Newsroom Stories

Tired and hungry and far from home, cast adrift by angry powers, the hero escapes monsters, navigates hostile lands and struggles to reunite with beloved family. In “Anonymous,” Naomi Iizuka pays sly homage to “The Odyssey” of Homer, reimagining a foundational work of Western literature through the lens of contemporary immigration.

Several “blockbuster” cases — including freedom of speech, religious freedoms in prison, pregnancy discrimination and a possible decision on gay marriage — are on the docket for the Supreme Court, which begins its new session this month. But don’t expect any decisions until next June. New research led by the School of Law finds big cases are disproportionately decided just before the court’s summer recess.

​Presented by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award was established last year in the belief that the power of technology can solve real world problems by giving highly motivated entrepreneurs the tools to foster innovation. ​The first recipient will be selected from a field of six outstanding finalists at an Oct. 6 reception.​​

Neuroscientist Carl Hart, PhD, will deliver “Demystifying the Science of Drug Addiction: Neuroscience, Self-discovery, Race and U.S. Drug Policy” at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 10, in Anheuser-Busch Hall Moot Courtroom for the Assembly Series. The talk is the annual Chancellor’s Fellows Lecture.

Friends and fans of celebrated author William H. Gass, PhD, the David L. May Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, gathered Sept. 28 in Umrath Lounge to mark his 90th birthday with a special reading from his collected works. The reading, “Passages of Time,” was sponsored by University Libraries.

Older parents, birth defects, maternal nutrition and childhood exposure to CT scans and pesticides are increasingly being associated with brain tumors in children, according to new research led by Kimberly Johnson, PhD, assistant professor of social work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Teens who received free contraception and were educated about the pros and cons of various birth control methods were dramatically less likely to get pregnant, give birth or get an abortion compared with other sexually active teens, according to a new study.

The anti-violence initiative “My Name is Strong” will present its second annual exhibition Friday, Oct. 3, at the Yeyo Arts Collective. The all-media, un-juried show features works by artists who have experienced gender-based violence and by their allies, including friends, family and loved ones.

The differences between public good and individual choice will be highlighted at the seventh annual conference of the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. Ellen Wright Clayton, JD, MD, an internationally respected leader in law and genetics, will give the keynote address.

Poetry scholar Marjorie Perloff will receive the 2014 International Humanities Medal from Washington University in St. Louis. Granted biennially, the $25,000 award is largest prize from an American institution to cover the broad spectrum of the humanities.