Newsroom Stories

Andrew Yoo, Robert Gereau and Michael Bruchas have been awarded grants from the National Institues of Health Common Fund to pursue visionary research that has the potential to transform science and improve human health.

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.

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.

Andrew and Barbara Taylor and the Crawford Taylor Foundation, the charity of the entire Jack C. Taylor family, have committed $20 million to the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine to advance the science underlying the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. The gift creates the new Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research.

Olin Business School MBA student Michael McLaughlin made a triumphant return to campus Oct. 2 after hiking back-to-back the Appalachian and Ozark Trails, a journey of more than 2,500 miles.

The No. 1 volleyball team improved its record to 21-1 with five wins last week. The Bears earned a three-set win at Webster University Wednesday, before sweeping Knox College, Central College, Monmouth College (Ill.), and Westminster College (Mo.) on Friday and Saturday at the Bears Classic.

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.