Kaplan, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, was on a weekend excursion to Valparaiso with three friends when she leaned back onto a metal guardrail on the windowsill of her hostel and it gave way behind her. She broke several bones and sustained traumatic brain injuries that left her unconscious for weeks.

After undergoing two brain surgeries in Chile, Kaplan was airlifted back home to Evanston, Ill., where she began her recovery process.

Since then, Kaplan’s condition has improved significantly, according to her parents, Mark and Cheryl. She still has trouble with swallowing food and with her short-term memory, but she can walk on her own and speak. She is receiving regular speech, occupational and physical therapy.

Her parents said that it will take up to two years to gauge the level of her recovery, but they are optimistic about her future.

The University responded quickly to Kaplan’s accident. Evelyn Vitagliano, Resident Director of the Chile program arrived at the hospital within hours of Kaplan being admitted.

The next day, Dr. Amy Suelzer, the Assistant Director of International and Area Studies, flew to Chile to provide further assistance. Her fluency in Spanish allowed her to assist Kaplan’s family in communicating with the local hospital as well as the insurance company, Kaplan’s parents said.

On Monday morning, two days after the accident, the University called a meeting with members from Overseas Programs, WUPD, the University’s crisis response team and insurance office and representatives from the College of Arts & Sciences, according to Dr. Suelzer.

“Some universities might have washed their hands of this problem, but [Wash. U.] really held our hands through this and we’re very grateful for that kind of support and understanding,” Cheryl said.

The University also provided outreach to the Greek community as well as other communities in which Kaplan was involved.

Kaplan is a psychology and Spanish double major and hopes to go into teaching. She is a runner, a member of the Delta Gamma sorority and was involved in Relay for Life.

She is currently on a medical leave of absence from the University and hopes to continue her studies.

“[Hannah] is one of the most positive people that I know and has the ability to see the good in every situation,” said Julie Kennedy, a friend who was with Kaplan when she fell. “She is a huge people person…and great at bringing people together. There were 21 of us abroad, and we knew maybe a third of them going into it. She made a strong effort to get to know everyone.”

Kaplan and her friends found the hostel through student travel sites. It turns out it was unlicensed and had numerous health and safety violations. Since the accident, the Kaplans have taken actions to have the hostel closed down.

Despite the accident, the Kaplans say that the Chile program was a wonderful experience for their daughter and that they would not discourage anyone from attending the program in the future. But they encourage students to be careful about where they stay while traveling.

“Until the accident happened, Hannah’s time in Chile was probably the happiest and most rewarding time of her life. She enjoyed her studies, adored her host family and made huge improvements in language,” Mark said. “It was one of those senseless tragedies that happened.”

In a statement to Student Life, Dr. Suelzer voiced the University’s regret at what happened and thanked the community for its responsiveness.

“We were deeply saddened by the accident that took place in Chile, and have expressed our sincerest concerns to our students and their families. We are also thankful to the university community for its tremendous outreach and support during this very difficult time,” she wrote.

Wash. U. applicant statistics over the years

Like many colleges across the nation, Washington University has witnessed a steady increase in applications in recent years. This is the first year, however, that the percentage increase occurred in double digits. It was also almost double last year’s 7.94 percent rise.

At 15.5 percent, Washington University’s application increase for the class entering in fall 2011 was the 14th highest in the nation when ranked among 93 top universities such as Harvard, New York and Tufts universities and Harvey Mudd and Davidson colleges, according to data reported in The New York Times’ The Choice blog.

Applications rose from 24,939 last year to 28,823 this year.

Despite the increase in applications, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions said it was aiming to keep enrollment lower than last year’s entering class.

The diversity of applicants has not changed.

“As in previous years, the applications come from all over the country and the world,” Julie Shimabukuro, director of undergraduate admissions, wrote in an e-mail to Student Life. “Other than the increase over last year, we haven’t noticed any unusual trends or changes. Even with the increase, we hope to release the decision letters by April 1 at the latest.”

