YEAR IN REVIEW
Message from the Dean
Richard Scheines Bess Family Dean, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences
I’m thrilled to share our exciting new research and educational initiatives from Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences in this “Year in Review.” Our college embodies one of the most varied groups of students, faculty, staff and alumni across Carnegie Mellon University, all united by a common goal: confronting and solving society’s most complex problems. As you read, you’ll meet scholars and graduates who have made a difference in their fields and in their communities — locally, nationally and globally. In the following pages, we highlight a sample of these efforts and accomplishments from stories, videos and media coverage published at some point in 2024. I invite you to read about the incredible activity that took place at Dietrich in just one year, and if you’re interested in seeing how we’ve grown over time, check out previous editions of this publication. Enjoy! Richard Scheines READ PAST YEAR IN REVIEWS Welcome to the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ 2024 Year in Review.
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DIETRICH FACTS & FIGURES
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STUDENT EXPERIENCES
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS 16
NEW RESEARCH CENTERS 22
FACULTY RESEARCH & SCHOLARLY WORK 24
NEW LEADERSHIP 32
FACULTY AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 33
STAFF RECOGNITION 36
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS 38
CREATING A LEGACY OF SUPPORT 46
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2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Dietrich Facts & Figures
Dietrich College Has Been Home to More than 40 Members of Prestigious Professional Academies and Associations
14 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 12 AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 11 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 11 GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIPS 2 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
1,573 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS 238 DOCTORAL STUDENTS 134 MASTER’S STUDENTS
202 STAFF 267 FACULTY
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Dietrich Facts & Figures
Class of 2024 Outcomes Of the 91.6% of Dietrich College class of 2024 reporting, 87% found employment , entered graduate school or pursued other interests, like volunteering or military service.
OVER 100 ORGANIZATIONS THAT EMPLOYED GRADUATES INCLUDING:
CLASS OF 2024 DEGREES CONFERRED 396 UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
• Apple • Americorps • Boeing
• Center for Organ Recovery and Donation • Duolingo • FEMA
• IBM • Google • TikTok • Roblox
THE CLASS OF 2024 PURSUED GRADUATE STUDIES AT UNIVERSITIES INCLUDING: Carnegie Mellon University Cornell University Duke University Georgetown University Johns Hopkins University London School of Economics and Political Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology National University of Singapore University of Michigan Yale School of Public Health
105 MASTER’S DEGREES
27 DOCTORAL DEGREES
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Student Experiences
First-Year Students Address Grand Challenges
Students in “Grand Challenge: Equity and Environment” view a map during a field trip to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
As Dietrich College undergraduates embark on their academic journey, each takes a Grand Challenge Seminar designed to introduce them to explore complex, global problems from multiple viewpoints. Interdisciplinary teams of experts from across the university co-teach each course, which help students to build critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills. Grand Challenge Seminars in 2024 explored themes including the environment, race and identity in America, public trust — and mistrust — in research, and science and science fiction.
“ Being able to hear from [guest lecturers] who do the sort of work which we learn about in seminar feels more practical and impactful than just reading about it in a textbook. I also really liked the field trip to Phipps [Conservatory and Botanical Gardens] to think about the systems we interact with daily. It was a valuable experience and makes what we learn about feel real and less abstract. ” — F irst-year student Colin Tran, who completed “Equity and the
Environment: Exploring Global Challenges and Local Solutions.”
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Student Experiences
A Community Committed to Civil Discourse
At Dietrich College, we don’t shy away from difficult conversations. We embrace them. In January 2024, Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian launched Deeper Conversations, a university-wide initiative aimed at promoting the power of civil discourse to unify, educate and build bridges of understanding. Dietrich College has joined with the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy to offer programs that explore controversial issues from multiple viewpoints, including the conflict between Israel and Palestine, democracy and U.S. elections, and the role of the federal government in society. “As an educational institution, our role is not to advocate for one side of any controversial issue; it is to educate our students and community about the issue and provide a forum in which we can discuss the issue safely and rationally,” said Richard Scheines , Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College.
Dietrich College faculty members Michal Friedman (far left) and Nevine Abraham (far right) facilitate “The Possibility of Peace” discussion with Rula Hardal (middle left) and May Pundak (middle right) from A Land for All.
WATCH DEEPER CONVERSATIONS VIDEOS
Read more about CMU’s Deeper Conversations series in an NPR story about how higher education institutions across the U.S. were addressing anti-war protests and freedom of speech. READ NPR STORY
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Student Experiences
Enriching Programs for Undergraduate Students
Dietrich College offers outstanding undergraduate students the opportunity to acquire advanced humanistic and quantitative skills and experiences through interdisciplinary honors programs. As communities of scholars, participants explore humanistic inquiry and human behavior in a technology-rich environment.
