Arts & Sciences

Rather than dissuade students, shocks such as the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic can cause college students to lean into their education as a pathway to success, according to research by Bronwyn Nichols Lodato in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

WashU biologists, led by Xuehua Zhong in Arts & Sciences, investigated the inner workings of DNA methylation in plants. Their findings could help engineer crops that are more resilient to environmental changes, like heat or drought stress.

Paul Byrne, an associate professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at WashU, was featured in “Volcano Worlds,” a PBS Nova documentary about the powerful volcanic eruptions that have shaped worlds across our solar system.

Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, will discuss privacy and civil rights issues in health care at a Nov. 13 event hosted by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.

Biologist Elizabeth Carlen, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at WashU, received a 2024 Spark Award from the Association for Women in Science. The Spark Award highlights students or early-career leaders in STEM who are visible and vocal advocates for diversity and inclusive scientific practices.

The Bennet daughters are stubborn, idealistic, spirited and sometimes nosy. They are also unmarried. In the early 19th-century world of “Pride and Prejudice,” which opens Oct. 25 in Edison Theatre, this presents a problem. None can inherit the family estate.

At a time when political polarization is becoming an increasing problem on social media, WashU data scientist Jean Springsteen is working on a way to bring down the temperature and still get buy-in from social media companies.

Abram Van Engen, chair of the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, was recently installed as the Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities.

Researchers at Washington University are identifying behavioral, environmental and neural factors through which genetic risk for mental health problems is expressed in youth.

How do we reason? When do we apply value judgments? Over the last year, WashU’s Civil Society Initiative has sponsored a range of classes, guest speakers and public events exploring the nature of responsible democratic citizenship.