This year’s percentage change in applications across top universities varied from a drop of 13.36 percent at Tulane University to a rise of 47.38 percent at Trinity College, according to the same data from The New York Times.

The surge in applications to some universities, such as Columbia University (32 percent) and the University of Michigan (18 percent), reflects those institutions’ move to accept the Common Application beginning this year.

Washington University has accepted the Common Application for years, meaning its increase in applications occurred for other reasons.

Junior Robert Awh said he suspected the rise occurred because the University has more name recognition.

“It means that people are finally recognizing the Wash. U. name,” he said. “That’s important to me because it means that over time my degree is going to have more value. That’s one thing about Wash. U.—that you don’t get the same name [recognition] as similarly ranked schools like Cornell and Vanderbilt.”

Sophomore Andrew Rebhorn speculated that applications increased so much because the University has received positive reviews.

“The increase is likely due to positive responses it gets in both academics and quality of life,” Rebhorn said. “In the college books that people look at, Wash. U. gets really good reviews.”

Last year, the Princeton Review ranked Washington University fourth in “Quality of Life,” 10th in “Best Campus Food” and 10th in “Dorms like Palaces.”

With additional reporting by Michael Tabb.

A new nanoparticle invented by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine can find blood clots and make them visible on a new type of CT scanner.

The invention is an important step toward detecting blood clots faster and more accurately before they can contribute to heart attacks.

According to Assistant Professor of Medicine Dipanjan Pan, the nanoparticles latch onto a protein in blood clots called fibrin. This allows a spectral CT scan to quickly and accurately differentiate the clots from calcium deposits by color.

The technology cannot yet be used on humans, but early testing of these nanoparticles shows that it can distinguish blood clots from calcium in rabbits and other small animals.

Spectral CT, as its name suggests, is a new type of X-ray technology that shows multicolor images and discriminates between tissues injected with different metals, or contrast agents.

Traditionally, doctors use several tests to confirm whether a patient suffers from coronary artery disease. According to Pan, tests such as the cardiac stress test can put dangerous strain on patients.

Other tests include a black-and-white CT scan, but these images cannot differentiate between calcium deposits and a fatal blood clot, making it difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose patients.

Washington University currently has one of two spectral CT scanners in the world. The other scanner is at Philips Research in Hamburg, Germany.

The nanoparticle, co-invented by Pan and Professor of Medicine Gregory Lanza, contains millions of heavy metal bismuth atoms so that the particle can be visible to the scanner.

“But bismuth is toxic and that is a challenge that we had,” Pan said. “We had to come up with some way to encapsulate bismuth.”

The nanoparticles containing bismuth are coated with lipids so that they do not feel foreign to the body. Mixed with other compounds that create what Pan calls a “salad dressing” textured fluid, these nanoparticles seek out and attach themselves to fibrin when injected into the bloodstream.

The bismuth nanoparticles dissolve and break down after binding to clots.

According to Associate Professor of Medicine Shelton Caruthers, spectral CT is still a new technology that has been developing in concert with these nanoparticle contrast agents. Therefore, it will still be some years before this technique can be used in clinics around the world.

In the meantime, researchers at the University will continue to work for earlier detection of heart attacks.

Students are excited about the new development.

“I think it’s a great breakthrough. We’ll be able to recognize these dangers in a very noninvasive way before it actually becomes a problem,” said senior Keita Uchida, a pre-medical student interested in cardiology research. “Having this kind of technology nearby and having access to the medical school here will help students get that kind of exposure if they [want] to.”

UTrucking is a student-run storage business located on the South 40. Founded in 1977, the company serves 1,400 Washington University students by moving and storing their belongings between academic semesters or when students are studying abroad.

In May 2010, heavy rainfall flooded a portion of UTrucking’s vaults on North Campus before their transit to a final storage location. After returning to campus in August, nearly 10 percent of UTrucking’s customers found their belongings water-damaged and covered in mold.

