Dietrich College News

Released at the beginning of each month, Dietrich College News is your chance to stay up-to-date on the latest news, events and accomplishments of Dietrich alumni, students, staff and faculty.

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Jessica Cantlon's 'Science Homecoming' Mobilizes Scientists to Advocate for Support

Across the United States, neuroscientists, botanists, chemists and Nobel Prize laureates are writing letters to the small towns they grew up in. While the stories told differ, the underlying message is the same: Science benefits each and every one of us, no matter who we are or where we live. And right now, that science is under attack.

When cuts to federal science funding began, Jessica Cantlon, the Ronald J. and Mary Ann Zdrojkowski Professor of Developmental Neuroscience/Psychology, and her colleague, Steve Piantadosi, a faculty member at UC Berkeley, sprang into action. They built a website that scholars across the country could use as a launchpad for communicating science's value.

Read about Cantlon's Science Homecoming Project, which has now appeared in Nature, Science and The New York Times.

Christopher Warren Named Head of Carnegie Mellon's Department of English

“Chris Warren has become an internationally recognized leader in computational humanities, and his vision to align the department and the humanities more with CMU's strengths in interdisciplinary computing, while fully preserving its humanistic perspective, comes at a perfect time,” said Richard Scheines, Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "I am excited to see where he will take English." 

Read about Warren's digital humanities projects and University of Oxford fellowship.

How a First-Year Seminar Shaped Alumni Career Paths

At Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, all first-year students take a Grand Challenge Seminar — a unique course co-taught by professors from different disciplines that explore pressing global issues. For Sheldon Yawson (DC 2023) and Ziyan Wang (DC 2024), enrolling in their respective courses was more than just a requirement — it was a defining moment in their respective academic journeys.

Read about how the Grand Challenge Seminar experience influenced Yawson and Wang's academic journey.

Faculty Spotlight: Camille Rankine

Camille Rankine is an assistant professor in the Department of English. As a writer, reader and teacher, Rankine is interested in how things work: both the mechanics and the mechanisms at work within our lives.

"Considering that we're constantly throwing words around, the idea that poetry can put words to a feeling or an idea, something that had never really been given those words, I just think that's kind of magical," she said.

Read more about Rankine's work and how it examines "the zone of non-being."

Upcoming Events

• Seattle IS Alumni Gathering with Larry Heimann: On July 29, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., join other CMU alumni in visiting with Information Systems teaching professor Larry Heimann at Rhein Haus Seattle (912 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122). Register here.

• On Campus Events You May Have Missed: Presidents Lecture Series Goes Behind the Scenes with Writer, Director and Producer John Wells

• On Campus Events You May Have Missed: Commencement 2025 - Main Ceremony



• Alumni Events: From cherished, in-person Carnegie Mellon traditions to virtual learning experiences with researchers at the cutting-edge of their fields, CMU offers a variety of events for alumni to connect with each other and the university, expand their knowledge and networking opportunities, and make memories together. Explore alumni events.

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