New satellite imaging research could save the lemur in Madagascar

Lemur population has declined sharply since the 1950s. Through education and conservation, a WUSTL expert hopes the trend will be reversed.Using satellite imagery, GIS and ecological and demographic data from the field, Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has studied the effects of deforestation on the ringtailed lemur population in Madagascar during the last forty years. He has determined that while causes of deforestation vary in different parts of the African island nation, the total lemur population has dropped by more than half since the 1950s.

Better teachers?

The Missouri Senate approved a bill Feb. 26 that would make it easier for people to switch jobs to become teachers. But if enacted, would the bill increase teacher quality in the state? Probably not, says an expert in science and mathematics education at Washington University in St. Louis.

Sam Fox School to host symposium on ‘Blackness’ March 6

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will host a daylong symposium on “Architecture, Art and the Experience of Blackness” Thursday, March 6, in Steinberg Auditorium. The symposium will bring together more than a dozen speakers whose creative and scholarly works intersect with issues of race and identity.

Earth’s orbit creates more than a leap year

The Earth’s orbital behaviors are responsible for more than just presenting us with a leap year every four years. According to Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D., associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, parameters such as planetary gravitational attractions, the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun and the degree of tilt of our planet’s axis with respect to its path around the sun, have implications for climate change and the advent of ice ages.

Civil rights and science highlight next Assembly Series programs

The Assembly Series hosts two speakers back to back: Legendary civil rights pioneer Charles Ogletree will present his views on the Roberts court at noon on Tuesday, March 4, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall. Philip Clayton will give a talk on bridging the gap between science and religion at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 in Whitaker Hall Auditorium. Both programs are free and open to the public.
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