According to Chief Financial Officer J.D. Ross, UTrucking’s insurance company did not cover flood-related damages, forcing the company to cover the damages as an out-of-pocket expense.

While insurance contracts with students only insured $100 per box, the owners of UTrucking reimbursed students more than 2.5 times the amount their policy had promised.

“We had an ethical obligation to go above and beyond [the insurance policy],” Ross said. “We’re part of the Wash. U. community. We just thought it was the right thing to do.”

Students were reimbursed at least $100 per box. If they had filed for more than that amount, they were given an additional reimbursement proportional to the amount they had filed.

Sophomore Vera Xiao had filed a value of $1000 for her suitcase full of winter jackets and formal clothing. She received $500 in reimbursements.

“I’m satisfied,” Xiao said. However, she indicated that perhaps UTrucking should find an insurance company that also insures floods, saying that this would ensure that UTrucking would not have to pay out of its own pocket.

UTrucking is currently looking to switch to a more “customer friendly” insurance company. According to Ross, the reimbursement process was prolonged due to difficulties contacting its current insurer.

“The agents that we were working with were constantly avoiding our calls,” Ross said.

The insurance agent only responded after UTrucking expressed that they would seek legal consultation if the problem continued.

The flooding incident was the first in business’ history, and the student owners have made changes in their operations for the future.

Starting this year, the vaults, which sit in a parking lot on North Campus during transportation, will be positioned on a higher elevation to ensure their protection even in cases of heavy flooding.

“It’s going to make [moving] slower and harder, but [student belongings will] be safe,” said Ross.

UTrucking is among several student-run businesses operating under the Student Entrepreneur Program (StEP) at the Olin Business School. According to Ross, UTrucking’s advisers have been happy with the business’s response to the incident.

A new program offered by the Gephardt Institute for Public Service will offer current sophomores the opportunity to receive two years of intensive leadership training and mentorship to prepare them for careers in public service after college.

The Civic Scholars Program will select five sophomores this April to be awarded $5,000 scholarships to support a substantial civic project or internship during the summer after their junior year.

The program is currently accepting nominations until Feb. 21. Self-nominations, peer nominations and nominations from faculty and staff are accepted.

“The unique focus and structure of the Civic Scholars Program provides a ‘civic signature’ to the participating students’ Washington University experience,” wrote Amanda Moore McBride, the director of the Gephardt Institute. “Students will learn about civic rights, responsibilities and leadership. That knowledge will then be applied in their civic projects, so that they can develop skills for lifelong community impact—down whatever paths they choose.”

After becoming Civic Scholars, students will take four classes designed for the program during their junior year.

These classes, which are intended to give students an understanding of civic engagement and leadership, will delve into topics such as the academic history of public service and how civic engagement differs in the United States as compared to other countries.

“[Students] who really want to dig deep into what [civic and community engagements] are and how they can integrate it into their lives post-college would benefit from this program,” said Jenni Harpring, program manager at the Gephardt Institute.

According to Harpring, students who have been engaged in community service during their freshman or sophomore years would be strong candidates.

The Gephardt Institute offers other scholarships and grants including the Social Change Grant and the Goldman Fellows Program. The Civic Scholars Program differs mainly in its incorporation of academic coursework and the substantial length of time involved to complete the program.

Senior Goldman Fellow Jordan Aibel wishes that this program existed when he was a sophomore.

“I know a lot of undergraduate students have an interest in service but aren’t sure where they want to end up and how they can go about servicing the campus community,” said Aibel, who believes that this program can help fill that disconnect.

Other students are excited about this opportunity to develop into civic leaders.

“A lot of the Social Change Grant applications are self-motivated projects. What I’m looking for is that additional support, experience and insight that a more structured program would be able to bring,” said Karen Mok, a sophomore and an Each One Teach One Knowledge is Power program coordinator.

