Newsroom Stories

Commencement week begins with a variety of celebrations and ceremonies designed to warmly send Washington University in St. Louis’ Class of 2011 out into the world. First up: The Chancellor’s Dinner to Honor Graduating Seniors at 6 p.m. Monday, May 16. More than 1,200 are expected at America’s Center ballroom as Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and the WUSTL community celebrates the accomplishments of the class and acknowledges its positive impact.

Applications are being accepted for new internal grant award program that provides seed funding for new interdisciplinary collaborative research projects.

Ron Cytron, PhD, professor and associate chair of computer science and engineering, was named an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) fellow. The ACM fellowship recognizes the contributions of leaders in the computing field. … Anthony Fehr, a doctoral student in the Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, received the $250 David M. Kipnis Award in […]

Federal investment in biomedical research is a major driver of jobs and economic activity. Two new reports highlight the ripple effects of this investment. One report, by the nonprofit coalition United for Medical Research, concludes that in 2010 alone, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) directly and indirectly supported nearly 500,000 jobs and produced nearly […]

Greece’s credit rating was reduced two levels to BB- by Standard & Poor’s this week, which said further reductions are possible as the risk of the country’s default increases. How can a nation facing its most severe economic crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1974 climb out of this deep recession? Reform may require a substantial weakening of labor unions in Greece, says an economist at Washington University in St. Louis who has studied the Greek economy.

Architecture is a global profession. Just ask Aaron Plewke, who will receive his master’s degree May 20 from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. In recent months, Plewke, a Danforth Scholar in the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, and his fiance, fellow graduate student Meredith Klein, have designed and managed construction of WUSTL’s new East Asian Study Center in Shanghai — all from their studios in Givens Hall.

Akhila Narla, a junior in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was among 135 students from across the country named a Newman Civic Fellow for 2011 by Campus Compact. The Newman Civic Fellows Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country and the world.

Washington University has awarded five Bear Cub Fund grants totaling $240,000 to support innovative research that has shown commercial potential.

The inaugural Lavender Recognition Ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, in College Hall in the South 40 House. Co-hosted by LGBT Student Involvement and Leadership and the Social Justice Center, the ceremony honors the achievements and contributions of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer students and their allies.

New data offer hints to why Parkinson’s disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, says Karen O’Malley, PhD, a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.