01-02-2009
"60 Minutes" Men
The Jan. 4 episode of CBS News’ “60 Minutes" featured a report by Lesley Stahl on research by Tom Mitchell, chair of the Machine Learning Department, and Marcel Just, professor of psychology, on how the mind encodes the meaning of words.
The report explored how machine learning and language technologies may someday make it possible to use brain scans to identify thoughts.
For a video of the report, see: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4697682n
The report already has stirred discussion at the Huffington Post. The comments range from the critical — "This is sick!" — to the hopeful — "We could ... pinpoint certain thoughts and how they lead to various neuroses or depression, maybe even develop a better treatment for schizophrenia." Some are just comical — "We can finally get the truth out of O.J."
The work also was the subject of a front-page story in the Jan. 4 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette posted a video of reporter Mark Roth undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan and having his thoughts identified by the computer algorithm.
Pictured at right are (l-r) Tom Mitchell, Lesley Stahl and Marcel Just.
Byron Spice
12-18-2008
Randy Pausch is Pittsburgher of the Year
The January issue of Pittsburgh magazine names Randy Pausch as the Pittsburgher of the Year. “He lived an extraordinary life, and in dying he inspired others on how to live,” the magazine said in explaining its choice. The issue features a long profile of Randy, written by Geoffrey W. Melada, that highlights his academic career, including the creation of the Alice software environment and the co-founding of the Entertainment Technology Center.
The magazine’s previous Pittsburghers of the Year have included Bill Strickland, Henry and Elsie Hillman, and August Wilson.
Byron Spice
12-15-2008
Panda3D, Alice Honored
Carnegie Mellon University has received a $50,000 Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration (MATC) for its role in developing Panda3D and Alice, two open-source software tools that provide significant benefits to higher education and, in particular, to the arts and humanities.
Mike Christel, senior systems scientist in the Computer Science Department, accepted the award from Vint Cert, vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google Inc., at a Washington, D.C., ceremony Dec. 8. Ten institutions, including MIT, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Washington received the awards, which are presented by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Panda3D is a game engine originally developed by the Disney VR Studio to create virtual reality rides, such as Aladdin’s Magic Carpet, at Disney theme parks. It eventually was used to build Disney’s online game, Toontown. It was released as open source software in 2002, but was not in a form that could be easily used by most game developers. Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center worked with Disney to create documentation, add features and generally make Panda3D more suitable for use by the public.
Alice is a software environment that enables computer novices to create 3-D animations using a drag-and-drop interface and, in the process, provides an introduction to computer programming principles. The software, which Carnegie Mellon makes available as a free download, is used in about 15 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. Originally spearheaded by the late Randy Pausch, the Alice Project is now directed by Wanda Dann, associate teaching professor. Alice 3.0, a new version featuring animation characters created by Electronic Arts for its best-selling “The Sims,” is now undergoing alpha testing.
(Above, Carnegie Mellon's Mike Christel (right) accepts the award from Vint Cert of Google, Inc.)
Byron Spice
12-10-2008
Randy Continues To Inspire
Randy Pausch was the “Most Inspiring Person of 2008,” according to the editors of Beliefnet.com, a religion and spirituality Web site.
“Pausch was selected because of his huge, far-reaching impact and because even after his death he continues to inspire legions of viewers,” the editors explained. “Pausch's lecture, delivered for a small audience at Carnegie Mellon University where he was a professor of computer science, became an Internet phenomenon. … By 2008, his inspiration had reached almost 20 million people. His message was simple and powerful: ‘We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.’”
The two other finalists were the Midwestern Boy Scouts who responded heroically when a tornado struck their camp in Iowa last June and Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian music star and adoption advocate who became a model for suffering parents after the accidental death of his adopted daughter. Others considered for the award included the late Paul Newman and actress Christina Applegate, a breast cancer survivor who inspires and motivates others to join the fight against the deadly disease.
Byron Spice
