Putnam to speak on how religion divides and unites us

Robert D. Putnam, PhD, the Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, will present a lecture on his latest work, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Graham Chapel. He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.

What I did on my summer vacation

Amal Al-Lozi, senior environmental biology major in Arts & Sciences, presents her work on temperate Oak-Hickory forests to Kelsey Brod, a junior in printmaking and environmental studies, at the Fall 2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium Oct. 22. The event, showcasing the summer projects of more than 150 undergraduates, was held during Parent & Family Weekend.

Health open enrollment Nov. 1-30

The annual health open enrollment period for the health/dental or dental-only plans, the health- and child-care flex spending plans, the Health Savings Account and the Retirement Medical Savings Account will be from Nov. 1-30. Enrollments and changes to these plans made during the open enrollment period and before the Nov. 30 deadline will be effective Jan. 1, 2012. During open enrollment, employees will be able to make changes and enroll through HRMS.

Founders Day gala honors faculty, alumni Nov. 5

On the heels of the St. Louis Cardinals’ appearance in the World Series, one of baseball’s greatest fans will give the keynote address to the annual Founder’s Day celebration at Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to the Pulitizer Prize-winning historian’s remarks, Founders Day 2011 will feature the presentation of the Distinguished Faculty Awards, the Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Robert S. Brookings Awards.

Washington People: Andrey Shaw

Andrey Shaw, MD, wanted to be a classical pianist and had just finished his bachelor’s degree in music when he realized that he didn’t like getting up on stage and performing in front of a crowd. Plan B was to study medicine. That didn’t quite work out exactly as planned, either, but it eventually lead him to a successful career researching the immune system, the kidney and anything else that catches his scientific interest.

Plants feel the force

Elizabeth Haswell, plant biologist, holding tray of thale cress
At the bottom of plants’ ability to sense touch, gravity or the proximity of a nearby trellis are mechanosensitive channels, pores through the cells’ plasma membrane that are opened and closed by the deformation of the membrane. Elizabeth Haswell, PhD, a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying the roles these channels play in Arabidopsis plants by growing mutant plants that lack one or more of the 10 possible channel proteins in this species.

McLeod memorial service (VIDEO)

Video of the service celebrating the life of James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences who died Sept. 6, is available online.

Outlook magazine now digitally archived

From its humble beginning as a mimeographed, five-page news-sheet to today’s four-color, 36-page, high-quality glossy magazine and multimedia online presence, Outlook magazine has long been the featured source of information about the people and events of Washington University School of Medicine. Now complete issues of Outlook, from 1964-2011, are available in PDF format.