Arts & Sciences

Interim Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences: Ralph S. Quatrano Vice Chancellor for Students & Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences: James E. McLeod Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences: Richard J. Smith Dean of University College in Arts & Sciences: Robert E. Wiltenburg

Home Page: http://artsci.wustl.edu/ Location: 200 S. Brookings Hall

The humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and physical and natural sciences and mathematics: these form the traditional organizing framework for study of the arts and sciences within a university setting. At Washington University in St. Louis, Arts & Sciences encompasses all these and more, including the study of literature, culture, history, and of economics, political science, education, anthropology, psychology, and the pursuit of scientific knowledge and quantitative reasoning.

In its 40 academic departments and programs, Arts & Sciences has more than 600 tenured and tenure-track faculty whose research interests range across all of human knowledge. In addition, more than 100 research scientists, lecturers, artists in residence, and visitors actively engage in the academic enterprise.

Arts & Sciences' world-class faculty is asking and finding answers to fundamental questions such as: How does life evolve? What causes disease? How does our environment change? By studying foreign languages, literatures and cultures, what might we learn of ourselves? What are black holes? What is the nature of civilization? What does it mean to be an American? How do we explore such questions?

With varied intellectual pursuits, the Arts & Sciences faculty comprising anthropologists, biologists, chemists, economists, historians, political scientists and psychologists — to name just a few — can add perspective and depth to news and feature stories. And the faculty can discuss topics in everyday language and provide an expert source from the Midwest.

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Extremely high energy Pinpointing origin of gamma rays from a supermassive black hole July 2, 2009 -- Download An international collaboration of 390 scientists reports the discovery of an outburst of very-high-energy gamma radiation from the giant radio galaxy Messier 87 (M 87), accompanied by a strong rise of the radio flux measured from the direct vicinity of its supermassive black hole. The combined results give first experimental evidence that particles are accelerated to extremely high energies in the immediate vicinity of a supermassive black hole and then emit the observed gamma rays. The gamma rays have energies a trillion times higher than the energy of visible light. Washington University in St. Louis physicists helped coordinate this cooperative project, the results of which appear in the July 2 Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science.

'Big Ideas' What everyone should know about Earth sciences summarized in free NSF-funded e-booklet June 5, 2009 -- If you're clueless about petrology, paleobiology and plate tectonics, the National Science Foundation and the Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI) have just released a free pamphlet offering a concise primer on what all Americans should know about the Earth sciences. "The Earth Science Literacy framework document of 'Big Ideas' and supporting concepts was a community effort representing the current state-of-the-art research in Earth sciences," said Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D., chair of ESLI and associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Living Building Challenge What could be one of North America's greenest buildings opened May 29 June 2, 2009 -- Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo The Living Learning Center Download An opening ceremony for what could be one of North America's greenest buildings — a flagship building on the cutting edge of sustainable design and energy efficiency — was held May 29 at Washington University in St. Louis' new Living Learning Center at the university's Tyson Research Center. The Living Learning Center is a 2,900-square-foot facility built to meet the Living Building Challenge — designed to be the most stringent green building rating system in the world — of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council (CRGBC). No building has met its standard yet, but the Living Learning Center is in the running to be the first in North America.

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Faculty Experts:

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Richard Axelbaum Professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering Axelbaum Download Axelbaum is the Director of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization. He also heads the Laboratory for Advanced Combustion and Energy Research and has directed the Engineering section of the NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium at Washington University in St. Louis since 1997. He served as the associate ... Expertise: Clean coal, nanoparticles, nanotechnology, materials, synthesis, flames Direct contact: (314) 935-7560 / rla@wustl.edu

Robert Criss Professor of Earth & Planetary Science Criss Criss specializes in hydrogeology, the geology of water and systems of water. Much of his work has an environmental slant. He investigates the transport of aqueous fluids in environments such as rivers, cool potable groundwater systems essential to civilization, and deeper, hotter hydrothermal systems. ... Expertise: Geology, hydrogeology, floods, river systems, dams Direct contact: (314) 935-7441 / criss@wustl.edu

Tiffany Knight Assistant Professor of Biology Knight Knight is an ecologist who studies the population ecology of rare and invasive plant species, and addresses questions related to the causes and consequences of their abundances and distributions. Why are some species rare, while their closely related congeners are widespread? How does dispersal ability ... Expertise: Ecology, biology, plants, ecosystems, habitat Direct contact: (314) 935-8282 / knight@wustl.edu

