Campus & Community

Kurt Dirks, vice chancellor for international affairs and director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, was part of a panel of policymakers and education administrators that offered perspectives on the current state of U.S.-China educational exchanges and such programs’ future direction.

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and four other faculty members of Washington University were elected members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the academy announced April 22. The others are Deanna Barch, John Baugh, Pascal Boyer and Holden Thorp. Founded in 1780, the academy honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators.

Three researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have been elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of their scientific achievements and original contributions that have advanced the field of microbiology.

Five physician-scientists at the School of Medicine have been elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in recognition of original, creative and independent investigations in the clinical or allied sciences of medicine.

Macy Sprunger, a graduate student in Meredith Jackrel’s lab in the Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, won a three-year $136,560 National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Such fellowships support predoctoral students conducting research in scientific health-related fields.

John E. McCarthy, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Mathematics and chair of mathematics and statistics in Arts & Sciences, received a five-year $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop new tools to deal with complexity in the design of systems such as those used in automatic pilots and self-driving cars.

Kennedy Young is among 13 members of the Washington University community who will receive a Virgil Ethic of Service Award on Wednesday, April 21. Young is a co-founder of the Reentry Collective, which provides cash assistance to formerly incarcerated people.

Washington University’s East End Transformation recently was honored by the St. Louis Business Journal as part of its 2021 “Building St. Louis” awards.

Cartoonist Lauren Weinstein and multimedia artist Paula Wilson have won the 2021 Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Awards. Presented by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the awards are open to alumni of the school’s Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts programs. Each winner receives $25,000 to advance their studio practice.

Jeffrey Gordon, MD, has received the 2021 Kober Medal, one of the highest awards in academic medicine. Given by the Association of American Physicians, the honor recognizes Gordon’s extraordinary contributions to the field of gut microbiome research.