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
95
Center scholars
7
Proposals/Grants supported
500+
Activity participants
115
Journal articles published
Jan-June 2024
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
WashU scientists uncover hidden source of snow melt: dark brown carbon
Chakrabarty lab research estimates effect of light-absorbing organic carbon on snow melt.
Field Notes: South Pacific
WashU earth scientists are studying undersea earthquakes and analyzing lava rocks from a volcanic hotspot near the islands of Samoa. Read about the work from their 28-day research cruise in 2023.
Turning bacteria into bioplastic factories
Two new studies by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis highlight one potential source of game-changing materials: purple bacteria that, with a little encouragement, can act like microscopic factories for bioplastics.
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.
In the news
‘Labor of love’: Meet the first generation migrants whose American dream flourishes in south city, supports clean water for school kids in Honduras
Patrick Clapp saved up and launched a small business selling coffee beans at Soulard Farmer’s Market. Now his shops, including one on the campus of Washington University, are thriving.
Black Carbon from Wildfire Smoke Can Double Warming Effects
The findings could help climate models be more accurate about warming projections. WashU atmospheric chemist Rajan Chakrabarty shares his experience.
Hundreds of chemicals linked to breast cancer found in food packaging, alarming new study reveals
A January study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that breast cancer diagnoses have increased steadily in women under 50 over the last two decades.
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