Sam Stanley resolution

The complete text of the Faculty Senate Council resolution recognizing Samuel L. Stanley’s contribution to WUSTL.

New master of engineering in computer science and engineering offered

The School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a highly personalized one-year master of engineering in computer science and engineering designed to provide students computing skills and a competitive edge to meet the demands of modern industry. The program is specially tailored for individuals who plan to change careers and enter the computer science and engineering (CSE) profession, for international students seeking to establish U.S. credentials in computing, and for current CSE professionals who wish to advance their skills and education.

Motion analysis helps soccer players get their kicks

A video-based motion analysis study has uncovered significant differences in how males and females go about kicking a soccer ball — differences that may help explain why women are more susceptible to a common knee injury, suggests a sports medicine researcher at Washington University.

First direct evidence of substantial fish consumption by early modern humans in China

Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an essential part of the year-round diet for early humans. A new study by an international team of researchers, including Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., the Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences, shows it may have happened in China as far back as 40,000 years ago.

Dorn named Needleman Professor

DornGerald W. Dorn II has been named the Philip and Sima K. Needleman Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine. The professorship was established to support a faculty member holding a key leadership position within the BioMed 21 initiative, a multidisciplinary imperative to rapidly convert research findings into effective, individualized treatments.

Exterior is nearly complete on the BJC Institute of Health

The 11-story, 700,000 square-foot BJC Institute of Health at Washington UniversityThe exterior of the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University is almost a wrap. The building is enclosed in 24,000 square-feet of insulated metal panels, 20,800 square-feet of brick, 99,000 square-feet of limestone panels and 75,000 square-feet of glass. The focus now continues inward as crews prepare the building for a December 2009 opening.

Obama’s Russian meeting may have opened a new chapter in U.S./Russian relations

President Barack Obama met this week with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitri Medvedev. While the two sides did not see eye-to-eye on all topics, they did mutually agree to dispose of 34 tons each of weapons-grade plutonium, an initiative started in the 1990s and never completed. It’s a step in the right direction, says an expert on Russian identity at Washington University in St. Louis.

Michalski named vice chair of radiation oncology

MichalskiJeff M. Michalski, professor of radiation oncology, has been named vice chair and director of clinical programs of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the School of Medicine. He will oversee clinical operations at all treatment facilities, clinical and translational research, and all training and education.

Technology connects people’s thoughts to machines

*St. Louis Post-Dispatch* imageIt sounds like something from a science fiction movie: Sensors are surgically inserted in the brain to understand what you’re thinking. Machines that can speak, move or process information — based on the fleeting thoughts in a person’s imagination. But it’s not completely fictional. Researchers at Washington University have developed ways of tying humans and computers together.