Newsroom Stories

The Department of Mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has announced the results of two competitions, the national William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition and the Missouri Collegiate Math Competition. The WUSTL team placed 19th out of  442 teams from 546 colleges and universities in the Putnam, and two teams finished first and third in the state contest.

What does it take for a family in the U.S. to have long-term economic security and not just “get by”? This question inspired the creation of the Basic Economic Security Tables Index (BEST), a joint effort of Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The BEST is different from other ‘living wage’ indexes in that it aims to capture what is needed for household stability and development rather than focusing on subsistence. Findings suggest that families’ largest economic security challenges are rent and utilities, transportation, and childcare. The report calls the high cost of quality childcare “the greatest threat to many families’ security.” Childcare is so expensive that income needs for a one-parent family with two preschoolers are equivalent to those of a one-parent family with five teenagers.

For his dissertation Brad Oberle delved into the post-Pleistocene history of two rare species of shootingstars (Dodecatheon), thinking that their response to post-glacial warming might provide clues to the response of plants to global warming. He found that one rare species was a glacial relict that had gradually retreated to a refuge habitat near limestone cliffs. The second rare species was not a species at all but instead an ecotype, or variant, of a widespread species that had adapted to the cooler cliff habitat. The glacial relict is the species most at risk as the climate warms.

WUSTL physics professors will explore “Nobel Laureates Whom We Have Known: Scientists and Citizens” during the 2011 Saturday Science seminar series. The 2011 Saturday Science seminar series — sponsored by the Department of Physics and University College, both in Arts & Sciences — begins Saturday, April 16. The lectures are free and tailored for the general public.

Stuart Bunderson, PhD, of the Olin Business School gives a presentation of his scholarly work during his installation as the first George and Carol Bauer Professor of Organizational Ethics and Governance March 31 in the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center.

Dancers, drummers and dignitaries participate in the Grand Entry at the 21st annual Pow Wow at the WUSTL Field House April 9. This year’s Pow Wow, a festival of American Indian cultures, brought together some of the largest numbers of dancers and drummers in the event’s history. In addition to dancing, singing and drumming, visitors were able to enjoy a number of traditional arts and crafts and community information booths.

With the theme “Celebrate the Magic of Community,” the 2011 Thurtene Carnival will transform Washington University’s North Brookings parking lot into a vista of thrilling rides and dramatic facades. The carnival will be from 4-8 p.m. Friday, April 15, and from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17.

Sports updates for the week of April 11, 2011.

This year, for the first time, all Washington University campuses will join forces for the PB&Joy Food Drive. The food roundup, which begins Wednesday, April 13, and runs through Sunday, April 24, aims to feed area children — enough to fill Busch Stadium three times — who are at risk of hunger this summer when there’s no school or free lunch and breakfast.

Students dance on a new LED dance floor at the dance party Vertigo April 2. The floor was built by WUSTL engineering students and has over 1,000,000,000 colors and 32,000 lumens of LED lights. The wireless computer-controlled modular dance floor includes interactive animations based on music synchronization and pressure sensors.