McKelvey School of Engineering

Continuing Washington University’s yearlong Sesquicentennial Environmental Initiative, the final set of colloquia will cover significant issues such as tackling childhood lead poisoning, building a sustainable environment in plant sciences, understanding the effect of aerosols in our air; creating ecological and economically viable structures; and understanding how research universities can impact environmental education and public policy.

Courtesy photoThe Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (TIGER) at the McMurdo base in Anarctica. Aria-9, a joint Washington University/NASA K-12 research project, is scheduled for mid-December; it involves measuring galactic cosmic rays.An estimated 1,000 students from 28 K-12 schools from Missouri, Illinois, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Montana, and Queensland, Australia are participating in Aria-9, student experiment packages that get tested on NASA space flights. The Aria-9 is the latest Washington University in St. Louis Project Aria’s “fly-and-compare” K-12 experiment packages, according to Keith Bennett, adjunct assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and Aria project director.

December/January Science & Technology Tip Sheet

More than $300 million will be spent to rapidly bring the new knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to the patient’s bedside.

More than $300 million will be spent to rapidly bring the new knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to the patient’s bedside. More about BioMed 21

Researchers have devised a new hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology.The marvels of mathematics may open the door to a new, improved hearing test for newborns. A mathematician and a recent electrical engineering doctoral graduate from Washington University in St. Louis have devised a hearing test that measures the auditory brainstem response 20 times faster than current methodology. The technique allows for testing on small digital machines that takes just two minutes instead of the hour current methods take, and volunteers instead of medical personnel can administer it. This bodes well for mandatory hearing testing of newborns within three years.

John Lockwood programs the data enabling device to stop the SoBig worm.A computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis has developed technology to stop malicious software – malware – such as viruses and worms long before it even has a chance to reach computers in the home and office. John Lockwood, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science at Washington University, and the graduate students that work in his research laboratory have developed a hardware platform called the Field-programmable Port Extender (FPX) that scans for malware transmitted over a network and filters out unwanted data.

November Science & Technology Tip Sheet

The dedication of Uncas A. Whitaker Hall for Biomedical Engineering on Oct. 20, 2003, was a major step forward in a plan begun more than a decade ago to launch a nationally prominent department in this rapidly growing field. It also crystallizes the ongoing collaboration of researchers in the Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Medicine begun more than 40 years ago.

Shirley J. Dyke is “at the forefront of young researchers”