Newsroom Stories

Photo by Kevin LowderPerformers dance the zapateado, a Mexican dance with Spanish roots, accompanied by mariachi music at Carnaval 2007 March 2-3 at Edison Theatre.

Gerald N. Izenberg, Ph.D., professor of history and co-director of the Literature and History program, both in Arts & Sciences, will examine the complex notions of identity in a series of programs beginning with the Assembly Series lecture at 11 a.m. March 21 in Graham Chapel.

Political developments affecting American business and new challenges and directions in political risk analysis will be the focus of a public forum from 8 a.m.-noon March 23 in the May Auditorium of Simon Hall.

Linda Van Dillen, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy, has received a four-year, $1,438,316 grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research for research titled “Classification-directed Treatment of Low Back Pain.” … Michael R. DeBaun, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and of neurology; Michael S. Diamond, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, of pathology and immunology and of microbiology; and Russell Van Gelder, M.D., Ph.D. associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and of molecular biology and pharmacology, each received a five-year, $750,000 Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The awards are intended to support established, independent physician-scientists who are dedicated to translational research and mentoring physician-scientist trainees. … Yixin Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received the Early Career Principal Investigator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. Chen will use his three-year, $298,421 award to develop numerical computation software that can solve large-scale computational problems, such as those arising from ultra-high-speed networks and genetic regulatory networks. … Chenyang Lu, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a three-year, $359,426 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “NeTS-NOSS: Unified and Configurable Power Management for Wireless Sensor Networks.” … Joy Weese Moll, reference and Web services librarian, recently presented her workshop “Social Software in Libraries” at four locations: the Lewis and Clark Library System Headquarters in Edwardsville, Ill.; Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville; the Southern Illinois Learning Resources Cooperative Retreat at Rend Lake, Ill.; and the Kirkwood (Mo.) Public Library.

David Murray, M.D., pediatric anesthesiologist and director of the Clinical Simulation Center, has been named the Loeb Professor at the School of Medicine.

The basketball teams still need to play their way in, but a team of physicians already knows they’ll be on hand for the NCAA basketball tournament’s regional championship next weekend in St. Louis. The sports medicine specialists in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the School of Medicine will coordinate care at the NCAA Division I Men’s Midwest Regional March 23-25 at the Edward Jones Dome.

An American Indian Pow Wow, a presentation on American Indian mascots in sports, and a traditional food tasting are among the highlights of the University’s American Indian Awareness Week April 9-14. The annual awareness week and Pow Wow allow the University’s American Indian students to share their unique cultures with the rest of the campus and the St. Louis community. All events are free and open to the public.

Eric Woolsey*Highness* by Carolyn KrasEngland’s Queen Elizabeth I is among the most mythologized figures in history. But who was Elizabeth before she rose to power? What transformed this precocious yet lonely girl into a leader of steel? Find out in Carolyn Kras’ historical drama Highness, winner of the 2006 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Competition, which receives its world premiere this month.

Tim RussertTim Russert, the managing editor and moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” and political analyst for “NBC Nightly News” and the “Today” show, has been selected to give the 2007 Commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The title of Russert’s speech is “A View From Washington.” The university’s 146th Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m. May 18 in Brookings Quadrangle, on the Danforth Campus.

A team of investigators at the School of Medicine and other centers around the United States is evaluating dietary supplements to determine if they can prevent some of the damage from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 65.