akhbar
November 2007
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Information
Systems
New
degree
is a
natural
link
between
Business
Administration
and
Computer
Science
akhbar
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Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
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P.O. Box 24866
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2 akhbar November 2007
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akhbar
table of contents
In this issue
features
5 Information Systems
Carnegie Mellon Qatar launches third undergraduate degree
7 CMUnited
Class of 2011 is welcomed with five-day orientation
10 Entrepreneurship
Executive Entrepreneurship Certificate Program kicks off
12 Bill Brown
Remembering a friend, teacher and mentor
14 BOTBALL
HOLA!
page 26
Championship team spends five days in Pittsburgh
16 Building a future
Students take service trip to Jordan
departments
4 dean’s column
Contributing to the knowledge-based economy
19 alumni corner
Students today, alumni forever
20 faces of carnegie mellon
Gloria Hill, Assistant Vice Provost for Education
22 research spotlight
Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor - A vision for the future
Distinguished Lecture Series
page 32
24 ba in focus
Introduction to Entrepreneurship a popular new course
25 cs in focus
Three students attend CS conference for women
26 humanities in focus
Two-week trip to Spain engrosses students in the language
28 campus news
Read about all of the activities on campus
44 staff & faculty news
Faculty bios, staff news, awards and accolades
46 pittsburgh connection
Posner Center is a must-see sight in Pittsburgh
Posner Center
page 46
50 the back story
A career in robotics has taken Systems Scientist Brett
Browning all over the world
November 2007 akhbar 3
dean’s column
A WORD FROM THE DEAN...
W
hen Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon University to come to Doha in 2004, it
was so that we could be a key component
in the growing knowledge-based economy. We started
by offering two of our most prestigious and world-renowned degrees in Business Administration and Computer Science.
But that was just the beginning. We recently
became the first university in Education City to offer an
additional degree. Our Information Systems program is
a natural bridge between Business Administration and
Computer Science. This program will give students the
knowledge and skills necessary to build information and
communications systems that solve real business problems.
In addition to working hard on degrees that will
make them leaders in the Gulf Region, our students are
also continuing Carnegie Mellon’s long-standing tradition of research. Students are researching ways they
can apply robotics, computer science and business in
ways that will benefit their community. Many students
are already formulating business plans and ideas that
will enrich the community of Doha and the entire Arab
world.
As educators, our role in shaping Qatar is not
limited to our undergraduates though. In partnership
with Qatar Science and Technology Park, we’ve launched
our Executive Entrepreneurship Certificate Program for
professionals who want to learn how to succeed in the
marketplace.
Forty men and women, from as far afield as Italy
and Jordan, have enrolled in the eight-month program
where they are taking courses from some of the most
successful and stimulating entrepreneurs in the U.S.
Through this program, these smart and driven professionals will, no doubt, assist in steering Qatar toward a
bright and successful future.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar is also starting networking events to link businesses, researchers and potential
graduates. We’re also bringing in venture capitalists and
angel funds to assist in getting new ideas off the ground.
I see the universities, businesses and investors in
Qatar as a three-legged stool. Our success and ability to
stand alone is dependant on the strength support of each
other. Working together is the key to achieving a successful and sustainable knowledge-based economy.
4 akhbar November 2007
My best wishes to you all,
Charles E. Thorpe, Dean
features
Information Systems is a
natural link
between the
two existing
majors at
Carnegie
Mellon
University
in Qatar:
Computer
Science and
Business
Administration.
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
Carnegie Mellon Qatar launches third undergraduate degree
W
e live in an information-based society.
We store our music on our computers, snap pictures with our mobile
phones and turn to Google for endless
amounts of information.
As data and information continue to play
an important part of our lives, so does the ability to
store, access and process it. That’s where Information
Systems comes in.
Information Systems is an internationally recognized Bachelor of Science degree for students who
want to understand and solve information problems
for organizations.
“The new IS program is an obvious and welcome addition to our two existing programs: it is the
natural bridge between Computer Science and Business Administration,” says Charles E. Thorpe, Dean
of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The focus of the new Information Systems
program is on giving students the knowledge and
skills necessary to design systems for the effective use
of information. This has now become central for the
support of organizations, decision makers, researchers and policy makers.
IS majors master the skills needed to bring
together people, process and technology in a way
that yields results. Graduates of the IS program are
ideally situated to take a leading role in shaping our
information-based future as technology managers,
software developers, technical specialists, Web design
specialists, consultants and entrepreneurs.
“Besides the IS majors themselves, our other
students will benefit from the new major,” says
Thorpe. “The courses offered in IS will be natural
electives for CS students wanting to understand the
application of Computer Science in a business setting,
or for Business Administration students wanting to
understand how to process information.”
continued on page 6
November 2007 akhbar 5
features
fessionals who can take their expertise in technology
and use it in a variety of ways to help companies
Originating in Carnegie Mellon’s College of
solve problems. IS positions are expected to more
Humanities & Social Sciences in Pittsburgh, Pennsylthan double in the next decade as technology continvania, USA, the IS program offers an interdisciplinues to grow and evolve.
ary curriculum that combines its Computer Science
Supporting this growth are a strong economy,
and Business-related coursework with a liberal arts
a developing IT sector and an improving pre-unigeneral education core.
versity educational system. Qatar currently does not
Drawing on a wide range of exciting college
produce any four-year IS graduates however there are
and university strengths, IS majors
small amounts being produced in
study the organizational, techthe region. Yet this small number
“Information Systems
nological, economic and societal
of graduates will not be sufficient
combines technology and
aspects of information systems.
to meet growing demand.
working with people in a
In addition to general edu “We anticipate Information
way that can be applied to
cation requirements and basic preSystems will be a successful and
many aspects of working
requisites in mathematics, statistics
popular addition to the curriculife. Graduates have an arand computer programming, IS
lum at Carnegie Mellon Qatar,”
ray of career options.”
students must complete three spesays Randy Weinberg, IS Program
cific areas of study in the major: a
Director at Carnegie Mellon
- Steve Pajewski
Professional Core, a Disciplinary
Pittsburgh.
Associate Director of the
Core and a Focused Content Area.
“We look forward to being
Information Systems Program
Students who complete the
active members of the Education
IS program will be well grounded
City community and, in years
in the fundamentals of organizato come, a major source of Information Systems
tion theory, decision making, teamwork and leadergraduates trained and ready to serve the diverse and
ship and research methods as well as current and
expanding needs for information technology and
emerging information systems technologies.
systems management, IT infrastructure, management
“Information Systems combines technology
support, IT innovation and entrepreneurship of the
and working with people in a way that can be apgrowing national and regional economy.”
plied to many aspects of working life. Graduates have Carnegie Mellon Qatar is the first university
an array of career options,” says Steve Pajewski, Asin Education City to add an additional major to its
sociate Director of the Information Systems Program. course offerings. Since August 2004, Carnegie Mellon
With the booming economy of the Gulf
has been offering Bachelor of Science degrees in BusiRegion, Carnegie Mellon Qatar conducted market
ness Administration and Computer Science.
research to determine if there was a need for Infor
“It’s great to have the support of Qatar
mation Systems graduates in Qatar and the surround- Foundation in launching a new degree program that
ing region. Organizations such as Deloitte &Touche,
will have a positive and lasting impact on Qatar, the
Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, ictQatar, the Four
Gulf Region and the Middle East as a whole,” says
Seasons, RasGas, Qatar Petroleum and Microsoft
Thorpe.
were surveyed with regard to their projected IS needs. “Carnegie Mellon is always looking for inno
The research showed there was a great devative ways to make a difference in the world, and by
mand in the Middle Eastern market for young prooffering an IS degree in Qatar we can do just that.” Q
continued from page 5
6 akhbar November 2007
features
CM
NITED
CLASS OF 2011
O
completes the student body
rientation is the official beginning of college for the freshman
class. It’s when students from several different high
schools come together and launch
their membership in the Carnegie
Mellon community.
For the first time since
Carnegie Mellon Qatar enrolled its
initial students in August 2004, the
first-year students had three older
classes of students to welcome
them. And the 18-member Orientation Team set out on a mission
to make this year’s orientation
better than any one yet.
“I had a great time during
my orientation and I wanted to
give these freshman the same experience I had,” says Rezwan Islam
(CS 2009), one of the four Head
Orientation Counselors.
The Class of 2011, which
is the largest class yet with 57 students, was treated to many firsts,
beginning with an orientation Web
page that featured campus photos,
a schedule and welcome messages
from orientation counselors.
“Between the silly activities, fun-filled outings and learning about life at Carnegie Mellon,
our five-day program makes the
adjustment from high school to
college a ton of fun,” according
to Jinanne Tabra (Tepper 2008),
Head Orientation Counselor.
continued on page 8
November 2007 akhbar 7
Orientation counselors and the incoming
freshman class visited the Islamic Arts
Museum as part of the five-day freshman orientation. At left, Baker Hall on the
Pittsburgh campus is home to the class
tiles, which are golden tiles that represent each graduating class. Class tiles
pass through the hands of all members
of the class before graduation, at which
time they are placed into the floor. Class
tiles in Doha will be placed into the floor
of the new Carnegie Mellon building in
Education City.
continued from page 7
Freshmen and their parents were welcomed into the
Carnegie Mellon family with a
special family orientation at the
Intercontinental Hotel. This event
gave the students and their parents an idea of what it is like to
be a Carnegie Mellon student and
a Carnegie Mellon parent, says
Ramsey Ramadan (Tepper 2009).
The evening began with a
welcome reception during which
the students received Carnegie
Mellon giveaways. Current students talking about life at Carnegie Mellon and Education City, a
sample lecture and the showing of
a video in which parents of current students talked about what
it means to them to be a Carnegie
Mellon parent wrapped up the
evening.
During the five-day orientation, the freshman and the
orientation counselors engaged in
many activities including movies, a
casual faculty breakfast, a tug-of8 akhbar November 2007
war as long as the LAS Building
and a trip to the Islamic Arts Museum. In addition to these somewhat standard bonding activities,
Head Orientation Counselor Noor
Al-Jassim (Tepper 2009) says
the HOCs wanted to add a new
dimension to the experience: community service.
“We wanted to set the
tone for the four years by starting
community service from day one,”
says Al-Jassim. The orientation
team looked to do a project inside
of Education City but then found
a need at Al Ahli Hospital. So the
whole group went to the private
hospital and spent several hours
cleaning.
“It was the highlight of
orientation,” says Tabra. “People
really changed their ideas about
community service and students
realized it was something they
could enjoy.” This special program,
along with all of the events dur-
Setting the tone of the importance of community service, orientation counselors
and freshman spent a day cleaning at Al Ahli Hospital. Many called the experience
the ‘highlight’ of the five-day orientation program. At right, in the Scottish tradition
of Carnegie Mellon a bagpiper led the procession at the university’s first formal
convocation. Held on the first day of classes, convocation is the official welcome
of the freshman class into the Carnegie Mellon family.
ing orientation week, was entirely
student planned and executed.
Another first of the Class
of 2011 orientation was a formal
convocation. Held on the first day
of classes of the fall semester, convocation is a long-standing university tradition in which freshmen
are welcomed into the Carnegie
Mellon family.
Since this incoming class
makes a full complement of
students - with freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors - the
convocation was made into a more
formal event than in years past.
Keeping with the Scottish
heritage of Carnegie Mellon, the
event began with the melodious
sounds of a bagpiper who was
dressed in a woolen kilt and full
Scottish regalia. With his music he
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.
All freshmen wore long
black robes, much like the ones
they will wear upon their graduation in four years.
The freshman class also
was presented with its official
golden class tile. Each class tile is
imbued with the spirit of the class
whose year it bears. Over the four
years that a class walks campus,
its tile is passed from student to
student.
