Author: Erika Ebsworth-Goold

Arch Grants recently announced its latest cohort of awardees, and once again, Washington University had a strong showing among the selected startups. Of the eleven business awarded $50,000 capital funding grants, four have direct ties to the university.

Rohit Pappu, PhD, the Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering at Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science, will help spearhead the newly formed Human Dark Proteome Initiative, launched Nov. 9 by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Scripps Research Institute.

​At team at Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science found tomato plants that received zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles better absorbed light and minerals, and the fruit had higher antioxidant content.

Brookings Executive Education provides public and private sector leaders with relevant education in support of their professional and personal goals. A partnership between the Brookings Institution and Olin Business School, BEE recently was approved for extended VA benefits. That now allows veterans to use GI Bill funding to pursue a Certificate of Public Leadership, Certificate of Policy Strategy or a Congressional Fellowship.

​It’s another far-reaching global sporting scandal as the World Anti-Doping Agency recommends the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspend Russia from athletics competition. Washington University’s Olin Business of Sports Program Director Patrick Rishe says the decision could have fallout of Olympic proportion.

​A team of engineers, led by Washington University’s Lihong Wang and postdoctoral researcher Junjie Yao, found that by genetically modifying glioblastoma cancer cells to express BphP1 protein, derived from a bacterium commonly found in soil and water, they could clearly see tiny amounts of live cancer cells as deep as 1 centimeter in tissue using photoacoustic tomography.

​Now in its second year, the Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award is given to Washington University in St. Louis-based entrepreneurs who use technology to solve real-world problems.  A total of 19 teams entered this year’s competition, and the winner of the $50,000 prize, announced Nov. 2, is Applied Particle Technology. 

St. Louis’ Gateway Arch turns 50 Oct. 28. Corban Swain, a Washington University in St. Louis undergraduate in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, recently took top prize in a photo contest celebrating the Arch’s anniversary, with an upside-down image of the beloved, iconic landmark.

Washington University in St. Louis startups are having an impact on the St. Louis community. A new research project from the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship shows just how much the university, through an innovative course called The Hatchery, has helped foster entrepreneurship and innovation on campus, in St. Louis and beyond.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Srikanth Singamaneni, PhD, associate professor of materials science in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, are using color-shifting nanoparticles of ​gold, combined with specifically engineered artificial antibodies, to detect biochemical signs of kidney damage.​