'Carnegie Mellon University' is a private
research university in ,
United States. It began as the Carnegie Technical Schools, founded by
Andrew Carnegie in 1900. In 1912, the school became
Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees. In 1967, the
Carnegie Institute of Technology merged with the
Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to form Carnegie Mellon University. The University’s 140-acre main campus is three miles from
Downtown Pittsburgh and abuts the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh in the city's
Oakland neighborhood.
The University has seven colleges and schools: the
Carnegie Institute of Technology (engineering), the
College of Fine Arts, the
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the
Mellon College of Science, the
Tepper School of Business (formerly the Graduate School of Industrial Administration), the
School of Computer Science, and the
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.
Since its inception, Carnegie Mellon has grown into a world-renowned institution, with programs that are frequently
ranked among the best in the United States. In the 2008 edition,
U.S. News and World Report ranked Carnegie Mellon's undergraduate program 22nd in the nation, while graduate programs in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Public Policy Analysis, and Graphic Design were ranked 1st, 6th, 17th, 4th, and 6th respectively. The University attracts students from all 50 U.S. states and 93 countries and was named one of the "New Ivies" by
Newsweek in 2006.
History
Post-
Civil War industrialists accumulated unprecedented wealth and were eager to found institutions in their names.
Washington Duke at
Duke University,
Leland Stanford at
Stanford University,
John D. Rockefeller at the
University of Chicago,
Cornelius Vanderbilt at
Vanderbilt University, and
Phoebe Hearst at the
University of California, Berkeley were just a few. One such school was Carnegie Mellon University.
Carnegie Technical Schools was founded in 1900 in
Pittsburgh by the
Scottish American industrialist and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie, who wrote the time-honored words "My heart is in the work" when he donated the funds to create the institution. Carnegie's vision was to open a vocational training school for the sons and daughters of working-class Pittsburghers. The name was changed to the
Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1912, and the school began offering four-year degrees. In 1967, it merged with the
Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to become Carnegie Mellon University.
There was little change to the campus during the period of the two
World Wars and the
Great Depression. A 1938 master plan by Githens and Keally suggested acquisition of new land along Forbes Avenue, but the plan was not fully implemented. The period starting with the construction of GSIA (1952) and ending with Wean Hall (1971) saw the institutional change from Carnegie Institute of Technology to Carnegie Mellon University. New facilities were needed to respond to the University's growing national reputation in
artificial intelligence, business, robotics, and the arts. In addition, an expanding student population resulted in a need for improved facilities for student life, athletics, and libraries. The campus finally expanded to Forbes Avenue from its original land along Schenley Park. A ravine long known as "the cut" was gradually filled in to campus level, joining "the Mall" as a major campus open space.
The buildings of this era reflect current attitudes toward architectural style. The
International Style, with its rejection of historical tradition and its emphases on functionalism and expression of structure, had been in vogue in urban settings since the 1930s. It came late to the Carnegie campus because of the hiatus in building activity and a general reluctance among all institutions of higher education to abandon historical styles. By the 1960s, it was seen as a way to accomplish the needed expansion and at the same time give the campus a new image. Each building was a unique architectural statement that may have acknowledged the existing campus in its placement, but not in its form or materials.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the tenure of University President Richard M. Cyert (1972–1990) witnessed a period of unparalleled growth and development. The research budget soared from roughly $12 million annually in the early 1970s to more than $110 million in the late 1980s. The work of researchers in new fields like
robotics and
software engineering helped the university build on its reputation for innovation and practical problem solving. President Cyert stressed strategic planning and comparative advantage, pursuing opportunities in areas where Carnegie Mellon could outdistance its competitors. One example of this approach was the introduction of the university's "Andrew" computing network in the mid-1980s. This pioneering project, which linked all
computers and workstations on campus, set the standard for educational computing and established Carnegie Mellon as a leader in the use of technology in education and research.
Carnegie Mellon today
In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Carnegie Mellon solidified its status among elite American universities, consistently ranking in the top 25 in
US News and World Report rankings. Carnegie Mellon is distinct in its interdisciplinary approach to research and education and through the establishment of programs and centers that are outside the limitations of departments or colleges has established leadership in fields such as
computational finance,
information systems management, arts management, product design,
behavioral economics, human-computer interaction, entertainment technology, and
decision science. Within the past two decades, the university has built a new University Center, theater and drama building (Purnell Center), business school building (Posner Hall), and several dormitories. Baker Hall was renovated in the early 2000s, and new chemistry labs were established in Doherty Hall soon after. Several computer-science buildings, such as Newell Simon Hall, also were established, renovated, or renamed in the early 2000s. The university is in the process of building the Gates Center for Computer Science and renovating historic academic and dormitory halls.
