Newsroom Stories

Jennifer R. Smith, PhD, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of eight U.S. citizens selected to go abroad in 2013 as an Eisenhower USA Fellow. Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships, announced the eight fellowship winners, who were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. As part of her fellowship, Smith will spend a month in India next summer on an intensive individualized professional program.

Leading scientists have selected the first drugs to be evaluated in a worldwide clinical trial to determine whether they can prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The pioneering trial, expected to start by early 2013, initially will test three promising drugs, each designed to target Alzheimer’s in different ways.

The most vulnerable and marginalized groups in this country stand to lose the most in this campaign, says Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and all the rhetoric directed at the middle class fails to take into account the very real struggles of the poor and the working class in this country. It’s one of the issues that is being overlooked as the presidential campaign heads into the home stretch with the election just four weeks away. “I do believe this election is a stark choice between a vision in which government has a constructive role to play in enhancing people’s life choices and one in which individuals are largely on their own,” he says.

Faculty, staff and students commuting to all WUSTL campuses are encouraged to leave their sedans, SUVs and minivans in the garage and go “car-free” for the month of October as part of the university’s Car-Free Month. Car-Free Month activities include free bicycle tune-ups, a group bike ride, a Car-Free Challenge and demonstrations.

Brian K. Kobilka, MD, a former medical resident at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, is the winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

William G. Powderly, MD, will lead global health initiatives as a newly appointed deputy director of Washington University’s Institute of Public Health. He also will serve as co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at the university’s School of Medicine. ​

Over the course of 10 novels, Richard Powers has emerged as one of today’s most challenging and philosophically minded authors. On Oct. 16 and 18, Powers, the Visiting Hurst Professor of Creative Writing, will present a pair of events for The Writing Program’s fall Reading Series.

Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart will present Lindsey Steinberg, a senior majoring in chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, with a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation during a public ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Brookings Hall, Room 300. Schweickart will also share his experience orbiting the Earth as Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 9.

The Florist’s Daughter, Patricia Hampl’s most recent memoir, opens with a striking scene. As her mother lays dying, the writer sits at her bedside and begins composing an obituary on a plain yellow notepad. What follows is a loving tribute to her parents and to the startling passions that define supposedly ordinary lives.​

The Sustainable Cities Conference, including a Land Lab Competition aimed at catalyzing innovative ideas for sustainability projects on St. Louis’ vacant lots, will be held Nov. 1-3. The aim of the conference will be to explore innovative ideas and strategies that advance a sustainable urban future. Featuring thought leaders from across the country, the gathering will address many areas that contribute to urban sustainability — including buildings, urban design, landscape, food and energy.