15 Benefits of Smiling

Ever have anyone walk up to you and tell you to smile? It might be for a good reason. You can boost your mood and immune system, and even gain trust from another person! Here are 15 fascinating facts about the benefits of smiling, and why you should do it more often.

1. Forcing yourself to smile can boost your mood: Psychologists have found that even if you’re in bad mood, you can instantly lift your spirits by forcing yourself to smile.
2. It boosts your immune system: Smiling really can improve your physical health, too. Your body is more relaxed when you smile, which contributes to good health and a stronger immune system.
3. Smiles are contagious: It’s not just a saying: smiling really is contagious, scientists say. In a study conducted in Sweden, people had difficulty frowning when they looked at other subjects who were smiling, and their muscles twitched into smiles all on their own.
4. Smiles Relieve Stress: Your body immediately releases endorphins when you smile, even when you force it. This sudden change in mood will help you feel better and release stress.
5. It’s easier to smile than to frown: Scientists have discovered that your body has to work harder and use more muscles to frown than it does to smile.
6. It’s a universal sign of happiness: While hand shakes, hugs, and bows all have varying meanings across cultures, smiling is known around the world and in all cultures as a sign of happiness and acceptance.
7. We still smile at work: While we smile less at work than we do at home, 30% of subjects in a research study smiled five to 20 times a day, and 28% smiled over 20 times per day at the office.
8. Smiles use from 5 to 53 facial muscles: Just smiling can require your body to use up to 53 muscles, but some smiles only use 5 muscle movements.
9. Babies are born with the ability to smile: Babies learn a lot of behaviors and sounds from watching the people around them, but scientists believe that all babies are born with the ability, since even blind babies smile.
10. Smiling helps you get promoted: Smiles make a person seem more attractive, sociable and confident, and people who smile more are more likely to get a promotion.
11. Smiles are the most easily recognizable facial expression: People can recognize smiles from up to 300 feet away, making it the most easily recognizable facial expression.
12. Women smile more than men: Generally, women smile more than men, but when they participate in similar work or social roles, they smile the same amount. This finding leads scientists to believe that gender roles are quite flexible. Boy babies, though, dosmile less than girl babies, who also make more eye contact.
13. Smiles are more attractive than makeup: A research study conducted by Orbit Complete discovered that 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they are wearing makeup
14. There are 19 different types of smiles: UC-San Francisco researcher identified 19 types of smiles and put them into two categories: polite “social” smiles which engage fewer muscles, and sincere “felt” smiles that use more muscles on both sides of the face.
15. Babies start smiling as newborns: Most doctors believe that real smiles occur when babies are awake at the age of four-to-six weeks, but babies start smiling in their sleep as soon as they’re born.

Click here to read more. 

Get into STEM with the Girl Scouts

Know a girl who wants to get into STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)? If you’re looking for after-school activities, check out the Girl Scouts! There, girls can immerse themselves in STEM education and even earn spiffy new badges for “Naturalist,” “Digital Art,” “Science and Technology,” “Innovation” and “Financial Literacy.”

Girls push boundaries, test limits, and look at the world around them with inquisitive eyes. They're natural scientists!

Girl Scouts introduces girls of every age to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences relevant to everyday life. Whether they're discovering how a car's engine runs, how to manage finances, or exploring careers in STEM fields, girls are fast-forwarding into the future.


STEM and the National Program

Every girl needs a chance to explore the fascinating world of STEM. Girl Scouting encourages girls of all ages by offering "fun with purpose" through its K–12 national program. The Girl Scout program includes two curriculum resources: National Leadership Journeys and National Proficiency Badges.

Leadership Journeys are core to Girl Scouting because they lead girls to discover what they care about and change the world. Girls explore a variety of interests along a Journey, everything from the arts to the outdoors and, of course, STEM.


Girl Scouts' Unique Approach to STEM

Girl Scouts' approach to STEM is unique because:

• STEM experiences are framed within the context of leadership: As girls participate in Girl Scouting, they develop leadership skills to make the world a better place. Research shows girls are more interested in STEM careers when they know how their work can help others.
• The Girl Scout Leadership Experience engages girls through the three Girl Scout processes of: girl-led, learning by doing, and cooperative learning.

Here's how these processes provide quality STEM experiences for girls:

Girl-led: Even when a girl has an interest in STEM, she might find that boys take the lead in a school environment due to unspoken assumptions about gender roles. Girl Scouts offers a safe, supportive place for girls to seek challenges. The girl-led process encourages girls to decide which topics they want to explore and how they want to go about it.

Learning by doing: Research shows that, particularly with STEM, youth need to be hands-on, active learners. The learning-by-doing process encourages this approach. In addition, Girl Scouts' learning-by-doing process involves a reflection step that asks girls to think about how a given activity worked and what they would do differently in the future—a key skill in scientific testing and conducting experiments.

Cooperative learning: In general, girls prefer a collaborative leadership style, rather than the traditional, top-down, "command and control" approach. The cooperative learning process gives girls the opportunity to develop leadership and STEM skills in a way that might feel most comfortable.



Read more at girlscouts.org.

Girls Love Science Too: 5 Tech Toys to Inspire Your Daughter

It can be hard to overcome all the messaging that science is just for boys. If your daughter is more hesitant to try out the discipline, consider one of these STEM-friendly toys that are targeted just for girls!

