Arts & Sciences

PatersonAcclaimed children’s author Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terebithia, will host a pair of events for Washington University’s 2003-04 Center for the Humanities’ Writers Series Nov. 17-18.

Everett Mendelsohn, one of America’s foremost historians of science, will deliver the Thomas Hall Lecture titled “Dolly and the Historians: Science, Politics and Ethics of Cloning” as part of the Washington University Assembly Series at 4 p.m., Thursday, November 13. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be held in Rebstock Hall, Room 215, located just east of Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Blvd) on the Washington University campus.

Sabrina Ursaner/PADPictured, left to right: Judith Lesser as Irina, Robin Kacyn as Olga and Merrie Brackin as Masha.The Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present David Mamet’s adaptation of Anton Chekov’s late masterwork, The Three Sisters (1901/1991) — considered by many critics to be the finest drama of the 20th century — in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre Nov. 14-15 and 21-23.

Supreme Court cases are now predictable, thanks to new computer model.As the U.S. Supreme Court moves into its new term, litigants, attorneys and the public will be closely watching its docket and speculating about its decisions. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court Forecasting Project at Washington University in St. Louis, court watchers everywhere will be able to log on to the Internet and obtain a forecast of how individual cases are likely to be decided. The project accurately predicted decisions in 75 percent of the cases heard by the Court in its last term.

Researchers have devised a new hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology.The marvels of mathematics may open the door to a new, improved hearing test for newborns. A mathematician and a recent electrical engineering doctoral graduate from Washington University in St. Louis have devised a hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology. The technique allows for testing on small digital machines that takes just two minutes instead of the hour current methods take, and volunteers instead of medical personnel can administer it. This bodes well for mandatory hearing testing of newborns within three years.

Meriwether Lewis and William ClarkLewis and Clark, meet Robert Criss. Virtual explorer Robert Criss, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has teamed up with Lewis and Clark to provide the oldest determinations of the magnetic declination of America’s interior.

“The Future of Freedom” will be the topic of “Conversation” when scholars gather Nov. 13 at Washington University for the second of a four-part series of discussions on key issues that will affect the future of the university, the community and the world. Arts & Sciences is sponsoring the four “Conversations,” which are free and open to the public, as part of the university’s 150th anniversary celebration. “The Future of Freedom Conversation” will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Graham Chapel.

Photo courtesy of Library of CongressRemembering Nov. 22, 1963.On Nov. 22, 2003, the nation will mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. The 1963 event was so surprising and traumatic, that many people who were alive that day claim they can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. However, an expert in collective memory at Washington University in St. Louis claims those memories may not be as accurate as people think.

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.