Arts & Sciences

Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed executive director of the university’s Teaching Center, effective July 1.

Warmer summer and fall seasons and fewer winter freeze-thaw events have led to changes in the relative numbers of different types of bugs in the Arctic, says Amanda Koltz, a postdoctoral fellow in Arts & Sciences. The study relies on the longest-standing, most comprehensive data set on arctic arthropods in the world today: a catalogue of almost 600,000 flies, wasps, spiders and other creepy-crawlies collected at the Zackenberg field station on the northeast coast of Greenland from 1996-2014.

Sarah C.R. Elgin and Samuel I. Achilefu will receive Washington University in St. Louis’ 2018 faculty achievement awards, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced. Also, William A. Frazier III, professor emeritus, will be honored for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Washington University faculty and students will moderate panels at the Saint Louis Climate Summit, hosted by Saint Louis University. Students, faculty and staff can attend an evening with Bill Nye of “Science Guy” fame and environmentalist Carl Pope on April 23 for free by showing their IDs at the ticket booth.

The prospects for improved law enforcement-community relations in St. Louis and beyond will be explored as the “Color of Policing Symposium (COPS): Youth, Education and Activism” brings together urban scholars and city leaders for a two-day symposium April 19-20 on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

News is for fools. Kindness is a lie. Killing, to our animal nature, is simply enjoyable. Wallace Shawn’s “Aunt Dan and Lemon,” which the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will stage April 13-22, explores the fragility of civilized society, and how easily cultured masks slip before the face of power.

John Heil, a professor of philosophy in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected for the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship based on his prior achievement and exceptional promise.

The Calidore String Quartet, one of the most acclaimed chamber ensembles of its generation, will perform music of Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Beethoven April 22 as part of the Great Artists Series at Washington University in St. Louis.

In the midst of what scientists consider to be a sixth mass extinction event, Washington University is joining forces with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo to collaborate on ­life-saving research and conservation efforts.

One of the many skilled artisans behind the enchanting visuals in Pixar movies is alumnus Chris Bernardi. On the Oscar Award–winning “Coco,” Bernardi served as set supervisor, leading a team of designers who beautifully bring to life a boy’s dream against the backdrop of Mexico’s Day of the Dead.