Matisyahu’s music

The popular singer/songwriter Matisyahu (right), whose hip-hop/reggae musical style often is characterized as reflective and inspirational, performed with alumnus and friend Adam Weinberg on March 18 in Graham Chapel as part of the Assembly Series.

Dean Smith’s popular ‘last’ lecture featured at brown bag lunch

The Energy Awareness Committee will host a brown bag lunch viewing and discussion of Dean Richard Smith’s famous “last” lecture, “Population, Politics and the Environment.” In a video from his final lecture before taking on duties as dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in 2008, Smith, PhD, discusses what is in store for humans in the 21st century as human population increases and the Earth’s resources remain finite.

National champs!

After nine years, nine consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament and two setbacks in the national championship game, Washington University returned to the pinnacle of NCAA Division III women’s basketball, capturing the program’s fifth national championship with a 65-59 victory over Hope College March 20 in Bloomington, Ill.

New group to foster corporate innovation and competitiveness in St. Louis region

Imagine a 2010 remake of the movie “The Graduate”.Instead of advising the young grad to pursue a career in “plastics” today’s version would advocate, “operations”.It’s the buzzword for the 21st century and the key to running every successful business. Olin Business School faculty and a group of St. Louis business leaders dedicated to improving operations management have formed a new association to promote innovation, collaboration and performance through operational excellence. 

Giant neutron ‘microscope’ will study glass transition

Ken Kelton and the WU-BESL
A team led by physicist Ken Kelton, PhD, is building an electrostatic levitation chamber that will be installed at the Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Kelton and his colleagues are particularly eager to see what the new instrument will tell them about glass transition, “the deepest and most interesting unsolved problem in solid-state research.”

Factory Film Festival opens Tuesday, March 23

The rise of film as a commercial medium in many ways parallels the rise of industrial production. For three days beginning Tuesday, March 23, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will explore three influential depictions of factory life with the Factory Film Festival. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Sharon Lockhart: Lunch Break, the festival will include screenings of Modern Times (March 23), Norma Rae (March 24) and 24 City (March 25).

International Festival March 28 features food and entertainment

From traditional foods to lively entertainment, students at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work representing a variety of countries will offer a taste of their homelands at the 16th annual International Festival beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 28, in Edison Theatre.

Improving a business’ IQ

As an engineer, Anne Marie Knott, PhD, saw a need for research that could help firms make better research and development (R&D) decisions. Now Knott, associate professor of strategy at Olin Business School, studies how companies can improve their R&D effectiveness.