Students, faculty and staff of the School of Computer Science are invited to attend the Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy awards presentation at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17 at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh. Carnegie Mellon is co-hosting the event, which this year will honor the Heinz family, the Mellon family, Eli Broad and the Tata family.

Considered to be the "Nobel Prize for Philanthropy," the medals are awarded every two years by the Carnegie Corporation to families and individuals who have dedicated their private wealth to the public good and who have sustained impressive careers as philanthropists.

The master of ceremonies for the event will be former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. Presenters include the former president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Nobel Laureate David Baltimore; National Gallery of Art Director Earl Powell III; and 2005 Carnegie Medalist and President Emerita of The Museum of Modern Art Agnes Gund. The event will also include a special presenter via video.

The university community also is invited to a special Carnegie Symposium, titled News from the Future, beginning at 10 a.m. on October 17 at McConomy Auditorium in the University Center. Experts from a variety of fields will weigh in on the future, with time for audience discussion afterward. Presenters include Baltimore; Powell; James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank; and M. Granger Morgan, National Academy of Sciences member and head of Carnegie Mellon's Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

In addition to Carnegie Mellon, the event's other host institutions include the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The medalists are selected by an international jury comprised of the leaders of seven of the more than 20 Carnegie institutions around the world endowed by Andrew Carnegie during his lifetime. This year's event is sponsored by UPMC and United States Steel Corporation.

For more information, please visit http://www.carnegiemedalspittsburgh.org.