Science & Technology

A powerful WashU-built device can squeeze and twist rocks with 100 tons of force. Geologist Philip Skemer in Arts & Sciences explains how his group is using the apparatus to better understand processes that affect the evolution of planets.

Planetary scientists Paul Byrne and Rebecca Hahn in Arts & Sciences have created the first comprehensive map of volcanoes on Venus, pinpointing 85,000 of them. Their study was posted online in JGR Planets, and the dataset is publicly available.

Physicist Anders Carlsson in Arts & Sciences used 40 years of data from the St. Louis region to figure out the ideal mix of solar generation and storage for a reliable power grid.

Far from orderly “brick-by-brick” assembly, the internal structures of cells are grown in stochastic bursts, according to physicist Shankar Mukherji in Arts & Sciences, author of a Jan. 6 study in Physical Review Letters.

Physicist Johanna Nagy in Arts & Sciences chases traces of “the beginning of the universe” using a balloon-borne instrument that will be launched in the next few weeks.

Alex Chen, Saori Pastore, Maria Piarulli and Yajie Yuan, all in Arts & Sciences, will pursue transformational advances in their fields using the Department of Energy’s leadership-class supercomputers.

Arthur Holly Compton, WashU’s ninth chancellor, conducted X-ray scattering experiments in 1922 that demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation. At the time, the idea that light had both wave and particle properties was not easily accepted. His discovery stimulated the development of quantum mechanics and was recognized with the Nobel Prize in 1927.

Philip Skemer, a professor in Arts & Sciences, won a $321,515 grant from the National Science Foundation to support collaborative research on subduction zones.

Rita Parai, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, won a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Michael Nowak, research professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, received a $37,500 award from NASA.