Realignment results in Titusville staff cuts 3 vice

Transcription

What’s
NEW
at PITT?
See pages 9-16.
N
O
T
I
C
E
If the new school year brings new
resolve to get physically fit, there’s
good news: The University is opening
expanded fitness facilities in Trees
Hall, with hours dedicated to staff
and faculty. See page 7.
UNIVERSITY
TIMES
VOLUME 45 • NUMBER 1
AUGUST 30, 2012
I N
T H I S
I S S U E
Your Pittsburgh campus ID still will
let you ride the bus for free, even
though Pitt and the Port Authority
have yet to reach a new ridership
agreement.........................................2
A Scottish nationalist is indicted
on some of the bomb threats made
against Pitt last spring......................3
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
Realignment results in Titusville staff cuts
BRADFORD — The University’s Titusville campus is starting
the academic year with a leaner
staff, one effect of a cost-cutting
realignment that shifted administrative oversight of the UPT
campus to Pitt-Bradford.
UPBadministratorsannounced
that 12 regular and four part-time
staff positions at UPT have been
eliminated.
Five were vacated through the
staff Voluntary Early Retirement
Program (VERP) and two were
unfilled positions, resulting in job
losses for five regular staff members and four temporary part-time
staffers, said UPB spokeswoman
Pat Frantz Cercone. The reductions took effect Aug. 3 for three
staffers; another will take effect
Jan. 3, and the remaining five
positions will be terminated at
the end of the 2012-13 academic
year. Cercone would not specify
which positions or departments
were affected.
The realignment, announced
in May, moved UPT President
William Shields to Pittsburgh as
an associate vice provost and put
David Fitz, UPT vice president
for academic affairs, in charge of
day-to-day campus operations as
the interim campus dean, reporting to UPB President Livingston
Alexander. (See May 17 University
Times.)
Alexander would not quantify
the savings attributable to the
administrative realignment and
subsequent staff cuts, but in an
Aug. 22 press conference, he said,
“The University has been subsidizing operations at Pitt-Titusville
for quite some time at a significant
level. It simply cannot afford to
continue doing that. An important
part of defining viability will be to
get enrollments up.”
Full-time equivalent (FTE)
UPB President Livingston Alexander has had oversight of the
Titusville campus since May.
enrollment at UPT has been
declining since 2007, falling
from a peak of 501.6 to 410.8 in
fall 2011, according to Pitt Fact
Book figures.
This fall’s enrollment figures
are “not good,” Alexander said.
“We only started working with the
campus,” he said, adding that the
administration is looking ahead to
next fall. “That’s where much of
the focus is: bringing in a strong
class in fall 2013.”
Alexander added: “The most
important way to measure success is in terms of our success in
recruiting students and retaining
students and, in the eyes of the
University generating, through
enrollment, revenues consistent
with expenditures.”
In a separate interview, Fitz
expressed optimism about UPT’s
trajectory after the realignment
and the staff reductions. He
acknowledged: “We had some
Provost Patricia E. Beeson
announced the appointments
of three new vice provosts this
month. • Mark S. Redfern, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor
and associate dean for research in
the Swanson School of Engineering, will become vice provost for
research effective Sept. 1.
He replaces George E. Klinzing, vice provost for Research
since 1995, who is returning to
the Swanson School of Engineering faculty. • Carey D. Balaban, professor
of otolaryngology in the School
of Medicine and director of the
Centers for National Preparedness and for Biology of Vibration
and Shock Injury, will become the
new vice provost for faculty affairs,
effective Sept. 1.
• Laurie J. Kirsch, professor of
business administration and senior
associate dean for professional
programs in the Joseph M. Katz
Graduate School of Business, will
become the University’s new vice
provost for faculty development,
effective September 2013.
Balaban’s and Kirsch’s positions will be part time. They will
replace the full-time position held
by Andrew Blair, who served for
13 years as vice provost for faculty
affairs. Blair, professor of business
administration and economics,
plans to return to the faculty.
As associate dean in the Swanson school, he has helped to support the school’s research effort
during a period of rapid expansion
in funded research. He has worked
with the Office of Research, the
Office of Technology Management and the Provost’s office on
research-related issues. He joined the Pitt faculty in
1988 as an assistant professor in
the Department of Otolaryngology in the School of Medicine,
with a secondary appointment
in industrial engineering. In
2000, his primary appointment
was moved to the newly created
Department of Bioengineering,
where for more than a decade he
was vice chair for undergraduate
education. In addition to otolaryngology,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
3 vice provosts appointed
Mark Redfern
Redfern earned his undergraduate degree in engineering
science and his master’s and doctoral degrees in bioengineering
from the University of Michigan. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
1
U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES
Amount of nonprofits’
support for city uncertain
T
Mark Redfern
Carey Balaban
Laurie Kirsch
3 vice provosts appointed
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Redfern holds secondary appointments in physical medicine and
rehabilitation, physical therapy
and rehabilitation science.
Redfern has secured research
funding from a variety of sources,
including the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
industry and foundations.
Much of his research has
focused on deepening the understanding of posture control,
locomotion and measurement
systems, particularly as they
apply to preventing fall-related
injuries in older adults and movement control in individuals with
balance disorders, and on using
biomechanical analysis of jobs to
limit and prevent musculoskeletal
injury on the job.
PhD in anatomy in 1979 from the
University of Chicago.
He joined the Pitt faculty in
1988 after completing post-doctoral training at the University of
Tokyo and serving as an assistant
professor of medicine at Penn
State. In 1993, he was promoted
to associate professor at Pitt and,
in 2000, he was named a full
professor.
Balaban has been active in the
University Senate. He is chair of
the Senate’s tenure and academic
freedom committee, a committee
he has served on since 1993. In
2009, he received the Award for
Service in the University Senate.
He also serves or has served on
the University’s entrepreneurial
oversight and conflict of interest
committees, the provost’s ad hoc
committee on academic freedom,
and the School of Medicine’s
committee for tenured faculty
promotions and appointments.
He has secured research funding from a variety of sources,
including NIH, NASA, the Office
of Naval Research, and several
other agencies and corporations.
He has extensive experience in
conducting multidisciplinary
research in the biomedical sciences, engineering and social
sciences and has participated in
the emerging fields of augmented
cognition and neuroergonomics.
Laurie Kirsch Kirsch earned her BS in computer and information sciences at
Ohio State and her MA in business
administration at the University
of Iowa.
She joined the Pitt faculty as
an assistant professor in 1993 after
completing her PhD in business
administration at the University
of Minnesota. She was promoted
to associate professor in 1999 and
full professor in 2006.
As senior associate dean,
Carey Balaban
Kirsch is responsible for the masBalaban, who holds secondary
ter’s and executive programs and
appointments in neurobiology,
assists the dean in faculty matters
communication science and disorsuch as hiring, promotion and
ders, and bioengineering, earned
tenure processes.
his BA in history at Michigan
Kirsch has won both teaching
State University in 1975 and his
and research awards within the
Katz school.
She was named a Magid
L E T T E R S
Igbaria Distinguished Scholar at
Claremont Graduate University
Communicating at Pitt
and appointed a Visiting Erskine
To the editor:
strategies. Presentations and Fellow at the University of CanPitt Communicators is a workshops are held periodically terbury in New Zealand. Her research focuses on the use
University-wide faculty and staff throughout the academic year. group interested in promot- Any Pitt faculty or staff member and development of information
ing awareness of informational is welcome to attend our events systems with a particular focus on
resources at the University of and/or become a member. If you control strategies and the systems
Pittsburgh and beyond, and would like to be added to the Pitt development process, the transfer
sharing communication-related Communicators email list, please of knowledge in the information
contact Lynn Shea at slynn@pitt. systems context, and the examination of how stakeholders can better
edu.
At our first event of the manage information systems
2012-2013 academic year, on initiatives and improve software
n
Wednesday, Sept. 5 at noon in 528 processes.
UNIVERSITY
Alumni Hall, we will be pleased
to welcome Cynthia Golden,
director of Pitt’s Center for
Instructional Development and
EDITOR
Distance Education (CIDDE),
N. J. Brown
412/624-1373
[email protected]
as our guest speaker. Cynthia
and representatives from CIDDE
WRITER
will provide us with invaluable
information about how this group
Kimberly K. Barlow 412/624-1379
can help you in your efforts to
[email protected]
promote your school, host events
and develop new marketing tools. BUSINESS MANAGER
Please feel free to bring a lunch
Barbara DelRaso
412/624-4644
and join us for this informational
[email protected]
session. RSVP to [email protected].
Events Calendar: [email protected]
The University Times is published bi-weekly
Pitt
Communicators co-leaders
on Thursdays by the University of Pittsburgh.
Kelly Shaffer,
Send correspondence to University Times,
School of Information Sciences
308 Bellefield Hall, University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15260; fax to 412/624-4579
Lynn Shea,
or email: [email protected].
Institutional Advancement
Subscriptions are available at a cost of $25 for
and
the publishing year, which runs SeptemberLori Smith,
July. Make checks payable to the University
of Pittsburgh.
Graduate School
The newspaper is available electronically at:
of Public Health
www.pitt.edu/utimes/ut.html
TIMES
Pitt award
appealed in
patent case
2
he local nonprofit community’s response to a
plan that would provide
$2.6 million per year in voluntary support to the city in 2012
and 2013 through the Pittsburgh
Public Service Fund will remain
undetermined — at least for a few
more weeks.
Solicitation letters are being
sent this week to organizations
that participated in either of the
past two agreements — about
150 in all — said consortium
co-chair G. Reynolds Clark, Pitt
vice chancellor for community
initiatives. The letters request that
participants declare their financial
commitment by Sept. 21, he said.
The consortium includes
more than 40 nonprofits, with
Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University
and Highmark among the main
supporters. The group does not
disclose the amount of each organization’s donation.
Pittsburgh City Council earlier
this summer approved the agreement, which would provide an
estimated $5.2 million in support
to the city over a two-year span.
(See July 12 University Times.)
The new agreement, signed
July 3 by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, essentially renews the consortium’s 2010-11 agreement to
contribute $2.6 million per year,
Clark said.
A plan to send the letters in
mid-July was delayed while execution of the agreement between the
city and The Pittsburgh Foundation, where the fund is housed,
was completed.
In 2005, the consortium, which
then included more than 125
nonprofits, agreed to contribute a
total of $13.25 million over three
years in lieu of taxes to aid the city.
The public service fund contributed $2.68 million in 2011
and nearly $2.63 million in 2010,
Clark said. The fund made no
contribution in 2008-09 because
City Council and the consortium
failed to come to an agreement on
the amount of the donation.
—Kimberly K. Barlow
n
Pitt, Port Authority still talking
T
he University and Port
Authority are continuing
in negotiations on a new
ridership agreement.
Under a five-year deal that
expired July 31, the University
paid $6.8 million for fiscal year
2012 in exchange for free rides
on Port Authority vehicles in
Allegheny County for Pittsburgh
campus ID holders.
The agreement was extended
through Aug. 31, but no additional
extension had been announced,
nor had a new ridership agreement been reached as the University Times went to press on
Wednesday.
John Fedele, Pitt’s associate director of News, told the
University Times: “In the event
(an agreement) is not reached
before the end of the month, we
would hope to extend the current
arrangement while negotiations
continue.”
Port Authority spokesman Jim
Ritchie said, “We’re still talking,”
but added that the transit authority would have no comment until
a new agreement was completed.
He did, however, confirm that
after Aug. 31 Pitt ID holders will
A
continue to be able to ride as they
have. “Everyone’s going to get to
use their passes,” he said, adding
that the Port Authority can opt to
honor the IDs.
The University’s fare-free
ride program has been in place
since 1997, paid for by a $90 per
term Pittsburgh campus student
security, safety and transportation
fee and funds from the Office of
Parking, Transportation and Services’ auxiliary operations budget.
In previous agreements, Pitt’s
payments were based on ridership
as recorded manually by Port
Authority drivers. Under the
manual system, Pitt ID holders
accounted for some 6 million rides
each year on the Port Authority
system.
A smart card system now in
place was touted as a more accurate way of counting rides. Pitt ID
holders tap their cards on the fare
box, reducing human error and the
use of invalid cards.
No figures were available for
Pitt ridership under the smart
card system, which was launched
last August and fully implemented
April 1.
n
California-based medical equipment manufacturer has
appealed a federal court judge’s award to the University
in a long-running patent infringement case.
Federal District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab in a July 30 order
awarded the University more than $101.43 million in a case against
Varian Medical Systems filed by Pitt in 2008. The ruling amends an
earlier $85.8 million award. (See May 3 University Times.)
According to court documents, the judge’s $101.43 million award
includes more than $79.78 million representing the original jury verdict
plus damages due for sales from April 1, 2011, through April 26, 2012,
multiplied by a factor of two; nearly $12.45 million in pre-judgment
interest; $9.2 million for attorneys’ fees and expenses through April
30, and post-judgment interest on the entire sum.
Earlier this year, the company was found to have infringed on
two of the University’s patents in its Real-time Position Management Respiratory Gating System (RPM System) and in the Clinac
and Trilogy accelerators sold in combination with the RPM System.
The RPM System synchronizes imaging and radiation therapy with
a patient’s breathing to better target tumors during cancer treatment.
Varian’s attorneys immediately appealed the judge’s July 30 order
and “any and all other orders, rulings, findings, statements and/or
conclusions of the court adverse to Varian” to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Varian’s principal brief is due Nov. 2.
n
AUGUST 30, 2012
Kimberly K. Barlow
Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, flanked by U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton and Doug Perdue, special
agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh office, answers questions at an Aug. 15 news conference at
which federal indictments were announced against three men accused of threats to the University.
Scottish nationalist indicted in
emailed bomb threats to Pitt
W
hile questions remain
about who scrawled
bomb threats on bathroom walls on campus last spring,
a federal grand jury has indicted a
Scottish nationalist in connection
with emailed bomb threats against
the University and threats against
federal courthouses and a federal
officer.
In a separate indictment, a
pair of Ohio men were charged
with conspiracy in relation to
videos posted on YouTube that
threatened to release confidential
information allegedly stolen from
University computers. (See related
story, this page.)
Accompanied by Chancellor
Mark A. Nordenberg and Doug
Perdue, special agent in charge
of the FBI Pittsburgh office,
U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton
in an Aug. 15 press conference
announced the charges against
Adam Stuart Busby, 64, of Dublin,
Ireland: 17 counts of wire fraud, 16
counts of maliciously conveying
false information and two counts
of international extortion.
The indictment stated that
between March 30 and April 21
Busby targeted the Pittsburgh
campus in more than 40 emailed
threats sent to news media, Pitt
employees and affiliates and others
in the area.
The indictment also charged
Busby with international extortion
for emails sent on April 10 through
a computer server in Austria and
on April 20 through a server in
the Netherlands that promised
the threats against the University
would cease if Nordenberg withdrew a $50,000 reward offered for
information on those responsible
for the threats.
Hickton would not speculate
on a motive, adding that Busby
has no apparent connection to
the University.
A separate indictment against
Busby charges that on June 20
and 21 he used the Internet to
falsely claim that bombs had been
placed at federal courthouses in
Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown
and that he threatened to assault
or murder Hickton.
q
Hickton said Busby had been a
suspect since mid-April but would
not go into detail.
“It took painstaking efforts to
trace the origin of these anonymous email threats. The investigation involved the service of search
warrants upon various entities
providing Internet services both
within the United States and
Europe. The cooperation of our
international partners, including
in particular the Metropolitan
Police Service Counterterrorism
Command, was crucial for our
ability to obtain information from
overseas,” he said.
Analysis of the information
involved thousands of hours
of “detailed meticulous work,”
Hickton said, adding, “We will
not be more specific as revealing
further details might jeopardize
our abilities to solve future cases
of this nature.”
Hickton said the maximum
penalty for each count of wire
fraud is 20 years in prison; maliciously conveying false information carries a 10-year maximum
sentence, and extortion and
threats carry maximums of two
years in prison. The maximum fine
on each count of these crimes — all
of them felonies — is $250,000.
Hickton said Busby is in
custody in Ireland on unrelated
charges but would not offer
details.
According to published
reports, Busby — dubbed the
Tartan Terrorist in the United
Kingdom — is the founder of
the Scottish National Liberation
Army, which seeks independence
from the U.K. He has a history
of making hoax threats as well
as real attacks involving letter
bombs. Published reports state he
was convicted in Dublin in July of
sending emails that claimed bombs
had been placed on a pair of transatlantic flights to New York from
Heathrow Airport and that he is
facing charges of calling in other
bomb hoaxes and threatening to
poison water supplies in England.
q
Hickton acknowledged that
the University was targeted by
multiple “threat streams,” including copycats.
While Busby has been charged
in connection with threats sent
via the Internet, those emailed
threats were preceded by other
bomb threats found scrawled on
campus restroom walls.
Hickton would not discuss the
scope of other investigations or
other individuals who might be
charged, nor would Pitt Police
Chief Timothy Delaney comment
on the written threats.
Hickton did offer kudos to the
Allegheny County district attorney’s office for its prosecution of a
man accused of making unrelated
threats to Pitt professors in the
midst of the campus bomb threats.
Mark Lee Krangle, 66, of
Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., was
arrested April 11 as he arrived
at the Pittsburgh International
Airport after allegedly making
threats to Pitt professors. (See
April 19 University Times.)
Krangle was charged with two
counts of harassment and one
count of terroristic threats. He
had been in the Allegheny County
Jail since April 12 unable to post
$50,000 bail. He pleaded guilty
to one of the harassment counts;
the other two charges were withdrawn. Krangle was sentenced
Aug. 9 in Allegheny County Court
to time served.
q
Nordenberg said the University received 52 separate threats
that targeted 160 buildings, causing 136 evacuations.
The chancellor expressed
thanks to the many law enforcement agencies and government
officials for their assistance.
“Everyone in the University of
Pittsburgh community is deeply
grateful for the many forms of
help that were extended to us while
our campus was under siege,” he
said. Commending faculty, staff
and students for pitching in and
supporting one another, he paid
special notice to the Pitt police,
Student Affairs staff and information technology specialists — units
that had faced particularly daunting demands — as well as to the
University’s senior management
team, the Board of Trustees and
board chair Stephen R. Tritch,
who Nordenberg said was “a
regular source of good counsel.”
In dealing with the threats,
Nordenberg said he listened to
advice from law enforcement and
discussed the issues with his senior
staff and with Tritch. “In the end
though, the decisions were mine
to make,” he said.
The chancellor explained why
he acceded to emailed demands to
withdraw the $50,000 reward in
order to halt the threats. He said
the initial demand, sent April 10,
was crudely crafted and contained
factual errors. “As we examined
that message and discussed it as
a group I don’t think there was
anyone who believed that it was
worthy of a serious response,”
he said.
“When the second email of
this type came in a couple of
weeks later, it was a very different
message. It began by offering to
demonstrate that the author was
in fact the source of the threats by
ensuring that there would be not
threats for a 24-hour period. And
as we thought about that, there
obviously is the threshold question
of whether you ever respond to a
threatening message of this type.”
Nordenberg said he decided
he would monitor what happened
over that 24-hour period and as
the end approached without additional threats, made the decision
to remove the reward offer from
Pitt’s web site.
The final threat — made to
multiple buildings on campus —
came on the morning of April 21.
Nordenberg noted that the
University spent more than
$300,000 on such expenses as
hiring additional security guards,
procuring equipment to detect
explosives and paying overtime
to police officers and facilities
managers in response to the
threats — a figure he said likely
would rise. “And the expense does
not include things like lost faculty
and staff time, lost opportunities
for students or time and talent
invested by other law enforcement
in helping the University,” he said.
Whether Pitt will seek restitution from Busby remains unclear.
Nordenberg said that would be
a practical matter dependent on
whether Busby had sufficient
assets to make it worth Pitt’s effort
to pursue such an action.
John Fedele, associate director of News, told the University
Times, “Any restitution will be
a matter of eventual prosecution
and sentencing determinations.”
Nordenberg said the timing of
the indictments — before the start
of the new academic year — was
“very beneficial to the University.”
