Climate Change Initiative: A conversation

Himadri Pakrasi, PhD, director of the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability, sat down recently with Peter Raven, PhD, the George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus in Arts & Sciences and president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, for a conversation about the Washington University Climate Change Initiative.

Fall Assembly Series offers intelligent voices on issues of the day​

​Created 60 years ago, the Assembly Series is Washington University’s premiere lecture series. Its chief mission is to present interesting and important voices, and it is designed to spark meaningful discussion and lead to greater understanding of our world today. Assembly Series programs are free and open to the public. The fall 2013 schedule, below, opens with First Year Reading Program author Eula Biss on September 9.​​​

I-CARES Day Oct. 19 to feature talks by Raven, Kidder​​

The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) will celebrate its inaugural I-CARES day Friday, Oct. 19. The celebration will feature a talk by Peter H. Raven, former president of the Missouri Botanical Garden, on climate change and its impact on biodiversity, and a presentation by T.R. Kidder, professor and chair of anthropology, on the idea that we may be entering a new geological era, called the Anthropocene, in which humans are the primary geological change agents. There also will be activities for students, including a QR-code scavenger hunt.​

Campus Author: Eric Mumford, Ph.D., professor of architecture

A new book, “The Missouri Botanical Garden Climatron: A Celebration of 50 Years,” by Eric Mumford, Ph.D., professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, chronicles the history and significance of the St. Louis landmark. In 1976, the Climatron was named one of the most important buildings in American architectural history by the American Institute of Architects.