Arts & Sciences

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.” 

Just as every society has it stories, so does every discipline. The history of opera and the history of science are narratives just as surely as the events unfolding in our newspapers. From April 7-10, approximately 350 scholars from across the United States and abroad will gather in St. Louis for the International Conference on Narrative, which explores the use of narrative in literature, history, cultural studies, medicine, psychology, art history, music and other disciplines. 

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure: David T. Curiel; Mary C. Dinauer; David C. Queller; Joan E. Strassmann; Patrick Lawrence Burke; Feng Chen; Gammon M. Earhart; Justin Fay; Michael D. Frachetti; Denise P. Head; Joseph M. Jez; Jennifer M. Kapczynski; Nan Lin; Tabea A. Linhard; Francis N. Lovett; Liang Ma; Igor Marjanovic; Robi D. Mitra; David E. Reichert; Guillermo Rosas; Gillian Kay Russell; Lori Watt; and Jie Zheng.

The National Research Council is conducting a series of “Town Hall” meetings across the country to roll out the Planetary Science Decadal Survey 2013-2022 Wednesday, April 6, and the McDonnell Center for Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis will be hosting one of the events at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in Room 201, Crow Hall. It will consist of a one-hour presentation by Amy Simon-Hall of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who was a member of the survey’s steering committee, followed by a one-hour question-and-answer period.  

Andrew Stewart, PhD, the Nicholas C. Petris Professor of Greek Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, will deliver this year’s John and Penelope Biggs Lecture in Classics as part of the Assembly Series. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium on Washington University’s Danforth campus.

Arts & Sciences recognized the achievements of five alumni during the 14th Annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony, held March 24 at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. Gary S. Wihl, PhD, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Hortense and Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, and the Arts & Sciences National Council hosted an awards dinner.