The effect on enrollment
remains to be seen. He said:
“Among the students already
enrolled at the University who
actually were forced to endure this
experience, there seemed to be a
sense of greater connection to Pitt,
so that when we look at measures
like freshman-to-sophomore
retention, we actually think those
numbers will be as high as they
ever have been this fall.”
Recruitment of new students
may have suffered, he said.
“Remember that these threats
were being received at the very
time of the year that is most
critical to the student recruitment
process,” he said. “Students who
have been admitted often are
making their last visit to a campus
with their parents and trying to
decide between their universities
of choice. I can’t quantify it and I’m
not sure that it will be significant
but it would surprise me if there
is not some kind of impact on the
entering freshman class this fall.”
q
A link to Nordenberg’s press
conference remarks is posted on
the chancellor’s page at www.
pitt.edu.
n
Man pleads not guilty in
Pitt YouTube threat case
O
ne of a pair of Ohio
men accused of making
cyberthreats against the
University pleaded not guilty
on Tuesday in federal court in
Pittsburgh.
Alexander Waterland, 24, of
Loveland, Ohio, was arrested June
20 and charged with conspiracy in
connection with threats against
the University made via YouTube.
(See June 28 University Times.)
Brett Hudson, 26, of Hillsboro,
Ohio, was indicted Aug. 15 as a
co-conspirator. He is scheduled
to appear in court Sept. 6.
The two, who are expected
to be tried together, each face a
maximum of five years in prison
and a fine of up to $250,000.
The men are accused of
claiming to be associated with
the computer hacking group
Anonymous and of threatening to
release confidential information
from the University’s computer
servers if Pitt did not post on its
web site an apology for failing to
keep the data safe. The posted
threats came in late April and early
May, amid heightened tensions on
the Pittsburgh campus following
bomb threats that disrupted the
campus in March and April.
Prosecutor Jimmy Kitchen,
assistant U.S. attorney, told
Judge Maureen P. Kelly that the
government’s evidence includes
20-25 FBI reports, electronic
evidence from seized cell phones
and computer hard drives and
electronic documents obtained
through subpoenas.
Waterland’s attorney, Anthony
M. Bittner, requested that the
judge modify the conditions
of Waterland’s release, which
include a ban on Internet access,
saying Bittner is unemployed and
needs Internet access to aid his
job search.
Kitchen said he did not object
as long as Waterland’s computer
activity is monitored. Judge Kelly
said she would be amenable to
the request, subject to the availability of adequate monitoring.
She admonished Waterland to
use the privilege, if granted, “in
a constructive and responsible
manner.”
Bittner had no comment as he
and Waterland left the courtroom.
n
3
Study details UPB’s economic impact
BRADFORD — An economic
impact study released Aug. 23
showed that the Pitt-Bradford
campus contributed $67.5 million
to the region’s economy in fiscal
year 2011 and that it is poised to
have a larger impact in the future.
According to the study, by
Sabina Deitrich and Christopher
Briem of the University Center for
and Social and Urban Research,
in conjunction with consultant
William Lafe, the $67.5 million
represents the UPB campus’s
institutional spending as well as
student spending off campus.
The researchers drew economic data from McKean, Elk and
Warren counties in Pennsylvania
and neighboring Cattaraugus
County in New York. They
included Cameron, Forest and
Potter counties in assessing UPB’s
community impact and partnerships.
Citing the campus’s multiple
roles in teaching, research, job
training, community involvement,
engaged scholarship and service
learning, volunteerism, recreation
and enrichment, the authors stated
that UPB has become an important anchor institution since its
establishment in 1963.
“It is a major source for economic and community development in helping to improve the
quality of life in the region and,
as the institution moves into its
second half-century, it will continue to expand its impacts in the
region,” the study found.
The study is posted at www.
upb.pitt.edu/impact.aspx.
q
In a press conference during
which he announced the study’s
findings, UPB President Livingston Alexander said UPB’s
last economic impact study was
conducted in 1992.
“We felt as we approach our
50th anniversary that we wanted
to demonstrate the impact — or, as
some people say, return on investment — the impact we’re having
on our region, both economic as
well as community,” he said.
In addition to communicating
to the local community UPB’s
Swarts Hall on the Bradford campus. A recent economic study showed UPB contributed $67.5 million to the local economy last year.
impact, Alexander said, “We’re
also mindful of the fact that there’s
a lot of change going on at the state
level,” citing a commission tasked
by Gov. Tom Corbett to examine
higher education in Pennsylvania.
(See Feb. 9 University Times.)
“There’s a lot of scrutiny on
colleges and universities throughout the commonwealth,” he said.
“This is a good time for us to
document publicly the impact that
a college like Pitt-Bradford has in a
rural area the size of Connecticut,
which is only served by one fouryear institution.”
Economic and
community impact
According to the study, UPB’s
activities and student spending
support some 740 jobs in the
region: 550 directly and an additional 184 produced by the indirect
effects of University expenditures
and consumer spending.
In addition, over the course of
the past decade, UPB has averaged
$6.3 million in capital projects
annually, including the construction of residence halls, a chapel
and performing arts center, plus
building renovations.
Alexander said that 56 percent
of UPB graduates have found jobs
in the region and nearly one-third
of UPB alumni live in the sixcounty region.
Campus contributions to the
region’s quality of life include
training for industry, workshops,
children’s programs and arts
events for the public. In addition,
Alexander noted, members of
the UPB community contribute
to the community through their
volunteer service as well as their
charitable contributions.
Enrollment strong
Although final numbers for
the fall term aren’t yet available,
Alexander on Monday updated his
estimate of UPB’s student population, telling the University Times
that UPB’s current headcount is
1,516 with a full-time equivalent
(FTE) of 1,428.
According to the 2012 Pitt Fact
Book, the fall 2011 headcount
at UPB was 1,564 with FTE of
1486.6.
Alexander told the University
Times that enrollment began to
reflect the effects of the recession
in 2010, with retention dipping in
spite of strong freshman classes.
That, in conjunction with large
graduating classes, has affected
FTE, he explained.
At the Aug. 23 press conference, Alexander said most UPB
students come from Pennsylvania and western New York but
increasing numbers are coming
from farther-flung areas including more than half of the states in
the United States as well as from
20-25 other countries. He said
the campus will have a record 32
international students this year,
hailing from countries including
China, Germany, Taiwan, Japan,
Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Colombia,
Korea and Vietnam.
Noting that many students
from the local area don’t have the
opportunity to travel overseas or
experience other cultures, Alexander said the campus’s international
student population adds to the
diversity of the community on
campus and beyond.
UPB is hosting two Confucius
Institute scholars from China this
year — a first for the campus that
is likely to continue in future years,
Alexander said. The scholars not
only will teach Chinese language
and culture courses on campus,
but will offer seminars for the
community as well, he said, citing
particular benefit to Bradfordarea businesses that do business
in China.
Hiring anticipated
Robust enrollment — especially as UPB draws more students
from outside the region and outside the United States — eventually will result in an increased need
for more faculty and staff, with a
corresponding effect on the local
economy, Alexander said.
“We grew our programs very
fast during the last two strategic
plans. Before the plan we developed in 2004, we had 24 four-year
baccalaureate degree programs
and we had five associate degree
programs. We now have 36
four-year baccalaureate degree
programs and six associate degree
Whoops!
Restrooms have reversed gender as part of ongoing remodeling in Hillman Library. Helpful
signs, like this one on the ground floor, alert patrons to stop before they go.
4
Additional housing needed
UPB is working with an architect to determine how to replace
aging housing on campus and
expand the number of beds in
response to increased demand.
Alexander said the lack of sufficient off-campus housing puts
increased pressure on UPB to
provide on-campus housing.
To increase on-campus housing from the current 936 to a
targeted 1,000 beds would take a
phased approach over a decade,
Alexander said.
“That’s part of our discussion
with the architect: How do we
maintain present capacity even as
we demolish those buildings that
were built in 1972?”
Alexander noted that the units
— totaling 340 beds — weren’t
built but were brought intact onto
the campus as temporary housing.
“We anticipate not only having
a need to build new housing, we
also have the need to replace housing that was built in 1972, which
each year is becoming more and
more expensive to maintain,” he
said.
n
Staff cut at Titusville
Kimberly K.Barlow
programs,” he said.
“Even considering the programs we currently offer, we are
thin in some areas and there is
a need to bring in more faculty
members to provide greater
faculty diversity for students in
certain areas.”
Alexander said, “We would
love to bring in additional faculty
members in programs that have
only one faculty member,” citing
as an example UPB’s public relations program.
While the campus administration had anticipated supplying
the additional programs with
adequate numbers of faculty, the
recession and subsequent budget
reductions delayed those plans.
“But the need is still there to
add faculty members to support
programs that we developed,”
Alexander said, adding that UPB
recently submitted a request to
the University to approve a search
for nine new faculty members. He
anticipates a response within the
next few weeks.
tough times this summer. All the
University suffered under budget
cuts — our campus was more
directly hit in a negative way.
We’ve moved through that.”
Fitz said the UPT campus has
taken on a “roll up the sleeves and
get it done” attitude. “We know
what numbers we need to have
for enrollment. We know we need
to build programs. That’s where
we’re going now,” he said. “The
outlook is we are going to make the
changes that need to be made to
provide students with the quality
education they expect.”
Fitz said there has been a “very
supportive, very collaborative
attitude from Bradford” since
the restructuring was announced.
“We are still moving more
in alignment with Bradford in
cooperative ways,” Fitz told the
University Times. “It can only
improve our situation and only
improve theirs.”
He said part of the changes
would include new recruiting
strategies in geographic areas that
have yielded students in the past
as part of the goal to reach FTE
enrollment of 410. And, while the
two campuses already share some
joint academic programs, Fitz
said he anticipates adding more
“2+2” programs such as the BS in
business management and BA in
human relations in which students
at UPT — Pitt’s only two-year
campus — can remain there while
completing a bachelor’s degree
awarded by UPB. While no timetable has been
set, Alexander said some of UPB’s
petroleum technology programming eventually could be offered
in Titusville. He noted that UPB
is planning to offer its first petroleum technology course in St.
Marys, adding that demand for
graduates of the growing program
is high.
Alexander said, “Everyone’s
committed to doing everything
possible to strengthen and improve
Pitt-Titusville and make sure it is
viable and continues to offer
programs there. The campus is
so important to the community.”
n
AUGUST 30, 2012
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412-624-4644
5
Singin’
and dancin’
With nary a raindrop in sight, a reported
3,524 Pitt freshmen gathered on the lawn of
the Petersen Events Center last week to try
to shatter the Guinness World Record for the
“Greatest Number of People Simultaneously
Performing an Umbrella Dance at a Single
Venue.” The old record of 1,461 was set last
year in Bucharest. The attempt at a new
world record has become a Pitt tradition:
Freshmen set new Guinness World Records
at the last two new student orientations, in
2010 for the “World’s Largest Torch-lit Logo”
and in 2011 for the “World’s Largest Glow
Stick Design.”
This year’s record attempt also marks the
100th anniversary of the birth in Pittsburgh
of “Singin’ in the Rain” star Gene Kelly, a Pitt
alumnus. Pitt also will honor Kelly Oct. 25
with “Pitt’s Gene Kelly Centennial Celebration.”
Photos by Joe Kapelewski/CIDDE
UPJ breaks ground
for nursing building
Above: Participating in this week’s groundbreaking for the Johnstown campus’s new Nursing and Health Sciences Building were,
in hard hats from left: Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities
Management Joseph Fink, UPJ President Jem Spectar and state
Sen. John Wozniak, who is a UPJ alumnus. They were joined by
Pitt-Johnstown nursing students.
At right: Architect’s rendering of the new building.
6
Pitt-Johnstown broke ground
Aug. 27 for its new Nursing and
Health Sciences Building. In announcing the project,
UPJ President Spectar said,
“The new building enhances
our capacity to provide firstclass learning facilities, propels
us toward greater distinction in
the STEM (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics)
fields and furthers our movement
to the forefront of baccalaureate
colleges.” More than 40 percent
of Pitt-Johnstown’s students are
enrolled in STEM majors.
The 26,000-square-foot facility, at a projected cost of $12
million, will include 11 laboratories for chemistry and biology, a
nursing simulation laboratory, six
faculty offices and two seminar/
classrooms spread out over two
floors. Nearly 20 percent of all PittJohnstown students are pursuing
majors in the medical professions,
including the Bachelor of Science
in Nursing (BSN) program, which
will graduate its first class in the
spring. The Nursing and Health
Sciences Building will bring the
total number of buildings on the
655-acre campus to 38.
The new building, which is
expected to be complete next fall,
was designed by MacLachlan,
Cornelius & Filoni of Pittsburgh,
and has a sustainable/green design
that is expected to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification,
thereby becoming the first LEEDcertified building on campus. n
AUGUST 30, 2012
Getting fit: New options at Trees
F
aculty and staff have new
fitness options on the upper
campus this term.
Two exercise rooms (one of
which is set up for stationary
cycling classes) and a fitness
center cardio room have been
created on the first floor of Trees
Hall. In addition to permitting an
expanded schedule of health and
fitness program classes, the new
facilities double as a place where
graduate students in the School
of Education’s Department of
Health and Physical Activity can
hone and exercise their teaching
skills.
The new center will open Sept.
4. An open house is set for today,
Aug. 30, noon-1:30 p.m., for those
who would like a tour of the new
facilities.
The 5,000-square-foot space
will be reserved for faculty and
staff during peak hours in the early
morning, midday and evening.
Initial hours will be 6:30-8:30
a.m., 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 4-6:30
p.m., although department chair
John Jakicic, director of the Physical Activity and Weight Manage-
ment Research Center and the
Nutrition and Obesity Research
Center, said those times could be
adjusted based on need.
In between, the exercise rooms
will be used to train students in
teaching, Jakicic said.
PhD student Renee Rogers,
director of the health and fitness program, said the program’s
schedule of classes at Bellefield
Hall will remain essentially the
same. The new space in Trees
Hall, however, will enable the
program to add more cardio and
strength training classes and to
offer Zumba classes for the first
time on the upper campus.
Rogers said the array of classes
will include more conditioning classes and boot camp-style
exercise along with other group
fitness offerings.
The fall class schedule and
details on the facilities are posted
at www.physicalactivity.pitt.edu/
healthandfitness.aspx.
Classes begin Sept. 4 and end
Dec. 14. Cost is $50 for University
ID holders, $65 for non-University participants.
In addition to fees for the
exercise classes, there will be a
nominal per-semester fitness
center membership fee to use the
cardio room, Jakicic said, noting
that the pricing aims to encourage use while covering the cost
of equipment and maintenance.
University ID holders who are
registered for a health and fitness
class will pay $20 per term to add
the fitness center membership;
non-ID holders pay $40.
For those who are not registered for fitness classes, fitness
center memberships will cost $50
per term for University ID holders
and $75 for non-ID holders.
This term, the fitness center is
open Sept. 4-Dec. 21.
Locker and shower facilities
are available at Trees and use of
the gym on the lower level remains
free, Jakicic said.
The fitness center is equipped
with resistance training machines,
treadmills, ellipticals and adaptive
motion trainers, or AMTs, which
Rogers said are a cross between
a step machine and an elliptical.
The room also has four recumbent
bicycles, two of which enable
users to race against themselves
or others in the gym.
Jakicic noted that the treadmills all include individual video
screens with cable TV and the
capacity for users to bring their
own audio or video to accompany
their workouts.
Rogers said the stationary
indoor cycling room is set up with
user-friendly Keiser stationary
bikes. She expects the classes to fill
quickly. Currently, such classes are
offered (and filled to capacity) for
members at the University Club
but are unavailable elsewhere on
campus, she said.
Not only will faculty and
Photos by Kimberly K. Barlow
Renee Rogers, director of the health and fitness program, and
John Jakicic, chair of the School of Education’s Department of
Health and Physical Activity, show off some of the Trees Hall fitness center’s new equipment.
staff get a good quality program,
students will get an opportunity
to apply what they’ve learned in
the classroom, Jakicic said, noting
that the facilities would be staffed
by master’s level exercise science
and exercise physiology students.
“That allows us to have people
available to help to get you in
good shape,” he said, adding that
the staff could offer individual
attention for those seeking help
or advice on their workouts.
Most instructors will be students who have experience in the
classes they are teaching, he said,
adding that the program may
supplement with outside instructors if needed.
“You’re not just getting students who are teaching classes,
you’re getting instructors with
experience who happen to be
students,” Jakicic said.
He envisions eventually
expanding the offerings to include
weight management programming and one day perhaps to
have an additional lower-campus
exercise facility similar to the new
Trees space.
n
Office of
Measurement and
Evaluation of Teaching
OMET
The new facilities at Trees Hall include a cycling room set up with
user-friendly Keiser stationary bikes.
Beginning AY2012–13
Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys
are available for administration online.
What online survey administration means for faculty:
• More effective use of class time
• Students are sent an email from OMET with a link to the survey, approximately three weeks before the end of classes
• Students who have not responded will be sent weekly reminders
• Reports will be sent electronically to faculty as in the past but the comments will now be typed
Encourage students to participate!
Please go to omet.pitt.edu for detailed information about online survey administration.
7
Photos by N.J. Brown and Aimee C. Rosenbaum
8
AUGUST 30, 2012
What’s NEW at PITT?
The hustle and bustle that marks the beginning of the academic year has returned: The proliferation of laundry carts,
redirected traffic, upperclass student volunteers pointing the
way to newcomers and their families during Arrival Survival.
But for many at Pitt, the hazy days of summer have been
anything but lazy: Facilities were renovated; faculty and staff
came and went; academic programs were established.
PEOPLE
Bradford Campus
UPB will host two Confucius Institute
scholars this year. Yidan Huang and Liulin
Zhang will teach Chinese language and culture to UPB students and present seminars
and noncredit courses to the community.
Both are graduate students in the College of Chinese Language and Literature
at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China.
Huang teaches Chinese as a second language at Wuhan and holds a bachelor’s
degree in teaching Chinese as a second
language from Central China Normal
University. Zhang earned her bachelor’s
degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign
language from Wuhan and is pursuing
a master’s degree in the same area. Her
areas of study include linguistics, literature,
psychology, English translation, Western
culture, logic, science of religion and international business.
Stephen Robar, associate professor of
political science, is the new associate dean
of academic affairs. He had been the chair
of the Division of Behavioral and Social
Sciences.
Marietta Frank has been appointed
interim director of Hanley Library.
Patrick Daniel has been named the
new women’s basketball coach. He comes
from Kenyon College, where he was the
assistant coach.
Registered nurse Nicole Stark is the
new director of UPB’s Student Health Services, taking the place of Bonnie McMillen,
who will be staying on as a part-time nurse
in the health center.
New full-time faculty members are
James W. Carlson, visiting assistant
professor of management; Jennifer L.
Forney, visiting instructor of hospitality
management; Juan “Jenny” Gu, visiting instructor of biology, and Joshua R.
Meddaugh, visiting assistant professor of
political science.
Center for Instructional Development
and Distance Education
Joseph Cornibe has joined the staff
as manager of the educational technology
services group. A former executive officer
and flight commander in the U.S. Air
Force, Cornibe holds a master’s degree
in curriculum and instruction and most
recently was a project leader and consultant
on knowledge-sharing projects at Deloitte
Consulting.
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Michele Colvard has joined the school
as executive director for staff personnel and
senior assistant dean. She is responsible for
strategic management, staffing and organization development and serves as liaison
with Human Resources for the Dietrich
school and the College of General Studies.
Colvard most recently was assistant vice
president for academic affairs at Chatham
University. In 2006-07 she was assistant to
the provost at Pitt, serving as the primary
liaison for the National Research Council’s
assessment of research doctorate programs.
New administrators in the school
include department chairs Bryan Hanks,
anthropology; Gordon Mitchell, communication; Shelome Gooden, linguistics,
Anil Gupta, philosophy, and Suzanne
Staggenborg, sociology, as well as acting
chairs Lina Insana, French and Italian languages and literatures; Katheryn Linduff,
history of art and architecture, and Andrew
Weintraub, music.
Acting director of the film studies program is Daniel Morgan.