The Gates Building will sit on a 5.6-acre site on the university's West Campus, surrounded by Cyert Hall, the Purnell Center for the Arts, Doherty Hall, Newell-Simon Hall, Smith and Hamburg halls and the Collaborative Innovation Center. It will contain 318 offices as well as labs, computer clusters, lecture halls, classrooms and a 250-seat auditorium. The Gates Center for Computer Science was made possible by a $20 million lead gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The building is anticipated to be completed within 2 years.
On April 15, 1997,
Jared L. Cohon, former dean of
Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, was elected president by Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees. During Cohon's presidency, Carnegie Mellon has continued its trajectory of innovation and growth. He leads a strategic plan that aims to leverage the University's strengths to benefit society in the areas of biotechnology and life sciences, information and security technology, environmental science and practices, the fine arts and humanities, and business and public policy.
Campus
Carnegie Mellon's 140-acre main campus is three miles (5 km) from downtown
Pittsburgh, between
Schenley Park and the
Squirrel Hill,
Shadyside, and
Oakland neighborhoods. Carnegie Mellon is bordered to the west by the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh.
A large grassy area known as "the Cut" forms the backbone of the campus, with a separate grassy area known as "the Mall" running perpendicular. The Cut was formed by filling in a former ravine (hence the name) with soil from a nearby hill that was leveled to build the College of Fine Arts building.
The northwestern part of the campus (home to Hamburg Hall, Newell-Simon Hall, Smith Hall, and the site of the future Gates Center for Computer Science) was acquired from the
U.S. Bureau of Mines in the 1980s.
Beyond Pittsburgh
In addition to its Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon has extension campuses in
Mountain View, California in the heart of
Silicon Valley (offering masters programs in
Software Engineering and Software Management),
Qatar and a new campus in . The Adelaide campus, opened in May 2006, delivers masters programs from both the
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management and the Entertainment Technology Center. The
Tepper School of Business maintains a satellite center in downtown Manhattan. Carnegie Mellon also maintains the Carnegie Mellon Los Angeles Center in . Students in the Master of Entertainment Industry Management program are required to relocate to Los Angeles in their second year and attend classes at this facility. Carnegie Mellon's Information Networking Institute offers graduate programs in and , in collaboration with Athens Information Technology and the Hyogo Institute of Information Education Foundation, respectively. Starting in the fall of 2007, the cities of
Aveiro and will be added to the Information Networking Institute's remote locations, and the Entertainment Technology Center will offer a graduate program in .
In media, entertainment & culture
The Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh served as the locale for many of the on-campus scenes in the 2000 film ''
Wonder Boys'', starring
Michael Douglas and
Tobey Maguire.
Schools and divisions
★ 'The
College of Engineering' includes seven academic departments:
Biomedical Engineering,
Chemical Engineering,
Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
Electrical and
Computer Engineering, Engineering and
Public Policy,
Mechanical Engineering, and
Materials Science and Engineering, and two institutes, the Information Networking Institute and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems.
★ 'The
College of Fine Arts' was founded in 1905, and today is a federation of schools with professional training programs in the visual and
performing arts (
Architecture,
Art,
Design,
Drama and
Music). The college shares research projects, interdisciplinary centers and educational programs with other units across the university.
★ 'The
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management' offers masters degrees in
Public Policy and
Management, Health Care Policy and Management, Medical Management,
Public Management, Arts Management, Entertainment Industry Management, and Information Security Policy and Management. The school is a partner in the Universitywide Master of Information Systems Management and Master of Science in Information Technology programs. It also offers a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management as well as executive education programs.
★ 'The
College of Humanities and Social Sciences' departments include
Economics,
English,
History,
Modern Languages,
Philosophy,
Psychology,
Social and Decision Sciences and
Statistics. The college also offers an undergraduate degree program in
Information Systems.
★ 'The
Mellon College of Science' includes four departments:
Biological Sciences,
Chemistry,
Mathematical Sciences and
Physics. In addition, the college is expanding efforts in
green chemistry,
bioinformatics,
computational biology,
nanotechnology,
computational finance, sensor research and biological physics.
