Convocation: Class of 2012
85 students join the Carnegie Mellon family
The Class of 2012 was welcomed to the Carnegie Mellon global family at Convocation Saturday, Aug. 16. The 85 new students, along with Carnegie Mellon Qatar faculty and staff, participated in the formal event that was held in the three-story atrium of the new Carnegie Mellon building in Education City.
The fifth class to join Carnegie Mellon Qatar is made up of 38 women and 47 men. Twenty-eight students are Qatari nationals, with the remaining 57 students representing 20 different nationalities. Forty-three students have enrolled in Business Administration; 30 in Computer Science; and 12 in Information Systems. This is the first class to enroll students in all three majors.
Convocation is a long-standing university tradition that is held on or before the first day of classes of the fall semester. It is the official start of the academic year. Keeping with the Scottish heritage of Carnegie Mellon, the event began with the sounds of a bagpiper dressed in a woolen kilt and full Scottish regalia. His music began a procession that included all faculty and incoming freshman. Faculty members wore academic robes, mortarboards and colorful hoods that represent the universities from which they earned their doctoral degrees. And all freshmen wore long black robes, much like the ones they will wear upon their graduation in four years.
Campus News
BOTBALL robotics
to be featured in two-part Al Jazeera documentary
Al Jazeera Children's Channel, which is an Arabic channel, is airing two half-hour specials on Botball, the high school robotics program Carnegie Mellon Qatar has brought to the Gulf Region.
The first episode aired Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. KSA time and will be rebroadcast today, Sunday, Aug. 17, at 1:30 p.m. The episode features Omar Bin Al Khattab School's trip in Oklahoma to attend the Global Conference on Educational Robotics.
The episode also features a series of interviews about Hala the Robot receptionist project. Robotics professor Brett Browning and Computer Science students Hatem Alismail and Keghani Kouzoujian are creating the robot receptionist to greet people in the new building. There are also interviews with several key people from the Robotics Institute including Takeo Kanade and Illah Nourbakhsh.
Part 2 of the Botball program will air Saturday, Aug. 23, at 7:30 p.m. KSA time with a rebroadcast Sunday, Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. This episode will feature Carnegie Mellon Qatar Dean Chuck Thorpe and a wrap up of the Global Conference in Oklahoma.
Home Sweet Home
Carnegie Mellon moves into its building
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar has moved into its new building in Education City. However, construction is still underway in the expansive 460,000-square-foot teaching and learning facility. “Due to the rapid growth in Education City and the tremendous pressure for space, Qatar Foundation asked that we take partial occupancy before the fall semester,” says Kevin Lamb, Assistant Dean for Planning.
Construction on the building began in August of 2006, and crews have been working nearly nonstop for two years to meet the aggressive July deadline. Initially Carnegie Mellon will occupy the ground and first floors. Starting in fall 2009, Northwestern University will make temporary quarters on the second floor. A Subway sandwich shop, Coffee Cottage and juice bar will all open during the fall semester in the expansive three-story atrium that serves as the heart of the building. The formal dedication of the Carnegie Mellon building is slated for February 2009.
Other News
Smart People
Miramax Films' "Smart People," a romantic comedy filmed on Carnegie Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh, was released on DVD Aug. 12. The movie opened in theaters this past April. Carnegie Mellon Drama Professor Don Wadsworth plays a role in the film and Carnegie Mellon students were used as extras, production assistants and interns.
The Fence gets a Silicon Valley extension
Carnegie Mellon's historic Fence just got a little longer. The "campus billboard" painted for decades by thousands of student groups on the Cut after midnight now has a 10-foot extension on the Silicon Valley campus. The Fence on the back patio of the Silicon Valley campus is a class gift from 45 graduates who received their master's degrees during a diploma ceremony Aug. 9.
The students, who are all working professionals, earned their degrees in software engineering and management. Students organized the class gift of $1,500 for the Fence installation. The graduating class also gave $1,000 to the Randy Pausch Honorary Fund.
Upcoming Events
Distinguished Lecture Series
The Distinguished Lecture Series is hosting three events featuring Alejandro Portes, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University. To attend any of the events, contact Kara Nesimiuk, Events Coordinator, at karan@qatar.cmu.edu.
Panel on Immigrant Labor
Sunday, August 24
4:30 p.m.
Lecture Hall 1064
The panel features Alejandro Portes, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University.
There will also be presentations by: Ambassador Isaias F. Begonia, Embassy of the Philippines; Pindie Stephen, International Organization for Migration; Hala Al Ali, National Human Rights Committee; Dr. Sadoum Rashid Al-Healy, National Office for Combating Human Trafficking; Dr. Abdelkader Latrech, Qatar Permanent Population Committee; and Dr. Fadwa El Guindi, Qatar University.
Migration and Social Change:
A Conceptual Reflection
by Alejandro Portes, Ph.D.
Monday, August 25
6:00 p.m.
Four Seasons Hotel, Al Daibel Room
Portes is Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Migration and Development at Princeton University.
He is the author of some 220 articles and chapters on national development, international migration, Latin American & Caribbean urbanization and economic sociology. His books include City on the Edge – the Transformation of Miami and Immigrant America: A Portrait.
His research is on the adaptation process of the immigrant second generation and the rise of transnational immigrant communities in the United States.
All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will follow the lecture.
Educating student leaders who can make a difference
A student conference
Tuesday, August 28
4:30 p.m.
Lecture Hall 1064
Students from Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown will present their research on immigration issues. All research projects were performed as part of the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP), which is sponsored by the Qatar National Research Fund (QRNF).
Students aim to promote awareness about immigrant worker issues in Qatar and the community, with a particular emphasis on Education City student leaders.
The conference will feature Alejandro Portes, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University.
