Newsroom Stories

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.

Before his Assembly Series talk, Adam Steltzner, a NASA engineer in charge of the Mars Curiosity rover landing, met with WUSTL students and discussed their entry for NASA’s Robotic Mining Competition.

Growing up in the segregated South, Associate University Librarian Virginia Toliver was banned from her local library. But her school library opened her up to a world beyond Mississippi. She donates to WUSTL to build a stronger Olin Library.

The goal of the campus PB&Joy food drive is to help feed 135,000 hungry children. Campus Kitchen, which boasts 275 WUSTL student volunteers and serves 2,250 meals annually, is one of many organizations that depends on Operation Food Search.

Severely restricting dietary phosphate early in the course of chronic kidney disease can prevent related heart and vascular problems, a new study in rats indicates. Phosphate, an essential mineral, is found in colas, milk, cheese and other dairy products, beans and high-protein foods, and often is added as a preservative in processed foods.

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.