After having passed
through each pair of hands, it
will be imbedded in the floor to
become forever a part of Carnegie
Mellon. In Pittsburgh, the tiles line
the entrance of Baker Hall.
Tiles in Qatar will be displayed in the new Carnegie Mellon
building upon its completion in
Education City in 2008.
Islam says the best part
about this year’s orientation was
watching everyone bond together. “Is wasn’t just a week of
fun. It was the transition between
high school and college. And it
was about fitting in the last piece
of our four-year puzzle.”
About the Class of 2011
The Class of 2011 is the
largest freshman class to join
Carnegie Mellon Qatar. This class
is comprised of 25 male and 32
female students. Forty students
enrolled in the Business Administration program and 17 in the
Computer Science program.
The new class represents
19 different nationalities, with
34 percent of the students being
Qatari. Of the 57 freshmen, 49 are
from Qatar, with the remaining
eight being from other countries. Q
November 2007 akhbar 9
features
Executive
Entrepreneurship
Certificate Program
kicks off
10 akhbar November 2007
features
T
he most successful companies a decade
cialization Strategy and Technology Commercializafrom now will be selling products and
tion Workshop. Each course is seven weeks long.
services unimaginable today. The ExecuWeek one is a “fast week,” which is an intensive
tive Entrepreneurship Certificate Program,
hands-on class held all day.
a course offered by Carnegie Mellon University in
This is followed by six weeks of independent
Qatar and Qatar Science and Technology Park, gives
study and video conferences every Thursday with the
business leaders in the Gulf Region the power to be
Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh. The eightone of these success stories.
month program is set up this way so business profes
“The focus of this program is on creating
sionals can attend classes and complete coursework
a knowledge-based economy and wealth creation
around their work schedule.
that does not require mineral resources,” says Tom
Emerson says he was delighted to find that
Emerson, Ph.D., Morgenthaler Professor of Entrepre- the students in Qatar are no different than their
neurship and former director of the Donald H. Jones
counterparts in Pittsburgh. “They’re intelligent, interCenter for Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of
active and a joy to teach. The challenge with bringing
Business at Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh. “The rethe program to Qatar,” he says, “is adapting what is
sources and opportunities are here. We’re here to help taught in the western economy to the Middle Eastern
people see them and develop them.”
economy and culture.”
Emerson is one of the accomplished entre
Carnegie Mellon has been teaching entreprepreneurs teaching in the EECP program. The courses
neurship since 1972 when it became one of the first
teach the process of how great business ideas are
academic institutions to offer formal courses. These
generated, evaluated and put into practice in the real
programs were consolidated in 1990 when Donald
world.
Jones, a successful entrepreneur and venture capital
The EECP program covers busiist, endowed the Donald H. Jones
ness essentials such market positioning,
for Entrepreneurship within
“Entrepreneurship Center
building competitive advantage and
the Tepper School of Business.
is abundantly on
strategic planning. The program also
The center was soon recdisplay in Qatar;
teaches the personal skills that are critiognized as one of the world’s top
cal to business success such as leading
entrepreneurship centers and has
in every souq and
teams and pitching to investors. By the
family-owned busi- been offering exceptional graduate,
end of the course, students will have
undergraduate and executive educaness.”
created a fully developed project plan
tion programs ever since.
- Tom Emerson
and be ready to launch new technology
Carnegie Mellon partnered
ventures.
with Qatar Science & Technology
The inaugural EECP class is made up of
Park to offer the program because QSTP is a home
nearly 40 students, some from countries as far away
for international companies from around the world
as Australia, Italy and the United States. While most
and an incubator of start-up technology businesses.
of the men and women live in Qatar, a few are from
QSTP aims to develop Qatar’s knowledge economy,
neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and the
and a key way of doing this is by providing people
United Arab Emirates.
with the skills and resources to commercialize tech
Andrea Raggi, an engineer from Italy, signed
nology.
up for the course to learn more about business. “As
“This program is a wonderful addition to the
an engineer I’m in love with ideas. But since my eduthings we’re doing in Qatar,” says Des Ryan, QSTP
cation was 100 percent technical I don’t know how
Business Support Manager. “We hope the students in
to take these ideas to the market,” he says. “I’m here
the EECP program will come to QSTP as they develto learn how to start a business and get it off on the
op their ideas. We have world-class facilities to help
right foot. Who better to teach me to be successful
world-class businesses and products succeed.”
than Carnegie Mellon?”
Carnegie Mellon Qatar and Qatar Science
The EECP curriculum is made up of four
and Technology Park have a five-year contract to run
courses: Entrepreneurial Thought & Action, Entrethe EECP program. Courses will begin each fall. To
preneurial Business Planning, Technology Commerlearn more, visit www.qatar.cmu.edu/exed. Q
November 2007 akhbar 11
BILL BROWN, Ph.D.
features
Remembering a friend, teacher and mentor
D
ean Chuck Thorpe remembers the last
conversation he had with Bill Brown,
Ph.D., before Brown left Doha in May.
“He said ‘Chuck, I hope I've reduced
your workload.’ I said Bill, think of all the great ideas
you have for things we want to do - every time you
take something off my plate, you come up with two
more things we should take on."
To that, Brown laughed his usual contagious
laugh and said, “well, then I hope I've reduced your
blood pressure.”
“He certainly did,” says Thorpe. “Bill brought
enthusiasm, energy and an upbeat attitude to everything he did. He was passionate about teaching,
excited about helping junior faculty and eager about
the potential for doing really great things in Doha.”
Brown died in July, several days after undergoing brain surgery for a benign tumor. The tumor
was discovered only weeks before when Brown took
a spill off of his bicycle.
Brown came to Qatar in January 2007 as a
visiting professor of biological sciences teaching a hybrid biology course to students. The course, which he
developed to integrate online learning and classroom
lecture, was previously adopted by 26 U.S. universities and a university in Santiago, Chile.
12 akhbar November 2007
He and his wife, Linda, took to Qatar immediately. They loved the new campus, the enthusiastic
students and the Arabic culture, and decided to stay
on for several years.
Brown was soon named special assistant to
Thorpe. In this role, he was going to work with the
dean to provide support on a wide range of issues
including organizing commencement, convening a
college council, showing Qatar University how to
set up a faculty senate and conducting environmental research just to name a few. “And that was what
he started in only four months on the ground,” says
Thorpe.
Brown would spend weekends taking long
bike rides with Majd Sakr, Computer Science professor, to the small town of Al-Khor. On these rides the
two would brainstorm on new ideas for Qatar.
‘Bill was filled with ideas. He had so much to
bring to Doha,” says Sakr. “He was a friend, teacher,
colleague and mentor all at once. He simply and
gracefully led by example. His positive spirit and
drive were infectious. He left us too soon and we miss
having him on campus and on our weekly bike rides.”
While Brown had an immeasurable impact on
Qatar in his short stay, he has been an influential part
of Carnegie Mellon for nearly 35 years. He joined the
faculty as an assistant professor of biological sciences
at the Mellon College of Science (MCS) in 1973.
In 1993, he became professor and served as acting
head of the Department of Biological Sciences from
1993-1995. He subsequently served as department
head from 1995-2000.
Over almost four decades Brown advanced
undergraduate education and received numerous
awards. According to colleagues, Brown “was a wonderful teacher, deeply concerned with the learning
and development of students.”
He demanded much of his students intellectually, but also knew how to have fun. He helped biology students build the departmental booth for carnival, and he acted in corny parts for the MCS annual
Murder Mystery dinner.
Brown was particularly aggressive in incorporating computers to teach biology and pursue
research at Carnegie Mellon and in improving Pittsburgh Public School science education. Brown helped
establish the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the
Sciences for highly talented high school students, a
program now in its 25th year.
In 2005, he helped launch the Master’s Degree in Biotechnology and Management, one of the
few truly interdisciplinary programs that ensure an
equally balanced, in-depth emphasis on business and
science. Earlier in his career, Brown helped launch the
Bachelors of Science and Arts.
Brown also maintained an active laboratory, pursuing molecular research to improve
diagnostics for toxic agents in the workplace and
designing biological methods to remediate harmful chemicals released into the environment.
The father of two, he received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1971 and completed a post-doctoral
fellowship in biophysics in 1973 at Yale University before coming to Carnegie Mellon.
In addition to his distinguished academic
career, Brown was an avid cyclist and world
traveler. Each year, he participated in numerous
charitable fundraisers. This June, he rode in the
Multiple Sclerosis Bike Ride from Pittsburgh to
Erie.
“Bill’s life held no boundaries - no
boundaries to travel, to intellectual curiosity, no
boundaries between work and friends and family,” says Thorpe. “He brought us all together and
made us feel like family. We miss him personally
and professionally. His heart truly was in the work.”
Brown is survived by his wife, Linda; his two
sons, Kevin and Eric; and brothers and sisters. A
memorial is being held on Saturday, Nov. 10 in Doha
and Pittsburgh. Q
At left, Bill and his wife, Linda, pose for a picture along the
Corniche in Doha. Above, Bill and Majd Sakr rode their bicycles
on the 150-mile Multiple Sclerosis ride in June. Bill found out
he had a brain tumor only weeks after the charity ride from
Pittsburgh to Erie, PA.
November 2007 akhbar 13
features
champs
win
trip to
Pittsburgh
Majdi Yousef Sulaiman, Anas
Omar Al Badawi and Mohamed
Al-Gondob (left to right) won a
five-day trip to Pittsburgh for
capturing the regional BOTBALL
championship in Doha in May.
Here the students from Al RU’YA
Bilingual School in Kuwait enjoy
a day at Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd
Wright’s architectural masterpiece.
Top right, the group attend a Pirates baseball game at PNC Park.
Bottom right, Dean Chuck Thorpe
led the students on a tour of the
Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.
N
ot only did the team
from Al RU’YA Bilingual
School in Kuwait get to
brag about winning the first regional BOTBALL tournament held
outside of the United States, the
team also got to spend five days in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
“The trip was fun and educational, and we hope it inspired
the BOTBALL students to continue their good work in robotics and
computer science,” said Charles E.
Thorpe, dean of Carnegie Mellon
University in Qatar.
Majdi Yousef Sulaiman,
Mohamed Al-Gondob and Anas
14 akhbar November 2007
Omar Al Badawi, along with their
teacher and BOTBALL advisor
Hazem Hany El Beltagy, arrived in
Pittsburgh on a sunny and warm
July afternoon.
After unpacking in one of
the dormitories, the team headed
to Mineo’s Pizza in Squirrel Hill
for a taste of some hometown pie.
Bright and early the next day, the
team met up with Dean Thorpe to
tour the Robotics Institute. Thorpe
showed off several autonomous
vehicles including solar-paneled
cars and small helicopters designed
by scientists at the Robotics Institute.
“This is the coolest thing
I’ve ever seen,” says Al-Gondob of
the helicopters. “I could spend the
whole week in here.”
But there was much more
to see. The team headed to PNC
Park to watch the Pittsburgh
Pirates baseball team take on
the Colorado Rockies. While the
Pirates racked up a loss, the robot
champs enjoyed the evening that
came complete with fireworks
after a home run.
The Al RU’YA team also
had an exclusive tour of Pittsburgh’s City Council chambers.
This is the legislative branch of
government that makes the laws
that govern the City of Pittsburgh.
Members of City Council were
interested in asking questions
about Qatar, and numerous media
outlets came to the meeting and
interviewed the students.
“I can’t believe how
welcome we feel,” says Sulaiman.
“Being Arab men I did not know
how people would treat us. But
everyone has been wonderful.”
