Aloft

University Lofts, $5.6 million rehabilitation project spearheaded by a partnership between the School of Art, Bank of America and the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance (RHCDA), celebrated its grand opening Jan. 25 in a substantially rehabilitated 1907 warehouse structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis' Washington Avenue Loft District.

Located at 1627 Washington Ave., University Lofts will serve as a hub for the district's artistic activity. The building features living and working space ideal for practicing artists as well as a first-floor gallery, to be operated by the art school and used for exhibitions, meetings and other community events. The gallery was dedicated as the Des Lee Gallery, in honor of alumnus E. Desmond Lee, at the Jan. 25 event.

In addition, Island Press, the art school's collaborative printmaking and visiting artist program, will move to a space on the top floor from its current home on the Hilltop Campus.

The University Lofts development is the brainchild of W. Patrick Schuchard, the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Community Collaboration at the art school. Schuchard, a nationally recognized painter and sculptor, has participated in numerous public and private redevelopment projects throughout his career.

He saw the project as an opportunity to provide art school alumni with incentives to remain in St. Louis after graduation and as a way to establish a Washington University presence in the heart of a developing arts district.

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Milestone measurement made of nanotube strength

Carbon nanotubes are smaller than the eye can see, yet stronger than steel. But just how strong are these nanoscale materials -- the foundations of what some are calling a new technological order?

In a milestone measurement, Rodney S. Ruoff, Ph.D., associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, and his nanotechnology research group here have determined how much force a carbon nanotube can withstand before breaking.

In the experiment performed by Ruoff and his research group, individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) -- rolled sheets of graphite -- were picked up, positioned on a nanometer-length scale, firmly attached by a novel method, and tensile loaded (stretched by applying a force) until broken. A readout showed the applied force.

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Exploring First Amendment rights; Forum brings journalists, filmmaker to campus

Watergate. The Pentagon Papers. Iran-Contra. These stories evoke some of our most powerful feelings about the U.S. Constitution and, in particular, the first amendment. A two-day forum here Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 9 and 10, will explore freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the role journalism has played in protecting these basic rights.

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United Way campaign goes over the top

Washington University's employees surpassed the $400,000 goal for the 1999 United Way campaign, pledging about $414,000, according to Ann B. Prenatt, director of employee relations and chair of the 1999 drive. The amount is the most ever raised by the University, which has supported the United Way of Greater St. Louis since its inception in 1975 and prior to that the former United Fund of Greater St. Louis.

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