Newsroom Stories

Geoscientist Rita Parai in Arts & Sciences uses noble gas isotopes to better understand the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. Her new modeling study published in PNAS shows that the deep mantle had low concentrations of volatiles like xenon and water when it formed, setting up an internal viscosity contrast with lasting impacts.

A research group led by Rohit Pappu in the McKelvey School of Engineering and Anthony Hyman at the Max Planck Institute have discovered a new, relevant level of structure in cells.

Research from the lab of Patrick Hill in psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences shows a link in older adults between social interactions and having a sense of purpose.

Washington University in St. Louis alumna and Emerita Trustee Joyce Buchheit and her husband, Chauncy Buchheit, have made an $845,000 gift to help the university attract more talented students from rural communities in Missouri and southern Illinois, announced Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

Major Angela Coonce, a 24-year veteran of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and a champion of community policing, has been appointed chief of police for the Washington University in St. Louis Police Department, announced Shantay Bolton, executive vice chancellor and chief administrative officer. Coonce’s appointment is effective Aug. 1.

St. Louis has never known what to do with the River des Peres. Now a public art installation by Sam Fox School students is exploring the river’s key role in stormwater management as well as those moments of natural beauty that have improbably survived.

Camelina, an oilseed plant grown in modern-day Ukraine, may have been a more important and widespread crop than previously thought, according to collaborators from anthropology and biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Their findings could inform breeding programs to improve this crop for biofuels applications.

New approaches to help save animals from extinction may come from experts outside of the traditional natural science disciplines. The Living Earth Collaborative invites social scientists, political scientists, engineers and other experts from the university community who would like to be involved in efforts to help with conservation projects to participate in a July 21 social event.

The principals at seven local schools are poised to achieve big goals after participating in the SLPS Principal Redesign Fellowship, a bold new partnership between St. Louis Public Schools and the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Scot R. Bemis, most recently vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer at Dartmouth College, has been named vice chancellor for human resources and institutional equity, announced Shantay Bolton, executive vice chancellor for administration and chief administrative officer.