Page 231 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

MetroLink station redesign wins architectural award

The Central West End MetroLink station redesign project received an Excellence in Architecture award from the 2022 American Institute of Architects Central States Excellence in Design Program. The School of Medicine’s Operations & Facilities Management Project Team helped lead the renovation.

Engineering

Quantum tunneling to boost memory consolidation in AI

A team of researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering has developed an energy-efficient way to consolidate long-term memories on a tiny chip. Shantanu Chakrabartty and members of his lab developed a device that mimics the dynamics of the brain’s synapses.

Awards & Notables

University named Fulbright Top Producing Institution

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has named Washington University in St. Louis a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students. Last year, 15 recent Washington University alumni earned Fulbright awards to travel abroad to conduct research or to teach English.

Campus & Facilities

Leadership institute for employees established

Washington University has created the Institute for Leadership Excellence, which will provide professional development opportunities for staff members across the university. Selection for two cohorts will begin in April.

Medicine

Computer model IDs roles of individual genes in early embryonic development

Software developed at Washington University School of Medicine can predict what happens to complex gene networks when individual genes are disrupted in specific ways.

Neuroscience & Memory

Disrupted flow of brain fluid may underlie neurodevelopmental disorders

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have discovered that the fluid around the brain flows to areas critical for normal brain development and function, suggesting that disruptions to its circulation may play an underrecognized role in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Medicine

Needlemans commit $15 million to boost drug discovery

A $15 million commitment from Washington University benefactors Philip and Sima Needleman will enable the university to leverage its expertise in biomedical discovery to boost drug development via the Needleman Program for Innovation and Commercialization.

Awards & Notables

Lipeles receives lifetime achievement award

Maxine Lipeles, a professor emerita of law and former director of the School of Law’s Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, will receive the Lifetime Achievement and Career Award at the 2023 Albert P. and Blanche Y. Greensfelder Forum on Feb. 11.

Engineering

New diagnostic test is 1,000 times more sensitive than conventional tests

Thinking beyond COVID-19, a team led by Srikanth Singamaneni at the McKelvey School of Engineering developed a new point-of-care diagnostic test that is 1,000 times more sensitive than conventional rapid tests and can quantify concentrations of proteins.

Engineering

Powering unmanned underwater vehicles

With a three-year $630,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research, researchers in the laboratory of Vijay Ramani at the McKelvey School of Engineering will develop, scale and test highly efficient unitized regenerative fuel cells to be used by the U.S. Navy.