Arts & Sciences

Shayel Patnaik, a senior majoring in history in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Friday, Sept. 22, 2017. His life will be honored at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

Arpita Bose, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was one of 10 women scientists at universities across the United States to receive a $2,500 grant from L’Oreal and the American Association for the Advancement of Science for projects focused on engaging girls and women in science.

With a PhD in neuroscience, Thi Nguyen aspired to earn a tenure-track position and run her own lab. But events both good and bad led her to a new career path. Today, she is associate dean for graduate career and professional development at the Graduate School at Washington University in St. Louis, where she helps students prepare for a job market where tenure-track jobs are few but demand for highly educated workers is high.

Michael L. Gross, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named recipient of the 2018 American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry, sponsored by the Battelle Memorial Institute.

Researchers in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis are challenging the notion that environment drives the evolution of brain size. A new study was released Sept. 25 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

This year’s winners of the Dean James E. McLeod Freshman Writing Prize have been recognized. They are are Gabriella Ruskay-Kidd and Ella-Marie West, and Luka Cai Minglu received an honorable mention. The prize awards students in Arts & Sciences who engage in research that explores an aspect of race, gender or identity.

In “Raindropped,” playwright Scott Greenberg, a senior in Arts & Sciences, explores the idea of falling from grace, both figuratively and literally. This weekend, “Raindropped” and two other student plays will receive their world premiere staged readings as part of Washington University in St. Louis’ annual A.E. Hotchner New Play Festival.

Legendary saxophonist Freddie Washington will launch Washington University in St. Louis’ fall Jazz at Holmes series Thursday, Sept. 21. The series will include 10 performances by locally and nationally known musicians, including Italian guitarist Filippo Cosentino and the university’s director of jazz performance, William Lenihan (pictured).

In “Borgia Infami,” St. Louis composer Harold Blumenfeld (1923-2014) combines historical fact and dramatic legend to investigate the nature of power and how secrets echo across the generations. On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Winter Opera Saint Louis and the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will present the world premiere of Blumenfeld’s two-act opera in Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scientists at Washington University estimate that the number of metabolites present in a data set could be 90 percent smaller than previously estimated.