Arts & Sciences

Washington University researchers have found that courses intended to better prepare high school graduates for college also drive some students to drop out. They report that policies increasing the number of required math and science courses are linked to a higher dropout rate.

What paths do quantum particles, such as atoms or photons, follow through quantum state space? Kater Murch of Washington University in St. Louis has used a superconducting quantum device to continuously and repeatedly record the paths the device took through quantum state space. From the cobweb of a million paths, a most likely path between two quantum states emerged, much as social trails emerge as people round off corners or cut across lawns between buildings. The research is featured on the cover of the July 31 issue of Nature.

The recent birth of a female Grevy’s zebra foal at the Saint Louis Zoo marks another milestone in a long-running Washington University in St. Louis research partnership that is making significant contributions to the preservation of Grevy’s zebra and the equally endangered African wild ass.

Barbara Schaal, PhD, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor, is one of 15 scientists from academia and industry named to the new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the foundation July 23.

People learn better and recall more when given the impression that they will soon have to teach newly acquired material to someone else, suggests new research from the Department of Psychology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Laurie Maffly-Kipp, PhD, a professor in the humanities in Arts & Sciences and in the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, received the 2014 James W.C. Pennington Award for her research on African-American religion and history.

Washington University in St. Louis’ Teaching Center brought together faculty from Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering & Applied Science for the inaugural Summer STEM Faculty Institute on Teaching (STEM FIT), held June 17-19 in Seigle Hall. Faculty developed strategies for incorporating evidence-based teaching practices to improve student learning and encourage undergraduates to persist in STEM majors.

While tight budgets are constraining regulatory spending at many federal agencies, those that garner funding from industry fees are using these revenue streams to fund substantial increases in regulatory programs and staffing, according to an annual report that examines the U.S. budget. The report was released by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center.

Re-examination of a circa 100,000-year-old archaic early human skull found 35 years ago in northern China has revealed the surprising presence of an inner-ear formation long thought to occur only in Neandertals.

Renowned saxophonist Jay Hutson has performed with everyone from Frankie Valli and Aretha Franklin to the Pointer Sisters and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. On Thursday, July 10, Hutson and his band da Wolvez will launch WUSTL’s Jazz in July series. Subsequent concerts will feature San Francisco trumpeter Erik Jekabson (pictured) and the university’s own Kara Baldus, among others.