The scholarship component of the Civic Scholars Program also provides opportunities for students who aspire to take on a civic project but lack the financial support.

“Sometimes, students have all these great ideas, but they just don’t have the funding,” said sophomore Cristina Alvarez, a Rodriguez Scholar. “It’s great that the Gephardt Institute can help students to really make an impact on the community.”

The directors of the program hope to create an endowment so that the scholarship can continue into the future.

Instead of requiring business core classes, student may complete prerequisites for business minors in other colleges. The hope is that these new requirements will remove as many barriers as possible for non-Olin students according to Jeff Cannon, associate dean and director of the undergraduate degree program.

“The purpose for non-Olin students is…to organize business courses in a thoughtful way so [their portfolios] give them something to focus on when they’re being recruited,” Cannon said.

Classes in the business school can have significant appeal to many students not in Olin.

“Everyone needs some sort of business background…because you’re going to be dealing with business in some aspect,” said junior Alex Feng, who wants to go to medical school.

The original requirements, which included many of the core business classes required for students in the business school, had made business minors difficult to obtain, Cannon said.

Sophomore James Ko, a pre-medical student double-majoring in biology and psychology, sees the benefits of these changes.

“[Previously, a business minor] would have been a lot of classes, and to fit it in with my other schedule would have been nearly impossible,” Ko said. “I’m going to seriously consider a business school minor now.”

Not all students will find a business minor easier to obtain, however.

“As an architecture student, I think that a business minor is very applicable to my career,” sophomore Francis Aguillard, said. “However, none of the prerequisites overlap with the architecture curriculum directly.”

Prerequisites for most minors include Calculus II (Math 132 or Math 128), a statistics class (Math 2200 or 3200 or ESE 326A) and Introduction to Microeconomics (Econ 1011).

In addition to this change in structure for non-Olin students, students in the business school will no longer be able to obtain business minors.

While this appears to be a disadvantage to business degree students, Cannon explained that obtaining a business minor as a business student has its drawbacks.

“Corporate America is looking at [minors] as skimming the surface,” Cannon said. “We don’t believe that business students will suffer because they still have the opportunity to immerse themselves in this curriculum. By removing the title, we’re actually doing them a favor by preparing them for the market place.”

Business minors include accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, general business, healthcare management, leadership, managerial economics, marketing and operations, and supply chain management.

The entrepreneurship minor is new as of the spring of 2010. It was added in response to growing entrepreneurial interest across campus.

Returning students were in for a surprise. Sophomore Vera Xiao returned to campus early on August 23 to find that her UTrucking boxes had arrived on time.Her suitcase of winter jackets and formal dresses, however, reeked of mold that stunk like “rotten eggs.”

Xiao was not alone. Nearly 10 percent of UTrucking customers found their possessions water-damaged and covered in mold, though only two percent of all boxes had been damaged, according to junior J.D. Ross, UTrucking’s chief financial officer.

Reports of water-damage led UTrucking to check the boxes of remaining customers, finding that water had leaked into approximately 12 of its 120 vaults.

Students may be reimbursed for the damage. UTrucking’s insurance policy allows $100 per stored item. Otherwise, students may file a claim along with pictures and descriptions that indicate the value of the damaged items. The claims will be sent to UTrucking’s insurance company.

“I got the initial reimbursement [of $100], I’m just waiting to get back everything else from the insurance company,” sophomore Alice He said. “It’s a hassle, but it’s not really their fault. It’s just annoying for me, annoying for the company and annoying for everyone that’s involved.”

Damages filed by students range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Although He and Xiao are hoping to replace their items with the refunded money, some students found their items irreplaceable. Damages to precious artwork and gifts from loved ones made the past few weeks an emotional ride for many.

“It’s heartbreaking, but we’re doing everything we can,” Ross said. “We’re working our butts off to make sure this gets fixed.”

