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
Researchers to develop energy-efficient process to convert waste gases into biofuel
Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis will be working to improve energy efficiency in production of that useful gas thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Hanahan, Hoeferlin awarded grants for cross-disciplinary research
Associate Professor Jonathan Hanahan and Professor Derek Hoeferlin have been awarded Ignite Interdisciplinary Grants through WashU’s Here and Next campaign. The $50,000 grants are designed to catalyze interdisciplinary research projects that address complex, transformative problems.
Coyote genes may show urban evolution at work
A new study outlines the ways by which city life may be shaping the evolution of urban coyotes, the highly adaptable carnivores spotted in alleyways from Berkeley, Calif., to the Bronx, in New York.