Discover some of the many environmental projects currently underway among WashU’s graduate student community, the ‘research engine of the university.’
Across all Washington University in St. Louis campuses, scores of researchers share a drive to understand the natural forces that shape our climate, health, culture and physical world. Many of them also share a commitment to training — and collaborating with — the next generation of environmental researchers.
“We have 117 faculty and research staff who are affiliated with Center for the Environment, and most of them have PhD students and other graduate students,” says Daniel Giammar, director of the Center for the Environment and the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering. Giammar, who personally works with five graduate students, says students’ work can sometimes be overlooked outside of their own labs and departments.
“Graduate students are the research engine of the university,” he says. “They work tremendously hard, they’re incredibly creative, and none of our publications, certainly in my world, would happen without them.”
The Center for the Environment acts as an interdisciplinary hub, providing programming that brings graduate students and faculty into conversation. Every few months, the center also provides lunch and an opportunity for graduate students to come together to discuss a project or paper. “I think that’s really where we’ve added a tremendous value, by creating that community across the disciplines,” Giammar says. Graduate students also mentor undergraduates in an intensive summer research program offered by the center.
This spring, at the 2025 Environmental Research Symposium, some of the nearly 500 WashU graduate students working on environmental issues displayed posters about their current projects. Topics included the following: reducing the carbon footprint of MRI scanners; testing ventilation systems in a commercial kitchen; endangered bat habitats in Indiana; the impact of urbanization on St. Louis–area wildlife; the history of WashU’s Tyson Research Center; how light exposure contributes to colorectal cancer risk; and how humidity affects tiger mosquito survival.
A smaller group gave public lightning talks about their research. Read on for a few highlights from the presentations.