Science & Technology

Brian Rauch, research assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, co-authored a study in Physical Review Letters that suggests that certain cosmic rays move through the galaxy differently. The research addresses fundamental questions about how matter is generated and distributed across the universe.

James H. Buckley, professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, received a $4.9 million award from NASA to build a demonstration version of a large satellite experiment for gamma-ray astronomy research. Washington University leads the entire effort to develop the instrument, which is planned to launch on a scientific balloon in 2024.

Maia Cohen and Ellie Moreland, who graduated in May, each received named prizes in special recognition for their academic achievement.

Maria Piarulli, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, was selected by the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program for her research program, “From Atomic Nuclei to Infinite Nucleonic Matter within Chiral Dynamics.”

Michael W. Friedlander, professor emeritus of physics in Arts & Sciences, died April 29, 2021, in St. Louis. He was 92.

Michael Nowak, research professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, is co-author of a study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters that shares unprecedented observations of the black hole in the galaxy M87.

Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, was recently named the winner of the 2021 Geosciences in the Media Award of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The honor recognizes Wysession’s many achievements in promoting geoscience literacy and education.

Scientists have long used information from sediments at the bottom of the ocean to reconstruct conditions in oceans of the past. But a new study from David Fike, professor of Earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, raises concerns about a common use of pyrite for this purpose.

In 2020, so much about what we know to be normal came to a grinding halt for the WashU community. One week in March, we’re looking ahead to spring break, and then suddenly it’s an unending hiatus. Yet the work of the university, and its families, goes on.

Michael Krawczynski, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and graduate student Andrea Goltz investigate the deep, inner workings of Shiveluch, a volcano on a remote peninsula in northeastern Russia.