Humanities Scholars Program
In fall 2024, the Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) reintroduced a living-learning model in which a small group of scholars develop a shared intellectual curiosity by living together their first year. Under the direction of Therese Tardio , HSP students take a seminar class together each semester for their first two years and participate in a research seminar during their final semester. HSP expands opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom through events and outings in addition to providing support for experiential learning and research opportunities. Tandri Einarsson (DC 2024) developed foundational skills for research in the humanities and pursued a capstone history project on the regulation of railroads and Wall Street. Through the project, Einarsson interacted with faculty representing law, economics, political science and social history.
“ Engaging with such a wide array of highly accomplished scholars during my undergraduate career was such an enriching experience that would not have been possible without the support of the HSP. ” —Tandri Einarsson
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Student Experiences
Quantitative Social Sciences Scholars Program
The Quantitative Social Sciences Scholars (QSSS) program provides students with an opportunity to develop quantitative technical skills that they can use to impact society as entrepreneurs, policymakers or social scientists. Under the direction of Mark Patterson , QSSS participants also benefit from a seminar series that brings outstanding and world-renowned educators, scientists and innovators to discuss key topics of interest. In class, Daniel Chia (DC 2026) conducted data analysis for a nonprofit, applying his skills to benefit a real-world client.
“ I had always felt in a bit of a quandary with regard to my academic path. On one hand, I enjoyed the problem-solving process and rigor afforded by quantitative methods. On the other hand, I found much more meaning in work that dealt with and impacted fellow human beings, rather than inanimate machines or numbers. The QSSS program offered the perfect way to marry these two interests together. ” — Daniel Chia
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Student Experiences
Korean Studies Program Expands
CMU’s Korean Studies program is experiencing significant growth, fueled by alumni engagement, growing student interest and strategic investments in faculty and resources. Housed in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics (LCAL), the program reflects the university’s commitment to preparing students for global careers through language and cultural education. Launched in fall 2023, the program was created in response to rising student demand and national trends. According to the Modern Language Association, Korean language enrollments grew by 38.8 percent nationally between 2016 to 2021, making it the fastest- growing and 10th most commonly taught language in the United States. This trend is mirrored at CMU, where initial noncredit Korean conversation classes, centered on TV dramas, quickly evolved into full-credit courses that exceeded enrollment expectations.
WATCH A VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CMU’S KOREAN STUDIES PROGRAM
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Student Experiences
At Dietrich College, students put their education into action. By taking advantage of a wide variety of internship, undergraduate research, study abroad and community service opportunities — many fully or partially funded through the college — students graduate from CMU with the skills needed to build successful careers and benefit their community. In the following pages, read about a few of the experiential learning opportunities our students pursued in the past year. Experiential Learning: Developing Skills That Last a Lifetime
What makes experiential learning at Dietrich College different?
Critical reflection
Real-world context
Connection to coursework
Mentoring relationships
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Student Experiences
Pittsburgh Summer Internship Program In 2024, 60 Dietrich College students participated in the Pittsburgh Summer Internship Program (PSIP) at 40 startups, small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the region. Each student received a stipend of $3,300 to cover the cost of living in Pittsburgh over the summer and participated in a series of professional development workshops.
Vionnie Khong and Shawn Fertitta
Ani Kapuria, Max Holmes and Bo Xie
Vionnie Khong (DC 2027), who is pursuing majors in economics and statistics and science, technology and public policy, interned with the Oakland Business Improvement District, an organization dedicated to fostering a thriving and inclusive community for businesses, residents and visitors. “ Vionnie, our public realm experience intern, is an incredible asset to OBID’s team, particularly through her exceptional data analysis skills that we use to support operational efficiencies within the district. She is one of the brightest people I know, bringing immense energy and passion to her work. ” — Shawn Fertitta , director of public realm experience at Oakland Business Improvement District
Bo Xie (DC 2027), an information systems and artificial intelligence major, interned with Conduit, a startup company focused on creating technology to improve worker retention in the service sector. “ Working with Bo has been a fantastic experience. He is bright, creative, driven and really gets what we’re doing on an intrinsic level. I’ve seen a lot of personal and professional growth from Bo this summer as he’s thrown himself into his work. ” — Max Holmes , co-founder of Conduit
WANT TO LEARN MORE? EXPLORE THE PITTSBURGH SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT.
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Student Experiences
Students Receive Funding, Advising to Embark on Undergraduate Research
Veronica Pimenova (CMU 2026), who is studying information systems with a minor in human-computer interaction, received a 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from CMU’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development. Through this experience, she developed a new intervention to help neurodivergent students learn online more easily.
“After each instructional step, we added a four- second pause. This segmentation is grounded in cognitive load and working memory theories, which suggest that brief pauses can help reduce extraneous cognitive load, especially for learners with ADHD, by giving them time to process and keep track of each step as they progress through the video,” Pimenova said. SURF participants are provided a stipend, intended to support them as they complete on-campus research throughout the summer. Students are encouraged to pursue any research endeavors that align with their interests, and are not limited to their major or discipline.
