Business & Entrepreneurship

Werner Ploberger, Ph.D., was installed as the first Thomas H. Eliot Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences on October 30 in Holmes Lounge. Ploberger, who joined Washington University’s Department of Economics last year, is internationally renowned for his contributions to the fields of econometrics and the theory of estimation.

Pratim Biswas has a method that controls the size of the nanoparticles he makes, opening up possibilities for new nanotechnology applications and different techniques.In a world that constantly strives for bigger and bigger things, WUSTL’s Pratim Biswas, Ph.D., the Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor and chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, is working to make things smaller and smaller. Biswas conducts research on nanoparticles, which are the building blocks for nanotechnology. For the first time, Biswas has shown that he can independently control the size of the nanoparticles that he makes, keeping their other properties the same. He’s also shown with his technique that the nanoparticles can be made in large quantities in scalable systems, opening up the possibility for more applications and different techniques.

From home-delivered soup to house calls, the finalists for the 2007 Olin Cup Competition were announced Nov. 8. Six teams, including four student-owned or student-supported ventures, remain in the annual business formation contest organized by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. This year’s finalists were selected from a field of 12 teams. Ultimately, two teams […]

Early childhood education advocates have a new weapon at their disposal. Recent research by an economics professor at Washington University in St. Louis provides evidence that preprimary education leads to more years spent in school based on the experience of children from relatively disadvantaged households in Uruguay.

If it is a surprise to Gap Inc. that some of its clothing manufactured in India was made by young children, then the company didn’t do a thorough job investigating the pros and cons of international outsourcing, according to Panos Kouvelis, the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The finalists for the 2007 Olin Cup Competition include six teams, four of which are student-owned or student-supported ventures. The annual business formation contest is organized by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at WUSTL. Ultimately, two teams will win up to $70,000 in seed investment capital and a student-owned or – supported team will win a $5,000 cash prize.

Werner Ploberger, Ph.D., was installed as the first Thomas H. Eliot Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences on Oct. 30 in Holmes Lounge. Ploberger, who joined the Department of Economics last year, is internationally renowned for his contributions to the fields of econometrics and the theory of estimation.

“An Impending Influenza Pandemic? What Has Been Learned From 1918?” is the focus of a St. Louis community forum from 7:45-11:45 a.m. Nov. 9 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall. The program features discussions by city, county and national health directors and explores how St. Louis can use lessons from past flu outbreaks to prepare for a global bird flu pandemic that some experts see lurking on the horizon.

Bill Michalski/WUSTL PublicationsA loan finances a young person’s education. Twenty years later, that child is working, contributing to the economy and paying off their loan. As they repay, the capitalized value of the loan pays back their debt to the previous generation in the form of a pension.Funding social security and education are often thought of as separate issues. But the two issues should be linked, says economist Michele Boldrin, the Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. In the same way that younger generations take care of their elders as a kind of “return” on their parent’s investment, so too can the U.S. invest in the educational needs of its children and have the accumulated debt be paid off to retirees when it comes due.

The Olin Business School has appointed a new associate dean and director of the undergraduate degree program, effective Jan. 1, 2008. Jeff Cannon will take the reins from Gary Hochberg, Ph.D., who is stepping aside after overseeing the BSBA program for 25 years and helping it attain international recognition for excellence.