Month: August 2017

In what could be a small step for science potentially leading to a breakthrough, an engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has taken steps toward using nanocrystal networks for artificial intelligence applications. 

Long before GPS satellites and NASA, Washington University astronomers played a central role in the scientific observation of total solar eclipses — including a search for the elusive planet Vulcan in the late 1800s.

Chancellor William Chauvenet nurtured Edward S. Holden’s interest in astronomy on the campus of Washington University, but Holden’s initial fascination with the field sprang from a series of circumstances associated with childhood tragedy.

Edward S. Holden’s 1883 expedition report to the National Academies was written with all due respect. However, a handwritten note, written in rhyme, from a crew member of the U.S.S. Hartford suggests the voyagers enjoyed lighter moments as well.

Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2017 Jacobæus Prize from the Novo Nordisk Foundation for his role as the founding father of gut microbiome research.

  1. How to watch an eclipse? Don’t look unless you have approved eyewear. Not even telescopes, binoculars, cameras or sunglasses will help. The sun in this equation can cause permanent damage or even blindness… without you even knowing that it’s happening, according to Washington University School of Medicine specialists. 2. How to make a special viewer? Without […]

Mary Klingensmith, MD, the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named chair of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Surgery.

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Billions of tons are produced annually. But for the 2017 Solar Decathlon, Team WashU wanted to demonstrate a new and more sustainable approach.

In the wake of the Aug. 12 confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, some progressives are calling for legal restrictions on the display of the Nazi flag. These arguments are entirely understandable, but they often misapply existing First Amendment law, and they suppress free speech values that progressives — more than anyone else — should want to defend, says a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Abram Van Engen, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won a prestigious Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.