“ Accessibility is something that a lot of people don’t really think about. But the truth is, most people will experience disability at some point in their lives — whether it’s due to genetics, an accident, or as they age. So why don’t we take the time now to build software and systems that work for everyone? ” —Veronica Pimenova
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Student Experiences
Study Abroad Program Combines Biodiversity, Spanish and Statistics Dietrich College and CMU offer pathways to a variety of summer and semester-long study abroad options. One of these programs, offered in partnership by the Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics and Statistics & Data Science departments, immerses students in tropical ecology, statistics and cultural studies through the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica.
“I was most looking forward to understanding the impacts of environmental policy on smaller communities. I wanted to participate in this program because it allowed me to explore many different topics about conservation, community development and the impacts of policy, ” said Arika Manuel (DC 2026), who is majoring in international relations and political science and environmental and sustainability studies.
Manuel was drawn to the program’s involvement in community-led research projects, especially in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Her project examined the health of local streams by focusing on biodiversity. During the summer, she analyzed a dataset of stream health indicators, including air and water temperature, pH levels, turbidity and other factors since 2019.
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Student Experiences
Celebrating a Decade of the Carnegie Mellon University Washington Semester Program
The inaugural cohort of the Carnegie Mellon University Washington Semester Program gathers at the National Security Agency in 2014. From left to right: Emily LaRosa (DC 2015); Latif Elam (DC 2015); Megan Steinmetz (DC 2015; HNZ 2016); Chloe Hawker (DC 2015); Edward Wojciechowski (DC 2015); Molly Shanley (DC 2015). The Washington Semester Program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024, provides undergraduate students from any CMU school or college the opportunity to live, intern and study in the nation’s capital. Participants gain real-world experience during internships during the day that are augmented by classes in public policy, American politics, governance, institutions and law in the evening. “It’s a program unlike any other that CMU offers. You’re in the heart of Washington, D.C.,” said James Summers (DC 2021, 2022), who participated in the CMU/WSP in fall 2020. “You get to create memories and experiences that you won’t have the opportunity to do with any other program.”
READ MORE ABOUT THE WASHINGTON SEMESTER PROGRAM
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Student Experiences
University and K-12 students benefit from a variety of Dietrich College programs designed to help students make meaningful contributions while enhancing their academic experiences. These opportunities help participants connect their interests and talents to social change. HERE ARE HIGHLIGHTS FROM TWO OF THESE PROGRAMS: Community Engagement Programs Connect Students, Community
Collester Family Community Engagement Fellowship Program
2024 Class of Collester Fellows Aiwen (Erin) Chen (DC 2024) Neuroscience and Philosophy Kel-Li Chen (DC 2026) Neuroscience Sofia Cordoba Valencia (DC 2024) Global Studies and Chinese Studies Stanley Duong (DC 2025) Psychology Warisha Khan (DC 2026) International Relations and Politics Kira Kiesler (DC 2024) Ethics, History and Public Policy and Philosophy Eric Moreno (DC 2024) Global Studies Tatym Rasmussen (DC 2025) Global Studies Zoe Schneider (DC 2025) Ethics, History & Public Policy and Literature and Culture
The Community Engagement Fellowship Program in Dietrich College, which was inspired and made possible by a generous gift from Lynn S. Collester (DC 1985) and Michael D. Collester, is designed to equip students with the leadership skills needed for social change and to ignite a passion for lifelong service. The fellows take academic coursework, engage in projects that include research and work with a community partner. “The students in this program have learned that they can make local-level impacts and changes in ways that have a ripple effect,” said Kim Piatt , director of experiential learning at Dietrich College. “It brings these higher-level goals and ideals down in a manageable way that they can actually operationalize it and make a difference.”
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Student Experiences
LEAP is an educational program that uses storytelling to empower high school students to become agents of social change. Offered by the Dietrich College in partnership with the College of Fine Arts, the year-round program connects students with renowned artists, activists, and scholars from CMU and the local community. In 2024, participants learned about the impact of Pittsburgh’s historical National Opera House. LEAP students designed art to depict the organization’s story and screen printed their designs on T-shirts, tote bags and posters to raise funds and awareness for the National Opera House. LEAP: Leadership, Excellence, Access, Persistence
“ What I liked about the partnership with LEAP was the opportunity to introduce the National Opera House to a young audience, exposing students to the real-world process of preservation and restoration. The partnership has impacted NOH in a positive way, because it has elevated the awareness of the project and amplified the story of the National Opera House. ” — Jonnet Solomon , executive director and a founding member of National Opera House
LEARN MORE ABOUT LEAP
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Student Achievements
Meet the Dietrich College Scholars The college welcomed its fourth cohort of Dietrich College Scholars in fall 2024. The fellowship provides exemplary doctoral students a pathway to success through financial support, opportunities to expand networks and professional development. It also offers incoming doctoral students an opportunity to develop relationships with graduate students across departments within Dietrich College to help with building community, belonging and networking.
