The Center for the Environment is organized around four interconnected research themes and one foundational, cross-cutting theme. The most complex environmental challenges and the most exciting research needs are at the intersections of these themes.
Research themes
Addressing societal challenges
We are 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.
Summer Undergraduate Research
At WashU, undergraduate students have the opportunity to spend the summer conducting research alongside principal investigators, graduate students, and peers – working to address environmental challenges in an interdisciplinary cohort.
Research Facilities
WashU has a variety of available research facilities. Find out how they might support your work.
Featured research & stories
Halting hidden hunger
Can improved nutrition during pregnancy help prevent stunted growth in children around the world? With partners in Ecuador, Lora Iannotti studies the effects of maternal diet on infant brain development.
Saving forests and alleviating poverty
WashU sophomores work with villagers in rural Madagascar to conserve biodiversity.
Island biodiversity rides on the wings of birds
Bird wing shape is a trait that influences biodiversity patterns on islands around the world, according to research from WashU biologists.