Science & Technology

Michael Vahey, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, received an NSF CAREER award to establish the factors that drive the assembly of viral immune complexes and to study how they interact with immune cell receptors.

Garland (“Gar”) Edward Allen III, a professor emeritus of biology in Arts & Sciences, died peacefully in Palm Springs, Calif., Feb. 10. He was widely known for his work in the history of genetics and was an international leader on the history of eugenics.

Scientists led by Emily Wroblewski, in Arts & Sciences, discovered that bonobo populations differ in a key immune trait depending on the presence of malaria infection. Infected populations have a higher frequency of an immune variant that protects against developing severe disease, a pattern that mirrors what is observed among human populations.

Cells migrate to different tissues for a variety of reasons, including organ development, tissue repair and the spread of cancer. Researchers led by Amit Pathak at the McKelvey School of Engineering have found unexpected activity in the nucleus of healthy cells that provides new insight into cell mechanics.

In the seminar “Cognitive Illusions,” students in psychological and brain sciences examine the causes and consequences of errors in thinking.

Using a planetary simulation chamber built at Washington University, scientists led by Alian Wang in Arts & Sciences discovered that electricity in dust storms could be the major driving force of the Martian chlorine cycle.

With collaborators from Missouri University of Science & Technology and GTI Energy, Xinhua Liang at the McKelvey School of Engineering plans to develop an economical process to convert carbon dioxide and solid waste into carbon-negative concrete products.

At least 20 Washington University students participated in a Living Earth Collaborative project and a related camera trap effort to provide evidence that the Djéké Triangle deserves legal protection.

Chien-Ju Ho, Yevgeniy Vorobeychik and William Yeoh, all from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, have received research awards from J.P. Morgan Chase to support their work in artificial intelligence.

A team of researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering has developed an energy-efficient way to consolidate long-term memories on a tiny chip. Shantanu Chakrabartty and members of his lab developed a device that mimics the dynamics of the brain’s synapses.