All- Region Attorney awards, one All-Region Witness award, and one All-American Attorney award. At the beginning of the 2007-08 season, Pitt’s Honors College Mock Trial Team was ranked 29th out of more than 700 teams in AMTA. Pitt is the highest-ranked team coached by a woman that does not offer a credited course as part of the program. Before this month’s AMTA National Champion- ship, Pitt’s team had moved up in the rankings to seventh in the country. Of the 25 current mem- bers, five are graduating. Three will attend law school, one www.alumni.pitt.edu will attend medical school, 1-800-ALU-PITT and one will join Pitt as a staff member. JIM BURKE/CIDDE April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 13 Pitt Phi Beta Kappa Inducts 70 Members Pitt’s Windows on the World By Anthony M. Moore The University of Pittsburgh chapter of Phi Beta Kappa inducted 70 Pitt students into its 2008 class. The ceremony was held April 26 in the Teplitz Memorial Moot Courtroom in the Barco Law Building. Founded in 1776 at the College of Wil- liam & Mary, Phi Beta Kappa is America’s oldest college honor society. Election to Phi Beta Kappa is considered by many to be the most prestigious honor of academic excel- lence that can be conferred upon students majoring in one of the liberal arts and sci- ences. Among the organization’s member- ship are 17 U.S. presidents, seven of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices, and 131 Nobel Laureates. Local chapters work within the orga- nization’s national guidelines to establish their own criteria for admission. At Pitt, eligibility requirements include, among others, proficiency in a foreign language as well as the completion of a demanding, Joshua J. Hill Engineering, Business Program Immerses broadly distributed program of course work Jonathan M. Hoffmann spanning the humanities, social sciences, Meredith Ann Hutchison and natural sciences. Completing a well- Rachel J. Jones Students in India’s Growing Economy distributed program of course work is more Branka Karan important than a 4.0 grade point average. Kristin Lee Keating By Morgan Kelly Grade point requirements range from a 3.5 Tanya Elizabeth Keenan to 3.9, with the lower criterion applying to Jessica Lynn Kocian As India’s rapid economic growth pro- stories about companies adding 500 jobs students who have earned at least 90 liberal Toby Rebecca Liss pels its companies, products, and employ- here and 200 jobs there that is such a stark arts credits at Pitt and the higher criterion Deeba Fatima Mahmood ees into the global market, the University contrast to many cities in the United States, applying to those who have earned only 60 Melissa J. Masnovi of Pittsburgh’s business and engineering including Pittsburgh. We want Pitt students liberal arts credits at Pitt. Francis Greco Massaro schools have developed a strategy to prepare to bring their knowledge of India back home The following students comprise the Gregory Steven McWhirter their students for the subcontinent’s competi- and use it to attract and work with Indian 2008 class of Pitt Phi Beta Kappa induct- Mamothena Carol Mothupi tive presence—take them there. companies.” ees. Brett Alan Postal For the inaugural trip of Pitt’s newly The Pitt group also will meet students Yelena Pristyazhnyuk established Engineering and Business Col- and attend classes at R.V. College to gain a Lindsey Abigail Bailet Jeanette C. Rabatsky laborations in India program, nine students sense of the Indian educational system as Karli Joan Baumgardner Nathan Matko Riley from the Swanson School of Engineering well as an understanding of the aspirations Randall John Bendis Catherine Lynn Roberts and Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of and backgrounds of Indian students, Hegde Megan Justine Block Benjamin Charles Rosko Business will travel to the Indian economic added. Amy Lynn Bolstein Emily Marlene Russell hub of Bangalore from May 4 to 17 to get “In business, we say ‘know your cus- Cassidy A. Budd Michael Arthur Santos acquainted with their Indian colleagues— tomer’ and ‘know your partner,’” he said. Solange Rishona McIntosh Clarke Stephan Paul Sapienza and competitors. “The United States and India will be doing a Damian Patrick Clossin Anne Elizabeth Seiler Led by Pitt’s Bopaya Bidanda, depart- lot of business, and if our students study and William Mitchell Cowardin Deborah Ann Seiple ment chair and Ernest E. Roth Professor learn firsthand the principles and techniques Robert Mitchell Culik Margarita