Arts & Sciences

In “The Science of Leaving Omaha,” playwright Carter W. Lewis brings sly humor and deep sympathy to a story of young people, stalled lives and the desperation for escape. Commissioned by WashU’s Performing Arts Department, the play will receive its world premiere Nov. 18-21.

Kevin D. McKeegan, a scientist whose analyses of meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials from space has improved understanding of the processes and chronology of the early solar system, will deliver a free public talk in November as part of the Robert M. Walker Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences.

Afrobeat, Spanish dance, Ukrainian multi-instrumentalists and contemporary Son jarocho and Afro-Mexican music. Next spring, WashU’s Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2) and Department of Music will partner with The Sheldon to present the fourth annual Whitaker World Music Series.

The Washington University in St. Louis community is invited to register for a virtual discussion with former U.S. congressmen Russ Carnahan and Tom Coleman about voting rights and the threats facing American democracy.

Strange ‘eggshell planets’ are among the rich variety of exoplanets possible, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis. These rocky worlds have an ultra-thin outer brittle layer and little to no topography. Such worlds are unlikely to have plate tectonics, raising questions as to their habitability. The research led by planetary geologist Paul Byrne in Arts & Sciences offers concrete ways that other scientists could identify such eggshell planets.

James H. Buckley, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, received a $700,292 award from the National Science Foundation to upgrade a ground-based telescope array for gamma-ray astronomy.

Each fall, the leaves of almost half of North America’s species of trees and shrubs turn red. Biologist Susanne S. Renner at Washington University in St. Louis helps explain why the North American fall is so red, compared with Europe, and also what changes to fall foliage we can expect under climate change.

At the university’s recent Board of Trustees meeting, numerous faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure or granted tenure, with most new roles taking effect Oct. 1.

The Washington University community is invited to watch a livestreamed conversation Nov. 9 between former first lady Michelle Obama and college students including WashU sophomore Natasha Chisholm. 

Abram Van Engen, professor of English in Arts & Sciences, has won the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize for “City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism.”