Pitt Embarks on the Final Leg of Its Road Tour with Knowledge Showcase Exhibits in Philadelphia and D.C. April 9 and 10

PITTSBURGH—Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and an illustrious crew of hosts will welcome alumni and friends with a "Passport to Pitt" to the University of Pittsburgh's last two stops on its Pitt on the Road tour, at 6 p.m. April 9 in Philadelphia and at 7 p.m. April 10 in Washington, D.C.

The Philadelphia event will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad St., and the D.C. event is being held at La Maison Francaise, Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Rd., N.W.

Sponsored by the Pitt Alumni Association, Pitt on the Road will feature a presentation by the chancellor and Knowledge Showcase exhibits of the University's most innovative developments, including displays about Global Studies, the Writing Program, the Center for Public Health Preparedness, a patient simulator, Nanoscience, and the Pitt Alumni Association.

The showcases traveling to Philadelphia are Global Studies, the Writing Program, the Center for Public Health Preparedness, the patient simulator, and the Pitt Alumni Association. With the addition of Nanoscience, all showcases but the Writing Program will travel to D.C.

Alumni and friends of Pitt living in the area will be issued a special "Passport to Pitt" for the evening event.

A description of the Knowledge Showcase exhibits to be on display follows.

• Global Studies: The Global Studies program, part of the University Center for International Studies and cosponsored by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, promotes "global competence," defined as the ability to work effectively in different international settings under conditions of global change. In addition, Pitt's Robert Henderson Language Media Center provides an arena for Pitt friends and alumni from around the world to engage in live interactive video chats on international affairs.

• Writing Program: The Writing Program at Pitt is one of the largest, oldest, and most highly rated programs in the country. Work by Pitt's distinguished faculty and alumni is regularly featured on The New York Times "Bestseller" and "Notable Book" lists. Information about Pitt's Contemporary Writers Series and the Young Writers Institute, an initiative designed to share the joy of writing with the next generation, also will be presented.

• Center for Public Health Preparedness: The Center for Public Health Preparedness at Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health is one of 19 recently established, federally funded academic centers in a nationwide network designed to prepare public health, health care, and public safety professionals for emergency response to incidents of terrorism, outbreaks of infectious disease, and other threats to public health. This exhibit will highlight some of the center's training efforts throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio to ensure frontline readiness for dealing with such threats.

• Patient Simulator: Adventures of Sim-Man-Dying 1,000 Deaths for Medical Education. Sim-Man, a simulator programmed to mimic human physiological responses, is an interactive tool for teaching medical students about anesthesia administration, evaluation and resuscitation of unstable patients, reactions to medication administration, medical crisis management, and medical error elimination. See how Sim-Man's "sacrifices" work to benefit patient care.

• Nanoscience: Hailed by some as the next great technology wave, nanoscience holds the promise of producing new products such as molecular computers, ultrastrong, lightweight fibers, and novel medical devices. Since a nanometer is about the size of a few atoms, nanoscience deals with making materials on a truly molecular scale. Pitt recently created an Institute for NanoScience and Engineering and has a broad array of experts working in the field. Current projects at Pitt have the potential for leading to new medical sensors that could be implanted in the skin to detect cancer marker agents or placed in the eye to monitor glucose in tear fluid.

• Pitt Alumni Association: The Pitt Alumni Association will provide information on opportunities for becoming active alumni. Along with detailing the benefits provided to dues-paying members of the association, the group will describe how to help recruit the best students to Pitt and to help students and other alumni in their career searches.

The Philadelphia host committee includes Richard Aulenbach Jr., Michael Behe, Brian Bubnis, Howard Cyr III, Leslie Cyr, Herbert Douglas Jr., Norman Himes, Linda Kaiser, Judith Kukowski, Samuel McCullough, M. Barry Moskowitz, Jeannette Quirus, Lawrence Parrish, Timothy Pecsenye, David Rotella, and Bernard Siskin.

The Washington, D.C., host committee includes Rebecca Ann Borghi, Linda Wharton-Boyd, Michelle Brown, Mary Ellen Callahan, Lucile Adams-Campbell, Thomas Campbell, John Drumm, Karen Fisher, Michael Ford, David Charles Frederick, Regis J. Larkin, Alfred Lawson, Harris Miller, Mark O'Neill, Wesley Pickard, Theodore Schwab, Chris Shinkman, Eric Spiegel, Jennifer Allen Spiegel, and Mark Tallarico.

For more information, call 1-800-258-PITT (7488), or send an e-mail to alumnievents@ia.pitt.edu.

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