Arts & Sciences

From literature, philosophy and ethics to history, law and musicology, the humanities are central to our understanding of ourselves, our communities and the larger world around us. On Wednesday, April 27, the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences will present talks by Richard J. Franke, founder of the Chicago Humanities Festival, and Geoffrey Galt Harpham, president and director of the National Humanities Center, as part of “Celebrating the Humanities Day.”

The Washington University Bouchet Honor Society Selection Committee chose its fifth class of Bouchet Fellows. The 2011 Bouchet Fellows are Pascale Guiton, a doctoral student in the Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, and Natecia Williams, a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences.

The Department of Mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis has announced the results of two competitions, the national William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition and the Missouri Collegiate Math Competition. The WUSTL team placed 19th out of  442 teams from 546 colleges and universities in the Putnam, and two teams finished first and third in the state contest.

Between them, Dan Presgrave, conductor of the Washington University Symphony Orchestra, and John Stewart, director of the Washington University Concert Choir, have taught in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences for a combined total of almost 60 years. On April 17, the pair — both of whom are retiring at the end of the semester — will join forces one last time for the 2011 Chancellor’s Concert. 

WUSTL physics professors will explore “Nobel Laureates Whom We Have Known: Scientists and Citizens” during the 2011 Saturday Science seminar series. The 2011 Saturday Science seminar series — sponsored by the Department of Physics and University College, both in Arts & Sciences — begins Saturday, April 16. The lectures are free and tailored for the general public.

For his dissertation Brad Oberle delved into the post-Pleistocene history of two rare species of shootingstars (Dodecatheon), thinking that their response to post-glacial warming might provide clues to the response of plants to global warming. He found that one rare species was a glacial relict that had gradually retreated to a refuge habitat near limestone cliffs. The second rare species was not a species at all but instead an ecotype, or variant, of a widespread species that had adapted to the cooler cliff habitat. The glacial relict is the species most at risk as the climate warms.

Students, faculty and staff hosted aspiring scientists March 26, April 2 and April 9 during “Catalysts for Change” workshops aimed at introducing female high school students to science, technology and engineering fields. Workshop students launch containers — designed using straws, cotton balls, rubber bands and tape — outside of the Lab Sciences Building. They competed to see who could launch their container the farthest without breaking an egg protected inside.

Yan Yi “Anny” Chung is the winner of the 2011 Stalker Award. The award is given to the graduating senior in biology whose undergraduate career was marked by outstanding scientific scholarship as well as contributions to the university in areas of artistic expression and/or community service.

Christina D. Romer, PhD, former chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, will deliver a keynote address to open a panel discussion on “The Continuing Unemployment Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Questions for Further Study” at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall.

Remember Hurricane Katrina? In the five years since the storm struck — overwhelming levees, killing hundreds and putting 80 percent of New Orleans under water — the terrible images have receded from headlines and popular memory. Yet lives remain broken in the hurricane’s wake.This month, cutting-edge poetry collective Universes will return to the Edison Ovations Series with Ameriville Unplugged, their furious homage to “The Queen of the South.”