Newsroom Stories

Graduate and professional students within the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis shared their respective cultures with the general public Nov. 19 in an interactive fair at the Saint Louis Science Center. During “Planet Passport: Your Journey to Our Multicultural World,” scholars showcased the language, dress, history, government, educational systems and technology innovations of more than 15 cultures.

Jill D. Friedman has been named vice chancellor for public affairs at Washington University in St. Louis, effective Jan. 1, 2012, announced Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. Friedman, an alumna of Washington University, is a senior vice president and partner in Fleishman-Hillard’s public affairs practice at the firm’s world headquarters in St. Louis.

Should weather conditions create potentially hazardous travel conditions, Washington University will evaluate the situation and take into consideration the safety of the faculty, staff and students as well as the services that must be provided despite the severe weather. In the unlikely event that WUSTL alters the normal work and/or class schedule, an announcement will be posted on the university’s home page (wustl.edu), and a number of media outlets also will air an announcement.

At WUSTL’s Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center scientists have succeeded in making a light-harvesting antenna from scratch. The new antenna, modeled on the chlorosome found in green bacteria, is a giant assembly of pigment molecules. Chlorosomes allow green bacteria to photosynthesize even in the dim light in ocean deeps. The new technology may one day transform solar-powered devices.

Carl Phillips, professor of English in Arts & Sciences and a 2011 finalist for the National Book Award in poetry, reads from his 2011 book Double Shadow during the National Book Awards’ Finalist Reading Nov. 15. Double Shadow — published this past March — is Phillips’ 11th collection of poetry and earned Phillips a fourth nomination for the National Book Award in poetry.

Mahendra Gupta, PhD (middle), dean of Olin Business School and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management, chats with guests during the 17th annual Olin Thanksgiving Feast Nov. 24 in the Knight Executive Education Center.

The Supreme Court will hear several states’ legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, ensuring that the court — in late June 2012 — will deliver a momentous statement about the ever-contentious constitutional balance between federal and state power. “The key element of the states’ lawsuits targets the act’s requirement that everyone in the country must purchase commercial health insurance,” says constitutional law expert Gregory P. Magarian, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Nicole Aldrich will make her public debut as director of both the Washington University Concert Choir and the new Washington University Chamber Choir in a free performance at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in Graham Chapel. Titled “Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind: Music for Fall and Winter,” the program will include works by Johann Kuhnau, Giovanni Gabrieli, Gustav Holst and Johannes Brahms, among others.

Peter Wyse Jackson, PhD, was installed as the George Engelmann Professor of Botany in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis in a ceremony held in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall, Nov. 21. Wyse Jackson became president of the Missouri Botanical Garden in September 2010 and, by tradition, the president of the garden is also awarded the professorship at WUSTL

Many websites and magazine articles offer ideas about how to lose weight over the holidays, but Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, says that people need to realize that weight loss during this time generally isn’t realistic. A little advance planning can ensure that, while people may not actually lose weight, they can keep weight gain in check.