Why customer-facing companies have happier workers

It’s possible the Keebler Elves aren’t as happy at work as they seem. Or SpongeBob SquarePants’ dour fast-food colleague Squidward might be a little cheerier than he lets on. New research from Olin Business School shows that people working in customer-facing companies, such as retailers (or cartoon burger joints), tend to be happier at work, while workers for companies further removed — manufacturing, for example (or treehouse cookie factories) — tend to be less happy.

Healing the deep wounds of violence

With the creation and launch this summer of the St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (STL-HVIP), a citywide network of hospital-based intervention and ongoing support, the St. Louis medical community is taking a significant step to help patients heal from acts of violence.

Anastasio to chair NIH biomedical imaging technology group

Anastasio photo
Mark Anastasio has been appointed chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Imaging Technology B Study Section (BMIT-B) for a two-year term beginning July 1. He is professor of biomedical engineering and of electrical and systems engineering at the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

FedEx shipping discounts available on campus

Washington University in St. Louis staff and students are eligible for FedEx shipping discounts for personal use at the three campus FedEx Office locations. You must show a valid university ID to use the discount.

Van Engen organizes ‘Religion and Politics in Early America’ conference

Abram C. Van Engen, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences, organized a national conference on “Religion and Politics in Early America.” Sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, the conference took place March 1-4 in St. Louis. 

A new view on electron interactions in graphene

There’s a new way to look at how electrons interact with each other in graphene, an intriguing material comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms. Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Erik Henriksen, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, are exploring the quantum electronic properties of graphene using infrared light.

Great Artists Series presents Susan Graham March 25

Opera star Susan Graham, dubbed “America’s favorite mezzo” by Gramophone magazine, will perform “Frauenliebe und-leben: Variations,” a solo recital pairing Robert Schumann’s beloved song cycle with related works by Edvard Grieg, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and others.