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University News
Teach For America founder Wendy Kopp to deliver Washington University's 148th Commencement address May 15:
Wendy Kopp, founder and chief executive officer of Teach For America — the national corps of outstanding college graduates who commit to teach for at least two years in some of the country's neediest schools — will give the 2009 Commencement address at Washington University. The University's 148th Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m., May 15, in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus.
DOE makes largest research award in Danforth Campus history:
Washington University and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have received two awards totaling $35 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to do research on novel energy initiatives. At $20 million, the Washington University research award is the largest ever received on the Danforth Campus. The $15 million for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is the largest the organization has ever received.
Washington University and Brookings Institution form academic partnership:
The Brookings Institution and Washington University will begin offering joint programs, including internships, lectures, and other educational activities. Washington University's John M. Olin Business School also will lead management of Brookings' executive education activities, effective July 1, 2009. The new partnership between Brookings and Washington University could be considered a reunion of old friends. Turn-of-the-last-century St. Louis businessman Robert S. Brookings (1850-1932) both founded the D.C.-based think tank and, as leader of Washington University's governing board for 33 years, laid the foundation for the University to become the world-renowned institution it is today.
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Research
Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone:
Computer engineers at Washington University are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand. William D. Richard, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering, and David Zar, research associate in computer science and engineering, have made commercial USB ultrasound probes compatible with Microsoft Windows mobile-based smartphones, thanks to a $100,000 grant Microsoft awarded the two in 2008. In order to make commercial USB ultrasound probes work with smartphones, the researchers had to optimize every aspect of probe design and operation, from power consumption and data transfer rate to image formation algorithms.
Study suggests power of imagination is more than just a metaphor:
We've heard it before, "Imagine yourself passing the exam or scoring a goal and it will happen." We may roll our eyes and think that's easier said than done, but a new study by psychologists at Washington University suggests imagination may be more effective than we think in helping us reach our goals. "The imagination has the extraordinary capacity to shape reality," say the study's co-authors, psychology professor Richard Abrams and doctoral student Christopher Davoli, both in Arts & Sciences. "This is the first study suggesting that merely imagining something close to our hands will cause us to pay more attention to it."
$5.5 million from Gates Foundation funds study of childhood malnutrition:
Scientists who first established a link between obesity and the trillions of friendly microbes that live in the intestine now are investigating whether the organisms can contribute to the converse: severe malnutrition. School of Medicine researchers led by microbiologist Jeffrey Gordon, M.D., the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor, will study whether severely malnourished infants living in Malawi and Bangladesh have a different mix of intestinal microbes than healthy infants in the same areas and whether those microbes might account for their illness. The three-year, $5.5 million project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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| Features
Two Washington University a cappella groups featured on Ben Folds album:
Two Washington University a cappella singing groups have been selected to appear on a new recording by pop music singer and pianist Ben Folds. The Mosaic Whispers and the Amateurs were chosen by Folds after submitting YouTube videos of themselves in an online contest. They were selected from more than 250 a cappella groups from around the country. While groups from 12 universities and one high school will appear on the album, Washington University is the only school to feature two groups. The album, "Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!" went on sale April 28.
Washington University has 20 graduate, professional programs in U.S. News' top 10:
Twenty Washington University schools, academic areas, and departments at the graduate and professional levels currently hold top 10 rankings in U.S. News & World Report's rankings of graduate and professional programs, which were released April 23. Overall, 43 graduate and professional academic areas at the University rank in U.S. News' top 25.
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Heard on Campus
“Plunge in. That’s it...I absolutely think if you don’t have curiosity, you’re toast. So, let’s presume you have some level of curiosity. All you need to do is follow it. I promise, everything else does take care of itself.”
—Barry Diller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IAC, offering his advice to 2009 graduates at USA Today’s CEO Forum at the John M. Olin Business School on April 20, 2009 |
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Campus to be tobacco-free by summer 2010:
In an effort to provide a healthy, comfortable, and productive work and learning environment for students, faculty, and staff, all Washington University campuses will become entirely smoke- and tobacco-free by July 2010. Current policy prohibits smoking in any University building. Beginning July 2010, smoking and tobacco use will be prohibited on University-owned and -managed properties. "We know it will be difficult for some in the University community, but we believe that this is the right and best policy for the health of all who live, work, and study at Washington University," Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton says.
Kudos
Maria Cristina Ajenjo, M.D., a visiting researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the School of Medicine, has been named a Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America International Ambassador.
Jenna Borkenhagen, a junior biomedical engineering student from Rochester, Minnesota, has been named a 2009-2010 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar.
Kelley Greenman, a senior environmental studies major, has been named a member of USA Today’s 2009 All-USA College Academic First Team.
Ursula Goodenough, Ph.D., professor of biology in Arts & Sciences; James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences and director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy; and Wayne M. Yokoyama, M.D., the Sam J. Levin and Audrey Loew Levin Chair for Research on Arthritis, professor of medicine, and director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, were elected as fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Igor Marjanovic, assistant professor of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, earned a national Education Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for his class "Intersections of Art and Architecture in Florence," an interdisciplinary class offered as part of the Sam Fox School's Florence (Italy) studio.
Sean Savoie, design and technical coordinator in the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, received the 2009 U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology's Rising Star Award. The award is given annually to a designer in the first four years of professional (non-academic) work following completion of the designer's highest degree and recognizes excellence and artistic achievement in the areas of scenic, lighting, sound, and projection design, or in the convergence of these design disciplines. |
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About @Washington University in St. Louis
This newsletter is prepared by Special Development Communications Projects staff in Alumni and Development Programs. It is intended to provide a brief summary of what is happening at the University. Alumni, parents, and friends of the University for whom we have valid e-mail addresses automatically receive @Washington University in St. Louis.
Copyright 2009, Washington University in St. Louis
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(314) 935-5000
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