Newsroom Stories

Some of Austin Schorfheide’s happiest memories are working the family farm in Hoyleton, Ill. — bailing hay, milking the cows, planting corn and soybeans. So while Schorfheide knew he did not want to be a farmer himself, he does want to make life better for farming communities.

In a wide-ranging practice that encompasses sculpture, video, performance and installation, Sophia Hatzikos explores the complex relationships between natural and constructed systems and between scientific and artistic research practices.

Several distinguished speakers, faculty members and student leaders will take part in Commencement recognition ceremonies for Class of 2024 graduates and their families and guests May 10-13 at Washington University in St. Louis.

The inaugural STL DataFest later this month will feature presentations and discussions on a range of data applications, including data science’s impact in particular fields and larger questions of data ethics, privacy and security. Register to attend by May 6.

Amy Kweskin, executive vice chancellor for finance and chief financial officer at Washington University in St. Louis, will retire from the university at the end of the calendar year, after 27 years of service, announced Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

Sana D. Karam, MD, PhD, a renowned radiation oncologist widely known for cutting-edge cancer research that combines radiation therapy and immunotherapy to treat head and neck, and pancreatic tumors, has been named the James S. McDonnell Professor of Radiation Oncology and head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the School of Medicine.

Last summer, 18 WashU students traveled to London for an intensive three-week program at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Here, Claire Sommers, a lecturer in Arts & Sciences, describes the program’s aims and what it means to explore the places that shaped the Bard.

Abhinav Diwan, MD, a highly regarded cardiologist with expertise in the molecular underpinnings of cardiovascular disease, has been named the inaugural Charlie W. Shaeffer, MD, Professor of Cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Carbon emissions associated with air travel to professional conferences make up a sizable fraction of the emissions produced by researchers in academia. Andrea Gokus, a McDonnell Center postdoctoral fellow in Arts & Sciences, is advocating for astronomers and others to reduce those emissions.

Anca Parvulescu, the Liselotte Dieckmann Professor in Comparative Literature and a professor of English, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will serve as principal investigator for a $1.2 million grant exploring the history of comparatism and the origins of the comparative method.