Newsroom Stories

Washington University’s 150th Commencement was a day to celebrate, honor and remember for these School of Medicine degree candidates waiting to proceed into the ceremony the morning of May 20 in Brookings Quadrangle.

Read the full text of Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Elie Wiesel’s speech at Washington University in St. Louis’ 150th Commencement May 20, 2011.

Many Danforth Campus students, faculty and staff are gone for the summer, but WUSTL Dining Services is keeping notable locations open to serve those remaining on campus.

Planning one of the best-attended senior weeks doesn’t appear, at first glance, to be a major initiative to bridge cultural and racial divides, but to organizer and Senior Class President Alex Kiles, it is. Kiles, who will deliver the student speech at the 150th Commencement May 20, says that one of his missions since a pivotal experience in high school is to help people find common ground.

The Guggenheim Foundation has selected Pascal Boyer, PhD, from among 3,000 nominees to be one of its fellows for 2011. Boyer, the Henry Luce Professor of Collective and Individual Memory and professor of sociocultural anthropology and of psychology, all in Arts & Sciences, was one of only 180 scholars selected for the highly esteemed honor.

Two new studies showcase the dynamic relationship between components of the diet and the intestinal microbiome. The research provides a foundation for improving human health by designing diets and foods that enhance microbes’ ability to capture specific food ingredients or that enrich the presence of beneficial microbes.

Washington University’s 150th Commencement begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 20, in Brookings Quadrangle, directly west of Brookings Hall. The university will award 2,843 degrees to 2,719 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on five individuals, including the Commencement speaker, Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.   

Bolstering its emphasis on interdisciplinary efforts, Washington University will offer five new courses rooted in a partnership between two or more schools. In tandem with the growing trend of cross-collaboration in research and the professional arena, the Office of the Provost created its Cross-School Interdisciplinary Teaching Grants Program in 2010. The first of those grants was announced last month.

The Friedman Conference on Aging will be held from 8:30-11 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in the Connor Auditorium in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center. It is sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging. No registration is required.

For years, the field of optical imaging in biological tissue had languished, with few advances and no significant growth. The concept was promising — using light to image organs, cells, and blood vessels, noninvasively and without any radiation — but it seemed impossible to obtain high-resolution images at any significant depth. Then came Lihong V. […]