Alfred Darnell Visiting lecturer in political science Alfred Darnell Alfred Darnelll has extensively researched the politics of indigenous peoples of the North (Alaska Natives, Canadian Inuit, Scandinavian Sami), but especially Alaska's population, having completed a book manuscript on the political-cultural processes of creating Alaska Natives as a category and population. ... Expertise: Politics, Alaska, cultures, native people Direct contact: (314) 935-7455 / adarnell@wustl.edu

Elizabeth Childs Associate professor of art history WUSTL Photo Services Childs Download Childs' major interests are French 19th-Century visual culture, art, and politics, exoticism (particularly the work of Paul Gauguin), history of photography, and caricature. Direct contact: (314) 935-5287 / ecchilds@wustl.edu

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Related News Clips:

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Show More Clips

Black Reverence for Jackson Is Now Unreserved The New York Times and 11 others June 29, 2009 -- Around the world, Michael Jackson was celebrated Sunday, but there was a special fervor in black neighborhoods and churches. Jackson is seen as a towering figure with crossover appeal, even if in life some of his black fans wondered if he was as proud of his race as his race was of him. Includes comments by WUSTL AFAS professor Gerald Early.

Analysis: Obama tries evenhanded approach Associated Press and 51 others June 8, 2009 -- Nancy Benac reports on Obama's Cairo speech in which he tried to explain the American mindset to Muslims and the world of Islam to Americans. Various experts comment on the speech, including WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields.

Please silence your phone -- NOW! Los Angeles Times online June 3, 2009 -- A new study that shows that a cellphone ring, more than just being annoying, can pose the kind of distraction that can impair learning or derail someone's train of thought. Study author and WUSTL psychology postdoctoral research scholar Jill Shelton comments.

The culture of failure The Boston Globe June 1, 2009 -- If at first you don't succeed, tell the world about it -- because Web culture has become obsessed with "failure videos," mostly on YouTube. Whatever the reason, the sharing of personal missteps has become a part of today's e-culture. WUSTL psychology professor Don Fitz comments.

When the Justices Ask Questions, Be Prepared to Lose the Case The New York Times May 26, 2009 -- A new study by four political scientists, including WUSTL doctoral candidate Ryan Black, to be published in the WUSTL Journal of Law and Policy, looks at whether or not Supreme Court justices tip their hands during oral arguments.

Undergraduates study the scientific and policy issues of our environment, led by an environmental scientist, a political scientist, and an anthropologist. Students and faculty in the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program seek an integrated understanding of how the mind and brain work by drawing from a variety of disciplines, including the three PNP departments as well as linguistics, education and anthropology.

The majority of Washington University's undergraduates, more than 3,000 each semester, are Arts & Sciences students; but all 5,000 of the university's undergraduates spend at least some of their time in Arts & Sciences classrooms and labs. Students in Engineering, Business, Art and Architecture meet general education requirements by taking courses in the College of Arts & Sciences and many of these students have double majors or minors in an Arts & Sciences discipline as well as in their professional field. About half of Arts & Sciences students go on to medical school, law school or graduate school upon receipt of the Bachelor's degree; the other half find jobs in the widest range of careers imaginable. Its alumni are successful teachers, scientists, writers, doctors, lawyers, business leaders, filmmakers, performing artists, journalists and civic leaders.

In the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, more than 1,000 students enroll each year in pursuit of the master's and Ph.D. Arts & Sciences graduate students are among the most talented in the country, and as teaching and research assistants make important contributions to the work of the faculty. The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences is nationally renowned for its time to degree statistics and its placement record.

Through University College, each semester Washington University becomes accessible to more than 800 part-time students from the St. Louis community. Summer sessions for current students, visitors and special programs for talented high school students are also administered through University College in Arts & Sciences.

Arts & Sciences is organized in three large parts — The College, The Graduate School and University College, all within the coordination of the executive vice chancellor and dean of Arts & Sciences. Its 40 academic departments and programs are home to world-class faculty who oversee the curriculum and the research agenda. Faculty and students examine fields of knowledge that can be grouped into three basic areas: humanities; social and behavioral sciences; and physical and natural sciences and mathematics.

Arts & Sciences at Washington University is about great faculty interacting with great students, exploring important questions. Arts & Sciences is about learning and discovery in the areas critical to human endeavor. In other words, Arts & Sciences is the heart of a great university.