Author: Susan Killenberg McGinn

Inside of the diamond cellOf the 92 naturally occurring elements, add another to the list of those that are superconductors. James S. Schilling, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Mathew Debessai, Ph.D., — Schilling’s doctoral student at the time — discovered that europium becomes superconducting at 1.8 K (-456 °F) and 80 GPa (790,000 atmospheres) of pressure, making it the 53rd known elemental superconductor and the 23rd at high pressure.

Joe Angeles/WUSTL PhotoWendy Kopp addresses the Class of 2009Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach For America, delivered Washington University’s 148th Commencement address May 15 before a standing-room only audience of more than 15,000 in Brookings Quadrangle. Of the 2,642 graduating students in the Class of 2009, 25 are entering Teach For America — the national corps of outstanding college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in some of the country’s highest-need schools and become lifelong leaders in pursuit of educational excellence and equity.

Washington University’s 148th Commencement will be held at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 15, in Brookings Quadrangle. The university will bestow 2,765 degrees on 2,642 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on four individuals. Wendy Kopp, chief executive officer and founder of Teach For America, will deliver the 2009 Commencement address. During the ceremony, Kopp also will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. Washington University’s three other honorary degree recipients are Robert L. Virgil Jr., Ph.D.; Robert H. Waterston, M.D., Ph.D.; and Patty Jo Watson, Ph.D.

Washington University will host The Center for Academic Integrity’s 18th Annual International Conference Oct. 16-18, 2009. The conference theme is “Creating a Culture of Integrity: Research and Best Practices.” Several hundred students, faculty and staff from around the world will discuss the practice and philosophy of academic integrity, focusing on issues germane to both college […]

Arts & Sciences will recognize the achievements of five alumni at 4 p.m. May 15 in the Jerzewiak Family Auditorium in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Sciences Building. Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., interim dean of Arts & Sciences and the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts & Sciences, also will present the Dean’s Medal to […]

Photo by Nan RochbergCarl Bender, Ph.D. (left), the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences, and his son, Michael A. Bender, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, share a light moment during the 2009 Quantum Mechanics in the Complex Domain conference, held at WUSTL March 27 and 28.

The Graduate Professional Council (GPC) hosted its Bridging GAPS Leadership and Awards Ceremony April 6 in the Graduate Center in the Danforth University Center. The Bridging GAPS (Graduate and Professional Students) Awards recognize graduate student groups and individual leaders for outstanding contributions in promoting interdisciplinary programs and for promoting communication, cooperation and collaboration between graduate students across schools. GPC and three other major graduate student groups also recognized their 15th anniversaries this academic year during the event.

Photo by Whitney CurtisRichard J. Smith, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor of physical anthropology, meets with doctoral students Julia D. Kleinheider (center), in Germanic languages & literatures, and Emily M. Fammartino, in English, after he presented them and 10 other recipients with the Arts & Sciences’ Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence April 20.

Washington University in St. Louis will bestow honorary degrees on four pioneers and leaders in their respective fields during its 148th Commencement May 15. During the ceremony, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle, the university also will bestow more than 2,700 academic degrees on more than 2,600 students. Wendy Kopp, chief executive officer and founder of Teach For America, will deliver the Commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree.

Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.The Graduate Student Senate held its 10th annual Outstanding Faculty Mentor awards ceremony and reception April 15 at the Danforth University Center. Receiving the awards for outstanding mentoring are Arts & Sciences faculty (from left): Wayne Fields, Ph.D., Stephanie Kirk, Ph.D., James C. Morley, Ph.D., J. Dewey Holten, Ph.D., Angela L. Miller, Ph.D., and James F. Spriggs, Ph.D. Not pictured is Mona Lena Krook, Ph.D.