Environmental Research & Creativity Week 2025

February 24-28, 2025

Thank you to everyone who made Environmental Research and Creativity Week a success!

We are grateful for the community of partners who hosted, cohosted, and promoted this week of events. Over the course of five days and 15 events, the Center partnered with 11 different university teams and showcased the work of 48 WashU researchers. The breadth and depth of knowledge that was shared by these partners was humbling and gave an exciting view into the critical environmental work happening across WashU and beyond.

We are equally grateful to the attendees who chose to spend their valuable time engaging in these events. Altogether, more than 850 people engaged in the week’s programming. They came from each of WashU’s schools as well as 38 community organizations.

Through the lectures and panels, we learned about critical research that advances our shared understanding of the world. We also heard calls from leading voices on the need for bold solutions to major environmental challenges.

Through the interactive tours, we gained a deeper understanding of the spaces we inhabit, the plant life we live alongside, the people who advance environmental work, and experienced thoughtful reflections on the future our shared home.

Amidst the uncertainty and challenges of today’s world, the work of addressing our gravest environmental and societal challenges requires community and thoughtful partnership. Environmental Research & Creativity Week was our attempt to nurture, support, and celebrate this vibrant community and deepen these partnerships.

This concentrated week gave us a chance can learn together, connect with our peers and celebrate the valuable work of this valuable community.

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Environmental Research & Creativity Week cohosts:

Monday, February 24

Environmental Research Symposium 

Center for the Environment

1:00-5:30pm | Clark-Fox Forum, Hillman hall

This half-day symposium will bring together scholars, students, staff and partners to highlight environmental research across the university and beyond. 

The symposium will feature: 

1:00-2:15pm | Keynote: “A Vision for the Future in Three Acts,” Julie Zimmerman, Vice Provost for Planetary Solutions, Yale University  

2:15-3:15pm | Panel: “What is higher education’s role in addressing environmental challenges?”  Featuring Center for the Environment Scholars

3:30-4:30pm | Graduate student lightning talks

4:30-5:30pm | Poster session and networking reception with drinks and light fare.

Tuesday, February 25

Cannibal Capitalism: The View from Trump’s America – 2025 Faculty Book Celebration

Center for the Humanities

4:00-6:30pm | Umrath Lounge, Umrath Hall

The Center for the Humanities Faculty Book Celebration will feature keynote speaker Nancy Fraser on her book “Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planet – and What We Can Do About It.” 

Safeguarding Human Health on a Rapidly Changing Planet – S.T. Lee Lecture

McDonnell International Scholars Academy

5:00-7:30pm | Clark-Fox Forum, Hillman Hall

Samuel Myers, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health and founding director of the Planetary Health Alliance will present.

Wednesday, February 26

Early-Season Blooms Tour – Arbor Walk

WashU Arboretum cohosted event

10:00-11:15am | Starting location: bottom of Brookings Hall steps, Tisch Park

Join the WashU Arboretum on a guided Arbor Walk around campus to enjoy and learn about some of the earliest spring blooms and leaves on our campus. This tour will feature everything from basic plant identification to science-humanities connections in our Arboretum. Expected walking distance 1.5 miles (2.4 km). 

Are We Toast? Humanities Under Capitalism – 2025 Faculty Book Celebration

Center for the Humanities

Noon-1:30pm | Olin Library Room 142

Day two of the Faculty Book Celebration includes a panel discussion with Nancy Fraser and featured WashU faculty members. 

Bovine Interventions: Thinking with Animals in Enlightenment Venice – Visiting Speaker Karl Appuhn

Department of History

1:00-2:00pm | Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall

Karl Appuhn, Associate Professor of History and Italian at New York University, presents a lecture as part of the Department of History Colloquium series. Light refreshments will be provided.

Transformative decarbonization research led by WashU – Alumni Webinar

University Advancement cohosted event

6:00-7:00pm CST | Virtual

Learn about WashU’s CURB decarbonization research initiative featuring the project’s leader Joshua Yuan, Chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in McKelvey Engineering. 

Thursday, February 27

Tropical Forest February – Explore St. Louis’ Only Tropical Forest

Living Earth Collaborative cohosted event

9-10:45 a.m. | Missouri Botanical Garden 

The Living Earth Collaborative – an innovative biodiversity partnership between the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, and WashU – will host an event exploring the hyperdiversity of plants and animals in the world’s tropical forest; highlighting the St. Louis region’s strengths in tropical forest ecology and conservation.

Seeds: Containers of a World to Come – Gallery Tour

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum cohosted event

Noon-1:00pm | Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

Examine the relationship between plants, humans, and land through the works of 10 contemporary artists. Led by Curator Meredith Malone, this tour will explore the works of the exhibition Seeds: Containers of a World to Come, focusing on the way in which they reflect on and reframe our understanding of current environmental challenges and our connection to the natural world. The exhibit is open Feb. 21 through July 28 at the Kemper Art Museum. 

Step into the Tropics: An Evening to Celebrate Tropical Forest Research

Living Earth Collaborative cohosted event

5- 7:45 p.m. | Missouri Botanical Garden 

The Living Earth Collaborative – an innovative biodiversity partnership between the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, and WashU – will host an evening celebrating tropical forests, headlined by Dr. Lúcia Lohmann, Missouri Botanical Garden’s new president and director.

Extractivism in the Americas – Visiting Speaker Celina Osuna 

Center for the Humanities
Environmental Arts & Humanities Working Group  

5:30-7:00pm | Kuehner Court, Weil Hall

Scholar and artist Celina Osuna, Assistant Professor of English at University of Texas El Paso, will present on issues of environmental art and extraction at the U.S.-Mexico border. This talk is in conjunction with the Extractivism in the Americas exhibit at the Des Lee Gallery, which runs Feb. 7 through March 7. Dinner will be provided.  

Friday, February 28

Sustainable Innovations in Research – WashU School of Medicine Sustainability Tour   

School of Medicine Sustainability cohosted event

10:30-11:30am | Starting location: Central West End MetroLink station 

Learn about sustainable buildings, landscapes, and labs during a tour of WashU’s School of Medicine campus. The tour will include a walkthrough of campus and a visit to the Piston lab, where scientists will share the sustainable practices the lab has implemented for their research.

Sustainability Alumni Chat – Career Panel 

Center for Career Engagement

1:00-2:00pm | Virtual

Join the Center for Career Engagement to hear from alumni in environment and sustainability across consulting, government, corporate, and non-profit spaces, with backgrounds including international studies, economics, environmental science, and engineering.  Bring your questions! This event is intended for WashU Students.

WashU’s Environmental Ecosystem – Lab & Studio Crawl 

Center for the Environment

1:30-3:30pm | Starting location: 1^st Floor Brauer Hall, concludes Weil Hall 

Learn about the people, places, and processes that contribute to the rich environmental landscape at WashU. This curated series of lab and studio tours will highlight the modes and methods of various disciplines across the Danforth Campus. 

The crawl will feature:

• Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory 
• Laboratory for the Analysis of Early Food-Webs 
• The Penczykowski Lab
• Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies
• College of Art and College of Architecture Faculty

Let’s Celebrate – End-of-Week Reception

Center for the Environment

3:30-4:30pm | Kuehner Court, Weil Hall

Unwind after a full week of programs at this celebration of the myriad work happening across the WashU environmental community. Drinks and light fare will be served.