The students preparing to graduate this morning are already changing the world through research, service and innovation, as the Class Acts series has illustrated. Now, the more than 2,800 undergraduate, graduate and professional students are ready to celebrate when Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton confers their degrees.

To the nearly 2 million people in the United States living with the loss of a limb, prosthetic devices provide restored mobility, yet lack sensory feedback. A team of engineers and researchers at Washington University is working to change that so those with upper-limb prosthetics can feel hot and cold and the sense of touch through their prosthetic hands.

A diabetes drug may have benefits beyond lower blood sugar in patients with HIV. New research from the laboratory of Kevin E. Yarasheski, PhD, suggests the drug may prevent cardiovascular problems because it works to reduce inflammation that is linked to heart disease and stroke in these patients.

Senior class president Jeremy Sherman will address his fellow graduates today at Commencement. His speech, “Embrace the Uncertainty,” will celebrate the unknown. Up next for him is a trip to Europe and a job at Deloitte Consulting in Washington.