Science & Technology

Strange ‘eggshell planets’ are among the rich variety of exoplanets possible, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis. These rocky worlds have an ultra-thin outer brittle layer and little to no topography. Such worlds are unlikely to have plate tectonics, raising questions as to their habitability. The research led by planetary geologist Paul Byrne in Arts & Sciences offers concrete ways that other scientists could identify such eggshell planets.

Computer scientist Chenyang Lu at the McKelvey School of Engineering has been building bridges with doctors to improve patients’ health outcomes using engineering.

Ismael Seáñez, assistant professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has been selected as a K12 scholar in a program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

James H. Buckley, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, received a $700,292 award from the National Science Foundation to upgrade a ground-based telescope array for gamma-ray astronomy.

Each fall, the leaves of almost half of North America’s species of trees and shrubs turn red. Biologist Susanne S. Renner at Washington University in St. Louis helps explain why the North American fall is so red, compared with Europe, and also what changes to fall foliage we can expect under climate change.

The McKelvey School of Engineering has launched a new Division of Engineering Education, headed by Jay Turner, to focus on world-class education for students and tools for faculty.

A team led by biologist Arpita Bose in Arts & Sciences modified a microbe so that it can produce a biofuel using only carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated electricity and light.

Research from Tim Bono, lecturer in psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, finds that students who get a good night’s sleep night in and night out earn higher marks and have greater well-being.

Calvin Lai in Arts & Sciences received a nearly $350,000 grant, part of $33 million allotted by the Department of Justice to improve community policing.

The latest National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for Abhinav Jha at the McKelvey School of Engineering is another step toward early prediction of therapy response in patients with lung cancer.