Engineering team receives $3.6M to combat plastic waste

Washington University is leading a new effort to address the grand challenge of developing the next generation of high-performance, sustainably sourced and biodegradable plastics that advance engineering while also protecting the environment.

Study finds messaging can move needle on vaccinations

A large-scale study led by Olin Business School researcher Brad Larsen to see if politically partisan cues can induce people to get COVID-19 vaccines found that, indeed, they can.

Wearable brain-imaging tech to be commercialized

Wearable brain-imaging technology aims to reveal how the brain works in natural, realistic situations. University researchers received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to develop and commercialize a brain-imaging cap that uses LED light to gauge brain activity.

Butterfly beginnings

Biologists including Michael Landis in Arts & Sciences worked with researchers from dozens of countries to reconstruct the origin and global spread of butterflies. The resulting butterfly tree of life reveals that they got their start in North America.

WashU welcomes next cohort of College Prep Program

The university has admitted 50 rising high school sophomores to the 10th cohort of the College Prep Program. The high-achieving students will study in WashU labs and studios, attend classes and learn the skills needed to thrive in college.

Notables

Rafael Pardo, a bankruptcy and commercial law expert, was installed recently as the Walter D. Coles Professor of Law. His recent research has focused on the intersection of the 1841 Bankruptcy Act, slavery and race in the antebellum United States.

Notables

Darrell Hudson, an associate professor at the Brown School, will become director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, effective July 1. Hudson has served as an associate director for the past year.

Announcements

Remembrance committee established, begins work

Washington University has established the Committee to Examine Remembrance and Commemoration to evaluate professorships, buildings and other honors named for people to ensure such recognition aligns with the university’s values.

Zachary Porter, Arts & Sciences student, 20

Zachary Porter, a rising junior in Arts & Sciences, drowned May 21 while walking on tidal mud flats near Hope, Alaska. He was 20. Friends said Porter possessed a boundless enthusiasm and innate talent for everything he tried, from data science to acoustic guitar.