Arts & Sciences

Ballaké Sissoko, one of the world’s great virtuosos of the 21-stringed West African kora, will be joined Feb. 1 by classically trained Cape Town guitarist Derek Gripper for an intimate recital as part of WashU’s Great Artists Series.

WashU faculty and students are invited to apply for the Penelope Biggs Travel Award for travel involving the study of Greco-Roman antiquity. Applications are due Feb. 15.

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis find evidence that elevated stress exposure and its inflammatory correlates may contribute to Black-white racial disparities in mortality risk.

As part of WashU’s ongoing work to transform undergraduate STEM education and support low-income and first-generation STEM students, the Office of the Provost is launching the WashU STEM Exchange, a new community where STEM educators, advisers and researchers can share strategies and interventions and track outcomes. 

Senior Ella Elizabeth Johnson of Belmont, Mass., died Jan. 14 after a difficult struggle with mental health challenges. Johnson, 21, was studying psychological and brain sciences and Spanish in Arts & Sciences.

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is “a perfect musician” (Le Monde), at once “vocally brilliant and dramatically fearless” (New York Times). On Jan. 25, Costanzo will launch WashU’s 2026 Great Artists Series.

The markets essentially shrugged when the U.S. removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a special operation. But that could change if the U.S. follows through on other geopolitical threats, says political scientist Timm Betz at Washington University in St. Louis.

Henric Krawczynski, a physicist at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the prestigious 2026 Bruno Rossi Prize in astrophysics.

Faculty experts in political science, history and law at Washington University in St. Louis discuss the recent capture of the Venezuelan president and offer context about President Donald Trump’s latest challenges to international order.

The unfolding crisis in Venezuela, as well as President Trump’s subsequent threats to countries including Greenland, Colombia, Mexico and Iran, threaten international relations and embolden adversaries. David Carter, an expert in international relations and territorial conflict at Washington University in St. Louis, explains why.