Meet a General: Dave Pfaff
Dave Pfaff, academic technologist in the IQ Center at W&L, enjoys the fact that his job exposes him to interesting lessons in a variety of subjects.
science
W&L’s Grayson Nelson Named Davis-Bahcall Scholar
Scholars will spend four weeks of their summer exploring the world of modern scientific research at some of the nation’s leading laboratories and universities.
This Class is No Snooze
Current Advances in Psychological Science: Sleep, Health and Society, a Spring Term course taught by Ryan Brindle, explores the basics of sleep, why people need it, and the impacts of sleep deprivation.
Expert in Paleontology Sculptures to Give Keynote Speech for SSA
The title of Gary Staab’s presentation is “Digital Dinosaurs: Fleshing out the Past."
Quick Hit: The Egg-Drop Scoop
Students in General Physics Lab I send eggs bungee jumping in the Science Center. The goal? Calculate correctly lest your project be a bust.
In Case You Missed It
Davis Straske ’19 Wins Elmes Pathfinder Prize in Psychology
Straske is a psychology major and dance minor and has been a member of Professor Megan Fulcher’s developmental psychology research lab since the winter of her freshman year.
The 2018 Earle Bates Lecturer in Environmental Studies to Discuss ‘A Critical Time for State Environmental Leadership’
Strickler will give a talk on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Stackhouse Theater in Elrod Commons.
Rahl Receives NSF Grant for Geological Research
Jeffrey Rahl, professor of geology at Washington and Lee University, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Watch Solar Eclipse from W&L Lawn
Join other members of the university community for this fascinating event.
Hormones, Fat and Infertility
Annie Jeckovich ’18 is studying the effects of obesity on reproduction in W&L's Fat Rat lab.
Rocking Research in Lexington and Greece
Josh Fox '19 has spent his summer conducting geology research on campus and in Crete, Greece, with Professor Jeff Rahl.
On the Origin of One of W&L’s Most Valuable Books
Washington and Lee University owns a first edition of one of the most important — and controversial — books ever written.
Marcia France on Chemistry, Cooking and Culture
This associate dean of the college is interested in green chemistry, playing the flute and teaching her Science of Cooking class in Italy
W&L Researchers See Coral Decline
Geology professor Lisa Greer, who has been taking students to Belize since 2011 to monitor the health of coral reefs, said their research indicates that the latest El Niño, on top of global climate change, may be harming the Belize Barrier Reef.
Virginia Tech Professor John Casali to Lecture on How to Protect Against Hearing Damage in Military and Civilian Environments
John G. Casali, John Grado Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and director of the Auditory Systems Laboratory at Virginia Tech, will give a lecture at W&L Oct. 12 at 4 p.m.
Author Talk Series Continues on Oct. 20 with Emeritus Professor Tom Williams
The Anne and Edgar Basse Jr. Author Talk Series, presented by the Leyburn University Library at Washington and Lee University, continues at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, with a talk by H. Thomas Williams, emeritus professor of physics at W&L.
W&L Alumni Win National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowships
Four Washington and Lee University alumni have received pre-doctoral graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation. In addition, four alumni and one student received honorable mentions.
Clare Wilkinson Awarded 2016 Goldwater Scholarship
Washington and Lee University junior Clare Wilkinson of Warren, Vermont, has won a highly competitive 2016 Goldwater Scholarship, which promotes research careers in science, mathematics and engineering.
Ijezie Ikwuezunma Awarded Fulbright Research Grant to United Kingdom
Ijezie Ikwuezunma of Richmond, Texas, and a senior at Washington and Lee University, has been awarded a Fulbright research grant to the United Kingdom. His project is “Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacokinetics of Warfarin (an oral anti-coagulant).”
Professor Prete Will Lecture on Teaching Science and Math
Frederick Prete, associate editor of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology, will give a lecture on March 31 at 5 p.m. in Parmly Hall room 307 in the Science Center of Washington and Lee University.
