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Environment
The environment covers many topics and disciplines at Washington University. Faculty have contributed landmark studies in air and water pollution, as well as ecosystem and endangered species preservation. Faculty have research ties to the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, two of the greatest plant science institutions in the world, and on-campus engineers study multitude aspects of aerosol tracking and clean-up in the Environmental Engineering Science Program. The new multidisciplinary Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC), funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on green chemistry and engineering concepts. The Center for Air Pollution Impact Trends and Analysis (CAPITA) has the world's largest archive of computerized air pollution data. In the School of Law's Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, students work under faculty supervision to provide pro bono assistance on environmental and community health problems.
| Faculty Experts: |
Showing Environment Experts 1 through 5 of 17.
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Robert Criss
Professor of Earth & Planetary Science
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| Criss |
Criss specializes in hydrogeology, the geology of water and systems of water. Much of his work has an environmental slant. He investigates the transport of aqueous fluids in environments such as rivers, cool potable groundwater systems essential to civilization, and deeper, hotter hydrothermal systems. ...
Expertise: Geology, hydrogeology, floods, river systems, dams
Direct contact: (314) 935-7441
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criss@wustl.edu
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Tiffany Knight
Assistant Professor of Biology
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| Knight |
Knight is an ecologist who studies the population ecology of rare and invasive plant species, and addresses questions related to the causes and consequences of their abundances and distributions. Why are some species rare, while their closely related congeners are widespread? How does dispersal ability ...
Expertise: Ecology, biology, plants, ecosystems, habitat
Direct contact: (314) 935-8282
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knight@wustl.edu
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Jonathan Chase
Associate Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences and director of Tyson Research Center
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| Chase |
Jonathan M. Chase, associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and director of the university's Tyson Research Center, focuses his research on the rules (or lack thereof) underlying the diversity, distribution, and abundance of animal and plant species from the population/community/ecosystem ...
Expertise: biology, ecology, ecosystem, natural history, evolution, biodiversity, food webs, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-4105
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jchase@wustl.edu
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D. Tab Rasmussen
Professor of Anthropology in Arts and Sciences
Rasmussen studies primate evolution by drawing on two major lines of evidence: the fossil record and the comparative study of living primates. One goal of this research is to trace the actual course of primate evolution. More importantly, detailed studies of primate evolution can provide insight into ...
Expertise: primate evolution, fossil record, evolutionary transitions, primate origins, anthropoid origins, prosimian primates, paleontology, …
Media assistance: (314) 935-5235 / nschoenherr@wustl.edu
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Ralph Quatrano
Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., is the Spencer T. Olin Professor in Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. He is internationally known for his plant science work on patterns of embryo formation, and how the patterns lead cells to acquire traits or ...
Expertise: Plants, plant biology, botany, moss, genome, algae, genes, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-6850
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rsq@wustl.edu
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Showing Environment Experts 1 through 5 of 17.
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| News Stories & Tip Sheets: |
Showing Environment Stories 1 through 3 of 121.
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'We must succeed in meeting this challenge'
Top officers of energy companies meet in St. Louis Nov. 2 to discuss the National Research Council's roadmap for the energy future
Oct. 27,
2009 --
America has the potential to solve its energy crisis over the next decade, but doing so will require immediate investment in clean energy technologies, says Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis and vice chair of a National Resource Council report on America's energy challenges. The report will be the topic of a symposium to be held from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, in the May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
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'McDonaldization' of frogs
Frog fungus hammering biodiversity of communities
Sept. 22,
2009 --
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| Photo by Roberto Brenes |
| Tiny frog killed by invasive fungus. |
Everyone knows that frogs are in trouble. But a recent analysis by Washington University in St. Louis researchers of data on Central American frogs collected by a University of Maryland colleague shows the situation is worse than had been thought. Under pressure from an invasive fungus, the frogs in this biodiversity hot spot are undergoing "a vast homogenization" that is leaving behind simpler communities that increasingly resemble one another. "We're witnessing the McDonaldization of the frog communities," comments Kevin G. Smith, Ph.D., the lead author of the analysis and associate director of Washington University's Tyson Research Center, a site the fungus has also reached.
