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
138
Center scholars
46
Proposals/Grants supported
1000+
Activity participants
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.
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Work with us! Program Coordinator position now open
The Program Coordinator engages a broad community of researchers and partners to expand the scope and scale of interdisciplinary environmental research at WashU, in order to address society’s deepest environmental challenges. This role does that by managing key programs of the Center for the Environment’s collaboration hub, and research accelerator functions.
Featured research & stories
What I learned following a mentor into the jungle
Guided by graduate student Tasman Ezra, a WashU undergraduate turns classroom skills into field research and gains a deeper understanding of what it means to be a scientist.
Bursky Public Health names first FARM distinguished professors
Lora Iannotti and Feng Jiao have been installed as the inaugural Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professors at WashU
The secrets of bunker 46
Inside a World War II-era bunker at Tyson Research Center, preserved birds, handwritten logs and mold-covered artifacts tell a story of science, stewardship and changing times.
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
Washington University researcher co-authors study linking air pollution to prenatal depression
Exposure to common air pollutants during early pregnancy may increase the risk of persistent depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy.
The 12th International GEOS-Chem Meeting (IGC12)
The 12th International GEOS-Chem Meeting (IGC12) was held at Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) on June 9-12, 2026 with 259 registrants from 106 institutions and 20 countries.
By helping test for lead in soil, a Bursky Summer Experience student helps protect public
The hope is that through evidence-based remediation, researchers can reduce soil lead exposure and ultimately create healthier environments.