Esther Omonigho Airemionkhale Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Ani Gribbin Neuroscience Institute
Joanna Boyland Department of Philosophy
Emiliano Irena Hernández Department of Psychology
Qianyu Ma Department of History
Asteria Herbert Chilambo Department of Statistics & Data Science
Christa Michel Neuroscience Institute Also participating in the CMU Rales Program
Abigail Cramer Department of History
Mercy Faleyimu Department of English
Ramon Silvera Zumaran Department of Social and Decision Sciences
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Student Achievements
Seniors Named ACS Scholars Nine Dietrich College seniors have been named Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholars. This award recognizes undergraduate students who embody CMU’s high standards of academic excellence, volunteerism, leadership and involvement in student organizations, athletics or the arts. THE 2024-2025 ACS SCHOLARS INCLUDE:
Christian Lanuza Statistics & Machine Learning Chaco Iwase Bachelor of Humanities and Arts
Sanaa Akindele Ethics, History & Public Policy
Zoe Schneider Ethics, History & Public Policy and Literature & Culture Shruti Srinivasan Statistics & Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Elizabeth Zapanta International Relations & Political Science
Ava Allard Chinese Studies
Gemma Jefferson Decision Science
Jocelyn Morningstar Information Systems
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Student Achievements
Student Awards and Fellowships
Camille Chandler (DC 2025), majoring in psychology, is a 2024 recipient of the Beinecke Scholarship. Chandler’s research to date has focused on preferences for standards of fairness in resource allocation and how people make sense of conflicting feedback. The Beinecke Scholarship was founded to inspire and enable driven, hardworking students to pursue graduate education in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Will Noll , a graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and biomedical engineering and a minor in statistics, began a Ph.D. in neural computation in the Neuroscience Institute, bringing with him a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP). Noll plans to leverage brain- computer interfaces as a research tool to learn more about how the brain controls movement while integrating sensory feedback.
Ziggy Sheynin (DC 2024), a psychology and Hispanic studies double major, received the Gretchen Goldsmith Lankford Award. This annual award recognizes one Dietrich College student with exceptional academic and professional achievement who plans to pursue graduate studies in education. Sheynin points to her experiences at CMU’s Children’s School, a laboratory school that is actively involved in preschool and kindergarten education, developmental research, undergraduate teaching and training of both pre-service and practicing educators, in helping to solidify her future education goals and career ambitions.
Alex Tabor (DC 2025) received Dietrich College’s 2024 Graduate Student Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding expertise in all areas of teaching, including curriculum development, instruction and student mentoring. He looks forward to pursuing a career that allows him to conduct behind-the-scenes research toward legislative and policy development while directly engaging with underserved communities.
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Student Achievements
Fulbright Scholars Four Dietrich College students and alumni received 2024 Fulbright Scholarships, an honor bestowed to extraordinary college seniors, graduate students and young professionals who focus on international relations within their field of study. The program’s overarching goal is to facilitate cultural exchange by immersing awardees in their respective host country’s culture, beliefs, classrooms and daily tasks.
Adrian Lapadat (DC 2023), a graduate of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing Program, will conduct research on emigration from Bacău county in Romania.
Matthew Turetsky (DC 2023), a Ph.D. student in the History Department, will conduct research regarding the cultural, social and economic factors surrounding the history of quinoa in Bolivia and Peru.
Devon Renfroe (DC 2021), who earned a Master of Arts in Applied Second Language Acquisition from the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, will conduct language learning research at Chonnam National University in South Korea.
Shaun Ranadé (DC 2014, MCS 2015, ENG 2016), a medical student, will travel to Nepal to work on a telemonitoring project for patients with gestational diabetes. He graduated from CMU with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, and before that, he earned two bachelor’s degrees — one in biological sciences and the other in Japanese studies.
