Arts & Sciences

Audrey Odom, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and of molecular microbiology in the School of Medicine, and Timothy Wencewicz, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, both of Washington University in St. Louis, are the recipients of inaugural ACS Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Awards.

Sleep has been proven to boost grades and happiness. So why do college students deprive themselves of sleep when they need it most? Washington University in St. Louis experts have researched that question and, in response, have launched a new sleep campaign.

Coloratura soprano Amy Owens will perform Richard Strauss’ notoriously difficult “Amor” Sept. 18 as part of Washington University’s annual Liederabend. Also on the program will be music of Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Antonin Dvořák and Carl Millöcker.

Leaders of the Washington University community gathered in the Athletics Complex Aug. 25 to celebrate the Class of 2020 and to offer its 1,780 members some words of wisdom.

Washington University in St. Louis senior Kenneth Sng is president of Student Union, a gifted student in mathematics and economics in Arts & Sciences and a residential advisor. But he also knows failure. He failed his driver’s test six times before passing on the seventh try. “My father always says, ‘Pick yourself up where you fall.’ That’s what I did.”

Edward Greenberg, professor emeritus of economics who taught and conducted research at Washington University in St. Louis for more than five decades, died Aug. 24, 2016, at his home in University City. He was 80.

The class of 2020 was chosen among a field of 29,200 applicants and represents the largest class in Washington University’s 163-year history. It also is the most diverse. Some 231 students — 13 percent — are Pell grant-eligible, and 123 are the first in their families to attend college.

Adrienne Strong, a doctoral candidate in anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has researched maternal health and mortality in Tanzania for years. Along the way, for and through her work, she has learned Swahili, become a doula and raised funds for a boat to improve access to medical care.

Adia Harvey Wingfield, professor of sociology, discusses what you can do to make your workplace more inclusive. Hint: Hosting another diversity training is not the answer.

Moving beyond the bench, alumna Tina Hesman Saey turned a strong interest in science and a love of language into a new career: science writing.