The Hunt Library at Carnegie Mellon University is the largest library on the Pittsburgh Campus
★ 'The
School of Computer Science': Carnegie Mellon University helped define, and continually redefines, the field of
computer science. The School of Computer Science is recognized internationally as one of the top schools for computer science.
[6]
★ 'The
Tepper School of Business' (Tepper) offers undergraduate programs in
Business Administration and
Economics. The Tepper School offers masters degrees in Business Administration (
MBA) and joint degrees in
Computational Finance (MSCF) with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Mellon College of Science and the School of Computer Science. In addition, joint degrees are offered with Civil and Environmental Engineering. The Tepper School offers doctoral degrees in several areas and presents a number of
executive education programs. Until 2004, the Tepper School was named the Graduate School of Industrial Administration (GSIA).
In addition to the research and academic institutions, the University hosts the
Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences, a state-funded summer program that aims to foster interest in science amongst gifted high school students. The Cyert Center for Early Education is a child care center for Carnegie Mellon faculty and staff, as well as an observational setting for students in child development courses.
Undergraduate profile
For the undergraduate class of 2010, the admission rate was 33.7%. In 2006, the University received a record 18,864 undergraduate applicants, an increase of 19.6% from 2005, and admitted 6,357. This class had an average SAT verbal score of 657 and math score of 728. Also, 71% of the admitted students for the class of 2010 were in the top 10% of their graduating high school classes.
The
Mellon Institute is one of the principal facilities of the Mellon College of Science
.
In 2006, the most selective undergraduate college was the Tepper School of Business, which admitted only 20% of total applicants. The largest college, in terms of enrollment, is the Carnegie Institute of Technology with 434 students in the class of 2010, followed by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (with 290 students) and the College of Fine Arts (with 249). The smallest college in terms of total undergraduate students is the Tepper School of Business, with 82 undergraduate students enrolled for the class of 2010. Carnegie Mellon enrolls students from all 50 states, and 13% of the students are citizens of counties other than the United States. About 94% of first-year students return for their second year, and 69.3% graduate within four years (86.2% within six). Undergraduate tuition is $34,180 for the class of 2010 and room and board is $9,280.
For the class of 2010, Carnegie Mellon had the highest overlap in applications with
Cornell University, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the
University of Pennsylvania. The class of 2010 had the highest overlap in acceptances with
Case Western Reserve, the
University of Michigan, and
Johns Hopkins University.
[7]
Research
The
LORAX rover Nomad being tested on Lake Mascoma with its wind turbine deployed
For the 2006 fiscal year, the University spent $315 million on research. The primary recipients of this funding were the School of Computer Science ($100.3 million), the
Software Engineering Institute ($71.7 million), the Carnegie Institute of Technology ($48.5 million), and the Mellon College of Science ($47.7 million). The research money comes largely from federal sources, with federal investment of $277.6 million. The federal agencies that invest the most money are the
National Science Foundation and the
Department of Defense, which contribute 26% and 23.4% of the total university research budget respectively.
The '
Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center' (PSC) is a joint effort between Carnegie Mellon University,
University of Pittsburgh, and
Westinghouse Electric Company. PSC was founded in 1986 by its two scientific directors, Dr. Ralph Roskies of the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Michael Levine of Carnegie Mellon University. PSC is a leading partner in the
TeraGrid, the National Science Foundation’s cyberinfrastructure program.
[8]
The '
Robotics Institute' (RI) is a division of the School of Computer Science and considered to be one of the leading centers of robotics research in the world. The Field Robotics Center (FRC) has developed a number of significant robots, including
Sandstorm and
H1ghlander, which finished second and third in the
DARPA Grand Challenge. RI is sited along the
Allegheny River in the
Lawrenceville neighborhood, a few miles away from Carnegie Mellon's main campus.
[9]
The '
Software Engineering Institute' (SEI) is a
federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University, with offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Arlington, Virginia, and Frankfurt, Germany. The SEI publishes books on
software engineering for industry, government and military applications and practices. The organization is most famous for its
Capability Maturity Model software (CMMI), which identifies essential elements of effective system and software engineering processes and can be used to rate the level of an organization's capability for producing quality software systems. The SEI is also the home of
CERT, the federally-funded computer security organization. The CERT Program's primary goals are to ensure that appropriate technology and systems management practices are used to resist attacks on networked systems and to limit damage and ensure continuity of critical services subsequent to attacks, accidents, or failures.