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Student Achievements
Throughout 2024, Phi Beta Kappa inducted 27 Dietrich College juniors and seniors into its CMU chapter. The organization was founded in 1776 with the primary goal of emphasizing the intrinsic value of liberal arts and science education, along with championing the notion of freedom of thought. Phi Beta Kappa
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Student Achievements
SPRING 2024 INDUCTEES Sarah Abrams: Technical Writing & Communication Amor Ai: Statistics; Psychology
Nicholas Mlakar: International Relations and Political Science; Social and Political History Shravya Nandyala: Artificial Intelligence and Russian Studies Marissa Pekular : International Relations and Political Science Adriana Poznanski : Information Systems; Human-Computer Interaction Lee Wang: Economics; Ethics, History, and Public Policy (dual degrees) Emmeline Wetzel: Information Systems Rachel Wilson: Computer Science, Hispanic Studies minor Zhiyu Yu: Statistics Cheryl Zhang: Humanities Analytics and Music Performance, French and Francophone Studies FALL 2024 EARLY INITIATES Karissa Dunkerley: Information Systems Olivia Reed: Creative Writing Camille Chandler: Psychology, Decision Science Cynthia Qian: Psychology Gemma Jefferson: Decision Science Arnav Paliwal: Statistics and Machine Learning
Keilani Barba: International Relations and Political Science; Professional Writing Oliver Bauer: Economics and Politics Amelia Boose: Decision Science; Behavioral Economics Gavin Burke: Logic and Computation Madeline Burke: Neuroscience Aiwen Chen: Neuroscience Chris Crawford: Computer Science, Chinese Studies minor Kaiwen Geng: Statistics and Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence Letian Huang: Psychology; Philosophy (dual degrees) Jo-Michelle Huczko: Ethics, History & Public Policy; International Relations and Political Science Sanjana Krishna: Neuroscience Kaisa Lee: Ethics, History & Public Policy; Drama Sophia Levin: Creative Writing; Social and Political History Megan Matsko: Psychology
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New Research Centers
Carnegie Mellon Launches Sports Analytics Center
“No Edge No Chance: The Impact of Setting the Edge on Zone Run Plays” Shane Hauck (DC 2024) Marion Haney (DC 2023, 2024) in fall 2024 and formalized CMU’s long-standing leadership in sports analytics. It also produced two finalists at the NFL’s Big Data Bowl. The Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center (CMSAC) — a hub for research efforts, educational initiatives and industry engagement — launched
Ron Yurko (DC 2012, 2022), an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science, serves as director of CMSAC.
Devin Basley (DC 2024) Vinay Maruri (DC 2024)
“ By coming to Carnegie Mellon, students know they are at an entry point to launch a career in sports analytics. We provide the resources, the right education and the skill sets that teams and industry partners are looking for. ” — Ron Yurko During the spring 2024 semester, two sports analytics teams from the Department of Statistics & Data Science were named finalists in the 2024 NFL Big Data Bowl. Each team — namely made up of graduate students — was awarded $12,500 and an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis to present their work.
“Momentum-Based Fractional Tackles” Quang Nguyen (DC 2024, 2027) Larry Jiang (DC 2026) Meg Ellingwood (DC 2024, 2026) Ron Yurko (DC 2015, 2022, current faculty)
LEARN MORE ABOUT CMSAC
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New Research Centers
A Statistical Bridge to Scientific Advances
Ann B. Lee
Mikael Kuusela
The STAtistical Methods for the Physical Sciences Research Center (STAMPS) bridges gaps between researchers by pairing statisticians and their colleagues in the physical sciences to address complex, real-world problems. In addition to advancing multiple scientific fields, STAMPS seeks to educate the next generation of statisticians. The research center provides Ph.D. students with training in foundational statistics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning as they gain experience working on complex, real-world data. Ann B. Lee , professor, and Mikael Kuusela , assistant professor, in the Department of Statistics & Data Science co-lead the center.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STAMPS RESEARCH CENTER
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
English Department Professors Release Trio of Thought- Provoking New Books Several professors in the Department of English have released new books that showcase their voices and talents. Each writer brings a unique perspective to their work, from gripping fiction to poignant poetry, enriching the academic community and inviting readers to explore the depths of human experience through their compelling narratives.
“ To Be Marquette ” is a novel written by Sharon Dilworth , an associate professor of English. The story follows Molly, a first-year student at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, who “exposes hidden secrets as she fights for environmental justice.” “ The Sea Lion Who Saved the Boy Who Jumped From the Golden Gate ” is the first collection of poetry from Jane McCafferty , a professor of English. The title poem is based on a true story “and its suggestion that there is magic in the world, even at the darkest moments.” “ Brid ” is the latest work of Lauren Shapiro , associate professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Program. It contains prose poem passages and lyric poems that explore “motherhood, the dissolution of a marriage and grief through the lens of a shrinking pandemic space.”
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Enabling Developers to Write Provably Correct Software
Computer code is the foundation of today’s
Shaping Artificial Intelligence through the Humanities and Social Sciences Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making a profound impact on how society functions, affecting our civil liberties, safety and security, health care and learning. Dietrich College launched a new AI website to show how the college’s researchers and scholars are applying and influencing AI where humanity and technology meet.
technology. As software becomes an increasingly pervasive part of our lives, we need ways to ensure that critical software systems remain free of certain classes of defects and vulnerabilities.