Al-Gondob, Sulaiman, Al
Badawi and Beltagy were also taken on a tour of the Entertainment
Technology Center at Carnegie
Mellon. The ETC offers a Masters in Entertainment Technology
degree that is based on the principle of having technologists and
non-technologists work together
on projects that produce artifacts
to entertain, inform, inspire or
otherwise affect an audience. Some
of the creatures on display were a
copy of Yoda from Star Wars and
Quasi, the robot that visited Qatar
in May.
The team also took in
some of Pittsburgh’s best sights.
They visited Station Square mall
and rode the Monongahela Incline
up the side of Mt. Washington to
get a full view of the city. They
also took a Ducky Tour of the
city. This unique tour is taken on
a combination car and boat that
drives around the city on roads
then drives straight onto the river.
The team also contributed to Pittsburgh’s economy by visiting every
mall they saw.
Beltagy and his students
were thrilled to get out of the city
for a day and head into the Laurel Mountains. Not hampered by
the rain, the team toured Laurel
Caverns, a 435-acre geological
park featuring Pennsylvania's
largest cave; visited Ohiopyle State
Park; and toured the grounds of
Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s
architectural masterpiece that is
situated over a waterfall.
“I cannot believe how
beautiful Pittsburgh is,” says Beltagy, an Egyptian who had never
been to the United States before.
“It’s so green and so lovely. And
it’s nice that you can enjoy the city
and the mountains in the same
day.”
The only thing Beltagy says
the team didn’t like about the trip
was that is wasn’t long enough.
“Next year the trip should be for
two weeks.”
ABOUT BOTBALL
The BOTBALL high school
robotics competition is a U.S.based organization that introduces
robotics to high schools. Student
teams are equipped with a Lego©
Mindstorm robot, along with
instruction on how to program it
to move autonomously through a
course.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar
brought BOTBALL to its campus
in Doha, Qatar in 2005 and four
high school teams took part. Last
year the competition increased to
six teams in Doha and this year it
expanded three fold to include 12
teams in Doha, three teams in Kuwait and three teams in the United
Arab Emirates. Q
November 2007 akhbar 15
16 akhbar November 2007
features
S
Building
a
future
Students take service trip to Jordan
alt is the most historic town in
Jordan. Built in the crook of three
hills, Salt was once the most important settlement between the Jordan River
and the desert to the east. Today, Salt is
home to many underprivileged Arabs.
And it is where a group of Carnegie
Mellon Qatar students set out to make a
difference.
Working with Habitat for
Humanity International, a nonprofit
organization that invites people of all
backgrounds, races and religions to build
houses together in partnership with
families in need, nine students and three
chaperones spent a weekend helping a
family build a home.
“Going on a trip and actually doing something is very different than just
Students spent a three-day weekend helping a family add a second story
giving money,” says Maha Mahmoud (Tep- onto their home in Salt, Jordan. The work was in conjunction with Habitat for
per 2009). “You can actually see the impact Humanity International.
you are making.”
addition would provide enough room for the family’s
In addition to Mahmoud, students
son and his wife to move in and start their own famon the trip were Naif Al-Kaabi (CS 2010), Saad
ily.
Al-Matwi (Tepper 2010), Hicham Nedjari (Tepper
Most of the students had never done any
2008), Ramsey Ramadan (Tepper 2009), Maha Altype of construction and were a bit uncertain when
Khulaifi (Tepper 2009), Nasreen Zahan (CS 2010),
tasked with making rebar, hauling 400 cinder blocks
Megan Larcom (Tepper 2010) and Hillary Smith
and pouring concrete. However, under the guidance
(Tepper 2010).
of professionals they soon mastered their jobs and,
Gregg Smith, Student Development Coordinamuch to everyone’s surprise, had fun doing it.
tor, and Dave Stanfield, Director of Student Services,
“I learned how to push myself to the furthest
and Caryl Tuma, Community Advisor, chaperoned
physical extreme,” Mahmoud adds. “It was rewardthe trip.
ing knowing we were doing it for someone in need.”
Mahmoud and the rest of the group spent
While the group stayed in a hotel in Amman and
three days under the hot sun doing hard physical
labor to add a second story on to a small home. The
continued on page 18
November 2007 akhbar 17
continued from page 17
drove to Salt in the mornings, they had plenty of time
to get to know the family through the work and by
sharing meals together.
Homes built through Habitat for Humanity are not given to the families for free. To pay for
the project, families apply for interest-free loans and
contractors work at reduced rates. The homeowners
then make monthly mortgage payments that are used
to build still more Habitat houses.
Families also are expected to participate in
the actual construction. Typically the men in the family help with the actual physical work and the women
assist by cooking meals and making tea.
Caryl Tuma, Community Advisor, says many
community service options were considered before making the decision to go to Jordan for a long
weekend. She says the decision to work on an out-of
town-project was made so that students could be 100
percent engrossed in the mission.
It was also selected because in the bustling
economy of Qatar, it’s easy for students to be unaware that there are many Arabs in need in nearby
cities.
18 akhbar November 2007
The home in
Salt has a
spectacular view
of the mountains
of Jordan. Students
hauled 400 cinder
blocks to help build
the home’s second
story.
Once the work was complete, the students
presented the family with a photo album of pictures
of the work they completed over the weekend. After
a poignant goodbye, the group rewarded itself with a
quick trek to the ancient city of Petra.
Carved into the mountain, Petra has been
designated as one of the New Seven Wonders of the
World. While in Petra, the group visited a few shops
and took a quite memorable donkey ride.
Mahmoud says one aspect of the trip that she
didn’t expected was how emotional she would be. “It
was amazing to see a lot of cultures coming together
for a common goal. Everyone gave up their Qatar
Independence Day and was so dedicated to their job.
And the family was so grateful.” Q
alumni corner
ALUMNI FOREVER
I
n a few short months the Class
of 2008 will toss their mortarboards in the air, grab their
well-earned diplomas and join the
ranks of Carnegie Mellon alumni. While many students may
think that graduation signifies the
end of their relationship with Carnegie Mellon, that day is really just
the beginning.
“You’re only a student for
four years, but you’re an alumni
for the rest of your life,” says Judy
Cole, Associate Vice President for
University Advancement at Carnegie Mellon. “Alumni are the only
constituency that has a lifelong relationship with an institution. Everyone
else comes and goes.”
Many years ago, alumni relations was about little more than socializing and
having fun with former classmates. Today, it’s a much
more structured organization with thousands of
members spread across the globe.
“A strong alumni organization is a fundamental structure for alumni to engage with Carnegie Mellon in a meaningful way,” says Cole. Being an alumni
also gives former students time to enjoy aspects of
campus that they were too busy to enjoy while engrossed in their studies.
Alumni relations is made up of four components, says Cole. First is participation. This means
that once students enter the workforce they take time
to come back to Carnegie Mellon to engage with
students and other alumni. It’s about getting involved
and staying involved in any number of ways.
Second is volunteering. Cole says giving time
to your alma mater is just as important as anything
else an alumni can give. Alumni can volunteer to
coordinate alumni events, give job talks, help with
activities or serve as a mentor to young students.
Financial giving is the third aspect of alumni
A graphic of the alumni life cycle timeline.
relations. Cole says this encompasses all levels of
giving: from 1 Riyal to 1 million Riyals. “By giving money, alumni are paying it forward. By giving
money you are helping future students,” Cole says.
This, Cole says, is because university educations are priced at about 2/3 of their actual worth.
This means that tuition, room and board only pay
for about 2/3 of what it costs to deliver an education.
The remainder is made possible through endowments
and financial giving.
The last component of alumni relations is
being an advocate for Carnegie Mellon. This means
sharing your experience with others and encouraging
young people to consider attending Carnegie Mellon.
What will make alumni relations in Qatar
unique is that the Class of 2008 will forge out on
their own to define what it means to be a Carnegie
Mellon Qatar alumni.
“It’s not a completely clean slate because they
can build on Pittsburgh’s alumni relations,” Cole says.
The Class of 2008 will lay the foundation of alumni
relations in Qatar and subsequent classes will build
on that.
November 2007 akhbar 19
faces of carnegie mellon
20 akhbar November 2007
faces of carnegie mellon
Gloria Hill, Ph.D.
A passion for education
on both sides of the world
S
ituated on the ground floor of Cyert
Hall on Pittsburgh’s campus, Gloria
Hill’s office is a little slice of Carnegie
Mellon Qatar.
Photos of the high school students in
the Summer College Preview Program adorn
her door. A tartan Qatar Campus banner
hangs proudly over her desk flanked by renderings of the now under-construction building in Education City. Above her desk are two
simple black and white clocks: one telling the
time in Pittsburgh and the other the time in
Doha.
As the Assistant Vice Provost for
Education for the Qatar Campus, Hill’s office
shows her dedication to higher education
and to the students in Doha. It also peaks the
interest of passers-by, giving them a reason to
stop in and ask questions.
“My office gives me the opportunity
to spread the word about Doha, about what
we’re doing there and why people should consider going over to work or study,” says Hill.
Hill has been involved with the planning and implementation of education in
Doha since Carnegie Mellon Qatar opened
in August 2004. In her role, she serves as the
main link between the two campuses. She sees
to it that the level of education in Qatar is on
par with that in Pittsburgh.
She began her career with Carnegie
Mellon in 1972 as a counselor with the Carnegie Mellon Action Project (C-MAP) program,
which provides academic support for minority
students.
She stayed in this position for several
years, then left the university in the late 1970s
to pursue other opportunities. In 1984 she
returned to head up C-MAP.
“Seeing students grow is such a satisfying thing,” she says. “Being able to contribute to that is major. When I was away from it
I missed it.”
It’s this passion for education and
helping students grow on all levels that Hill
brings to Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Her job as
Assistant Vice Provost encompasses much
more than just academics. It gives her the opportunity to interact closely with students to
see that they are growing both academically
and personally.
Hill also gets to work building relationships with students in which she can help
them see their options and empower them
to make decisions for themselves. “I encourage students to find something they really
like. And let them know that it’s okay if they
bounce around for a while until they find
their place.”
This summer Hill expanded her academic role and organized the first Summer
College Preview Program, which is an intensive three-week college preparatory program
for academically-talented high school students. The program was so successful that Hill
will be heading it up every year.
And while becoming a world traveler
wasn’t a direction she ever anticipated her career would take, going to Doha is now second
nature. “Nowhere in my wildest dreams did
I ever think I would be going back and forth
from Pittsburgh to the Middle East,” she says.
“But I like it. It gives me more opportunities to work with students. And I am
helping more people in Pittsburgh understand
what we’re doing and consider the opportunities and potential of taking their work to
Doha.”
November 2007 akhbar 21
research spotlight
A vision for the future
Research Scientist Bernardine Dias, Ph.D., is working
on developing a Braille tutor for the Arabic language
T
he World Health Organization estimates there
are 161 million blind people in the world. Of
that, more than 90 percent live in developing
communities. Due to a lack of resources, only about
three percent of these visually-impaired children and
adults are literate. This is in spite of the importance
of literacy to employment and social well-being.
Bernardine Dias, Ph.D., Research Scientist at
Carnegie Mellon, is doing what she can to change
that. Dias is the founder and director of TechBridgeWorld, a multidisciplinary research team of students,
faculty and staff that innovates and implements
technology solutions to meet sustainable development
needs in the U.S. and around the world.
Within TechBridgeWorld a program called the
V-Unit was created to enable students and faculty “to
grow a vision” of what computer science and technology can concretely do for society in non-traditional
and under-funded areas.
“Technology shouldn’t be a luxury for only
those who can afford it, it should build bridges,” she
says. One project that Dias hopes will build those
bridges is the Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor.
