Author: Jessica Daues

The following are among the new faculty members at the University. Others will be introduced periodically in this space. Costas Azariadis joins the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences as professor. Azariadis earned a doctorate in 1975 from Carnegie Mellon University and has been affiliated with Brown and Penn universities and UCLA. He was tenured in 1977 (Penn) and promoted to full professor in 1983 (Penn). He served as the director of UCLA’s Program for Dynamic Economics from 1993-97 and from 2000-06. He has served as editor or co-editor for a number of top journals and has been on journal advisory boards and National Science Foundation panels. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society. His research focus is on labor contracts, macroeconomic dynamics and economic development. Michele Boldrin joins the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences as professor. Since earning a doctorate from the University of Rochester in 1987, Boldrin has been affiliated with UCLA, Northwestern and Minnesota. He was tenured in 1990 (Northwestern) and promoted to full professor in 1999 (Minnesota). Boldrin has served as editor or associate editor for many top journals and is an associate editor of Econometrica. He served as vice president and president of the Italian Economic Association and is a research associate of the Center for Economic Policy Research. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society. His research focuses on economic theory, economic growth and macroeconomics. Sebastian Galiani joins the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences as associate professor. He earned a doctorate from Oxford University in 2000 and has been affiliated with Universidad de San Andrés in Argentina, promoted to the associate rank there in 2005. Galiani chairs the executive committee of the Network of Inequality and Poverty, sponsored jointly by LACEA, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. His main research focus is on development economics, particularly on evaluating public policies being undertaken by developing countries. David K. Levine joins the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences as professor. After completing his doctorate at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology in 1981, he joined UCLA’s faculty as an assistant professor and was there later tenured and then promoted to full professor. He has served on the editorial board of many top journals and is co-editor of Econometrica. He is the president of the Society of Economic Dynamics. He has served on the National Science Foundation economics panel and on the American Economic Association’s Committee on Honors and Awards. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society. His research is on game theory, general equilibrium theory and macroeconomic theory.

Jan 18-24 Jan. 23 11:16 a.m. — A complainant reported a departmental laptop missing from the copy/workroom area of Simon Hall. The computer was last used Dec. 22, 2006, and discovered missing Jan. 4. The computer is valued at $1,700. 9:13 p.m. — A student reported an unknown person(s) stole his white MacBook laptop and power cord from a table in Olin Library on level A. The student stated he left his laptop to get a drink of water and when he returned the laptop was gone. No suspects or witnesses were identified. Theft occurred between approximately 9-9:01 p.m. The laptop and power cord are valued at $1,500 University Police also responded to three auto accidents, two larcenies and one report of trespassing.

Below is a link to the Washington University news release about the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings for 2004-05: http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/3627.html To view a full listing of U.S. News magazine, book and Web-only rankings for 2004-05, please visit the U.S. News & World Report site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

University Police issued the following crime alert Jan. 18: St. Louis Police are investigating two robberies that occurred Jan. 17, one on the 6100 block of Waterman Avenue, and the other in the 6000 block of Kingsbury Avenue. In the first case, the victims were approached by a lone suspect who produced a handgun and demanded their property. In the second incident, the victim was approached by two suspects who produced a handgun and demanded money. The suspects took a wallet. In both cases the suspects fled on foot. The victims were not physically injured. The suspect in the first case is described as an African-American male; 20-30 years old; wearing a grey coat and blue jeans The suspects in the second case are described as African-American males, both about 20-25 years old. One has a medium build and was wearing a dark black puffy coat and baggy jeans; the other has a slender build; long braids; and was wearing a dark blue puffy coat, black/white/gray t-shirt and baggy jeans Contact the St. Louis Police if you have any information that might assist in this investigation.

Kevin J. Black, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, has received a five-year, $1,999,873 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for research titled “Dopaminergic Effects on Cortical Function in Tourette’s.” … John W. Olney, M.D., the John P. Feighner Professor of Psychiatry, has received a five-year, $1,901,876 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for research titled “Developmental Brain Damage by Drugs of Abuse.”… Herbert W. Virgin, M.D., professor of pathology and immunology, has received a five-year, $1,693,102 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research titled “Norovirus Infection of Dendritic Cells and Macrophages.”… John P. Atkinson, M.D., the Samuel Grant Professor of Medicine, has received a five-year, $1,635,875 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research titled “CD46: Protecting the Host from Complement Attack.”

Modeled on successful “city read” programs, The Big Read is a national program designed to encourage literary reading by helping communities come together to read and discuss a single book.

William Lawrence Bolles, a former visiting professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, died Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the University’s debt rating to Aaa from Aa1 and assigned an Aaa rating to the Series 2007 A and B fixed-rate bonds to be issued through the Missouri Health and Educational Facilities Authority. The Aaa rating is the highest level offered by Moody’s.

Henry Schaerf, Ph.D., associate professor emeritus of mathematics in Arts & Sciences, died Sunday, March 5, 2006, in Seattle.

The University’s updated Web site recently went online, replacing the previous design that had been used for about three years. Visit the page at wustl.edu.