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Photo by David KilperMechanical and aerospace engineering seniors Topher McFarland (left) and Rahul Bhinge (kneeling) demonstrate their creation, a computer artist nicknamed “Action Jackson” designed to paint in the style of Jackson Pollock at the Dec. 8 Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design Fair in Whitaker Hall.

Ramesh Agarwal, Ph.D., the William Palm Professor of Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has received a three-year, $219,232 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Projects in Complex Fluids and Their Applications.” Agarwal also received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ 2006 Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award, which honors outstanding achievement in mechanical engineering by someone 20 years following graduation. In addition, Agarwal has been named a fellow of the World Innovation Foundation. … David A. Peters, Ph.D., chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering, and graduate students Antonio Hsieh (SEAS) and Almudena Torrero (Saint Louis University) received the Best Paper on Aerodynamics Award at the 62nd Annual Forum of the American Helicopter Society International, held last May in Phoenix. … Karen O’Malley, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology, received the Service Award from the Washington University Academic Women’s Network (AWN). Jack Ladenson, Ph.D., the Oree M. Carroll and Lillian B. Ladenson Professor of Clinical Chemistry in Pathology and Immunology and professor of clinical chemistry in medicine, received the AWN Mentor Award. Angela Reiersen, a post-doctoral research scholar in the Department of Psychiatry, and Jennifer Boland, who graduated from the School of Medicine in May, were each awarded the AWN Student Leadership Award. The awards recognize the individual’s support and leadership in service to or advancement of women in the community. … Eric T. Choi, M.D., assistant professor of surgery and of radiology, was named the 2006 Wylie Scholar in Academic Vascular Surgery by the Pacific Vascular Research Foundation. He receives a $150,000, three-year grant to continue his independent scientific investigations into arteriovenous access complications in patients undergoing hemodialysis due to kidney failure.

The No. 24 men’s basketball team improved to 10-1 overall with two victories last week.

Jan. 1-17 Jan. 3 4:32 p.m. — The WUSTL accounting department reports that six fraudulent Washington University checks were cashed at various Wal-Mart stores during the Christmas break. User information recorded on the checks was falsified. Jan. 5 2:06 p.m. — The victim, a visiting actor from New York, had approximately $50 taken from his jacket, which had been hanging in the men’s dressing room in the performing arts area. The dressing room is not secured, but is only accessible by the spiral staircase into the backstage area of the theater Jan. 16 12:13 p.m. — A student lost a package in Wohl Student Center between 5 p.m. Jan. 11 and 10 a.m. Jan 12. 3:45 p.m. — A stolen student ID card was used to purchase food items between between 3-10 p.m. Jan. 14. Total loss is estimated at $50. University Police also responded to one report each of parking violation, auto accident, judicial violation, false fire alarm, leaving the scene of an accident and larceny.

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers (SBSSW) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work will host “Financial Freedom Seminar: Achieving Economic Independence Through Education,” Jan. 20 from 8:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. in Brown Hall. This free event is designed for members of the St. Louis community interested in building wealth, maintaining good credit, purchasing a home or starting a business. The deadline to register for this event is Jan. 15. “SBSSW’s goal is to present the King Holiday, not as a tradition or a history lesson, but as a call to action- to fight for economic and social justice,” says Charletra Hurt, SBSSW co-chair and first-year student at the School of Social Work.

Several events will be held on campus to mark the University’s 20th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

David Murray demonstrates defibrillation techniques to a group of students in the Clinical Simulation Center.The Institute of Medicine estimates that medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, and poor communication can be a major source of those errors. Now the Clinical Simulation Center at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital hopes to improve patient safety by using clinical simulators to find the source of miscommunications during medical treatments.

The surge of baby boomers now entering their 60s means more drivers on the road who may be impaired by dementia or other cognitive impairments linked to aging. Researchers at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at the School of Medicine and elsewhere have developed a three-hour workshop that trains health care providers to identify potentially unsafe drivers with dementia and to encourage appropriate retirement from driving.

The schematic in the center shows how a drug molecule (in the circle) prevents UTIs by stopping pili formation.A different approach to treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) could defeat the bacteria that cause the infections without directly killing them, a strategy that could help slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections. Instead of trying to wipe out bacteria, researchers at the School of Medicine have been working to create pharmaceuticals that essentially “defang” the bacteria by preventing them from assembling pili, microscopic hairs that enable the bacteria to invade host cells and defend themselves against the host’s immune system.

Right now there’s no rapid way to diagnose sepsis, a fast-moving blood infection that is a leading cause of death in hospital intensive care units. Doctors who suspect sepsis typically rush to prescribe powerful antibiotics, but this can lead to the inappropriate treatment of patients with uncontrollable inflammation without an underlying infection. New research at the School of Medicine suggests that doctors one day could quickly distinguish sepsis from widespread non-infectious inflammation based on genetic profiles of patients’ blood.