W&L's Williams Examines Gravitational Waves Discovery in Roanoke Times
The following oped by H. Thomas Williams, Edwin A. Morris Professor of Physics Emeritus at Washington and Lee, was published in the Sunday, March 13, 2016, edition of the Roanoke Times and is reprinted here by permission. A Perfect Pass by H. Thomas Williams Whenever I see an NFL quarterback throw a pass to a receiver running […]
Geology Professor Patricia Kelley to Lecture on Evolution and Creation: Conflicting or Compatible? at Washington and Lee
Patricia Kelley, professor of geology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will give a lecture at Washington and Lee University on March 18 at 4:30 p.m. in Northen Auditorium, Leyburn Library.
David G. Elmes Pathfinder Prize in Psychology Awarded to Emma Swabb ’16
Emma Swabb, a Washington and Lee University senior from Erie, Pennsylvania, has been awarded the 2015 David G. Elmes Pathfinder Prize in Psychology.
W&L Psychology Professor Julie Woodzicka to Lecture on Disparagement Humor in her Inaugural Urquhart ’11 Term Professorship
Julie Woodzicka, professor of psychology at Washington and Lee University, will give her inaugural lecture marking her appointment as the Abigail Grigsby Urquhart ’11 Term Professor on Jan. 15, 2016, at 4:30 p.m. in Northen Auditorium, Leyburn Library.
Toy Story: Psychology Professor Lends Her Voice to No-Gender December
'Tis the season for giving gifts, and Megan Fulcher, associate professor of psychology at Washington and Lee University, appears on an Australian website promoting a no-gender December.
Mark Lubkowitz ’91 Named Teacher of the Year
Mark Lubkowitz, a 1991 graduate of Washington and Lee University and current professor of biology at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, received the 2015 Joanne Rathgeb Teaching Award. It is the highest honor bestowed on faculty at Saint Michael’s College.
W&L’s I’Anson Wins Grant to Study Early Obesity in Children
Helen I’Anson, professor of biology at Washington and Lee University, has won a $95,399 grant from the Commonwealth Health Research Board (CHRB) to fund one year of research into the role of snacking in the early onset of obesity in children.
Eric Schwen ’15 is Apker Award Finalist
Eric Schwen ’15, a Washington and Lee University valedictorian and physics major from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, has been chosen as a finalist for the American Physical Society’s LeRoy Apker Award, recognizing outstanding achievements in physics by an undergraduate.
Hu and Katterhagen Earn Top ODAC Awards
The Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced on Monday that Washington and Lee University has swept the conference’s top scholar-athlete awards for the first time since the 2010-11 school year.
Jim Head III ’64 To Receive the Penrose Medal for Work in Planetary Geology
James W. “Jim” Head III, who graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1964, will receive the Geological Society of America’s Penrose Medal in Baltimore this November. Head is the first planetary geologist to win the GSA’s highest honor.
The Dart Internships at W&L: Five Years Strong
In March, Phil Marella ’81 and his wife, Andrea, visited campus, not only to visit their son Phil, who is a first-year student here, but to also personally deliver a check from Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) to President Ken Ruscio ’76.
W&L’s Helen I’Anson to Lecture on Increased Soda and Snacks in our Diet in her Inaugural Perry Professorship Lecture
Helen I’Anson, professor of biology at Washington and Lee University, will give her inaugural lecture marking her appointment as the John T. Perry Jr. Professor of Research in Biology, on May 19, at 5:30 p.m. in Parmly 307.
W&L Biology Professors Receive $100,000 Grant from Jeffress Trust Awards Program to Research Obesity-Infertility Link
Three biology professors at Washington and Lee University in Lexington have won a $100,000 grant from the Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Interdisciplinary Research to investigate the link between obesity and infertility in women.
