Arts & Sciences

Celebrated food writer Michael Pollan will receive the Washington University Humanities Medal as part of “Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors,” WUSTL’s seventh annual faculty book colloquium. The biannual award is given to a distinguished scholar, writer or artist whose career merits special recognition for excellence and courage. The inaugural recipient was Turkish novelist and […]

Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have made major headway in explaining a mechanism by which plant cells silence potentially harmful genes. A team led by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., WUSTL professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has published a paper this month in Cell, that explains how RNA polymerases work together to use the non-coding region of DNA to prevent destructive, virus-derived genes from being activated.

Photo by David KilperThe Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences showcases another side of David Mamet with “Boston Marriage,” a sharp and sometimes shocking drawing room comedy centered on a pair of genteel Victorian women. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre at 8 p.m. Nov. 20, 21 and 22; and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22 and 23.

To most, the Bible is a somber work, full of such serious melodramas as Abraham intent on carving up his son at God’s demand, Job enduring his many burdensome troubles, and powerful, piercing language, such as the immortal line: Jesus wept. To David A. Peters, Ph.D., McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, the Bible indeed is a beautiful work that is sprinkled liberally with, at times, rollicking humor. Peters, whose academic expertise is aeronautics, particularly helicopter mechanics, has written a book, The Many Faces of Biblical Humor (Hamilton Books, 2008) that overwhelmingly backs his claim.

Acclaimed author Steve Stern, the Visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will read from his work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13. In addition, Stern will host a talk on the craft of fiction at 8 p.m. Nov. 20.

Acclaimed author Steve Stern, the Visiting Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences, will read from his work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13. In addition, Stern will host a talk on the craft of fiction at 8 p.m. Nov. 20. Both events — part of The Writing […]

Celebrated food writer Michael Pollan will receive the Washington University Humanities Medal as part of “Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors,” WUSTL’s seventh annual faculty book colloquium.

Photo by David KilperThe Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences showcases another side of David Mamet with “Boston Marriage,” a sharp and sometimes shocking drawing room comedy centered on a pair of genteel Victorian women. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre at 8 p.m. Nov. 20, 21 and 22; and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22 and 23.

The profitability of corn ethanol processing, the costs and benefits of ethanol as a fuel source, the impact of the ethanol boom on rural America and the future of the biofuel industry will be among topics explored at a free public forum on the economics of ethanol to be held on campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14.

Wind power is one practical alternative to petroleum.The director of a sustainable energy research center at Washington University in St. Louis is challenging President-elect Barack Obama to set goals in energy research and implementation. “I would like to see the next president of the United States set a similar goal to President Kennedy’s from 1961 — to put a man on the moon and to bring him back to Earth by the end of the decade,” says Himadri B. Pakrasi, Ph.D., the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, and Professor of Energy in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.