Page 246 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

AI is no match for Cyrano

Woman looking at dating app on mobile phone screen.

Dating apps make no secret of their use of artificial intelligence to help users find their perfect match. But now some users are employing it to strike up conversations and flirt with potential matches. Olin Business School’s Liberty Vittert, a data and cybersecurity expert, explains the limits of AI and how to know when you may be chatting with a bot.

Art & Design

Kemper Art Museum awarded NEH conservation grant

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum has received a $10,000 Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Chemistry

Jackrel awarded grant to study proteins linked to ALS

Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help Meredith Jackrel, an assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, and her team study Matrin-3, a poorly understood protein linked to several neurodegenerative disorders.

Medicine

WashU Medicine reaches new heights as it climbs to No. 3 in NIH research funding

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine were awarded $569 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in federal fiscal year 2022, elevating WashU to No. 3 among U.S. medical schools in total NIH research funding support.

Popular Culture

Kashua’s novel adapted into award-winning film

Novelist, screenwriter and journalist Sayed Kashua is regarded as one of Israel’s most prominent Palestinian voices. On Feb. 12, Cinema St. Louis will present a special preview of “Let It Be Morning,” adapted from a novel by the WashU doctoral candidate.

Engineering

Foston, Kamilov win energy grant to upcycle plastic waste

Marcus Foston and his co-investigator, Ulugbek Kamilov, both faculty members at the McKelvey School of Engineering, received a $577,780 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study ways to “upcycle” plastic waste.

Science & Technology

Penczykowski wins NSF CAREER award

Rachel Penczykowski, an assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, won a prestigious National Science Foundation grant for early-career faculty who excel at mentorship and research. The award will fund a project investigating infestations of a common plant pathogen in the St. Louis area.