Arts & Sciences

One of the first U.S. artists to hold an academic appointment in a scientific unit, Patricia Olynyk has collaborated with particle physicists and biologists; investigated anatomical models and medical devices; and displayed at the National Academy of Sciences. We sat down to discuss Washington University in St. Louis’ new Art|Sci Initiative and Fellows Program, which she launched earlier this spring.

Jean Allman, PhD, and Tabea Linhard, PhD, both in Arts & Sciences, each have been awarded a 2014 American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship. It provides salary replacement for scholars who are embarking on six to 12 months of full-time research and writing.

More than 170 Washington University in St. Louis undergraduates showcased their research projects through poster, visual and oral presentations during the 2014 Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium, held April 28 in Bauer and Knight halls.

David Balota, PhD, a leader in the study of cognitive breakdowns that occur in Alzheimer’s, and Steven L. Teitelbaum, MD, a world-renowned bone biologist, will receive Washington University in St. Louis’ 2014 faculty achievement awards, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced.

Arts & Sciences recognized a beloved faculty member, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a driving force in continuing education, a devoted advocate, and entrepreneurs in energy and public relations during its 16th Annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony, held April 24 at the Hilton Frontenac Hotel.

Washington University in St. Louis is moving forward with a bold and impactful plan to increase solar output on all campuses by 1,150 percent over current levels by this fall. The project demonstrates the university’s commitment to sustainable operations and to reducing its environmental impact in the St. Louis region and beyond.

Scientists are beginning to talk about re-engineering crop plants so that, like legumes, they will have on-site nitrogen-fixing systems, either in root nodules or in the plant cells themselves. The structure of a protein called NolR that acts as a master off-switch for the nodulation process, published in the April 29 issue of PNAS, brings them one step closer to this goal. 

An interdisciplinary group of graduate students including Washington University’s (from left) Anurag Agarwal, Whitney Grither and Hirak Biswas was one of 10 winning teams in the Breast Cancer Startup Challenge. The international competition aimed to bring breast cancer discoveries out of the lab and closer to market to help patients.

Provost Holden Thorp, PhD, discusses the important role of the humanities in American higher education in delivering the Phi Beta Kappa/Sigma Xi Lecture for the Assembly Series earlier this month. Held annually, the lecture is part of the Phi Beta Kappa initiation ceremony. This year, 81 students were inducted into the prestigious honor society.

Long before John Travolta fumbled her name at the Academy Awards, Idina Menzel was known as the star of “Wicked,” Stephen Schwartz’s musical reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz.” On April 29, the WUSTL Wind Ensemble will present excerpts from “Wicked,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Star Trek” and more in the Ballroom Theater of the 560 Music Center.