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Achieving a very small carbon footprint
Chase and Hellmuth discuss the trials and tribulations of building one of the greenest structures in North America
Sept. 17,
2009 -- The new Living Learning Center at Tyson Research Center was designed to be one of the greenest buildings in North America. Jonathan Chase, associate professor of biology in the Department of Biology and Environmental Studies in Arts & Sciences and Tyson's director; and Daniel Hellmuth, principal and co-founder of Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, L.L.C., will deliver a talk about the Center and its challenges for the Assembly Series at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 24 in Wilson Hall Room 214. The program is free and open to the public.
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Showing Environment Stories 1 through 3 of 121.
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NYUers paper clipped
New York Post
and 1 others
Sept. 11,
2009 -- NYU, one of the most expensive higher-education institutions in the country, has resorted to rationing paper and charging students for printouts in order to cut costs.
Seething students derided the measure, which kicks in after a student surpasses a 500-page printout limit per semester, as a cheap shot.
Similar measures have been introduced at dozens of smaller colleges -- and this year at the larger WUSTL -- for economic and environmental benefits.
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Early human European diets studied
United Press International
and 4 others
Aug. 12,
2009 -- U.S. and Canadian scientists say data from human fossils suggest a shift in animal resource exploitation as humans spread into Europe 40,000 years ago.
There is little evidence for the regular eating of fish by the Neanderthals, but early humans consistently consumed fish, supplementing their diet.
This study by WUSTL anthropology professor Erik Trinkaus a Canadian colleague was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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A Fashion Trend Meets A Watery Grave
The Wall Street Journal online
Aug. 7,
2009 -- The rise and fall of bottled water may be the best case study yet in the strange politics of trendy environmental causes.
Bottled water got its foothold in the U.S. as a statement about healthy living.
It wasn't that long ago that making water available everywhere was itself a sort of crusade.
But now schools such as WUSTL have made "Ban the Bottle" a campus cry. Thus does one crusade lead to another, with the solution to yesterday's crisis providing the stuff of today's.
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Greenpeace appoints veteran organizer to its top post
The New York Times
April 14,
2009 -- Greenpeace USA announced the appointment today of its top organizer, Phil Radford, as its new executive director. Radford, 33, is a WUSTL alum (1998). He has been with Greenpeace since 2003 and was behind the launch of the "Frontline" initiative that nearly doubled the organization's annual budget to $30 million.
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Earth's Crust Melts Easier Than Previously Thought
ScienceDaily.com
and 1 others
March 24,
2009 -- A study just published in Nature has found that the Earth's crust melts easier than previously thought. This finding provides insight into how magmas are formed and will lead to better models of continental collision and the formation of mountain belts. The NSF study was co-authored by WUSTL earth and planetary sciences professor Anne Hofmeister.
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U.S. Colleges Get Serious With Partners Overseas
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Feb. 23,
2009 -- WUSTL chancellor Mark S. Wrighton is trying to establish meaningful relationships with foreign universities, in hopes of engaging large numbers of WUSTL students and faculty members, encouraging robust research collaborations, and cultivating a more global campus.
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Southern Mo. targeted for uranium drilling
Associated Press
and 70 others
Feb. 3,
2009 -- According to one geologist, southeast Missouri could hold one of the biggest deposits of undiscovered uranium in the U.S. Includes comments by WUSTL earth and planetary sciences professor Bob Criss.
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Arch Coal set to release 4Q earnings
Associated Press State & Local Wire
and 3 others
Jan. 30,
2009 -- Arch Coal Inc., one of the world's biggest coal producers, reports earnings for the fourth quarter and full-year 2008 before the market opens Friday. Last month, Arch Coal and Peabody announced they are combining with Ameren Corp. and WUSTL to try and make St. Louis the nation's center for clean coal research and education.