New tenure/tenure-stream faculty
include associate professors Mariagiovanna Baccara in economics and Josef
Werne in geology and planetary science,
as well as assistant professors Michele
Reid-Vazquez in Africana studies; Daniel
Lambrecht in chemistry; Sewon Hur in
chemistry; Cory Holding and William
Lychack in English; Armando Garcia in
Hispanic languages and literatures; Shirin
Fozi in history of art and architecture;
Rachel Mundy and Emily Zazulia in
music; Yan Dong in neuroscience; Japa
Pallikkathayil in philosophy; Melissa
Libertus in psychology, and Kehui Chen
in statistics.
New non-tenure stream faculty include
assistant professors Michael Meyer in English, Gavin Steingo in music and Sergey
Frolov in geology and planetary science;
assistant instructor Wan-ching Hsieh in
East Asian languages and literatures, and
lecturers Candice Damiani in biological
sciences, Sheng Xiong in mathematics,
Cynthia Lausberg in psychology and
Milica Bakic-Hayden in religious studies.
M. Cooper Harriss has joined the
Department of Religious Studies as a postdoctoral associate. Harriss earned his PhD
from the University of Chicago in 2011
and taught at Virginia Tech. His research
and teaching interests center on the intersections of religious thought and practice
with African-American cultural production
(especially literature, performance and
vernacular music); the concept of race in
Western and American intellectual history;
the religious and theological valences of the
concept of irony, and the impact of preachers and preaching on African-American
literature.
Harriss authored the book “Race and
the Religious Unconscious: Ralph Ellison’s
Invisible Theology.”
Michael Tillotson joins the Department of Africana Studies as an assistant
professor from Asante Institute. Tillotson
holds a PhD in African-American studies
from Temple. His research focuses on
Africana theory and methodology, AfricanAmerican politics and social thought,
Reconstruction, critical race theory and
African-centered psychology.
Andrea Berman, a new assistant professor in the Department of Biological
Sciences, comes from the University of
Colorado and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She completed her PhD at
The University Times asked deans and other school officials
to provide a brief look at “What’s New? People, Places and
Things” in their areas. The summaries that follow are not allencompassing, but rather are overviews of school news based
on material submitted by the units. Information previously
published in the University Times was not included here.
The listings were coordinated by Kimberly K. Barlow.
Yale. Berman’s research interests focus on
structural and biochemical studies of the
biogenesis of the T. thermophile telomerase RNP movement through the TERT
protein active site during the catalytic cycle
of telomerase.
Angie Cruz joins the Department of
English as an assistant professor from Texas
A&M University. Cruz, whose research
focuses on creative writing, earned her
MFA at New York University and has had
two novels published.
Washington University’s Jennifer
Josten joins the Department of History of
Art and Architecture as an assistant professor. She completed her PhD in history of
art at Yale. Her research focuses on 20thcentury art of Latin America, 19th-century
art of Europe and the Americas and ancient
art of Mesoamerica.
Benjamin Rottman joins the Department of Psychology as an assistant professor
from the University of Chicago, where he
was a postdoctoral fellow. Rottman completed his PhD in cognitive psychology at
Yale. His research focuses on the cognitive
science of causal learning, investigating
innovative basic issues in the learning of
causal categories, and exploring applica-
tions of basic issues in real problem-solving
domains.
The Department of History and Philosophy of Science welcomes Joyce van
Leeuwen, its second A. W. Mellon Fellow
in the history of science. Van Leeuwen has
an MA in classics from Radboud University
in the Netherlands and is about to defend
her dissertation, “The Tradition of the Aristotelian Mechanics: Text and Diagrams,” at
Humboldt University in Berlin.
At Pitt, she will be working on a study
of the diagrams in the texts of the Aristotelian Mechanics, from the earliest Greek
manuscripts to the editions, translations and
commentaries on the Mechanics in the late
Renaissance, focusing on the changing roles
of these visual representations over time.
Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for
African and African American Research has
selected Pitt history department chair and
professor G. Reid Andrews as a Nathan
I. Huggins lecturer. He will present three
lectures: “African-American Visions,”
“Afro-Latin Voices” and “Social Justice
Visions” Oct. 2-4. Information on the
lecture series is at http://dubois.fas.harvard.
edu/nathan-i-huggins-lectures.
Department of Computer Science
Aimee C. Rosenbaum
9
What’s new
part-time faculty member Paul Covaleski
received the Students’ Choice Award from
the College of General Studies Student
Government.
Computer science faculty member
Rami Melhem received the 2012 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.
This award recognizes faculty members
who demonstrate outstanding mentoring
of graduate students seeking a research
doctorate degree.
Two new staffers joined the Department of Computer Science. Undergraduate
program administrator Angela Ellis previously had a similar role in the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Outreach coordinator Tasha Rauso plans
on growing the department’s diversity
initiatives as well as coordinating partnerships between the department and school
districts, alumni and other University
departments. She earned a master’s degree
at Pepperdine University.
Associate professor of French Todd
Reeser will be on leave for the academic
year as a Solmsen Fellow at the Institute
for the Humanities at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. The year-long residential fellowship will enable him to finish
his book on Platonic sexuality in the 15th
and 16th centuries.
Reeser also received three short-term
external fellowships for next academic year
at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, the Beinecke Rare Books
Library at Yale and the Folger Shakespeare
Library in Washington, D.C.
Laura Paler and Stephen Chaudoin
are new assistant professors in political
science. Paler completed her PhD in political science at Columbia University and is
spending the 2012-13 academic year as
a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for
Global Development in Washington, D.C.
Her research focuses on how different
sources of government revenue (such as
natural resource rents, foreign aid and taxes)
affect political behavior; how information
and transparency affect accountability,
and the determinants of conflict and postconflict reintegration.
Chaudoin graduated from Emory University with an MA in political science and
a BA in economics. He completed his PhD
at Princeton. His dissertation focused on
international dispute resolution mechanisms and international trade disputes.
The Department of French and Italian
languages and literatures is hosting two
long-term guests this year.
Post-doctoral associate Andrew Ryder
previously was a visiting professor at Emory
University and at Al-Quds Bard College in
Abu Dis, Palestine. He earned his PhD at
Emory in 2010. His areas of research include
intersections between French and Arabic
thought, new approaches to materialism in
continental philosophy and French modern
literature.
Giuseppina Pellegrino of the University of Calabria will be housed in the
Italian program as Distinguished Fulbright
Professor in the spring term. Pellegrino
is a scholar of media and technology and
her current research focuses on the representation of women and immigrants in the
Italian media.
History has two new assistant professors, both of whom work on early-modern
European and Atlantic history.
Pernille Røge was a lecturer in history
at the University of Cambridge, where she
received her PhD. Her research focuses on
early modern Europe, specializing in the
intellectual, political and administrative
history of France and its colonial empire
in European and global contexts.
Molly Warsh earned her PhD at Johns
Hopkins and was a faculty member at Texas
A&M. For the last two years she held a
postdoctoral fellowship at the Omohundro
10
N.J. Brown
Institute of Early American History and
Culture in Williamsburg, VA.
Graduate School of Public Health
Stephen M. Albert has been named
chair of the Department of Behavioral
and Community Health Sciences. Albert’s
research centers on the assessment of health
outcomes in aging and chronic disease,
including physical and cognitive function,
health service use and the cost of care,
quality of life and clinical decision-making.
Faculty member Patricia Documet of
the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences has been named
scientific director of the Center for Health
Equity. The center aims to understand and
reduce health disparities in underserved
populations, particularly those in western
Pennsylvania.
Graduate School of Public
and International Affairs
Joining the faculty this fall as assistant
professors are:
• Kevin Morrison, who was a political science faculty member at Cornell. He
holds a PhD in political science, an MA
in economics from Duke University and
a master’s degree in development studies
from the London School of Economics.
• Marcela Gonzalez Rivas, who was a
faculty member in city and regional planning at Cornell. Rivas holds a PhD in city
and regional planning from the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in development studies from
the London School of Economics.
• Ilia Murtazashvili, who holds a PhD
in political science and a master’s degree in
agricultural and applied economics from
the University of Wisconsin. He is the
co-author of the 2012 book “Arms and the
University: Military Presence and the Civic
Education of Non-Military Students.”
Greensburg campus
Changes at UPG resulting from eight
Volunteer Early Retirement Plan staff
departures include:
• Karen Antoniak, formerly director of
Academic Support Services, now is director
of Human Resources and will provide HR
support service to both faculty and staff. She
also serves as sexual harassment liaison for
staff on campus. • Dolly Biskup, the campus president’s
executive assistant, also will be chief of
academic support services. Her responsibilities include supervising the faculty
secretaries and administering the performance impacted workplace program, the
staff professional development program,
the “You Make a Difference” recognition
program, the annual staff recognition
luncheon and the Campus Beautification
Community Circle.
• Registrar Linda Smith will be responsible for scheduling classes, determining
academic honors, certifying graduates,
preparing for summer orientation and
academic registration and other curriculum
management tasks.
• Linda Soltis, formerly administrative
assistant in maintenance/facilities management, will become maintenance coordinator with responsibilities for all purchasing
and administrative duties in the department,
including evaluating quality and suitability
of products, as well as processing orders
and requests and dispatching technicians.
• Robert Smith, senior systems analyst,
is serving as interim director of information
technology services.
In other faculty and staff changes on
the UPG campus:
• Danielle Brush was hired as a graduate
assistant in the Office of Student Services
where she will work with student activities, orientation and residence life. She is
a graduate of Waynesburg University and
served as a hall director at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA. She is pursuing a
master’s degree in student affairs in higher
education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).
• Gawain Emanuel, visiting instructor
of English, was named director of academic
advising.
• Chelsea Huet was hired as event
coordinator in conferencing services. She
previously worked as a special events and
marketing assistant in the University’s
Career Development and Placement Assistance office.
• Robert Kauffman is the new director of plant maintenance. He previously
served as supervisor of maintenance at Penn
State-New Kensington. His responsibilities
include new construction, maintenance and
repair of all buildings and facilities, and
direction of the department’s staff, skilled
workers, custodians and groundskeepers. • Jenna Konyak was hired as the graduate assistant resident director of College
Hall. She also will serve as co-adviser to the
outdoor adventure and community service
residential living community. She recently
graduated from Siena College and is pursuing a master’s degree in student affairs in
higher education at IUP.
• Olivia Long is an assistant professor
of biochemistry. A Pitt graduate, Long
most recently taught at St. Vincent College.
• Russell Phillips III was hired as an
assistant professor of psychology. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, he
most recently taught at Missouri Western
State University.
• Joel Sabadasz, former director of
academic advising, will continue to teach
U.S. history on a part-time basis.
• Timothy Sheets was hired as an
assistant professor of education. A graduate
of Duquesne University, he most recently
taught in the Bentworth School District.
• Al Thiel now is the director of campus
activities and Village adviser in the Office
of Student Services. He will direct cocurricular, leadership and service programs
and will advise Student Government and
the Campus Activities Board. Thiel, who
holds an MS in higher education from IUP,
previously worked at Iona College.
• Stacey Triplette joins the faculty as
an assistant professor of French and Spanish. She is a graduate of the University of
California-Berkeley.
• Gretchen Underwood was hired as
an assistant professor of communication.
A graduate of Purdue University, she most
recently taught at Penn State-Greater
Allegheny.
• Chuck Wigle has been named head
women’s soccer coach. He will continue
to serve as an assistant soccer coach to the
men’s team. A St. Vincent College graduate,
Wigle has coached youth soccer teams in
western Pennsylvania.
• Jim Turnley was hired as an assistant
men’s basketball coach. He previously
served as assistant varsity coach at Quigley
Catholic and Hopewell Area high schools.
He is a graduate of IUP.
• DeeAnn Waters was hired as an assistant women’s basketball coach. A graduate
of West Virginia Wesleyan College, she
served as a volunteer assistant for the Bobcat
AUGUST 30, 2012
PEOPLE
women’s team last year. Her other experience includes coaching Hempfield Area and
Derry Area high school basketball teams.
Health Sciences Library System
Jeff Husted has been promoted to head
of collections, where he is responsible for
collection development of electronic and
print resources, including materials selection and acquisition, analysis of usage and
trends, vendor relations, serials management and oversight of the acquisition
budget. Husted has been at HSLS since
1997, when he earned his BS in biology at
Pitt. He earned an MLIS from the School
of Information Sciences in 2009.
Tristan Lucchetti, formerly National
Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle
Atlantic Regional office (NN/LM MAR)
administrator, has moved into the HSLS
director’s office to become HSLS business
manager. Lucchetti will oversee the financial operations of the NN/LM MAR, and
also will assume responsibility for HSLS
business operations and human resource
functions, including budget monitoring and
planning, employment/payroll records and
travel and reimbursement requests.
Humanities Center
Sabine von Dirke of the German
department is the new associate director of
the Humanities Center. She has published
on various aspects of German culture after
World War II, including counter-cultural
developments, transatlantic cultural transfers and migration issues. Her current
research explores how aesthetic culture
negotiates the current pressures of globalization, especially in the representation
of white-collar employment in literary
discourse.
Arjuna Parakrama, dean of the Faculty
of Arts, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka,
is a senior fellow at the Humanities Center
this year. His research explores issues of
collective trauma and language norms with
respect to the use of English in Sri Lanka.
Naomi Paik, an assistant professor
in American studies at the University of
Texas-Austin, will be an early-career fellow
at the center. She will pursue research
entitled “Rightlessness: Testimonies From
the Camp in Narratives of U.S. Culture
and Law.”
Visiting scholar Piotr Gwiadza comes
to the center from the University of
Maryland-Baltimore County, where he is
an associate professor of English. While
at the Humanities Center, he will pursue
research entitled “Explaining America:
Poetry in the Age of Empire.”
Internal fellows at the center in the fall
term are: Edouard Machery of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science,
whose project is “Evidence and Cognition”;
Francesca Savoia of French and Italian languages and literatures, whose project is “An
18th-Century Paradigm of Acculturation:
Giuseppe Baretti’s Commonplace Book,”
and Jennifer Waldron of English, whose
project is “Shakespeare and the Senses:
Language, Affect, Performance.”
In the spring term, internal fellows will
be Marah Gubar of English, whose project
is “Acting Up: Children, Agency and the
Case for Childhood Studies”; Irina Livezeanu of history, whose project is “The New
Generation and the Avant-Garde: Ideas, Art
and Politics in Romania, 1914-1947,” and
Adam Shear of religious studies, whose
project is “The Transmission of Medieval
Jewish Texts and Early Modern Books.”
Johnstown campus
New faculty include: Dawn Drahnak,
instructor of nursing; George “Skip”
Glenn, assistant professor of business/
marketing; Joanna Harrington, visiting
instructor of science education; Chandana
Jayasooriya, instructor of electrical engi-
neering technology; Jeremy Justus, visiting assistant professor of English; Charles
Kanyi, assistant professor of chemistry;
Marissa Landrigan, assistant professor of
English writing/literary journalism; Derek
Leben, assistant professor of philosophy;
Kim Lee-Asonevich, assistant professor
of business management/entrepreneurship;
Paul Lucas, instructor of communication;
Gregory Petyak, assistant professor of
accounting and finance, and Khayyun
Rahi, visiting assistant professor of energy
and earth resources.
School of Education
Sean Kelly and Linda DeAngelo have
joined the Department of Administrative
and Policy Studies as assistant professors.
Kelly received his PhD and MS degrees
in sociology at University of WisconsinMadison. He focuses on the social organization of schools, student engagement and
teacher effectiveness.
DeAngelo’s research areas include
diversity issues; student learning and change
in diverse environments; the differential
effect of institutions on students; pipeline
and educational transitions; outcomes for
first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students, and interaction and
conditional effects.
She earned both her PhD in education
and MA at UCLA.
New assistant professor Thomas Akiva
is part of the applied developmental psychology program. His research focuses
on psychological experiences of youth in
organized activities during out-of-school
time, such as in after-school programs and
community-based organizations.
He earned a PhD in education and
psychology, an MS in psychology and an
MA in educational studies at the University
of Michigan.
Ming-Te Wan has joined the psychology in education department as an assistant
professor, bringing with him research that
emphasizes the interplay of developmental
processes among adolescents — whether
they are academic, career, social, emotional
or behavioral — and based on family, school
and community contexts.
He received his doctorate in developmental psychology from Harvard.
School of Health
and Rehabilitation Sciences
New faculty members are Chris Brown,
assistant professor in the Department of
Communication Science and Disorders;
Dilhari DeAlmeida, assistant professor
in the Department of Health Information
Management, and David Wert, research
Physical Therapy. Brown is interested in how humans perceive and process sound signals, including
speech. He received his PhD from Loyola
University, where he studied perception
and basic psychoacoustics. He completed a
post-doc at Arizona State University, where
he honed his interest in cochlear implants
and finding ways to improve speech perception by implant users. Much of his current
work involves a fusion of basic and applied
research.
DeAlmeida’s doctoral dissertation
research at Pitt highlighted the multiple
uses of the ICD-10-CM coding system,
evaluating the documentation requirements needed for accurately capturing the
codes along with identifying which clinical
areas would need the most documentation
attention in order to accurately code in
ICD-10-CM. DeAlmeida earned a master’s
degree with a concentration in health information systems at Pitt and her bachelor’s
degree in cell and molecular biology at the
University of Toronto. Wert earned a bachelor’s degree in
exercise and sport science at Penn State,
a master’s degree in physical therapy at
Slippery Rock and a PhD in rehabilitation
science at Pitt. His academic and research
interests include neurosciences, geriatrics
and human disease as well as the metabolic
cost of movement, Parkinson’s disease, gait/
balance and aging.
School of Information Sciences
Sheila Corrall has joined the school
as a full professor and chair of the library
and information science program. She was
professor and chair in librarianship and
information management at the University
of Sheffield, U.K., where she was head of
the information school, 2006-10.
She holds a master’s degree in classics
from Cambridge; a postgraduate diploma
in librarianship from the Polytechnic of
North London; an MBA from the Roffey
Park Management Institute; a master’s in
information systems from the University
of Southampton, and a certificate in higher
education from Sheffield.
She also has worked in public libraries, including the British Library, and in
academic libraries at Aston University, the
University of Reading and the University
of Southampton.
Other new faculty members are Brian
Beaton and Rosta Farzan.
Beaton will teach in science and technology studies, digital humanities and archives
areas. He completed his PhD this year at
the University of Toronto. His dissertation,
“Everyday Data,” explored local and community information practices in the period
just before personal computing. He earned
his MA in the humanities and social thought
program at New York University. For the
past five years he has taught in the University
of Toronto’s Department of History and
within the American studies program at
the Munk School of Global Affairs.
Farzan most recently held a postdoctoral research position with the Human
Computer Institute’s social computing lab
at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2009, she
earned her PhD in Pitt’s intelligent systems
program. Her research interests include
socialization of newcomers, participation
and commitment in online communities,
social navigation and social information
filtering, social web technologies, personalized information access and communitybased user modeling.
School of Medicine
Nathan Yates is a new associate professor of cell biology in the School of
Medicine and director of the Biomedical
Mass Spectrometry Center for the Schools
of the Health Sciences. Yates, a chemist,
comes to the University from Merck and
Co., where he most recently was scientific
director of the molecular biomarker laboratory in the Division of Exploratory and
Translational Sciences. His research area
is the application of mass spectroscopy for
the detection, diagnosis and treatment of
disease and integration of technologies to
simplify the analysis of clinical samples.
School of Nursing
Denise Charron-Prochownik is the
new chair of the Department of Health
Promotion and Development. Cynthia
Danford has joined the department as an
assistant professor.
In the Department of Acute and Tertiary
Care, Annette De Vito Dabbs has been
appointed chair and Paula Sherwood has
been named vice chair for research. Susan
Miller and Elizabeth Crago have joined
the department as assistant professors.
Mijung Park has joined the Department
Aimee C. Rosenbaum
11
What’s new
of Health and Community Systems as an
assistant professor.
