December 18, Vol. 25, No. 23                                                       
  
Hug-a-Day Could Keep Doctor Away  
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Sheldon Cohen says those who receive more hugs are somewhat less likely to get sick.
Led by Carnegie Mellon's Sheldon Cohen and Denise Janicki-Deverts, researchers have found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with stress, and resulted in less severe illness symptoms.

"This suggests ... that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the deleterious effects of stress," Cohen said.

Learn more.
  
Lunar Rover Wins $500K XPRIZE Mobility Award 
Andy can scramble around giant moon pits, explore lunar caves or seek polar ice.
The Google Lunar XPRIZE has awarded Andy, a four-wheeled lunar rover designed and built by Carnegie Mellon, the Milestone Prize for mobility after judges concluded it is the only robot among the competing teams, thus far, to meet development benchmarks for flight readiness.

"Andy has proven to be a tough, smart, sure-footed machine," said William "Red" Whittaker, CMU professor of robotics. "We've shaken it to simulate launch forces, driven it through moon dirt and exposed it to the extremes of lunar temperatures among many, many tests. Our team and our machine faced a rigorous evaluation by world-class judges and came out on top."

Carnegie Mellon is working in partnership with Astrobotic Technology to win the $20 million-plus Google Lunar XPRIZE by landing and operating a robot on the moon.

Learn more.
  
CMU Home Page Gets New Look       
Carnegie Mellon's home page, the university's global "front door," will unveil a new look in early January to better visually represent the university to the growing number of online visitors using mobile devices.

The home page refresh is part of a longer-term cmu.edu Web redesign project that will include a discovery process and an overhaul of the site architecture.

In addition to a new look that will feature larger images and a more streamlined design, the refresh includes changes in the editorial content on the page.
 
A dominant story will be featured twice a week and will primarily focus on stories that promote CMU's international presence and strategic topic areas, such as BrainHub, the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, the Simon Initiative, the Tepper Quad and Presidential Scholarships and Fellowships. Three news stories on the page will change often.

Learn more.
  
CMU Joins Alliance for Maker Education    
Carnegie Mellon is among the founding members of the Make Schools Alliance, a group of universities, colleges and schools seeking to engage students in hands-on Making activities to boost their interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

As part of the alliance, CMU has led development of MakeSchools.org, a one-stop online resource for sharing best practices in Maker education.

"Collaboration is at the core of the Maker Movement, and we look forward to using MakeSchools.org to stimulate discussion about the impact of Making on learning and innovation," said Farnam Jahanian, CMU's vice president for research.

MakeSchools.org was directed by Daragh Byrne, Intel Special Faculty for Physical Computing, Responsive Environments and Emerging Media with CMU's School of Architecture and IDeATe Network. The online platform details nearly 50 institutions' initiatives, programs and collaborations.

Learn more.
 
And Last But Not Least . . .

Tune in to Jeopardy! Tonight

This world-renowned university will be featured in a clue tonight on Jeopardy!

Answer: What is Carnegie Mellon University?

 In Pittsburgh, Jeopardy! airs at 7 p.m. on NBC-TV.

Here Comes Workday; 10 Days and Counting!

The Workday Project team wishes you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year!

Watch for your Workday launch email on Dec. 29 for the Workday URL, log-in instructions and more. 

Learn about the CMUWorks Service Center.
Learn more about the CMUWorks project.
View Workday training materials and resources.

Subscribe to the project newsletter by sending an email, titled "subscribe," to [email protected].

Toys for Tots Campaign Sets Record

CMU's 10th Annual Toys for Tots Campaign was a smashing success, as a record 26 boxes of toys for needy children were collected, surpassing last year's record of 23. 

The toys will be distributed by the North Versailles Marines Reserve Unit tomorrow and Saturday (Dec. 19-20).

During the past 10 years, 200 boxes of toys have been delivered to the Marines for distribution. The CIT First-Year Advisory Board and University Police thank you for your support!

seasons-greetings-banner.gif The Internal Communications team wishes you a safe and happy holiday season. The next 8.5 x 11 News will be published on Jan. 8, 2015. See you next year!!

See something? Say something. Help ensure the safety and well-being of the CMU community by calling:

University Police: 412-268-2323
Ethics Hotline: 1-877-700-7050

 Calendar Highlights 

 This issue features: 

Jos� Moura Named Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

Andreea Deciu Ritivoi
Dario Donatelli
Kyle Tomer
Alex Imas
Jason Hong
Kathryn Roeder
Raj Rajkumar
Roberta Klatzky
Kiron Skinner
Philip LeDuc

Tuomas Sandholm and John Dickerson

Xin Li, Shawn Blanton, Pulkit Grover and Don Thomas

Alex Stevens, Hannah Dubrow, Sarah Hupcey, David Arterberry and Will Gossett

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