Science & Technology

Henric Krawczynski was installed as the Wilfred R. and Ann Lee Konneker Distinguished Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences during a ceremony Feb. 28 at the Whittemore House. His installation lecture was titled “The Bright Side of Black Holes.”

Physicist Jeff Gillis-Davis in Arts & Sciences is leading a team that will develop and test an instrument to measure the chemistry of rocks, minerals, soil and ices on the surface of the Moon. The device is small enough to be carried by a rover or other robotic explorer.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found that the pandemic changed personality traits, in that people became more conscientious and extraversion dropped.

Ramesh Agarwal, the William Palm Professor of Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected to receive the 2024 Thermal and Fluids Engineering Award from the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers.

Kenneth Olsen, a George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences, joined researchers from 24 countries in an effort to strengthen cooperation and solve a key problem of improving rice yields.

In a new study published in Evolution and Human Behavior, Washington University researchers explore what causes people to decline lending a helping hand. In many cases, they find a way to blame the victim, resolving inner conflict by finding shortcomings in the person needing help, according to the research.

Neutron star mergers are a treasure trove for new physics signals, with implications for determining the true nature of dark matter, according to research from physicist Bhupal Dev in Arts & Sciences.

In a new study, Seanna Leath, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, explores the benefits of the Black Girl Magic Crew, an after-school program designed by Black women and girls to help girls feel encouraged and supported.

When biologist Elizabeth Carlen in Arts & Sciences saw that squirrels were not being reported in north St. Louis, she wanted to know why. Her new paper in People & Nature illustrates how social and ecological factors can create bias in contributory science data.

Teaching science in a way that includes and engages all learners can be challenging, but a new framework developed by the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis, and published in the journal Science and Children, provides criteria for equitable lesson development in elementary science.