Newsroom Stories

TIME magazine has named Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sherraden, the founder and director of the Brown School’s Center for Social Development (CSD), is known for his pioneering work on asset building for low-income people.

Child Development Accounts are savings accounts that begin as early as birth and allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives. “There is evidence that when there are savings and assets in the household – particularly savings in a child’s name – that children have greater educational attainment, are more likely to do well in high school, attend college and graduate from college,” says Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School. Sherraden recently was named to TIME Magazine’s TIME 100.

Three Washington University biologists are being honored this year by the American Society of Plant Biologists, two for sustained achievement in their careers, and the third for a promising beginning.

How should the United States present itself abroad? A diplomatic question, and a political one, but also a question for 18 students from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts who are living and working in Helsinki, Finland. Recently the students — part of a semester-long study-abroad studio organized by the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design — posed that question to Bruce J. Oreck, the U.S. ambassador to Finland. 

Nerve cells in the body and brain react in opposite ways to the loss of a protein linked to a childhood tumor syndrome, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. The finding could be important to efforts to preserve the vision of patients with neurofibromatosis 1, a genetic condition that increases risk of benign and malignant brain tumors.

Olin alumni and a faculty member were in the spotlight April 13 at the annual dinner and awards ceremony hosted by Olin Business school. Judi McLean Parks, PhD, the Reuben C. and Anne Carpenter Taylor Professor of Organizational Behavior, was the winner of the third annual Olin Award that reconizes research that transforms business.

Freshman students enjoy pizza and Ted Drewes frozen custard in Bowles Plaza following the Freshman Finale ceremony April 21. Sponsored by the Freshman Class Council and the First Year Center, the event, which is the first to gather freshmen from all schools together at the end of the year, included an awards ceremony, a raffle, a slideshow of memories from the year and several speakers.

Freshmen David Sufranski (left) and Hal Lewis pause to admire a camel in a petting zoo set up on the lawn near the Women’s Building April 27. Sponsored by the Campus Programming Council, the “Epic Animal Extravaganza,” as it was formally titled, was meant to provide some fun and relaxation for the student body as final exams approach.

Children with sickle cell disease who also have lower blood oxygen levels while both asleep and awake are likely to have heart abnormalities, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions have found.

Fidel Desir is the winner of the 2010 Stalker Award. The prize is named in the honor of the late Harrison D. Stalker, PhD, who was professor of biology; a leading evolutionary biologist, geneticist and inspired teacher; and a true enthusiast of the fine arts.