Science & Technology

Himadri B. Pakrasi, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and director of InCEES, was recently awarded a $1.2-million grant for a collaborative study of cyanobacteria with the ultimate purpose of producing nitrogen-fixing crop plants.

Stan Braude, professor of practice in biology, is a talented teacher who instills in his students the skills they need to prepare for life outside of Washington University. Take it from his students, though — because if you ask him, he will give all the credit to Joe (his St. Bernard).

New research from Washington University in St. Louis confirms that the brain tunes itself to a point where it is as excitable as it can be without tipping into disorder, similar to a phase transition. The new research from Keith Hengen, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is published Oct. 7 in the journal Neuron.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis realizes one of the first parity time-symmetric quantum systems, allowing scientists to observe how that symmetry — and the breaking of it — leads to previously unexplored phenomena. These and future PT symmetry experiments have potential applications to quantum computing. The work from the laboratory of Kater Murch, associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, is published Oct. 7 in the journal Nature Physics.

A multi-institutional effort that includes the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis will bring man and machine together in an effort to accelerate the process of discovery of new materials.

A sweeping campus planning, design and construction project has transformed the Danforth Campus two years after the start of construction. The largest capital project in the university’s recent history, the East End Transformation was officially dedicated Oct. 2.

Engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University have shown that the length of collagen fibers has a role to play in the ability of normal cells to become invasive.

Faced with extreme weather events and unprecedented environmental change, animals and plants are scrambling to catch up — with mixed results. A new model developed by Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, helps to predict the types of changes that could drive a given species to extinction.

A Washington University in St. Louis researcher has shown for the first time that the shape of a nanostructure has an effect on its ability to retain water. This has important ramifications for heat transfer, which is important when it comes to performance in small electronics.

Working with other academic, government, and research institutions, Washington University in St. Louis to help develop desalination technologies and find new uses for old water.