Author: Neil Schoenherr

Winning teams in the I-CARES Student Competition displayed their sustainability projects on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis last week. The annual competition asks students to propose a physical installation in the area of climate change, renewable energy or sustainable design.

Retired Lt. Gen. George J. Flynn, who served as deputy commandant for combat development and integration for the U.S. Marine Corps, makes a point during his remarks at a formal Dining-Out event April 17 in the Knight Center. Sponsored by the Olin Veterans Assocation, the Dining-Out event is a formal military tradition for members of a company or other unit aimed at fostering camaraderie.

Scientists often use things in nature as a model to make new things, such as using birds as models for airplanes. One WUSTL engineer is using a basic cell as a model to make genetically engineered bacteria that would produce biofuel or pharmaceuticals. Tae Seok Moon, PhD, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation for his project, “Engineering Biological Robustness through Synthetic Control.”

In his new book, “Leading Change from the Middle,” Jackson Nickerson, PhD, the Frahm Family Professor of Organization & Strategy in Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, offers a practical and novel approach for building extraordinary capability without the traditional use of authority.

The ninth annual YouthBridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition has announced the year’s winners and its $155,000 in awards. Winning teams represented community and Washington University in St. Louis social entrepreneurs. Their social venture ideas ranged widely, covering youth, teens, education, science and more.

John Wallace, Robert S. Brookings’ great-grandnephew, talks with Tenille Washburn (JD ’01), a student in the Brookings Executive Education (BEE) program, before a dinner at the Knight Center March 31. With Wallace is his wife, Ellen Wallace (right). The Wallaces were in town for a BEE conference on Daring to Lead. Robert S. Brookings was president of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees from 1895 to 1928.

Carbon dioxide, which enters the atmosphere through the burning of coal and other fossil fuels, is a significant contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, President Barack Obama proposed a sweeping climate action plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Washington University in St. Louis, a leader in advanced coal research and technology, will be contributing to the president’s plan with research funded by a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, a section of the dome called the Whispering Gallery makes a whisper audible from the other side of the dome as a result of the way sound waves travel around the curved surface. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have used the same phenomenon to build an optical device that may lead to new and more powerful computers that run faster and cooler.

Olin Business School celebrated its 97th birthday March 28 with barbecue, arcade games and fun in the school’s newly opened Knight and Bauer halls. Pictured is Olin employee Nate Quest.

Former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, of Maine, will have an informal conversation with Washington University in St. Louis students and faculty at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge. The event is sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.