Biofuels could hold the key to greener, more environmentally sound energy, transportation, and product options. Scientists have already figured out how to engineer microbes’ metabolic pathways, turning them into tiny biofuel manufacturers. Now new research from Fuzhong Zhang, associate professor at the School of Engineering & Applied Science, further refines the process, joining together the […]
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, […]
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 […]
In less than fifty years, global animal populations have declined by more than half. Extinction threatens one in five wild plant species, putting at risk supplies of food and medicines. Reversing this alarming trend will be critical to man’s survival. Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo are joining forces to […]
McDonnell Academy Ambassador Ohad Kadan and several McDonnell Scholars participated in a community engagement project on October 14, with the Open Space Council (OSC). Professor Kadan, Scholars, staff and family members spent several hours at Forest River Trail Park in Sunset Hills, Missouri with shovels, rakes and wheel barrels digging through piles of crushed limestone […]
The Washington University in St. Louis Forums are designed to showcase top Washington University faculty members and to address global issues in ways that are accessible to a broad audience. Keynote addresses will be given by Dr. Pratim Biswas on energy choices, Dr. William Powderly on the public health consequences of the choices, and Dr. […]
In summer 2017, a group of aerosol scientists, engineers and administrators from Washington University in St. Louis traveled to Asia to address some of the important problems related to energy, environment and health that we face today. The scientists, members of the Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering — or CASE — took part in […]
Two Washington University researchers are furthering our understanding of plant biodiversity around the globe. The biodiversity gradient is the increase in species richness that occurs from the poles to the tropics. It is one of the most widely recognized patterns in ecology but no one is sure exactly why it exists. Because the phenomenon is […]
Three WashU 2017 grads share their vision for a world where the environment and the economy are healthy. Sustainability advocates Nick Annin, Elise Fabbro and Nicola Salzman all participated in the International Climate Negotiation Seminar, an advanced Environmental Studies course is for students who will represent Washington University at the United Nations COP (Conference of […]
On behalf of Washington University in St. Louis, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton has issued a statement regarding President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Change Accord. Read the Chancellor’s full statement in the Source.