Arts & Sciences

Ten students are among representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Poland for COP24, the U.N. conference on climate change. This year’s meeting will focus on how to achieve climate goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

John E. McCarthy, chair and professor of mathematics and statistics at Washington University, was elected as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. The society recognized McCarthy for his contributions to operator theory and functions of several complex variables.

A self-professed science geek, Anand Chukka arrived at Washington University eager to prepare for a career in medicine. As a December degree candidate, he has accomplished just that. He majored in biochemistry in Arts & Sciences; conducted medical research in labs in St. Louis, Boston and San Francisco; and serves as co-president of GlobeMed. But he also majored in American culture studies, a decision that reaffirmed his passion for medicine and positions him to be a better doctor.

Autophagy has a remarkable influence on a plant’s metabolism even under healthy growing conditions, according to new research led by Richard Vierstra in Arts & Sciences.

Washington University in St. Louis experts from all corners of academia long have been studying climate change in the context of their own fields. Here is a sampling of their perspectives on the National Climate Assessment released Nov. 23.

Even the youngest students are ready to learn about climate science, according to Michael Wysession, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences and executive director of the Teaching Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

Drastic climate changes shaped the timeline for rich deposits of early human ancestor fossils found in a network of South African caves known as the “Cradle of Humankind,” suggests a new study co-authored by paleoanthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis.

The Department of Political Science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis ranks second in the nation in a new study of faculty research productivity published by the American Political Science Association.

The Performing Arts Department will present “Shadows,” a new work by celebrated choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess, as part of “PastForward,” the 2018 Washington University Dance Theatre concert, beginning Nov. 30. In all, the concert will feature more than 20 dancers performing seven works by faculty and visiting choreographers.

Eleven faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis are among 416 new fellows selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society.