Author: Neil Schoenherr

Senior Alex Baron, majoring in philosophy-neuroscience-psychology and in political science, both in Arts & Sciences, has won a prestigious Luce Scholarship. He is one of 18 scholars chosen nationwide.

Following carbon monoxide poisoning from a furnace at his work place on May 31, 1926, Franz Breutel was unable to remember anything for more than about a second. An interdisciplinary panel will discuss this forgotten amnesic case study at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, in Wilson Hall, Room 214. The lecture, “Remembering Mr. B: The Man with a Two-Second Memory,” is sponsored by the WUSTL Center for Programs.

The annual Africa Week, this year themed “Africa Arise,” will be held on the Danforth Campus beginning Monday, Feb. 28. The week, sponsored by the African Students Association, aims to dispel misconceptions about African people and to showcase many of their achievements.

On April 6, St. Louis County residents get to decide on a tax increase that will provide $75 million annually to expand and operate the Metro system, which includes Metro bus, MetroLink light rail and Call-A-Ride services. In order to have a voice on this important issue, students, faculty and staff must be registered to vote in Missouri by Wednesday, March 10.

Anthropology professors Peter Benson and Carolyn Sargent will travel to Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 23 and 24, to speak with U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri about the recently convened Healthcare Reform Task Force and new ways to link academic research and policy development.

Africa Week, an annual event celebrating African culture sponsored by the African Students Association, begins Monday, Feb. 22, and continues through Friday, Feb. 26. The week’s focus is on myths about identity, art and legends and how they effect Africans around the world.

The annual George Washington Week, sponsored by the sophomore honorary Lock & Chain, continues. The week started Monday with horse and buggy rides around the Danforth Campus and birthday cake in the Danforth University Center. Other activities will include colonial lunches and dinners, serving tea and cherry tarts, and the “wigging” of this year’s George and Martha.

Susan Rotroff, Ph.D., the Jarvis Thurston and Mona Van Duyn Professor in the Humanities, has been awarded archeology’s 2011 gold medal for achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America.

The Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program and the Association of Latin American Students will host Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz as part of the sixth annual Symposium on Latino Contributions at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Danforth University Center.

After both of her parents and both of her husband’s parents succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease over a 14-year period, Susan Rava knew she needed to write a book about the experience. Swimming Solo was released in January.