Next full-scale Dissertation House at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, March 26-28, 2012

The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, will sponsor a Dissertation House for their students at the end of March.  The Dissertation House (DH) for the QoLT will be held in Pittsburgh, PA.  Funding for this DH is provided by QoLT’s National Science Foundation funding as a collaborative grant between PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP and the QoLT Center.    The collaboration between PROMISE and the QoLT began at a national NSF meeting for the ERCs in December 2010.  PROMISE was participating in the conference as part of a panel on under-representation in STEM, facilitated by the Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE) Engineering Research Center that includes UMBC,  Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M University, and the City College of New York.

Graduate students who are already part of the QoLT will have the first opportunities to register for this DH.  The timing of this Dissertation House will connect to the start of the annual convention for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).  Since Pittsburgh is hosting the 2012 NSBE national convention that is expecting thousands of students and professionals, the QoLT will consider registrations from graduate students who attend their partner institutions and are planning to attend the mini Graduate School Conference (GSC) at the NSBE convention.

Dissertation House at the QoLT Main session: Monday, March 26 – Wednesday, March 28, 2012. 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.   Small group and individual coaching: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 9:00 AM – 12 PM.

Head Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Facilitator: Dr. Renetta Tull. QoLT Graduate Assistants: Sossena Wood (Region II Chair for NSBE, Twitter: @R2Chair) and Portia Taylor.

Graduate students from the QoLT who plan to participate should follow the application procedures on the application webpage for the Dissertation House.  Students from other institutions must seek permission from  Shelly Brown, Outreach Coordinator for the QoLT Center at the Human Engineering Research Laboratory and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology:  srbrown@pitt.edu, (412) 822-3665 (email preferred).  Applications will be accepted for an extended enrollment period between February 20 and March 9.  Deadline: Friday, March 9, 2012. 

The QoLT’s Herb and PerMMA robots were featured in a gallery on Popular Science website entitled “Rise of the Helpful Machines”. The gallery highlights 10 robots from universities around the world that were built for the purpose of helping people, particularly the elderly and disabled. (http://qoltblog.wordpress.com)

 Dissertation House Location:

Gates-Hillman Hall, Room 4405, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA  15213

Campus map:  http://www.cmu.edu/homeimages/campus-map/CMU_MapColor_8x11.pdf

Hotel for grad students at QoLT partner institutions:

(Students or QoLT Partner representatives from schools other than Carnegie Mellon or the University of Pittsburgh must obtain permission from Shelly Brown to participate, and must pay for hotel fees from their own funds.)

Marriott SpringHill Suites at Bakery Square, 134 Bakery Square Boulevard · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206

There is a free shuttle from the hotel to the campus.