Danforth Campus fall planning town halls this week

The university’s Fall Planning Committee invites the Danforth Campus community to attend a series of town hall webinars this week to learn more about the university’s planning process for the fall semester and to ask questions and share feedback.

Gemmell awarded NSF-sponsored industry internship

Erin Gemmell
Erin Gemmell, a PhD candidate working with Timothy Wencewicz, associate professor in chemistry in Arts & Sciences, was awarded a National Science Foundation-sponsored industry internship for summer 2020.

Learning Lodge provides free virtual tutoring

The school year has ended, but Learning Lodge, a free online tutoring service founded by Washington University in St. Louis students, continues to help local elementary and middle school students practice math, social studies, even the bassoon.

Electrically charged dust storms drive Martian chlorine cycle

New research from Washington University in St. Louis planetary scientists shows that Martian dust storms, like the one that eventually shut down the Opportunity rover, drive the cycle of chlorine from surface to atmosphere and may shed light on the potential for finding life on Mars.

It’s time for change

Washington University Medical Campus employees show support for the Black Lives Matter protesters.
Three esteemed Arts & Sciences faculty members discuss the social movement against police brutality taking place across the nation and the world, and its implications for teaching, research and higher education.

What Do We Teach Our Students About Law and Justice?

We surely don’t have all of the answers but we have settled on some lessons. We will teach our students to press forward, because there is no real alternative. We will teach them to challenge unjust laws because, as Frederick Douglass said, “power concedes nothing without demand.” We will inspire them to harness their outrage and energy into new and better policies.

Braver receives NIH grant to study cognitive effort and aging

Todd Braver, professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, received a $432,938 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support a project titled “Healthy Aging and the Cost of Cognitive Effort.”

Soaring into history

Alumnus Bob Behnken launched May 30, 2020 on NASA’s SpaceX Crew Dragon test flight mission, Demo-2, to the International Space Station. (Photos: Courtesy of NASA)
On May 30, 2020, WashU alumnus Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts in NASA’s history to launch from a commercially built and operated spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon. For the Demo-2 mission, the two are testing the spacecraft’s transportation system for future missions.