School of Pharmacy
Irene Gathuru joined the school in the
spring as an instructor in the Department of
Pharmacy and Therapeutics and scientific
director of the department’s program evaluation and research unit program. She earned
her bachelor’s degree from the University
of Nevada-Reno and her master’s degree in
public health and PhD in chronic disease
epidemiology at Pitt. Her doctoral research
focused on socio-environmental risk factors
of obstructive lung disease.
She recently was accepted into the
RAMP to K program, a mentoring program
for junior faculty to become independently
funded researchers. Her research is focused
on health disparities and asthma management in adolescents.
James Coons joined the faculty this
summer as an associate professor in the
Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics. After receiving a PharmD at
Pitt in 2000, he completed a residency
in pharmacy practice at the University of
Virginia Health System before completing a
specialty residency in cardiology pharmacy
practice at Pitt.
He has worked as a clinical pharmacy
specialist in cardiology at Allegheny General Hospital.
His research will focus on the optimal
use of antiplatelets and anticoagulants in
the setting of acute coronary syndromes
and percutaneous coronary intervention.
Shilpa Sant joins the school as an
Pharmaceutical Sciences. She was a Ruth
Kirschstein NRSA interdisciplinary training fellow at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard and
the Center for Bioengineering at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Sant received a PhD in pharmaceutical technology from the University of
Montreal. Her bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and master’s degree in
pharmacology are from the University of
Mumbai.
Her post-doctoral research involved
fabrication of functionalized bioinspired
materials and scaffolds applicable for heart
valve and tooth germ tissue engineering.
She will continue to work on functionalized biomaterials and microfabrication
technologies to develop in vitro 3-D tissue
models for drug discovery and the study of
pathophysiology of disease as well as drug
delivery approaches for disease treatment
and regenerative medicine.
Vinayak Sant also has been named an
Pharmaceutical Sciences. He completed
his BS in pharmaceutical sciences and MS
in pharmaceutics at the University of Pune,
India. He earned a PhD in pharmaceutics at
the University of Mumbai, with specialization in novel drug delivery systems. He did
postdoctoral research in nanotechnology
for solubility and bioavailability enhancement at the University of Montreal.
He has nine years of industrial experience with expertise in novel oral and
parenteral dosage form development,
nano/microparticulate delivery systems for
solubility enhancement and cGMP manufacturing for IND/NDA filings.
He will be responsible for the non-thesis
based master’s program in pharmaceutical
sciences.
School of Social Work
Catherine (Katie) Greeno, a member
of the faculty since 1999, has been named
associate dean for research. Greeno’s
research has aimed to bridge the gap
between academic knowledge and community practice. Her current studies focus on
long-term outcomes for people discharged
12
from a long-stay state psychiatric hospital
as part of its closure, and the implementation of reformed standards for case management for mental health consumers in
Allegheny County. She holds a doctorate
from Stanford.
Former associate dean for research Hide
Yamatani has been named director of the
newly created Office of Strategic Planning
and Quality Assurance. Yamatani’s responsibilities include leading efforts related to the
school’s deficit, asset and momentum maintenance management, and optimization
of learning outcomes and benefit-equity
among various student groups, such as:
regional/main campus, full- and part-time,
age, gender, racial/ethnic groups.
Keith Caldwell has been named
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work program
director. He was the school’s director of
career services and alumni affairs, with
teaching responsibilities in both the BASW
and MSW programs. His areas of interest
include nonprofit management, community
practice and cultural competency.
Swanson School of Engineering
Cheryl Bodnar, grants developer in
the school, has joined the faculty of the
Department of Chemical and Petroleum
Engineering in a non-tenure stream
teaching position. She earned a PhD in
chemical engineering at the University of
Calgary. Bodnar also will be involved with
the department’s undergraduate programs,
including undergraduate advising, and in
the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology accreditation process.
Steven R. Little has been appointed
chair of the Department of Chemical and
Petroleum Engineering. He is an associate
professor and Bicentennial Alumni Faculty
Fellow, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Immunology.
New faculty in engineering include:
• Bryan Brown, a visiting assistant
professor in the Department of Bioengineering. He comes from Cornell, where he
was a research associate in clinical sciences
and biomedical engineering. Brown earned
his BS in mechanical engineering and his
PhD in bioengineering at Pitt.
• Hai (Helen) Li and Thomas E.
McDermott are new assistant professors in
the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering.
Li received bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from Tsinghua University, China,
and earned her PhD at Purdue. She worked
for Qualcomm, Intel and Seagate Technology before joining the faculty at Polytechnic Institute of New York as an assistant
professor. Her research interests include
architecture/circuit/device co-optimization
for green computing systems, emerging
memory design, neuromorphic hardware
and 3-D integration technology and design.
McDermott specializes in circuit simulation, electric power distribution systems,
distributed wind and solar integration,
lightning protection, power quality and
power electronics applications.
He also is president of MelTran, a
Pittsburgh-based power system consulting
company. He specializes in applied R&D
for distribution systems and smart grid
applications, distributed resource interconnection, custom software development
and electromagnetic transient studies. He
holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a PhD
from Virginia Tech.
• Gelsy Torres-Oviedo is assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering and part of the Center for the Neural
Basis of Cognition at Pitt. She obtained
her BS degree in physics at the University
of Texas-Austin and a PhD in biomedical
engineering at The Georgia Institute of
Technology and Emory University. She was
a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins.
Her research is focused on motor adaptation of locomotion and balance control
in humans, considering both the plasticity
of the brain and the role of biomechanics
in movement. She is particularly interested
in the adaptability of muscle coordination
during motor learning tasks, especially in
patients with cortical lesions.
• Cheryl A. Bodnar is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and
Petroleum Engineering. She has worked as
an educational training manager with the
University Health Network in Toronto,
creating summer training program activities for undergraduate students, scientific
and professional development workshops
for graduate students and post-doctoral
fellows, and coordinating a variety of public
and K-12 outreach initiatives. She holds
certification as a training and development
professional from the Canadian Society for
Training and Development.
Bodnar’s research interests relate to the
incorporation of active learning techniques
such as problem-based learning, games and
simulations in undergraduate classes as well
as integration of innovation and entrepreneurship into the chemical and petroleum
engineering curriculum.
In addition, she is actively engaged in
the development of a variety of informal science education approaches with the goal of
exciting and teaching K-12 students about
regenerative medicine and its potential.
• Paolo Zunino is a new faculty member
in mechanical engineering and materials
science. He earned his master’s degree in
aerospace engineering at Politecnico di
Milano and a PhD in applied mathematics
at the Ecole Polytecnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He served as an assistant professor
in applied mathematics, numerical analysis
and scientific computing at Politecnico di
Milano, 2005-11.
Zunino’s scientific activity is focused on
the development of mathematical models
and numerical approximation methods and
their application to engineering and life
sciences. He has worked on biochemical
transport in the cardiovascular system and,
more recently, on controlled drug release.
New staff in the Swanson School of
Engineering include: Janet L. Littrell,
director of distance learning; Paul A.
Kovach, director of marketing and communications; Leslie Karon-Oswalt, senior
graphic designer, and Matthew Manzo,
senior web designer.
In bioengineering, Lindsay Rodzwicz
has been named administrator of the Coul-
Aimee C. Rosenbaum
ter program. She oversees the program’s
administration, budgets, marketing and
development.
Research engineer Jarad Prinkey has
joined the engineering school staff to build,
repair and design data collection software
in the Augmented Human Performance
Laboratory, the Human Movement and
Balance Laboratory, the Medical Virtual
Reality Center and other labs. Alexis Nolfi joined the tissue mechanics laboratory of Steve Abramowitch as
a research technician in May. She has
bachelor’s degrees in bioengineering and
psychology from Pitt.
New staff in the vascular bioengineering laboratory of David Vorp are: Deb
Cleary, who provides both administrative
and laboratory support for the department
related to Vorp’s lab; researcher Joe Pichamuthu, who has undertaken responsibilities related to the management and other
essential functions of the lab, and manager
Jayashree Rao, who is responsible for the
lab’s day-to-day functions.
Titusville campus
Jeff Ledebur has been named director
of the Learning Center. He most recently
was the community service coordinator at
Westminster College.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in school
counseling at Westminster.
Ledebur is the first full-time director
of the center, which offers students assistance in writing, mathematics, reading
comprehension, study skills, goal setting,
note taking, test taking strategies and time
management. Hours at the center have been
expanded to 37.5 hours per week.
New faculty on the campus include:
assistant professor of sociology Matilda
Spencer, who earned her MS in administration of justice at Shippensburg University; visiting instructor of psychology
Laura Terwilliger, who earned her MA in
clinical psychology at Edinboro University;
assistant professor of biology Robin Choo,
whose PhD in toxicology is from the University of Maryland, and interim director
of nursing Louise Schwabenbauer, whose
MS in nursing is from Edinboro/Slippery
Rock/Clarion universities.
University Honors College
Ryan Gayman joins the UHC staff as
the community engagement adviser for
undergraduate students. This new position connects students’
academic interests to opportunities that
will impact the University, local, national
and/or international communities. While
an undergraduate at Pitt, Gayman was
a Student Government Board member
and worked in the Student Organization Resource Center. In 2012, he won
the Humanity in Action Fellowship and
received his BA degree with a double major
in anthropology and urban studies.
University Library System
Jennifer Chan is the 2011-12 Diversity
Fellow in the University Library System’s
Office of Scholarly Communication and
Publishing.
Prior to pursuing her MLIS degree at
Pitt, she worked in the Jefferson Parish
(Louisiana) Library system as a library
associate. She holds bachelor’s degrees in
political science and international studies
from Louisiana State University. Also at ULS, David Grinnell has joined
the Archives Service Center as a reference
and access archivist. He has 13 years of
experience at the Heinz History Center,
where he held several positions including
chief archivist.
Grinnell earned a bachelor’s degree in
history from Albion College and completed
his MLIS degree at Pitt.
n
AUGUST 30, 2012
PLACES
The Office of Facilities Management has been overseeing several projects.
Among them:
• A 3,500-square-foot renovation of
the Chevron Science Center has modernized instructional chemistry space to
accommodate both organic chemistry and
general chemistry. The renovation includes
replacement of an inefficient laboratory
ventilation system with a heating ventilating and air conditioning system tailored
to the research needs of the classroom.
Similar to renovations on other floors in
Chevron, previously wasted circulation
areas have been reclaimed to expand the
teaching areas. Energy/water conserving
upgrades and American with Disabilities
Act improvements were included.
• The third and seventh floors of Benedum Hall have been renovated as part of
a multi-year project that is expected to be
completed by March.
The third floor hosts the Department of
Bioengineering, several smart classrooms,
a distance-learning classroom and the new
music engineering laboratory.
A 19,000-square-foot area of the seventh
floor been renovated for the Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering. This
floor consists of wet labs, undergraduate
instructional and computer labs and offices.
Benedum Hall was among the winners
of the 2011 Master Builders’ Association
Building Excellence Awards, presented
earlier this year. It captured the Renovation Construction Over $10 Million category. The project contractor was Volpatt
Construction; project architect was Edge
Studios.
The building’s renovation and expansion, including the construction of the
Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, was one of the 2011 recipients of the
Design Pittsburgh Award, presented by
the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Pittsburgh.
The sub-basement is being renovated to
house mechanical engineering and materials science labs.
• A large retaining wall was completed
recently on the site of the Salk Hall
renovation and addition project. The
81,000-square-foot, six-story addition is
scheduled for completion in 2014.
The School of Dental Medicine’s
Center for Craniofacial Regeneration
and the School of Pharmacy’s Center
for Pharmacogenetics and Center for
Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences will
benefit from the additional research and
administrative space, the open “ballroom”
laboratory plan and contiguous linear
equipment corridor, as well as conference
rooms, faculty offices and ancillary support space.
q
A $4.6 million project to add 9,000
square feet of space to the existing dining
facility in the J. Curtis McKinney II Student Union on the Pitt-Titusville campus
is approximately 80 percent complete.
The expansion at the student union will
replace the facilities at Ball Hall. This project will provide much needed multiple-use
space to accommodate a variety of campus
events and activities. The expected opening date is Jan. 4.
q
Krebs Hall, one of Pitt-Johnstown’s
original academic buildings, underwent a
$2 million renovation this summer, its first
major renovation since its construction 45
years ago.
As part of the project, 42 offices were
constructed or reconfigured in order to
cluster offices and classrooms by department and 11 classrooms were reconstructed
or converted into technology-ready classrooms featuring the latest in instructional
technology.
UPJ’s campus police moved into new
quarters constructed over the summer. The
new 1,100-square-foot location provides
office space for the unit sergeants, a dispatch station, interview room and improved
technology resources.
q
Brackenridge Hall has become the
third honors residence hall. It will accommodate 210 undergraduate students, mostly
sophomores and juniors. q
Renovation of the upper floor in the
Health Sciences Library System’s Falk
Library is underway, with completion
scheduled for early October. The library will be painted and recarpeted, with new spaces for group study and
collaboration. The project will result in four group
study rooms, a computer classroom, a relocated technology help desk and space for the
staff of the National Network of Libraries
of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region. q
The English Language Institute will
begin the new year in a newly renovated
facility in the Parkvale Building at the
corner of Forbes and Meyran avenues. The
new space expands ELI’s instructional footprint with additional classrooms, including a
dedicated lab for delivery of a custom-built
curriculum of computer-based instruction,
as well as amenities including a student
lounge and kitchen.
q
Pitt-Bradford’s Kessel Athletic Com-
plex has undergone a $2.7 million renovation to replace the softball field. The work
includes new fencing, scoreboard, dugouts,
press box, concessions, restrooms, stadium
lighting and a paved parking lot for the
softball and baseball fields. In addition, a
locker room facility was built.
UPB’s Hanley Library has added an
area to house the campus’s Academic Advising Center, Writing Center and Academic
Success Center.
q
A new biosafety facility has been completed in the Department of Biological
Sciences to allow researchers to study
infectious agents such as tuberculosis and
dengue virus.
Also, a state-of-the-art butterfly habitat
was completed in Crawford Hall for the
research of Nate Morehouse. This USDAapproved facility is the first of its kind on
campus for the breeding and study of exotic
butterflies.
q
Lecture halls in 123 and 129 Victoria Building received major renovations
through funding from the University classroom committee. Seating in both rooms was
increased by at least 20 percent, enabling
increased capacity for the growing nursing
school class demands. Lecture hall room 125 also is being
updated.
q
Pitt-Greensburg will dedicate its
sustainable office and classroom building,
Above: The renovated softball field on the Bradford campus.
Frank A. Cassell Hall, at 11 a.m. Sept. 5.
Named in honor of the third president of the UPG campus, the two-story,
16,500-square-foot building is designed
to realize 30 percent annual energy savings
and reduce water usage by 50 percent. A
silver LEED designation for this building
is anticipated and would be the first such
LEED certification on campus.
UPG’s Computing Services and
Telecommunications, Media and
Instructional Technology Services and
education department will be the main
tenants in Cassell Hall.
The building will house a computer lab
for 80 students; a student lounge; computer
and distance learning classrooms; faculty
and staff offices; space for computer support
and media and instructional technological
services, and academic training rooms.
Also at UPG, a digital media lab has
been established at Millstein Library for
use by students, faculty and staff. Funded by an R.K. Mellon grant and
the Carl Poke Endowment, the multimedia
lab contains Dell Optiplex 900 computers
with Adobe Creative Master Suite CS6;
an HP color laserjet printer; a 42-inch
HP DesignJet printer; an HP ScanJet G4;
Sony and Canon video and digital cameras;
a Korg M5061 keyboard with Mixcraft5;
tripods, audio and lighting equipment and
headphones. Equipment may be borrowed
for three days. For more information, go to
www.library.pitt.edu/green/digitalmedia.
html.
n
Alan Hancock
Below: The Salk Hall renovation/addition project.
N.J. Brown
13
What’s new
The Katz Graduate School of Business MBA curriculum has been revised.
The program offers include flexibility in
the core curriculum that enables students
to take more electives in their area of concentration or in a certificate program by
requiring fewer core courses.
The program’s management simulation
incorporates experience-based learning,
globalism and team leadership skills.
New certificates include global management; corporate valuation; corporate
financial management; investments and
trading, and project management. A digital marketing certificate is expected to be
launched in the spring.
q
Pitt-Greensburg’s athletic department has launched a new web site.
Powered by Sidearm Sports, it is designed
to showcase UPG’s NCAA Division III
athletic teams and provide a more interactive experience. New features include a fan
zone with links to the Athletics YouTube
Channel, Facebook, Twitter, live video
broadcast and photo galleries. Bobcat fans
may access the athletics web site by visiting http://pittgreensburgathletics.com/
index.aspx.
q
The Department of Religious Studies
is offering four new courses this term:
• “Religious Themes in American Literature,” taught by M. Cooper Harriss,
focuses on two related themes: hauntedness
(ghosts as well as seemingly inescapable
legacies, destinies or inheritances) and
nothingness, which characterizes religious
speculations about the uncertainty of what
resides (or does not reside) beyond the
limits of human perception, knowledge
and understanding.
• “Jerusalem — History and Imagination,” taught by Jason von Ehrenkrook,
focuses on the city that remains both a
2012 freshman convocation at The Pete.
14
magnet for cultic devotion and an epicenter
of religious conflict.
• “Jews and the City,” taught by Rachel
Kranson, traces the 19th-century Eastern
European Jewish diaspora to urban destinations around the world.
• “Guide for the Perplexed,” taught
by Tony Edwards, examines 12th-century
Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides’s
work, “The Guide for the Perplexed.” The
book influenced thinkers such as Aquinas,
Spinoza, Leibniz and Newton, and is valued
for its insight into questions of religion and
rationality.
q
Women’s studies senior lecturer and
undergraduate adviser Frayda Cohen led
the Pitt-in-China program during the
6-week-2 summer session. It is the first
time the PIC program was led by a faculty
member from women’s studies and conducted in Beijing.
q
The women’s studies program will
mark its 40th anniversary in October with
a series of lectures and events. A complete
schedule will be posted at www.wstudies.
pitt.edu/.
Launched in 1972, the program was
among the earliest in the nation. Today,
students can earn graduate and undergraduate certificates in the Study of Women,
Gender and Sexuality through women’s
studies courses as well as gender courses
offered by the 60 affiliated faculty members
from diverse disciplines throughout the
University. The program supports faculty
and student research projects and sponsors
the Iris Marion Young Award for Political
Engagement.
q
The Jewish studies program is coordinating the public programming for The
Squirrel Hill Project, a one-year initiative
featuring community events and academic
projects.
The series is funded through a grant
from Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project, directed by the Association for Jewish
Studies, and additional support from the
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh,
the Giant Eagle Endowment for Community Outreach in the Jewish Studies
Program, the Heinz History Center and
the Jewish Community Center.
Events are part of the calendar at www.
jewishstudies.pitt.edu.
Pitt and CMU history and Jewish studies faculty member Barbara Burstin will
present the lecture “When the Jews Met
the Squirrels: Origins and Overview,” at
6 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Jewish Community
Center, Squirrel Hill.
q
The Department of Computer Science is involved in two new initiatives to
increase diversity. It has become a bronze
sponsor of the 2012 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women and Computing and
now is an academic alliance member of the
National Center for Women & Information Technology, a coalition that works to
increase diversity in IT and computing.
The academic alliance consists of more
than 400 representatives from the computer
science and IT departments of nearly 200
colleges and universities across the country.
q
The University Honors College
has expanded its Brackenridge summer
undergraduate research program into
the fall and spring terms. The inaugural
group of fall Brackenridge Fellows had
37 members, and the program ran again
in the spring with 39 Fellows. Students
received $800 for the term and academic
credit, and they attended seminar-style
presentations and discussions of student
and faculty research.
q
The School of Social Work’s continuing education program will offer a training series on advocacy and lobbying
for nonprofit organizations on Friday
mornings in September. Alumnus and
human services executive David Coplan
and guest presenters will help nonprofit
organizations to engage in effective public
policy advocacy and lobbying on behalf of
their missions and the people they serve,
as well as support them in better engaging
their board and constituencies in those
advocacy and lobbying efforts.
Information is online at www.socialwork.pitt.edu/alumni/continuingeducation.
