Year: 2017

More than a dozen distinguished speakers will take part in Commencement-related events for Class of 2017 graduates and their families and guests this week at Washington University in St. Louis.

John DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Samuel J. Golman Endowed Professor of Oncology and director of the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a 2017 Legacy Leadership Award honoree by the Gateway Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The newest computer ransomware to hit on a global scale first appeared late last week. Dubbed “WannaCry,” the malware attacks computers, then demands a ransom in Bitcoin to regain the ability to access files. A cybersecurity expert at Washington University in St. Louis says programmers were aware of the potential trouble months ago, but playing catch-up to remedy the problem is difficult.

No matter how smart, well-prepared or hard-working, many college students struggle with rigorous introductory science courses because their approach to learning fails to provide a working knowledge of abstract concepts that underlie examples presented in the classroom, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Images from in and around the Washington University campuses.

Architect and urban designer Anu Samarajiva is deeply attuned to the particularity of place and to the ways social networks shape our experience of the built environment. She graduates wanting to help people think about how social, political and economic systems impact their lives.

Washington University in St. Louis researchers Jose A. Moron-Concepcion and Thomas Rodebaugh are among 40 scholars selected to receive 2017 Independent Investigator grants from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, one of the top nongovernmental funders of mental health research grants.

With a master’s degree in statistics, a PhD in chemical engineering, an MBA and, soon, a JD from Washington University School of Law, Wei Zhu is clearly brilliant. But also, perhaps, a little crazy? “Oh yes,” Zhu said with a laugh. “I am definitely crazy.” She will serve as the graduate student speaker at Commencement on May 19.

Washington University in St. Louis brain scholars will join teams from four other universities in a five-year, $7.5 million research project that aims to build and test the most comprehensive model yet of how people understand and remember events.

The Gephardt Institute has named its Class of 2019 group of Civic Scholars. Sixteen sophomores, in Arts & Sciences and the Sam Fox School, have been chosen for the program’s latest cohort.