Food activist Gustafson to speak for Assembly Series

Food activist Ellen Gustafson, a former United Nations spokesperson for the World Food Program, will give the annual Olin Fellows Lecture as part of the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. Her talk “A New Understanding of Hunger, Obesity and the Food System.” will be held in the Law School Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall.

Emergency communication channels to be tested Sept. 19 and 20

In an effort to enhance emergency communications on campus, WU Emergency Management will have vendors on campus to install and test various emergency communications channels on Monday Sept. 19 and Tuesday, Sept. 20. While these tests are being conducted, the Danforth Campus community may hear or see a message come across the outdoor warning sirens, on Danforth cable TV channels and on public address systems in the Danforth University Center, Athletic Complex and Olin Library.

WUSTL faculty, staff to be surveyed on work environment

WUSTL faculty and staff will receive an email linking to a brief, anonymous survey about the work environment at WUSTL. The survey is part of an initiative on multiple identities supported by the Office of the Provost and the Diversity and Inclusion Grants Program.

Opportunity on verge of new discovery

The Mars rover Opportunity, which was designed to operate for three months and to rove less than a mile, has now journeyed more than seven years crossing more than 21 miles. Today, it is poised at the edge of a heavily eroded impact basin, the possible location of clay minerals formed in low-acid wet conditions on the red planet.

College of Arts & Sciences, graduate school offices move to Cupples II along with undergraduate research office

Arts & Sciences students will have to look in a new place this year to find their advisers and other administrative services. The College of Arts & Sciences moved its offices over the summer to the first floor of Cupples II Hall, which has been renovated over the past year. In addition, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the Office of Undergraduate Research have new homes in Cupples II.

Department of Neurological Surgery celebrates 100 years

Neurosurgery
The Department of Neurological Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine celebrates its 100th anniversary this month. Over the past century, it has become internationally known for its groundbreaking basic and clinical research, dedication to patient care and outstanding training of residents. The department’s origins can be traced to the 1911 arrival at the School of Medicine of Ernest Sachs, MD, who became the world’s first professor of neurological surgery in 1919.

Tread the Med walking program kicks off Sept. 28

Lace up your walking shoes – Tread the Med, Washington University School of Medicine’s walking program, launches Sept. 28 in Hudlin Park. “We are launching this program because we want to help our employees get healthier and to encourage a healthy habit like walking,” says Gregg Evans, human resources consultant.

Saving 20,000 lives

Members of the Washington University community, including Lauren Yang, a second-year medical student, turned out Sept. 13 to give blood at the university-wide blood drive. In the past four years, the WUSTL community has donated enough blood to save nearly 20,000 lives, says Stephanie N. Kurtzman, director of the Community Service Office and associate director of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service.

Study looks at why second ACL surgeries often fail

Sports medicine specialists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, including Rick Wright, MD, and Corey Gill, MD, are leading a national study analyzing why a second surgery to reconstruct a tear in the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) carries a high risk of bad outcomes. Between 1 percent to 8 percent of ACL repairs fail. Most patients then opt to have a second operation, but the failure rate for those subsequent surgeries is almost 14 percent.