Arts & Sciences

Sociocultural anthropologist Pascal Boyer, in Arts & Sciences, received a $2 million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust to examine historical and modern religious customs that fall outside of institutionalized religion.

Biologist Susanne S. Renner in Arts & Sciences explains why trees might actually be starting to turn red and yellow earlier, not later. Brilliant fall color might become a casualty of a warming world.

Zachary Stern’s frenetic comedy “Democratic Airlines” and Melia Van Hecke’s contemporary folktale “The Fern” will receive world premiere staged readings as part of the 2022 A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival. The festival is named for alumnus A.E. Hotchner, who famously bested Tennessee Williams in a campus playwriting competition.

Most presidents have 100 years until they fade from Americans’ memory. Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger in Arts & Sciences will discuss his research into this and the broader national collective memory on Sept. 29.

In a study conducted by Dan Butler, professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, voters were more likely to contact their female representatives and asked them to do more on a variety of issues including education, health, immigration, the economy and more.

Arpita Bose, in Arts & Sciences, attended a White House summit on biotechnology, along with representatives from government and the private sector. In her research at Washington University, Bose harnesses the power of microbes to create new biofuels and bioplastics.

Ari Stern, associate professor of mathematics and statistics in Arts & Sciences, won a $237,648 grant from the National Science Foundation for a project titled “Structure-Preserving Hybrid Finite Element Methods.”

Research from Ryan Bogdan’s BRAIN Lab in Arts & Sciences finds signs of psychopathology persist into mid-adolescence in kids exposed to cannabis in the womb.

Weedy rice is a closely related cousin of crop rice that aggressively competes with cultivated rice in the field. Scientists from Washington University and the University of Arkansas report that the crop pest has become widely herbicide resistant. The study highlights challenges facing U.S. rice farmers when they battle a weedy enemy that is closely related to a desirable crop plant.

Arts & Sciences’ John Baugh has been named to the advisory board of the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English.