Brain Power​

Washington University alumnus Mark Wronkiewicz (BS ’12) developed BrainCopter, one of the first brain-controlled applications for the iPad, while studying biomedical engineering at the university. His mentor, the School of Medicine’s Eric Leuthardt, MD, tries the application, which challenges players to use their thoughts to manipulate a flying brain icon past obstacles.

Engineers in training

High school students competed at the annual Boeing Engineering Challenge at the WU Field House May 3. About 100 area high school students from six school districts on 25 teams visited the WUSTL campus to take part in the Boeing Challenge. The teams competed to determine which glider had the farthest flight, straightest path, longest hang time or highest quality of flight. Pictured are Eureka High School students who built a glider.

Local health departments find Twitter effective in spreading diabetes information

Twitter is proving to be an effective tool for local health departments in disseminating health information — especially in promoting specific health behaviors. The latest study, led by Jenine K. Harris, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, focused on diabetes, a disease that may affect an estimated one-third of U.S. adults by 2050. “We focused on diabetes first, both because of increasing diabetes rates,” Harris says, “and also because people living with diabetes tend to use online health-related resources at a fairly high rate and are an audience already online and on social media.”

Celebrate Art Museum Day May 18

Has a painting or drawing ever stopped you in your tracks? Have you ever circled a sculpture, collating angles and comparing views? Have you ever been challenged, or simply amused, by an installation or performance? If so, you’re not alone. On May 18, the Kemper Art Museum and more than 100 other institutions across North America will celebrate Art Museum Day.

Washington University Day at Circus Flora

The Washington University in St. Louis Alumni Association is hosting “Washington University Day at Circus Flora” at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 8. Join WUSTL faculty, staff, alumni, family and friends as Circus Flora presents “A Trip to the Moon” in the big-top tent in Grand Center (in a parking lot adjacent to Powell Hall).

With the right mortgage, home ownership builds wealth

The Great Recession, characterized by devastating mortgage defaults, has challenged the conventional wisdom that home ownership is a good investment, particularly for those with low and moderate incomes. But the conventional wisdom on the benefits of owning vs. renting still holds when done right, according to a newly published study led by the Brown School’s Center for Social Development and Michal Grinstein-Weiss, PhD. Homeowners with low and moderate incomes who participated in this study conducted between 2005-08 achieved higher net worth than their counterparts who rent. This research provides new and important evidence for the current policy debate on low-income homeownership programs,” Grinstein-Weiss says.