Newsroom Stories

Ralph J. Cicerone, PhD, president of the National Academy of Sciences, speaks about climate change at WUSTL Jan. 23, meticulously presenting the most current data on climate change. The talk, the first in a series on climate change, was sponsored by I-CARES and the Tyson Research Center, which plan to continue to enage the WUSTL community in an ongoing conversation about climate change.

False negatives and positives plague the reading of mammograms, limiting their usefulness. Cindy Grimm, a computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues have shown the accuracy of novice readers can be improved by nudging them visually to follow the scanpath of an expert radiologist. The “nudge” is a brief change in the brightness or warmth in the image in the peripheral field of view.

Marking his first day as CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), Joe Reagan will discuss “Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Creating the Future Economy” during the annual Olin Cup awards ceremony beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium on Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus.

Candace A. Ellison, financial adviser for Wells Fargo, was one of the presenters at the sixth annual “Financial Freedom Seminar: Making Your Money Work for You” Jan. 21 in Brown Hall. The seminar was hosted by the Society of Black Student Social Workers at the Brown School and brought together financial experts and St. Louis community members interested in financial issues.

The Presolar Grain Workshop that gathers scientists who study tiny bits of stars that were born and died billions of years ago — before the formation of the solar system — is returning to Washington University in St. Louis this year. Sessions begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, and continue through the weekend in Crow and Compton halls. Attendees will include 45 astrophysicists from WUSTL’s Laboratory for Space Sciences and other research institutions in the United States as well as from Australia, Brazil and Italy.

Last year’s hit Super Bowl ad, a Volkswagen spot featuring a boy dressed as Darth Vader, was unique in that it was actually released before the game. This year, nearly all ad agencies are expected to run previews of their commercials before the Feb. 5 Super Bowl on YouTube and other sites, leading a marketing expert at Washington University in St. Louis to question the wisdom of running a television ad at all.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) tend to be preoccupied with screen-based media. A new study by Paul Shattuck, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looks at how children with ASDs spend their screen time. “We found a very high rate of use of solitary screen-based media such as video games and television with a markedly lower rate of use of social interactive media, including email,” Shattuck says.

Sarah Gehlert, PhD, the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, was recently appointed senior fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). In her role, Gehlert will represent social work research to federal agencies and policy makers.

Second-year students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discuss the painting “The Last Supper” by Andrew Loza, an MD/PhD student. The painting is one of many pieces of art done by faculty, staff and students at the School of Medicine on display through Feb. 17 in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center Atrium.

A Jan. 14 winter concert showcased the musical talents of Washington University School of Medicine faculty, staff, residents and students. The event, held in the lobby of the Center for Advanced Medicine, was sponsored by the Department of Pathology and Immunology and the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Arts + Healthcare Program.