The School of Social Work BASW
program is introducing The Browne
leadership fellows program, an interdisciplinary fellowship aimed at preparing
students to be engaged civic leaders working
for economic and social justice. Students
from all disciplines may apply.
The fellowship will run each spring and
summer term. In spring students enroll
in a monthly 1-credit seminar to discuss
social justice and policy issues with regional
experts and their course instructor.
During the summer term, students
will have internships in communities and
neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh region
and will receive a $3,000 stipend to cover
living costs.
q
The Pitt-Johnstown athletics program has accepted an invitation to join the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
and will begin competition in the PSAC
during the 2013-14 athletic season. The PSAC is the largest one-state conference in the National Collegiate Athletic
Association. It is also the largest conference
in NCAA Division II. With the addition of
UPJ and Seton Hill University, PSAC now
has 18 member schools. Joe Kapelewski/CIDDE
AUGUST 30, 2012
THINGS
UPJ will field women’s teams in basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor
track and field, soccer and volleyball and
men’s teams in baseball, basketball, golf,
soccer and wrestling.
UPJ currently is a member of the West
Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which it joined in 2007. In June, nine
football-playing members of the WVIAC
announced they would be leaving the league
to form their own conference, creating the
opportunity for Pitt-Johnstown to pursue
other conference options. q
On Aug. 26 Pitt-Titusville dedicated
the Serenity House and the Walter
Scott Kriner Family Scholarship Fund
in memory of former UPT student Scott
Kriner, who died in 2009. Kriner attended UPT 1972-74 then
graduated from the Pittsburgh campus
in 1976 before beginning a career in the
insurance business. He served on the PittTitusville Alumni Association Board and
the Pitt Alumni Association’s Regional
Board of Directors. Kriner’s bequest renovated the former
summer house on the UPT campus. Now
the Serenity House, the building will be
used for student organization meetings,
campus gatherings and small study groups. q
The Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education is
offering workshops to support the needs
of adjunct faculty. Details are at www.
cidde.pitt.edu/teaching/adjunct-facultyresources.
Other new CIDDE workshops for the
fall term are listed at www.cidde.pitt.edu/
workshops.
Information on CIDDE’s fall book
discussion and a special workshop on the
POGIL method of teaching will be posted
at www.cidde.pitt.edu. q
The School of Nursing MSN informatics program will be offered through
Pitt Online starting this fall.
Nursing informatics blends aspects
of cognitive science, computer science,
information science and nursing science
to develop, analyze and evaluate information systems augmented by technology to
support and enhance the management of
patient care.
q
Plastic surgery has been granted
department status at the School of
Medicine, completing its evolution from a
division under the Department of Surgery.
The new department, launched in July, is
led by J. Peter Rubin.
q
Under an agreement between China’s
Tsinghua University and the School
of Medicine, 21 Tsinghua MD and PhD
students arrived in Pittsburgh in August.
As part of their education in Tsinghua’s
experimental eight-year curriculum, these
students will spend two years in Pittsburgh
for training in biomedical research.
While the focus of this collaboration is
on the students, Pitt and Tsinghua faculty
members also will be able to apply to spend
up to a year at each other’s institution as
visiting scholars.
q
Beginning with the 2012-13 academic
year, student opinion of teaching surveys will be available for administration
online. The surveys will be administered
exclusively online starting in 2013-14.
Detailed information is at omet.pitt.edu. q
The School of Information Sciences
will have more than 30 students enrolled
in the first cohort of its Master of Library
and Information Science (MLIS) program through Pitt Online. The school,
which has offered an online version of its
ALA-accredited MLIS degree program for
more than a decade, has transitioned the
program to the University’s Pitt Online
delivery system.
Support services have been designed to
provide a learning environment through
virtual access to the University’s comprehensive digital library, to a wide range of
instructional materials and to advising. For
more information about the program, visit
www.ischool.pitt.edu/online-mlis/.
q
The School of Information Sciences
will co-sponsor an international conference
on collaborative computing, CollaborateCom 2012, Oct. 14-17 in Pittsburgh.
The event is an international forum
for academic and industrial researchers,
practitioners and students interested in
collaborative networking; technology and
systems, and applications. Faculty member
James Joshi is the conference’s general chair
and a member of the steering committee.
Faculty member Konstantinos Pelechrinis and PhD student Amirreza Masoumzadeh are members of the conference’s
organizing committee.
For information visit http://collaboratecom.org/2012/show/home.
q
The Computational Chemical
Genomics Screening Center has been
approved with Xiang-Qun (Sean) Xie as
its founding director.
The center’s goal is to build a research/
teaching platform and collaboration services by providing new exploratory computational tools/algorithms and chemical
libraries resources in a chemical genomics
scale for in-silico drug design and discovery.
The objective is the more rapid identification of novel drug-like molecules, lead
compounds and their associated biological
targets.
The center will promote interdisciplinary research.
q
Two new areas of concentration have
been approved in the Doctor of Pharmacy
program:
The Area of Concentration in Research
(ARCO- RES) exposes students to research
fundamentals and aims to cultivate an
appreciation for clinical and translational
research. It positions students as candidates
for formal post-PharmD research education
and training in PhD or fellowship programs.
ARCO-RES is led by the faculty team of
Tom D. Nolin, Samuel M. Poloyac, Kerry
M. Empey and Philip E. Empey.
The Area of Concentration in Global
Health (ARCO-GH) exposes students to
global health problems and aims to develop
cultural sensitivity and basic knowledge of
international health systems and agencies.
Students have the opportunity to participate
in internships and rotations in Africa, the
Caribbean, South America and Asia, and in
special projects in the United States.
ARCO-GH is led by the faculty team
of Sharon Connor, M. Margaret Folan,
Heather Johnson, Lauren Jonkman and
Raman Venkataramanan.
q
Pharmacy now offers a non-thesis
Master of Science in Pharmaceutical
Sciences. The degree program, which is
designed to be completed in one year, was
developed to meet demand for advanced
knowledge by graduates seeking positions
in the pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics, industrial pharmacy, government
regulatory agencies and university-based
laboratories.
Faculty members Vinayak Sant and
Maggie Folan will lead the program.
q
For the third year in a row, Pitt-Johnstown has been named to the President’s
Higher Education Community Service
Honor Roll.
Serenity House on the Titusville campus.
The honor roll, administered through
the Corporation for National and Community Service, is the highest federal
recognition that a college or university can
receive for its commitment to volunteering,
service-learning and civic engagement.
During the 2010-11 academic year,
the period for which the school is being
recognized, UPJ students, faculty and
staff performed more than 11,500 hours
of service.
q
The Swanson School of Engineering
has launched several new web sites including: the Center for Medical Innovation
at engineering.pitt.edu/cmi; the Coulter
Translational Research Partners II Program
at engineering.pitt.edu/coulter; the Electric
Power Industry Conference at engineering.
pitt.edu/epic; the Engineering Education
Research Center at engineering.pitt.edu/
eerc, and the nuclear engineering program
at engineering.pitt.edu/nuclear.
q
The Swanson School of Engineering has been named the top-ranked U.S.
school in the percentage of doctoral
degrees awarded to women in engineering, with 38.6 percent.
The rankings, based on 2010-11 data,
were released earlier this month in the
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2010-11 Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges.
Pitt had been second in the two previous
annual reports.
In the most recent ranking, Pitt was
followed by Johns Hopkins, the University
of California-Santa Cruz, the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst, Stevens Institute
of Technology and Penn.
q
The new G. Alec Stewart Prize for
junior undergraduate students will be
awarded in recognition of the founding
dean of the University Honors College.
The qualities to be considered include
academic attainment, generosity of spirit
and participation in UHC courses and/or
research programs.
q
Beginning this fall, the Office of
Career Development and Placement
Assistance (CDPA) will offer an internship guarantee. This provost-sponsored
initiative guarantees students who complete the internship preparation program
and related requirements placement in at
least one internship or other experiential
learning opportunity such as research, lab
experience or co-op. The internship preparation program
begins with an hour-long group session in
which networking, resume, interview and
internship search skills will be presented
and practiced. Participants then meet with
a career consultant for a resume review and
a mock interview where they will receive
individualized feedback. q
This year, the University Center for
International Studies’ certificate in West
European studies program plans to begin
advertising tracks in contemporary European history and politics and Irish studies.
q
The European Union Center of
Excellence/European Studies Center has
begun publication of a series of freestanding anonymously refereed scholarly papers
devoted to the European Union.
The first of the Pittsburgh Papers,
released Aug. 15, is “The Shaping of EUMercosur Relations” by Carolyn Dudek of
Hofstra University.
The series, edited by Alberta Sbragia,
vice provost for Graduate Studies, is published electronically through the University
Library System. Papers are available free
of charge.
q
Beginning in the spring 2013 term,
the Department of French and Italian
Languages and Literatures and the Study
Abroad Office will offer a semester-long
study-abroad program in Florence, Italy.
Run by faculty member Dennis Looney,
the Pitt in Florence program offers both
Pitt and non-Pitt students an opportunity
to earn credits in a variety of subjects, with
instruction in both English and Italian.
For information visit www.abroad.pitt.
edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.
ViewProgram&Program_
ID=11361&Type=O&sType=O.
Summer “Panther program” offerings
in Italy will expand to two sites this year,
Rome and Turin.
q
The computer science department
recently concluded its technology leadership initiative that provided underrepresented and underserved students in
grades 7-11 with opportunities, tools and
motivation needed to pursue computer
science-related degrees and excel academically, socially and professionally. Students
learned how to write code, build a web
15
What’s new
site, build and program a robot, as well as
disassemble and reassemble a computer.
“A Taste of Wine and Research” is
a new event designed for computer science alumni, faculty, graduate students
and industry advisory board members to
network while enjoying wine and hors
d’oeuvres. Faculty will discuss their current
research. The event will be held 6-8 p.m.
Oct. 12 in Sennott Square.
q
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare
Training Program has changed its
name to The Pennsylvania Child Welfare
Resource Center (CWRC). Over the years,
the program has grown by expanding
components such as organizational effectiveness, family and youth engagement,
transfer of learning, continuous quality
improvement, and research and evaluation. The new name aims to enhance the
additional efforts the program staff facilitate and deliver for the Pennsylvania child
welfare system.
The CWRC has created a new online
curriculum series, child advocacy studies, to
develop awareness and knowledge among
current and future child advocates of the
various factors that lead to child maltreatment as well as to promote collaboration
among various professional disciplines.
Information on CWRC is available at
www.pacwrc.pitt.edu/.
q
Ricoh USA has been selected as the
University’s preferred service provider
for managed print services (MPS). Ricoh
will be working with individual departments
to assess current use and needs.
The MPS program includes copiers,
scanners, printers, fax and wide-format
printers and will employ the most current
document output strategies and multiple
image device equipment. The devices are
expected to reduce departments’ copying
and printing costs while improving operating efficiency.
q
Alumna Hali Felt, author of “Soundings:
The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who
Mapped the Ocean Floor,” will offer two
non-credit undergraduate workshops on
science writing for the general public and
how to incorporate archival research into
science writing. Workshops are sponsored
by the Academic Resource Center. For
information, call 8-7920.
q
Frank Tuitt, associate professor of
higher education and associate provost
for inclusive excellence at the University
of Denver, is scheduled to be the keynote
speaker at the Dietrich School of Arts and
Sciences’ third annual African-American
Student Retention Symposium. The
event is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 14.
q
The exhibition “Faces to Names:
225 Years of Pitt Chancellors’ Portraits
(1787-2012)” will be presented at the
University Art Gallery in the Frick Fine
Arts Building Sept. 11-Oct. 14.
q
The Pitt-Bradford alumni association
has a new web site at www.upbalumni.
org. PBAA Online allows alumni to post
updates to class notes, jobs and internships;
look for, register and pay for events; find
friends and classmates; request a transcript;
follow Pitt-Bradford news or sign up for the
alumni email newsletter, Panther Tracks.
q
The Internet bandwidth capacity for
faculty and staff has been doubled on the
Pittsburgh campus. To support delivery of
advanced network services, PittNet connections to campus buildings have been
upgraded to handle 10GB.
q
Computing Services and Systems
Development is offering Enterprise
16
Digital Signage software to University
departments for the creation and management of digital signs. The software allows
departments to publish almost any type
of content, including video, web pages,
PowerPoint slides, maps, Twitter feeds,
live data, PDFs and more. Departments
can publish content to their own digital
signs and then share that content on other
departments’ digital signs.
q
Students, faculty and staff can purchase
iMovie, Keynote, Pages and other Apple
mobile device apps at a discounted price.
University departments also can purchase
Apple desktop apps directly through Software Distribution Services at a discount
when ordering quantities of 20 or more.
Visit technology.pitt.edu for details.
q
The new Faculty Information System
provides a secure, web-based resource
for creating annual reports, CVs, online
profiles and other documents important to
academic careers. It also provides a simple
way to search for faculty colleagues based
on research interests. Log in to my.pitt.edu
and click the Faculty Information System
link to get started.
q
In response to suggestions, new selfservice printing stations will be added in
the William Pitt Union, Sennott Square,
Posvar Hall, Bruce Hall, Bouquet Gardens,
Ruskin Hall and Forbes Hall. An additional
self-service printing station will be added at
Litchfield Towers, and a Sutherland Hall
station will be moved from the computing
lab to the main lobby. q
The Graduate School of Public
Health has chosen “Silent Spring” by
Rachel Carson as its One Book, One Community selection for the 2012-13 academic
year. “Silent Spring” was first published 50
years ago, and the public outcry following
its release is credited with sparking serious
environmental change.
q
GSPH has added two certificate
programs: The certificate in health care
systems engineering and associated MHA
degree prepares students for employment
in roles such as health care manager, health
systems analyst, health care information
technology consultant and technology
implementation specialist.
The certificate in health systems leadership and management encompasses coursework in health care finance, health policy
analysis, quality assessment and the strategic
management of health care organizations.
q
University purchasers have a new
procurement system that will be rolled
out University-wide over the next year.
The PantherBuy procurement system has
been expanded and earlier this month was
renamed the PantherExpress System.
Starting in September, the system will
be implemented in several pilot departments with other departments transitioning
over time.
New features include:
• A single sign-on point from www.
my.pitt.edu.
• One-stop shopping and payment
request.
• The ability to submit special orders,
quotes and blanket orders.
• The ability to submit attachments
online.
Updates and more details on the changes
are at www.cfo.pitt.edu/pexpress/expansion.php.
The expansion is the result of a yearlong project that included representatives
from 25 of the largest departments that
use PRISM and PantherBuy in conjunction with the PantherBuy team, Payment
Processing and Purchasing Services.
q
Athletics has launched the Pitt Live
Wire blog (www.pittsburghpanthers.com/
blog/). Updated daily, the blog includes
Pitt Athletics news and behind-the-scenes
footage and information.
q
The Department of Computer Science will offer a new introductory course,
“Computers, Sustainability,” in the spring.
The course encourages students to describe,
interpret and evaluate the impact of computer technology on the environment.
q
A new major in mathematical biology will help students develop expertise in
thinking mathematically about biological
systems. Students will acquire fundamental
skills in mathematical analysis and simulation, specialized experience in mathematical
modeling in biology and neuroscience and
knowledge of particular areas of biology. These tools will prepare students to
participate in undergraduate research and
to go on to use quantitative methods in
biotechnology, medicine and other fields.
q
The music department has several
new courses:
• “Animal Musicality: Sound, Science,
and Posthuman Aesthetics,” taught by
Rachel Mundy, explores the way musical
ideas about sound have shaped enduring definitions of what it means to be an
“animal.”
• “Music and Materiality,” taught by
Gavin Steingo, examines music’s materiality from perspectives including Marxism,
organology, science and technology studies,
anthropology of the senses, ecomusicology
and actor-network-theory.
• Emily Zazulia will lead the course
“Reason, Ritual and Representation.”
The class explores music of the 15th and
16th centuries, emphasizing changing
approaches to composition, expression and
aesthetics.
n
Aimee C. Rosenbaum
AUGUST 30, 2012
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
Dietrich faculty
get grants
• Kristin Kanthak and Jonathan Woon of political science
have received a two-year $246,717
award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their
project, “Women Don’t Run: An
Experimental Analysis of Gender
and the Choice to Represent.” They will investigate the
extent to which differences in
behavioral decision-making helps
to account for the differences in
relative frequencies that men and
women enter politics and run for
public office.
• Christopher Bonneau of
political science has received a
$5,161 NSF award to conduct
a workshop on “The Normative Implications of Empirical
Research in Law and Courts.” The workshop will focus on
judicial selection/retention; judicial decision-making; the rule of
law; institutional legitimacy, and
race, gender and judging.
• Diane Litman, computer
science, has received a three-year
Institute of Education Sciences
grant for “Intelligent Scaffolding
for Peer Reviews of Writing.”
The award amount is $1,498,939.
GI tumor
research
funded again
For the seventh consecutive year, a researcher from the
University of Pittsburgh Cancer
Institute (UPCI), partner with
UPMC Cancer Center, has
received funding from the GIST
Cancer Research Fund, which
funds research on gastrointestinal
stromal tumors (GISTs). These
tumors occur in the gastrointestinal tract and initially can be
treated with the targeted therapy
drug Gleevec, but rapidly develop
resistance to the treatment.
The $120,000 award will
support the research of Anette
Duensing, pathology faculty
member in the School of Medicine. Duensing’s GIST research
aims to better understand the
biology of GIST responses to
Gleevec, as well as the mechanisms
underlying drug resistance.
This year’s award pushes the
total amount of money Duensing has received from the GIST
Cancer Research Fund to more
than $720,000.
Engineering
awarded grants
• In a first for Pitt, the
Department of Energy (DOE)
has awarded $1.3 million to the
through DOE’s nuclear energy
university programs (NEUP).
The grants will support fellowships and research primarily in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science.
The grant includes $876,422
for computer modeling research
into future generations of hightemperature reactors; $300,000
for a new radiation detection
and measurement laboratory,
and a $155,000 fellowship for a
student pursuing a career in the
nuclear field. In addition, a shared
$599,802 grant with State University of New York-Stony Brook
will help to develop a self-powered
sensing and actuation system for
nuclear reactors in case of major
power failures.
• Jung-Kun Lee of mechanical engineering and materials science has received an NSF grant for
his research into solar cell energy
conversion. The grant, Solid State
Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Using
Tunable Surface Plasmons of
Core-Shell Particles, is $290,724
over three years.
Coulter
program gives
1st grants
Reducing infection post-surgery, regenerating bone, enhancing a surgeon’s delicate touch
and effectively treating gum
disease are the first projects to
receive $340,000 in funding from
the Swanson school’s Coulter
translational research partners II
program.
Created through a $3.54
million grant from the Wallace
H. Coulter Foundation last fall,
the five-year Coulter program
will target development of new
technologies to address unmet
clinical needs. The award from the
Coulter Foundation — one of only
six nationwide — is supplemented
by $1.5 million in matching funds
from the School of Medicine, the
Swanson school and the Office of
Technology Management.
Medical
innovation
center grant
awarded
Pitt’s Center for Medical
Innovation (CMI) has awarded its
first seed grants of $25,000 to two
teams of investigators. Each team
represents a partnership between
the engineering school and the
Schools of the Health Sciences.
The award winners were:
• Carl Snyderman, Department of Otolaryngology and
co-director, UPMC Center for
Cranial Base Surgery, and Jeffrey S. Vipperman, Department
of Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science, for “SafeDrill:
Bi-modal Sensing for Safe and
Efficient Neurosurgical Procedures.”
“SafeDrill” is expected to
reduce the risk of injury to patients
and improve surgical efficiency by
providing information to the physician who must penetrate bone
in order to treat underlying soft
tissue. CMI will fund the analytical
and developmental work needed
to translate the technology into a
clinical instrument.
• Tatum Tarin, Department
of Urology, and Kevin Chen,
Department of Electrical Engineering, for “A New Approach for
Laser Surgery in Kidney.”
Advances in laser optics now
make it possible to employ
extremely compact endoscopes for
diagnostic imaging, tissue characterization and optical ablation
therapy in the kidneys through the
ureters. CMI will fund the early
development of a clinical device
suitable for in vivo studies.
