Newsroom Stories

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.

Photo courtesy R. K. Henning and D1 Oils; www.jatropha.orgJatropha plantsDuring a practicum for the World Agricultural Forum, Washington University M.B.A. students realized that using ethanol as an alternative fuel in developing countries isn’t cost effective. Instead, they stumbled upon the jatropha plant, a hardy shrub with seeds that can easily produce oil to power basic generators. The students’ work demonstrated the potential for economic stability that jatropha could offer small villages. More…

Aristo, the Washington University robot, uses sensor networks to avoid simulated “fire” – red cups – while navigating near “safe” areas,which are blue cups.Agent 007 is a mighty versatile fellow, but he would have to take backseat to agents being trained at Washington University in St. Louis. Computer scientist engineers here are using wireless sensor networks that employ software agents that so far have been able to navigate a robot safely through a simulated fire and spot a simulated fire by seeking out heat. Once the agent locates the fire, it clones itself – try that, James Bond — creating a ring of software around the fire. A “fireman” can then communicate with this multifaceted agent through a personal digital assistant (PDA) and learn where the fire is and how intense it is. Should the fire expand, the agents clone again and maintain the ring – an entirely different “ring of fire.” More…

Photo courtesy Muzeul Olteniei / Erik TrinkausThe early modern human cranium from the Pestera Muierii, Romania.A re-examination of ancient human bones from Romania reveals more evidence that humans and Neandertals interbred. Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., the Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues radiocarbon dated and analyzed the shapes of human bones from Romania’s Pestera Muierii (Cave of the Old Woman). The fossils, which were discovered in 1952, add to the small number of early modern human remains from Europe known to be more than 28,000 years old. More…

The Washington University Symphony Orchestra will present “OrganFest,” a concert showcasing the university’s recently refurbished Graham Chapel organ, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. Dan Presgrave, instrumental music coordinator in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, conducts the 70-plus-member orchestra. Featured soloist are William Partridge, Jr., university organist; and Barbara Raedeke, instructor in organ.

Photo by Chris MitchellAbove is a selection of letters football coach Larry Kindbom has collected for his student-athletes since 1998 and self-published in his “Playbook of Champions.”Instead of getting his team fired up with movies or fire and brimstone, Larry Kindbom, football coach at Washington University in St. Louis, solicits motivational letters from successful people in all walks of life. He has received responses from people such as former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, Vice President Al Gore, Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher, sportscaster Bob Costas and a host of other notables. This year, Kindbom’s taken the responses and self-published a book, “Playbook of Champions,” for his student-athletes. More…

Expectant parents eagerly await the arrival of their bundle of joy, hoping that they will have the most beautiful and intelligent baby in the world. While parents might not have direct control over brains and looks, new research from a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis finds that parents can influence their firstborn’s creativity. More…