Since the incident, UTrucking has been helping students take pictures, fill out insurance claim forms and do its best to assuage students’ and parents’ concerns. Their customer service website has been very responsive, quickly answering questions, sometimes even within the hour.

“[UTrucking] was being so gracious and so nice,” He said. “[My parents] understand. It wasn’t like someone purposefully damaged it.”

UTrucking’s vaults are temporarily stored on a North Campus parking lot for a few days while boxes are loaded. It is believed that the combination of heavy rainfall and a clogged drain due to nearby construction caused the water to rise into the vaults, despite the fact that vaults are raised four to six inches above the ground.

“By the time we got there the next day, the water was lower than the vaults again. We checked a couple of the vaults and saw no damage,” Ross said. “When we came back [in August] and opened them up, we slowly found more and more [damage].”

With regards to health safety on campus, UTrucking has not dropped off boxes that they have later found to be damaged with mold.

“It was unforeseen, and unforeseeable,” Ross said. “In 20 years, it’s never happened.”

The entrepreneurship minor requires five classes: Individual in a Managerial Environment (B53 100), Principles of Financial Accounting (B50 2610), Legal Environment of Business (B53 301), Introduction to Entrepreneurship (B53 301) and the option of Business Planning for New Enterprises: The Hatchery (B53 424) or Community Development & Environmental Preservation through Entrepreneurial Collaboration (B63 550M).

“[Individual in a Managerial Environment] provides a basic understanding [of] how business works; [Financial Accounting and Legal Environment of Business provides] the basics of accounting, business law and how to set up a business and business relationship; Introduction to Entrepreneurship provides an overview of how entrepreneurs think and behave; and the elective courses give [the] student chances to put to practice concepts of entrepreneurship in conjunction with their liberal arts discipline,” said Jeff Cannon, associate dean and director of the undergraduate program at the Olin Business School.

Before, since the entrepreneurship major is only available to business students, non-business students only had the option to obtain a Certificate of Accomplishment in Entrepreneurship, according to Lawrence Luscri, student services coordinator at the Skandalaris Center.

The Certificate requires a combination of taking entrepreneurship classes and participating in entrepreneurship programs such as the Research Project on Entrepreneurship, Olin Cup and Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition.

The major in entrepreneurship requires 21 credits as well as many of the required core classes of the business school.

“It would be impossible for students in bio-medical engineering, as an example, to get an entire major in the business school,” Luscri said.

Thus, the new entrepreneurship minor will serve as a middle ground between a major in the business school and the Certificate of Accomplishment.

“We have 51 [entrepreneurship] courses all across campus, so students in Arts & Sciences can find entrepreneurship within their own academic disciplines,” Luscri said. “The idea is to bring students across campus [together] in one place.”

Any student who plans on declaring a minor in entrepreneurship will get a BSBA advisor in the business school to ensure the completion of curricular requirements.

Other business minors available for non-business students include Accounting, Finance, Business Economics, Marketing, Healthcare Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Organizational Behavior, Strategy and General Business, according to a brochure provided by the school.

“The goal of the minor is not to certify students as business professionals, [but rather] for them to get a good idea [of the discipline],” Luscri said.

App Screenshots Courtesy Of WUSTL

Meters, an iPhone app developed by junior Connor Graham, allows users to keep track of their rowing workouts and monitor their progress.

The birth of the iPhone has revolutionized the way people interact with the world. The invention brought with it a new market for iPhone applications, spurring the start of new businesses across the nation.

At Washington University, a class at the School of Engineering called Software Engineering Workshop (CSE 436S) is teaching students how to create iPhone applications, as well as applications for the new iPad, a digital tablet that was released by Apple on April 3.

The class is taught by Todd Sproull, who received his doctorate in Computer Engineering from Washington University’s School of Engineering in 2009. Sproull spent his last year teaching Logic and Discrete Mathematics (CSE 240), and began teaching Software Engineering in fall 2009.

