Category: Press Forwarded

George Mason statue ready to move to new home

The iconic statue of George Mason on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus is scheduled to be moved Monday, June 15, to its new (temporary) home on Holton Plaza.

The move is necessary to make room for the reconstruction of the area of Wilkins Plaza adjacent to Robinson B, which itself will be demolished after the opening of Horizon Hall, expected for the spring 2021 semester.

The Mason statue will return to its usual place on Wilkins Plaza in late summer 2021.

The Mason clock, a gift from the Class of 1999 that was moved into storage in December 2018 to facilitate the expansion of Wilkins Plaza, is expected to make its reappearance in July, slightly north and east of its former location near David King Hall.

“Things are moving along pretty well although productivity has been reduced over the past several months due to COVID,” Cathy Pinskey, program director at Mason Facilities, said of the Core Campus Project, which is transforming the center of the Fairfax Campus.

CMU Spinoff Uses AI to Address COVID-19

A photo of people in line at an airport

Cameras monitor stores, hotels, hospitals, airport terminals, public parks and parking lots. When computer vision technology company Zensors spun out of Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) two years ago, the founding members created an artificial intelligence (AI) capable of analyzing images and video from those cameras and turning it into actionable data. Now they’re offering up that AI to organizations worldwide to be used in response to COVID-19.

In March, Zensors announced it would open its platform, at no cost through June 1, to stores, governments, hospitals, airports and essential businesses to help deal with the coronavirus.

“We can start giving actionable data today using our clients’ existing cameras,” said Anuraag Jain, a School of Computer Science and HCII alumnus and creator of the Zensors technology. “It’s that straightforward to use. Our product was designed to automate space analytics such as occupancy, crowd flow, wait times and related staffing needs, which can aid the implementation of new social distancing requirements and protect public health.”

Source: CMU Spinoff Uses AI to Address COVID-19

Art Meets Tech in Born-Digital Artist’s Book

A project created by a recent Carnegie Mellon University graduate dares to challenge the traditional definition of an artist’s book, and you can find it in the University Libraries’ catalog.

Unlike a print book or monograph that showcases creative work, an artist’s book is itself considered a piece of art. Although it maintains the form and function of a book, the item is considered an artistic object. Artists’ books may differ in size and shape from traditional books, and play with content and technique. Using this physical format allows an artist to experiment with the medium to reach a larger audience than the conventional art gallery setting.

The born-digital artist’s book “Asterisk” is the first of its kind to be digitally preserved by the Libraries, with the final work entering the collection in April after a year-long process.

 

Source: Art Meets Tech in Born-Digital Artist’s Book

The Satellite Shelter – Integrated Innovation Institute – Carnegie Mellon University

The Satellite Shelter

How can we help protect the homeless population against severe winter weather conditions?

In 2014, the city of Pittsburgh’s homeless population was estimated at 1,500, while its shelters only contained 375 beds.

Carnegie Mellon students addressed this concern during the College of Engineering’s Impact-a-Thon, part of the Innovation Palooza event that took place in early October 2014. Student teams that participated in the competition were given less than a week to research the problem and come up with temporary and economically viable shelters that could be erected during cold weather.

The Solution

Satellite Shelter is an affordable, easy to use temporary shelter that provides protection from life threatening hypothermia to people sleeping out in urban environment.

Source: The Satellite Shelter – Integrated Innovation Institute – Carnegie Mellon University