Newsroom Stories

Last January two amateur meteorite hunters dropped by Randy Korotev’s office at Washington University in St. Louis to show him their latest purchase, a 17-kilogram pallasite meteorite found in 2006 near Conception Junction (population 202) in northwest Missouri.Korotev, an expert in lunar meteorites, identified the stone as a piece of an asteroid. His lab also analyzed crystals within the rock to help identify its body of origin, eventually referring the meteorite hunters to UCLA for analysis of the metal in which the crystals are embedded.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin delivered the keynote address at this year’s Founders Day gala Nov. 5. She was onstage during the awards presentation and joined in the robust applause for WUSTL professor and alumnus Jessie Ternberg, MD (left), a pioneer in medical research and first female professor of surgery in pediatrics, who received a Distinguished Alumni Award.

In commemoration of Veterans Day Nov. 11, students in a Lifelong Learning Institute class on World War II honored their fellow classmates who are World War II veterans. Six World War II veterans are enrolled — the greatest number in a single session. In a recent class, each veteran was recognized individually and a military medley of service songs was played. The institute, part of University College in Arts & Sciences, offers classes to those age 55 or older. 

Crowd funding, in which a group of investors pools money to fund a project or startup business — often online through social media and sites such as Kickstarter.com — has gained attention recently as a possible source for stimulating economic growth. But an expert on entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis says crowd funding may not be all its cracked up to be.

Washington University’s Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, has been ranked 4th in the nation, according to DesignIntelligence, which publishes an annual guide to America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools. The 13th annual report polled leaders from 277 architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design and interior design firms about which programs have, over the last five years, best prepared students for professional practice.

With Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the way out of power, Italian debt has risen to record levels with few solutions in sight. An economist at Washington University in St. Louis who was born and raised in Italy warns that the Italian troubles may foreshadow what’s at stake for the United States as well, no matter how much more reliable its public debt may appear today.

Two engineering faculty have been chosen for I-CARES career development awards: John Fortner, PhD, and Brent Williams, PhD, both assistant professors in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. I-CARES, the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability, was established in 2007 to encourage interdisciplinary research on problems in the fields of energy, environment and sustainability.

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has appointed two new deans, according to Richard J. Smith, PhD, dean of the graduate school and the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology. Rafia Zafar, PhD, has been named associate dean for diversity and inclusiveness, and Jacaranda van Rheenen, PhD, is assistant dean for graduate student affairs.

Yinjie Tang, PhD, the Francis Ahmann Career Development Assistant Professor in energy, environmental & chemical science, has won funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue an innovative global health research project, titled “Using fecal sludge for butanol fermentation.”

“A ‘Science of Religions,’ So-Called”: The 19th-century Promises and Perils of a New Human Science” is the focus of the Nov. 14 Witherspoon Memorial Lecture in Religion and Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Leigh Eric Schmidt, PhD, the Edward Mallinckrodt University Professor, will deliver the lecture at 4 p.m. in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.