Doc McStuffins

Wired reports kids in kindergarten can find science intimidating, characterizing it has "hard" or "only for adults." At the same time, girls in particular begin absorbing cultural messages that their intelligence isn’t necessarily an attractive trait. But Doc McStuffins acts as an antidote to those ideas.

A talking doll with her own animated show on Disney, the Doc character is a young African-American girl who loves science. She practices play-medicine on her dolls, using her glitter-encrusted medical tools to treat and diagnose them. Because Doc is a child, her approach to science-based themes feels friendly and accessible, not to mention, it actively changes the image kids usually conjure up when they think of the word "scientist."

Doc's positive influence has made her so popular even adults love her.

Roominate

Roominate was created by three Stanford-educated engineers who all credit their interest in science to early childhood exposure to it. Their self-designed toy got quite a bit of attention this year, and for good reason: It allows girls to design and build a customizable dollhouse, including designing the furniture and wiring the rooms for electricity. Because the wiring aspect is simple, and the dollhouse parts are made for small hands, there’s no intimidation factor involved. Even better, Roominate helps girls learn basic engineering concepts while they exercise their imaginations.

Creative Cosmetics

Thames & Kosmos is renowned for creating a variety of cool science-based kits for kids, but one in particular unites the concepts of chemistry and beauty. Creative Cosmetics is the kit that teaches kids how to mix ingredients to create particular chemical reactions, and then use those principles to formulate their own unique skin cleansers, shampoos and makeup products.

Thames & Kosmos also creates a similar kit called Perfume Science, which uses the same principles so that kids can create customizable fragrances.

GoldieBlox

Goldieblox is an engineering toy with a twist. Creator Debbie Sterling discovered that while boys naturally like building things, girls really love reading. And so she created an interactive story based around "Goldie, the kid inventor who loves to build." As girls read along, they construct whatever Goldie does. In the first installment, girls build a "belt drive," which Sterling cleverly names a "Spinning Machine." Later in the series, they design a vehicle and erect a pulley elevator.


SmartMax Magnetic Discovery

SmartMax is a series of building blocks originally sold in Europe. What makes them special is that they're loaded with heavy-duty magnets, allowing for easy connectivity and stability. Its "Flower Palace" series in particular is a refreshing change from the severe aesthetics of traditional building sets. And because these blocks are also made from larger pieces, small hands can handle them with ease.


Read more here.

Guy Kawasaki: Want to be enchanting? Get your smile right

Need more proof about the power of a smile? Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist for Apple, says that an “enchanting smile” can have a major effect on your career and success.

You’re smiling, but are you doing it right?


Guy Kawasaki, an author and former chief evangelist for Apple Inc., shared thoughts on Thursday ranging from big picture advice down to tips for giving a PowerPoint presentation – and how to light up a room with your smile.

Kawasaki was in town for Bold Fusion, the annual summit for young professionals. He spoke to a crowd of about 500 at Music Hall, delivered key ideas from his new book, "Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions."

Most of the ideas were pretty general: Try to be likable and trustworthy, for example, and make sure your products are functional and elegant.

But Kawasaki brought his points to life with examples and applications. People like you more when you smile – but only if you do it right. Lose the “Pan Am smile,” which involves only the lower part of the face, and go for the “Duchenne,” which takes hold in the eyes, too. Don’t be afraid of crow’s feet.

“You’re not getting older,” he said. “You’re getting more enchanting.”

One guy who wasn’t always enchanting was the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, whom Kawasaki worked with. Jobs wasn’t shy about insulting, even humiliating, his employees.

“Everything you know about HR,” he said, “he did the opposite.”

Perhaps Kawasaki’s most practical lesson: When you give a slide presentation, keep it to 10 slides, and speak for no more than 20 minutes. This, even though Kawasaki admittedly went through 60 slides and used 40 minutes.

“You,” he reminded playfully, “are not me.”

Read more here.

Pittsburgh Miller Promotes Breast Cancer Awareness

Congrats to the students at Pittsburgh Miller Pre K-5, who raised $250 for breast cancer awareness! We’re always encouraged to read of Pittsburgh students taking initiative to make the world a better place. Read their story below.

The students at Pittsburgh Miller Pre K-5, An African Centered Academy, raised over $250 to support Breast Cancer Awareness during their THINK PINK Campaign by making and selling hand-made breast cancer awareness pins to the entire school community. All proceeds were donated to the Cancer Caring Center in a special school presentation on Thursday, November 1, 2012. The Cancer Caring Center is a local nonprofit whose mission is to help cancer survivors, their families, and concerned friends cope effectively with the emotional impact of cancer through a variety of free support services. You can learn more about this organization by directing your web browser to www.cancercaring.org.

Initially, four students wrote a proposal to raise money for the Cure for Cancer. From this proposal, a parent volunteer and fifth grade teacher, accompanied by eight students from the DREAMTEAM, led the initiative to create handmade pins to be sold for $1.00 per person. The fundraising efforts lasted throughout the month of October. To celebrate the success of the THINK PINK Campaign, everyone wore pink on Monday, October 29.

Congratulations to the students at Pittsburgh Miller for contributing to their community and to the staff for encouraging our young people to think beyond the walls of their school!

Read more here: http://php.pghboe.net/news/index.php/2012/11/16/pittsburgh-miller-dreamteam/

What Kind of First Impression Are You Making?

When you meet someone for the first time, they may be forming an opinion of you without even knowing it. However, some of the ways people come to those opinions aren’t what you may expect. Check out these five things people rate you by so you can make that first impression count!


