Many college students dodge risks, but innovation and self-discovery often spring from failure, says Associate Provost Dedric A. Carter, PhD. “Fail Better,” a new video series, will showcase faculty, staff and students who have failed big — sometimes in very public ways. The first installment features Mark Smith, JD, Career Center director and failed political candidate.

A School of Medicine study may aid efforts to tailor smoking-cessation treatments to individual cigarette smokers. Researchers are recruiting 720 smokers whose DNA samples, from saliva, will be analyzed to identify genetic variations that influence smoking behavior, lung cancer risk and the effectiveness of smoking-cessation treatments.

Now in its second year, the Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award is given to university-based entrepreneurs who use technology to solve real-world problems. A total of 19 teams entered this year’s competition, and the winner of the $50,000 prize, announced Nov. 2, is Applied Particle Technology.

Edward C. Stone, PhD, project scientist and public spokesman for the twin Voyager spacecrafts, will speak on campus Thursday, Nov. 12. Stone will describe spectacular flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and Voyager I’s departure from the solar system. The talk is part of the Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture Series hosted by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences in Arts & Sciences.

At the university’s recent Board of Trustees meeting, several faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure, with most changes taking effect Oct. 2.