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Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences  ›  News  ›  News Stories  ›  2017  ›  February
Monday, February 27, 2017

Infinite Career Paths in Behavioral Economics

CMU recently launched the first-of-its-kind undergraduate major in behavioral economics, policy and organizations (BEPO) because of the high demand for trained behavioral economics in almost every industry and sector. To give students an idea of many potential career options, the Department of Social and Decision Sciences (SDS) hosted "Behavioral Insights in Action." "This was a really unique and exciting opportunity to bring back some of our graduate student alumni from our top-ranked behavioral decision research program and showcase their work alongside other experts from industry and government as well as our own, really spectacular, faculty members," said SDS Head Linda Babcock.
Monday, February 27, 2017

Senior Sarah Gutekunst Takes You #BTS of Her Final Semester

There's no shortage of impressive news coming out of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. There's faculty research, student projects and awards and features on alumni who are doing really cool things - plus all of the lectures hosted by both faculty and visiting experts.Naturally, the Dietrich College social media channels want to shout out those accolades to followers everywhere. But what about the average aspects of life in Dietrich College? That's something I am going to help shine the light on, so to speak, by taking you behind the scenes (#bts) of my last semester.
Monday, February 27, 2017

Dietrich College Hires Director of Diversity and Inclusion

Ayana Ledford has joined the Dietrich College as director of diversity and inclusion. Ledford is a seasoned expert in creating and implementing programs to recruit and retain minorities and women. She participated in Dietrich's College Conversation in November and is excited to help with a number of suggestions that came out of that conversation.
Alumna Emily Duff Bartel is Driven to Succeed
Monday, February 27, 2017

Alumna Emily Duff Bartel is Driven to Succeed

Duff Bartel, who is based in Pittsburgh, is a product manager for Uber's Advanced Technology Group (ATG), the research and development hub of Uber's engineering team. ATG is dedicated to self-driving technologies, mapping and vehicle safety, and is at the forefront of the company's pilot program that is testing self-driving cars.
Eyes on the Prize: Tartan Data Science Cup
Friday, February 24, 2017

Eyes on the Prize: Tartan Data Science Cup

The Department of Statistics' third installment of the competition teamed up students to solve a real world data analysis problem under a tight deadline-all for a little notoriety.Capital One's Center for Machine Learning sponsored this year's event, awarding prizes of $50 Amazon gift cards to each member of the top teams and also an Apple TV for each member of the first place team. Employees also participated as judges.
Discover and Celebrate the Humanities and Social Sciences
Friday, February 24, 2017

Discover and Celebrate the Humanities and Social Sciences

Dietrich Day will begin with Discover Dietrich from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in Baker Hall's Coffee Lounge. Anyone from the CMU community is invited to stop by and learn about the college's exciting programs. Celebrate Dietrich will be held at 2:30 p.m. on the CFA Lawn. The event is open to all Dietrich College faculty, staff and students and will feature food and games.
Learn From Current Seniors: Honors Fellowship Program Offers Exciting Opportunities
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Learn From Current Seniors: Honors Fellowship Program Offers Exciting Opportunities

The benefits of getting paid to initiate research projects and develop professional examples of their work - while working with faculty mentors - are just a few of the big motivators, according to this year's Senior Honor Fellows. The application deadline is March 24.
Event: What They Don’t Want You To Know
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Event: What They Don’t Want You To Know

Navigating through a career often requires making decisions without all of the information.Dietrich College alumnus Vishwas Prabhakara, the general manager of Yelp Reservations, will return to campus to talk to students about the impact career choices can have in the years that follow.
Contesting Energy: Labor, Culture and Politics
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Contesting Energy: Labor, Culture and Politics

In the world of energy innovation, there is a place for the humanities, and a team of CMU historians and literary and culture experts are about to show why. The English Department's Kathy M. Newman, Jacob Goessling and James Wynn and the History Department's John Soluri will present "Contesting Energy: Labor, Culture and Politics" as part of the Scott Institute's Energy Week, March 27-31. The symposium will focus on the role that energy plays in culture at large, and more specifically in the Pennsylvania region.
Uncertainty Perception Drives Public’s Trust, Mistrust of Science
Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Uncertainty Perception Drives Public’s Trust, Mistrust of Science

