| |  NEW DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE: Mary J. Sansalone, Ph.D., professor of structural engineering at Cornell University, will become dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science on July 1. Sansalone is only the ninth dean the School of Engineering & Applied Science has had since 1870.
 ALL-STAR CEOS IN THE CLASSROOM: Like all University schools, the John M. Olin School of Business is always eager to have top executives teach a class. This semester, Charles F. Knight, chairman emeritus of Emerson, stepped up to co-teach an MBA course, "Creating Exceptional Value: Performance Without Compromise," and he was joined by an all-star, national cast of CEOs. The course covers topics you would expect in a business school, but it also addresses business challenges that correspond with the new direction of the Olin School.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES BREAKS INTO TOP TEN: For the first time, biological sciences at Washington University has cracked the top 10 of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate and professional programs. Biological sciences — which includes biology in Arts & Sciences, biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, and biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science — jumped five places, from a tie for 14th to a 9th-place tie with Princeton University and the University of California-San Francisco.
NEW HORIZON FOR CANCER THERAPY: The results of a new School of Medicine study could have oncologists removing their specialties from their shingles by making therapy based on a tumor's anatomical location obsolete. When researchers compared different kinds of cancerous tumors, they found that location of the tumors in the body did not correlate to how the cancers interacted with an anticancer drug.
 LATTE DEMOCRATS AND NASCAR REPUBLICANS THEORY DEBUNKED Fueled by the simplicity of red state-blue state election maps, some pundits conclude that America is experiencing a landmark shift in traditional political allegiances. They see poor, working-class voters leaving the Democratic Party to become "NASCAR Republicans," while wealthier voters are joining an increasingly elite group of liberal, limousine-driving "Latte Democrats." Not so, suggests David K. Park, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, in a new study of how income influences state-by-state voting patterns.
RESTRICT CALORIES TO LIVE LONGER: Preliminary research suggests eating a low-calorie, yet nutritionally balanced diet can extend human life, as it has been proven to do in rodents. Researchers at the School of Medicine are launching a long-term study to learn more about whether calorie restriction can alter the aging process.
 CHAOS INTO ORDER: Sometimes disorder spawns order. Sounds impossible, right? According to a computational study conducted by a group of physicists in Arts & Sciences, one may create order by introducing disorder. The researchers noticed that when driven by ordered forces, pendulums behaved chaotically. But then came the real surprise: When they introduced disorder, the system became ordered and synchronized.
LEAVING THE DISABLED IN FINANCIAL LIMBO: The straightforward solution for many people living in poverty is building savings. For the nine million disabled Americans living in poverty, the answer isn't as simple due to numerous financial, environmental, and other barriers. "The poverty rate among Americans with disabilities is nearly double that of persons without disabilities," says Michelle Putnam, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work.
MOOD IMPACTING MORALITY: Most of us consider ourselves to be moral people. But what is it exactly that makes us moral beings? John M. Doris, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy in Arts & Sciences, thinks that circumstance and mood often have an extraordinary impact on how people behave, no matter what kind of character they may appear to have. Or, in other words, an Altruistic Annie may turn into Selfish Sally if she is in a foul mood.
"Then 9/11 happened and everything change(d). We could argue about whether Bush did the right or wrong thing. I am a supporter of Bush’s foreign policy. Even if Gore were president and whatever he would have done, it would have still been a new world, and whoever becomes president in 2008, it’s going to be a new world with a whole new set of challenges very unlike the ‘90s or the Cold War. That’s a fact. It means that our politics is not necessarily going to look like what we remember it looking like when our views were formed."
— William Kristol, editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard, spoke on "American Politics After 9/11," at the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy annual dinner March 7, 2006.
Connie Diekman, director of University nutrition, has been named president-elect of the American Dietetic Association.
Susan Deusinger, Ph.D., director of the Program in Physical Therapy, was selected as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). This is the highest honor given by APTA.
Lee Epstein, Ph.D., the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor of Political Science in Arts & Sciences and professor of law in the School of Law, and Barbara Schaal, Ph.D., the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts & Sciences in biology, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Jessica L. Friedman, a junior in Arts & Sciences from Durham, North Carolina, has been awarded the Morris K. Udall Scholarship for a second year in a row. Friedman is one of 80 students nationwide who were recognized as Udall Scholars for their commitment to and previous work on the environment.
Arts & Sciences junior Laura Kleinman of Indianapolis, Indiana, a has been awarded a 2006 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Seventy-five scholars were selected this year from 598 candidates, who were nominated by 311 universities.
Kelly Manning, a senior in the School of Architecture from Nashville, Tennessee, earned Women's D-III News first-team, All-America honors in basketball. Freshman Shanna-Lei Dacanay, a freshman in the School of Engineering & Applied Science from Aiea, Hawaii, was named to the All-Freshman Team. The Bears finished the 2005-2006 season with a 25-3 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III post-season tournament.
Jean Schaffer, M.D., associate professor of medicine and of molecular biology and pharmacology, has won a Clinical Scientists Award in Translational Research from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to support her work on understanding how diabetes contributes to heart failure. Schaffer was one of only 10 physician-scientists in the country to receive the award this year.
Andy B. Schupanitz, a junior in Arts & Sciences from Plymouth, Minnesota, has been awarded the Beinecke Scholarship for graduate study in the humanities and social sciences. He is one of 20 students from around the country who were awarded the Scholarship.
Ken Yamaguchi, M.D., professor of orthopaedic surgery, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He will serve the academy as member-at-large.
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