Shulkina of Industrial Engineering in the Swanson Indian businesses employ, their education Nancy Lynn Czaicki Joshua Alexander Shulman School, and G.G. Hegde, a business admin- will be even more complete.” Joseph Dragovich Mallory J. Simon istration professor in the Katz School, the Pittsburgh is a natural economic partner Jessica Lynn Ehresman Jacob B. Slyder course shifts the busi- for India, Bidanda said. Lucas S. Elbaum Jonathan Michael Spring ness and engineering The city’s transition Jeffery J. Ernsthausen Tara Victoria Squitiro curriculum to India “The Katz School was among from a 20th-century Kandi Lee Felmet Erin M. Stacy at a time when many center of manufactur- Rebecca Foster Joseph Louis Stauffer institutions focus on the first American business ing and heavy indus- Sarah Elizabeth Foster Steven D. Stockton, Jr. China. Students will try to a modern hub Leah Acker Fow Christina Beth Tasevoli explore the industries schools to host international for health care, higher Christine Marie Gallagher Jonathan David Taylor and the schools fuel- programs in Eastern Europe education, technol- Samuel Ellis Ginsburg Taylor Anne Tisa ing India’s expanding ogy, and research has Kelly A. Grout Nicole A. Toney economy, a market in the early 1990s and, later, attracted a large Indian Kenneth Michael Guida Alison Michele Trude that American stu- community to its many Rashed Harun Andrew J. Wilkins dents will inevitably in Brazil. India is now ripe universities, hospitals, Matthew A. Hawk Eric Michael Wise work with or compete and hi-tech firms. Alexander K. Heitman Kyle D. Yakopovich against upon entering for such programs, given its “Indians have Shady S. Henien Nicki Zevola the job market. The deep roots in Pitts- course is organized burgeoning economy and a burgh,” Bidanda said. i n col laboration “When these growing GOLDEN KEY with the R.V. Col- much-improved transportation companies in India lege of Engineering infrastructure long plagued by look to invest, expand, in Bangalore with relocate, and recruit, support from Pitt’s congestion and age.” they hopefully will International Busi- look first at Pitts- ness Center in the —G.G. Hegde burgh.” Katz School. India is among Pitt students will many nations in which delve into the daily operations of companies the Swanson and Katz schools maintain from a software developer to an aircraft man- business and engineering programs designed ufacturing plant to a coffee plantation. The to bolster students’ technical education with group will visit Indian-owned businesses— cross-cultural savvy. Last year, Pitt’s indus- such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, trial engineering department was among Asia’s largest aerospace company—and such the first such departments in the nation to American-owned operations in Bangalore require that students travel internationally, as those of Pittsburgh-area companies Ken- Bidanda said. The global market gives stu- nametal, a metalworking corporation, and dents with cross-cultural experience some technology firm iGATE Corporation. advantage. “We want the students to observe how The Katz School was among the first

the American and Indian economies are American business schools to host interna- MICHAEL HEATER intertwined, to trace how a coffee bean goes tional programs in Eastern Europe in the Officers of the University of Pittsburgh’s Golden Key International Honour Society gathered April 19 at Joe Mama’s from a plantation in Kodagu, India, to a cup early 1990s and, later, in Brazil, Hegde said. Italian Deluxe in Oakland for their final meeting of the school year. The organization recognizes and encourages of Starbucks coffee bought in Pittsburgh,” India is now ripe for such programs, given its academic achievement and excellence among college and university students from all academic disciplines. From Bidanda said. “I want them to see the strong, burgeoning economy and a much-improved left: Steve Hawley, Samantha Phillips, Katie Fritzdixon, Arianne Gallagher, Brett Powers, Hai Do, and Ric Fera. positive energy in such cities as Bangalore. transportation infrastructure long plagued Every day, Indian newspapers are full of by congestion and age, Hegde added. 14 • Pitt Chronicle • April 27, 2008 Pitt Event Marked Launch of Federal Outreach Chancellor’s Scholar Keenan Receives HIA Fellowship Partnership for Middle School Research Third consecutive year that Pitt competed successfully in Humanity in Action program By Patricia Lomando White By Morgan Kelly

