More than 150 researchers from North and South America—and their soccer playing robots—will converge on campus April 30-May 4 to compete in the first-ever RoboCup American Open, chaired by Computer Science Professor and Carnegie Mellon RoboCup team leader Manuela Veloso (above). About 1,000 school children from across Western Pennsylvania will visit the university to see the matches and attend demonstrations by a variety of robots, including Carnegie Mellon’s GRACE and Honda’s ASIMO, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot.
Carnegie Mellon has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the United States Supreme Court in support of the University of Michigan, the defendant in two cases involving challenges to its use of affirmative action in the admission process.
At least 38 colleges and universities from across the United States joined in the filing on Feb. 18.
“Affirmative action is essential to making Carnegie Mellon a diverse university, which is crucial for making it the best university it can be,” said Cohon in a speech kicking off the university’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
“I have decided that the stakes in the University of Michigan case are so high and diversity is so important to our university that Carnegie Mellon will actively support the University of Michigan by filing a friend of the court brief in favor of their position,” Cohon said.
