Month: July 2020

Americans across the nation are documenting today’s protests through photography and video, often posting their content on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms. But is that the safest way to preserve these historic images? Miranda Rectenwald, curator of local history at University Libraries at Washington University in St. Louis, created a list of resources to help protest participants preserve their content for the long term. 

The School of Medicine’s Jennifer A. Philips, MD, PhD, has set up a screening platform to test compounds for activity against the COVID-19 virus. Her lab has screened dozens of compounds and is prepared to accept more suggestions of promising candidate molecules.

With a three-year, $453,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research, Chien-Ju Ho, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and his co-investigator, Yang Liu, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will study AI-augmented human decision-making. Read more on the engineering website.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling June 29 won’t alter the fledgling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because it already morphed during the first decade of its existence to where it falls under the philosophical whim of each presidential administration, says an Olin Business School scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.

Kimberly Norwood, the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law, is being honored by Missouri Lawyers Media for her work on diversity and inclusion.

Given that universal mask wearing might be the next step for the country’s fight against Covid-19, it is in all of our best interests if we help each other learn to tolerate and then overcome our anxieties about wearing them.

Whether we move statues or keep them in place, our history in all its complexity needs to remain in plain sight. We cannot lock it behind walls or barricade it with cement. We need to move through that place of pain until the statues themselves become irrelevant.

The takeaway from my experience at Wash U is that companies can do that with some core factors in place: firm, explicit support and resources from leadership; an intentional focus on racial diversity in hiring and advancement; and creating a culture that recognizes and responds to the realities Black workers face.

Starting July 1, Washington University in St. Louis will offer its students, faculty and staff a new, free phone-based app designed to address and promote personal safety both on and off campus. WashU Safe replaces Noonlight and offers enhanced security features.