Page 191 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Missouri native is flowering earlier due to climate change

Biologist Matthew Austin in Arts & Sciences published a study in the American Journal of Botany that describes changes to the flowering time and other important life cycle events in Leavenworthia species, a group of small flowering plants found in glades in Missouri.

Engineering

AI could transform baseball

A deep neural network model proposed by a faculty member at the McKelvey School of Engineering has been shown to boost the effectiveness of average and below average major league pitchers.

Cancer Research

McKay receives NIH support to test cancer treatment tool for children

Virginia McKay, a research assistant professor at the Brown School, is leading a $3.5 million project to test whether an effort to improve cancer treatment for children in Latin America is sustainable over the long term.

Academics

Forging new paths

Commencement is a day to celebrate achievements and collaborations among students, faculty and researchers across disciplines — ones that will lead to a greater amplifications of the impact of our work. (Photo: Whitney Curtis/Washington University)

Through ‘Here and Next,’ WashU commits to creating a future of faculty research and student learning rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration and excellence.

Campus & Community

A day like no other

The Class of 1973 enters Francis Olympic Field on May 15. For Barbara Lewis (right), the day had an extra special component.

For the Class of 1973, the 162nd Commencement was a day filled with emotion, especially for a mother and son who were both clad in WashU’s iconic green academic regalia: William with the Class of 2023; Barbara with the 50th Reunion Class of 1973.

History & Education

An 80-year odyssey of repatriation and repair

This book from the Brisman Collection in University Libraries bears a stamp from the Library of the Jewish Religious Community in Prague. The book was was returned to Prague in 2022.

Jewish books stolen by Nazis during World War II are returned to Prague — by way of Washington University Libraries.

Science & Technology

The AI battlefield

In his new book, alumnus Paul Scharre discusses what’s at stake for global security and human freedom, as well as how the U.S. can maintain a leadership position amidst game-changing technology.

Campus & Community

The owner’s box

Members of the Cotogna Sports Group, including Fitzann Reid (center) and fellow owners Richard de Meo (left) and Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon on the court of the Italian basketball team Pallacanestro Trieste.

For lawyer, investment group co-founder and sports fan Fitzann Reid, JD ’12, owning an Italian basketball team is the first step to writing her own rules as an international sports executive.

St. Louis Region

Empowering teachers

Andrew Eason is an innovative fifth-grade teacher at Ashland Elementary, a Saint Louis Public School that’s part of the Community Partnership Network. Participating in the Transformational Leadership Initiative through WashU’s Institute for School Partnership, the school has seen marked improvements in students meeting math and science standards. (Photo: Whitney Curtis/Washington University)

WashU’s Institute for School Partnership is working with two underperforming elementary schools in St. Louis to develop creative teacher-leaders, and the results show marked improvement in student performance.

Biology

Wonder, enchantment and the epic of evolution

As a biology faculty member, Professor Emerita Ursula Goodenough invited non-science majors to understand and reflect on the history of life on Earth. The second edition of her book, The Sacred Depths of Nature: How Life Has Emerged and Evolved, brings the wondrous saga to a new audience.