Arts & Sciences

Physicists studying the brain at Washington University in St. Louis have shown how measuring signals from a single neuron may be as good as capturing information from many neurons at once using big, expensive arrays of electrodes. The new work continues the discussion about how the brain seems to function in a “critical” state. The research was reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

New research by biologists in Arts & Sciences reveals the molecular machinery behind the high-intensity sweetness of the stevia plant. The results could be used to engineer new non-caloric products without the aftertaste that many associate with the sweetener marketed as Stevia.

Washington University professors Fiona Marshall, Gary Stormo and Yoram Rudy will receive 2019 awards for faculty achievement, innovation and entrepreneurship, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin has announced.

Three Washington University in St. Louis students have received the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which honors students who conduct research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

Since Dylan Slaughter laced up his first pair of ice skates at age 3, he has wished for two miracles: he would join the NHL and his beloved St. Louis Blues would play for the Stanley Cup. This season, both dreams came true.

On May 22, the Washington University Prison Education Project (PEP) conducted its first Commencement at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific, Missouri. Joe Angeles, director of Washington University Photo Services, documented the day.

Musicologist Todd Decker, of Arts & Sciences and author of “Hymns for the Fallen: Combat Movie Music and Sound After Vietnam” (2017), examines how films such as “Platoon,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Hurt Locker” shape how audiences view soldiers, veterans and the experience of war.

Caitlyn Collins, assistant professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences, is one of 10 junior faculty nationwide selected as a 2019 Nancy Weiss Malkiel Scholar by The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Michael Fogarty, who graduated in May with a dual degree in political science and in economics, both in Arts & Sciences, has received the university’s Grossman-Alexander Prize.

In his message to fellow graduates at Commencement, comic book fan and Senior Class President Joey Vettiankal shared the many parallels between the Marvel universe and Washington University. Vettiankal earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Arts & Sciences.