Newsroom Stories

In Western literature on laughter, says Anca Parvulescu, PhD, a lot of attention is paid to why people laugh. Parvulescu’s book Laughter: Notes on a Passion (MIT Press, 2010) examines what people do when they laugh. What does laughter sound like? What are the different kinds of laughs that people laugh? What social, cultural and political work does laughter do?

Thousands in the St. Louis community will benefit from the generosity of Washington University’s faculty, staff and retirees. The university has raised more than $651,000 in its United Way of Greater St. Louis campaign, surpassing its stated goal of $615,000.

Carl Craver, PhD, associate professor of philosophy in Arts & Sciences, has received a two-year, $110,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research titled “Discovering Mechanisms: Strategies from the History of Biology.” … Gerald L. Early, PhD, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in Arts & Sciences, has received a one-year, […]

NBC Television Network The Office The popular network sitcom “The Office” dropped the name of Washington University several times in last night’s show. Dunder-Mifflin employees made plans to launch a social media software named “Wuphf” and announced that Washington University was interested in buying it. Later, it was revealed that the St. Louis school wants […]

Students dance during the annual Diwali, or Festival of Lights, program Nov. 12 at Edision Theatre. Diwali is one of the most widely celebrated and largest student-run productions on campus. It is organized by Ashoka, the South Asian Student Association, and it has been a WUSTL tradition for 21 years.

Pro Bono Australia State of the world volunteerism report 11/18/2010 The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) organisation is preparing the first ever report on the State of the World’s Volunteerism. Produced by the United Nations with the assistance of consultants and academics from around the world, the report is set to launch on International Volunteer Day […]

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis will present three experimental features exploring relationships between film and visual art as part of its Contemporary Brazilian Film Festival. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Rivane Neuenschwander: A Day Like Any Other, the festival will feature screenings of Aboio on Dec. 7, Andarilho (Drifter) on Dec. 8 and Terras (Lands) on Dec. 9.

On Nov. 18, Paul C. Paris, PhD, professor emeritus of mechanics in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris West, one of many awards to cap his career in fracture mechanics.

Koong-Nah Chung, PhD, has been named associate dean and director of the Office of Medical Student Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The Washington University Symphony Orchestra will perform music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Joseph Haydn and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, in the university’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.