Wrighton comments on Obama’s 2013 budget proposal

Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton issued a statement Feb. 13 following the release of President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for 2013 in which Wrighton noted the importance of our nation’s continued investment in scientific research.

Day of reflection; evening of song

Hundreds braved an arctic chill the evening of Feb. 10 to experience the warmth generated by Parker Palmer, best-selling author and educator, who teamed up with singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer inside Graham Chapel to deliver a unique message of delivering democracy with an open heart. The event was the opening of the spring 2011 Assembly Series.

Music of Schubert, Schumann and Liszt Feb. 21

Three musicians from the St. Louis Symphony will join baritone Keith Boyer, a master’s candidate in vocal performance, and pianist Amanda Kirkpatrick, teacher of applied music in Arts & Sciences, for a free performance Feb. 21. Sponsored by the Department of Music and the symphony’s Community Partnership Program, the concert will feature music of Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.

The Water Coolers at Edison Feb. 25

Do you understand what the IT guy is talking about? Really? Neither do The Water Coolers. Like a Seinfeld episode set to music, or a Dilbert cartoon sprung to life, this New York-based sketch comedy troupe both celebrates and eviscerates modern corporate culture in all its fast-talking, slow-moving absurdity.

Washington People: Patricia Olynyk

Scaphocephalus. The word refers to a condition in which the shape of the skull is markedly long and narrow. At the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, the word is tattooed onto a 19th-century exemplar, neat cursive script fading into aged bone. Over the past several years, Patricia Olynyk, director of the Graduate School of Art, has both detailed and interrogated the Mutter exhibits through a series of large lightbox photographs.

Talk examines North Korea after Kim Jong II

Former Korean ambassador to the United States Han Sung-Joo, PhD, will be speaking on campus Friday, Feb. 17. His lecture, “North Korea After Kim Jong II,” is set for 4:30 p.m. in May Auditorium, Simon Hall. A reception will follow. The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is hosting the talk, as part of the S.T. Lee lecture series.

Experimental science and the pope

A three-day international conference is devoted to the lifework and 18-year papacy of “The Enlightenment Pope.” Pope Benedict XIV believed in the alliance between faith and the “new science,” even urging church parishioners to donate bodies of the deceased for medical dissection. The April 30-May 2 conference is sponsored by Washington University, Saint Louis University and the Missouri History Museum.

Teaching graduate and postdoctoral students to be successful teachers

Washington University in St. Louis has joined a national experiment to develop a new generation of college science and engineering faculty, one equipped to excel in the classroom as well as the lab. Founded in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), the mission of the CIRTL network of 25 research universities  is to prepare science graduate students to be as bold and creative in the classroom as they are in their programs of research.

Don’t ignore kids’ snores

Snoring is common in children, but in some cases it can be a symptom of a serious health concern called pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA occurs in one out of five children who snore and can begin at any age, according to Allison Ogden, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology.

Teaching the art of business etiquette

Some of WUSTL students’ most common questions regarding the business dinner will be answered during the Etiquette Dinner Program Tuesday, Feb. 21. Held each semester, the program offers students a three-course meal and an opportunity to receive professional advice about dining and business protocol. RSVPs are being accepted now.