Arts & Sciences

Nothing in Adam Steltzner’s younger years pointed to his becoming NASA’s chief engineer for the highly delicate landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. He flunked high school geometry and dropped out to join a rock band. On March 26, Steltzner will tell how “Curiosity Changed My Life” for the Assembly Series. His presentation, which will begin at 6 p.m. in Graham Chapel, is free and open to the public.

Graduate and professional students presented their research during the 19th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, held Feb. 22 in Whitaker Hall. Suthatip Jullamon, a law student, explains her research comparing class-action law in Thailand with the U.S.

For decades, neuroscientist Richard Davidson, PhD, has been conducting research on the positive impact of contemplative practices such as meditation on the brain. The work may have important ramifications for treating mental disorders. Davidson was on campus this month to deliver the Witherspoon Memorial Lecture on Religion and Science for the Assembly Series and a talk for the Department of Psychology.​

Albert wanders Europe in a fugue state, across the French countryside to Prague, Vienna and Moscow. In “The Man Who Walked Away,” acclaimed novelist Maud Casey explores both Albert’s journeys and his relationship with the doctor who sought to reassemble his life.

The St. Louis FameLab, a science communication competition sponsored by National Geographic and NASA, recently gave young scientists a chance to present their science to nonscientists in three minutes. Efforts such as this are becoming increasingly common as scientists try to reconnect with the public. Some universities now require three-minute video presentations for every thesis or dissertation — or even for every published journal article.

Emma sits at a corner table. Jerry arrives with wine and bitters. It’s the end of the affair and the start of the play. In “Betrayal,” Harold Pinter traces a years-long adulterous relationship in reverse chronological order — a clever structural device that begs a profound question. Knowing the height of the fall, would you still jump?

Acclaimed violinist Cecilia Belcher and pianist Patti Wolf will launch KWUR Week 2014 with a free performance of works by Mozart, Fauré and Ravel March 18. The four-concert series, which continues through March 23, will range from rock and funk to classical percussion.

Growing up in rural Alaska, Chukwuma is caught between American friends and traditional Nigerian parents. So begins “Alaskaland,” one of eight films to be screened March 28-30 as part of Washington University’s annual African Film Festival. Other highlights will include “Tey,” an impressionistic celebration of life and death, and “Aya of Yop City,” adapted from the graphic novels of Marguerite Abouet.

Named for WUSTL founder William Greenleaf Eliot, the Eliot Trio consists of three prominent St. Louis musicians: pianist Seth Carlin, violinist David Halen and cellist Bjorn Ranheim. On March 26, the group will perform piano trios by Bohuslav Martinů, Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonín Dvořák in Holmes Lounge.

At the far edge of the solar system lies the Oort Cloud, a vast collection of icy comets representing the furthest reaches of the sun’s gravitational influence. On Sunday, March 23, seven members of the St. Louis Symphony will perform “Oort Cloud,” an original composition by principal timpanist Shannon Wood, in WUSTL’s E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.