Pitt gets 1st
I-Corps grant
A team from the McGowan
Institute of Regenerative Medicine and the Department of
Bioengineering are launching a
six-month translational research
effort to develop a commercialization strategy for a novel nerve
regeneration treatment. This is
Pitt’s first grant from the National
Science Foundation Innovation
Corps (I-Corps), which provided
$50,000 for the project.
The researchers plan to develop
a business model for an effective
long-gap peripheral nerve repair
system with the potential to successfully repair conditions from
diabetic neuropathy to battlefield
wounds.
Principal investigator is Kacey
G. Marra, a faculty member in
plastic surgery, bioengineering
and the McGowan Institute for
Regenerative Medicine, and the
laboratory director for Pitt’s Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory.
Yen-chih Lin is entrepreneurial
lead on the project. The industrial
mentor is Pratap Khanwilkar,
Coulter program director, faculty
member in the Department of
Bioengineering and executivein-residence with the Office of
Technology Management.
PSC develops
Data Supercell
The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) has developed
a cost-effective, disk-based file
repository and data-management
system called the Data Supercell.
This technology is said to provide
major advantages over traditional
tape-based archiving for largescale datasets.
The PSC team was composed
of Paul Nowoczynski, Jared
Yanovich, Zhihui Zhang, Jason
Sommerfield, J. Ray Scott and
Michael Levine. A patent application is under review.
The Data Supercell is intended
especially to serve users of large
scientific datasets.
Levine and Ralph Roskies,
PSC co-scientific directors, said:
“The Data Supercell is a unique
technology, building on the
increasing cost-effectiveness of
disk storage and the capabilities
of PSC’s SLASH2 file system. It
will go far to enable more efficient,
flexible analyses of very large-scale
datasets.”
Deployment of the Data
Supercell aims to meet expanded
data-storage needs posed by rapid
evolution toward ever larger quantities of data stored and transferred
in many kinds of applications — an
evolution frequently termed “big
data” — including astrophysics,
genomics and vast amounts of
Internet data that can be “mined”
for commercial purposes.
Departments at Pitt, Carnegie
Mellon and Drexel are using the
Data Supercell.
Living in the
moment may
be impossible
“Living in the moment” may
be impossible, according to neuroscientists who have pinpointed
a brain area responsible for using
past decisions and outcomes to
guide future behavior.
The study, published in the
journal Neuron and based on Pitt
research, is the first of its kind to
analyze signals associated with
metacognition — a person’s ability
to monitor and control cognition
(a term described by researchers as
“thinking about thinking.”)
“The brain has to keep track of
decisions and the outcomes they
produce,” said Marc Sommer,
who did his research as a Pitt
neuroscience faculty member and
is now at Duke University. “You
need that continuity of thought.
We are constantly keeping decisions in mind as we move through
life, thinking about other things.”
Sommer worked with Paul
G. Middlebrooks, who received
his PhD in neuroscience at Pitt
last year; he now is a postdoctoral
fellow at Vanderbilt University.
The research team studied single
neurons in vivo in three frontal
cortical regions of the brain: the
frontal eye field (associated with
visual attention and eye movements); the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex (responsible for motor
planning, organization and regulation), and the supplementary
eye field (SEF) involved in the
planning and control of saccadic
eye movements, which are the
extremely fast movements of the
eye that allow it to continually
refocus on an object. Subjects performed a visual
decision-making task that involved
random flashing lights and a
dominant light on a cardboard
square. Participants were asked to
remember and pinpoint where the
dominant light appeared, guessing whether they were correct.
While neural activity correlated
with decisions and guesses in
all three brain areas, the putative metacognitive activity that
linked decisions to bets resided
exclusively in the SEF.
“The SEF is a complex area [of
the brain] linked with motivational
aspects of behavior,” said Sommer.
“If we think we’re going to receive
something good, neuronal activity
tends to be high in SEF. People
want good things in life, and to
keep getting those good things,
they have to compare what’s going
on now versus the decisions made
in the past.”
By studying metacognition,
Sommer said he reduces the big
problem of studying a “train of
thought” into a simpler component: examining how one cognitive process influences another.
“Why aren’t our thoughts
independent of each other? Why
don’t we just live in the moment?
For a healthy person, it’s imposCONTINUED ON PAGE 18
WEDNESDAY
3 OCTOBER
4–7 p.m.
ALUMNI HALL
OPENING EVENTS AND TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
Michael G. Wells Entrepreneurial Scholars Lecture
David L. Lucchino, MS, MBA
Semprus BioSciences
The Entrepreneurial Leap—from MIT to the NYSE
4–5 p.m.
Science Lecture Hall, 3rd floor
Opening Reception and Technology Showcase
5–7 p.m.
J.W. Connolly Ballroom, 1st floor
As a special opening reception for SCIENCE2012—TRANSLATION, the University of
Pittsburgh's 12th annual science and technology showcase, the Office of Enterprise
Development and the Office of Technology Management invite you to join investors and
entrepreneurs from across the region for a first look at exciting, cutting-edge technologies
recently developed at Pitt.
Exhibits will feature new technologies that provide opportunities for licensing and
development of start-up companies.
Michael G. Wells Student Health Care Entrepreneurship Competition
This exciting competition is in its second year as a component of our Technology Showcase.
Seven student finalists will display posters describing their unique technologies. The winner
of the competition will receive $10,000 to further the project toward commercialization.
A 16GB Google Nexus 7 tablet will be given away. Must be present to win.
Information: 412-624-3160
Advance registration:
www.science2012.pitt.edu/register.html
All Science2012 events are free and open to the public.
17
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
sible to live in the moment. It’s a
nice thing to say in terms of seizing
the day and enjoying life, but our
inner lives and experiences are
much richer than that.”
Funding was provided by
Pitt, the joint Pitt-Carnegie
Mellon University Center for
the Neural Basis of Cognition,
the National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH) and the Alfred P.
Sloan Foundation.
Decoy shows
promise as
cancer-fighter
A critical protein that had
been deemed “undruggable” can
be targeted effectively by using
a decoy to fool the body into a
cancer-fighting response, according to researchers at the University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
(UPCI) and the School of Medicine. Results were reported in the
August issue of Cancer Discovery.
Activation and increased signaling of a protein known as
signal transducer and activator
of transcription 3 (STAT3) has
been identified in many cancers
and is associated with poor prognosis, said senior author Jennifer
Grandis, faculty member in otolaryngology, pharmacology and
chemical biology in the School
of Medicine, and director of the
head and neck program at the
University of Pittsburgh Cancer
Institute (UPCI). Transcription
factors such as STAT3 regulate
the activity of other genes; in
adult tissues, STAT3 triggers the
production of other proteins that
promote the growth and survival
of cancer cells.
“Lab experiments have shown
that inhibiting STAT3 activity
or function limits the proliferation and survival of a variety of
cancer cell lines,” she explained.
“But the drugs that have been
tested in patients are not selective for STAT3 and haven’t been
effective.”
So her research team fooled
the STAT3 protein into binding
to a harmless decoy that they
engineered. Preclinical experiments showed that the strategy was
tolerated well and didn’t produce
toxic side effects.
The team took biopsies of head
and neck cancers in 30 patients
who were having surgery to
remove the tumors. At the start
of the operation, the tumors were
injected with either the decoy or a
salt-water placebo. After surgery,
about four hours after injection,
the cancerous tissue that had
been taken out of each patient
was biopsied again. “We found
reduced expression of the STAT3
target genes in tumors that had
been treated with the decoy compared to those that got a placebo
injection and to pre-treatment
samples,” Grandis said.
Co-authors included Pitt
researchers from otolaryngology,
structural biology, bioengineering, medicine, pharmacology and
chemical biology, pathology and
biostatistics, as well as researchers
from Carnegie Mellon, The Ohio
State University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center.
The project was funded by
the National Institute of General
Medical Services, the American
Cancer Society and the PNC
Foundation. Grandis receives support from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Link found
between PTSD,
concussion
A Pitt-UPMC study has found
that residual symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and concussions may be linked in
military personnel who endure
blast and/or blunt traumas.
With 27,169 participants from
the U.S. Army Special Operations
Command (USASOC), the study
is believed to be the largest of its
kind of concussion and PTSD.
The study found that USASOC
personnel reported clinical levels
of PTSD symptoms in 12 percent
of concussions from blunt trauma,
23 percent from blast trauma and
31 percent from combination
blast-blunt trauma.
By contrast, only 6 percent of
those who experienced clinical
PTSD never had been diagnosed
with a concussion. PTSD reactions were more likely as concussions increased: in 22 percent of
personnel after one blast concus-
sion, 29 percent after two and 34
percent after three.
Anthony Kontos, assistant
research director for the UPMC
sports medicine concussion program and corresponding author
on the paper, said: “The findings
regarding the clinical PTSDsymptom levels highlight the
importance for military medical
personnel to screen for and treat
PTSD as well as concussion in
personnel exposed to concussions,
particularly those exposed to
multiple-blast traumas. The doseresponse relationship between the
number of blast concussions and
residual concussion and PTSD
symptoms supports the notion
that exposure to blast head trauma
has lingering effects.”
R.J. Elbin, post-doctoral
research associate at the School
of Medicine, also participated in
the research.
The study was funded by the
U.S. Special Operations Command biomedical initiatives steering committee.
3-D map offers
clues to dark
matter, energy The Sloan Digital Sky Survey
III (SDSS-III) has released the
largest-ever three-dimensional
map of massive galaxies and distant
black holes, helping astronomers
to better explain the mysterious
“dark matter” and “dark energy”
that make up 96 percent of the
universe.
According to Pitt physics
and astronomy faculty member
Michael Wood-Vasey, who is
the scientific spokesperson for
SDSS-III, scientists using the
map — Data Release 9 (DR9) —
can retrace the universe’s history
over the last seven billion years.
Wood-Vasey cowrote the DR9
summary paper featured on the
arXiv database.
The new DR9 map includes
images of 200 million galaxies
and spectra measurements of how
much light galaxies gives off at
different wavelengths — including
new spectra of 540,000 galaxies
dating from when the universe was
half its present age. Researchers
say that studying spectra is impor-
tant because it allows scientists to
figure out how much the universe
has expanded since the light left
each galaxy. DR9 includes better estimates
regarding the temperatures and
chemical compositions of more
than a half-million stars in the
Milky Way. DR9 represents the
latest in a series of data releases
stretching back to 2001. This
release includes new data from
the ongoing SDSS-III Baryon
Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
(BOSS), which eventually will
measure the positions of 1.5 million massive galaxies over the past
seven billion years of cosmic time,
as well as 160,000 quasars — giant
black holes feeding on stars and
gas — from as long ago as 12 billion years.
SDSS-III is in the middle of
its six-year survey. All the newly
released data now is available on
the DR9 web site at www.sdss3.
org/dr9. Throughout its eight years
of operation, the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey has obtained deep,
multicolor images covering more
than a quarter of the sky and has
created 3-D maps containing
more than 930,000 galaxies and
120,000 quasars.
Life expectancy
increases for
type 1 diabetics
The life expectancy of people
with type 1 diabetes dramatically
increased during the course of a
30-year, long-term prospective
study, according to Pitt researchers whose findings appear online
in the journal Diabetes.
The life expectancy for participants diagnosed with type 1
diabetes in 1965-80 was 68.8 years,
a 15-year improvement over those
diagnosed in 1950-64, according
to the study. The life expectancy
of the general U.S. population
increased less than one year during
the same time period.
Rachel Miller, statistician at
the Graduate School of Public
Health (GSPH) and lead author
of the study, said: “The estimated
15-year life expectancy improvement between the two groups
persisted regardless of gender or
age at diagnosis.”
The results are based on participants in the Pittsburgh Epide-
The University Times
Research Notes column
reports on funding awarded
to Pitt researchers and findings arising from University
research.
We welcome submissions from all areas of the
University. Submit information via email to: utimes@
pitt.edu, by fax to 412/6244579 or by campus mail to
308 Bellefield Hall.
For submission guidelines, visit www.umc.pitt.
edu/utimes/deadlines.html
online.
miology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) study, a long-term
prospective study of childhood
onset type 1 diabetes, which began
in 1986. Participants, who were an
average age of 28 when entering
the study and 44 at its completion, were diagnosed with type 1
diabetes between 1950 and 1980.
Trevor Orchard, faculty
member in epidemiology, pediatrics and medicine, was senior
author of the paper.
The 30-year mortality of
participants diagnosed with type
1 diabetes in 1965-80 was 11.6
percent — a significant decline
from the 35.6 percent 30-year
mortality of those diagnosed in
1950-64, according to the study.
Previously known as juvenile
diabetes, type 1 diabetes usually is
diagnosed in children and young
adults.
Other authors of the study
included Aaron M. Secrest, Ravi
K. Sharma of behavioral and
community health and Thomas
J. Songer of epidemiology.
National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Special ed
grants awarded
Three faculty members in
special education in the School
of Education have received more
than $4.3 million for multiple
projects from the U.S. Department of Education. This is in
addition to $4.4 million in yearly
funding from the Pennsylvania
Alternate System of Assessment.
All of these projects are aimed
an improving the lives of children
receiving special education services. Two grants target training
and one is focused on enhancing
reading education for children
with Down syndrome.
Louise Kaczmarek will
train early interventionists and
early childhood special educators to work with children with
autism under age 5, while Chris
Lemons is focusing on revising
and redesigning the current special education program to develop
special education teachers with
a secondary content area focus.
The final grant was obtained by
Naomi Zigmond to prepare five
doctoral students to move into
faculty positions to serve as special
education researchers, trainers
of special education teachers and
leaders in the field. Area residents
like it here
In the Pittsburgh Regional
Quality of Life Survey, a survey of
residents of the 32-county region
on 10 areas — arts and culture,
economy, education, environCONTINUED ON PAGE 19
18
AUGUST 30, 2012
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
ment, government, health, housing and neighborhoods, public
safety, transportation and overall
quality of life — respondents gave
high marks to regional quality of
life and their own happiness.
Despite this, the region has
significant problems, including
high levels of obesity, glaring
quality-of-life differences between
African Americans and the overall
population, and concerns about
public transit and transportation
infrastructure. Regarding the
Marcellus Shale, while there is
considerable environmental concern about it, a greater percentage
of people support drilling than
oppose it.
• Quality of life. “When
asked to rate their lives on a scale
of 1-10 for happiness, the mean
score was 7.8 for our region,
surpassing the national average of
7.4,” said Scott Beach, associate
director at the University Center
for Social and Urban Research
(UCSUR), which conducted the
survey with PittsburghTODAY.
PittsburghTODAY is an in-depth
journalism program that compares
Pittsburgh with other regions at
PittsburghTODAY.org. When asked to rate the region
in overall quality of life, 81 percent of residents rated it as either
good (29 percent), very good (38
percent) or excellent (14 percent).
Fewer than 5 percent overall rated
regional quality of life as poor.
About 80 percent have been
residents of the region for 20 or
more years and 90 percent have
spent at least 10 years here. And if
they plan on moving, it will likely
be within the area, where most (84
percent) expect to remain for the
next five years.
The social fabric is strong, the
survey showed. About 74 percent
of residents speak with their
neighbors at least several times
a month, and 38 percent do so
every day. Fewer than 7 percent
said they never do. And more than
90 percent of residents agreed to
some degree that their neighbors
are willing to help others.
Nearly 70 percent of residents
rated their children’s education as
very good or excellent.
• Marcellus Shale. A strong
majority believed the Marcellus
Shale natural gas reserves represent an economic opportunity
for the region — seven in 10
non-African Americans and six
in 10 African Americans saw it as
either a significant or moderate
economic opportunity, while only
one in 10 non-African Americans
and one in six African Americans
felt it offered very little or no
economic opportunity.
At the same time, Marcellus
Shale drilling was viewed as an
environmental and public health
threat to some degree by 83
percent of residents. More than
half (55 percent) said drilling
was either a significant or moderate environmental and public
health threat. And the majority
of residents (57.6 percent) supported state government assuming
greater environmental oversight.
Extracting the gas was supported by more than 44 percent
of residents overall, while one in
four opposed the practice.
• African-American disparities. Only 26.5 percent of African
Americans rated regional quality
of life as excellent or very good,
compared to nearly 54 percent of
other races. More than 45 percent
of African Americans rated the
regional quality of life as fair or
poor, while 17 percent of other
races felt the same way.
Only 14.9 percent of African Americans considered their
schools to be very safe, compared
to 51.4 percent of residents of
other races. Nearly 5.5 percent of African
Americans reported having been a
victim of violent crime — almost
three times the victimization
rate of other races. And African
Americans were twice as likely as
other races to say local police do
a poor job protecting them. Nearly 18 percent of African
Americans said they often or
always have trouble paying for
housing and other basic necessities
— more than twice the hardship
rate of other races.
Still, African Americans were
more optimistic economically.
More than 39 percent felt the
national economy would improve,
compared with only 23 percent
of other races. And 37 percent of
African Americans expected the
regional economy to get better,
compared to 23 percent of other
races. More than 41 percent of
African Americans overall said
their financial situation had
improved somewhat or significantly over the past three years,
compared with 23.6 percent of
residents of other races. Also,
46.7 percent of African Americans
living in the city of Pittsburgh
reported that their financial
situation improved over that time
versus 32.6 percent of non-African
Americans living in Pittsburgh.
• Health. Nearly two-thirds
of regional residents were obese
or overweight as determined by
their Body Mass Index.
Most residents experienced
some stress during the month
prior to being interviewed. Nearly
52 percent of residents said
they experienced moderate to
severe stress, while only one in
10 reported having a stress-free
month.
Though there were significant
disparities between African Americans and non-African Americans,
a preponderant percentage of
African Americans reported
having health care coverage
(84.3 percent versus 90.5 percent
for non-African Americans) and
nearly the same high percentage
stated they did not fail to see a
doctor because of the cost (80.7
percent versus 86.4 percent of
non-African Americans).
• Transportation. More than
two-thirds of residents considered
the availability of public transportation a problem. More than half
considered it to be a severe or
moderate problem, with 73 percent of African Americans seeing
it as a severe or moderate problem,
versus 49 percent of non-African
Americans.
Nearly 67 percent of residents
considered the quality of roads
and bridges to be either a severe
or moderate problem. The Pittsburgh Regional
Quality of Life Survey examined the behaviors and attitudes
of more than 1,800 residents,
sampling nearly 500 residents of
Allegheny County and similar
numbers of residents of both
the remaining six counties of the
Metropolitan Statistical Area and
the remaining 25 counties of the
greater 32-county region, including counties in Maryland, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The survey also included nearly
400 African American responses.
The survey can be downloaded
at www.pittsburghtoday.org/
special_reports.html. For copies,
contact Emily Craig, edc20@
pitt.edu. Peptide
identified that
may block
hep C virus
GSPH researchers have identified a peptide that may block
the entry of the hepatitis C virus
(HCV) into the liver, representing a potential target for new drug
development.
The results were published
in the August issue of Hepatology, the journal of the American
Association for the Study of Liver
Disease. Previous research indicated
that human apolipoprotein E
(apoE), which occurs naturally in
the body, forms complexes with
HCV, the researchers said. They
constructed peptides, dubbed
hEP, containing the portions of
apoE to which other proteins and
lipids typically bind.
They found that hEP blocked
the virus from binding to liver
cells, preventing infection. That
suggests apoE is involved with
HCV’s initial entry into the cells,
according to lead author Tianyi
Wang, faculty member in the
Department of Infectious Diseases
and Microbiology. It’s possible
that hEP thwarts infection because
it competes with HCV for a cell
surface receptor. In addition, researchers deter-
mined that the ability of hEP
to block the virus appears to be
dependent on the peptide’s length
and sequence. Shorter versions
could not stop infection, possibly
because the shape of the proteins
— and thus their binding ability
— was altered.
“Our findings highlight the
potential of developing peptides
that mimic hEP as new hepatitis
C viral inhibitors,” said Wang.
Worldwide, more than 170
million people are infected with
the hepatitis C virus, which often
is asymptomatic and can cause
severe liver disease and liver
cancer. Existing treatments are
effective in only 40-80 percent of
patients and can cause severe side
effects. There is no cure for HCV. Pitt collaborators included
Shufeng Liu and Kevin D.