[10]
The '
Human-Computer Interaction Institute' (HCII) is a division of the School of Computer Science and is considered one of the leading centers of
human-computer interaction research, integrating computer science, design, social science, and learning science.
[11] Such interdisciplinary collaboration is the hallmark of research done throughout the university.
Alumni
Main articles: List of Carnegie Mellon University people
There are more than 70,000 Carnegie Mellon alumni worldwide. Famous alumni include former
General Motors CEO and
Secretary of Defense,
Charles Erwin Wilson; billionaire
hedge fund investor
David Tepper;
James Gosling, creator of the
Java programming language;
Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of
Sun Microsystems;
Vinod Khosla, billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of
Sun Microsystems; pop artist
Andy Warhol; and
astronaut Judith Resnik, who perished in the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
The
Kraus Campo, designed by landscape architect
Michael Van Valkenburgh with installations by artist
Mel Bochner. The Campo is part of a recent, and often controversial, effort to bring more creative energy to the campus via progressive architecture and art installations.
Carnegie Mellon alumni have won Nobel prizes, Turing awards, Academy awards, Emmy awards, and Tony awards.
John Forbes Nash, a 1948 graduate and winner of the 1994 of the
Nobel Prize in Economics, was the subject of the book and subsequent film ''
A Beautiful Mind''.
Alan Perlis, a 1943 graduate was a pioneer in programming languages and recipient of the first ever
Turing award. Overall, Carnegie Mellon is affiliated with 15
Nobel laureates, nine
Turing Award winners, seven
Emmy Award recipients, three
Academy Award recipients, and four
Tony Award recipients (including Andrew Omondi).
Carnegie Mellon also has produced several alumni who have had success in
Hollywood,
Broadway and the music industry. They include Best Actress Academy award winner
Holly Hunter, actor
James Cromwell,
Get Smart actress
Barbara Feldon, actor
Ted Danson, director
George Romero, and actor
Blair Underwood, among many others.
Rankings and reputation
Carnegie Mellon's offerings in
arts,
business,
computer science,
engineering, psychology, and
public policy are often considered among the best in their fields. Carnegie Mellon is ranked 22nd amongst national research universities in the most recent
US News and World Report rankings. Carnegie Mellon has consistently ranked first for graduate studies in computer science in the US, in rankings released by the
US News and World Report.
[12] In the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) ranking of world universities, Carnegie Mellon ranks fifth in the United States (10th in the world) in the "technology" category
[13] and 17th overall in the United States (35th in the world).
[14] The university is one of 60 elected members of the
Association of American Universities and its academic reputation has led it to be included in Newsweek’s list of “New Iviesâ€.
[15]
Detailed information on the rankings of undergraduate and graduate programs at Carnegie Mellon is available on the University website.
[16]
Student life
Traditions
Main articles: Carnegie Mellon University traditions
A Mobot competing in the annual Mobot challenge
'The Fence' - The fence at Carnegie Mellon lies at the center of campus, in the area known as “the cut." Due to its prominent location, it has been a popular tradition for students to paint the fence with their personalized messages. Students “guard†the fence 24 hours a day, and as long as this vigil is maintained no other students may “take†the fence. Once the fence is taken, however, the painting traditionally happens only after midnight.
'Mobot' - "Mobot,' a general term resulting from shortening "mobile robot," is an annual competition at Carnegie Mellon that made its debut in 1994. In this event, robots try (autonomously) to pass through gates, in order, and reach the finish line. There is a white line on the pavement connecting the gates, and the line is normally used to find the gates, though it is not mandated by the rules that the robots follow the line.
'Spring Carnival' - Usually held in April, Spring Carnival is the biggest event of the school year. In addition to classic carnival attractions, the Spring Carnival features the “Buggy Sweepstakes†and "Booth" (a competition between various organizations to build small, elaborate booths based around a theme chosen each year).
'Buggy Races' - Buggy, officially called Sweepstakes, is a race around
Schenley Park. It can be thought of as a relay race with five runners, using the buggy vehicle as the baton. Entrants submit a small, usually torpedo-shaped, vehicle that is pushed uphill and then allowed to roll downhill. The vehicles are unpowered, including the prohibition of such energy-storing devices as flywheels. They are, however, steered by a driver who is usually a petite female student lying prone, arms stretched forward to steer via a turning mechanism. Space is so tight inside the buggies that the drivers usually cannot change position beyond turning their heads.