1. Your Feet Do the Talking
You can never have too many shoes—and people judge you based on every single pair. In a study published in Journal of Research in Personality, researchers found that people could accurately guess a stranger’s age, gender, and income simply by looking at what was on their feet. They also associated certain personality traits with different shoes. More masculine-looking pairs were thought to be worn by less agreeable people, while stylish or attractive shoes were assumed to be donned by rich, conscientious folks. And people rocking those ankle boots that are so in right now came across as aggressive.


2. Cosmetic Powers
Brushing on a little shadow or blush can not only up your attractiveness factor, it can make you appear more confident. In a 2011 study funded by Proctor & Gamble and performed by Harvard University, people said women wearing a little makeup were more likeable, competent, and trustworthy than those with bare faces.

But don’t use a heavy hand with that eyeliner: Too much makeup still made women attractive, but they also seemed untrustworthy and dishonest, especially when participants only got a quick glimpse of the woman.


3. Grin and Bear It

Your dentist is about to become your most popular medical practitioner. Earlier this year, Kelton Research conducted a study funded by Invisalign where more than 1,000 people were shown pictures of men and women’s teeth. Those with straight smiles were perceived to be happier, smarter, and more successful and popular than those with crooked teeth.

Thirty-eight percent also said crooked choppers would kill the chances of a second date, and almost half said that when two job candidates had the same skills and experience, one with straight teeth would be hired over one with crooked teeth.


4. The Clothes Make the Woman
While Hillary Rodham Clinton rocks the pantsuit—and certainly nobody would doubt her confidence or competence—showing a little leg (tastefully, of course) may work better for you. Women in skirt suits were thought to earn more money and be more confident than those in pantsuits in a study conducted at the U.K.’s University of Hertfordshire. The researchers say the skirt balances professionalism with attractiveness without being provocative.

Wearing the right outfit can also change your self-perception, researchers at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management found. Students who wore white lab coats while doing a scientific experiment performed better than those in regular clothes.


5. Take Up Space
Simply standing tall can speak volumes. According to a 2011 study published in Psychological Science, so-called “posture expansiveness”—where you open up the body and occupy space—not only makes you appear more confident and authoritative, you actually think and act that way. Posture matters even more than your title: It gives you a sense of power, no matter where you line up on the totem pole, researchers say.

Read the full article on Shape.com.

Central Catholic Mothers’ Guild Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon This Weekend

The Central Catholic Mothers’ Guild Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon is this weekend! Mike Clark of WTAE will be serving as Master of Ceremonies and fashions will be by Talbots of Shadyside. Registration is now closed but it looks like it will be a fabulous event. Anyone planning to go?

Event information:


Each year, the Central Catholic Mothers’ Guild sponsors a fall fashion show and luncheon. This year’s event is entitled “Shades of Autumn” and will be held at the Churchill Valley Country Club on Sunday, November 18, 2012. Mike Clark will be serving as Master of Ceremonies with Fashions by Talbots.

We are starting something new this year that we hope will be a hit. You are now able to purchase bottles of wine for your table! You can pre‐order the bottle(s) of your choice on your registration form. Just an fyi‐one bottle of wine yields four glasses (depending on the size of your glass!) The bottles will be on your table when you arrive.

All profits benefit the Mother’s Guild. As in past years you will have the chance to win one of the beautiful baskets that many of you have helped create and our “Basket Queen”, Michelle Zammirella has helped organize. There are more than 47 of them!

Read more here.

Next Week is The University of Pittsburgh’s International Week

This Sunday marks the beginning of The University of Pittsburgh’s International Week! International Week works to further people's knowledge about the world. Students and the public are invited and encouraged to attend activities which educate participants about different countries and places around the world. Check out some of the events happening below!

Sunday, November 11 

Performance -- The Ugly Duckling and the Tortoise and the Hare
Presenter: Pittsburgh International Children Theater
Time: (All day)
Location: Pittsburgh's International Children's Theater
Announced by: International Week
Contact Person: Veronica Corpuz
Contact Phone: 412-417-6082
Event Web Site: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/34512/the-ugly-duckling-the-tortoise-and-the-hare

In an age when television, computers and video games reign supreme, Lightwire Theater (in conjunction with Corbian Visual Arts and Dance) brings the use of cutting edge technology, moving sculpture, and dance to another unforgettable theatrical experience. Using electro luminescent (EL) wire attached to puppets, the show acts out the classictales of The Ugly Duckling written by Hans Christian Anderson and The Tortoise and the Hare an Aesop’s Fable. The Ugly Duckling offers hope and inspiration as the audience roots for the rejected, ugly duckling while he exemplifies resilience and heroism on his way to becoming a beautiful swan. The Tortoise and the Hare continues to illustrate the age old adage, “slow and steady wins the race.” Lightwire Theater, with its dazzling visuals, poignant choreography and creative use of music ranging from classical to jazz to pop, literally brings these beloved tales into a new and brilliant light. The production is 55 minutes and recommended for ages 3-adult.



Cultural Event -- Polish Festival
Time: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Cathedral of Learning: Commons Room
Announced by: International Week, Nationality Rooms
Cost: Free
Contact Phone: 412-231-1493

Stop by the Polish Committee's Polish Festival between 12-5 pm on November 11, in the Commons Room of the Cathedral of Learning on the 1st Floor. Experience traditional Polish folk dances and singers, ethnic foods, cultural displays, and crafts for a fun and unique cultural experience! There will be performances by the Lajkoniki folk dancers of McKeesport, and musician Radoslaw Fizek will perform traditional folk songs.

