Campus & Community

This month, Barbara Schaal, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, assumes the presidency of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. In a Q&A, she talks about science and how its nature and practice have changed during her career.

Two Washington University in St. Louis faculty members are included in a National Geographic Channel Explorer episode scheduled to air Sunday, Feb. 14. The one-hour documentary, called “Explorer: Eyes Wide Open” will be broadcast on cable providers nationwide at 8 p.m. ET.

In the United States, there are more than 32,000 deaths per year from gun violence. More than 60 percent of those are from suicides. These issues and more will be discussed during “Guns, Suicide and Safety: A Community Forum,” at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, in Hillman Hall’s Clark-Fox Forum.

Washington University will invite its entire community to gather to explore issues of diversity and inclusion Feb. 24-25 on the Medical and Danforth campuses. The event picks up a conversation that began last February inspired in large part by events that transpired in Ferguson and the larger St. Louis region in 2014.

Members of Synapse, Washington University’s neuroscience club, are helping local high school students prepare for the annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee, Saturday, Feb. 13, at McDonnell Hall. “The Brain Bee is a competition but it’s not about being competitive. It’s about getting more people excited about this fast-growing field,” says junior Smruti Rath.

Images captured in and around the Washington University campuses.

Dingli Shen, professor of international relations at Fudan University and vice dean of Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, will present the Cabot Corporation-Xinsheng Zhang Lecture on “Cybersecurity in U.S.-China Relations,” Monday, Feb. 8, in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall.

An upcoming broadcast of NOVA called “Memory Hackers,” airs Wednesday, Feb. 10, and will explore the cutting edge frontiers of human memory. Washington University in St. Louis scientists are featured in the show.

Civic Scholar Kierstan Carter wanted to change St. Louis by connecting high school students with community leaders. But when that idea flopped, Carter moved on to Plan B: changing herself.

Washington University in St. Louis and the United Way of Greater St. Louis have formed a joint partnership that aims to provide support and resources to local initiatives that are uniting in their efforts to combat gun violence in the region.