Grants to spur robust startup culture in St. Louis

Jonathan T.Z Chen, a 2008 Olin Business School graduate and co-founder and chief operating officer of MedPreps LLC, gives a thumbs-up after his company won a $50,000 Arch Grant. Chen is among 11 Washington University-affiliated entrepreneurs to win one of the inaugural grants designed to boost startups.
Landslides on other worlds

Landslides on other worlds

Saturn’s ice moon Iapetus has more giant landslides than any solar system body other than Mars. Measurements of the avalanches suggest that some mechanism lowered their coefficients of friction so that they flowed rather than tumbled, traveling extraordinary distances before coming to rest. Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis, who have been studying the ice avalanches suggest a experimental test that might provide some answers.

Contemporary Night Out Aug. 2

Three local arts organizations will team up to host Contemporary Night Out, an evening of short, informative programs focusing on the world of contemporary art. The free event, which takes place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, will begin at Washington University’s Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, then proceed to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in Grand Center before ending next door at The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Each stop will feature food and drinks as well as a short interactive presentation.

Brown School’s Master of Public Health Program receives national accreditation

The Brown School’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program at Washington University in St. Louis was recently accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The accreditation provides national recognition of the quality of our program, says Edward F. Lawlor, PhD, dean of the Brown School and the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. “This unique program teaches students to address public health issues through the lens of many different disciplines.Accreditation will provide students and alumni expanded job opportunities, fellowships, and doctoral admissions.”

$125 million U.S.-India Initiative for Clean Energy drives expansion of WUSTL’s solar energy program

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis will be working on low-cost solar cells and systems that integrate solar cells with batteries as part of $125 million U.S.-India Initiative for Clean Energy announced this year. The technology is designed to help India leapfrog energy technologies, moving directly to low-emission electricity generation and bypassing as much as possible fossil-fuel electrical generation.

Scientists read monkeys’ inner thoughts

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis who were decoding the activity of populations of neurons in the motor cortex discovered that they could tell how a monkey was planning to approach a reaching task. By chance the two monkeys chosen for the study had completely different cognitive styles. One was a hyperactive type, who kept jumping the gun, and the other was a smooth operator, who waited for the entire setup to be revealed before planning his next move. The difference is clearly visible in their decoded brain activity, allowing the scientists, in effect, to read their minds.
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