Pitt in Brief: Pitt Researcher Named Distinguished Scientist; GSPIA Dean Named President of Association of Top Policy Schools; and Pitt Ranked Military-Friendly for 2nd Consecutive Year

• Pitt professor Panos K. Chrysanthis recognized as a 2010 ACM Distinguished Scientist for longtime, innovative computing research
• GSPIA dean John Keeler to serve as president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs
• Pitt among top military-friendly colleges for second consecutive year

PITTSBURGH— Behind the larger stories about the University of Pittsburgh are other stories of faculty, staff, and student achievement as well as information on Pitt programs reaching new levels of success. The following is a compilation of some of those stories.

Pitt Professor Panos K. Chrysanthis Recognized as a 2010 ACM Distinguished Scientist for Longtime, Innovative Computing Research

In recognition of his contributions to the fields of computing and information technology, Pitt professor of computer science Panos K. Chrysanthis was selected as a 2010 Distinguished Scientist of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society. Chrysanthis is the first Pitt faculty member to receive this distinction.

The Distinguished Members program recognizes ACM members with at least 15 years of professional experience who have helped advance the practical and theoretical aspects of computing. The 2010 honorees comprised 47 computer scientists and engineers from corporations and academic institutions worldwide, including HP Labs, IBM Research, Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, Microsoft Research, Purdue University, the University of California, and the University of Virginia.

Chrysanthis is best known for his contributions to the principles, protocols, and prototypes of systems that allow distributed transactions and data processing to be performed in situations where power and resources are in short supply. These include data streams, Web databases, and mobile and sensor databases. In the field of emergency management, for example, Panos developed energy-efficient sensor networks as well as a technique to screen incoming data and identify high-priority events in real-time.

In 1995, Chrysanthis received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his research on the management of mobile and wireless computing data. Chrysanthis also is the founder and director of Pitt’s Advanced Data Management Technologies Laboratory, which pursues a broad focus on user-centric data management for scalable network-centric applications and has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations between computer science and medicine and astronomy.

Chrysanthis earned his bachelor’s degree in physics with a concentration in computer science from the University of Athens, Greece, in 1982. He completed his master’s and PhD degrees in computer and information sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1986 and 1991, respectively.

For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly at 412-624-4356 (office), 412-897-1400 (cell), or mekelly@pitt.edu.

GSPIA Dean John Keeler to Serve as President of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs

John T. S. Keeler, dean of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), will take on the role of president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) in December. Keeler will succeed current APSIA president Brian Atwood, dean of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The 34 institutional members of APSIA are the top policy schools in North America, Asia, and Europe dedicated to the promotion of excellence in professional international affairs education worldwide.

Keeler, a widely recognized scholar of European politics, comparative public policy, and transatlantic relations, was appointed dean of GSPIA in July 2007. Prior to coming to Pitt, he was professor of political science and director of the Center for West European Studies and European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Washington. Keeler served as chair of the European Union Studies Association from 2005 to 2007.

Keeler earned his PhD and Master of Arts degrees in political science at Harvard University in 1978 and 1975, respectfully; he received the Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Southern California in 1972.

For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Amanda Leff Ritchie at 412-624-4238 (office); 412-337-3350 (cell); aleff@pitt.edu.

Pitt Among Top Military-Friendly Colleges for Second Consecutive Year

For the second consecutive year, Pitt has been named one of the top military-friendly colleges and universities by Military Advanced Education magazine. In its 4th Annual Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities to be published in December, the magazine recognizes Pitt’s recently expanded Office of Veterans Services, including its guidance in academic matters, financial aid, tuition-benefit assistance, careers, and long-term goals. The office also offers orientation sessions specifically designed for veterans.

Military Advanced Education is a magazine produced specifically for service members wanting to use their education benefits. Institutions in the annual guide are listed in alphabetical order. Currently, approximately 300 veterans are enrolled at Pitt.

For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Sharon Blake at 412-624-4364 (office), 412-277-6926 (cell), blake@pitt.edu.

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