Newsroom Stories

Ken Yamaguchi, M.D., professor of orthopaedic surgery, was elected to the board of directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He will serve the academy as member-at-large. … Robert Pless, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a $70,845 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “CAREER: Passive Vision — What Can Be Learned by a Stationary Observer.” Contingent upon availability of funds, the grant continues the next year up to 2010 at different funding levels. … Randy Korotev, Ph.D., research associate of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $222,000 grant from NASA for research titled “Origin of Impact Glass in the Lunar Regolith.” … Ramesh Agarwal, Ph.D., William Palm Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has received a three-year, $26,965 grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for “Computation of Hypersonic Shock Wave flows of Multi-component Reactive Gas Mixtures Using the Generalized Boltzmann Equation.”

The 30th anniversary-season, which begins in January, features Ain’t Misbehavin’, Crossin’ Over, Gem of the Ocean, The Dance of Widow’s Row and Guys and Dolls.

Paul VertucioShapiro & Smith DanceAs young dancers in the mid-1980s, Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith frequently spent their evenings with Smith’s sister, the violinist Soozie Tyrell, and her best friend, a young singer-songwriter named Patty Scialfa. In the years since, Shapiro and Smith emerged as internationally renowned choreographers, praised by The New York Times for their “strong, sharp edged dancing and daring theatricality.” Meanwhile, Tyrell and Scialfa would both go on to perform as members of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. More recently, the quartet reunited to create Anytown: Stories of America, a dance theater piece based on Springsteen’s songs. In November, the show will make its St. Louis premiere at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

Four aspiring playwrights will present staged readings of their work Nov. 16 and 17 as part of Washington University’s 2006 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, the festival’s selection process actually began in January, when students from across the university submitted original plays to an adjudication committee made up of faculty and theater professionals. The committee then selected four plays — two full-length works and two shorts — to undergo an intense two-week workshop this fall, culminating in the staged readings.

In conjunction with Clifford Will’s 60th birthday, WUSTL’s Gravity Group in the Department of Physics in Arts & Sciences is hosting the 16th Midwest Relativity Meeting (MWRM-16) Nov. 17-18 as well as the CliffFest Dinner Nov. 18 and the Cliff Will Birthday Symposium on Gravitational Theory and Experiment Nov. 19. The three events are expected to bring more than 200 physicists from around the country and the world to campus.

Donald KosterNova Scotia summer cottageFaculty members, graduate students and recent alumni from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts have received a total of five 2006 Design Awards from the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The annual awards honor architects, designers and craftspersons for their contributions to excellence in the built environment. In all, 18 awards were given in five categories: Craftsmanship, Drawings, Interiors, Unbuilt and Architecture.

The fact that corporate leaders recognize their industries’ role in social responsibility is not new, but there are relatively few examples that clearly connect this failure to respond with negative changes. One of the best examples is the pharmaceutical giant Merck, which was led by P. Roy Vagelos during a pivotal era in the industry’s history. Vagelos will explore these examples in detail for his talk on “The Social Responsibility of Business” to be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 13 in Graham Chapel.

A delegation of seven University administrators attended last month’s International Graduate Scholarship Conference in Shanghai, China. Washington University, the China Scholarship Council and the “Responsive Ph.D.” consortium co-hosted the conference to address ways of providing Chinese students with the means to attend graduate schools in the United States.

Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, received the Phi Beta Kappa Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities on Oct. 28. Early, who is professor of English, of African & African American Studies and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences, received the award during the 41st Triennial Council of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which met Oct. 25-29 in Atlanta.

Photo by David Kilper