In developing communities, Braille, a method
widely used by blind people to read and write, is
almost always written with a slate and stylus. Each
Braille character or cell is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns
of three dots each. A dot may be raised at any of the
six positions to form sixty-four combinations.
For blind children, learning to write like this
is a formidable process as they must learn to punch
mirror images of the letters out with the stylus, then
turn the paper over to read it. Plus many children do
not have the guidance they need to learn, and have
limited access to paper supplies.
22 akhbar November 2007
The Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor uses a stylus to write each
Braille letter in an individual cell.
The Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor is a robust, low-power Braille writing tutor that consists of
a digital stylus that interfaces to a computer. It uses
text-to-speech software to speak sentences to the student. As the student writes each letter on the stylus, it
provides immediate audio feedback by repeating the
written letters and words. The tutor also guides writing and corrects mistakes by indicating the correct
way to write a letter and by explaining how a letter
differs from a similar one.
“We wanted to make a tool that made learning Braille easier and more exciting for children,” she
says. The project not only aids in learning, it empowers people in developing communities to know what
technology can do for them.”
Dias and several graduate students took the
Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor to the Mathru School
for Blind Children near Bangalore, India to imple-
research spotlight
Blind students in
India immediately
liked working with
the Adaptive Braille
Writing Tutor.
ment the tutor and study its impact.
Its power was immediate. Dias says one child
had such a difficult time learning Braille that his
teacher, also blind, was ready to give up. The Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor revealed that the child knew
how to make the letters, he just didn’t realize he had
to move to a new cell for each letter. In one instant he
went from being considered illiterate, to being able to
read and write.
The trip also allowed Dias and her students
to further modify the tutor to account for electrical
issues and the fear many blind children have of wires.
One modification was to make the cells bigger so that
younger kids could better work with them.
While the children thrived at their ability
to learn, it wasn’t their favorite thing about having
visitors. “The biggest deal is that someone is paying
attention to them,” says Dias.
The next step in Adaptive Braille Writing Tutor is to modify it for Arabic Braille. Senior Computer
Science major Noura El Moughny is working with
Dias on developing this technology for Doha and the
Arab world.
“I always wanted to do a real application of
Computer Science in the community I live in, so the
Braille Tutor is the best match for what I’m looking for,” she says. “My hope is that this will help the
Arab world, especially the visually impaired people,
to overcome some of the problems they experience in
writing Braille. It also would help the sighted teachers in the process of teaching Braille for the visually
impaired students.”
El Moughny says that using technology to
make life easier and solve problems is one of the fundamental aspects of Computer Science. And it’s what
she always looks at and takes into consideration
when she designs and implements a certain technology for a certain problem.
While Qatar has resources to supply expensive Braille tools to students, the rest of the Arab
world is not as affluent and thus could benefit greatly
from an Arabic version. Plus, Dias says, many blind
students prefer the simplicity and fun of the Adaptive
Braille Writing Tutor to many more expensive options.
“Based on my knowledge about the technology used to support the visually impaired people in
the Arab world, the tools are always brought from
outside the Arab World to be used,” says El Moughny
“So having a designer and implementer from inside
the Arab world and who can better understand the
exact needs will lead to a better outcome.”
Learn more about Dias’ research at www.
techbridgeworld.org. Q
November 2007 akhbar 23
ba in focus
O
I
T
UC
D
O
TR
IN
A
new elective course at Carnegie
Mellon Qatar is bringing out the
industrialist in everyone.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship,
taught by George White, Ph.D., is a seniorlevel course open to all Carnegie Mellon
students. The class provides an overview
of entrepreneurship and is appropriate for
anyone who may be interested in starting a
new business or understanding the processes that should be followed in an existing
company to bring a new product to market.
“The goal of this class is to help
students understand how business is changing the world and how entrepreneurs are
making a difference,” says White.
Lectures, interviews with entrepreneurs and case studies make up the core
of the course. Case studies, White says,
are what seem to really speak to students.
“They like hearing the successes of industry
giants such as Apple, Google and Yahoo.”
This new course gives an overview
P
I
SH
R
U
NE
E
R
EP
R
T
EN
24 akhbar November 2007
O
T
N
New elective is a
popular choice
with students
of global economic development, innovation, the entrepreneurial frame of mind and
how to generate new business ideas. White’s
class also covers how to identify opportunities, find resources to exploit them and how
to recruit management teams. Students also
will have to propose business ideas and
learn how to develop these ideas into business opportunities.
White, a successful entrepreneur
who was involved in the go-go years of
Silicon Valley, says what makes this course
interesting for him is that Carnegie Mellon students are different than most other
people who want to start their own businesses.
“Usually entrepreneurs start a
new venture in order to make money. But
since money isn’t a concern for a lot of our
students, they draw their motivation by the
possibility of changing the world and making a difference.”
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
has proved a popular class this term, and
not just for Business Administration majors. Computer Science students are also
realizing the value this course adds to their
education.
“It’s important for all of our students to know how to start their own companies and to learn how to be inspired.”
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Three computer science majors attend a researchfocused conference for women at Carnegie Mellon’s
main campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ROAD
TRIP
T
hree Carnegie Mellon University in
Qatar students spent a weekend in
Pittsburgh at the first “Opportunities
for Undergraduate Research in Computer
Science Conference,” which was held by Women@SCS (women at the School of Computer
Science).
At this research-focused conference,
seniors Noura El Moughny and Eman AlEmadi along with sophomore Keghani Kouzoujian had opportunities to work on exploratory problems in teams led by researchers
and professors from industry and academia.
“I found the conference very helpful
and am very glad that I attended. I learned
about research opportunities and what other
women have been doing in their fields, and it
was truly inspirational to see all those women
sharing their passion and encouraging us to
grow in similar ways,” says Kouzoujian.
El Moughny, Al-Emadi and Kouzoujian also met Frances Allen, the first woman
to receive the Turing Award, which is a highly
prestigious award given annually by the Association for Computing Machinery to a person
for contributions of a technical nature made
to the computing community.
“This was a great opportunity for our
female computer science students to interact with many young and world-renowned
women in computer science at our home campus,” says Majd Sakr, Ph.D., computer science
professor at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
“We hope that these students got
inspiration to see what an important role they
can play as women computer scientists in this
part of the world. We also hope that these interactions will impact their activities in Doha.”
The Women@SCS mission is to create, encourage and support academic, social
and professional opportunities for women in
computer science, and to promote the breadth
of the field and its diverse community.
Technical fields such as computer science do not have a long history with women.
Organizations such as Women@SCS try to
present to the world the real picture, which is
that women are as good as men in these fields.
“As a feminist, attending an all-women's conference has been a wonderful experience,” says Kouzoujian.
“At application time I did not have a
clear idea about where computer science was
taking me. Now I know the possibilities and
couldn't be happier with my major. I strongly
encourage students to attend similar conferences. They put you on your feet so you'll
have a better view of where you stand and all
you can do.”
Carnegie Mellon Qatar currently has
58 students enrolled in the Computer Science
major; 34 are women.
November 2007 akhbar 25
humanities in focus
26 akhbar November 2007
HOLA!
humanities in focus
Ten students spend two weeks in Spain
studying the language and the culture
T
he Spanish language is
becoming ubiquitous, and
Carnegie Mellon Qatar
is no exception. Not only have
students been learning Spanish in
the classroom, a small group also
spent two weeks fully immersed in
the language and the culture this
summer.
Ten students along with
Spanish professors Erik Helin and
Sylvia Pessoa packed their bags
and headed to Salamanca, a city in
western Spain that is home to the
Estudio Sampere Learning Center.
The program consisted of
a combination of indoor classes
and outdoor activities that helped
the students learn more about the
Spanish culture and the history
behind the city of Salamanca.
It included tours within the
city of Salamanca in which behind
every brick, rests an ancient story.
Led by their Spanish teachers, the students further familiarized themselves with the Spanish
language, especially the accent and
pace of a native speaker. They also
took part in fun cultural activities
such as flamenco dancing.
“Since very few people in
Salamanca spoke English we had
to speak in Spanish,” says Maha
Mahmoud (Tepper 2009). “By always speaking in Spanish I became
more confident in my speaking. I
had to take risks and learn from
my mistakes.”
Helin says the trip was
designed for students to strengthen
their Spanish communication skills
What better way to learn new vocabulary words than to play a few games of
Scrabble.
and also to make them insightful
and productive citizens of the international world “These students
are expert language learners,” he
says. “They all speak Arabic and
English, and many speak French.
This trip is helping them develop
yet another skill to be a global
citizen.”
The Carnegie Mellon students on the trip interacted with
students from all over the world in
their classes at the Estudio Sampere. Even though they were all
from different walks of life, everyone was brought together through
their Spanish-speaking tongues.
Surprisingly, some of
the other students in the center
were seniors and juniors studying Spanish as their major. Yet the
Carnegie Mellon students proved
to be more fluent and of a higher
communication level than most
of them. This is because of Pessoa
and Helin’s teaching style, which is
of a communicative nature.
Many of the students spent
the two weeks living with native
families. This made the stay a complete immersion in the language. And much to the students’
delight, many of their host families
wanted to learn about Qatar and
maybe even pick up a few words
Arabic.
"Living with a family
didn't just help me improve my
Spanish skills. It also contributed
to my overall growth as a person
by making me more responsible,
more open to other cultures and
always willing to share my culture
with others," says Mahmoud.
November 2007 akhbar 27
campus news
QUASI
A
cute, shy and quite charming little guy with
big eyes and a kind spirit won the hearts of
many at the BOTBALL championship in May.
Quasi is an expressive anthropomorphic humanoid robot with a slightly masculine appearance.
He has the personality of a 12-yearold boy and is on a mission to create compelling
interactive and memorable experiences with
humans, and ultimately
make them smile.
New to international travel, Quasi was
one of the guests of the
Qatar Science & Technology Park TECHtalks
Conference at the end of
May. While in Doha, he
made time to stop by the
BOTBALL championship
and visit with students at
Carnegie Mellon.
In terms of physical
construction, Quasi has more
in common with a radiocontrolled model aircraft
than with a traditional robot.
Through a video camera and
microphone, the sound and visuals of those who are interacting with Quasi are relayed to
the controller, who then makes
the appropriate responses. If left in the autonomous
mode, the robot would depend on its pre-recorded
responses and pre-programmed gestures.
“He can either be controlled by a human actor or allowed to be autonomous with limitations,”
according to Seema Patel, CEO of Interbots, LLC, a
28 akhbar November 2007
company that develops interactive animatronic and
digital characters.
Quasi’s ability to convey emotion makes it
easy for him to connect with people of all ages. He
has a number of features for conveying emotion. The
most prominent of which are Color
Kinetics LED lighting fixtures for his
eyes and antennae. These combine red,
green, and blue LEDs to display any
color of the spectrum.
His antennae can move both
forward and backward as well as in
and out, giving them an expressive
quality not unlike that of a dog's
ears. The physical movements of
Quasi's eyelids, antennae and body
posture combined with changing the
LED colors allow him to effectively
communicate emotions and personality without the use of speech. Red
antennae mean he’s mad and blue
mean he’s feeling shy.
“The first version of Quasi,
created in the Spring of 2004 by
graduate students at Carnegie
Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, was
fully autonomous, but not
portable like this one,” explained
Patel, whose team is currently
building a sister to Quasi for the
Singapore Science Center.
Quasi was selected to be the mascot
of the World’s Fair for Kids, and has made numerous
television appearances including the Super Bowl, CBS
Evening News’ Eye on America, the Science Channel
and the Discovery Channel.
With all this fame, it’s unclear if he will be
able return to Doha for subsequent visits.
campus news
Cleotilde Gonzalez, Ph.D., poses with some of her summer school students. Gonzalez,
a longtime professor at Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh, spent much of the summer in Doha
teaching Dynamic Decision Making.