Jeremy Avigad , a professor in the Philosophy Department, is part of a team of CMU researchers that received a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research grant from the Pipelined Reasoning of Verifiers Enabling Robust Systems (PROVERS) program to make it possible for non-experts to formally prove that their code is correct, reliable and secure. The researchers are developing a tool called Verus for mathematically proving the correctness, reliability and security of code written in the Rust programming language. To discharge those proofs, Verus uses various reasoning engines, including the Lean theorem prover and Satisfaction Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers.
VISIT DIETRICH COLLEGE’S AI WEBSITE
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Historian Illuminates Crucial Chapter of Harriet Tubman’s Legacy
Edda Fields-Black , a professor in the Department of History and director of The Humanities Center, illuminates a crucial chapter of Harriet Tubman’s legacy through a new, award-winning book, “COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War.” During the Civil War, the governor of Massachusetts sent Tubman to gather intelligence for the U.S. Army Department of the South. Throughout the planning and execution of the raid, Tubman and 300 formerly enslaved Black soldiers risked their own freedom to help others secure it. The book recounts the story of the raid from the perspectives of Harriet Tubman and the previously enslaved people who liberated themselves in the raid. While conducting research, Fields-Black digitized Civil War pension files to uncover new information about formerly enslaved ancestors.
READ FIELDS-BLACK’S NEW YORK TIMES GUEST ESSAY: “BLACK FAMILIES CAN NOW RECOVER MORE OF THEIR LOST HISTORIES.”
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Young Adults Reduced Drinking During and After Pandemic
Kasey Creswell, associate professor of psychology, conducted a study that examined drinking levels and patterns of young adults before, during and after the pandemic. Creswell and the team of researchers found alcohol use and alcohol- related problems substantially decreased in heavy-drinking young adults during the pandemic, and these decreases were still evident as the pandemic began to wane. Unlike most prior studies of drinking habits during the pandemic, this study prospectively examined the drinking patterns of 234 heavy-drinking young adults ages 21 to 29 years from before to well after the onset of the pandemic. According to Creswell, the results may, in part, be explained by the environment. Alcohol was still available to these young adults during the pandemic, but the context in which they were drinking likely changed for most of them. Due to pandemic restrictions, they weren’t able to drink with friends at parties or in bars, contexts that are usually associated with heavy alcohol use in young adults.
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Coding for Animals Key to Engaging Children in STEM
Jessica Cantlon , the Ronald J. and Mary Ann Zdrojkowski Associate Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychology, and her colleague Caroline DeLong, professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, merged a topic that younger children (grades 3 to 6) enjoy — animals — with one that most kids might look at like a plate of steaming Brussels sprouts — computer coding.
WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE PILOT STUDY AND STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH CODING.
They developed an educational program in collaboration with the Primate Portal, an exhibit at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, N.Y., in which the public can watch olive baboons solve problems presented as computerized tasks on a touchscreen computer.
Through the program, students learned a basic coding language (Scratch) to develop a game that olive baboons at the zoo play to test their intelligence. While the students have the freedom to create their game, they are given different frameworks as a starting point, such as a matching game or a search game, like “Where’s Waldo.” At the end of the five-day programming course, the students took a field trip to the zoo to watch the primates play the games they programmed.
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Leveraging Human Psychology to Thwart Cyber Attacks
CMU researchers use cognitive AI to get into the mind of the person behind a cyberattack to build stronger defenses for future networks. Cleotilde Gonzalez , research professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, aims to address cybersecurity using cognitive modeling, a form of AI directed at using algorithms to imitate humans and to understand the psychology of the cyber adversary. Gonzalez’s team has partnered with Peraton Labs, an applied research organization that addresses cybersecurity, electronic warfare, mobility, analytics and networking for government and commercial customers worldwide. The program will unfold in several phases and will involve colleagues at the University of Texas, El Paso and the University of Washington.
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Exploring the Spread of Misinformation in War and Conflict
With over half of adults worldwide now consuming news via social media platforms, inaccurate information can reach thousands of people within minutes, affecting everything from public health to elections to our understanding of current events. In his new book, “Seeing Is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better,” Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) assistant professor Daniel Silverman extends the study of factual misinformation, conspiracy theories and fake news into a new, high- stakes domain: conflict zones. The impact of misinformation depends on the extent to which it is believed, and one of the key questions Silverman tackles is what factors contribute to people believing the lies they encounter in war zones. Ever since noticing that debates about U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan were characterized not just by variation in policy recommendations, but also by disagreements over what was happening, Silverman has had a sustained interest in perceptions of wartime violence.
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Faculty Research & Scholarly Work
Faculty Spotlights The Faculty Spotlight series highlights the expertise and achievements of our new and junior faculty. Their dynamic research and scholarly work makes an impact on societal challenges, enhances the college by expanding our curriculum and engages faculty and staff across the college and university.
