Washington Magazine June 2020

Three esteemed Arts & Sciences faculty members discuss the social movement against police brutality taking place across the nation and the world, and its implications for teaching, research and higher education.

On May 30, 2020, WashU alumnus Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts in NASA’s history to launch from a commercially built and operated spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon. For the Demo-2 mission, the two are testing the spacecraft’s transportation system for future missions.

Life-changing innovations continue to emerge from the university thanks to creative faculty research, cross-collaboration and the aid of the Office of Technology Management.

Big data is changing the world, but is it for the better? Liberty Vittert, professor of practice in data science at Olin Business School, discusses big data’s even bigger impact.

In his book The Genealogical Adam & Eve: Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry, S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, associate professor of Pathology & Immunology in the School of Medicine and of Biomedical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, uses science to show that Adam and Eve could have existed and that theology and science don’t lie nearly so far apart.

In early spring, WashU’s China Alumni Network organized an appeal in an effort to give back to their alma mater, raising funds to purchase PPE for the Washington University Medical Campus.

Across St. Louis, America and the globe, the 3,298 graduates of Washington University in St. Louis gathered in front of screens May 14-15 to watch recognition ceremonies for their schools, academic departments and affinity groups. The virtual events replaced on-campus Commencement, which was postponed for the first time in university history due to the coronavirus pandemic.