Monday, November 12

Cultural Event -- World Dance Showcase
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: WPU Ballroom
Announced by: Global Studies Center, International Week
Contact Person: Rob Mucklo or Eva Albertson
Contact Phone: 412-624-1053
Contact Email: rom17@pitt.edu

If you are looking to learn a little more about other cultures with some entertainment thrown in then come to the William Pitt Union Ballroom and watch the World Dance Showcase. Individuals and groups have been invited to perform traditional dances from their country and perhaps get some new participants to learn their dances as well!

Join us for an evening of dance performances from around the world. Past performances have included dances from Africa, Brazil, Chile, China, England, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, the Middle East, Peru, and more! Refreshments will be served.

Wednesday, November 14

Reception -- African Lunch
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: William Pitt Ballroom in the Union
Announced by: African Studies Program, International Week
Contact Email: africast@pitt.edu

Are you interested in African Studies and African Affairs? PANAF GSPU and African Studies are sponsoring a lunch for those interested in learning more about Africa and the Diaspora. The lunch will feature a guest panel for discussion on African Affairs, lunch, and an African Jewelry Sale. Stop by the Ballroom and check it out!

Check out the website and Facebook for other events and more info!

Fox Chapel teen puts design background to good use

This is amazing. Connor, a senior at Winchester-Thurston, put his design skills to good use in the service of Pittsburgh’s homeless community. Our local students are so talented!

When Connor Uretsky followed his brother, Logan, on his rounds assisting homeless people in Pittsburgh, he saw people sleeping under bridges and underpasses in wintry weather and knew he wanted to help.

“I had to create something that was warm and transportable and definitely more mobile than a sleeping bag,” said Connor, 17, of Fox Chapel.

“They have to sleep outside because of overcrowded shelters.”

Connor, a senior at Winchester-Thurston School, is creating a poncho that a homeless person could wear to keep warm during the day and while sleeping.

“I have a strong design background. I’m interested in fashion design, textile design and industrial design. I wanted to combine elements of all these,” he said.

Connor did research to find a fabric that would create something that was transportable, durable, waterproof, breathable and tear-resistant.

For his design, Connor combined Tyvek, an insulating material used in homes, protective packaging, portable vehicle covers and clothing; and a material that reflects body heat back to a person.

Connor used both fabrics in a poncho that has a hood that snaps at the neckline. He designed a deep, front pocket that fastens with Velcro to hold valuables; and a drawstring at the bottom that can be cinched at the waist during the day or drawn down around the feet at night.

Reflecting trim on the pocket and hood makes the user visible in the dark.

Connor’s mother, Susan Uretsky, taught him to use a sewing machine to produce a prototype. He is tweaking the details, and plans to apply for a patent once his design is completed.

“I’m really proud of him,” said Logan Uretsky, 23, who was an outreach leader for Operation Safety Net during his service with the nonprofit AmeriCorps.

Operation Safety Net, part of Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, provides medical care and social services to the chronically street homeless.

“I like that he was inspired by something we did together,” Logan Uretsky said.

A former caseworker with Operation Safety Net says the poncho could be quite useful.

“I think that would assist a lot of homeless people,” says former caseworker Rachel Williams, a Carlow University graduate student in counseling. “They’re constantly struggling with finding clothing that is durable and would keep them warm” in the winter.

Connor intends to ask homeless people to use his product and plans to approach foundations to fund production.

Connor said he hopes to study industrial and product design after graduating from high school and produce “anything that improves human interactions.”

Read more at the Trib Live.

CMU's Women in Technology

Congrats to the CMU students who were selected to present their work at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, one of the largest international gatherings of women in technology! We love to see women pursuing STEM careers. 

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing offers a variety of educational and networking opportunities for women in high tech industries, U.S. government positions and academia.

This year, three alumnae from Carnegie Mellon University's Information Networking Institute (INI) were selected to present their unique academic experiences as a panel topic for the conference.

"In the past, the INI has attracted talented prospective students to our programs as a direct result of our participation in the Grace Hopper Celebration," said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, director of the INI. "This year, our efforts have come full circle. The INI is extremely proud to have had our alumnae represented among the conference panelists."

In their presentation titled, "Addressing Real-Life Problems through Academic Projects," Natalie Bennett (E'11), Luz Jaramillo (E'11) and Nandita Rao Narla (E'11) discussed the capstone project they completed for Carnegie Mellon's Disaster Management Initiative in which they created an app to help the emergency medical services community.

The three alumnae recently graduated from their bicoastal master's degree programs that were completed in part at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley.

"We had an amazing time working on a technology solution that would help people," said Bennett, who now works for Credit Suisse. "We thought telling the students about our project would give them new ideas for career possibilities. There are so many ways we can use technology to make a difference."

Credit Suisse was one of this year's conference participants. Amazon, Google, IBM, Goldman Sachs and Intel are just a few of the other major companies who also participated this year.

Bennett advised attendees to find something they're passionate about in their community and, if they need help on where to start with finding a solution, ask a professor for guidance.

"Find your voice and be confident in what you want to do, and if you're passionate about something, don't put yourself in a box of what society tells you should be or do," Bennett said. "You'll be surprised at the difference you can make."

Jaramillo, a Colombia native, joined an organized group of Latin women in computing whom she met through the conference. She strongly encourages women in computing to attend the event.

