Science & Technology

Innovative researcher and distinguished professor George M. Whitesides, Ph.D., will speak on revolutionary ideas in the field of chemistry about the origin of life at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Graham Chapel as part of the Assembly Series. His talk, “Questions about Questions about the Origin of Life,” is the annual Ferguson Science Lecture […]

Lars Angenent in his lab.A team of researchers headed by Lars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, is plying new techniques to produce a biofuel superior to ethanol.

The university hopes car-sharing will make it easier for faculty, staff and students to use public transportation or carpools to commute to and from campus.Washington University in St. Louis’ Parking & Transportation Services and Enterprise Rent-A-Car© have partnered to bring WeCar™, a car-sharing program, to the university’s Danforth Campus. The program, the first of its kind in the St. Louis area, allows Washington University students, faculty, staff and employees of qualified service providers over age 18 to rent vehicles at an hourly rate. The vehicles will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Pratim Biswas, Ph.D., chair of WUSTL’s energy, environmental and chemical engineering department, heads a project involving Washington University, Chrysler LLC and Ameren Corporation to test a mercury removal process in a full-scale power plant.Washington University in St. Louis is partnering with Chrysler LLC and a major Midwest utility company in a project to determine if paint solid residues from automobile manufacturing can reduce emissions of mercury from electric power plants. The project is based upon the technical expertise of Pratim Biswas, Ph.D., Stifel & Quinette Jens Professor of Environmental Engineering Science who has demonstrated the effectiveness of titanium dioxide in controlling mercury in lab and recent field studies. He heads the project that will test a mercury removal process in a full-scale power plant.

Rather than being gentle giants, new research reveals that Pleistocene cave bears ate both plants and animals and competed for food with the other contemporary large carnivores of the time.Rather than being gentle giants, new research conducted in part by Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, reveals that Pleistocene cave bears ate both plants and animals and competed for food with the other contemporary large carnivores of the time: hyaenas, lions, wolves and our own human ancestors.

When complete, China’s Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will cost $25 billion and displace more than 1.4 million people.The Chinese government’s recent decision to scrap controversial plans for a huge dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River represents a milestone for growing grassroots political movements in China, suggests the author of a new book on the politics behind China’s epic dam-building campaign.

Helium is drifting away.In America, helium is running out of gas. The element that lifts things like balloons, spirits and voice ranges is being depleted so rapidly in the world’s largest reserve, outside of Amarillo, Texas, that supplies are expected to be depleted there within the next eight years. This deflates more than the Goodyear blimp and party favors. Its larger impact is on science and technology, according to Lee Sobotka, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

It’s easy being green: Idling computers and bottled water, when used wisely, can make minimal impacts on the Earth.Want to begin to be more environmentally friendly in 2008 but can’t afford a hybrid car? Don’t worry — there are plenty of ways to lessen your impact on the environment that don’t come with such a daunting price tag, says Matt Malten, assistant vice chancellor for campus sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis. And they likely will even save you some money without cramping your carbon-creating lifestyle — much.

NASA/JPLThick or thin ice shell on Jupiter’s moon Europa? Scientists are all but certain that Europa has an ocean underneath its surface ice, but do not know how thick this ice might be.Jupiter’s moon Europa is just as far away as ever, but new research is bringing scientists closer to being able to explore its tantalizing ice-covered ocean and determine its potential for harboring life. William B. McKinnon, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is discussing some of these recent findings and new opportunities for exploring Europa in a news briefing on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

More than 75 students in Washington University’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Senior Capstone Design Course, a fast-paced studio experience in which student teams develop designs and construct working prototypes, will display their class projects, including a portable, collapsible disaster shelter and a high-capacity peanut-shelling system to speed the process of making peanut-butter medicine in Third World countries. The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design Fair features 26 student projects on display from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, in Lopata Hall’s atrium/gallery on Washington University’s Danforth Campus.