Bellwether Foundation establishes professorship in entrepreneurship; will be named in honor of Robert Brookings Smith

HamiltonMajor gifts from The Bellwether Foundation and from Nancy Morrill Smith will create the Robert Brookings Smith Distinguished Professorship in Entrepreneurship for Washington University’s John M. Olin School of Business, it was announced by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. Barton H. Hamilton, Ph.D., professor of economics, management and entrepreneurship in the John M. Olin School of Business, will be appointed as the first holder in a ceremony planned for later this year.

Picturing our Past

Viktor Hamburger, Ph.D., a founding father in the field of developmental neurobiology, lectures to a zoology class in 1960. Hamburger joined the zoology department in 1935 and chaired it from 1941-1966 before gaining emeritus status in 1968. Hamburger (1900-2001) was one of at least 15 intellectuals who migrated from Europe to Washington University between the […]

The balancing act

There’s a telling slip of the tongue when Janet S. Rader, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of genetics, lists the things she enjoys about her job. “I love taking care of patients,” Rader says, “I love doing research, I love being a mom … ” Rader pauses for a split-second to reorient […]

Tenures, promotions announced

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure.

Exploring public spaces

In an age of globalization, local character turns up in surprising places. Take the suburbs. “It’s very easy to say that the world is being Americanized,” says Jacqueline Tatom, D.Des., assistant professor of architecture, whose comparative study of the peripheries of Lyons, France, and Boston was recently published in Suburban Form: An International Perspective. “Many […]

IMF aid to countries in crisis has negative impact on foreign direct investment

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bills itself as an organization of 184 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. While the IMF’s objectives are laudable, a study just published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution provides compelling evidence that IMF intervention actually has a substantial negative impact on at least one important indicator of a country’s long-term economic vigor – the level of foreign direct investment in that country by private investors.

Lewis and Clark data show a different Missouri River

WUSTL scientists say the present-day Missouri River is narrower and more prone to flooding because of extensive damming of the river.The oldest data available on the Missouri River – from the logs of Lewis and Clark – show that water flow on the river today is far more variable than it was 200 years ago. The data also show that the river is some 220 yards narrower at St. Charles, Mo., today at 500 yards across than in 1804 when it spread out some 720 yards.

European Union enlargement to 25 members may someday challenge U.S. as single superpower

StreeterThe European Union (EU) added 10 new member nations on May 1, enlarging the union to a total of 25 countries with a combined population of 458 million. The U.S., with a total population of 293 million is still the sole political and economic superpower of the world but may yet be challenged by the EU for that status, according to William J. Streeter, a professor of international business at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.