Newsroom Stories

This native plant meadow, just northeast of the Athletic Complex, was in full bloom on a recent sunny day. The meadow is one of eight native planting sites and bioswales at the university managed by the Office of Facilities Planning and Management. Grounds manager Kent Theiling said native plant areas are hearty, more sustainable and reduce the time and money spent mowing grass.

Incoming veterans enrolled in the MBA program at Olin Business School met recently to get to know one another and to meet other military alumni of the program. Olin is a full partner in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which allows eligible students to attend school tuition-free.

Kevin Hays is considered one of the globe’s best Rubik’s Cube solvers, but he’s not the only Rubik’s Cube master on the Washington University in St. Louis campus. Provost Holden Thorp also won Rubik’s Cube competitions as a teenager.

Through a special partnership between the city of St. Louis and Washington University, four winning demonstration projects are testing innovative, sustainable solutions — including sunflower plantings, a compact restaurant, a chess park and a modern agricultural model — to solve the problem of vacant land in the city. Click to watch a video of the Sunflower+ Project, led by Don Koster, senior lecturer in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Widespread social problems are nothing new, yet solutions today require a different, more innovative approach. A new book, Transdisciplinary Public Health: Research, Education, and Practice (edited by Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, the Joyce Wood Professor at the Brown School and associate dean for research, and Timothy McBride, PhD, professor) aims to fill that void by laying out a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving.​

Nineteen students took part in the Summer Associates Program, which offered WUSTL students on-campus internships and built on theory and skills learned in the classroom. The program also offered professional development seminars on subjects such as networking, interviewing and résumé building. The pilot program may be expanded next year.

The Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis is taking a leadership role in a new association that brings together schools and programs of public health. The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), launched Aug. 1, represents schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The organization is the successor to the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Frozen sperm taken by biopsy from testicles in men with no sperm in their semen is as effective as fresh sperm taken by biopsy in helping couples conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a School of Medicine study. Pictured is a section of human testicular tissue and sperm cells viewed through a microscope.

The American public looks to the federal government to successfully respond to and solve our “wicked” problems. A new book co-edited by Jackson Nickerson, PhD, professor of strategy at Olin Business School, suggests government leaders must be better collaborators. The book is Tackling Wicked Government Problems: A Practical Guide for Developing Enterprise Leaders.

Burning biomass for cooking and heating, a common practice of rural people in developing countries, has been linked to an increase in cardiovascular problems.