Nevine Abraham Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Naama Ilany-Tzur Information Systems
LEARN MORE ABOUT NEVINE
LEARN MORE ABOUT NAAMA
John Conlon Department of Social and Decision Sciences
Gonzalo Mena Department of Statistics & Data Science
LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN
LEARN MORE ABOUT GONZALO
Sarah Hae-In Idzik Department of English
Manasvini Singh Department of Social and Decision Sciences
LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH
LEARN MORE ABOUT MANASVINI
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2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
New Leadership
Ferber Named Head of The Department of Psychology
Susanne Ferber was named head of the Department of Psychology on Aug. 1, 2024. Ferber most recently was a faculty member at University of Toronto’s Department of Psychology, where she served as chair from 2014 to 2020. Her research focuses on understanding the cognitive and neural processes that support awareness of perception.
Phillips Named Head of The Department of History
Christopher Phillips , a professor of history, was named head of the Department of History and began his role on Jan. 1, 2025. Phillips’ research and teaching focus is on the history of science in modern America, particularly the spread of mathematical and statistical methods. He is the author of “The New Math: A Political History” and “Scouting and Scoring: How We Know What We Know About Baseball.”
Fields-Black Appointed Director of The Humanities Center
Edda Fields-Black , a professor of history, was appointed director of The Humanities Center on July 1, 2024. The Humanities Center aims to strengthen research and teaching in the humanities; nurture interdisciplinary collaboration among the humanities faculty and between humanities faculty and faculty in other disciplines; and foster a greater role for the humanities, nationally and internationally, in an increasingly technological and global society.
Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Carnegie Mellon University 32
Faculty Awards and Achievements
Natalie Amgott Honored with National Early Career Research Award for Innovations in Online Language Learning
Natalie Amgott , associate director of online language learning for the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, received the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ Early Career Research Award. Her academic journey has been marked by a commitment to unraveling the complexities of language acquisition, curriculum design and online language learning experiences.
Robert Kass Named University Professor for Pioneering Contributions to Statistics and Neuroscience
Robert Kass , the Maurice Falk Professor of Statistics and Computational Neuroscience in the Department of Statistics and Data Science, was elevated to the rank of University Professor, the highest distinction a faculty member can achieve at the university. Kass’s early work focused on Bayesian inference and differential geometry in statistics. His research later expanded to concentrate on analysis of data representing the primary mode of communication among neurons, known as spike trains, which are described well by mathematical models called point processes.
Edward Kennedy Receives National Award for Groundbreaking Work in Public Health and Statistics
Edward Kennedy , associate professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science, will receive the American Public Health Association’s Mortimer Spiegelman Award for his outstanding contributions to public health and statistics. Kennedy applies his expertise to work beyond correlations and associations in data to understand the underlying cause that leads to the effect. These statistical techniques are already making critical advances in health care.
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2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Faculty Awards and Achievements
Carl Kubler Named Luce/ACLS Fellow for Research on China-West Trade and Relations in the 18th–19th Centuries
Carl Kubler , assistant professor in the Department of History, was named one of 14 Luce/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Early Career Fellows in China Studies. His project, “Beyond Conflict: Global Trade and Everyday Relations Between China and the West, 1780- 1860,” examines the history of trade and grassroots relations among Chinese people, Europeans and Americans on the South China Coast in the decades surrounding the first Opium War (1839 to 1842). This project will culminate in a book and is based on Kubler’s doctoral dissertation, which won the 2022-2023 World History Association Dissertation Prize for the best dissertation in world, global or transnational history.
Mame-Fatou Niang Honored with CMU’s Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching and Innovation in Francophone Studies
Mame-Fatou Niang received the William H. and Frances S. Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching at CMU’s 2024 Celebration of Education. Niang is an associate professor of French and Francophone studies and director-founder of the Center for Black European Studies and the Atlantic (CBESA). Since she arrived at CMU in 2012, Niang’s expertise on the Francophone world and dedication to education have manifested as ground- breaking projects, a first-of-its-kind center and powerful courses.
Aaditya Ramdas Named 2024 Sloan Research Fellow for Pioneering Work in Statistical Inference and AI
Aaditya Ramdas , assistant professor in the Statistics & Data Science and Machine Learning departments, was named a 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Mathematics. Fellows are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to their field. Ramdas’ research is on foundational topics in statistical inference and learning, ranging from how modern artificial intelligence systems can quantify uncertainty of their predictions to a new theory of measuring and combining statistical evidence based on game-theoretic principles.
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Faculty Awards and Achievements
Dean Richard Scheines Receives Doherty Award for Three Decades of Educational Innovation and Leadership
Dietrich College Bess Family Dean Richard Scheines received the Robert E. Doherty Award for Sustained Contributions to Excellence in Education at CMU’s 2024 Celebration of Education. For more than 30 years, Scheines — as professor, department head and dean — has been at the forefront of developing educational programs that benefit learners at CMU and across the globe. His early innovations included employing AI to create interactive tutors for learning formal logic and developing online courses for causal reasoning. As a department head and dean, Scheines set a bold vision to educate students to solve problems across disciplinary boundaries and to create engaged citizens and professionals through experiential learning.