Since iPhone applications can also be run on the iPad, the new device was relatively easy for Sproull to incorporate into the class: He only needed to add one lecture to introduce the new device.

An exciting new addition, however, is the School of Engineering’s plan to purchase and provide iPads for students to use in class.

According to junior Andrew Shaw, Sproull’s teaching assistant, students were limited by the lack of devices in class. Shaw was excited and surprised to hear that iPads will be purchased for students to use.

The class is set up to teach students basic skills and concepts before letting them create whatever application they desire.

“We have four labs… that teach students basic concepts,” Sproull said. “At the end, they will [make] a single app with two or three other people.”

The class has been popular among students.

“I think it’s a great class, and I’m definitely interested in it,” freshman Adam Tsao said. “iPhone and iPad applications are a next generation type of thing. A lot of different companies, not just Apple, are optimizing on this app feature… allowing students to tap into this new market is a great experience for Wash. U. students.”

So far, students have come up with several applications, including Ergonomic logbook, a logbook for crew team members to keep track of their workouts online; Mini Student Life, which displays Wash. U.’s student newspaper in an easily readable format; Personal Trainer, which allows personal trainers to design and keep track of their clients’ workouts; Can you Flickr me here?, which finds pictures online that were taken at the user’s current location; and Crisper, which keeps track of which groceries are going bad in a fridge, since more than a third of the groceries Americans buy are thrown away because they go bad.

According to Sproull, 20 students were accepted into the class in the fall of 2009, while 25 were added to the waitlist. This semester, 45 students were accommodated into the class.

Cedric Huchuan Xia | Student Life

The Cupples II building, currently housing the School of Engineering, is scheduled to be renovated substantially inside by the summer of 2011. The new Cupples II will become an Arts and Sciences building.

The South 40 is not the only place where changes are happening. Cupples II, which currently houses Washington University’s School of Engineering, will undergo an interior renovation this September.

Most of the departments in the School of Engineering & Applied Science will move to the new Brauer Hall, which was completed recently in spring 2010, and the newly renovated Cupples II will become an Arts & Sciences building.

Faculties from certain departments of the engineering school, such as the Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering (EECE) and the Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE) departments will move to Bryan Hall and Jolley Hall, according to Mike Altepeter, the assistant dean of the engineering school.

The renovation to Couples II is scheduled to be completed in July 2011, according to Tom Simmons, the director of facilities for Arts & Sciences.

“The entire building will be renovated,” Simmons said. “There’ll be a couple of minor things on the outside, but 99 percent of the work will be inside. There’ll be new drywall partitions to create new sizes and shapes of rooms.”

Eight new state-of-the-art pool classrooms will be constructed according to Simmons. The term “pool” is used to define classrooms that will be shared among the departments of the College of Arts & Sciences.

The goal of renovating Cupples II is to create more and better classrooms, to provide a consolidated space for the College of Arts & Sciences, and to add new space for the graduate school and also the Office of Undergraduate Research, according to Simmons.

“The building was chosen [to be renovated] because first, it was going to be available because the School of Engineering is moving out, and second, it’s a great central location for our administrative offices,” Simmons said.

The renovated interiors of Cupples II will also make it an environmentally sustainable building with at least a silver certificate in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a green building-rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“It will be at the least LEED silver, [although] we’re still hopeful that we can obtain gold,” said Simmons.

Currently, there are four LEED-certified buildings on campus, which include the Earth and Planetary Sciences Building, Seigle Hall, Village East and the Danforth University Center.

Despite these elaborate plans, however, no budget estimation has been made, according to Simmons.

Engineering students see the school moving to Brauer Hall as being a mostly positive experience, only with some negative consequences.

“The facilities [in Cupples II] are kind of old. The building itself is also older compared to other buildings I’ve been to on campus. I’m really excited about the advanced technologies they will use in the new building,” said Xueyang Hu, an engineering student who often goes to Cupples II for his computer science lab. “[However], Brauer Hall is kind of far away for people living on the 40.”