McCormick, Department of
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, and Ting Zhao, Department of Pathology, School of
Medicine.
NIH funded the research.
Urine test
indicates bone
fracture risk
A simple urine test can indicate
a premenopausal woman’s risk of
bone fractures as she ages, according to Pitt epidemiologists.
Women in their 40s and early
50s had a 59 percent greater risk
of bone fracture as they aged
when they had above-normal
levels of N-telopeptide (NTX) –
the byproduct of bones breaking
down — in their urine, compared
with women who had low NTX
levels. When women with high
NTX levels also had a low spinal
bone density measurement, their
risk of fracture increased nearly
three-fold.
The study is the first to look
for signs of bone breakdown in
younger, premenopausal women
in an effort to determine if such
signs can predict the risk that
these women will suffer fractures
as they age.
The results were published in
the online edition of Menopause,
the journal of The North American Menopause Society. The
report will be published in the
journal’s November print issue.
“Bone fractures — particularly
in the hip, wrist and back — have
serious consequences, including
disability and death,” said lead
author Jane Cauley, faculty
member in epidemiology. “Knowing a woman’s risk of fracture can
help doctors determine the best
course of action to protect her
bones as she enters menopause,
a time when estrogen deficiency
negatively affects skeletal health.”
By the time a woman turns
50, her risk of a fracture at some
point in the remainder of her
life is estimated to be at least
40 percent. Fractures are more
common for these women than
heart attacks, strokes and breast
cancer combined.
During menopause, bone
remodeling increases, leading
to an imbalance between bone
formation and bone resorption,
or the process by which bones are
broken down and their minerals
are returned to the blood. This
remodeling persists for several
years and is associated with an
increased rate of bone loss, making
it easier for bones to fracture.
Cauley and her colleagues used
data from 2,305 premenopausal
or perimenopausal women aged
42-52 collected as part of the
Study of Women’s Health Across
the Nation (SWAN).
Pitt collaborators included
Michelle E. Danielson, Leslie
Meyn and Kristine Ruppert of
epidemiology; Yuefang Chang,
neurological surgery, and Beth
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
19
R E S E A R C H
N O T E S
A. Prairie, obstetrics, gynecology
and reproductive sciences, School
of Medicine.
The research was supported by
NIH, the Department of Health
and Human Services, the National
Institute of Nursing Research, the
Department of Defense (DoD),
the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s
Health Center and the UCLA
Center of Excellence in Women’s
Health.
Pitt part
of effort to
improve drug
safety
School of Medicine researchers have been awarded grants to
create micro-models of the liver
and an arthritic joint as part of a
national effort to build 3-D chips
of cells and tissues that could
provide a more rapid and accurate
method of predicting toxicity of
experimental therapies, as well as
foster greater understanding of
myriad diseases.
Of the 17 projects being funded
by NIH, two will be led by Pitt
researchers and could receive
more than $10 million over the
next five years. NIH plans to
commit up to $70 million over
five years for the program. Other
awardees were Johns Hopkins,
Harvard and Duke.
Arthur S. Levine, senior vice
chancellor for Health Sciences and
dean of the School of Medicine,
said: “Tissue chips could provide
a more accurate and less expensive
way of testing new drugs and
reduce our reliance on animal
studies, which often don’t reliably
reflect toxicity profiles later seen
during human testing.”
The Pitt projects are:
• 3-D Micro-Liver: D. Lansing Taylor, Allegheny Foundation Professor of Computational
and Systems Biology and director,
University of Pittsburgh Drug
Discovery Institute, will lead a
team at Pitt and Massachusetts
General Hospital to create a
three-dimensional microfluidic
structure made entirely of human
cells that will mimic the acinus,
the smallest functional unit of
the liver.
The team also will develop a
panel of sentinel “biosensor cells”
that will indicate liver toxicity with
exposure to different drugs.
• 3-D Micro-Arthritic Joint
System: Rocky Tuan, the Arthur
J. Rooney Sr. Professor of Sports
Medicine and executive vice
chair for research, Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery, will lead a
team to create a tissue chip that
includes stem cell-produced bone
and cartilage cells that simulate
joint surfaces to better understand
how arthritis develops and how to
prevent it.
“This system will allow us to
explore the effects of not only
inflammatory molecules and the
wear-and-tear of aging on the
entire joint, but also mechanical
injuries, such as a hit or a sprain,
both immediately and over time
in molecular detail,” said Tuan,
who also is director of the Center
for Military Medicine Research,
director of the Center for Cellular
and Molecular Engineering in
the Department of Orthopaedic
Surgery, and co-director of the
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The tissue chips program is
the result of collaboration among
NIH, the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) and the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.
“Serious adverse effects and
toxicity are major obstacles in the
drug development process,” said
Thomas R. Insel, NCATS acting
director.
“With innovative tools and
methodologies, such as those
developed by the tissue chips program, we may be able to accelerate
the process by which we identify
compounds likely to be safe in
humans, saving time and money,
and ultimately increasing the
quality and number of therapies
available for patients.”
Taylor and Tuan also will
receive support from the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and
Translational Science Institute.
Grant to study
improvements
for those who
use wheelchairs
Researchers from the School
of Medicine and UPMC will
lead a five-year, multi-site project
aimed at improving the lives of
people with spinal cord injuries.
The study will use Internet-based
training and group sessions to
hone the skills of wheelchair users
and prevent wheelchair failures.
Among the other groups
involved in the research are: the
Northern New Jersey Spinal
Cord Injury System; the Midwest
Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care
System, and the South Florida
Spinal Cord Injury System.
“This grant will start to tackle
problems related to insurance
cutbacks that have negatively
impacted individuals with spinal
cord injuries,” said Michael
Boninger, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, Pitt School of
Medicine. “Because they spend
less time in the hospital after their
injuries, they never learn how to
effectively use and maintain their
wheelchairs.”
Drug could help
prevent TB
reactivation
Reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection could be better
prevented if a drug that is effective
against bacteria in low-oxygen
environments is added to the
treatment regimen, according
to School of Medicine research
published in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
Pulmonary TB is spread
through infected air droplets,
said senior author JoAnne L.
Flynn, faculty member in the
Department of Microbiology
and Molecular Genetics, School
of Medicine. People can develop
active TB with cough, fever,
night sweats and fatigue, but most
develop an asymptomatic “latent”
infection where the bacteria can
remain in the lung tissue walled
off in a lesion called a granuloma.
In some, particularly the elderly
or immune-compromised, the
infection can reactivate years later.
“An estimated 2 billion people
worldwide are latently infected
with TB, so it’s imperative to have
treatment strategies that can prevent the disease from becoming
active again,” Flynn said.
Active TB that is not resistant
to antibiotics is treated with a
so-called “short course” of two
months of the drugs isoniazid
(INH), rifampin (RIF), pyrazinamide and ethambutol, followed
by four more months of INH and
RIF. Latent infection is treated
with nine months of INH. It is
challenging for patients to complete the treatment, so new drugs
that act more quickly would be
helpful, noted Flynn, who also is
an associate member of the Center
for Vaccine Research.
Previous research has shown
that the TB bacilli that can survive
low-oxygen conditions are not
susceptible to INH. Yet the caseous (“cheese-like”) granulomas
commonly seen in human infection have areas of tissue death, or
necrosis, associated with a hypoxic
environment. That led the team
to examine whether metronidazole (MTZ), an antibiotic that is
known to be effective against nonreplicating bacteria in low-oxygen
Every 5 seconds one person
in the world goes blind.
INNOVATIONS IN
VISION RESTORATION
"Awakening the Dormant
Neuroregenerative Potential"
Wednesday, September 5
Eye & Ear Boardroom
5th Floor, Eye & Ear Institute
11:45 am-1 pm
Dong Feng Chen, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Opthalmology
The Schepens Eye Research Institute
Harvard Medical School
(Lunch served at 11:30 am)
RSVP at [email protected]
20
www.foxcenter.pitt.edu
settings, would be better able to
eradicate the TB bacilli contained
in the granuloma.
The researchers found that
in a macaque model of TB, two
months of MTZ alone was as effective as two months of INH and
RIF at preventing reactivation of
the infection induced by an agent
called anti-tumor necrosis factor
antibody, which triggered disease
in most of the untreated animals.
Also, adding MTZ to an INH and
RIF regimen reduced bacterial
burden in monkeys with active
TB within two months.
Flynn said, “The next step is
to find better drugs that work in
these hypoxic areas of granulomas
because MTZ can be difficult to
tolerate over an extended time.”
Pitt co-authors included
Philana Ling Lin, Department
of Pediatrics; Paul J. Johnston,
Department of Microbiology and
Molecular Genetics, and Christopher Janssen and Edwin Klein of
the Division of Laboratory Animal
Research.
The project was funded by
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Otis Foundation and
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases.
Most U.S.
bars that are
smoke-free
allow hookahs
Nearly 90 percent of the largest
U.S. cities that prohibit cigarette
smoking in bars have exemptions
that permit hookah smoking,
according to a School of Medicine
study published in the American
Journal of Public Health.
Hookah tobacco smoking is
becoming more common in the
United States, especially among
college-aged students, but few
people are aware of the health
risks, said Brian Primack, faculty
member in medicine and pediatrics and director of the Program
for Research on Media and Health
at Pitt’s School of Medicine, who
led the study.
The World Health Organization found that a hookah smoker
may inhale as much smoke during
one smoking session as someone
would from smoking 100 cigarettes, and studies have suggested
secondhand hookah smoke also is
a concern.
Researchers found that 73 of
the 100 largest cities in the United
States have laws that prohibit
cigarette smoking in bars; 69 of
those cities have exemptions that
may allow hookah smoking. Many
of the policies were enacted before
hookah smoking became popular.
Pitt collaborators on the
study were Mary V. Carroll
and Michael J. Fine, School of
Medicine; Kevin H. Kim, School
of Education, and Julie M. Donohue, GSPH.
National Cancer Institute.
Social work
faculty
awarded grants
• Shaun Eack is the co-principal investigator on three grants.
The first, a study looking at
brain imaging cognitive enhancement and early schizophrenia, is
being funded by NIMH for almost
$3.2 million over five years.
The study will examine the
effects of a novel cognitive rehabilitation program, Cognitive
Enhancement Therapy (CET),
on the brain in individuals with
early course schizophrenia.
An 18-month clinical trial of
CET will use integrated neuroimaging techniques to assess brain
function, structure and connectivity during the course of CET
treatment, as well as the predictive
contribution of brain reserves to
treatment response.
A one-year post-treatment
durability study will be conducted
to examine the degree to which
neurobiologic, cognitive and
functional effects can be sustained
post-treatment in early course
schizophrenia patients.
Also participating in the
research is social work faculty
member Christina Newhill.
Eack and Nancy Minshew,
faculty member in psychiatry,
School of Medicine, are co-PIs on
a $1.4 million DoD-funded clinical trial of cognitive enhancement
therapy for adults with autism
spectrum disorders.
The study will evaluate the
efficacy of CET for improving cognitive and behavioral
outcomes in autism spectrum
disorders, examine the six-month
post-treatment durability of CET
effects in adults with autism, and
examine the impact of CET on
neurobiologic processes and brain
connectivity in these disorders.
Eack also is co-PI on an NIMH
grant of $720,000 to conduct an
initial randomized-controlled trial
of computer-based neurocognitive
and group-based social-cognitive
remediation in individuals with
22q11.2 deletion syndrome. This
syndrome is caused by the deletion
of a small piece of chromosome
22. The features of this syndrome
vary widely, even within families.
• Lovie Jackson is the principal investigator on an NIH grant.
She will conduct research with
adolescents, caregivers and health
care providers in order to develop
a web/tablet-based intervention to
improve the feasibility of primary
care screening for adolescent
mental disorders, provide brief
youth-centered mental health
education to engage adolescents
and caregivers, and offer health
care providers guidance on youth
mental health care referral needs
via provider advice sheets.
She will pilot test the intervention in urban health centers.
Other Pitt researchers involved
in the project are Duncan Clark,
David J. Kolko, Elizabeth
Miller, Mary Ann Sevick and
Galen Switzer, all of the School
of Medicine; Larry Davis, social
work; Bambang Parmanto,
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Kevin Kim,
School of Education.
• John Wallace has received an
NIH sub-award from the University of Michigan for “Monitoring
the Future: Drug Use and Life
Styles of American Youth.”
The
study
will:
— examine within and between
group racial/ethnic differences
and similarities in patterns, trends
and correlates of drug-related
attitudes, beliefs and behaviors;
— conduct racial/ethnic and
gender-specific analyses that seek
to identify whether risk and protective factors found to be important
for white males and females also
are important correlates and predictors for non-white youth, and
— investigate the mechanisms through which individual
and contextual-level religiosity
influences substance use. n
AUGUST 30, 2012
P E O P L E
O F
T H E
G. Bard Ermentrout, a
faculty member
in mathematics,
Dietrich School
of Arts and Sciences, has been
elected as a fellow
of the Society for
Industrial and
Applied Mathematics.
He was recognized for his
contributions to applied dynamical systems and mathematical
biology, in particular the theory
of coupled oscillators and neural
pattern formation.
Chemical and petroleum engineering faculty member Anna
Balazs has been selected as the
fifth recipient of the University
of South Dakota School of Mines
and Technology’s Mines Medal.
The national award highlights
the significant role the recipients
play in ensuring the United States’
global pre-eminence in engineering and science.
The medallion includes 10
karat gold and 12 karat Black Hills
gold in total amount equivalent to
one ounce of 24 karat gold, copper
and silver.
The Health Sciences Library
System (HSLS) announced the
following staff news:
• Director Barbara Epstein
has been reappointed to a fouryear term on the joint legislative
task force of the Medical Library
Association and the Association
of Academic Health Sciences
Libraries.
• Nancy Tannery, senior associate director, has been appointed
a member of the National Library
of Medicine’s literature selection technical review committee
that recommends journals to be
indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed. Melissa Somma McGivney
of pharmacy will
head the National
Association of
Chain Drug
Stores (NACDS)
Foundation faculty scholars program. The NACDS Foundation, in
collaboration with the School of
Pharmacy, launched the program
to train junior faculty members
from U.S. schools in how to
design, implement and publish
community pharmacy-based
patient care research.
The faculty scholars are from
Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Wyoming,
University of Mississippi, St.
Louis College of Pharmacy and
University of Missouri-Kansas
City.
Faculty and staff in the
have received numerous honors
recently.
• Di Gao, chemical and petroleum engineering and William
Kepler Whiteford Faculty Fellow,
was awarded the inaugural Owens
Corning Early Career Award for
his creativity in the area of nanomaterials design and development.
The award recognizes outstanding
independent contributions to the
scientific, technological, educational or service areas of materials
science and engineering.
• Steven R. Little of chemical
T I M E S
and petroleum engineering has
been awarded the 2012 Young
Investigator Award from the Society for Biomaterials. The annual
award recognizes an individual
who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field of
biomaterials research within 10
years of earning a terminal degree
or conclusion of formal training.
• Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor Marlin Mickle is the 2011
recipient of the Ted Williams
Award in Electrical Engineering.
The award is presented annually to a professor or student in
recognition of contributions that
further the growth of the industry
through work as an educator and
entrepreneur.
• Sylvanus Wosu, associate
dean for diversity and faculty
member in mechanical engineering and materials science, has been
named winner of the National
Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates Outstanding Minority Engineering
Program Administrator Award.
The award honors members
who have made exceptional
contributions in pre-college
enrichment, recruitment, leadership and retention and for their
efforts to increase the participation of minorities in engineering
disciplines.
• Daniel Budny, faculty
member in civil and environmental engineering and academic
director of the freshman engineering program, has been named the
2011 Professor of the Year by the
American Society of Civil Engineers Pittsburgh Section.
Budny’s interests are in the
fields of basic fluid mechanics and
in the development of programs
that assist the entering freshman
student either on a standard track
or an academically disadvantaged
student by providing counseling
and cooperative learning environments for the standards in their
first and second semester freshman engineering courses.
• Jorge Abad, faculty member
in civil and environmental engineering, has been named corecipient of Wesley W. Horner
Award from American Society of
Civil Engineers.
The award recognizes papers
that have contributed to the areas
of hydrology, urban drainage or
sewerage. Abad and his co-authors
published “Modeling Framework
for Organic Sediment Resuspension and Oxygen Demand: Case
of Bubbly Creek in Chicago” in
the Journal of Environmental
Engineering (September 2010).
• Alaine Allen, director of
the Pitt EXCEL and INVESTING NOW programs in the
Swanson school, has received
the National Society of Black
Engineers (NSBE) Golden Torch
Award for Minority Engineering
Program Director of the Year.
INVESTING NOW is a
college preparatory program
created to stimulate, support and
recognize the high academic performance of pre-college students
from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics
majors and careers. Pitt EXCEL
is a diversity program committed
to the recruitment, retention and
graduation of academically excellent engineering undergraduates,
particularly individuals from
groups traditionally underrepresented in the field. • Mary Besterfield-Sacre,
faculty member in industrial
engineering and director of the
Engineering Education Resource
Center, has been named recipient
of the 2012 American Society for
Engineering Education (ASEE)
Sharon Keillor Award for Women
in Engineering Education.
• Bopaya Bidanda, Ernest E.
Roth Professor and chair of industrial engineering, has received
ASEE’s John L. Imhoff Global
Excellence Award for Industrial
Engineering Education.
In addition, the International
Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) has named
Bidanda the recipient of the third
IFEES Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education. • Anthony J. DeArdo, William Kepler Whiteford Professor
in mechanical engineering and
materials science, has been named
winner of the 2012 Adolf Martens
Memorial Steel Lecture Award
by the Association for Iron &
Steel Technology (AIST) for his
publication, “The Microstructure
of Steel, a Modern View of an
Ancient Material.”
• The Center for Energy’s
Brian Gleeson, director, and
Gregory Reed, associate director,
have been chosen to be among
the first ambassadors for the science and engineering ambassador
program.
This initiative of the National
Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering
was created to address the need for
a greater popular understanding
of scientific issues. The City of
Pittsburgh will be the pilot site.
• Savio L-Y. Woo of bioenCONTINUED ON PAGE 22
-JWF)FBMUIJFS
)PNFTt$POEPTt"QBSUNFOUTt5PXOIPNFT
/FXIPNFTBSFHPJOHGBTU
Enjoy a healthy life in a traditional
neighborhood with a community center, pools
and fitness room. Summerset at Frick Park, in
Squirrel Hill, is minutes from campus so you
can live close to what matters.
Call Melissa Reich 412.420.0120
4VNNFSTFU"U'SJDL1BSLDPN
St. Nicholas Cathedral
Taverna Days
Wednesday to Saturday, September 5-8
Wed/Thurs 11a - 9p
•
Fri/Sat 11a - 10p
ENJOY GREEK FOOD, PASTRIES,
MUSIC & DANCING UNDER OUR TENT !
www.stnickspgh.org
Located on the corner of Forbes and Dithridge Streets across from The Carnegie Museum
21
Bernadette Callery
Bernadette Callery, assistant
professor at the School of Information Sciences (SIS), died July
27, 2012. She was 64.
Callery had taught in the
school’s archives, preservation
and records management (APRM)
specialization since 2007, when
she was a visiting faculty member.
As the lead faculty for the
APRM specialization, she was
responsible for coordinating field
experiences for APRM students.
Her courses dealt with archives
and records management, preservation management, museum
archives, digital preservation and
the history of books, printing and
publishing.
Her legacy at the school
P E O P L E
O F
includes the creation of an annual
lecture series addressing issues in
archives and records management.
She also was the founder and
organizer for the Preservation
Fair: Saving Your Family Treasures, an event at the Carnegie
Museum of Natural History that
was cosponsored by SIS.
Callery joined the Pitt faculty in 2008 after serving as the
museum librarian at the Carnegie
She earned her PhD at the School
of Information Sciences in 2002;
her MA at the University of Chicago in 1971 and her BA at Seton
Hill College in 1969.
