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Campus News in Brief

Sciannameo guides students

Carnegie Mellon has appointed Franco Sciannameo, College of Fine Arts Distinguished Scholar in Multidisciplinary Studies, the new director of its Bachelor of Humanities and Arts (BHA) and Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) interdisciplinary programs. He follows Patricia Maurides, who resigned after seven years as director.

Sciannameo, a cultural historian and film musicologist, was born in Italy; he studied at the Conservatorio di Musica and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.

He holds advanced degrees in historical musicology and cultural studies from the University of Pittsburgh and is an active member of Carnegie Mellon’s Center for the Arts in Society.

An active participant in the artistic society, Sciannameo writes and lectures on contemporary music and the role of artists in the world, and their relation to politics, cinema, and the arts. He has worked closely with numerous distinguished composers including Paul Chihara, Ennio Morricone, Franco Donatoni, and Giacinto Scelsi.

Sciannameo wishes to help students learn to better appreciate and understand the concept of interdisciplinary study.

Sciannameo’s agenda includes hosting an annual New York City retreat dedicated to appreciating the city’s artistic and cultural treasures, in addition to creating a first-year seminar about research methodologies and another one for upperclassmen dedicated to exploring art, technology, and science.

Engineer gets national honor

On Feb. 16, Carnegie Mellon doctoral student Arielle Drummond will be granted the 2008 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Student Leadership.

The celebration will take place during the National Black Engineer of the Year Awards Global Competitiveness Conference in Baltimore, from Feb. 13 to 17 of this year. The conference has been serving as a helpful instrument to distinguish outstanding accomplishments of African-Americans in companies and academic institutions since 1986.

As an African-American, Drummond is one of few minority engineers in the field. African-American engineers make up 36,000, or 2.6 percent, of the 1.4 million working engineers in the U.S., or 12 percent of the overall engineering population, according to the National Society of Black Engineers.

A young teacher from her private school in New Jersey originally influenced Drummond toward physics and biology. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Drummond came to Carnegie Mellon, where she currently works with researchers on the development of a pediatric heart pump.

In 2005, Drummond helped plan some of the graduate student events at the 32nd annual NSBE conference, which was held at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Drummond was pleased to receive the recognition.

“This award reflects the growth and maturity I have gained during my time here at Carnegie Mellon,” she said.