Middle school students most Tanya E. Keenan, a Chancellor’s Scholar goal is to be a neuroscientist who is both a likely won’t be called upon to con- in the University of Pittsburgh Honors Col- committed investigator at a major research tain a viral epidemic or figure lege, has been selected to receive a 2008 institution and an active participant in the out why a strain of bacteria Humanity in Action (HIA) summer fellow- global scientific community. causing ear infections across ship. Keenan, a political science and neu- During the 2006-07 academic year, a school district isn’t respond- roscience major in the University’s School Keenan took part in the National Institute ing to antibiotics. But more of Arts and Sciences, is among only 59 of Mental Health (NIMH) Undergraduate than 120 students from 12 area undergraduate students chosen from Fellowship Program in Mental Health middle schools got an idea of American colleges and universi- Research, which provides NIMH how to solve these and other ties. This summer, she will par- support to students from Pitt microbial mysteries April 21 at Pitts- ticipate in the Dutch Program and Carnegie Mellon to con- burgh’s Dorseyville Middle School. in Amsterdam. duct supervised research The event was organized by the This is the third con- in clinical and educational University of Pittsburgh as part of a secutive year that Pitt has activities. novel federal educational outreach partner- competed successfully in In addition to pursu- ship that will bring medical research and the HIA Fellowship pro- ing her research, Keenan gram. spent four weeks in the

college-level biology into middle schools. TOPHER CHIRDON American fellows join summer of 2006 studying

Pitt and the National Institutes of hris Health (NIH) planned the day to comple- European fellows for five in the People’s Republic of C ment National DNA Day on April 25, a day weeks in Denmark, France, China through the Pitt-in-China meant to educate students, teachers, and the Germany, The Netherlands, Tanya E. Keenan program. Last summer, Keenan public about genetics and genomics. But the Poland, and the United States for received the Women’s International activities also mark the first joint educa- intensive study of contemporary minority Club Grant from the University’s Nationality tion outreach event between the Science and human rights issues. Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Program. Education Partnership Award (SEPA) and A Phoenixville, Pa., native, Keenan She studied HIV/AIDS, health care, clinical Clinical and Translational Science Award received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship interventions, and community development (CTSA) federal grant programs, both under in 2006 for exceptional independent research with Children’s Family Health International the NIH’s National Center for Research in the science and engineering disciplines. in Durban, South Africa. Resources (NCRR), said Alison Slinskey Under the direction of Anthony Grace, a Participation in the HIA’s core programs Legg, educational outreach director for Pitt professor in the Department of Neuro- provides the foundation for further involve- Pitt’s Department of Biological Sciences science, Keenan has performed a variety of ment with HIA. Upon completion of summer in the School of Arts and Sciences. Legg neurophysiological techniques to understand fellowships, participants may proceed to orchestrated the event with Pitt biological the role of neural circuitry in such psychi- international internships to continue their sciences professor Lewis Jacobson. atric disorders as schizophrenia, addiction, training in human rights issues. Past fellows The NCRR aims to combine the and depression. Keenan’s particular interest have used their experiences with HIA to resources of SEPA—which specializes in is the basolateral amygdala (BLA) area of the further careers in such fields as education, K-12 education outreach—and CTSA— brain’s involvement in heightened emotional civil service, journalism, law, and art. which promotes the transfer of medical states. She has completed experiments that HIA was founded in 1997 to guide research from the lab to the patient care probe the circuitry between the prefrontal student leaders in the study of human rights. setting—into a comprehensive outreach cortex and the BLA. Fellows are selected on the basis of high partnership. Pittsburgh is an ideal testing Keenan presented her BLA research at academic achievement, evidence of leader- ground for the