Author: Diane Toroian Keaggy

Scientists solve the world’s greatest challenges and are paid well to do so. Yet the gender gap persists in engineering, computer science and other fields. Women in STEM Day at Washington University in St. Louis welcomes high school girls into the community of female scientists and introduces them to cutting-edge research. Hosted by undergraduate female science students, the event features demonstrations, top speakers and a sleepover.

B. J. Novak, best known for his role in “The Office,” entertained students at Social Programming Board’s spring comedy show at Graham Chapel. Novak took questions from students, read excerpts from his book, “One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories” and shared favorite memories from “The Office.”

Amanda Moore McBride, executive director of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis, says U.S. colleges and universities must do more to encourage students to vote. Yes, voter registration drives and accessible polling places matter. But what happens in the classroom may play an even bigger role.

LaTanya Buck, director of the Center for Diversity & Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named a 2016 Young Leader awardee by the St. Louis American Foundation.

Akeda Hosten, a senior in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University, talks about why the annual Black Anthology matters and how songwriting is a little bit like engineering. The Black Anthology production “woke” is Feb. 12-13 at Edison Theatre on the Danforth Campus.

Members of Synapse, Washington University’s neuroscience club, are helping local high school students prepare for the annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee, Saturday, Feb. 13, at McDonnell Hall. “The Brain Bee is a competition but it’s not about being competitive. It’s about getting more people excited about this fast-growing field,” says junior Smruti Rath.

Civic Scholar Kierstan Carter wanted to change St. Louis by connecting high school students with community leaders. But when that idea flopped, Carter moved on to Plan B: changing herself.

Traditional Chinese sword dancing debuts this weekend at the annual Lunar New Year Festival at Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. “The swords only look dangerous,” says junior Sarah Lin, noting the dance’s combination of grace and power.

Washington University Libraries received $150,000 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to digitize and reassemble the unaired interview outtakes from the seminal series “Eyes on the Prize.”

Evolution educators continue to face resistance from parents, lawmakers and school boards. And a recent Pew Research Center survey on science and society shows that one-third of the population denies evolution. The Institute of School Partnership, through Darwin Day and other programs, help K-12 teachers bring this core concept to their classrooms.