A film by Robert Gardner, associate in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies and former director of the Carpenter Center, was one of 25 motion pictures selected this year for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Dead Birds was made at Harvard in 1964. The Library of Congress annually selects films for the Registry, and ensures that the works will be preserved for all time, either through the Library's motion picture preservation program at Dayton, Ohio, or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion picture studios, and independent filmmakers.

In other news, Gardner, last month won the "best short film" award for his Sons of Shiva at the Nuoro Film Festival in Sardinia, Italy.

Krishnarao S.M. Appasani, of the Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, was recently honored by Ranbaxy Science Foundation of New Delhi, India, with the Ranbaxy Research Award in the field of applied medical sciences for his work on gene expression studies.

Appasani is in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women's, working on locating new gene-based molecular markers for the early detection of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other chest malignancies.

Lewis M. Branscomb, Aetna Professor in Public Policy and Corporate Management Emeritus at the Kennedy School of Government, has been awarded the Okawa Foundation's Prize for Information and Telecommunications for his outstanding contributions to the progress of informatics, scientific and technological policy, and corporate management. The Okawa Prize was established in 1992 and pays tribute to persons who have made outstanding contributions to research, technological development, and business in the information and telecommunications fields. The winners are awarded a certificate, a gold medal, and Y10 million.

Dudley Herschbach, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, has won an award of $46,000 from the Research Corporation, a foundation for the advancement of science based in Tucson, Ariz.