SUMMER REFLECTIONS
IS professor teaches summer course in Doha
C
leotilde Gonzalez, Ph.D., had been wanting
to teach at Carnegie Mellon Qatar since
the campus opened in August 2004. But as a
full-time Information Systems professor and
researcher, in addition to having a husband and
children, it was just out of the question.
Then she received an e-mail from John
Robertson, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs
at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, looking for professors to teach summer classes for six weeks. And
she knew that was her chance. “I wanted to
teach in Qatar from the start,” she says. “And
summer was the perfect opportunity.”
She spent six weeks teaching Dynamic
Decision Making, a course designed to teach
better ways to think, visualize problems and
make decisions. She had six students enrolled in
her class and found the experience of teaching
in Qatar very different from that of teaching in
Pittsburgh.
“I felt very comfortable there,” she says.
“In Pittsburgh I only teach large classes with
around 90 students. So it was nice to be able to
interact so closely with students.”
Gonzalez says the teaching environment in Qatar was very relaxed and students
felt comfortable coming to her office often. And
solely focusing on teaching for six weeks was
very rewarding. She also was able to use the
opportunity to teach a class that aligned more
closely with her research.
In addition to teaching, Gonzalez also
enjoyed learning about Doha and the Arab
culture. Her husband, who is from Jordan, and
her children joined her in Doha for a few weeks
at the end of the course.
“I managed to learn so much more
about the students here,” she says. “Plus the
summer session was perfect to enjoy the city.
There’s a lot of culture here and I’m glad I was
able to come and experience it.”
This was the first summer Carnegie
Mellon Qatar offered summer courses, with
seven electives to choose from. Summer courses
are expected to be on the academic schedule
every summer henceforth.
November 2007 akhbar 29
campus news
$HOW ME
THE
MONEY
Carnegie Mellon Qatar students take part
in two-day Apprentice challenge
$
tudents at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar spent 48 hours
racing against the clock trying to
turn QR 300 into as much money as
they could in the campus’s first version of the American reality show The
Apprentice.
Thirty-five students were split
into 7-member teams, given QR 300
seed money and 20 white T-shirts.
Teams were granted the freedom to
use the money and shirts in any way
they could to return a profit, while
abiding by The Apprentice rules &
regulations.
And there was quite an incentive: the team who raised the most
money would get to split the total
earnings.
The winning team took home a pile of money - literally. The two-day challenge
Each team came up with sevraised QR 14565.
eral ideas to raise money. Selling the Tshirts was a popular option, though not
buying their snacks, they quickly learned the reason
always successful. One team held a bake sale, while
why.
another sold Post-It notes with personal messages
“It turns out you weren’t allowed to bring
written on them.
beverages into the stadium, says Samiha Kamel, a se
Another team sold campus advertising to sev- nior Business Administration student. “We learned in
eral local companies, and one team even braved the
order to be successful we need to do market research.
heat and stood outside Al Sadd Stadium trying to sell You can’t just go out and try to sell things. You need
soft drinks and sunflower seeds. When no one was
to be prepared.”
30 akhbar November 2007
campus news
Lina El-Manshawy (Tepper 2008) shows off the
money raised in the two-day Apprentice challenge.
The pile of money included Qatari Riyals, Kuwaiti
Dinars and even a few U.A.E. Dirhams.
Lessons like this were all part of the game according to the Carnegie Mellon Business Association,
which is the group that organized the Apprentice
event.
cmBA is a student organization that aims to
cultivate the strongest business students in the region,
immerse business minds in a business culture and
establish long-term relationships with the business
community.
“cmBA and the events it sponsors, such as
The Apprentice, take the Tepper business education
to the next level,” says J. Patrick McGinnis, Carnegie
Mellon Qatar Business Administration faculty.
“Tepper business students immerse themselves
in their business education, and this organization
helps students polish their professional presence as
they engage the business world around them. cmBA
members live the organization’s slogan, which is Eat,
Drink and Breathe Business.”
cmBA held The Apprentice as a way for
students to learn how to strategize together to earn
money quickly. Teams were required to keep detailed
records of their business transactions, and had to submit documentation of their business concepts.
"Those two days were the most intense two
days of my university life so far, but I loved every
minute of it,” says Zeyad Al Mudhaf, a freshman
Business Administration student. “That was the first
time that I got to apply the skills I learned in business
classes to real-life situations. That was also the most
successful group work I have ever been involved in
because all the team put in a great effort.”
The seven students on the winning team split
a whopping QR 14565. Members of the second place
team took home brand new Nokia cellular phones
courtesy of Ettisal, a member of Al-Sulaiman Group
and authorized distributor of Nokia products.
The Apprentice event was open to all Carnegie Mellon Qatar students, not just those enrolled in
Business Administration. cmBA is planning to hold
more business challenges over the remainder of the
academic year. Q
November 2007 akhbar 31
campus news
Distinguished Lecture Series
Kentaro Toyama, Ph.D.
32 akhbar November 2007
Director of Microsoft Research India
K
entaro Toyama, Ph.D., director
of Microsoft Research India, was
the first speaker for the Fall 2007
semester in Carnegie Mellon University in
Qatar’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
The philosophy behind the Distinguished Lecture Series is to bring people
from all over the world to Doha so students can meet successful professionals
and see how they can take their education
and apply it in the workplace.
Toyama heads up the Technology
for Emerging Markets research group at
Microsoft Research India. Located in Bangalore, the group conducts social science
and technology research to identify applications of technology for socioeconomic
development of under-served communities.
In addition to playing a critical
role in establishing Microsoft Research
India, which opened in January 2005,
Toyama is responsible for helping guide
the lab’s direction and growth.
While in Doha, Toyama met with
Carnegie Mellon Qatar computer science
faculty members and discussed Microsoft’s
research operations in India. He also spoke
about opportunities for computer science
research in Qatar, and the possibility of
collaboration between students and faculty
at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and researchers
in India.
Additionally, Toyama met with
senior computer science students, asking
them about their career plans and showing
them how computer science research can
impact the world’s poorest communities.
“Toyama managed to connect
very well with our students by discussing some of his state-of-the-art research
in computer science. He inspired them to
want to do research as well as understand
the significance of scientific research,” says
Majd Sakr, Ph.D., computer science faculty
member at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
“His visit to Doha and his interaction with our computer science faculty has
identified several areas for collaboration
between computer scientists at Microsoft
India and Carnegie Mellon Qatar.”
Toyama gave an exclusive Education City lecture on the computer vision
at Microsoft Research India as well as a
public lecture on “Computing for Socioeconomic Development,” which was held
at the Intercontinental Hotel.
More than 100 people turned
out for the public lecture to learn about
Microsoft’s research efforts in this part of
the world. Kentaro also visited ROTA and
the Al Noor Institute for Individuals with
Visual Impairment.
campus news
Jinanne Tabra
(Tepper 2008), left,
and Noor Al Athirah
(Tepper 2008) won
Student Service
Awards, which are
presented by the
Carnegie Mellon
Alumni Association.
Both students traveled to Pittsburgh
in October to attend
the awards dinner.
Two seniors win Student Service Awards
N
oor Al Athirah (Tepper 2008) and Jinanne
Tabra (Tepper 2008) have been awarded
one of the highest honors an undergraduate
student at Carnegie Mellon University can receive.
The Student Service Awards, presented by the
Alumni Association, are given to no more than six
students per year. No more than two awards may be
bestowed to students from any one college, and this
year only five awards were granted throughout the
entire university.
“Noor and Jinanne met the criteria in an
extremely impressive way by combining a high level
of academic accomplishment with strong involvement
in all areas of campus life,” says John Robertson,
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education, who
nominated both girls.
The criteria for winning the award are that
the students possess a record of “an exemplary balance of outstanding academics and participation in
extra-curricular activities, while providing exceptional service to the University, the student body and/
or community.”
Among their achievements, Al Athirah started
the All Around student newspaper in 2004 and Tabra
is active on the student government.
“Their accomplishment is something we
should all be proud of since it is also recognition of
the excellence of the courses we are delivering here in
Qatar and the quality of our campus life,” Robertson
says. “These awards also show the level of respect
from the main campus.”
Al Athirah and Tabra were honored at the
Alumni Awards Dinner in Pittsburgh on Friday, October 26. Both students gave eloquent speeches to a
roomful of alumni, current students, staff and faculty.
In Tabra’s speech, she spoke about the magnitude of
Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
“There is a little campus in the Gulf where
big, big things are happening,” she says. “Noor and
I are the first students from Qatar to win this award,
but I promise you we won’t be the last.”
Al Athirah’s mother, Maha, and brother,
Samer, accompanied her on the trip, and Tabra’s
mother, Dawn, accompanied her.
The group spent three days in Pittsburgh
where they toured the city, visited the Carnegie Science Center and enjoyed the brisk autumn weather
and colorful trees.
November 2007 akhbar 33
campus news
Summer College Preview Program
wraps up a successful first year
T
wenty-two high school seniors and 13 juniors
says 115 applications were received with a goal of
spent three weeks over the summer enrolled in
admitting 30 students. Because the applicants were so
a program designed to better prepare them for the
promising, 35 students were accepted.
demanding curriculum of a selective American uni
The program was very intense with classes
versity.
running all day and homework in the evenings. Stu
Each day the students in the
dents took practice SAT exams at the
Summer College Preview Program
end of each week and even went to
“Students responded
took courses in English, math and
amazingly well to the mock college admissions interviews.
SAT Exam preparation. Students
In addition to their classes, counselprogram.”
also attended personal development
ors worked with the students on time
- Gloria P. Hill, Ph.D. management, goal setting and stress
workshops and worked on a project
Assistant Vice Provost management.
in either Business Administration or
for Education Computer Science.
Six of the eight instructors in
Through this, the 22 women
the program came from Carnegie
and 13 men learned first-hand how heavy a college
Mellon’s home campus in Pittsburgh. “The teachcourse load can be and what caliber of work will be
ers were an extraordinary collection of people,” Hill
expected of them if they are to succeed.
says.
“Students responded amazingly well to the
“They were in their office all day working
program,” says Gloria P. Hill, Ph.D., Carnegie Melwith students.” In fact, all of the instructors have
lon University in Qatar Vice Provost for Education.
asked to come back to teach in future programs.
“They saw it as an opportunity to see what college
Current Carnegie Mellon students also served
would be like and they pushed themselves and proved as peer tutors, helping students with coursework and
they were able to do it.”
answering questions about life at Education City.
Admission to the Summer College Preview
Based on the success of this program, Hills
Program was highly selective and only top students
says Carnegie Mellon plans to continue holding the
were accepted. Bryan Zerbe, Director of Admissions,
Summer College Preview Program each year.
34 akhbar November 2007
campus news
Arabic Search Engine
Workshop
R
epresentatives from leading local
and regional organizations joined
together for the Arabic Search
Engine Workshop, an initiative by
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The two-day workshop, held at the
Doha Marriott on June 17 & 18, was developed to identify concrete strategies for
Qatar to emerge as a leading commercial and
research center for advances related to Arabic
language technologies.
“The workshop investigated the
possibility of creating an Arabic Language
Technologies Center in Qatar and, more
specifically, developing a high-quality Arabic
Web search engine,” says Jaime Carbonell,
Allen Newell Professor of Computer Science
and Director of the Language Technologies
Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Newell served as moderator for the workshop.
“Carnegie Mellon is exploring teaming with other regional research and development groups to create regional expertise
in these areas. Carnegie Mellon faculty and
students would provide scientific and technological support for Web search and Arabic/
English machine translation,” says Carbonell.
