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.
Connect with us
Upcoming Events
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
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.
Engineering public health
Research in McKelvey Engineering intersects with public health
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
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.
Doctors Discover What’s Behind the Disturbing Rise of Cancer Cases in Millennials and Gen Z
Cancer keeps striking younger and younger. We now know why.
10 Lessons From an Office of Public Scholarship, 3 Years In
How can institutions better support scholars wanting to do public-facing work?