"It's a great place to meet people," Jaramillo said. "For me, the most valuable experience is having the chance to talk with senior executives at the conference and get their perspectives on how we can get better at doing our work."

Assistant Professor of the Practice Patricia Collins moderated the panel discussion. She is a member of the graduate studies faculty at Silicon Valley.

Read more at CMU.edu. 

Designer's classic Squirrel Hill garden named to Smithsonian archives

A private garden in Squirrel Hill has been included in the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Gardens in Washington, D.C.! The ever-popular Hartwood Acres was also included. Very exciting!

Even as a 13-year-old, Ron Kotcho had an eye for design. Walking to school in Squirrel Hill, he admired a house that looked a little like a French cottage but grander.


Nearly 40 years later, he returned to the same house to design an appropriate garden for its current owner. His design was recently selected for inclusion in the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Gardens in Washington, D.C., a collection of more than 7,000 plots and 70,000 images documenting a variety of public and private gardens.

Each year, more are added. In addition to this garden, called "Le Petite Maison," two others are included this year: Hartwood Acres in Hampton and Indiana Township and a Pittsburgh garden identified only as "Reverie." Many already on the list are in the Sewickley Valley, including Newington, a private garden on a little more than 10 acres that dates back to the early 1800s.

The Squirrel Hill project began in 1999 when Mr. Kotcho, 59, met with the owner, who prefers to remain anonymous. It took nearly six months of collaboration to make both owner and designer happy, but it took him only a few more weeks to complete the plans.

The most important thing for Mr. Kotcho is to pair the home with the garden.

"The relationship between the architecture and the garden, to me that's one of the most important things. The garden has to complement the architecture."

Noted Pittsburgh architect Brandon Smith built the house in the late 1940s in the style of a small cottage on the property of a larger chateau or castle.

"The house is designed on a very long axis. It's like looking down a gallery in an art museum. I wanted that to be repeated out here," he said, standing in the garden.

Each room in the home is mirrored in the garden. As visitors walk inside, they see through the windows a garden with a very French flavor. Mr. Kotcho calls the design semi-formal.

"It's not totally symmetrical, but it is very balanced."

'Nikko Blue' hydrangea line the edges of the beds, the blue mopheads perfectly complementing the pure white conical flowers of 'Tardiva' hydrangea. At the far end of the garden, a round mirror seemingly doubles the size of the garden; it's covered with sweet autumn clematis, whose tiny white blooms have recently faded. Under the mirror is a beautiful blue Lutyens bench flanked by planters filled with boxwood and sweet potato vine. It offers a spectacular look back at the garden.

Each outdoor room is carefully thought out, and although it's just 10 years old, the garden seems much more mature. Thick deep green arborvitae reach over 20 feet and act as the bones of the garden, looming over white phlox filled with fat bumblebees buzzing from flower to flower. Other ornamental trees and perennials, sculptures, planters and a fountain all serve their purposes beautifully.

When Sally Foster of O'Hara first saw the garden two years ago, she fell in love. She is co-chair of the Garden Club of Allegheny County's Garden history and design committee and was the person responsible for nominating the garden for the Smithsonian's archives.

"I was blown away by not only the beauty of it, but the care, the flowers and the color scheme. It spoke to me," she said.

She has helped several other Pittsburgh area gardens find their way into the archives and for a good reason. "Gardens are ephemeral. They come and they go. A garden that's important enough to get into the archives will be interesting to scholars down the road."

It took her two years to complete the paperwork and navigate the system to have this garden approved. The Archives of American Gardens began with a donation of glass lantern slides from the Garden Club of America in 1997. Since then, the club has continued to scout out and nominate gardens its members discover. Some are chronicled simply with an historic photo Others are recognized, like Le Petite Maison, with a plan, documentation and photos.

Mrs. Foster said she and her committee are always looking for gardens that might be deserving of a place in the archives. Discovering them is like finding Easter eggs as a child, she said.

"You get to see the most interesting, fabulous gardens, but they don't have to be estates. They don't have to be this big. It's the spirit of the artist who creates that's so interesting to find."

Mr. Kotcho had never heard of the archives before his work was nominated. He's thrilled to see his work alongside places like Mount Vernon and Monticello.

"It was quite an honor to be selected," he said, smiling. "Gardening is a long process. It's a growing art form."

Read more here.

Smart Traffic Signals by CMU Could Ease City Travel Time

Thanks to the talented folks at CMU, getting to our Squirrel Hill office may be a cinch in the future, whether by car or by bus. This new technology is only in East Liberty for now, but we're hoping it will eventually it will spread to the rest of the city as well!

A unique partnership has piloted a new adaptive traffic signal control technology — smart traffic signals — that promises to dramatically reduce harmful vehicle emissions and frustratingly long travel times through urban neighborhoods.

With funding support from three Pittsburgh foundations, Carnegie Mellon University has worked with the City of Pittsburgh and East Liberty Development Inc. to deploy the technology for a network of traffic lights serving the busy East Liberty area of the city.
    
"The reductions of 40 percent in vehicle wait time, nearly 26 percent in travel time and 21 percent in projected vehicle emissions realized in this pilot are remarkable," said CMU President Jared L. Cohon. "I'm proud of CMU's team, which developed this first-in-the-world technology, and am equally proud of the partnership approach typical of Pittsburgh that made this pilot possible."

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl cheered the pilot's success as "a breakthrough in making our city's traffic system work far more efficiently without having to resort to expensive widening roads, eliminating street parking, or re-routing. It makes the city more attractive to employers and residents alike."

