Science & Technology

David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoPratim Biswas and his group have developed a method to make a variety of oxide semiconductors that, when put into water promote chemical reactions that split water into hydrogen and oxygen.Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a unique photocatalytic cell that splits water to produce hydrogen and oxygen in water using sunlight and the power of a nanostructured catalyst. The group is developing novel methodologies for synthesis of nanostructured films with superior opto-electronic properties.

The International Symposium on Energy and Environment, sponsored by the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, will bring prominent international university presidents to campus May 4-7, marking the first such gathering in the United States.

WUSTL engineers have developed a unique photocatlytic cell that splits water to produce hydrogen and oxygen in water using sunlight and the power of a nanostructured catalyst. The technique will be demonstrated at a poster session May 6, 2007, at the International Symposium on Energy and Environment, held at the University.

*White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ*Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is celebrated as one of the world’s foremost landscape photographers. In May, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis will present Ansel Adams: Reverence for Life, an exhibition of photographs showcasing works from the personal collections of the Adams family.

Shirley Dyke (left) and Pengcheng Wang adjust wireless sensors onto a model laboratory building in Dyke’s laboratory. An earthquake engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has successfully performed the first test of wireless sensors in the simulated structural control of a model laboratory building. Shirley J. Dyke, Ph.D., the Edward C. Dicke Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the Washington University Structural Control and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory, combined the wireless sensors with special controls called magnetorheological dampers to limit damage from a simulated earthquake load. More…

Tabatha Heet, a junior earth and planetary sciences major and Pathfinder student, shows Ray Arvidson, earth and planetary sciences department chair, a potential landing site for the Phoenix mission to Mars.Earth and planetary scientists at Washington University in St. Louis are paving the way for a smooth landing on Mars for the Phoenix Mission scheduled to launch in August this year by making sure the set-down literally is not a rocky one. A team led by Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, has been analyzing images taken from a NASA instrument to make sure that the Phoenix spacecraft lands in a spot on the Red planet’s northern plains that is relatively rock-free. Video included.

Science on Tap, Washington University’s monthly informal science colloquium, is cited in Wired magazine’s April issue. The program is noted along with seven similar forums across the country that promote science conversation in a pub-like setting. Established in fall 2005, Science on Tap highlights topics developed by Danforth Campus scientists through public discussions at Schlafly Bottleworks at 7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood.

For the first time in the United States, the presidents of 12 premier universities from Asia and the Middle East will gather at Washington University in St. Louis May 4-7 to discuss ways their institutions are addressing global energy and environmental concerns. The International Symposium on Energy and Environment is sponsored by Washington University’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

An international consortium of researchers, including scientists at the Genome Sequencing Center, has decoded the genome of the rhesus macaque monkey and compared it with the genomes of humans and their closest living relatives – the chimps – revealing that the three primate species share about 93 percent of the same DNA. Washington University scientists also recently completed the raw sequences for the orangutan and marmoset genomes.

“Living St. Louis,” a show on KETC (Channel 9) that showcases the colorful culture of our region, will include a segment on Washington University’s Crow observatory tonight at 7 p.m. The segment will also air at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, and by Wednesday, April 11, it will be streamed on KETC’s Web site at www.ketc.org.