outreach cooperative because the Society of Neuroscience annual meet- ship ability, and demonstrated commitment the city hosts institutions participating in ing in fall 2006. Keenan’s long-term career to human rights issues. both programs, Legg said. Pitt, Duquesne University, and the Pittsburgh Tissue Engi- lessons being taught in the classroom.” neering Initiative, Inc. (PTEI), all support The students’ activities included the SEPA programs. Furthermore, Pitt’s Clini- Outbreak! Program in Pitt’s mobile lab, cal and Translational Science Institute is one in which students were presented with the PITT ARTS’ 10th Anniversary of only 24 (of a planned 60) CTSA-funded scenario of a potential viral outbreak. The programs in the country; Pitt was among students tried to determine the extent of the the first 12 CTSA institutions, receiving an infection, the source, and the best method for Sees Big Rise in Participation $83.5 million grant in 2006. containment. Researchers from Duquesne By Sharon S. Blake “Our goal is to see how a research and PTEI hosted sessions on tissue regen- university such as Pitt can help educate eration that included hands-on activities. The number of participants in the PITT said, “the six independent films that we children in science and biology,” Legg said. Boston University also contribued its mobile ARTS program rose 14 percent this year added to our lineup this year made our 10th “Through cooperation, the university-based City Lab, a 40-foot state-of-the-art traveling from a year earlier. anniversary very special indeed. Our dedica- outreach programs and the medical centers lab designed for students and teachers to PITT ARTS director Annabelle Clip- tion to diversifying PITT ARTS offerings is can link the latest scientific research with the participate in hands-on investigations. pinger said the pro- ongoing and reaching gram—which just con- new heights.” cluded its 10th anni- P I T T A R T S versary—introduced remains committed THE IMPORTANCE OF BLACK STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS 32,545 Pitt students, to exposing students faculty, and staff to to a variety of talent. one or more cultural This year’s perfor- events, from September mances included poet through March. Terrance Hayes, the More than 15,500 dance group Urban students took advan- Bushwomen, the band tage of PITT ARTS’ The Carolina Choco- Free Museum Visits late Drops, and Ballet P r o g r a m . A n d a Folklorico. There new milestone was were 116 on- and off- reached—10,000 tick- campus performances, ets sold from the PITT with more than one- ARTS office this year—in the Cheap Seats third of them multicultural offerings. Program, which offers Pitt faculty, staff, and Some of these were through PITT students discounted tickets to the symphony, ARTS’ Free Arts Encounter program, which ballet, theater, and other performances. provides an expanded experience at a sym- Clippinger attributed the overall phony, opera, ballet, theater, concert, art increase to students’ interest in the Chihuly gallery, or film event. Students receive free at Phipps: Gardens and Glass exhibition at transportation, event tickets, attendance at a Phipps Conservatory, and to the increased catered reception, and an educational com- number of participants in the Cheap Seats ponent that could include e-mailed essays,

MIKE DRAZDZINSKI/CIDDE Program. discussions with artists, or hands-on work- Carol Moseley Braun delivered a lecture in Benedum Hall on April 16, addressing the importance of Black student She also cited the five programs that shops. Students also participated in Artful organizations and the necessity of students being involved in an ever-changing world. The talk commemorated PITT ARTS planned and implemented Wednesdays in the lower level of the William the 40th anniversary of the founding of Pitt’s Black Action Society. To date, Moseley Braun has been the only around the Bodies exhibition, including two Pitt Union to hear a poet or a musician and enjoy a free lunch. African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Illinois from 1993 to 1999. In 2004, she at the Carnegie Science Center, and one each at the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie PITT ARTS, founded in 1997, is funded sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Museum through various grants and support from the of Natural History. In addition, Clippinger Office of the Provost. April 27, 2008 • University of Pittsburgh • 15

liverfoundation.org/chapters/westernpa.

