Arts & Sciences

What is it with cheating? Cheaters seem to have an immediate advantage over cooperators, but do they have an evolutionary advantage? A study published in Current Biology suggests the benefits of cheating change with its prevalence,in a population. Cheaters may succeed, for example, only when they are rare, and fail when they become so numerous they push out cooperators.

p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} Four students at Washington University in St. Louis successfully completed the Certificate in Renewable Energy and the Environment this year and were recognized at an event at the Whittemore House.

A Washington University earthquake seismologist who is teaching a course on natural disasters in movies reviews the newly released film “San Andreas.” The short version: they clearly didn’t have a seismologist consulting on this film. The take home message: Go see it anyway. It’s summer.

​Washington University staff and faculty have one more month to join the 5,000 employees who already have contributed to Our Washington, the faculty and staff component of Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University. Donations support scholarships, strengthen academic and scientific initiatives, advance learning and enhance facilities.

Zohar Nussinov, PhD, associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received a three-year, $279,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Theoretical Approaches to Multi-Scale Complex Systems.”

Max Forrester, a doctoral candidate in the Department of History in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received a research travel grant from the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.

The hallmark of the 18-month Pathfinder Program in Environmental Sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis is the field trips to ecosystems, such as the Mojave Desert, that give students the chance to see and touch the land they have been studying. It’s hard to get the students back in the van, says Ray Arvidson, who leads the program.

Timothy Moore, PhD, John and Penelope Biggs Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Classics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, recently delivered a lecture on song and had a paper published in a book on women in Roman drama.

The Opportunity rover is currently exploring a Martian crater named the Spirit of St. Louis, after the famous aircraft — which was in turn named in honor of St. Louis citizens who purchased it for Charles Lindbergh. The mission team picked this naming scheme because Washington University team members spotted a promising target just beyond the crater. As long as the rover remains in the crater, the names will drawn from a list of names related to the famous flight. ​

Li Yang, PhD, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a five-year CAREER grant, expected to total $475,000, from the National Science Foundation.