Arts & Sciences

Ping Wang’s love of the humanities is the driving force behind his research. Wang, PhD, the Seigle Family Professor in Arts & Sciences, explores social, political and cultural considerations that influence who wins and who loses in the global economic arena.

WUSTL students from the Department of Mathematics in Arts & Sciences recently distinguished themselves in two competitions: A trophy from the 15th annual Missouri MAA Collegiate Mathematics Competition and more than respectable scores at the William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition, a difficult and prestigious national contest.

This year’s Spector Prize — awarded by the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences in memory Marion Smith Spector, a 1938 WUSTL graduate who studied zoology under the late Viktor Hamburger, PhD, — is being shared by two graduating seniors, Rebecca Krock and Olga Minkina.

When many people think of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch, Cardinals baseball or Anheuser-Busch beer comes to mind. With the help of her book, Meet Me: Writers in St. Louis, Catherine Rankovic is looking to add another feature to that list: literary hub. 

Three Washington University biologists are being honored this year by the American Society of Plant Biologists, two for sustained achievement in their careers, and the third for a promising beginning.

Fidel Desir is the winner of the 2010 Stalker Award. The prize is named in the honor of the late Harrison D. Stalker, PhD, who was professor of biology; a leading evolutionary biologist, geneticist and inspired teacher; and a true enthusiast of the fine arts.

The ArtSci Council honored eight Arts & Sciences faculty for “positively and profoundly” influencing students’ educational experiences during its annual Faculty Awards Recognition Ceremony April 12 in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge.

Whether it’s for money, marbles or chalk, the brains of reward-driven people keep their game faces on, helping them win at every step of the way, even when there is no reward at stake, suggests a surprising Washington University in St. Louis brain scan study published online today by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Most of us return from a business trip with receipts for coffee and perhaps a glass or two of wine. Doug Wiens, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences, once came back with receipts for several hundred dollars of kava root.

Western cultural perceptions of the human body will be the focus as the East Asian Studies Program in Arts & Sciences holds a free seminar at 4 p.m. May 4 in Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall. The event is a prelude to a four-semester seminar program on Japanese views of the body that begins in fall 2010.