“Longer term objectives in the collaboration include developing language technologies expertise in Qatar and joint research on
improved methods for search and translation,
especially focused on the unique characteristics of the Arabic language and Arabic users."
The workshop, which is one of several
research initiatives Carnegie Mellon Qatar
is planning, was comprised of four sessions
divided over the two days. The sessions covered commercialization and explored existing
initiatives in Arabic search engine technology
by Web and computing giants such as Google,
Yahoo and Microsoft.
The sessions also helped seek a consensus on an overall project path to develop
a Qatar-based focus on Arabic search engine
and related technologies.
“Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
is pleased to host the workshop to bring our
faculty experts to meet with stakeholders and
potential partners in Qatar and the region to
discuss paths to establish research and commercial endeavors in Arabic language technologies,” says Anqi Qian, Ph.D., Director of
Strategic Initiatives, Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
Participating organizations include:
Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar University,
ictQatar, iHorizons, Microsoft Egypt, Qatar
Foundation, Qatar National Research Fund,
Qatar Science & Technology Park and Qatar
Capital Partners.
November 2007 akhbar 35
campus news
U
Undergraduates Continue
Pursuing Research
ndergraduates in Qatar are continuing
Carnegie Mellon’s long-established tradition of research with the help of the Qatar
National Research Fund's second Undergraduate Research Experience Program cycle.
“Research is important because you are inventing knowledge, learning what’s not in the books
and going where no one else has gone,” says Iliano
Cervesato, Ph.D., Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. “It’s hard, but it’s also extremely
rewarding.”
Two senior Business Administration students,
Maha Al-Shirrawi and Rooda Al Neama, are working with faculty member Silvia Pessoa on a project
entitled Immigrant Workers in Qatar: Documenting
their history and current situation. This research project will explore the history and current situation of
low-skilled immigrant workers in Qatar through an
analysis of news media and interviews with government officials and immigrant workers.
Additionally, sophomore Computer Science
major Hatem Alismail is working with faculty members Brett Browning, Ph.D., and Majd Sakr, Ph.D.,
on a proposal to do a robot vision project that they
are hoping to use on the Roboceptionist (a robot
receptionist) system planned for Qatar. Alismail is
trying to build and implement a roboceptionist that is
cognizant of how to interact with people in the Arab
world.
Qatar National Research Fund was established in 2006 to administer funding for original,
competitively-selected research in engineering and
technology, physical and life sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences and the arts.
36 akhbar November 2007
Recognizing the importance of introducing
research to undergraduate education in Qatar, QNRF
initiated the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP). This program aims to engage undergraduates - under the mentorship of faculty members
- in all universities in Qatar on research projects
related to Qatar’s national needs.
Eighty-six applications were submitted for
this round of UREP grants, with 51 being awarded.
There are two rounds of UREF grants awarded each
academic year. Each grant is valued up to $10,000.
Forty percent goes to the student, 20 percent to the
faculty advisor and 40 percent for equipment and
travel.
One quarter of the money is paid upon signing, another 25 percent is paid at the midway evolution point and the remaining 50 percent is paid upon
completion.
To be awarded a grant, students must show
the anticipated benefit they will receive as well as
the benefit to the State of Qatar. Students must also
explain the intellectual merit of the proposal and
consider external collaboration.
Round 1 of the UREP grants awarded $1 million over 62 proposals. Round 2 awarded $1.3 million over 51 projects. Round 3 has $2.75 million allocated. Three Carnegie Mellon student received grants
in Round 1, and several have applied for Round 3
grants.
“It’s a growing culture at Carnegie Mellon
that undergraduates do research,” says Cervesato.
“Research is also important in promoting Qatar and
furthering the mission of creating a knowledge-based
economy.”
campus news
4 QATAR
CS
Computer Science for Qatar
Teachers take part in a second CS4Qatar
workshop held by Computer Science faculty members
C
omputer Science teachers from high schools all over
Qatar will be attending the second CS4Qatar, a program
offered by the Computer Science faculty at Carnegie
Mellon University in Qatar.
The two-day professional development workshop is designed for educators in Qatar who want to broaden their horizons in the ever-expanding and broad-reaching field of computer
science.
“It’s wonderful to see so many teachers interested in
CS4Qatar. The teachers' enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge
encourages the Computer Science faculty at Carnegie Mellon
to continue to partner with them to advance the state of the
technological art in local schools,” says Mark Stehlik, Assistant
Dean for Undergraduate Education in the Carnegie Mellon
School of Computer Science, who teaches the courses.
“It also provides further evidence that Qatar is moving
more and more toward an information-based and technologydriven economy, and that education will lead the way in this
regard.”
The workshop, which is part of a series of outreach
events Carnegie Mellon Qatar is planning, will be comprised of
seminars on two topics: The first is on algorithms, which are the
core of Computer Science; the second will focus on Java Graphics, a program that allows students to focus on programming
techniques and not on the details of the graphics.
“It’s wonderful to see so many
teachers interested in CS4Qatar. The teachers’ enthusiasm
and thirst for knowledge encourages the Computer Science
faculty at Carnegie Mellon to
continue to partner with them to
advance the state of the technological art in local schools.”
- Mark Stehlik
Assistant Dean for
Undergraduate Education
November 2007 akhbar 37
campus news
Carnegie Mellon
hosting a Symposium on Community
C
arnegie Mellon University in Qatar is holding a Symposium on Community, Nov. 13
and 14. The event will focus on critical issues
in higher education and their particular relevance to
those in Education City.
“The spotlight of the symposium is on the
development of the ideal campus community,” says
Gloria Khoury, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at
Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
Khoury conceived on the symposium after
many discussions with student services staff at other
Education City universities revealed they were all facing the same issues. Mainly how to adapt programs
from home campuses in the United States in a way
that is relevant and meaningful to students in Doha.
She then began discussing the idea with
Michael Murphy, Vice President of Enrollment at
Carnegie Mellon University, who made some phone
calls and was able to line up speakers who can best
address the issues at hand.
“Education City is growing so fast. We need
to partner together and think together as a community,” Khoury says.
Some 80 participants are expected for the
event. The symposium will kick off with an opening
reception and dinner on Tuesday evening.
Then on Wednesday, five special guests with
experience at top American universities will speak.
Their speeches will explore issues of intellectual and
artistic missions, student development, community
engagement and the model community.
“Our experience at Education City is so
unique and this conference will help us continue to
explore it together as one community. We can also
gain an appreciation of the work each campus does,”
says Khoury.
In addition to many colleagues from Doha,
student affairs vice presidents from all Education City
universities will be in attendance.
Computer Science conference being held in Doha
C
arnegie Mellon University in
Qatar, along with Q-Cert, is
hosting the 12th Annual ASIAN
Computing Science Conference,
Dec. 9 to 11.
The series of annual Asian
Computing Science Conferences
(ASIAN) was initiated in 1995 to
provide a forum for researchers in
computer science from the Asian
continent, and to promote interaction with researchers in other
regions.
The conference moves
to a different center of research
throughout Asia every year, and
has been held in Thailand, Japan,
India and Malaysia. Iliano Cervesato, Ph.D., computer science professor, attended the conference in
Tokyo in 2006, and decided Carn-
38 akhbar November 2007
egie Mellon Qatar would serve as
an excellent conference host.
“Part of our mission is to
make Qatar a world-renowned
center for research. This conference gives us the chance to showcase Qatar and Carnegie Mellon
and everything that is happening
here,” he says. “Plus this is the first
time the conference will be in west
Asia.”
The focus of this year’s
conference is computer and network security. Cervesato expects
approximately 50 computer
science professionals will attend.
While the conference is centered
on Asia, the conference is open to
people from all over the world.
More than 100 papers
have been submitted, and Cervesato says about half will be reviewed
with approximately 20 selected for
presentation. Three major speakers, one from the U.S., one from
Europe and one from Asia, will
also be on the agenda.
This will be the first computer-science-focused conference
in Doha, Cervesato says. The goals
for the event are to grow the field
of computer science, for people to
present research to colleagues and
to encourage collaborations, he
says.
For more information, visit
www.qatar.cmu.edu/asian07.
e
r
o
m
o
Soph adventure
M
campus news
Two Tepper students spend the fall term in Doha
egan Larcom (Tepper 2010) was
looking for an
internship opportunity when she found out there was
an opening for a summer position
at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. She left
Pittsburgh and headed for Doha
where she worked in the student
affairs department planning a
community service trip to Jordan.
She enjoyed her time in
Doha so much that she decided to
spend the fall term of her sophomore year there. “I knew it would
be hard to leave after only spending one year on campus but the
benefits outweighed the bad,” she
says.
Larcom, a member of the
Tartan Crew rowing team, told her
friend and fellow crew team member Hillary Smith (Tepper 2010)
about her plans, and Smith decided to spend a semester abroad
too. “I was excited to go and learn
about Qatar, but I think my parents were even more excited.”
Both Larcom and Smith
applied to be Teaching Assistants,
a position that can be hard to
come by for sophomores in Pittsburgh. And something they both
felt was advantageous to the academic experience.
“TAing is an awesome new
experience for me. The freshman
are quite an interesting bunch, and
I am having a lot of fun working
with them,” says Smith.
In addition to being a
Teaching Assistant and taking
courses, the girls are taking in all
that the new campus has to offer.
The greatest difference
Tepper sophomores Megan Larcom, back right, and Hillary Smith, front left, are
spending the Fall 2007 term in Doha. Both went to Jordan on a three-day service
trip to work with Habitat for Humanity.
between the Doha and Pittsburgh
campuses, says Larcom, is a sense
of community. “The reception
by the students, faculty and staff
here at Carnegie Mellon Qatar
has been gratifying. From inclusion in student organization events
to community Iftars, I feel welcomed,” she says.
Apart from the smallnature of the campus, Larcom says
her experience in Doha differs
from that in Pittsburgh because of
“the little things” such as hearing
Justin Timberlake on the radio
while passing a Mosque or going
into Carrefour and being overwhelmed by fifty varieties of rice.
Or turning on the cold
water and being greeted by warm
water, and listening to the call to
prayer on the way to Chili’s. Then
of course there is the low cost of
gas, the wealth of the country and
the juxtaposition of Western influence and Middle East customs.
Both Smith and Larcom
say they miss familiar traits of
Pittsburgh such as trees and bagels, but both have found a new
fondness for local fare such as
juice stalls, kumquats, dates and,
of course, Turkey Central Restaurant.
“Pittsburgh and Doha
seem polar opposites one day and
twins the next,” Larcom says.
“My experience in Doha thus far
has been amazing. The benefits
of an exchange are endless—new
friends, new cultures, new outlooks. I hope to see many other
Pittsburgh students take the opportunity to study in Doha, just as
I hope to see many of my fellow
students here study in Pittsburgh.”
November 2007 akhbar 39
campus news
Reaching OUT
Principal Fellow Lynn Carter teaching courses via the Internet
W
hile Lynn Carter,
Ph.D., principal
fellow and associate teaching professor, is based in Doha and teaches
courses at Carnegie Mellon Qatar,
his educational outreach can be
felt all over the world.
This term in addition to
his two undergraduate classes in
Qatar, Carter is mentoring four
graduate students at Carnegie Mellon's main campus in Pittsburgh.
He also is teaching a master’s level
software engineering course, the
Predictable Software Professional,
to 12 students at the International
Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Hyderabad in India,
in the MSIT Software Engineering
Specialization.
As an adjunct faculty
member, he teaches the course live
on Skype, a computer software
program that allows him to connect to the classroom via Internet
connection and live webcam. When the Internet in
Hyderabad is behaving, it’s a full
two-way communication that
allows the students to see him
during the lecture, however his
view into the classroom is limited.
