The Center for the Environment is an interdisciplinary hub of environmental research that is committed to generating transformative solutions to our deepest societal challenges including: climate change, air pollution, access to clean water, food insecurity, biodiversity loss and infectious diseases.
By the numbers
76
Center scholars
6
Teams/Grants supported
250+
Activity participants
208
Journal articles published in 2023
The Center’s mission
The center serves as a cross-cutting collaboration hub, encouraging partners, faculty and students to advance research projects in areas including biodiversity, environmental justice, planetary health, environmental solutions, and climate change. Here’s a closer look at who we are, what we do, and why it matters for our community, our region and our world.
Featured research & stories
‘Santiago Sierra: 52 Canvases Exposed to Mexico City’s Air’
The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at WashU will present this exbibition Feb. 23 through July 29. It consists of 52 canvases that Sierra placed on the floor of a city building, highlighting the contaminants that can poison the urban environment.
Gateway STEM students visit campus for Kolbert Q&A
Climate Across Curriculum connects Gateway STEM students to WashU experts and resources. Recently, a cohort of 40 high school students met and had a Q&A session with Elizabeth Kolbert.
Water quality monitor, locust-inspired electronic nose under development
Two teams of engineers led by WashU faculty will work toward developing products to monitor drinking water quality and to detect explosives with an electronic nose with one-year grants from the National Science Foundation.
The WashU ecosystem
Within the WashU ecosystem of environmental research, education, and practice, the Center for the Environment serves as a connector. Much like a biodiversity corridor, we work to create space where our partners within the ecosystem and across distinct disciplines come together to address our world’s biggest environmental challenges.