Notables

The mayor of New York has announced a new child savings account to help thousands of New York City public school children save for college. City officials relied on research from the Center for Social Development at the Brown School to develop the three-year pilot program, which starts next fall.

Two Washington University in St. Louis graduates were finalists for a Rhodes Scholarship, one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards: Damari Croswell, an Arts & Sciences alum, and Yidan Qin, an engineering alum.

Lan Yang, the Edwin H. & Florence G. Skinner Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named a fellow of The Optical Society.

Boeing Co. has awarded Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership a grant for STEMpact.

Samuel Achilefu, the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected as a fellow to the Royal Society of Chemistry and to The Optical Society.

Phyllis I. Hanson, MD, PhD, the Gerty T. Cori Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at the School of Medicine, has been named chairperson of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Membrane Biology and Protein Processing Study Section.

Sophia Hayes, professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, served on a committee that prepared a report and launched a website about the shortage of liquid helium and how both the government and scientific researchers can respond.

James G. Miller, the Albert Gordon Hill Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences, received the 2016 Rayleigh Award at the International Ultrasonics Symposium this fall in Tours, France.

Carol Diaz-Granados, research associate in anthropology in Arts & Sciences, delivered the Annual Paul H. and Erika Bourguignon Lecture in Art and Anthropology at The Ohio State University.

Ramakrishna Rao, an associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recently received the 2016 Anne Maurer-Cecchini Award, an honor that recognizes outstanding epidemiological or clinical research on neglected tropical diseases.