Newsroom Stories

Before delivering the keynote address at Washington University in St. Louis’ Founders Day celebration Nov. 8, prolific author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman visited with students on the Danforth Campus. Friedman, the popular columnist for The New York Times known for his sophisticated analysis of complex issues facing the world, engaged students in a lively discussion.

Washington University in St. Louis has been awarded a grant from the Amgen Foundation that will provide hands-on laboratory experience to undergraduate students through the Amgen Scholars Program. This marks the fifth year that Washington University is participating in the program.

​Ten finalists in the 2014 Olin Cup Competition​ are offering novel solutions to real-world challenges and will vie for $70,000 in seed money to start a new company. The Olin Cup is sponsored by the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis.

Though the rhetoric in Washington, D.C., may seem to favor a push on progress, broad-based individual tax reform is not possible in the short term, though other opportunities for reform may still exist, says an expert on federal income tax and tax law at Washington University in St. Louis. Adam Rosenzweig, JD, discusses the possibility of tax reform in the lame-duck session.

Making friends is often extremely difficult for people with social anxiety disorder and to make matters worse, people with this disorder tend to assume that the friendships they do have are not of the highest quality. The problem with this perception, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis, is that their friends don’t necessarily see it that way.

Knight Hall and Bauer Hall are the latest buildings at Washington University in St. Louis to earn LEED Gold certification for their green design and construction. Home to Olin Business School, Knight and Bauer halls feature locally sourced and recycled materials, high-tech glass and an innovative layout that fosters collaboration.

Cats and humans have shared the same households for at least 9,000 years, but we still know very little about how our feline friends became domesticated. An analysis of the cat genome by School of Medicine researchers reveals some surprising clues. Pictured is a blue Abyssinian cat.

While political and judicial rhetoric around unions has softened in recent years, images of the past still haunt labor, argue two Washington University in St. Louis researchers. In “Re-Assembling Labor,” published online Nov. 5 in Social Science Research Network, the authors seek to draw the lessons of assembly into contemporary labor law — to re-assemble labor law around the theory and doctrine of assembly that formed its early core.

With Republicans gaining control of Congress after the midterm elections, Speaker of the House John Boehner insists that President Barack Obama could get “burned” if he uses executive action to move forward on immigration reform during the remainder of his presidency. Obama is well within his rights to proceed with the temporary measures he is considering, says an immigration law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Allyson R. Zazulia, MD, is the new associate dean for continuing medical education (CME) at the School of Medicine. In her new role, Zazulia will oversee and administer learning opportunities for practicing physicians. This includes maintaining accreditation and developing new CME programs.