Field Notes: South Pacific
WashU earth scientists are studying undersea earthquakes and analyzing lava rocks from a volcanic hotspot near the islands of Samoa. Read about the work from their 28-day research cruise in 2023.
Turning bacteria into bioplastic factories
Two new studies by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis highlight one potential source of game-changing materials: purple bacteria that, with a little encouragement, can act like microscopic factories for bioplastics.
WashU to lead $26 million decarbonization initiative
A collaboration of universities and industry is embarking on a bold plan to transform manufacturing toward zero or negative emissions by converting carbon dioxide ultimately into environmentally friendly chemicals and products.
Sustainable technology to extract critical materials from coal-based resources
Young-Shin Jun to develop novel technology to extract, recover and enrich rare earth elements from coal-based resources.
WashU researchers quantify solar absorption by black carbon in fire clouds
New findings from Chakrabarty lab will help make climate models more accurate as massive wildfires become more common.
Competitive Energy
Alumnus Deko Devins is on a mission to make solar power more widespread, affordable and accessible.
Scientists find new way global air churn makes particles
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a new mechanism by which particles are formed around the globe, often high up in the troposphere.
New study adds to mystery of Cahokia exodus
Assistant Professor Natalie Mueller and Caitlin Rankin, PhD ’20, dig into Cahokia’s history to cast doubt on a popular theory about why the ancient city was abandoned.
Altered carbon points toward sustainable manufacturing
Feng Jiao scaled up carbon dioxide conversion process to a much larger scale.
Martin named highly ranked scholar by ScholarGPS
Randall Martin highly ranked for work in satellite, nitrogen oxide, pollution