Arts & Sciences

We tend to assume that domestication is a one-way street and that, once domesticated, crop plants stay domesticated. A new study of rice shows, however, that different methods of farming change the evolutionary pressures on crop plants, and the plants easily “de-domesticate,” evolving to take advantage of these opportunities.

Geologist Phil Skemer, of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is assembling a database of three-dimensional models of crystal structures, rock outcrops and landforms that will allow students to study geology in three dimensions.

Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recognized outstanding alumni and supporters of the school during its 20th annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, held March 23 at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis.

Adrienne Strong, a graduate student studying sociocultural anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has been recognized with a 2017 Peter K. New Student Research Competition award from the Society for Applied Anthropology.

The Association of Latin American Students presents Carnaval March 31 and April 1 in Edison Theatre. Carnaval co-chair Anabel Medrano said this year’s performance showcases Latino dances and addresses America’s ongoing immigration debate.

Clarissa Rile Hayward, associate professor of political science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected for the 2017-18 Fellows-in-Residence program at the Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

Donald Stahl, a master’s degree student in University College in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died March 22 at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond Heights, Mo., after suffering a heart attack on campus. He was 73.

In her Hotchner-winning drama “Son of Soil,” which debuts March 30, senior Andie Berry examines the ways tragedy and grief echo across generations.

Timothy A. Wencewicz, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected as a Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

The St. Louis Walk of Fame will posthumously induct Nobel Prize-winning neurobiologist Rita Levi-Montalcini at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 6, on the Delmar Loop. Levi-Montalcini conducted much of her research at Washington University in St. Louis and is recognized for breakthroughs in the study of cell growth and development. She died at the age of 103 in her native Italy.