Arts & Sciences

To recognize the 100th birthday of Sam Weissman, Manhattan Project scientist and beloved teacher who helped convert WUSTL’s Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences into a modern research department, the department is hosting a poster session, lecture and symposium Thursday and Friday, May 10 and 11.The festivities will include the second annual Weissman lecture, on the topic of the history of nuclear magnetic resonance, which will be delivered Thursday evening by Charles Slichter, PhD, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Illinois.

The College of Arts & Sciences will introduce a newly revised curriculum, called Integrated InQuiry (IQ), for undergraduate students at Washington University in St. Louis. Developed over a four-year process with input from students, faculty and administrators, the IQ will be available to new undergraduates arriving this fall.

Covered in both graffiti and secrets, a simple brick wall alternates between playground and refuge from the world. On Saturday, May 5, Montreal’s Dynamo Theatre will return to St. Louis with Mur-Mur (The Wall), an acrobatic exploration of friendship and young love, as part of Edison’s ovations for young people series.

Guillermo Rosas, PhD, an associate professor of political science, is developing sophisticated statistical models to examine complicated questions in a credible way. Much of his research hearkens back to his homeland in Mexico City, as he strives to infuse thoughtful analysis into the public dialogue.

The PLAN worked, and now organizers of the Washington University in St. Louis Professional Leadership Academy & Network program are looking for a second group of participants, including staff from the School of Medicine. PLAN is a yearlong professional development program intended to help build participants’ leadership skills as well as provide WUSTL with a cadre of leaders who can contribute to university-wide initiatives and projects. Applications are due May 29.

Sophomore Marnie Abeshouse (left), an anthropology major in Arts & Sciences, explains her research project on the Israeli pharmaceutical industry during a poster presentation April 24 for the Olin Business School course “Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Israel.”

Carl Phillips, professor of English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won the 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in poetry for Double Shadow, his most recent book of poetry. Phillips was one of 12 winners recognized during a ceremony April 20 at the University of Southern California.

The Advisory Committee for the Diversity and Inclusion Grants has awarded eight grants totaling nearly $174,000 to Washington University faculty and administrators for initiatives that improve the university environment for women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

The Department of Mathematics has announced that a WUSTL team, consisting of senior Alex Anderson and juniors Tom Morrell and Ari Tenzer, placed 28th out of 460 teams in the demanding William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition. Two WUSTL teams also took first and third place in the 17th annual Missouri Collegiate Mathematics Competition. The winning team consisted of freshman Alan Talmage, and juniors Tom Moreel and Ari Tenzer.

The 2012 Spector Prize, which recognizes outstanding undergraduate acheivement in research, has been awarded to Paul Fahey, who graduated in December 2011 summa cum laude with a degree in biology. Fahey worked in the lab of Karen O’Malley, PhD, professor of neurobiology in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the School of Medicine. His thesis focused on Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental retardation.