Science & Technology

Fuzhong Zhang, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, developed a method to create synthetic spider silk at high yields while retaining strength and toughness using mussel foot proteins.

For the green energy revolution to be successful, scientists must develop more cost-effective and sustainable battery technologies. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering are spending their energy on just that.

As part of Active Transportation Month in April, the Sustainability, Parking & Transportation, and Operations & Facilities Management offices are hosting commuter fairs and a commuter challenge to encourage low-carbon means of transportation. 

Young-Shin Jun, a professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and her team are extracting valuable rare earth elements from coal fly ash, a fine, powdery waste product from the combustion of coal. The process is ultimately a path toward reducing and remediating waste products.

Physicist Anders Carlsson in Arts & Sciences used 40 years of data from the St. Louis region to figure out the ideal mix of solar generation and storage for a reliable power grid.

A team of researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering has developed an energy-efficient way to consolidate long-term memories on a tiny chip. Shantanu Chakrabartty and members of his lab developed a device that mimics the dynamics of the brain’s synapses.

Maxine Lipeles, a professor emerita of law and former director of the School of Law’s Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, will receive the Lifetime Achievement and Career Award at the 2023 Albert P. and Blanche Y. Greensfelder Forum on Feb. 11.

Marcus Foston and his co-investigator, Ulugbek Kamilov, both faculty members at the McKelvey School of Engineering, received a $577,780 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study ways to “upcycle” plastic waste.

The Neuroscience Research Building under construction on the Medical Campus will contain energy-efficient, low-energy research freezers in laboratories; electric charging stations in the parking garage; and numerous other sustainability-focused elements. The building is on track to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

The Office of Sustainability will hold the annual holiday lights recycling drive now through Feb. 1.