Third Annual Postdoctoral Data and Dine Symposium, 5-9 p.m. May 7, William Pitt Union Assembly Room and Ballroom, University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Association, Office of the Happenings Provost, Office of Academic Career Development, Health Sciences, www.oacd.health.pitt.edu. Opera/Theater/ Dance The Capulets & The Montagues, by Bellini, Antony Walker, conductor, through May 11, Benedum Center, 801 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Opera, 412-456-6666, www.pittsburghopera.org. Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire, winner of 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, through May 18, Pittsburgh Public Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown, 412-316-1600, www.ppt.org. A Marriage Minuet by David Wiltse, through May 25, City Theatre, 1300 Bing- ham St., South Side, 412-431-4400, www. citytheatrecompany.org. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde, through May 31, Henry Heymann Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, www.picttheatre.org. Pitt Oral Thesis Defenses Meera D. Ramsooksingh, Department of Neuroscience, “Modulation of Locus Coerulear Neuronal Activity by the Cen- tral Nucleus of the Amygdala,” 10 a.m. May 5, A219 B Langley Hall. The Ideological Occult: The Capulets & The Montagues, Benedum Center, May 3-11 Pitt PhD Dissertation Russian Cinema Under Putin exhibited through May 9, 1015 E. Carson Defenses By Anthony M. Moore Concerts St., South Side, reservations recommended, www.silvereye.org, 412-431-1810. Priya Ramaswami, Department of Bowfire, fiddle and violin virtuosos, Bioengineering, “Controlled Release From The University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Filmmakers 7:30 p.m. April 28, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Mattress Factory, Gestures: Illustrations a Biodegradable Elastomer for Applications will present the 10th annual Russian Film Symposium, titled Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Symphony, of Catastrophe and Remote Times, through in Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine,” The Ideological Occult: Russian Cinema Under Putin, May 5-10 412-392-4900, www.pittsburghsymphony. May 11, 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side, 3 p.m. April 28, Conference Room A, org. on Pitt’s Oakland campus and at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ 412-231-3169, www.mattress.org. Bridgeside Point Building. Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland. Emporer Concerto, Yan Pascal Tortel- Trinity Gallery, HIE (High Speed Infra- Stephen Greene, Department of Music, The film symposium will address the relationship between lier, conductor; Horatio Gutierrez, red Film), through May 31, “Good Music, Democracy, and Class: film and former Russian President Vladimir Putin’s legacy. In piano, May 1-3, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn 4747 Hatfield St., Lawrenceville, Visions of a ‘Musical America’ in the its celebration of a decade at Pitt, the 2008 symposium will Ave., Downtown, Pittsburgh Symphony, 412-687-2458. Radio Age,” 1 p.m. April 30, 302 Music 412-392-4900, www.pittsburghsymphony. Building. feature the largest collection of leading scholars and critics org. Carnegie Science Center, Bodies: The of Russian films it has ever presented. Notable speakers will Exhibition, through May 31, 1 Allegheny Tiffany Sellaro, Department of Bioengi- include Marina Drozdova, chief editor of the documentary Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orches- Ave., North Shore, 412-237-3400, www. neering, “Maintenance of Primary Human department at Russia’s Culture television channel; Aleksandr tra, 2 p.m. May 3, Heinz Hall, 600 Penn carnegiesciencecenter.org. Hepatocyte Functions in Vitro by Extracel- Ave., Downtown, 412-392-4872, www. lular Matrix Scaffolds,” 1 p.m. April 30, Kiselev, a regular contributor to the Russian journals Film and pyso.us. SPACE, Pittsburgh NOW, through 540 Thermofisher Building, Bridgeside Kinobiznes; Aleksandr Kolbovskiy, who edits one of the most Point. popular Russian television programs devoted to cinema, Dobroe High Strung, June 13, 812 Liberty Ave., Downtown, featuring the Barrage Fid- www.SpacePittsburgh.org, 412-325-7723. Utro on Russia’s First Channel; and Victor Matizen, president dlers, 7:30 p.m. May 3, Bromeley Family Markos Valaris, Department of Philoso- Theater, Blaisdell Hall, Pitt-Bradford, phy, “A Priori Knowledge,” 2 p.m. of the Guild of Film Scholars and Critics of Russia. Pitt-Bradford Arts Endowment Fund, April 30, 1001B Cathedral of Learning. Film specialists