Arts & Sciences

A team of seismologists analyzing the data from 671 earthquakes that occurred between 30 and 280 miles beneath the Earth’s surface in the Pacific Plate as it descended into the Tonga Trench were surprised to find a zone of intense earthquake activity in the downgoing slab. The pattern of the activity along the slab provided strong evidence that the earthquakes are sparked by the release of water at depth.

Research on eyewitness testimony has shown that false details put forth during an interrogation can lead some people to develop vivid memories of events that never happened. While this “false memory” phenomenon is alive and well, new research suggests that a bit of misinformation also has potential to improve our memories of past events — at least under certain circumstances.

Casey O’Callaghan, professor of philosophy and of philosophy-neuroscience-psychology in Arts & Sciences, has won a prestigious Fellowship for University Teachers from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Do big-brained creatures steal energy for them from other organs or eat more to supply this expensive tissue? New work in large-brained fish suggests skimping elsewhere is not enough to meet the energy demands of an extreme brain.

Arts & Sciences students Yihan Li, a junior majoring in biochemistry and in music, and a piano player, and Ryan Wahidi, a sophomore majoring in physics and a double bass player, won the Department of Music’s “Friends of Music Concerto Competition” in November.

A song is just a song, but as time goes by, something as random as a song’s length could be the difference in whether you miss an important deadline or arrive late for an appointment, suggests time-management research from Washington University in St. Louis.

A Washington University physicist practiced at finding tiny diamonds in stardust from the pre-solar universe has repeatedly failed to find them in Younger Dryas sedimentary layers, effectively discrediting the hypothesis that an exploding comet caused the sudden climate reversal at the end of the last Ice Age.

Rich O’Donnell, director of the Electronic Music Lab in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Jess Dugan, an exhibition preparator for the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, are among 10 recipients of the Regional Arts Commission’s 2016 Artist Fellowships. Also receiving a 2016 award is clay artist Ruth Reese, a 2002 alumna of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

A new program, organized by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences and local nonprofit Maturity and Its Muse, brings together student vocalists and local memory care patients.

The Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences again held a photo contest, seeking works related to students’ anthropology studies or research. The department recently announced the winners.