Science & Technology

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.

Ramanath Cowsik, Ph.D., professor of physics and director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received the 2009 O’Ceallaigh Medal for his “outstanding contributions to cosmic ray physics.” Cowsik, whose scientific contributions span over four decades, received the award during the opening ceremony of the 31st biennial International Cosmic Ray Conference, held in Lodz, Poland.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that individual cells isolated from the biological clock can keep daily time all by themselves. However, by themselves, they are unreliable. The neurons get out of synch and capriciously quit or start oscillating again.

The fall 2009 Assembly Series will start off on a light note with comedic filmmaker and Washington University alumnus Harold Ramis. The series continues through mid-November covering topics on entrepreneurship, equal rights, human rights, government and the environment. 

America has the potential to solve its energy crisis over the next decade, but doing so requires immediate investment in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, says Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis and vice chair of a new National Resource Council report on America’s energy challenges.

Traditional rice cultivation methods practiced in the isolated hillside farms of Thailand are helping preserve the genetic diversity of rice, one of the world’s most important food crops, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

Data collected during two close flybys of Saturn’s moon Enceladus by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft add more fuel to the fire about the Saturnian ice world containing sub-surface liquid water, according to a report in the July 23 issue of the journal Nature that is co-authored by a planetary researcher from Washington University in St. Louis.

Photo by Randy KorotevLunar geochemist Randy Korotev, Ph.D., a research professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences, said that there are still many answers to be gleaned from the moon rocks collected by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic moonwalk 40 years ago July 20. And he credits another WUSTL professor for the fact that the astronauts even collected the moon rocks in the first place.

An international collaboration of scientists discovers an outburst of very-high-energy gamma radiation from the giant radio galaxy Messier 87, accompanied by a strong rise of the radio flux measured from the direct vicinity of its supermassive black hole. The findings shed new light on the understanding of gamma rays in black holes.

The School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a highly personalized one-year master of engineering in computer science and engineering designed to provide students computing skills and a competitive edge to meet the demands of modern industry. The program is specially tailored for individuals who plan to change careers and enter the computer science and engineering (CSE) profession, for international students seeking to establish U.S. credentials in computing, and for current CSE professionals who wish to advance their skills and education.