will introduce each film, and discussion 814-362-5113, www.barrage.org. Lectures/ sessions will be held after screenings. Pitt-campus screenings, Seminars/Readings Endre Begby, Department of Philoso- which will be presented in Room 106 David Lawrence Hall, Have You Seen Her? featuring The Chi- phy, “On the Structure of Communicative Lites, 7:30 p.m. May 3, Kelly-Strayhorn “Careers Over Lunch,” noon-1:30 p.m. Understanding,” 2 p.m. May 1, 1001B are free and open to the public. Admission to Pittsburgh Film- Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty, May 6, S120 Biomedical Science Cathedral of Learning. makers’ Melwood Screening Room is $5. All screened films 412-363-3000, www.kelly-strayhorn.org. Tower 2, Survival Skills and Ethics will contain English subtitles. The film symposium screening Program, 412-578-3716, www.survival. Huan Xie, Department of Economics, schedule follows. The Lira Ensemble of Chicago: A Polish pitt.edu. “Three Essays on Microeconomic Theory Musical Celebration, 3:30 p.m. May 4, and Experiment,” 2 p.m. May 1, 4716 Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, “Grants Over Lunch,” noon-1:30 p.m. Posvar Hall. Soar (2007, Aleksandr Mindadze), 10 a.m., May 5, 106 Pittsburgh Symphony, 412-392-4900, May 7, S120 Biomedical Science David Lawrence Hall. www.pittsburghsymphony.org. Tower 2, Survival Skills and Ethics Pro- Susan Zitterbart, Department of History Mermaid (2007, Anna Melikian), 2 p.m., May 5, 106 gram, 412-578-3716, of Art and Architecture, “Kumano Man- Manfred Honeck, conductor, with www.survival.pitt.edu. dara: In and Out of Time and Space,” David Lawrence Hall. Michael Rusinek, clarinet, 8 p.m. 10 a.m. May 6, 104 Frick Fine Arts. Traveling With Pets (2007, Vera Storozheva), 10 a.m., May 9-10; 2:30 p.m. May 11, Heinz “The Stepfamily Journey: Not for May 6, 106 David Lawrence Hall. Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Downtown, Pitts- Wimps,” Elizabeth Einstein, marriage and Dan Debrah, Center for Biotechnology, The Island (2006, Pavel Lungin), 2 p.m., May 6, 106 burgh Symphony, 412-392-4900, www. family therapist, 6:30 p.m. May 8, 2017 “Relaxin Regulates Systemic Hemodynam- pittsburghsymphony.org. Cathedral of Learning, Pitt’s School of ics and Arterial Mechanical Properties,” David Lawrence Hall. Social Work, 412-624-6902. 9 a.m. May 12, 2nd Floor Multipurpose 1612 (2007, Vladimir Khotinenko), 10 a.m., May 7, 106 Room, Center for Biotechnology, David Lawrence Hall. Exhibitions 300 Technology Dr. Miscellaneous Cargo 200 (2007, Aleksei Balabanov), 7:30 p.m., May 7, Space 101 Gallery, Bare IV, May 2-31, Monica Tomaszewski-Flick, Department Melwood Screening Room. The Brew House, 2100 Mary St., South American Liver Foundation Quarterly of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Nothing Personal (2007, Larisa Sadilova), 10 a.m., Side, 412-381-7767, www.brew-house. Information Session, support group “Functional Analysis and Characterization May 8, 106 David Lawrence Hall. org. and discussion session, 6-8 p.m. April 29, of Epstein Barr Virus Latent Membrane A Kiss—Not for the Press (2008, Ol’ga Zhulina), 2 p.m., 1103 Scaife Conference Center, American Protein 2b,” 10 a.m. May 12, 437 Parran Carnegie Museum of Art, 55th Carn- Liver Foundation, 1-866-434-7044, www. Hall. May 8, 106 David Lawrence Hall. egie International, May 3-Jan. 11, 2009; Hard Hearted, (2007, Aleksei Mizgirev), 7:30 p.m., Great British Art: 200 Years of Watercol- May 8, Melwood Screening. ors, Drawings, and Prints From the Bank A Marriage Minuet, City Theater, of New York Mellon Collection, through through May 25 Alexandra (2007, Aleksandr Sokurov), 10 a.m., May 9, May 18, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland, 106 David Lawrence Hall. 412-622-3131, www.cmoa.org. Day Watch (2006, Timur Bekmambetov), 2 p.m., May 9, 106 David Lawrence Hall. Andy Warhol Museum, Canis Major: Andy Warhol’s Cats and Dogs (and Cruelty (2007, Marina Liubakova), 7:30 p.m., May 9, Other Party Animals), through Melwood Screening Room. May 4; Neke Carson: Eyeball Portraits Simple Things (2007, Aleksei Popogrebskii), 7:30 p.m., and Beyond + Neke Paints Andy ’72, May 10, Melwood Screening Room. through June 1, 117 Sandusky St., North Side, 412-237-8300, www.warhol.org. More information is available at www.rusfilm.pitt.edu. Silver Eye, benefit auction for gallery, 10 a.m. May 10, auction photographs

Pitt Chronicle University News and Magazines University of Pittsburgh 400 Craig Hall 200 South Craig Street Pittsburgh, PA 15260

16 • Pitt Chronicle • April 27, 2008

