Science & Technology

One locust is harmless, a swarm can be devastating. A new multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary project involving a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis aims to understand how swarms arise — and how to combat them.

Lithium ion batteries that shouldn’t short circuit often do. Now researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering have figured out why, and they have devised a straightforward way to tell if and when that will happen for individual batteries.

A team of engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis conducted a feasibility study for electrochemical “refilling” of lithium-ion batteries into the spent electrodes to regenerate useful compounds.

A new tool using math has been designed to help sports franchises keep the fan experience at stadiums and arenas the safest it can be in this era of COVID-19. The formula was developed in part by John E. McCarthy, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Mathematics in Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington University in St. Louis.

Using properties of light from fluorescent probes is at the heart of a new imaging technique developed at Washington University’s McKelvey School of Engineering that allows for an unprecedented look inside cell membranes.

Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has determined that locusts can smell explosives and determine where the smells originated — an important step in engineering cyborg bomb-sniffing locusts.

The federal Office of Fossil Energy has granted researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering nearly $7 million to refine a new power plant that’s suitable for fossil fuels and renewables — and will emit almost no carbon.

Red bricks — some of the world’s cheapest and most familiar building materials — can be converted into energy storage units that can be charged to hold electricity, like a battery, according to new research from chemists in Arts & Sciences.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a method to diagnose brain tumors using ultrasonic energy — and no incisions. Lead researcher Hong Chen has received $2.5 million from the NIH to pursue further study.

A new algorithm developed in the lab of Jr-Shin Li at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis provides a framework for solving complex linear inverse problems that doesn’t require a supercomputer and also enhances security and privacy.