McKelvey School of Engineering

Huntington’s disease is a devastating, incurable disorder that results from the death of certain neurons in the brain. Rohit Pappu, PhD, and colleagues in the engineering and medical schools are conducting studies to learn from nature’s own strategies to battle the disease.

Students and faculty in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis have filed an amicus brief on behalf of air pollution scientists in an important environmental case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, EPA v. EME Homer City Generation LP, involves a challenge to the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which seeks to protect the health of citizens of downwind states by placing limits on air pollution that crosses state lines. Electric power companies, several states and local governments challenged the rule as overreaching.

A large wooden crate was delivered to the Compton Hall loading dock last week, direct from Paris. The crate contained a fabulous new instrument that WUSTL scientists say will transform their ability to approach problems in geology, biology, space science, engineering and materials science with new precision. Called the Cameca SIMS ims7f-geo, it is a state-of-the-art secondary ion mass spectrometer, one of only three in the world.

For Amazon’s recently announced drone delivery system to get off the ground, the company will have to solve numerous difficult technological challenges. Chief among them will be increasing battery life, getting the drones to work without a central command and to “think” on their own, and determining what kind of navigation sensors they will use. As complicated as those tasks may be, says a WUSTL robotics expert, they will be much more easily solved than the seemingly more simple issues of regulation and insurance.

Washington University in St. Louis has been recognized as one of the top institutions in the nation for producing Fulbright students for 2013-14. Twelve Fulbright grants were awarded to current or recent WUSTL students for this academic year to fund various international educational exchange endeavors.

Two faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. They are Michael J. Holtzman, MD (left), and Rohit V. Pappu, PhD.

Our sense of smell is often the first response to environmental stimuli. Odors trigger neurons in the brain that alert us to take action. However, there is often more than one odor in the environment, such as in coffee shops or grocery stores. How does our brain process multiple odors received simultaneously? Barani Raman, PhD, of the School of Engineering & Applied Science, is using locusts to help find the answer.

David A. Winters, a first-year professional master’s in business administration student at Olin Business School, died Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, following a vehicle collision on Interstate 44 near Sullivan. He was 34.

Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School and School of Engineering & Applied Science have announced a partnership with the startup-focused news organization Techli to promote the growing entrepreneurship community in and around St. Louis.

Veteran Ian Smith barely graduated from high school. Today, he is earning his degree in global leadership and management in University College in Arts & Sciences and is leading a team of engineers to develop low-cost prosthetics using 3D printers.