Research Topics

Research Focus The Influence of Carbon Neutral Biofuels and Carbon Free Hydrogen and Ammonia on Aerodynamic Design of Commercial Aircraft Configurations    In efforts to combat climate change worldwide, the aviation industry faces particularly complex design challenges in designing new, CO2 emissions free vehicles. One potential solution to this problem is the use of sustainable biofuels […]

Research Focus Asthma, the most common chronic condition affecting youth, disproportionately impacts Black youth (twice the national prevalence), and children living in poverty (1.5 times their peers). Programs that successfully target asthma management through environmental interventions exist, but are under-implemented among vulnerable populations due to social and economic contextual barriers (i.e., poverty, resources, environmental conditions). […]

Research Focus This interdisciplinary project aims to assess and improve disaster preparedness, climate, and health resilience in affordable housing communities located in coastal areas. Our approach prioritizes support for vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by climate change by integrating public health, housing infrastructure, and urban resilience strategies. We aim to develop a community-engaged, comprehensive toolkit by […]

Research Focus Diffusion models have become a popular machine learning approach for many types of problems, such as linear inverse problems. Paleoclimate reconstruction based on climate proxies such as tree rings and pollen is an inverse problem. Many statistical methods have been used to reconstruct past climates, and we plan to investigate how diffusion models […]

Research Focus The summer research on Urban Mining Innovation will address: Skills, Techniques, Methods Students will primarily explore Autonomous surveying relying on existing sensing technologies such as Laser Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)/photogrammetry sensors and high-resolution cameras, as well as qualitative and quantitative deconstruction surveys to collect building data. The student will learn emerging technologies in […]

Research Focus Our research group studies indoor environmental quality. We spend almost 90% of our time indoors, so indoor air plays a major role in shaping our chemical exposures. We seek to understand how those chemical exposures impact our health. One area of interest in our lab is the role of microbes (bacteria and fungi) […]

Research Focus Our research explores spatial relationships between humans and the environment. One summer project available for undergraduate researchers investigates how disaster risks—such as those related to hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding—intersect with civic participation and voter engagement. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe due to climate change, it is critical to understand […]

Research Focus The project aims to evaluate the impacts of Brazil’s “Minha Casa Minha Vida” (MCMV) affordable housing program on residents’ physical activity, health, and climate resilience practices through the development and refinement of an evidence-based framework. Led by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with the University of São Paulo, this […]

Research Focus Our lab studies microbial metabolisms and their influence on biogeochemical cycling using an interdisciplinary approach. We apply the knowledge we gain to generate new ways of addressing issues such as the energy crisis, climate change, pollution, human health, sustainability, and the circular economy. This coming summer we plan to focus on a mix […]

Research Focus Are you passionate about sustainable energy and curious about how we can design better materials to power the future? Join the Wexler Group in developing computational and theoretical methods to study material imperfections—like surfaces and defects—that can be essential in clean energy technologies. Our projects include (1) discovering how changes on material surfaces […]