Arts & Sciences

Sawyer Want to take your children somewhere fun and educational this summer but money is tight? No problem, says a children’s play expert at Washington University in St. Louis. Your answer might even be as close as your own backyard. Video available.

Landscape in pine plantation forest.Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, along with collaborators at three other universities, have discovered that the biodiversity in a patch of habitat can extend outside the borders of a protected area; this effect is magnified when corridors — skinny strips of land — connect the habitats. Their findings, reported in this week’s online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide a strategy for managing nature preserves to maximize biodiversity in the small spaces that are already formally protected.

Inside of the diamond cellOf the 92 naturally occurring elements, add another to the list of those that are superconductors. James S. Schilling, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Mathew Debessai, Ph.D., — Schilling’s doctoral student at the time — discovered that europium becomes superconducting at 1.8 K (-456 °F) and 80 GPa (790,000 atmospheres) of pressure, making it the 53rd known elemental superconductor and the 23rd at high pressure.

Frank FlinnNotre Dame University’s decision to invite President Obama to deliver the university’s commencement address on Sunday has sparked strong protests from groups who disagree with Obama’s stand on abortion and stem cell research. Despite condemnation of Obama’s speech by a number of prominent American bishops, the Vatican may be more interested in moderation and conciliation in its dealings with Obama, suggests Frank K. Flinn, a close observer of religious politics and author of the Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007).

Younan XiaMaterial scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique for a bimetallic fuel cell catalyst that is efficient, robust and two-to-five times more effective than commercial catalysts. The novel technique eventually will enable a cost effective fuel cell technology, which has been waiting in the wings for decades and should give a boost for cleaner use of fuels worldwide.

Washington University will host The Center for Academic Integrity’s 18th Annual International Conference Oct. 16-18, 2009. The conference theme is “Creating a Culture of Integrity: Research and Best Practices.” Several hundred students, faculty and staff from around the world will discuss the practice and philosophy of academic integrity, focusing on issues germane to both college […]

SchaalPresident Obama has appointed Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and vice president of the National Academy of Sciences, to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Arts & Sciences will recognize the achievements of five alumni at 4 p.m. May 15 in the Jerzewiak Family Auditorium in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Sciences Building. Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., interim dean of Arts & Sciences and the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts & Sciences, also will present the Dean’s Medal to […]

Photo by Nan RochbergCarl Bender, Ph.D. (left), the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences, and his son, Michael A. Bender, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, share a light moment during the 2009 Quantum Mechanics in the Complex Domain conference, held at WUSTL March 27 and 28.

While public officials aim to establish Missouri as an attractive destination for emerging life sciences companies, a study by researchers in the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences indicates that high-school science proficiency in the state, especially among high-minority and poverty populations, is greatly dependent on having a core group of certified teachers who are highly qualified to teach courses in their content area.