Arts & Sciences

“Remembering 9/11: International Scholars’ Perspectives,” is the focus of a roundtable discussion to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday Oct. 27 in the Mallinckrodt Multipurpose Room on the lower level of Mallinckrodt Center, 6445 Forsyth Boulevard, Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

At the bottom of plants’ ability to sense touch, gravity or the proximity of a nearby trellis are mechanosensitive channels, pores through the cells’ plasma membrane that are opened and closed by the deformation of the membrane. Elizabeth Haswell, PhD, a biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, is studying the roles these channels play in Arabidopsis plants by growing mutant plants that lack one or more of the 10 possible channel proteins in this species.

A string quartet from the St. Louis Symphony will join pianist Seth Carlin, professor of music in Arts & Sciences, and mezzo-soprano Debra Hillabrand, teacher of applied music, for a free concert featuring the music of Johannes Brahms (1833-97). Sponsored by the Department of Music and the St. Louis Symphony Community Partnership program, the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall.

Visiting choreographer Ting-Ting Chang (in black, second from the front) leads a master class in modern dance for the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences Oct. 4 in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building. Chang, artistic director of the company DreamDance, was in residence with the PAD Oct. 2-7. In addition to leading master classes, she worked with students to set a piece for Kinetic Field Work, the 2011 Washington University Dance Theatre concert, which takes place Dec. 2-4 in Edison Theatre.

At the age of five, Jock Soto watched a performance of George Balanchine’s Jewels on television and began studying ballet soon thereafter. Later, in a professional career that would stretch 24 years, Soto danced dozens of principal roles — many of which he originated — with the New York City Ballet. At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, Soto, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Performing Arts Department, will introduce a public screening of Water Flowing Together, a documentary film about his remarkable life.

Washington University’s Bear Cub Fund is soliciting grant applications from WUSTL researchers who want to move inventions from their laboratories toward commercialization.The application deadline is Nov. 30.

As the number 11 has become the rallying number for the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans this season, could 11 also factor in poet Carl Phillips winning the most coveted literary prize in 2011? Phillips, professor of English in Arts & Sciences, has been selected — for the fourth time — as a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry. While the Cardinals are pursuing their 11th World Series title, Phillips is nominated for his 11th collection of poetry, Double Shadow.

While the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association claims the World Series will provide a $24.4 million economic boost to the area, a Washington University in St. Louis economist says it won’t change the area’s economic outlook as a whole.

The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., and Washington University in St. Louis announce recipients of grants from the joint Academic Venture Fund. The purpose of the AVF is to support collaboration between scholars at WUSTL and the Brookings Institution, particularly long-term projects that impact research, education and policy.

WUSTL geophysicist Michael Wysession is leading a team of scholars who are helping the nation’s top science agencies develop national standards for K-12 science education. The core disciplines covered by the new standards include engineering and Earth and planetary sciences, which have never before been a standard part of the K-12 curriculum. Wysession currently co-leads the team writing the Earth and planetary standards, and a key focus of his mission is ensuring that students gain a solid grasp of the Anthropocene, loosely defined as the period in Earth’s history during which human activities have had a significant impact on Earth systems.