She is survived by her husband, Joseph Newcomer, and her
brother, Tony Callery.
n
T H E
gineering, whose biomechanics
research has impacted sports
medicine and the management of
ligament and tendon injuries leading to improved patient recovery,
has been honored by Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers with the 2012 IEEE Medal
for Innovations in Healthcare
Technology.
The medal recognizes Woo
for pivotal contributions to biomechanics and its application to
orthopaedic surgery and sports
medicine. • Kent Harries, civil and environmental engineering, received
the 2012 President’s Award from
The International Institute for
T I M E S
Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP)
in Construction (IIFC).
This award is given in “recognition of his distinguished services
to the International Institute for
FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer)
in Construction for advancing the
understanding and the application
of fiber-reinforced polymers in
the civil infrastructure, in service
of the engineering profession and
society.”
Lois Williams, a lecturer in
the Department of English, is a
co-winner of the 2012 Editor’s
Prize from Seven Kitchens Press
for her poetry manuscript, “Night
Air,” which will be published this
winter.
Her recent poems and essays
can be found in Cave Wall, Fourth
River, Granta and New England
Review.
n
The People of the Times
column features recent news on
faculty and staff, including awards
and other honors, accomplishments
and administrative appointments.
We welcome submissions from
all areas of the University. Send
information via email to: utimes@
pitt.edu, by fax at 412/624-4579
or by campus mail to 308 Bellefield Hall.
For submission guidelines,
visit www.umc.pitt.edu/utimes/
deadlines.html online.
Life scientists give Pitt
high marks as workplace
Pitt ranked 17th in the 2012
“Best Places to Work in Academia”
survey, published this month
by The Scientist magazine.
Institutions ranked in the
survey included universities,
research institutes and hospitals.
Pitt was the second-highest
ranked U.S. university; only the
University of Michigan, at 16th,
ranked higher.
The top-ranked institution
was J. David Gladstone Institutes,
a San Francisco-based nonprofit
biomedical research organization.
The rankings were determined
through a web-based survey,
conducted during the last four
months of 2011, in which life
scientists were asked to highlight
the aspects of the work they value
most — such as support, access
to great research, and collaborations — as well as areas they wish
their institutions would improve.
Researchers around the world said
they valued the personal satisfaction their workplace offers above
all else.
For the survey, email invitations were sent to readers of The
Scientist and registrants on The
Scientist web site who identified
themselves as full-time life scientists working in academia or noncommercial research institutions.
The survey also was publicized on
The Scientist web site and through
news stories. The survey results and methodology are detailed in the article
“Best Places to Work in Academia,
2012,” appearing online at www.
the-scientist.com. n
UPB gets regional recognition
For the ninth consecutive
year, The Princeton Review has
recognized Pitt-Bradford as one
of the best colleges in its region.
Pitt-Bradford was one of 222
institutions profiled in the “Best
in the Northeast” section of its
PrincetonReview.com feature
“2013 Best Colleges: Region by
Region.”
Said Robert Franek, Princeton
Review’s senior vice president
and publisher: “we winnowed
our list based on institutional
data we collected directly from
the schools, our visits to schools
over the years, and the opinions of
our staff, plus college counselors
and advisers whose recommendations we invite. We also take
into account what students at the
schools reported to us about their
campus experiences at them on
our 80-question student survey.”
The 633 colleges nationwide
named “regional best” constitute
about 25 percent of the country’s
2,500 four-year colleges.
In addition to being recognized
as a regional best, Pitt-Bradford
also was named a Best Value College for 2012.
n
Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship,
and Creative Activity
Why Become a
Faculty Mentor?
170 Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
undergraduate students worked with faculty mentors in the
First Experiences in Research program in the 2012 spring term.
More undergraduates will be applying for
First Experiences in Research in 2013.
Give an undergraduate the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge
research, scholarship, or creative endeavors! Become a faculty mentor!
For information on how you can be a mentor in the First Experiences in Research
program, contact Patrick Mullen, Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship,
and Creative Activity, at 412-624-9150 or [email protected].
22
AUGUST 30, 2012
on Sept. 17. ([email protected])
CTSI/NIH Director’s Early
Independence Award Nominations
Nominations due Sept. 21.
([email protected])
CTSI New
Pilot
T:6.05
in Funding for
Women’s Cancer Research
Application deadline is 5 pm
C A L E N D A R
GSPH/Behavioral & Community Health Sciences
“Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST): How Do Nursing Facilities
Implement the POLST Program?” Jason Manne; Sept. 7,
209 Parran, 10 am
Exhibits
ULS Special Collections
“Recent Acquisitions”; 271 Hillman exhibition case, through
Sept., reg. library hours
HSLS/NLM Traveling Exhibit
“Rewriting the Book of Nature,”
Charles Darwin; Falk Library
2nd fl. Scaife, through Oct. 6
Chancellors’ Portrait Exhibit
“Faces to Names: 225 Years
of Pitt Chancellors’ Portraits
(1787-2012)”; FFA Gallery, Sept.
11-Oct. 14, M-F 10 am-4 pm,
Oct. 12 10 am-8 pm, Oct. 13 &
14, 10 am-4 pm
Deadlines
CTSI Bridge Funding
Deadline for application is 4 pm
Sept. 1. ([email protected])
Greensburg Campus Alumni
Assn. Alumnus of Distinction
Award
Nominations due Sept. 5. (www.
greensburg.pitt.edu/alumni/
nominate)
UCIS Sheth Distinguished
Faculty Award for Int’l
Achievement
Nominations due Sept. 14. (www.
ucis.pitt.edu/main/content/
sheth-distinguished-facultyaward-international-achievement)
UCIS Sheth Int’l Young
Alumni Achievement Award
Nominations due Sept. 14.
(www.ucis.pitt.edu/main/content/sheth-international-youngalumni-achievement-award)
NTT Call for Participation
Deadline for submission of
proposals is Sept. 15. ([email protected])
CTSI Funding
Deadline for application is noon
on Sept. 24. ([email protected])
ADRC Seed Monies Grant
Deadline for letter of intent is
Sept. 10; application due Oct.
8. ([email protected])
UPG Golf Outing
Register for Oct. 12 event at
www.greensburg.pitt.edu/golfouting.
n
New COI policy mandates training
T:8.5 in
Pitt has revised its conflict of interest policy. All investigators
currently receiving or applying for funding must complete training
on the new COI policy.
The revised policy reflects new Public Health Service regulations
related to financial conflicts of interest of investigators receiving
PHS funding. The policy establishes a lower reporting limit for
all investigators currently receiving or applying for funding from
any PHS agency. Those agencies include: Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Food and
Drug Administration; Health Resources and Services Administration; Indian Health Service; National Institutes of Health, and
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
All PHS-funded researchers, or researchers who are seeking
PHS funding, also must fill out a new COI disclosure, which can
be accessed at https://coi.hs.pitt.edu.
The new COI policy also adjusts other provisions that apply to
all funded researchers, including non-PHS funded investigators.
The new COI policy, and a summary of the changes, can be found
at www.cfo.pitt.edu/policies/documents/policy11-01-03pdf.pdf.
Information on how to access the new COI training modules
can be found at www.coi.pitt.edu/COItraining.htm.
n
Discussion / Book Signing
Thursday, September 13th, 7PM
100 West Bridge Street, Homestead (412) 462-5743
The award-winning journalist travels from Alaska to Maine
to interview the often-overlooked Americans who keep our
country going—including migrant laborers, coal miners, beef
ranchers, air-traffic controllers, and long-haul truckers—in this
eye-opening collection.
Alzheimer’s research grants available
Sept. 14. Applications must be
received by Oct. 8.
For more information, call
Dunn at 412/692-2731.
n
Get more info and get to know your favorite writers at BN.COM/events. All events subject to change, so please contact the store to confirm.
Two new awards to recognize the
international achievements by members
of the Pitt community
BN JOB: 12M565
MEDALLION #: 109946
FILE NAME: 109946.LASKAS.12M565.V1R1
CLOSE DATE: 8/24/12
RUN DATE: 8/30/12
SIZE: 6.05” X 8.5”
TODAY’S DATE: 8/30/12
CHARACTER COUNT: 264
TOTAL NUMBER OF AUTHORS: 01
PUBLICATION: University Times
Project Manager
Rosa Almodovar
(212) 929-9130 ext:1123
REG
LAYOUT
VER: Studies
1
RND:
1 nominations for
C M
The University of Pittsburgh
andYtheKUniversity
Center for
International
open
two awards made possible through the generosity of Madhu and Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth (Business ’62G,
’66G) through the Sheth Family Foundation.
• The Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement, which recognizes
the contributions of a current University of Pittsburgh faculty member’s contributions to furthering
international education.
UCIS
The Alzheimer Disease
Research Center (ADRC) is soliciting proposals for its seed monies
grant program, which funds pilot
grants to stimulate new research
relevant to Alzheimer’s disease.
Proposals can range from
basic science to psychosocial in
methodology, with priority given
to novel approaches.
Research may involve humans,
animals or in vitro studies. The
patient registry, clinical and neuropathological databases of the
ADRC are available for approved
proposals, as is the database from
the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.
Pitt post-doctoral fellows
and full-time faculty are eligible.
Previous recipients of ADRC seed
monies are not eligible.
The funding period is April 1,
2013-March 31, 2014. Awards will
be $25,000 per project.
A brief description of the
proposed pilot study should be
emailed to Leslie Dunn (dunnlo@
upmc.edu) by Sept. 10. Include
title of the proposal, names of
investigators/co-investigators,
brief description of project and
a brief statement of relevance of
the proposed research to the field.
Investigators invited to submit a
full proposal will be notified by
• The Sheth International Young Alumni Achievement Award, which acknowledges a University of
Pittsburgh alumnus for contributions to the international community, through professional achievement
and societal impact. Nominee must have graduated from the University in the last 10 years.
To view the full criteria and to submit your nomination, please visit:
www.ucis.pitt.edu/main/news-events/sheth-international-awards
If you have any questions please contact Jason Kane, Director of Constituent Relations, UCIS at jek108@
pitt.edu or 412-648-7424.
University of Pittsburgh
23
Be?” William Gelbart, UCLA;
154 Chevron, 4 pm (chemrcpt@
pitt.edu)
C A L E N D A R
August
Thursday 30
Monday 3
Thursday 6
Tuesday 11
Health & Fitness Ctr. Open
House
Trees, noon (www.physicalactivity.pitt.edu/HealthandFitness.
aspx)
Student Job Fair
WPU Ballrm., 1-3 pm (ans118@
pitt.edu; www.careers.pitt.edu/)
• University closed in observance of Labor Day.
Chemistry Seminar
“Enzymes, Peptides & Nucleic
Acids for Programming
Nanoparticle Morphology &
the Nanoscale Properties of
Materials,” Nathan Gianneschi,
UC–San Diego; 150 Chevron,
2:30 pm ([email protected])
Philosophy of Science Talk
“How Physics Works,” Nicholas
Rescher; 817R CL, 12:05 pm
([email protected])
Chemistry Lecture
“DNA & RNA, in & out of
Viruses,” William Gelbart,
UCLA; 154 Chevron, 2:30 pm
([email protected])
Pharmacology & Chemical
Biology Seminar
“Hydrocephalus & Mammary
Hyperplasia: Wnt Signaling &
the Phenotype of the NHERF1
Knockout Mouse,” Guillermo
Romero; 1395 Starzl BST, 3:30
pm (3-7757)
Friday 31
Oakland Farmers Market
Sennott St. between Atwood
& Meyran, 3-6:30 pm (Fridays
through Nov. 9; www.oaklandfarmersmarket.org)
September
Saturday 1
Football
vs. Youngstown St.; Heinz Field,
6 pm
Sunday 2
Episcopal Service
Heinz Chapel, 11 am (Sundays:
http://pittepiscopalchaplaincy.
wordpress.com/)
Tuesday 4
Faculty Assembly Mtg.
U. Club 3rd fl. conf. rm A, 3 pm
Pitt Bowling League
PAA, 5:30 pm (Tuesdays through
April; 4-8956)
Wednesday 5
Greensburg Campus Bldg.
Dedication
Cassell, UPG, 11 am
Fox Innovations in Vision
Restoration Lecture
“Awakening the Dormant Neuroregenerative Potential,” Dong
Chen, Harvard; 5th fl. boardrm.
E&EI, 11:45 am (www.foxcenter.
pitt.edu)
Pitt Communicators Mtg.
Cynthia Golden, CIDDE; 528
Alumni, noon (RSVP: kis9@
pitt.edu)
Book of Common Prayer
Service
Heinz Chapel, 12:15 pm
(Wednesdays: http://pittepiscopalchaplaincy.wordpress.com/)
Friday 7
• Fall term add/drop period
ends.
Bradford Campus First Friday
Admissions Program
UPB, 10 am (register: www.upb.
pitt.edu/visit.aspx)
Sunday 9
Concert
Michael Jackson, ProMusica
Pittsburgh; Heinz Chapel, 3 pm
Music at Pitt Concert
“A Musical Program on the History of Indian Music”; FFA aud.,
4-7 pm (724/265-7957)
Monday 10
Chemistry Seminar
“How Big Does a Virus Have to
UNIVERSITY
TIMES
2011-12 publication schedule
Events occurring
Submit by
For publication
Sept. 29-Oct. 13
Sept. 22
Sept. 29
Sept. 15-29
Oct. 13-27
Oct. 27-Nov. 10
Nov. 10-23 (Wed.)
Nov. 23-Dec. 8
Dec. 8-Jan. 12
Jan. 12-26
Jan. 26-Feb. 9
Feb. 9-23
Feb. 23-March 8
March 8-22
March 22-April 5
April 5-April 19
April 19-May 3
May 3-17
May 17-31
May 31-June 14
June 14-28
June 28-July 12
July 12-26
July 26-Aug. 30
Sept. 8
Oct. 6
Oct. 20
Nov. 3
Nov. 17
Dec. 1
Jan. 5
Jan. 19
Feb. 2
Feb. 16
March 1
March 15
March 29
April 12
April 26
May 10
May 24
June 7
June 21
July 5
July 19
Sept. 15
Wednesday 12
SAC Mtg.
5th fl. conf. rm. Alumni, 12:15 pm
Senate Council Mtg.
2700 Posvar, 3 pm
Thursday 13
ADRC Conf.
“Using Biomarkers to Disclose
Risk Information for Alzheimer’s
Disease: Ethical & Psychosocial
Implications,” Scott Roberts, U
of MI; 123 BST South, noon
(412/692-2721)
CRSP Lecture
“Obama’s Campaigns & Presidency: No Post-Racial America,”
Joe Feagin, Texas A&M; 2017
CL, noon (www.socialwork.
pitt.edu)
HSLS Lecture
“Charles Darwin’s Challenge
to the Skeptics,” Robert Olby,
history & philosophy of science; Scaife lect. rm. 5, noon
(http://info.hsls.pitt.edu/
updatereport/?p=5747)
Oct. 13
Oct. 27
Dec. 8
• All other ads should be accompanied by a
check for the full amount made payable to the
University of Pittsburgh.
Jan. 26
Feb. 9
Feb. 23
March 8
March 22
April 5
April 19
May 3
May 17
May 31
June 14
June 28
July 12
July 26
The University Times events calendar includes Pitt-sponsored events as well as non-Pitt events held on
a Pitt campus. Information submitted for the calendar should identify the type of event, such as lecture
or concert, and the program’s specific title, sponsor, location and time. The name and phone number of
a contact person should be included. Information should be sent by email to: [email protected], by FAX
to: 412/624-4579, or by campus mail to: 308 Bellefield Hall. We cannot guarantee publication of events
received after the deadline.
Defenses
GSPH/EOH
“Beyond Hydroxocobalamin: Towards a Broadening of
the Extant Acute Cyanide Poisoning Antidotes,” Oscar Benz;
Sept. 4, Bridgeside Pt. 5th fl.
boardroom, 2 pm
A&S/Anthropology
“Managing (In)Visibility by a
Double Minority: Dissimulation
& Identity Maintenance Among
Alevi Bulgarian Turks,” Hande
Sozer; Sept. 5, 3106 Posvar, 1 pm
C L A S S I F I E D
• $8 for up to 15 words; $9 for 16-30 words;
$10 for 31-50 words.
Jan. 12
Chemistry Lecture
“In-Situ Nonlinear Spectroscopic Investigations of Field
Effect Transistors,” Aaron
Masari; U of MN, 150 Chevron,
2:30 pm ([email protected])
Discussion/Book Signing
“Hidden America,” Jeanne
Laskas, English; Barnes & Noble,
100 W. Bridge St. Homestead, 7
pm (412/462-5743)
English Poetry Reading
“Beauty Is a Verb: The New
Poetry of Disability,” Michael
Northen, Jennifer Bartlett &
Kathi Wolfe; O’Hara Student
Ctr. aud., 8:30 pm (ems9@pitt.
edu)
CONTINUED ON PAGE 23
Nov. 10
Nov. 23 (Wed.)
Pitt founder Hugh Henry Brackenridge is part of the “Faces to
Names: 225 Years of Pitt Chancellors’ Portraits (1787-2012)”
exhibit Sept. 11-Oct. 14 at the
Frick Fine Arts Gallery.
• For University ads, submit an account number
for transfer of funds.
• Reserve space by submitting ad copy one week
prior to publication.
• For more information, call 412/624-4644.
FOR SALE
HYBRID BIKE
Specialized Sirrus hybrid bike. Ridden fewer
than 100 miles. Purchased from Pro Bikes in
July 2012. Color green. $350 (or best offer).
Contact Tom @ 412/606-6491.
HOUSING/RENT
ROOMMATE WANTED/BLOOMFIELD
UPMC/Pitt researcher or grad student preferred as roommate. Just blocks from Children’s
Hospital. 2 BR, furnished. Nonsmoker. No
pets. $400/mo. 412/403-7073.
HOUSING/SALE
HUGE OAKLAND CONDO
Quiet secure building with indoor parking,
exercise area, roof deck, good views. 2 BR, 2 full
tiled baths. More storage than you can imagine.
Formal DR, eat-in kitchen, new carpet & Pergo
flooring. $186K. 814/244-0066.
PENN HILLS
3-BR, 1.5-bath house. Move-in condition.
Attached garage, finished basement, private
rear yard. Frankstown Rd. near Laketon Rd.
Penn Hills 15235. Please call: 412/780-4734.
9 am-6 pm.
SERVICES
MARKS•ELDER LAW
Wills; estate planning; trusts; nursing home/
Medicaid cost-of-care planning; POAs; probate
& estate administration; real estate; assessment appeals. Squirrel Hill: 412/421-8944;
Monroeville: 412/373-4235; email michael@
marks-law.com. Free initial consultation. Fees
quoted in advance. SUBJECTS NEEDED
3-D FACE RESEARCH STUDY
Recruiting participants (100% Caucasian from
European ancestries ages 3-40), NO facial
traumas, facial reconstructive surgeries or
family history of facial birth defects. Eligible
individuals will have a 3-D photo taken, hand
& head measurements, saliva sample, answer
a short demographic. Duration 30 minutes,
compensation given. Contact faces3d@pitt.
edu or 1-866/681-7570.
BLOOD PRESSURE & THE BRAIN
Research study with 1 MRI & 2 interview sessions seeks healthy adults ages 35-60. Cannot
have low blood pressure, hypertension, heart
disease or diabetes. $150 compensation. Will be
invited to repeat study in 2 years with additional
compensation. Contact Kim Novak at 412/2466200 or [email protected].
THINKING OF QUITTING SMOKING?
UPMC seeks smokers 18-65 who are already
planning to quit smoking. This is a 4-week
study on the short-term effects of fenofibrate,
an FDA-approved oral medication for lipidlowering & may reduce smoking. This is not
a treatment study. For more information,
visit www.smokingstudies.pitt.edu or call
412/246-5306.
WOMEN’S HEALTH STUDY
University of Pittsburgh researchers are looking for healthy women ages 40-60 for a study
looking at cardiovascular disease risk factors.
The research study includes: wearing study
monitors; a fasting blood draw; completing
diaries & questionnaires; ultrasounds of arm &
neck arteries. Compensation is $150. Email:
[email protected] or 412/6487068; 412/624-2016.
24
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