Many policies - from medicine to terrorism - depend on how the general public accepts and understands scientific evidence. People view different branches of sciences as having different amounts of uncertainty, which may not reflect the actual uncertainty of the field. CMU researchers took the first step to understanding more of the whole picture by measuring scientific uncertainty broadly - across many areas of science, not just topics that are typically polarized.
CMU Engineering and Psychology Researchers Develop Model To Study Design Teams
Friday, February 17, 2017

CMU Engineering and Psychology Researchers Develop Model To Study Design Teams

If you've ever worked on a team project, you know that a strong team will help a project soar-but a bad team can bring the whole project crashing to the ground. Today, almost all the products you love-your car, your iPhone, your air conditioner-were conceptualized by a team of designers. A recent study conducted by CMU collaborators Christopher McComb, Jonathan Cagan and Kenneth Kotovsky sought to answer an important question for the design industry-how do you best design your design team?
There’s More Than One Way to Get From A to Z With a History Degree
Thursday, February 16, 2017

There’s More Than One Way to Get From A to Z With a History Degree

Faryal Khan is a transcreation director at World Writers - part of Williams Lea Tag, a large marketing and communications agency in New York City. She credits her success to saying "yes" to opportunities as they arose and following her interests, even when they diverged from her past experiences.
George Loewenstein and the NEW New Economics of Information
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

George Loewenstein and the NEW New Economics of Information

Readers consuming fake news, investors ignoring a bear market, Internet users giving away valuable personal data in online quizzes: All of these trends can have dramatic consequences for the individuals involved as well as for society, and none are well explained by traditional economics. George Loewenstein discussed his research on these trends and other topics at the Behavioral Insights in Action conference, which celebrated the launch of CMU's new Bachelor of Arts in behavioral economics, policy and organizations.
Alumna’s Guide for Social Entrepreneurship
Monday, February 13, 2017

Alumna’s Guide for Social Entrepreneurship

One thing Dietrich College alumni know for certain is that their education prepares them for almost anything. Meg Brindle (DC'92), who received a Ph.D. in applied history, left a tenured position at George Mason University to Africa to explore and address root causes of poverty rather than just the symptoms.
Married People Have Lower Levels of Stress Hormone
Monday, February 13, 2017

Married People Have Lower Levels of Stress Hormone

Studies have suggested that married people are healthier than those who are single, divorced or widowed. A new CMU Department of Psychology study provides the first biological evidence to explain how marriage impacts health.
Fingerprint Evidence is Circumstantial, Not an Identification
Friday, February 10, 2017

Fingerprint Evidence is Circumstantial, Not an Identification

Crime shows like Dateline or NCIS portray fingerprint analysis as an exact science. There's a print found, and if it is matched to a suspect, there is no doubt about its accuracy. The U.S. judicial system also treats fingerprint identification with the same absolute certainty. But, there is no scientific basis for this critical assumption about fingerprint identifications.
Oui ou Non: What It Means to be French
Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Oui ou Non: What It Means to be French

International travel and national identity may seem like new, provoking topics, but their growing complexity is apparent in many nations across the globe. Modern Languages Assistant Professor Mame-Fatou Niang studies cultural minorities with particular interest in French people of African and Muslim descent. France is an interesting case because it is at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Artists Reconstruct Story of African-American Folk Hero
Thursday, February 02, 2017

Artists Reconstruct Story of African-American Folk Hero

History's Edda Fields-Black is one of the collaborators who worked to bring "JH: Mechanics of a Legend" to life. The performance depicts John Henry, the super-strong railroad man who died with a hammer in his hand.
Jim Daniels’ "Rowing Inland" Takes Readers Back to Metro Detroit
Thursday, February 02, 2017

Jim Daniels’ "Rowing Inland" Takes Readers Back to Metro Detroit

From the last meals his mother is able to cook and joy rides to Canada, to childhood and the end of it, CMU's Jim Daniels circles back to his life in Detroit in his 15th book of poetry. Similar to many of Daniels' works, urban and working-class life appear throughout the four sections of the collection.
Citizen Science in the Digital Age: Rhetoric, Science and Public Engagement
Wednesday, February 01, 2017

Citizen Science in the Digital Age: Rhetoric, Science and Public Engagement

Citizen science is not a new concept. The Smithsonian Institute relied on the practice to gather data for a weather project in the mid-1800s. But the digital age has vastly expanded its potential and usefulness. CMU's James Wynn explores the rhetoric, science and public engagement of it in a new book.
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