>From Dave Farber's list:
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Carnegie Mellon Receives $20 Million from Bill & Melinda Gates=20
Foundation
To Build a New Home for the Study of Computer Science
=A0
PITTSBURGH=97Carnegie Mellon University has received a $20 million gift=20
from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fund construction of a=20
new building dedicated to expanding the horizons of computer science.
The new facility, to be named the Gates Center for Computer Science,=20
will enable the university to broaden its leadership in this crucial=20
field by providing more space to nurture important ongoing and new=20
endeavors.
The Gates Center is envisioned as a prominently located,=20
150,000-square-foot building that will bring a range of computer=20
science activities together under one roof and foster more of the=20
interdisciplinary teaching and research breakthroughs for which the=20
university is famous, particularly in the areas like trustworthy=20
computing and artificial intelligence, which are crucial to the future=20
of computer science.
The estimated cost of the new building is $50 million, with the=20
foundation gift providing inspiration for additional fundraising. Plans=20
call for moving the project forward as quickly as possible so that the=20
facility is completed within three years from the time ground is=20
broken.
An artist=92s conception of the new building shows three entrances with=20
one facing Forbes Avenue, the major Pittsburgh thoroughfare on which=20
the campus is located. Preliminary plans call for the new facility to=20
provide laboratory and office space for more than 80 faculty, as well=20
as several computer clusters, two 100-seat lecture halls, four 50-seat=20
classrooms and a 250-seat auditorium.
=93We thank Bill and Melinda Gates for the generous gift that will=20
further outstanding work by this university,=94 said Carnegie Mellon=20
President Jared L. Cohon. =93The Gates Center will be the new home for=20
students, faculty and research laboratories that embrace our=20
collaborative, problem-solving tradition in computer science. With its=20
state-of-the-art facilities and resources, the new Gates Center will=20
help us to continue to transform computer science with outstanding=20
research and thinking, while visibly and remarkably transforming our=20
campus with a bright new space for learning.=94
Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said,=20
=93Our goal is for this new building to be a catalyst for computer=20
science breakthroughs. Carnegie Mellon is one of the top schools for=20
computer science in the nation, and we hope the foundation=92s gift will=20
help the school continue to excel and push the envelope of human=20
understanding and innovation.=94
The gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reaffirms the=20
significance of the contributions that Carnegie Mellon has made to the=20
field of computer science over more than four decades. Since 1956 when=20
computer science pioneers Herbert Simon and Allen Newell fathered the=20
field of artificial intelligence by demonstrating that computations=20
could be performed with symbols as well as numbers, Carnegie Mellon=20
computer scientists have pushed the frontiers of the field, producing=20
an astonishing array of breakthroughs in time sharing, speech=20
recognition, multiprocessors, expert systems, robotics, computer chess=20
machines and communication networks. Much of their work has been aimed=20
at developing and building practical, knowledge-based artificial=20
intelligence and programming systems. As a result Carnegie Mellon is=20
recognized as one of the few universities to build real systems in the=20
academic environment that have made their way into the commercial world=20
and into the research agendas of government agencies.
=A0=93This gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation represents a=20
substantial investment in the future health of the field of computer=20
science,=94 said School of Computer Science Dean Randal E. Bryant. =93By=20
offering the very best facilities in which to learn and do research, we=20
can engage the most promising students and faculty. These innovators=20
and creative thinkers will transform the field of computer science,=20
producing fundamental scientific breakthroughs, while also making=20
computer technology even more beneficial to society.=94
# # #
Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon
The School of Computer Science (SCS) was established as a doctoral=20
degree-granting department in 1965; it became a college in 1988 and=20
founded its highly regarded undergraduate program in 1990. The school=20
includes six divisions =96 the Center for Automated Learning and=20
Discovery, Computer Science Department, Human-Computer Interaction=20
Institute, Language Technologies Institute, Institute for Software=20
Research International and the Robotics Institute. SCS researchers are=20
known for making breakthroughs that have real-world application in=20
operating systems, programming languages, software engineering,=20
wearable computers, ubiquitous computing, networks, educational=20
computing systems and robotics. SCS researchers and faculty collaborate=20
with colleagues across the campus, from science and engineering to fine=20
arts and humanities to business and policy, enriching and being=20
enriched by the cross flow of ideas and information. For more=20
information about SCS, see www.cs.cmu.edu.
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About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to promote greater equity in=20
four areas: global health, education, public libraries and support for=20
at-risk families in Washington state and Oregon. The Seattle-based=20
foundation joins local, national and international partners to ensure=20
that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The=20
foundation is led by Bill Gates=92 father, William H. Gates, Sr., and=20
Patty Stonesifer.
Contact:Teresa S. Thomas or Anne Watzman=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Embargoed=20
until:
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0412-268-3580 or=20
-3830=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A010 a.m. Sept. 14, =
2004
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