Arts & Sciences

U.S. NavyStrong government counterterrorism measures in response to terrorist attacks may cause economic damage and help terrorists groups stir up popular support for their agendas, often aiding them considerably in achieving their goals, suggests a new study from Washington University in St. Louis. More…

Roman Catholicism, with its numerous saints, long history and deep traditions, can be difficult for the uninitiated to grasp. But a new book from an expert on the Catholic Church who teaches at Washington University in St. Louis should help to change that. The Encyclopedia of Catholicism, compiled by Frank K. Flinn, adjunct professor of religious studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, will be released May 20. More…

Collaboration is key to creativityIsaac Newton’s “a-ha” moment may have come while he was sitting alone under an apple tree, but that big idea might never had happened if he hadn’t spent so many hours discussing the laws of physics with fellow scientists and philosophers. In his latest book, Keith Sawyer, Ph.D., one of the country’s leading scientific experts on creativity in everyday life, argues that collaboration is essential in helping all of us harness the power of our own creative genius. More…

Three University scientists recently were elected to the National Academy of Sciences. WUSTL’s new academy members are Clifford M. Will, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences; Wayne M. Yokoyama, M.D., the Sam J. Levin and Audrey Loew Levin Professor of Research in Arthritis and professor of medicine and of pathology and immunology; and Aaron J. Ciechanover, M.D., D.Sc., visiting professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine and the Research Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Carl M. Bender, Ph.D., and Helen M. Piwnica-Worms, Ph.D., will receive the University’s 2007 faculty achievement awards, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced. Bender, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, is the winner of the Arthur Holly Compton Faculty Achievement Award, and Piwnica-Worms, professor of cell biology and physiology and of internal medicine at the School of Medicine, is the winner of the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award.

Arts & Sciences will recognize the achievements of five alumni and a special friend at 4 p.m. May 18 in the Arts & Sciences Laboratory Science Building. Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, will present Distinguished Alumni Awards to Mel F. Brown, J.D., (A.B. ’57, J.D. ’61); Alvin Rabushka, Ph.D., (A.B. ’62, M.A. ’66, Ph.D. ’68); Ronald M. Rettner (A.B. ’72); Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., (A.B. ’67, M.A. ’69); and William Jay Smith (A.B. ’39, M.A. ’41). Macias will also present the Dean’s Medal to Harriet K. Switzer, Ph.D., secretary to the Board of Trustees, for her support and dedication to Arts & Sciences. More…

Rising health care costs and diminishing health insurance coverage will be among critical issues debated by leading medical-policy experts as the University hosts a daylong public forum on Medicaid financing June 8.

Proclaiming that “energy and environmental issues represent the greatest challenges of this century,” Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton today joined presidents of six other premier research universities in calling for universities worldwide to marshal their resources for a global effort to secure a brighter, sustainable future. Plans for collaborative academic programs involving education, research, university operations, social sciences and policy studies are detailed in a statement issued May 7.

Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will announce a call to action for research universities worldwide to focus on the energy and environment as the greatest challenge of this century. The announcement, which comes as part of a conference involving the presidents of 12 premier research universities from Asia and the Middle East, will be made at noon May 7 in Whitaker Hall Auditorium, Washington University’s Danforth Campus.

“A Temple of Texts” by William H. Gass, Ph.D., the David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, is the 2007 winner of the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism in Memory of Newton Arvin — the largest annual cash prize for literary criticism in the English language.