Stephen Smith, director of the Intelligent Coordination and Logistics Laboratory in CMU's Robotics Institute, tackled the difficult challenge of perennially congested road networks in urban centers.

Combining concepts from the fields of artificial intelligence and traffic theory, his team first developed technology to allow traffic signals to communicate with one another and collaboratively adapt to actual traffic conditions in real time. The second step was to establish proof of the concept using a simulation model of Pittsburgh city traffic.

The latest step has been the pilot project that has successfully demonstrated traffic signals have the ability to react to quickly changing conditions, reducing traffic congestion and the resulting extra vehicle emissions. The next step will be to expand the pilot to demonstrate the technology on a bigger scale.

Read the full article here. 

Girls urged to pursue careers involving computer software

New nonprofit organization Girl Develop It is working to encourage more women to become software developers in Pittsburgh. We love seeing organizations like this who help women and girls to pursue their full potential!

An organization that encourages women to consider careers in software development is off to a strong start in Pittsburgh, even though fewer female students and professionals nationwide have been showing interest in the field.


Membership in the nonprofit Girl Develop It chapter in Pittsburgh totaled 134 as of Tuesday. And 60 women have signed up so far to attend a kickoff social on Thursday at mobile commerce and applications developer Branding Brand’s headquarters in the South Side.

“When I went to Pitt, I was the only one, or one of two women in most of my classes as a computer engineering student,” said Julie Pagano, a software engineer at Vivisimo Inc. in Squirrel Hill and one of the chapter’s two founders.

Then, “You get into the field, and there are less people higher up in the field to help mentor women,” said Pagano, a 2007 Pitt graduate. “So there’s the issue that a lot of women drop out. They make it through college, they make it into the field and about mid-career” many leave.

Chapter co-founder Lindsey Bieda, a developer at Branding Brand and a 2009 Pitt computer science grad, said women’s representation in software development peaked in the mid-1980s when personal computers were new and their possibilities were a hot topic.

Since then, the field gradually has become more “masculinized” with a culture that can discourage women, as well as minorities, she said, although Girl Develop It and other organizations for computer professionals have been “pushing back.”

The National Center for Women & Information Technology reports that women accounted for 18 percent of computer and information-science bachelor’s degrees at colleges in 2010 — a 51 percent drop from 1985.

And Girls Develop It’s website says the “budding developer community” is up to 91 percent male.

The organization lists a half dozen established chapters — New York, Columbus, Austin and Philadelphia in the United States, plus Ottawa, Canada, and Sydney.

Classes in programming, socials and “code and coffee” events are held to fan interest in the growing, and typically high-paying profession.

Starting computer science grads can make $56,000 a year, with median salaries for experienced workers of $97,400, the organization said.

Nearly 1.4 million computing-related jobs will be added in the United States by 2018, a 22 percent increase from 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects.

The University of Pittsburgh has about 230 men and 28 women undergraduates majoring in computer science. For computer engineering, it’s about 172 male and 25 female majors.

Pitt hired Tasha Isenberg in April as outreach coordinator for the computer science department, a new position designed to help balance those gender numbers, as well as encourage more minorities to study computer fields.

“It’s all about breaking down the stereotypes,” Isenberg said, adding the university is sponsoring several programs and awards this academic year aimed at middle and high school girls. The Tech Divas program, for example, brings middle school girls to the Oakland campus for web design, programming and robotics activities.

This fall’s freshman class of computer science majors at Carnegie Mellon University was 28 percent female, down slightly from 32 percent last year. CMU’s School of Computer Science enrolls about 130 freshmen each fall, and this year’s 4,250 applicants set a record.

The university’s Women at SCS program was started in 1999 to connect female students in the freshman through senior classes, plus graduate women across the school’s seven departments, to make sure they don’t miss out on mentoring and other opportunities, said Carol Frieze, the director.

The number of women graduating with degrees in computer science has been declining since 1984,” Frieze said. “We are one of the top schools that has started paying attention to what is going on — we know that in the local community girls are not getting the opportunity to explore technology and increase their skills.”

Read more here.

"Momfluential" Blogger Seeing Progress with Invisalign

Isn't it a great feeling when you start a new treatment and someone says they notice results? Ciaran Blumenfeld, aka “Momfluential”, thought so too! Read about her experience with Invisalign treatment below.

I’ve been wondering how long it would take. Just this past week people have started to comment that they can see a real difference in my smile.

I’m at the end of my 5th set of aligners (out of 23). I’ve still got a way to go. This is the point in treatment where you sort of hit a rhythm I think. I have my routines down and there isn’t much newness to the process. I know I will be a little sore for a day or two when I start a new set of aligners and plan accordingly: put the aligners on at night, take an advil pm and dose again with advil if needed the first two days. Other than that it’s sort of same same. I’ve got this.

Until someone told me they saw a difference. Really!?

I couldn’t help but get out my first set of trays and the current ones and compare them. I was surprised that there was such a measurable difference that I could see on paper! I should note: I wrote Wk 5 but I actually change the trays every two weeks so it’s really been ten weeks.

I still have a ways to go but I think I can see a difference in my smile as well. Here’s the latest close up.

And here is the picture I posted when I started treatment. Can you see a difference?

I am a member of the Invisalign Mom Advisory Board. I have been compensated for my participation in this program. All opinions are my own.

Read more here.

