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Stories of Incredible People, Research, Learning, and Leadership Happening in Arts & Sciences

WashU Spaces: Keith Hengen

Keith Hengen, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, collects more than 20 terabytes of data a day. Through big data, new technology and good coffee, Hengen has set out to discover how systems of neurons interact. And, in doing so, he created a new sort of workspace that is both functional and fun.

3.27.18

Why Movie History Matters: David Bordwell and Film Studies, Yesterday and Today

3.27.18 | Arts & Humanities, Faculty, Profiles

Film studies scholar Colin Burnett traces the recent trajectory of film studies as an academic discipline in the seminal writings of David Bordwell and finds an exemplar for humanists of all stripes: an open-minded scholar eager to follow a question where it leads him.

3.21.18

A new 'wrinkle'

3.21.18 | Arts & Humanities, Faculty

What to think of the film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time? Rebecca Wanzo and Laurie Maffly-Kipp exchange ideas about the the book’s leap to the big screen in wide-ranging discussion. Spoiler: these scholars give the edge to the book.

3.19.18

Bono debut book tackles strategies for happiness

3.19.18 | Faculty, Social Sciences

How can we be happier? In a world where stress, anxiety and bad days can easily overtake the good, Washington University happiness expert Tim Bono strives to answer that question in his book, “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness.”

3.19.18

Americans prefer economic inequality to playing Robin Hood, study finds

3.19.18 | Faculty, Social Sciences, Research

Given the chance to play Robin Hood, most Americans show little interest in taking from the rich and giving to the poor. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may explain why it’s so hard for voters in modern democracies to erase the economic inequalities that separate most citizens from the nation’s super-wealthy elites.

3.13.18

‘How We Listen Shapes How We View the World’: The Radio Drama in Post-WWII Germany

3.13.18 | Arts & Humanities, Faculty

In the decades after World War II, the citizens of West Germany and Austria tuned in to narrative radio dramas, or Hörspiel, to reckon with their fascist past and imagine their democratic future, says German studies scholar Caroline Kita.

3.12.18

McDaniel named to Macmillan Learning advisory council

3.12.18 | Faculty, A&S in the News

Mark McDaniel, professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, is one of three leading experts in cognitive and learning sciences appointed as permanent members of a Learning Research Advisory Council formed by Macmillan Learning.

3.9.18

WashU Expert: (Daylight Saving) Time is not on your side

3.9.18 | Faculty, Natural Sciences & Math

The century-old government convention of daylight saving time takes effect this weekend, but it can be hard for our bodies to handle. Washington University circadian rhythm expert Erik Herzog offers some tips to help us adjust.

3.6.18

New view on electron interactions in graphene

3.6.18 | Faculty, Natural Sciences & Math, Research

There’s a new way to look at how electrons interact with each other in graphene, an intriguing material comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms. Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Erik Henriksen, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, are exploring the quantum electronic properties of graphene using infrared light.

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