Newsroom Stories

A fuse burns, a tire rolls free. A lit candle, mounted on wheels, ignites a small explosion. In “The Way Things Go” (1987), conceptual artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss play with the idea of chain reaction. This summer, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present the groundbreaking film in “Moving Parts: Time and Motion in Contemporary Art.”

Mario Castro, MD, has been named the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the School of Medicine. He is a noted authority on asthma and other respiratory diseases.

Heather Corcoran, chair of the design program in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has been named director of the school’s College & Graduate School of Art.

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, and Richard K. Wilson, PhD, both renowned for discoveries in the field of genomics, have been named to endowed professorships. They were installed by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton (far left), and Larry J. Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine (far right).

A mysterious stranger arrives with a mysterious commission. The fevered composer fears the work may foreshadow his own demise. Mozart’s “Requiem” in D minor is perhaps the most mythologized work by the most mythologized composer in classical music. On April 13, the WUSTL Choirs and Symphony Orchestra will perform the “Requiem” as part of the 2014 Chancellor’s Concert.

Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new—new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her idiosyncratic father. Grappling awkwardly with her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. So begins Ms. Hempel Chronicles, the acclaimed second novel by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum. On April 8 and 10, Bynum will present a pair of events for The Writing Program in Arts & Sciences.

Students will walk historic Francis Field, play games and light luminaria during overnight benefit. Relay for Life kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5, on Washington University’s Francis Field.

People who smoke also tend to eat more high-fat foods. So do obese people. Now, a team of researchers, including M. Yanina Pepino, PhD, at the School of Medicine, has found that obese women who also smoke have a difficult time perceiving fat and sweetness in their food. And that could lead them to eat even more fatty foods.

Olin Business School celebrated its 97th birthday March 28 with barbecue, arcade games and fun in the school’s newly opened Knight and Bauer halls. Pictured is Olin employee Nate Quest.

Bob Harris wanted to help people living in poverty who had an entrepreneurial streak, so he donated $20,000 of his money to individuals he found on the micro loan financing website, Kiva.org. Then he set out to meet them. Then he wrote a book about them. Harris will talk about his philanthropy and his travels for the Skandalaris Cenetr for Entrepreneurial Studies’ YouthBridge lecture on April 10.