Arts & Sciences

RugerTheodore Ruger, an expert in constitutional law and an associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses freedom of religion with Mike Sampson of KWMU’s “St. Louis on the Air” on Nov. 3. This show is part of a three part series on the First Ammendment in the 21st century. Listen to the program from the KWMU Web site.

John Lockwood programs the data enabling device to stop the SoBig worm.A computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed technology to stop malicious software – malware – such as viruses and worms long before it even has a chance to reach computers in the home and office. John Lockwood, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science at Washington University, and the graduate students that work in his research laboratory have developed a hardware platform called the Field-programmable Port Extender (FPX) that scans for malware transmitted over a network and filters out unwanted data.

Campaign 2004 will be a rough and tumble, says Steven S. Smith, Ph.D.While most 2004 campaign coverage remains fixated on the wild and crazy race for the Democratic presidential nomination, the 2004 election also promises to be especially challenging for Democrats seeking seats in the House and Senate. The Democrats are in for a fight in 2004, and the liberal and more moderate factions of the party may likely be their own worst enemy if they engage in a political and philosophical battle for the hearts and minds of voters. “The Democrats are in a bad way in 2004,” said Steven Smith, Ph.D., an authority on congressional politics and the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences in Arts & Sciences.

Jeff Ojemann/University of WashingtonImproved imaging of brain’s language areas may replace more invasive pre-surgery mapping techniques, such as the electrocortical stimulation method shown here.Advances in neurosurgery have opened the operating room door for an amazing array of highly invasive forms of brain surgery, but doctors and patients still face an incredibly important decision – whether to operate when life-saving surgery could irrevocably damage a patient’s ability to speak, read or even comprehend a simple conversation. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a painless, non-invasive imaging technique that surgeons here are using to better evaluate brain surgery risks and to more precisely guide operations so that damage to sensitive language areas is avoided. The breakthrough could improve odds of success in an increasingly common surgery in which damaged sections of a patient’s temporal brain lobe are removed in an effort to alleviate epileptic seizures. November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, the Whitney R. Harris Institute for Global Legal Studies and the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis will present the conference, “Globalization, the State, and Society,” Nov. 13-14 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser Busch Hall. This event, which is free and open to the public, is planned as part of the University’s Sesquicentennial celebration.

Two of the nation’s most recognized political commentators, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, will discuss prospects for the 2004 presidential election in a public forum from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Laboratory Sciences Building. The discussion, which is free and open to the public, takes place on Election Day — exactly one year before the 2004 presidential elections.

November Science & Technology Tip Sheet

November Culture & Living Tip Sheet

Photo courtesy of Visual Media Center, Columbia UniversityAmiens CathedralStephen Murray, a leading authority on medieval art and architecture and founder of the Visual Media Center at Columbia University, will speak on Medieval Architecture and the New Media: Representing and Creating Humanistic Content at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The Kingsbury Ensemble, a group specializing in music of the Baroque and Classical periods, will present a concert titled Fête Galante: Love & Nature at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, in Washington University’s Holmes Lounge.