Arts & Sciences

Four university scientists are among the 84 members and 21 foreign associates recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Undergraduate Sakura Oyama received a 2017 Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England. Oyama is preparing to graduate this month with a degree in biology and in anthropology, with a concentration in global health and the environment, from Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

In “Grieve,” Sagar Brahmbhatt depicts bereavement as a kind of delayed reaction — a time bomb that never really stops exploding. Evan Gates’ “Floor is Lava?” is a slyly pointed examination of adult responsibility. Later this month, both films, created entirely by Washington University students, will be screened as part of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Lily Cao and Jennifer Hsu share this year’s Spector Prize, awarded annually to a graduating senior in memory of Marion Smith Spector, a 1938 graduate who studied zoology under the late Viktor Hamburger.

The American Economic Association (AEA) elected Robert A. Pollak, the Hernreich Distinguished Professor of Economics at Olin Business School and in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, a 2017 Distinguished Fellow.

Undergraduate Ethan Evans, a sophomore in Arts & Sciences majoring in music and in international and area studies, had an original choral composition, “Lily Valley,” performed recently at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.

Three juniors at Washington University in St. Louis have been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2017-18 academic year. They are Emily Goering and Hannah Olsen, who are majoring in biochemistry, and Emma Streff, who is studying chemistry.

This Earth Day, leaders at Washington University in St. Louis announced a new name and an increased emphasis on the university’s united sustainability effort: the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, or InCEES.

The latest cohort of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship has been named. The program aims to increase diversity in higher education by supporting undergraduate research and by encouraging talented but underrepresented students to pursue doctorates in the humanities and the social sciences.

WashU alum John Coveyou is the founder of Genius Games, a game-design company focused on creating entertaining and educational science-themed games.