Arts & Sciences

WUSTL senior Ashley D. Brosius and Fidel Desir, a 2010 graduate of WUSTL, were finalists for Rhodes Scholarships. Brosius and Desir were among 210 finalists from across the United States for the scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. Rhodes Scholars are selected on the basis of their undergraduate academic achievements, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor.

Washington University’s Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will present its annual sing-along of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, in Graham Chapel. Nicole Aldrich, director of choral activities, directs the program. The performance, which lasts about an hour, will include the Christmas portion of Messiah as well as the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

The New York Times best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast will present keynote addresses for “Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors”, Washington University’s 10th annual faculty book colloquium. Organized by the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences and the Washington University Libraries, the colloquium also will feature new book presentations by four faculty authors, as well as a display of all faculty books published during the past three years.

From the Arab spring to the London riots to the ongoing Occupy protests, themes of revolution, unrest and community are very much in the news today. They are also very much in the dance studio, as evidenced by Kinetic Field Work, the 2011 Washington University Dance Theatre concert. The annual showcase, which takes place in Edison Theatre Dec. 2, 3 and 4, will feature more than 50 student dancers, selected by audition, performing new and original works by seven faculty and guest choreographers.

Traditionally, fossil-hunters often could only make educated guesses as to where fossils lie. The rest lay with chance. But thanks to a software model used by WUSTL professor Glenn Conroy, PhD, and researchers at Western Michigan University, fossil-hunters’ reliance on luck when finding fossils may be diminishing. Using artificial neural networks, Conroy and colleagues developed a computer model that can pinpoint productive fossil sites.  

Gary S. Wihl, PhD, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, has appointed an eight-member committee to identify candidates for the position of dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. James E. McLeod, longtime dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and vice chancellor for students, died Sept. 6. Wolfram Schmidgen, PhD, associate professor of English in Arts & Sciences, has been appointed chair of the search committee.  

Undergraduate students were in St. Louis Nov. 9-12 for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, designed to encourage undergraduate, post baccalaureate and graduate underrepresented minority students to pursue advanced training in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Washington University, under the leadership of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, hosted a visit the Danforth and Medical campuses for about 200 students.

The following are among the new faculty members at Washington University in St. Louis: Colin Burnett, PhD; Marie Griffith, PhD; Musa Gurnis-Farrell, PhD; Ron Mallon, PhD; Jacob Montgomery, PhD; Carl Sanders, PhD; Leigh Schmidt, PhD; Rebecca Wanzo, PhD; and Hayrettin Yücesoy, PhD. Others will be introduced periodically.

For 56 seasons, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus — which describes itself as the area’s only “itinerant choir” — has devised a cappella programs that allow audiences to both visually and acoustically explore many of St. Louis’ most architecturally significant venues. On Nov. 20, the Chamber Chorus will pay its first visit to Washington University’s 560 Music Center. The concert, titled “A Mentor’s Memory,” will honor the academic setting with a series of works highlighting the relationships between celebrated classical composers and their most influential teachers.

The Center for the Humanities and Program in Film & Media Studies will host the Eighth Annual Children’s Film Showcase Nov. 18, 19 and 20. Titled “An Exploration of Children’s Films and Their Audiences,” the showcase is presented in conjunction with Cinema St. Louis, as part of the 20th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival. In all, the Children’s Film Showcase will feature 11 screenings as well as lectures and Q&A sessions with several of the filmmakers.