10 Things To Love About Squirrel Hill

We love having an office in Squirrel Hill! This is a vibrant neighborhood with plenty of personality and a rich history to boot. Here are some of the best things the neighborhood has to offer (courtesy of Courtney Patterson over at Yinzperation.com):


As long as I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, I’ve lived in Squirrel Hill--that sprawling neighborhood on the East End hugged on either side by Frick and Schenley Parks.

In my eight years here, I’ve watched friends who were once neighbors migrate to “up and coming” areas of the city, tempted by more affordable rents, home ownership, and perhaps a grittier view outside their windows. I’ve been tempted too. But whenever I consider leaving, I think about what I’ll miss: incredible parks and green space, dozens of restaurants (and about eight ice cream shops), beautiful homes, and some of my favorite streets to stroll down.

My good friend and talented photographer, Anna Lee Fields, spent an afternoon playing with me in Squirrel Hill. A big thanks to her for the photos.

Here are some of the reasons I’ve made this place home for so long:

1. Parks

Squirrel Hill is surrounded by some of the city's most expansive parks. Hike or bike deep into Frick Park’s maze of trails, and it's easy to forget you're even in the city. Get your game on at Schenley’s tennis courts or golf course, or go for a swim at the pool. Pack a picnic for Mellon Park’s summertime series, "Bach, Beethoven, and Brunch,” where you can enjoy your Sunday morning coffee while listening to a free performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

2. Diversity

A friend said that standing in the Squirrel Hill Post Office at mid-day is the closest you'll come to experiencing Ellis Island today. While Pittsburgh might not draw the immigrant population it once did, nearby CMU and Pitt attract hundreds of international students every year. The neighborhood is a mish mash of families and college students, Jews and Christians, renters and million-dollar home owners.

3. Convenience

If you want space to stretch out, park your car, plant a garden or walk your dog, Squirrel Hill's got plenty of it. Consider Squirrel Hill the closest experience to living in the suburbs while living in the city. With easy access to 376 and major bus lines, you're not far from downtown and the city's urban core.

4. Jerry's 

One of the largest vinyl record stores in the country resides right here in Squirrel Hill. A must-see for any music lover, Jerry’s carries a couple million used records—from the rarest soul to the most mainstream pop. The store regularly draws touring musicians, collectors and DJs from around the world. Rolling Stone Magazine even named it one of the best record stores in the U.S.

5. Walkable

I like to think of Squirrel Hill as its own self-contained town within Pittsburgh. I can walk to the grocery store, tons of restaurants, the drycleaner, my dentist's office, the post office—all within blocks of my home. Even when my only desire is to wander, I love exploring its pretty tree-lined streets.

6. Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

You can’t miss the big stately yellow house that sits on the hill at the corner of Fifth and Shady Avenues. By day, the gallery and shop welcomes visitors to browse the work of talented local artists. By night, it’s a party venue, aglow with paper lanterns, buzzing with laughter and live music.

7. The Manor

Want the old-time movie experience? Buy your ticket and popcorn here. The Manor turned 90 years old this year, and it’s still kicking. Recent renovations have added a new bar, so you can sip your favorite cocktail while watching the latest summer blockbuster or indie film.

Read the full article at Yinzperation.com. 

10 Hot Fields of Study at Pittsburgh Area Schools

Is your teen thinking of going to college locally? According to Pittsburgh Magazine, our regional schools are busily preparing students for the most promising careers of the next decade. The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Chatham, Duquesne, and other local schools all offer top-quality programs with “real world” value for today’s market. Gotta love Western PA!


Think global. Study local. Higher education now covers the world, addressing massive challenges: sustainability, new energy solutions, digital media, information technology, international trade, medical breakthroughs and much more. Major corporations are moving onto campus, too, pulling students into new research and ventures.

Here are some CliffsNotes on how regional colleges are jumping in to prepare students for the most promising careers of the next decade.

Ni-how, China: Thick with the BRICs
Brazil, Russia, India and China, often called the BRIC nations, are the world’s biggest emerging markets. They’re stepping up to first-world trade status, followed closely by the Middle East and Africa. Local colleges offer immersion in the culture and business sectors of those nations.

But first, it helps to learn the language. The University of Pittsburgh offers courses in the world’s major languages — and even a dozen that are less-commonly taught, like Swahili and Vietnamese. Pitt’s International Business Center in the Katz School of Business, which launched a Global Management program in 2008, includes language studies as well as business topics. The center bolsters course work with 10-week summer internships in business centers. Preceded by two-week orientations on the business cultures of their destinations, the work assignments include varied levels of language training. This summer, 46 students took advantage of the for-credit experience.

“The program’s been running for three years, beginning in Sao Paolo, Prague and Beijing,” says J.P. Matychak, director of career services for Katz. “We’ve added Madrid, Milan, Berlin and Paris — and we’re investigating India, South Korea and Japan.”

Carnegie Mellon University offered its first section of elementary Chinese in 1992. Today, the Department of Modern Languages offers more than 20 each semester, as well as Mandarin for business managers within the Tepper School of Business. This year, 99 students will major or minor in Chinese studies.

There’s a new demand on the horizon for individuals who can teach Chinese at the pre-college level, too. St. Vincent College recently became one of three colleges in the state to offer a certification program for elementary, middle- and high-school teachers. Students pursuing teacher certification must study abroad one semester or complete an immersion experience. The college arranges such opportunities through cooperative arrangements with Beijing Normal University, Fu Jen University or Wuhan University.

