Campus & Community

Ralph S. Quatrano, an internationally renowned plant scientist, former dean of the Washington University in St. Louis School of Engineering & Applied Science and former chair of the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences, died Feb. 24, 2026, in St. Louis. He was 84.

The Office of Human Resources is launching an enhanced service model to provide more streamlined and timely support to WashU employees and leaders. The new structure takes effect March 2.

Four WashU researchers have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors: Rajan Chakrabarty, Vijay Ramani, Christina Stallings and Zhude Tu.

The 16th annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee drew 54 high school students from about 30 schools to WashU for a day of neuroscience challenges and panels.

The 2026-28 Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellows at WashU Medicine have been named. They are Salim Chahin, MD (left), an associate professor of neurology, and Ram K. Rohatgi, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics and of radiology.

WashU’s St. Louis Fellows Program has received a 2026 Excellence in Civic & Community Engagement Programming Award from Campus Compact, the largest and oldest higher education association dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement. 

WashU has been named to the National Academy of Inventors’ Top 100 Worldwide Universities granted U.S. utility patents in 2025. The university is ranked 49 on the list, with 70 total patents.

Washington University in St. Louis and University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy announced they have entered into an agreement whereby WashU will assume control of UHSP. UHSP’s central program, the Doctor of Pharmacy, will become WashU’s 10th academic school, to be known as WashU St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Donald Royse, a professor emeritus of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, surrounded by family at his home (which he designed) overlooking Lake Washington in Seattle. He was 93.

Denise M.S. Willers, MD, a clinician renowned for patient-centered care and academic excellence, has been named the new director of the WashU Medicine Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics & Gynecology.