Joe Trotter and Jackie Wu Honored by AHA for Excellence in History and Social Justice
The American Historical Association (AHA) honored Joe William Trotter Jr. and Jackie Wu (DC, TPR 2022) with 2024 awards. Trotter, the Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice and director of the Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE), received the John Lewis Award for History and Social Justice. Wu, an advisee of Trotter, received the Raymond J. Cunningham Prize for the best article published in a journal written by an undergraduate student.
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2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Staff Recognition
5 YEARS OF SERVICE Hugo Angulo . . . . ...... Psychology Glenn Clune .. . . . ...... Statistics & Data Science Audra Irvine . . . . ...... Neuroscience Jamie Scanlon .. . . ..... Center for Applied Research on Targeted Violence 10 YEARS OF SERVICE Connie Amoroso .. . .... CMU Press David Gardner . . . ..... Advancement Karen Weingartner . . . Dean’s Office 15 YEARS OF SERVICE Lisa Loomis .. . . . ...... Children’s School 25 YEARS OF SERVICE Mandy Lanyon . . . ..... Social and Decision Sciences Nicholas Pegg .. . . ..... Psychology 35 YEARS OF SERVICE Linda Hancock . . . ..... Children’s School 40 YEARS OF SERVICE Nancy Monda .. . . ..... Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics 45 YEARS Staff Years of Service
Retirements
DIETRICH COLLEGE RECOGNIZES THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THREE LONG-SERVING STAFF MEMBERS WHO RETIRED IN 2024 Anna Houck . . . . ...... Business Manager, Dietrich College Dean’s Office Cynthia Lamb . . . ..... Communications Project Analyst, CMU Press Maggie Rosenblum . .. Early Childhood Educational Administrator, Children’s School
Rosemarie Commisso .. Philosophy Joseph Devine .. . . ..... Dean’s Office
Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences | Carnegie Mellon University 36
Staff Recognition
Andy Awards
The Andy Awards, named for Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, annually recognize the legacy that staff members forge through their hard work.
Kelli Maxwell , associate dean of student success, won the 2024 Andy Award for Innovative and Creative Contributions.
Five additional Dietrich College staff members were nominated for Andy Awards. NOMINEES INCLUDED: COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE (ROOKIE) Jessica Lutz . . .... Academic Advisor,
Information Systems Program
Daniel Kasper . . . . Business Manager,
Neuroscience Institute COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE (VETERAN) Jeanne Crichlow .. Administrative Assistant II, Dean’s Office Amy Stoebe . . .... Assistant Director of Writing & Communication, Department of English COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS Melissa Stupka . .. Senior Academic Program Manager for the Neuroscience Institute
From left: Theresa Mayer , Kelli Maxwell and Farnam Jahanian pose after Maxwell receives her Andy Award.
Dietrich College Staff Community Excellence Award
Correy Dandoy , senior academic advisor and communications manager for the Information Systems (IS) Program, received the 2024 Dietrich College Staff Community Excellence Award. The award is presented annually to staff who regularly go above and beyond to create a more inclusive, just and welcoming environment within the college and surrounding community. Dandoy connects IS students with scholarships that enable them to attend conferences and leads the popular Women in IS and IS Ambassadors peer mentoring programs.
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2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
Alumni Highlights
Deborah “Debbie” Yue (DC 1989) was one of four recipients of the 2024 CMU Alumni Service Awards. The daughter of CMU alumni, Yue earned her bachelor of science in technical writing from the university in 1989 and went on to become a celebrated defense attorney. Yue serves as a volunteer in a wide range of organizations, including the Ohio Supreme Court’s lawyer-to- lawyer mentoring program, the board of trustees of the Avon Lake Public Library and the Dietrich College Board of Advisors. “ I hope to inspire others to join me in giving back to the university that has given us so much. ” — Debbie Yue Yue Receives Alumni Service Award
Dietrich Alumni Named Tartans on the Rise
Tartans on the Rise celebrates Carnegie Mellon University alumni who have graduated in the last 10 years and are making an impact on their organizations and communities
through leadership, innovation and career accomplishments. THREE DIETRICH COLLEGE ALUMNI WERE INCLUDED IN THE 2024 CLASS:
Anna Walsh (DC 2013) Director of Editorial Operations, Texas Monthly
Darren Riley (DC 2014) Co-founder and Chief
Meredith Schmehl (DC 2018; MCS 2018) Neuroscientist and Science Communicator
Executive Officer, JustAir Solutions
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