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February 8, 2001

PEOPLE OF THE TIMES

Bruce R. Childers, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and the computer engineering program, has won an IBM Faculty Partnership Award of $25,000.

Given to the University on behalf of the IBM Austin Center for Advanced Studies, the money will be used to support his research in the area of Power-Aware Information Appliances.

Information Appliances (IAs) are devices used with personal electronics. These include cellular phones, digital cameras and personal digital assistants. In the future, these devices will be linked to one another, allowing communication between them. Eventually, it will be possible to take digital pictures while walking around town and instantly e-mail them to friends or post them on a web-site.

With this sort of communication between devices comes increased complexity and an increase in the energy needed to allow them to function efficiently. Childers's research will focus on "giving more functionality to these devices while keeping the energy cost low."

In addition, he hopes to give software programs more direct control over the hardware in IAs. By increasing how closely the hardware and software work together, the amount of energy needed for the device has the potential to be substantially reduced.

Childers plans to use the grant to help establish a laboratory in power-aware computing.

Childers earned his B.S. at the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.

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Education Dean Alan Lesgold has received the 2001 Distinguished Contributions of Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award from the American Psychological Association (APA).

The award recognizes a psychologist for evidence-based applications of psychology to education and training. The education and training awards committee acknowledged Lesgold's role in developing artificially intelligent tutoring technology.

A Pitt professor for nearly 30 years in psychology and intelligent systems, Lesgold served as executive associate director of the Learning Research and Development Center prior to becoming School of Education dean in July. He founded and directed Pitt's interdisciplinary doctoral program in cognitive science and artificial intelligence.

In addition to his work at the University, Lesgold is a fellow of three divisions of the American Psychological Association — Experimental, Applied and Educational Psychology — and also is a fellow of the American Psychological Society.

In 1995, he was awarded the Educom Medal by Educom and the American Psychological Association for contributions to educational technology.

Lesgold is past president of the Society for Computers in Psychology and was secretary/treasurer (executive officer) of the Cognitive Science Society from 1988 to 1997. He served on the National Research Council Board on Testing and Assessment from 1993 through 1998, and chaired the board's roundtable on schooling, work and assessment.

Lesgold was a member of the personnel performance panel of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Strategic Technologies for the Army and the NRC review committee for the Army Research Laboratory. He served on two Congressional Office of Technology Assessment advisory panels and was the chair of the Visiting Panel on Research of Educational Testing Service.

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Ann Dugan, executive director of the Katz Graduate School of Business Institute for Entrepreneurial Independence, has been elected chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington.

The election comes on the heels of Dugan's election as president of the Washington Industrial Development Corp. She is the first woman to head either organization.

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A play directed by Kevin Ewert, assistant professor of theatre at Bradford, has been named as one of the 10 most memorable theatre evenings of 2000 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Ewert directed "The Libertine," which was performed in August by the Unseam'd Shakespeare Company of Pittsburgh. Ewert is general manager of the Shakespeare company and is on its board of directors. Ewert's production of "Coriolanus" was named the best 1999 stage production in the city by In Pittsburgh.

Ewert was a visiting professor at Bradford in 1998 and joined the faculty full time in 1999. He earned his doctoral degree in Shakespeare studies from the Shakespeare Institute in 1997.

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Linda Sturdivant, a UPMC Health System employee assistance professional, has been named president of the International Employee Assistance Professional Association for the next two years. Sturdivant has been an employee assistance specialist at UPMC since 1986.

The EAP Association (EAPA) is the largest professional association for persons in the employee assistance program field. EAPA represents more than 7,000 individuals and organizations with an interest in employee assistance in 103 chapters worldwide.


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