Notables

Bruce Backus, assistant vice chancellor for environmental health and safety at Washington University in St. Louis, will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Safety Award from BLR (Business & Legal Resources) for his three decades as a leader in improving safety and environmental performance.

Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, recently was appointed editor-in-chief of Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists, a new peer-reviewed journal from the American Geophysical Union.

Mungai Mutonya, teaching professor of African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences, has received a fellowship from the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program.

Anna Preus, a doctoral candidate in English in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, has won a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. 

The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement has announced this year’s recipients of the Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award. The annual honor recognizes community members who exemplify a character of service and engagement with the St. Louis region.

A new report from the Brown School’s Clark-Fox Policy Institute focuses on the impact that high-quality early childhood care and education can have on children, families and communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically brought home the issue’s importance.

The Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis recently made 19 awards to faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the humanities and humanistic social sciences for its program of faculty seminars, reading groups and writing groups.

Ann M. Gronowski, in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine, has received an award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Nathan Vedal, assistant professor of East Asian languages and cultures in Arts & Sciences, has received a fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. Vedal also recently received a Mellon Fellowship from Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study.

Four students at Washington University in St. Louis have received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious award that honors students who conduct research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. The winners are all juniors in Arts & Sciences.