Writing on the Wall
W&L professors Rebecca Benefiel and Sara Sprenkle presented their latest project—a searchable web application on ancient graffiti—at the 2014 EAGLE International Conference on Information Technologies for Epigraphy and Digital Cultural Heritage in the Ancient World.
Jim Head '64 Wins Prestigious Geoscience Award
Last fall, James "Jim" W. Head III '64, the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of the Geological Sciences at Brown University, received the Norman L. Bowen Award for his outstanding contributions to volcanology, geochemistry or petrology from the American Geophysical Union.
W&L Biology Professor Receives VFIC Grant
Natalia Toporikova, assistant professor of biology at Washington and Lee, has received a $2,000 grant from the Mednick Fellowship Committee of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) for her project "Role of Time-of-Day Signals in Hormonal Surges of Female Rats."
Did an Apple Inspire Newton’s Law of Gravity? Not So!
Scientific historian Nicolaas Rupke discusses the scientific myths that form one of the biggest obstacles to improving public understanding of science.
W&L Conference to Debunk Scientific Myths
Two dozen historians of science from around the world will debunk 26 commonly-held myths of science at a conference at Washington and Lee University May 8 – 11. The keynote address by John L. Heilbron of the University of California-Berkeley will take place in Lee Chapel at 6 p.m. on Fri. May 9 and is open to the public.
Mapping Mount Doom
Geology students from Washington and Lee University in front of the volcano Mount Ngauruhoe in New Zealand, a.k.a. Mount Doom of "Lord of the Rings" fame, which they were assigned to map.
W&L Students’ Research on Stereotypes of Arab Muslims Wins Psychology Award
Two student researchers and one alumnus at Washington and Lee University have won a Regional Research Award from Psi Chi—the National Honor Society in Psychology—at the Midwestern Psychology Association (MPA) National Conference.
WVTF Reports on Sleep Study
WVTF radio reported on Fundamentals of Biology: Biological Clock and Rhythms, a fall-term class at Washington and Lee on the relatively new field of chronobiology.
W&L’s Sprenkle Selected to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Washington and Lee's Sara Sprenkle, associate professor of computer science, is one of 60 people profiled to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
W&L Alum Champions Fix for Healthcare.gov
From his desk in Hong Kong, Sam Reed, a JavaScript developer, is pounding away at his keyboard as part of the open-source community trying to help federal contractors fix the healthcare.gov website.
Eric Shuman Wins Elmes Pathfinder Prize in Psychology
Eric Shuman, a Washington and Lee University senior, from Black Mountain, N.C., has received the 2013 David G. Elmes Pathfinder Prize in Psychology.
New IQ Center at W&L Spawns Creative Ideas for Use of Technology in Arts and Humanities
When Erich Uffelman gave Andrea Lepage a tour of W&L's new IQ Center, she was immediately intrigued by the potential that the 3D High-Performance Visualization Lab might have for using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) to enhance teaching in the arts and humanities.
Winning W&L Team Gets With the Program
Two teams of students from Washington and Lee's Programming Club finished second and third at the annual Longwood Programming Competition, last month at Longwood University, in Farmville, Va.
Sky is the Limit in W&L's IQ Center
New science facility features the latest technology for science and non-science majors at Washington and Lee.
Student-Designed Web App Helps W&L Students Plan Course Schedules
Thanks to some of their classmates, W&L students have a new web application designed to make their schedule planning easier.
NSF Grant Brings New Mass Spectrometer to W&L and Region
New instrument will be used across disciplines and with collaborative projects.
W&L Research Team Explores Link Between Memory, Stories and Learning
Psychology professor Dan Johnson's research uses "nano-narratives" as a way to remember abstract concepts.
W&L Announces Promotions and Tenure
The Board of Trustees approved the promotions and tenures of 14 faculty members during its meeting in Lexington in May.
Robots and Spring Term
A four-week Spring Term course on robotics at Washington and Lee taught students to control a drone with hand gestures.