Mad Men: Marketing, Communications and Design
CMU’s School of Design offers undergraduate degrees in communication and industrial design. Dan Boyarski, the design school’s director of alumni relations, says more companies are hiring design professionals because they have a systematic way of creatively resolving problems; meanwhile, companies like Facebook, Twitter and Apple have been seeking these graduates because they’re also users of their products and services. These tech giants are looking for new hires who can think of different ways to extend product lines or build new businesses, enhance the visual impact of their interfaces and improve the user experience.

In the North Hills, La Roche College’s minor in Web design reaches outside the classroom, enabling students to create sites for real-life clients; students have interned in departments at Allegheny General Hospital and Pitt, among other businesses.

Read more at Pittsburgh Magazine.

Changing Lives with Orthodontic Treatment

We are proud to be an orthodontic provider for Smiles Change Lives, or SCL, a fantastic organization that gives children from low-income families access to life-changing, essential orthodontic treatment! SCL got a great write-up a few months ago on Cleveland.com. Take a look!

A few weeks ago, Saving Money wrote about reduced-cost braces offered by the Dental School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.

Turns out there's a national program that offers braces for even less.

They're not free. But for $525, a low-income family can get braces and accompanying orthodontic care for a child from a nonprofit group called Smiles Change Lives.

This is not cosmetic dentistry.

"Our kids do have to have a fairly severe need for braces," says Andrea Umbreit, spokeswoman for the Missouri-based nonprofit founded in 1997.

That means a moderate to severe malocclusion -- the improper meeting of the upper and lower teeth -- a misaligned jaw or seriously crooked teeth.

To qualify, a family must have a taxable income that is 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that's $46,100 a year; for a family of two, it's $30,260. A family's most recent federal income tax records must be provided with the application, along with a $25 fee.

In addition, children who apply to the program need a referral from their dentist that says they take good care of their teeth. Kids with braces who don't properly brush and floss can end up with serious dental problems down the road, Umbreit says. And the program doesn't want to risk that.

If you're interested, you can find details and an application at smileschangelives.org.

If you're accepted, you'll be sent to an orthodontist to make sure you meet the program's guidelines. If the answer is yes, you pay the remaining $500 and treatment begins.

Here's the catch: there's a waiting list. Nationwide, it has 1,200 kids on it. But Smiles Change Lives is recruiting orthodontists every day.

In Ohio, 22 are now part of the program, and 30 children are waiting to see them. Orthodontists who want to volunteer should call 816-421-4949 or go to smileschangelives.org/learnmore.

Know someone who might qualify? Send them to www.smileschangelives.org for more information!

Pittsburgh Girls Battle Age-Old Stereotype that Females aren't as Good at Math and Science as Boys

My staff and I are very proud of all the young girls in the Pittsburgh area that are partaking in activities to become the healthcare practitioners, engineers, scientists and researchers of the future!

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) Education Coalition does fantastic work in encouraging children and young adults of both genders to pursue their interests in these fields. Director of STEM programs at the Carnegie Science Center Linda Ortenzo and Ellis School spokeswoman Kitty Julian are quoted in this WESA article about lingering stereotypes in the math and science fields:

There’s an old notion that girls are not as good at math and science as boys. That thought still persists today even among teachers – according to a study by the University of Texas.  Girls and educators in the Pittsburgh region are working against that stereotype.

“Girls can do anything that guys can do, and maybe even better…especially science,” was the answer given by a group of girls at Carnegie Science Center’s Click! Camp for Girls, when asked if they thought boys were better at math and science.

On a summer day, campers were testing water quality in the Ohio River. The girls, broken into small groups, collect water samples. After the water collection, they follow directions to test for things such as PH, or acidity, and dissolved oxygen levels.

“PH is 6.5 and there’s no dissolved oxygen in the water…that’s bad…the fish need oxygen.” The campers spent the week focusing on several areas of science, including cryptography, or code-breaking, electric circuitry, and crime scene investigation. Many were excited about science, and took issue with the notion that girls are not as good at math and science as boys.

Teacher Bias

A recent University of Texas study found a prevailing notion among high school teachers that white girls were not as skilled in the subjects as white boys, even when evidence to the contrary, such as test scores, was presented. In contrast, teachers rated minority students of both genders as less adept at math and science than white students, but that idea disappeared once actual grades were taken into account. So why does the idea persist for white females? Part of it may be interest.

“When you look at the research, girls are just as interested as boys, if not slightly more than, all the way up until about fourth grade. Around middle school we see a drop in the interest in students in general in math and science, but for girls it is a precipitous fall off a cliff,” said Linda Ortenzo, director of STEM programs at Carnegie Science Center.

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. There many reasons that interest declines, among them are the images girls see of themselves in their everyday lives.

“There’s that whole idea that girls who are smart in math and science might seem less attractive to boys. There’s also this lack of female mentorship at a very critical time,” said Ortenzo.

In addition, there’s something called “stereotype threat” at play.

“Culturally girls believe they’re not supposed to be as good as boys at math and science and girls are particularly susceptible to stereotype threat. So the idea is, if you tell a girl or you convey unconsciously to a girl that she’s not going to be as good as boys at math and science, then she will behave as if she is not,” said Kitty Julian, a spokeswoman for the all-girls Ellis School in Pittsburgh. 

Read the full article here: http://wesa.fm/2012/08/20/pittsburgh-girls-battle-age-old-stereotype-females-arent-good-math-and-science-boys