State Auditor General Jack Wagner has asked for a preliminary review of internal documents involving the construction of the Petersen Events Center, which was overseen by the state Department of General Services (DGS). But that action is not to be misconstrued as the beginning of an investigation, according to Steve Halvonik, communications spokesperson for Wagner’s […]
Law clinic’s work changes Medicare transplant policy >
May 11th, 2006It’s official. Three years of work by Pitt’s Health Law Clinic on behalf of a diabetic woman in need of a pancreas transplant has resulted in a Medicare policy change with nationwide impact. Pitt associate professor of law Stella Smetanka, who heads the health law clinic, has led students in a legal fight to change […]
Professor recreates Galileo’s experiments >
May 11th, 2006Any serious student of science is familiar with Galileo’s famed pendulum experiments. The 17th-century scientist’s discoveries about the regularity of a pendulum’s motion sparked further study and ultimately led to the development of more precise methods for measuring time. Little is known about exactly how Galileo conducted the experiments in the early 1600s, but Paolo […]
New institute seeks cures for orphan diseases >
May 11th, 2006Orphan disease research has found a new home at Pitt. Experts in chemistry, pharmacology and biology are joining forces in a new lab in their quest to cure rare diseases. Using new rapid screening methods, they plan to test thousands of chemical compounds each year to find which ones show promise as potential medications. Once […]
A visit to Pitt’s Allegheny Observatory >
May 11th, 2006As yet another first-time visitor walks wide-eyed into the Allegheny Observatory’s grandiose main corridor, Nancy Robinson responds with bemusement. “You’d think everyone would have been here by now,” said Robinson, who’s been business and operations manager at the observatory for more than 25 years. Since 1914, free tours of the building have drawn many a […]
Pitt, CMU share $13.3 million NIH technology grant >
May 11th, 2006A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Pitt has received a five-year, $13.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a National Technology Center for Networks and Pathways. The center, with headquarters at Carnegie Mellon, will focus on developing fluorescent probe and imaging technologies to investigate regulatory pathways and […]
Four Pitt affiliates receive Carnegie Science Center Awards >
May 11th, 2006Pitt was well represented among the 2006 Carnegie Science Center Awards for Excellence, which recognize the most outstanding recent achievements in science and technology in southwestern Pennsylvania. The awards ceremony was held May 3 at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Awardees with Pitt affiliations include: • Savio L-Y. Woo, director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center […]