Newsroom Stories

Six WUSTL freshmen had the opportunity to enjoy lunch Sept. 19 at the Whittemore House with Alan Lightman (back row, right), author of the 2007 Freshman Reading Program book, “Einstein’s Dreams.”

A team of researchers, including Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has determined through analysis of early hominin fossils in eastern Europe that the first human ancestors to inhabit Eurasia were more primitive than previously thought.

Zarqa Nawaz knows something about crossing cultures. Born in England to Pakistani immigrants, raised in Toronto and now living in Saskatchewan, the Muslim writer, producer and filmmaker will give the annual Olin Fellows lecture at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in Graham Chapel. The talk is free and open to the public. A panel discussion featuring Nawaz as well as other panelists will continue the discussion from 2-4 p.m. in the Women’s Building Lounge.

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Photo by Irene LindgrenEgon Schwarz, Ph.D. (left), the Rosa May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and professor emeritus of German in Arts & Sciences, is presented the Austrian Great Cross of Merit by Eva Nowotny, Austrian ambassador to the United States, in a ceremony Sept. 17 at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The stock market might be nervous due to the subprime loan mess, but Stuart Greenbaum, Ph.D., former dean and Bank of America Professor Emeritus of Managerial Leadership for the Olin Business School, is bullish on the situation. Despite the circumstances, this is not a time to panic, says Greenbaum.

Photo by Robert BostonMary Klingensmith, is part mentor, part den mother, part disciplinarian

To help curb the expanding waist lines of her constituents, south Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry has proposed a two-year moratorium on new fast food restaurants in her district. If enacted in Los Angeles, or any other American city for that matter, would the plan work? Don’t count on it, says Connie Diekman, R.D., director of University nutrition and president of the American Dietetic Association.

The Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values is sponsoring and essay contest “Are Rules Made to be Broken?” Students are invited to submit essays about the issue of cheating in sports.

Judy Pfaff, *Neither Here Nor There,* 2003.Judy Pfaff is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation, known for crafting large-scale installations that combine local materials with elements of painting, sculpture and architecture. In October Pfaff — a 1971 graduate of Washington University — will return to St. Louis to discuss her work for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ fall Visiting Artist Lecture Series.