Arts & Sciences

Research is shedding new light on what happens in the brains of children and adults affected by clinical depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, according to Washington University in St. Louis studies presented at a recent mental health symposium. The findings, which come as America celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, point to new treatment options for preschool-aged children with significant clinical depression and for severely depressed adults who don’t respond to standard treatments, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy.

Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recognizes achievements of five alumni and graduate school dean on May 16 in the Jerzewiak Family Auditorium in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Sciences Building.

Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the earth and planetary sciences department in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and a number of his student and personnel have major roles in the Phoenix mission to Mars. The space craft lands in the northern plains on May 25, 2008, and Arvidson is a key operations manager during the critical first week of operations. (Video available)

The massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province last week may have dealt a huge blow to China’s plans for a vast network of hydro-electric power dams, and the aftershock could mean more reliance on coal, more pollution and more competition for scarce global energy resources, suggests the author of a new book on the politics of China’s epic dam-building campaign.

The benefits of immigration outweigh the drawbacks, says a WUSTL economic historian. In the short run, immigrants may displace American workers, but history demonstrates that in the long-run, immigrants tend to spark technological innovation and strengthen the economy.

QuatranoRalph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., the Spencer T. Olin Professor and chair of the Washington University Department of Biology, has been named interim dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences effective July 1, 2008, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. He succeeds Executive Vice Chancellor Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences.

Six distinguished individuals, including a pioneer of women in medicine and a multimedia entrepreneur, will receive honorary degrees May 16 during Washington University’s 147th Commencement ceremony. The university also will bestow academic degrees on more than 2,500 students during the ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle.

The Washington University Opera will perform close to a dozen excerpts from eight well-known operas at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, at Umrath Hall Lounge as part of its “Opera Circus” concert. Performances are sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences and are free and open to the […]

The Society of Experimental Psychologists has awarded its highest honor to Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III, Ph.D., an internationally recognized scholar of human memory and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences. Citing “his creative experimental investigations of false memory and its underlying processes that have led to a new understanding […]

A memorial service for adventurer Steve Fossett, a member of Washington University’s Board of Trustees and a 1968 MBA graduate of the university’s Olin Business School, will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in Graham Chapel.