Sometimes the connection is not
good and the link is reduced to
just voice communications.
Carter sends his Powerpoint to a teaching aide in Hyderabad prior to the lecture and the
slides are projected onto a screen
in the classroom next to a large
computer screen that shows him
during the lecture.
“At first it’s strange not be-
40 akhbar November 2007
ing able to see all of the students,
but you get used to that way of
teaching,” he says. “Because of my
limited view and when I'm audio
only, I had to learn to listen much
more carefully in order to detect
from the students what I would
accomplish by visual cues in a
normal classroom setting.”
Carter designed this course
and taught an earlier version
of it at Carnegie Mellon’s West
Coast Campus in Mountain View,
California, U.S.A., where he was
a founding faculty member. Additionally, Carter was the focal point
for the deployment of Carnegie
Mellon's MSIT in software engineering to the SSN School of
Advanced Software Engineering of
Chennai in India, who purchased
this program.
The faculty in Chennai and
Pittsburgh partner in delivering
Carnegie Mellon quality education to students who spend a year
at the SSN campus and at least six
months at the Pittsburgh campus.
Roughly one hundred students
have now earned a Carnegie Mellon MSIT/SE through that program.
A longtime software
developer, researcher, and educator, Carter jumped at the chance
to teach this course at Hyderabad
from Doha. “Carnegie Mellon’s
educational reach is all over the
world. Even from Doha we can
continue on that mission,” he says. “I’m proud of what we’re
doing here and I’m proactive in
talking about Doha to my students
in India,” he says.
Plus the minimal time
difference and close proximity
between Hyderabad and Doha
allows teachers and students in the
two cities to work together on any
number of projects. Carter is not
the first Carnegie Mellon faculty
member or graduate to teach in
Hyderabad, and he hopes to not
be the last.
In addition to the software
engineering course being taught in
India, Carter taught a version of
his Predictable Professional Performance workshop to graduate
students in Carnegie Mellon's INI/
CyLab in Kobe, Japan last Spring,
and over the summer has been
collaborating with a professor in
Australia, who is also teaching the
course. Queensland University is
one of the latest schools to acquire Carnegie Mellon’s MSIT in
software engineering curriculum
and this time it includes Carter's
course.
"Modern computing and
communications technologies are
changing the way high quality
education is being delivered to the
world and I want Carnegie Mellon
to be a major player."
campus news
New travel Web site
is launched
A
new Web site has been launched to assist and support members of the Carnegie
Mellon University community who travel internationally.
iTravel, www.cmu.edu/iTravel, provides a wealth of categorized information specific for a destination country. Users can search the site by cultural facts,
health information or logistics.
Information such as suggested immunizations, Embassy and Visa requirements,
country facts and cellular phone support are all available. A worldwide daily security report, as well as a special report dedicated to the Middle East region, can also be found.
Jim Gartner, Senior Director of Global Security, says the idea for the Web page came
about after a tsunami hit Asia on Dec. 2, 2004. “That triggered university administration’s
desire to provide travelers with a one-stop shop for all international travel needs,” he says.
The timing of the Web site also coincided with the university’s global expansion to
far-away destinations such as Qatar, Australia and Singapore. Having all travel information
in one place can alleviate concerns regarding safety and people can make informed decisions before they travel, Gartner say.
Additionally, iTravel features links to many sites travelers might wish to access
before a trip. They include: the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the U.S. State Department as well as other governmental travel links and
several other useful tools and links.
iTravel was worked on by a team of people cross cut from all areas of the university.
Members of the team provided input and feedback concerning international travel, thus
shaping the Web site to serve both the business traveler and the personal traveler.
“Our hope for the site is that the community will utilize it; that it meets their needs;
and that it provides them with useful and timely information,” Gartner says. “We hope it
meets the wide variety of needs associated with international travel.”
Visit iTravel at www.cmu.edu/iTravel.
November 2007 akhbar 41
campus news
Imagination
at Work
Interns wow General Electric
G
eneral Electric was singing the
praises of Carnegie Mellon Qatar,
after six Business Administration
students spent the summer working as interns.
“Thank you for this caliber of students,” says Alberto Bonardi, GE Middle
East Commercial Leader. “They came to
us with great skills and abilities and added
value to our organization.”
Maha Mahmoud (Tepper 2009),
Noor Al Maadeed (Tepper 2009), Salma
Kayali (Tepper 2009), Jinanne Tabra (Tepper
2008), Hicham Nedjari (Tepper 2009) and
Noor Al Athirah (Tepper 2008) all worked
on different projects in different areas of the
company.
“I felt that I could really make a difference,” says Tabra. “And I was able to get a
feel for GE across the entire company.”
Bonardi says the level of the students
was well above average, and that many of his
colleagues bragged to other GE offices about
42 akhbar November 2007
their Carnegie Mellon interns. “We were impressed by the way they think - their quantitative approach to their work,” Bonardi says.
Internships like these really help
validate what Carnegie Mellon is doing in
Doha and why we’re doing it, according to J.
Patrick McGinnis, Lecturer of Management
Communications, who has taught all six
students.
“Tepper students are contributors to
the organizations they work for. Students in
Doha are no exception. They are continuing
that important tradition,” says McGinnis. “These students are another example
of the impact Carnegie Mellon grads are
going to make in the business community all
over the Gulf Region.”
Another GE rep said these students
made a footprint on the company, and that
their hard work laid the foundation for a
lasting and powerful relationship between
GE and Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
campus news
Office of
Professional Development
holding lecture series and
networking events
O
ffshoring is a modern business practice
that incurs many risks and requires
careful management of critical success
factors. Increasingly, students majoring in information systems, business administration and
computer science will be involved as managers
or technologists in projects engaging multiple
providers and development teams in diverse
locations.
Management of offshoring relationships
will be an essential skill for students expecting to
participate in the emerging IT marketplace of the
21st century.
Thus a series of professional lectures,
which is part of the Global Systems Delivery
Models course, is being offered for the first time
this fall. “The objective of these lectures is to provide students and the community with an insight
into the real world of outsourcing the Middle
East. After the lectures, the students will be challenged to think critically about the concepts and
engage in constructive discussions,” says Khadra
Dualeh, Director of the Office of Professional
Development.
All lectures are hosted by Selma Limam
Mansar, and are organized with the assistance of
Anqi Qian.
Thursday, November 8
Eddie Cunningham
Sales and Marketing Director, EDS
Tuesday, November 13
Kartik Sarwade
Sales Manager, Prithvi Solutions
Tuesday, November 20
Ihab Foudeh,
Director of Services, Microsoft
Thursday, November 29
Steve Iliohan
Program Manager, New Doha International
Airport Systems
The Office of Professional Development
is hosting two events for students to network
with local business professionals.
Wednesday, November 7
Connections “Networking & Recruitment”
Reception
As Carnegie Mellon Qatar celebrates its
first graduating class this coming summer, we
have invited recruiters to have an early opportunity to tap into our talent pool, Dualeh says.
This is primarily a networking opportunity for
the senior class to discuss career opportunities
and options with industry representatives.
Sunday, November 18
The Qatar Career Fair
Organized by Qatar Foundation, Qatar
Petroleum and Qatar University
The fair aims to showcase the recruitment, training and career development opportunities available for Qatari students as well as
fresh graduates.
They have confirmed participation of
more than 100 companies from the public and
private sector.
November 2007 akhbar 43
campus news
FACULTY & STAFF NEWS
As we begin our fourth academic year, we are pleased to welcome many new people to the
Qatar family. We are also happy to welcome back a few familiar faces.
NEW FACULTY
Mohamed Dobashi, Sj.D., is the Chief Operations Officer at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and an instructor
in the Business Administration program. Dobashi
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in international business
and economics from Pacific Lutheran University; a
Master’s Degree in management from University of
Texas; an MBA from Thunderbird Global School of
Management; and a Doctor of Law from Northwestern University Law School. Before joining Carnegie
Mellon, Dobashi held posts at Stanford and Harvard
universities.
Dave Gilbert is a philosophy instructor for all grades
of students at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Gilbert’s
research interests include philosophical logic, metaphysics and the philosophy of mathematics. He
holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University
of Toronto and a Master’s Degree from University of
Oxford. Before arriving in Qatar he was a graduate
student in the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie
Mellon Pittsburgh.
Dudley Reynolds, Ph.D., is an associate teaching professor of English and the Director of Research in English
Language Learning. Before joining Carnegie Mellon, he was an associate professor at University of
Houston in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. Reynolds holds a
Bachelor’s Degree in English from Davidson College;
a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics; and a Ph.D.
in Linguistics from University of Indiana. His areas of
research include English language learning, language
assessment and testing, second language writing and
applied linguistics.
Hope Rodefer is an English as a Second Language
(ESL) specialist at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. She works
in the Academic Resource Center providing English
support to students in need of assistance. She has
worked at the American School of Doha and as an
ESL specialist at Qatar Academy. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in anthropology from Kenyon College
and a Master’s Degree in teaching from the School
for International Training.
Selma Limam Mansar, Ph.D., is an associate teaching
professor in the new Information Systems major.
Before joining Carnegie Mellon, Limam Mansar held
a post as an assistant professor of Management of Information Systems at Zayed University in the United
Arab Emirates. Limam Mansar holds a master’s
degree in industrial engineering and a Ph.D. from Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble. Her area
of research focuses on Business Process Management
including best practices in business process redesign.
Alex Rojas ,Ph.D., is a visiting lecturer of Probability
and Statistics for Business Administration students.
Rojas holds a Bachelor’s Degree in statistics from
National University of Columbia; a Master’s Degree
in mathematics from University of Puerto Rico; a
Master’s Degree in statistics from Carnegie Mellon
University; and a Ph.D. in statistics. His area of research includes nonparametric statistics, astrophysics
and machine learning. Before coming to Doha, Rojas
was an instructor in the Department of Statistics at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Robert Monroe, Ph.D., is an associate teaching professor
at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. He teaches courses in the
Business Administration and Computer Science programs. Monroe has a Bachelor's Degree from University of Michigan and a Master's Degree and a Ph.D.
in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include the business of
software, innovative applications of computing and
trustworthy computing. Monroe is also an associate
teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh.
Karem Sakallah, Ph.D., is a visiting professor of computer science. His research includes verification of
hardware and software systems, constraint solving
based on Boolean Satisfiability and satisfiability modulo theories. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
electrical engineering from the American University
of Beirut, and a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Sakallah is a professor of electrical engineering and
computer science at University of Michigan, and is
44 akhbar November 2007
campus news
on a one-year sabbatical at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
Additionally, he is a member of Qatar Foundation’s
Arab Expatriate Scientists Committee and will be involved in planning for the establishment of a research
center to be called Al-Khwarizmi Institute for Computer Information Science Engineering.
Thierry Sans, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral research associate who is teaching classes in computer programming. Sans' research interest focuses on computer
security including security policies, access control
and digital rights management. Sans holds a bachelor' degree from Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse,
France; a master's degree from the National Higher
School of Aeronautics and Space (Sup'Aero - ENSAE), Toulouse, France; and a Ph.D. from the National Higher School of Telecommunication in Britanny
(GET/ENST-Bretagne), Rennes, France.
Wilfried Sieg, Ph.D., is a professor of Logic & Computation. He has been a professor at Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh since 1985. Sieg’s research interests
encompass mathematical logic, philosophy & history
of modern mathematics, theory of computation and
foundations of cognitive science. Sieg holds a Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics and physics from Free
University Berlin; a Master’s Degree in mathematics
and logic from University of Munster; and a Ph.D.
in philosophy and mathematical logic from Stanford
University.
Russell Walker is an associate teaching professor
and the Director of the Academic Resource Center.
