Science & Technology

Washington University in St. Louis has earned a 2020 Gold Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) designation. The award, given by the League of American Bicyclists, recognizes institutions of higher education for providing a more bikeable campus for faculty, staff, students and visitors. The university is the first in Missouri to receive a BFU designation at a gold or platinum level and one of only six in the Midwest.

The British Consulate-General in Chicago will partner with the Midwest Climate Summit for an online climate action dialogue March 3; the Washington University community is invited to attend.

Geophysicist Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, teaches a popular undergraduate course called “Energy and the Environment.” He breaks down President-elect Joe Biden’s 9-point Energy Plan, point-by-point.

Rohan Mishra and Steven Hartman in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have found the relatively abundant and light element fluorine may be an alternative for lithium in batteries.

A multidisciplinary team including researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has found a new catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells that is less expensive and longer-lasting than platinum.

Alumnus Ani Vallabhaneni is co-founder of Sanergy, an organization employing systems-based solutions to solve urban sanitation challenges — and transforming lives in the process.

The Office of Sustainability has updated its virtual tour of campus sustainability features to include the various buildings and elements of the recently completed east end project. 

Working together to develop a collaborative and coordinated response to the climate crisis in the Midwestern region is the top goal of the upcoming Midwest Climate Summit, which Washington University in St. Louis developed in close partnership with many leading Midwestern organizations. The event, which is free and open to the public, is presented with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

A team of engineers from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis conducted a feasibility study for electrochemical “refilling” of lithium-ion batteries into the spent electrodes to regenerate useful compounds.

With a grant from the USDA, a researcher at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis works toward a customizable kill switch — a genetic circuit that could tell bacteria to self-destruct.