Arts & Sciences

The St. Louis Business Journal has named James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, one of St. Louis’ Most Influential Minority Business Leaders for 2007. He, along with the 24 other winners, will be profiled in the paper’s Sept. 14 issue.

Richard J. Smith, Ph.D., the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences, will become dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences July 1, 2008, when Robert E. Thach, Ph.D., dean since 1993, steps down, announced Edward S. Macias, Ph.D.

As a distinguished theoretical physicist and accomplished writer, Alan Lightman has successfully bridged the gap between science and the humanities. At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in Graham Chapel, Lightman will provide an understanding of one of the greatest triumphs of the human imagination with the Department of English Hurst Visiting Professorship Lecture, “Einstein and Relativity.”

Just as rising gasoline prices are forcing many Americans to tighten their financial belts, new research suggests higher fuel costs may come with a related silver lining — trimmer waistlines. “An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years,” said Charles Courtemanche, an economics doctoral student in Arts & Sciences.

Sexton observes a flooded Marais Temps Clair.In science, it’s best to be good, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky. Ecologist Owen Sexton, professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, had just completed a census of snakes at a conservation preserve northwest of St. Louis, when the great flood of 1993 deluged the area, putting the preserve at least 15 feet under water. The flood provided Sexton with a rare opportunity: his collected data and the flood would combine to make “the perfect study” of how an area rebounds from natural disaster.

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of this palm’s domestication and dispersal around the world. Now, Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is embarking on the task of understanding the plant’s history by exploring the genetics of the coconut.

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of this palm’s domestication and dispersal around the world. Now, Kenneth M. Olsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is embarking on the task of understanding the plant’s history by exploring the genetics of the coconut.

Could higher gas prices mean trimmer waistlines?Just as rising gasoline prices are forcing many Americans to tighten their financial belts, new research suggests higher fuel costs may come with a related silver lining — trimmer waistlines. “An additional $1 in real gasoline prices would reduce obesity in the U.S. by 15 percent after three years,” suggests Charles Courtemanche, an economics researcher at Washington University in St. Louis.

Physicist and writer Alan Lightman travels through Einstein’s dreams to help us understand the theory of relativity.

Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker believes passionately that building strong communities takes individual effort and commitment, and he will explore that topic in detail for the Ervin Scholars 20th anniversary celebration at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, in the Laboratory Sciences Building auditorium. The talk, co-sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Campus Week of Dialogue, is free and open to the public.