McKelvey School of Engineering

Nanocages that efficiently convert light to heat are the basis for a targeted form of phototherapy that would destroy tumors without making cancer patients sick.

Seven alumni of the School of Engineering & Applied Science were honored for career achievement at the annual awards dinner Feb. 18.

Students, faculty and alumni from the School of Engineering & Applied Science participate in the WUSTL chapter of Engineers Without Borders Service Project Day rehabbing a home in St. Louis’ North Grand Neighborhood. The project to help develop affordable housing was part of Engineers Week: February 14-20, the school’s week of special events to inspire current and future engineers.

Christopher I. Byrnes, Ph.D., dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis from 1991 to 2006 and the Edward H. and Florence G. Skinner Professor Emeritus of Systems Science and Mathematics, died unexpectedly last week in Stockholm, Sweden. He was 60.

Ralph Quatrano, immediate past dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, has been named dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

Younan Xia, Ph.D., the James M. McKelvey Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been ranked as one of the top 10 chemists in the world by The Times Higher Education, a magazine based in London. 

Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will be $39,400 for the 2010-11 academic year — a $1,600 (4.2 percent) increase over the 2009-10 current academic tuition of $37,800. The required student activity fee will total $394, and the student health fee will be no more than $580. Barbara A. Feiner, vice chancellor for finance, made the announcement.

A tiny sensor that exploits the same physics as the whispering gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London will help make nanotechnology safer.

The Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology brings scientists together from different backgrounds to solve challenging medical problems.

A tiny cage of gold covered with a smart polymer responds to light, opening to empty its contents and resealing when the light is turned off. The smart nanocages could be used to deliver drugs directly to target sites, thus avoiding systemic side effects.