'Bagpipers' - As the only College offering a degree in bagpipe music,
[17] Carnegie Mellon's Pipe Band features the sounds of Scottish bagpipes and performs at University events. Head of the Pipe Band is world champion piper Alasdair Gillies, formerly a highly decorated pipe major in the British Army.
Two pushers exchange the buggy for Kappa Delta Rho on the first hill of Sweepstakes.
'Autographing the Green Room' - Seniors in the
College of Fine Arts sign the Green Room's walls and ceilings before leaving the university. Supposedly, Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter broke university tradition by signing the Green Room during her freshman year.
'The Kiltie Band'- Carnegie Mellon's Kiltie Band, dressed in full Scottish regalia including kilts and knee socks, performs during every home football game.
Greek life
The Greek tradition at Carnegie Mellon University began nearly 100 years ago with the founding of the first
fraternity on campus,
Theta Xi, in 1912. The Panhellenic sorority community was founded in 1945, by
Delta Delta Delta,
Delta Gamma,
Kappa Alpha Theta and
Kappa Kappa Gamma. During the spring semester of 2006, the Greek community consisted of 26 active fraternities and sororities: 5 Panhellenic sororities; 12 Interfraternity Council fraternities; 4 Asian American groups, 2 fraternities and 2 sororities; and 4 National Pan-Hellenic (historically African American) chapters represented on campus (3 fraternities and 1 sorority). Of Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduates, 965 were members of social Greek-letter organizations. This number reflected 18.4 % of the campus population.
Athletics
The Carnegie Mellon Tartans were a founding member of the
University Athletic Association of the
NCAA Division III. Varsity teams are fielded in basketball, track, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, volleyball, tennis, and cheerleading.
Carnegie Mellon's Gesling stadium
In addition, club teams exist in Ultimate Frisbee,
[18] rowing,
[19] rugby, lacrosse, hockey,
[20], baseball,
[21] softball and cycling.
[22] Carnegie Mellon Athletics runs a comprehensive and popular intramural system, maintains facilities (primarily Skibo Gymnasium, University Center, and Gesling Stadium), and offers courses to students in fitness and sports. Carnegie Mellon's primary athletic rivals are fellow
UAA schools
Case Western Reserve University and
Washington University in St. Louis.
'Football'
In 2006, the varsity football team was offered a bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, and became one of the first teams in school history (the first team to win a division III playoff game was in 1977, when Carnegie Mellon beat Dayton) and University Athletic Association (UAA) conference history to win an NCAA Playoff game with a 21-0 shutout of Millsaps College of the SCAC conference. In addition to winning a playoff game, several team members were elected to the All American and All Region Squads. Seniors Aaron Lewis and J.P. White were named second team All Americans, while Junior fullback Travis Sivek was named first team All ECAC. In addition, juniors, Michael Reggie and Andrew Althouse, along with sophomore Derek Wisnieski, were named to D3Football.com All South Region second team. The 2006 team won more games in a single season than any other team in school history, and will be returning a majority of starters on offense and a strong core of defensive lineman and outside linebackers for the 2007 season.
Photo gallery
See also
References
1. "Carnegie Mellon by the Numbers (1997–2007)". Retrieved on May 22, 2007.
2. Carnegie Mellon Athletics official website
3. Carnegie Mellon Identity Style Guide
4. Scottie Comes Home
5. "The 'Only' Coke Machine on the Internet", Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Department.
6. America's Best Graduate Schools 2008
7. http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/facts2007/2006_2007_Factbook_for_Web_Final_includes_revised_sat_pg.pdf
8. Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
9. Robotics Institute Official Website
10. SEI website
11. Human-Computer Interaction Institute Website
12. [1]
13. [2]
14. http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2006/top_200_universities/]
15. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14325172/site/newsweek/page/2/
16. Rankings of various Carnegie Mellon programs
17. http://www.cmu.edu/about/traditions.shtml
18. The Carnegie Mellon Ultimate Frisbee Club official website
19. The Carnegie Mellon University Rowing Club official website
20. The Carnegie Mellon Ice Hockey Club official website
21. The Carnegie Mellon Baseball Club official website
22. Carnegie Mellon Cycling Club
External links
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