Obesity, climate change, hunger: A ‘Global Syndemic’

The international Lancet Commission on Obesityreleased its major new reportJan. 27. The main takeaway? Obesity, climate change and hunger are inextricably linked and must be fought as one challenge. Ross Hammond, the Betty Bofinger Brown Associate Professor, and Peter Hovmand, director of the Social System Design Laband professor of practice, both of the Brown School at Washington University in […]

WashU 3D printed house

3D printing: A model for sustainable construction?

Could 3D printing change the way buildings are made? That was the question explored by a team of Washington University in St. Louis students from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and the School of Engineering & Applied Science. With support from the International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (InCEES), the team […]

UC#-Forum-2

Washington University partners with regional leaders to accelerate climate action

Washington University has joined 16 other leading research universities that comprise the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3). UC3 is a new network of institutions from across North America formed on Feb. 6 at the 2018 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit,  committed to leveraging its combined institutional strength to foster a robust exchange of best practices and […]

Thermometer and scorched earth

McDonnell Scholar Blog: Taking the Heat

On Oct. 14, during the 7thMcDonnell International Scholars Academy symposium workshop “Taking the Heat: Using Journalism for Educational Engagement on Climate,” a group of experienced journalists and scholars highlighted journalism’s function in educating the public on climate change, and presented us the future of journalism as offering more solutions to this urgent global problem. This […]

Symposium highlights graphic

McDonnell Academy 7th International Symposium

35 Premier universities united to address the world’s most critical problems of the 21st century at the McDonnell Academy 7th International Symposium, cohosted by Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, October 11-14, 2018. The meeting created space for joint investigation on complex global issues, drawing on a diversity of perspectives from multiple countries and disciplines. It offered […]

Forums Marl Wrighton Pic

Global collaborations, holistic solutions

Washington University hosts forums for India, Greater China Washington University in St. Louis’ commitment to finding collaborative, creative solutions for far-reaching global problems is deep and wide-reaching. Of particular concern is the environment, and making the necessary choices to ensure the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat is safe, […]

WildfireSmoke

Wildfire smoke and atmospheric warming

A team of WashU scientists has simulated smoldering wildfires in the lab in order to study the effects of their smoke on the atmosphere. Black carbon, or soot, has already been identified as a major agent in atmospheric warming, but less is known about the effects of an organic particulate matter in smoke called brown […]

Billowing smoke stacks

Energy alliances must be holistic, realistic

Multiple countries announced at the U.N. climate talks that they are committing to phase out coal as an energy source by 2030. But  WashU Expert Pratim Biswas warns that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t the most effective response to climate change. All U.N. countries need to take a holistic approach to energy choices, especially developing nations, […]

Aleppo, Syria degraded ruin

Looking at ‘wastelands’ through a humanities lens

This fall, Nancy Y. Reynolds and Anne-Marie McManus launched the Mellon Sawyer Seminar,  “Grounding the Ecocritical: Materializing Wastelands and Living on in the Middle East.”  “Wastelands” refers to places with material and environmental degradation, ruin, and decay, as well as the social and natural life that inhabits them. “Ecocriticism” is the study of the relationship […]

Hoeferlin near the Chain of Rocks Bridge on the Mississippi River.

Designing for climate resilience in Asia

Derek Hoeferlin, associate professor of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, along with research assistants Jess Vanecek and Rob Birch, both master’s degree candidates in the Sam Fox School, has won first prize in the inaugural Designing Resilience in Asia International Open Competition. Sponsored by the School of Design and […]