Arts & Sciences

After months of failed negotiations that have left many Americans, businesses and the economy in the lurch, lawmakers are scrambling to reach a deal on an economic stimulus plan that could top $900 billion. If Congress passes the deal, will it do enough to help struggling Americans and businesses stay afloat? To answer that question, three business and economics experts at Washington University in St. Louis shared their thoughts on the proposed plan, what lawmakers got right, what is missing and what ticking time bombs remain.

Walter H. Lewis, professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died peacefully at his home in St. Louis on Nov. 17, 2020. He was 90.

December graduate Dani Wilder is helping local students through the WashU Tutoring Initiative, a network of 130 K-12 student tutors who lead online lessons in math, science, languages and more for both typical learners and those with learning or physical disabilities. The program supports 440 families in the St. Louis region. 

Ribosomes are the machines in the cell that use instructions from mRNA to synthesize functional proteins. When something goes awry, cells monitor for ribosome collisions to determine the severity of the problem, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis biologists in Arts & Sciences.

The Chinese space agency announced Dec. 16 the return of a lunar probe bringing back the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 40 years. Bradley L. Jolliff, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, reflects on the scientific value of the samples.

Bill McKinnon, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, is one of 62 geoscientists who have been elected to the American Geophysical Union’s 2020 class of fellows.

“Aperture,” the 2020 Washington University Dance Theatre concert, will begin streaming via the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. Typically presented in Edison Theatre, the annual event has been reimagined for this year as a “Dance for the Camera” film festival.

Dust-related electrochemistry can reshape Martian surface materials with physical and chemical changes observable after only hundreds of years. Similar electrical effects may be instrumental on Venus and Europa, according to new work from Alian Wang in Arts & Sciences.

Garrett Duncan, associate professor of education and of African and African American studies, both in Arts & Sciences, died Dec. 8, 2020, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 59.

LFR International, a nonprofit founded by Zach Eisner, a senior studying biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Peter Delaney, a 2018 alumnus, received the prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its work in sub-Saharan Africa.