Arts & Sciences

Jordan Simmons, a senior majoring in global studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected as a 2024 Donald M. Payne International Development Fellow. The program is aimed at those interested in careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Jonathan Fenderson, an associate professor of African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has won a 2024 New Directions Fellowship from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Entering WashU, Lauren Bruhl knew she wanted to study the environment. Her childhood in rural New Jersey, where she explored its protected woodlands, helped cultivate her love for the environment, while her high school studies in Portugal, where she studied renewable energy, catalyzed her academic interest in reducing our carbon footprint. Now, the soon-to-be graduate of Arts & Sciences is ready to put her passion and skills into practice.

On a recent visit to Pakistan, Omaer Naeem could literally taste the smog. Naeem, who is set to graduate with a degree in global students from Arts & Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, is committed to working with local communities in South Asia find their own solutions to this existential crisis.

Yunfeng Ge is an avid bird and nature lover. Her extensive research and volunteer work has prepared her for life after graduation. She plans to pursue conservation work and eventually attend graduate school to study ecology.

A 2023 Astronaut Scholar, Avital Isakov studies green energy solutions in Robert Wexler’s laboratory in the Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences and plans to pursue a PhD in computational and theoretical chemistry.

The inaugural STL DataFest later this month will feature presentations and discussions on a range of data applications, including data science’s impact in particular fields and larger questions of data ethics, privacy and security. Register to attend by May 6.

Last summer, 18 WashU students traveled to London for an intensive three-week program at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Here, Claire Sommers, a lecturer in Arts & Sciences, describes the program’s aims and what it means to explore the places that shaped the Bard.

Jennifer Heemstra was installed as the Charles Allen Thomas Professor in Chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis during a ceremony April 10 at the Whittemore House. Her lab is focused on harnessing the capabilities of proteins and nucleic acids to address unmet needs in biomedicine and the environment.

Carbon emissions associated with air travel to professional conferences make up a sizable fraction of the emissions produced by researchers in academia. Andrea Gokus, a McDonnell Center postdoctoral fellow in Arts & Sciences, is advocating for astronomers and others to reduce those emissions.