Scans show learning ‘sculpts’ the brain’s connections

Spontaneous brain activity formerly thought to be “white noise” measurably changes after a person learns a new task, researchers at the School of Medicine and the University of Chieti in Italy have shown. The scientists also report that the degree of change reflects how well subjects have learned to perform the task.

Washington University Libraries adds Frank Marshall Davis Collection

Washington University Libraries’ Film & Media Archive has partnered with the University of Hawaii-West Oahu to preserve and digitize an interview with African-American poet and journalist Frank Marshall Davis. Also preserved were photographs, news clippings and poetry readings by Davis, which along with the interview make up the Frank Marshall Davis Collection, a new addition to the holdings of the Film & Media Archive.

Soprano Jennifer Jakob and pianist Maria Sumareva to present Liederabend Oct. 18

Soprano Jennifer Jakob and pianist Maria Sumareva will perform an intimate Liederabend for the Washington University Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, in Graham Chapel. Literally translated as “evening of song,” Liederabend is a German term referring to a recital given by a singer and pianist, particularly of works by 19th-century Austrian or German composers. The program will include examples by Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg and Robert Schumann.

Students gain real-world business experience through StEP program

Historically, the number of new, entrepreneurial ventures rises during periods of recession. If jobs aren’t available in the traditional market, the argument goes, why not start your own company? Thanks to a program on campus, WUSTL students are doing just that, creating, purchasing and selling on-campus businesses as undergraduate students. It’s called the Student Entrepreneurial Program (StEP) and it helps uniquely position students to get hands-on experience as entrepreneurs while they still are in school. (Video available)

Law school’s empirical research center receives grant to help update Supreme Court Database

Researchers at the School of Law’s Center for Empirical Research in the Law (CERL) will receive $191,000 to update the Supreme Court Database as part of a $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The database, originally created by Harold Spaeth, J.D., professor of political science at Michigan State University, contains information about all Supreme […]

Of note

Elizabeth Brunt, M.D., Francesc Ferrer, Ph.D., Sophia E. Hayes and more…

Retirees honored by WUSTL

Twenty-six staff members retired from WUSTL this past year, and each received a commendation from Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and a walnut plaque featuring the University seal and the number of years of his or her service.