the students) is a lawyer and the seventeenth ment Board members, along with Director Chancellor (1995-present) of the University of Student Life Kenyon Bonner, reviewed What’s in a Name? of Pittsburgh.” all entries, debated their appropriateness Fast forward to the summer of 2007, and catchiness, and submitted their final The story behind how Nordy’s Place got its moniker when the University had completed multiple choice—Nordy’s Place—to Pitt Vice Provost renovation projects within the William Pitt and Dean of Students Kathy W. Humphrey. Union, including its Lower Level Recre- It wasn’t until the end of the fall semes- Mark Nordenberg—Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia— ation Center. Student ter, though, that I Life administrators, learned a “Nordy’s Mark A. Nordenberg (aka Nordy to the students) acknowledging that In my three-and-a-half years Place” sign would the center would be soon be hanging out- used primarily for at Pitt, I have witnessed the side the recreation is a lawyer and the seventeenth Chancellor student events and center. When it was f unctions, wanted chancellor toss a T-shirt on announced, I could (1995-present) of the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt students to have over his blue-suited shoulder hardly believe it. Not “naming rights.” The only was I surprised, Student Government while shaking the hands of but I was excited that Board stepped up and I would be able to sponsored a naming numerous students, attend tell my children that contest—the winner I was instrumental would be announced multiple student functions, in naming a part of at the center’s grand the University of opening. After seeing and simply take walks down Pittsburgh campus! information about the Fifth Avenue with a friendly I’ve always taken contest on the popu- great pride in my lar student Web site, and welcoming smile. school, and I now www.facebook.com, know that this small I began thinking of but insightful contri- different names that bution will go down students would associate with a cool, fun, in the history books… along with all the and friendly atmosphere. I battled between chancellors. “Pitt this” and “Panther that,” but I knew (Gina Scozzaro, a Pitt senior major- that to be the “chosen one,” my name had ing in mathematics, expects to graduate in to be original. December 2008.) One afternoon, I found myself won- dering why our student-friendly chancellor didn’t have a room or building named for

JOE KAPELEWSKI/CIDDE him. (I had not yet realized that the honor is PUBLICATION NOTICE The next edition of Gina Scozzaro usually reserved for chancellors who have Pitt Chronicle will be published May 12. By Gina Scozzaro either died or retired!) In my three-and-a-half Items for publication in the newspaper’s years at Pitt, I have witnessed the chancellor Happenings calendar (see page 15) should When I began my freshman year at 1967-91) after class. toss a T-shirt over his blue-suited shoulder be received six working days prior to the Pitt in 2004, I didn’t know much about As I became more involved in student while shaking the hands of numerous stu- desired publication date. Happenings items should include the following infor- Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, let alone activities, I heard stories from my peers dents, attend multiple student functions, mation: title of the event, name and title of the history of the University’s chancellors. about campus events and festivities in which and simply take walks down Fifth Avenue speaker(s), date, time, location, sponsor(s), I quickly realized, however, that the build- “Nordy” participated. Finally realizing that with a friendly and welcoming smile. It just and a phone number and Web site for addi- ings I visited every day were mapping that the famous “Nordy” was, in fact, Chancellor seemed like the perfect fit: Nordy’s Place. I tional information. Items may be e-mailed history for me. I resided in the Litchfield Nordenberg, I couldn’t help but continue to quickly sent my e-mail entry to the William to [email protected], faxed to 412-624-4895, Towers (Edward H. Litchfield, 1956-65), had reference our chancellor by this student- Pitt Union Recreation Center account and or sent by campus mail to 422 Craig Hall. biology in Crawford Hall (Stanton Crawford, coined nickname. And if you don’t believe anxiously awaited the results. For more information, call 412-624-1033 or 1965-66), and would meet my friends for me, just check the first line of his Wikipedia The process for determining the winner e-mail [email protected]. lunch in Posvar Hall (Wesley W. Posvar, entry: “Mark A. Nordenberg (aka Nordy to was long and arduous. The Student Govern-