The Center for the Environment is an interdisciplinary hub of environmental research that is committed to generating transformative solutions to our deepest societal challenges including: climate change, air pollution, access to clean water, food insecurity, biodiversity loss and infectious diseases.
By the numbers
105
Center scholars
7
Proposals/Grants supported
500+
Activity participants
115
Journal articles published
Jan-June 2024
The Center’s mission
The center serves as a cross-cutting collaboration hub, encouraging partners, faculty and students to advance research projects in areas including biodiversity, environmental justice, planetary health, environmental solutions, and climate change. Here’s a closer look at who we are, what we do, and why it matters for our community, our region and our world.
Featured research & stories
Of the Cave: An Exploration into Our Relationship with American Caverns
Maddy Frank, science writer at WashU, chronicles her adventures funded by the Newman Exploration Travel Fund (NEXT), where she set off to South Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico to discover more about our current relationship with caverns.
A high-tech way to track an age-old problem
Students in the “Geospatial Field Methods” course used drones to map flooding along the Meramec River.
Researchers create novel electro-biodiesel more efficient, cleaner than alternatives
WashU engineering professor Joshua Yuan and University of Missouri professor Susie Dai along with collaborators created biodiesel with electrocatalysis and bioconversion.
The WashU ecosystem
Within the WashU ecosystem of environmental research, education, and practice, the Center for the Environment serves as a connector. Much like a biodiversity corridor, we work to create space where our partners within the ecosystem and across distinct disciplines come together to address our world’s biggest environmental challenges.
In the news
Future proofing photosynthesis
Robert Blankenship, professor emeritus of botany and chemistry at WashU, shares his thoughts on plant photosynthesis.
LISTEN: Astro Brief: Sub-Neptunes with Dr. Tansu Daylan
WashU professor Dr. Tansu Daylan shares his research and experience in the study of exoplanets.
Food aid interventions can curb climate change-induced hardship. But should they do more?
Lora Iannotti, a professor who studies global maternal and youth nutrition at the Brown School at WashU, is featured in this article.
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