He teaches Graph Theory and Integral Calculus to
undergraduate students. Walker holds a Bachelor’s
Degree in mathematics from University of Akron; a
Master’s Degree in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Doctor of Arts in mathematics
from Carnegie Mellon University. Walker is a longtime associate teaching professor at Carnegie Mellon
Pittsburgh.
Susan Walker, Ph.D., is a visiting associate professor of
psychology at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Walker’s major
area of interest is in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, which is the single most common psychiatric disorder of childhood. Walker holds a Bachelor’s,
Master’s and Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. She
is also a licensed psychologist and certified school
psychologist in Pennsylvania. Before joining Carnegie
Mellon she was a professor of psychology at Saint
Vincent College in Pennsylvania.
George White, Ph.D., is an associate teaching professor
at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. White teaches Introduction to Entrepreneurship to undergraduate students,
and is one of the instructors in the Executive Entrepreneurship Certificate Program held in conjunction
with QSTP. White holds a Ph.D. in computer science
from Stanford University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur. He has held posts at Stanford University, the Center for the Study of Language
& Information Industrial Affiliates and the Institute
for Infocomm Research. His areas of research include
cognitive science, corporate leadership and personal
telephone assistance.
NEW STAFF
New staff include: Greg Smith, Student Development Coordinator; Jarrod Mock, Student Development Coordinator; Peter Gilmore, Teaching Academic
Systems Support Engineer; Zaher Andraus, Teaching
Assistant; Emily Leathers, Academic Assistant; Megan
Larcom, Teaching Assistant.
Hillary Smith, Teaching Assistant; Darbi Roberts,
Student Development Coordinator; David Baker,
Academic Assistant; Yenezia Cadena-Malek, Director
of Health and Wellness; Rowena Soto, Administrative
Assistant; and Melissa Dechamps, Director of International Education.
AWARDS & APPOINTMENTS
Isabelle Eula, Head Librarian, has been awarded the
Library Faculty Excellence Award for her work at
Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Gloria Khoury, Assistant
Dean for Student Affairs, nominated her. In addition
to the award, Eula received a $250 cash prize.
Jim Gartner, Senior Director of Global Security, has
been appointed Chair of the Overseas Security Advisory Council. The mission of OSAC is to serve as a
liaison between the U.S. Department of State and private companies and universities that operate overseas.
This includes providing information on pandemic
planning, global security, crisis planning and accident
management.
Gartner was named Vice Chair of OSAC in
the fall of 2006. The Chair position has an open-ended term.
November 2007 akhbar 45
pittsburgh connection
Posner
Center
A must-see sight on Pittsburgh’s campus
B
eautiful inside and out, Posner Center on Carnegie Mellon’s flagship campus in Pittsburgh is full of priceless treasures.
The 11,400-square-foot, earth-sheltered building has a rooftop
garden called the Kraus Campo. A meditative outdoor space created by
alumnus artist Mel Bochner (A 1964) and landscape architect Michael
Van Valkenburgh, the area offers a meeting place symbolic of Carnegie
Mellon’s multidisciplinary philosophy.
Along the meandering pathways of the garden and upon its central platform, students and faculty can relax at this communal crossroads
of the arts, business, science and humanities.
The bright orange pathways are flanked with drifting mounds of
evergreen boxwoods, brightly flowered azaleas and semi-dwarf red level
Japanese barberry. The designers chose these plantings for their visual
qualities, hardiness and compatibility with the four seasons of western
Pennsylvania.
The composition of the plantings provides a counterpoint of colors and shapes that offer a different character in each of the four seasons.
46 akhbar November 2007
pittsburgh connection
Posner Center is home to one of the four
extant copies of the first printing of the U. S.
Bill of Rights and its ratifications. The Bill of
Rights consists of the first 10 amendments
to the United States Constitution. These
amendments limit the powers of the federal
government, protect the rights of all citizens,
residents and visitors on United States territory. The rare document is kept in a vault
and only brought out for Constitution Day
and other special occasions. Above, many
of the Posners’ jade and ivory pieces are on
display at the center.
Underneath the living roof, Posner Center
houses rare and historic books and art collected by
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Posner Sr., who donated the
center in memory of Henry’s parents.
The collection is notable for works recording
the history of science, and for finely bound books,
classic literature and other important documents.
One of the rarest items in the collection is one of the
original four extant copies of the first printing of the
U. S. Bill of Rights and its ratifications.
On permanent loan to the university from the
Posner family, the 1792 document was distributed by
U.S. President Thomas Jefferson to governors of the
14 states.
In honor of Constitution Day on September
17 each year, University Libraries displays the rare
piece of American history. The rest of the year, the
document is safely locked in a vault.
The Posner Memorial Collection of six hundred twenty-two titles includes landmark titles of
the history of western science, beautifully produced
books on decorative arts and fine sets of literature. Henry Posner, Sr. formed the collection from
1924 to 1973, starting with literature and decorative
arts and, after 1950, focusing on the history of science. The Posners also collected glass, ivory, jade and
other minerals from Asia and Europe, much of which
is on display.
To further preserve and protect the collection,
the Posner family also supported its digitization. As a
result, nearly all of the collection is available in fulltext to researchers online at library.cmu.edu/Libraries/Posner.
Fulfilling the Posner family's educational
continued on page 48
November 2007 akhbar 47
pittsburgh connection
The side façade of the Tepper School of Business, which has been painted blue, features a 6 by 58-foot-long tiled quotation from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The quotation has been transcribed backwards as a “mental exercise.”
continued from page 47
mission for their collection, the Posner Fine Arts
Foundation funds two internships per year for
Carnegie Mellon students. Student interns work
directly with collection materials and create
major exhibits on topics of their choice. Library
staff mount smaller displays from the collection
throughout the year.
Posner Center also features a Boardroom
that is the home of the Carnegie Mellon Board
of Trustees. The Boardroom is available to the
Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Advisory Boards
and similar groups, and may be used for other
university meetings depending on specific needs
and availability.
Posner Center is located on the Carnegie
Mellon campus between the College of Fine Arts
and the Tepper School of Business. Posner Center
gallery and exhibits are open Monday through
Friday from 1 to 4 p.m., except holidays and during designated VIP events.
Visit the Posner Center collection online at
www. library.cmu.edu/Libraries/Posner. Q
48 akhbar November 2007
At the heart of the garden sits the campo, a 25 by 60 by 3-foot,
tile-covered sculptural platform based on the shape of a French
curve, a tool common to artists, architects and engineers alike.
Black numbers imbedded in white tiles that cover the platform
are indicative of the numerical sequencing patterns of Bochner’s
art.
continued from page 50
robotics at University of Queensland in hopes of
designing a robot that could figure out where it was,
something that is a fundamental problem in robotics,
he says.
“There is an uncertainly with location.
Because of that, it makes the problem much harder.
Robotics can be very frustrating because things don’t
always work. But when they do, it’s amazing.”
In addition to his coursework as a Ph.D. student, Browning participated in RoboCup, an international research and education initiative that uses
soccer playing robots. He boarded a commercial
plane for the first time and headed to Paris, France
for the final. Despite his hard work and dedication
his team, “The Roboroos,” came in second, losing
to a world-renowned American university named
Carnegie Mellon.
While at that championship, Manuela Veloso,
a Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon,
recognized Browning’s enthusiasm and dedication to
his work and asked Browning to come to the university to do post-doctoral work. Browning finished his
Ph.D., in Australia – complete with a 300-page thesis
– on Aug. 25, 2000, packed his bags and headed to
Pittsburgh only two days later.
Browning says he was a bit awestruck by the
fact that many people whose work he admired were
now his colleagues. They included Hans Moravec,
the grandfather of mobile robots, who worked on the
Stanford Cart; and Chuck Thorpe, who headed up
NAVLAB, a group building robot cars, trucks and
buses capable of autonomous driving or driver assistance. And who is now the Dean of Carnegie Mellon
Qatar.
“The number of people working in robotics at Carnegie Mellon is astounding. I got here and
realized there is so much going on in this field,”
he says. “I wanted to learn as much about as many
things as I could.”
Knowing he was good at engineering,
Browning recognized he had to ramp up his abilities as a researcher. He spent two years completely
engrossed in research before being offered a faculty
position, a job that would enable him to share his
passion with young students.
His robotics work has taken him to places
as far away as Sweden, Portugal, Japan and Italy.
In 2006, he co-taught a robotics course at a school
in Ghana. Part of the reason for the course was as a
way of showing students that robotics is a field open
to people from all walks of life.
the back story
Browning built the viper robot, above, while working on his
Ph.D. in Australia. Two students in Ghana work with the robot
they built in class (bottom photo).
Browning also has been teaching courses at
Carnegie Mellon Qatar since 2005. With so much
focus on the Arab world for all the wrong reasons, he
says was thrilled at the concept of using money from
oil and gas for something such as education and
technology.
Browning says a lot of factors contributed to
his career trajectory: fate, family, poor hearing and
inspiring teachers to name a few. “I had the right role
models at the right times, and that gave me opportunities and inspired me”.
Part of his mission for teaching in Qatar is
to let students in the Middle East know what is out
there and create opportunities for them to see what
they can do. Just like his teachers and role models
did for him. Q
The Back Story is an Akhbar feature that chronicles the life of a Carnegie Mellon Qatar staff
or faculty member before coming to Doha.
November 2007 akhbar 49
the back story
Systems Scientist Brett Browning, Ph.D., built the cmdragons, a robot soccer team, with his
colleagues at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.
artificial
intelligence
A career in robotics has taken Systems Scientist
Brett Browning around the world
G
rowing up in Brisbane, the capital city of
Queensland, Australia, Systems Scientist Brett Browning, Ph.D., always had
a desire to build things. An interest that
was due in part to his father, who built houses for a
living.
Yet Browning had no idea he could build
something as out of the ordinary as robots. That is
until a visitor came to his fifth grade class. The guest
speaker demonstrated a robot that was made out of
Tupperware plastic dishes. While a bit low tech, the
robot was humanoid based and talked, and left quite
an impression.
“Very few people have jobs where they get to
build different things like robots,” Browning says. “I
thought it was very cool.”
With his interest peaked, Browning soon got
his hands on one of his uncle’s old physics books.
Reading this book is what he says led him into the
50 akhbar November 2007
field of science and technology.
Until this time, Browning was hoping to have
a career as a pilot in the Air Force. He was dejected
to learn that his hearing loss in one ear would prohibit that dream from ever coming to fruition. Little
did he know that building robots would end up being
what would pilot him around the globe.
Upon graduation from high school, Browning earned a dual undergraduate degree in mathematics and engineering from University of Queensland.
In his fourth year of his undergraduate education he
had to write a thesis. When one of his lecturers gave
a talk on artificial intelligence, Browning was caught
hook, line and sinker, he says.
“I realized I could build something real using
electronics and programming,” he says. “And that
was it, my thesis was on robotics.”
From there, Browning pursued a Ph.D. in
continued on page 49
Now offering an undergraduate degree in
Information
Systems
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar is now offering an Information
Systems undergraduate degree. This program is an internationally
recognized, Bachelor of Science degree for students who want to
understand and solve information problems for organizations.
The focus of the IS program is on giving students the knowledge and
skills necessary to design systems for the effective use of information.
Graduates of the IS program are ideally situated to take leading roles
in shaping our information-based economy.
The IS degree program is a natural complement to the two other
majors at Carnegie Mellon Qatar: Business Administration and
Computer Science.
To learn more:
+974 454 8400
www.qatar.cmu.edu
www.qatar.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
A Member of Qatar Foundation
P.O. Box 24866
Doha, Qatar
www.qatar.cmu.edu