Arts & Sciences

Menstruation is considered taboo in Ethiopia, and girls often miss school or drop out because of their periods. Freweini Mebrahtu designed a solution — and, with support from St. Louis-based charity Dignity Period, founded by a Washington University faculty member, it has benefited nearly 800,000 girls and women. Mebrahtu was recently named CNN’s “Hero of the Year.”

Barbara G. Pickard, professor emerita of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Dec. 6, 2019, in St. Louis from complications related to hip surgery. She was 83.

Bhupal Dev, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, proposes a new way to leverage data from ultra-high energy neutrinos from large neutrino telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) has named Thomas Rodebaugh, professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, an APS Fellow.

Presolar grains — tiny bits of solid interstellar material formed before the sun was born — are sometimes found in primitive meteorites. But a noble gas analysis from physicists in Arts & Sciences reveals evidence of presolar grains in part of a meteorite where they are not expected to be found.

Singer. Writer. Performer. Visual artist. Over the course of her 45-year career, Patti Smith has established herself as one of the most prolific and influential artists of her generation. In fall 2020, Smith will receive the International Humanities Prize from Washington University in St. Louis.

Richard A. “Red” Watson, professor emeritus of philosophy in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Sept. 18, 2019, in Wellesley, Mass. He was 88. 

Wouter Kool in Arts & Sciences was named a “Rising Star” by the Association for Psychological Science, an honor given to outstanding psychological scientists in the early stages of their postdoctoral research careers.

In the debut of The Record’s new series, “I Made This,” senior J.T. Bridges shares the story behind his song “Discord,” which he recorded at the Harvey Media Center with the help of student group High Note Music Industry Collective. Like contemporary stars Daniel Caesar and Khalid, Bridges specializes in chill R&B with earnest lyrics and acoustic rhythms. 

At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 6, several faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure, with most becoming effective Jan. 1.