Science & Technology

Over the last year, a team of architects, medical professionals and engineers from Washington University in St. Louis and Chicago-based architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have explored questions about building design and people’s health through interdisciplinary design studios and seminars. Now that research is bearing fruit. On Nov. 11, a new Smart Home for Occupational Therapy Healing — aka SMOOTH House — will break ground in St. Louis’ Delmar Maker District.

As part of Active Transportation Month in October, the Sustainability, Parking & Transportation, and Operations & Facilities Management offices are hosting two commuter fairs and a commuter challenge starting Monday, Oct. 17.

McKelvey School of engineering faculy Zhen (Jason) He, Young-Shin Jun, Vijay Ramani and Fuzhong Zhang will lead new projects focused on clean energy technologies thanks to $10.7 million in new funding, collectively, from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Shantanu Chakrabartty, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, will lead a project funded by a three-year $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to make artificial intelligence systems more energy-efficient.

Arpita Bose, in Arts & Sciences, attended a White House summit on biotechnology, along with representatives from government and the private sector. In her research at Washington University, Bose harnesses the power of microbes to create new biofuels and bioplastics.

A National Science Foundation grant will support the research of Zhen “Jason” He at the McKelvey School of Engineering as he works to develop a more economically viable, sustainable waste conversion technology for wastewater.

The McKelvey School of Engineering’s Joshua Yuan and collaborators have developed a plant-based material to help safely clean up harmful “forever chemicals.”

New approaches to help save animals from extinction may come from experts outside of the traditional natural science disciplines. The Living Earth Collaborative invites social scientists, political scientists, engineers and other experts from the university community who would like to be involved in efforts to help with conservation projects to participate in a July 21 social event.

McKelvey School of Engineering senior Elizabeth Saliba is committed to designing a more sustainable future. During her time at Washington University, she has helped design modular classroom prototypes for an elementary school south of St. Louis and a net-zero energy occupational therapy clinic to be built on Delmar Boulevard.

From reducing waste to cooking with local produce, Dining Services at Washington University in St. Louis is striving to make its offerings and operations more sustainable. This Earth Day, Andrew Watling, associate director of dining operations, shares five ways campus kitchens are making a difference.