Arts & Sciences

Covering everything from social media to bitcoin to AI, a timely and all-too-topical political science course challenges students to think differently.

The Summer Philosophy Academy is a free one-week program for curious high school students. Through lectures, discussions and field trips, participants explore urgent ethical and philosophical questions about political polarization, artificial intelligence, social media and more.

With her new book, “Labwork to Leadership,” Jen Heemstra in Arts & Sciences aims to help create a healthier academic culture and support the next generation of leaders.

Psychology researchers at Washington University in St. Louis studied how pandemic stresses affected decision-making in different age groups — findings with implications for public health messaging.

A new federal government interpretation allowing churches to endorse political candidates will cause division in churches and sets the stage for the U.S. government to favor politically aligned religions, says Mark Valeri, an American religious historian at Washington University in St. Louis.

Career Catalysts is a new series by WashU interns, about WashU interns. In this installment, see how Fiona Sun, a McKelvey School of Engineering student, is working with Equine Smartbit to develop a sort of smartwatch for horses at Fairmount Park.

William J. Maxwell has been installed as the inaugural Fannie Hurst Professor of Creative Literature in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. A lecture and reception to celebrate his appointment were held recently in Whittemore House.

Gary Wihl, the Hortense and Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, died July 17 in Clayton, Mo., after battling Parkinson’s disease. He was 72. Wihl served as dean of Arts & Sciences from 2009 to 2012.

A project that could help scientists identify novel ways to fight disease is one of the research efforts that will get a significant boost under a new collaboration agreement that Washington University in St. Louis has signed with science and technology company MilliporeSigma.

Xuehua Zhong in Arts & Sciences has won a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation for research aimed at developing more resilient crops that can adapt to changing environmental conditions and support sustainable agriculture.