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Diamonds show comet struck North America, scientists say
Los Angeles Times
and 1 others
Jan. 2,
2009 -- A discovery of microscopic diamonds a few feet beneath the surface of North America reveals that a comet caused a cataclysm of fire, flood and devastation nearly 13,000 years ago, scientists said. Includes comments by WUSTL physicist Tyrone Daulton.
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As Ice Melts, Antarctic Bedrock Is On The Move
SpaceDaily.com
Dec. 30,
2008 -- Scientists have discovered that as ice melts away from Antarctica, parts of the continental bedrock are rising in response - and other parts are sinking. These results come from POLENET, a growing network of GPS trackers and seismic sensors implanted in the bedrock beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. WUSTL is one of the partners.
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Story on the establishment of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization
Xinhua News Agency (China)
and 11 others
Dec. 12,
2008 -- In a Dec. 8th news conference in Hong Kong, twenty-five premier research universities from around the world, including WUSTL, announced the establishment of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization to promote research and applications of clean coal technology.
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Effort would make St. Louis clean coal focal point
Associated Press State & Local Wire
and 13 others
Dec. 3,
2008 -- Two major coal companies and one of the Midwest's largest utilities are combining with WUSTL to try and make St. Louis the nation's center for clean coal research and education.
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Study on wildlife corridors shows how they work over time
Eureka! Science News (Canada)
and 3 others
Dec. 2,
2008 -- WUSTL biologists and their collaborators have created budding longleaf pine forest ecosystems with the help of the U.S. Forest Service-Savannah River to understand whether these "corridors" help plants and animals survive habitat fragmentation.
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Getting Rid Of Mercury
Chemical & Engineering News
Nov. 24,
2008 -- Anticipating a national rule on mercury removal from coal flue gas, technology providers jockey for position in this new market. Pratim Biswas, who chairs the department of energy, environmental, and chemical engineering at WUSTL, says titanium dioxide shows promise as an efficient mercury-removal mechanism.
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Obama Dips Into Think Tank for Talent
The Wall Street Journal online
Nov. 17,
2008 -- The Center for a New American Security, a small think tank here with generally middle-of-the-road policy views, is rapidly emerging as a top farm team for the incoming Obama administration. Includes comments by WUSTL economics professor Murray Weidenbaum, who wrote a book on Washington think tanks.
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Huge mountain range shouldn't be there
MSNBC.com
Oct. 22,
2008 -- An Antarctic mountain range that rivals the Alps in elevation will be probed this month by an expedition of scientists. Researchers from WUSTL and Penn State will contribute to the fieldwork by using seismic recordings of earthquakes to create images of the crust and mantle beneath the mountain range.
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Bird Diversity Lessens Human Exposure to West Nile Virus
ScienceDaily.com
and 7 others
Oct. 7,
2008 -- A study by WUSTL biologists shows that the more diverse a bird population is in an area, the less chance humans have of exposure to West Nile Virus.
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Car rental companies get into the business of sharing
USA Today
Sept. 30,
2008 -- Enterprise says its nine-month experiment in car sharing, branded as WeCar, will now be available to some corporate customers, government agencies and universities nationally. About a year ago, Enterprise informally began its first car-sharing program with Google, using plug-in hybrids. Soon after, it launched a trial program with Washington University, the city of St. Louis and outdoor gear retailer REI.
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China trying different things to improve air quality for Olympics
CBS Evening News
July 17,
2008 -- The Beijing Olympics begin in just over three weeks, and the Chinese are trying to clear the air. In a recent test, Beijing's air failed to meet international health guidelines six days out of seven. WUSTL chemical engineering professor Jay Turner comments.
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Betting on a Biofuel
The Wall Street Journal
June 30,
2008 -- With ethanol looking less and less like the ideal alternative to fossil fuels, companies are rushing to come up with better options, such as biobutanol. WUSTL chemical engineering professor Lars Angenent is experimenting with using corn waste from ethanol plants to make butanol.
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