Page 309 – The Source | Washington University in St. Louis

Changes in vegetation shaped global temperatures over last 10,000 years

Alexander Thompson, a postdoctoral research associate in earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, updated simulations from an important climate model to more accurately reflect the role of a greener Sahara and the coniferous and deciduous forests of the mid-latitudes and the Arctic.

Students

Field Notes: Researching air pollution in Fairbanks, Alaska

The latest edition of Field Notes travels to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Karolina Cysneiros de Carvalho, a PhD student at the McKelvey School of Engineering, studied how cold and dark conditions impact air pollution.

Advancement

People power

ABG members Kirk Wrobley, MBA ’91; Vince Belusko, BS ’78; Susan O. Warshaw, MSW ’79; Jamie Fleischner, AB ’95; and Lisa Perlmutter, AB ’93, BSOT ’97, were on campus for fall 2021 Move-In Day. Fleischner and Perlmutter are both parents of  students in the Class of 2025 who moved into their first-year dorms that day. (Courtesy photo)

WashU’s greatest source of renewable energy is its alumni.

Medicine & Health

The next war we have to win

Gautam Dantas, professor of pathology and immunology, leads a research team of experts across multiple fields: microbial genomics, ecology, synthetic biology and systems biology. In an effort to find ways to treat bacterial diseases without relying exclusively on antimicrobials, the team is studying why resistance is so insidious and how it can be stopped. (Photo: Matt Miller/Washington University School of Medicine)

While the battle against SARS-CoV-2 rages on, Washington University researchers and clinicians are fighting a rearguard action against drug-resistant infections that years of overprescribing have turned deadly.

Academics

Early-career support program launched for Danforth faculty

The Office of the Provost recently announced the launch of a new program aimed at supporting scholarship for pre-tenure faculty impacted by COVID-19.

Campus & Community

An enterprising advocate

Alumnus David Ulevitch’s résumé is filled with personal entrepreneurial successes, yet today he finds mentoring entrepreneurs as well as college students and young alumni among his most fulfilling endeavors.

Awards & Notables

Montaño’s work named best book by Latin American studies group

Diana Montaño, assistant professor of history in Arts & Sciences, has won the Alfred B. Thomas Award for her book “Electrifying Mexico: Technology and the Transformation of a Modern City.”

Climate & Environment

Into the wild

On Ellis Island in the Mississippi River, Arpita Bose harvests microbes in the wetlands area of the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary. (Photo: Joe Angeles/Washington University)

Biologist Arpita Bose explains the importance of wetlands and the microorganisms living there to capture carbon — and to possibly provide solutions for a clean energy future

Campus & Community

The future of WashU is bright

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin presents Sarah K. England, MD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Pro-fessor of Medicine, with a Distinguished Faculty Award at the university’s 2021 Founders Day celebration. England, professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine, was among four faculty members recognized for their outstanding commitment to the intellectual and personal development of students. Photo: Joe Angeles

“After 18 months of dedicated work by a large and diverse group of contributors, we are poised to launch our strategic plan in May.”

Humanities & Society

Karibu nyumbani, welcome home

How did alumna Freid Brown end up the first woman to lead a chartered university in Kenya? According to Brown, it wasn’t by design.