School of Engineering & Applied Science

Tao Ju, PhD, associate professor of computer science and engineering, has received a three-year, $234,668 grant from the National Science Foundation to advance his work in biological informatics.

The electric car charging station in front of Brauer and Whitaker halls on the Washington University in St. Louis campus is now getting a boost from the sun after workers installed solar panels atop the structure July 30. In addition to bolstering the university’s commitment to sustainability, the station is connected to research in its School of Engineering & Applied Science.​

Fuzhong Zhang, PhD, assistant professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering, has received a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. He is the first faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis to receive the award, which recognizes an elite group of scientists early in their careers at research universities.

Brent Williams, PhD, of the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a nearly $300,000 Early Career grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to bring his expertise in measuring particles in the atmosphere to a national study of the climate trend in the southeastern United States as well as the St. Louis area.

Washington University alumnus Mark Wronkiewicz (BS ’12) developed BrainCopter, one of the first brain-controlled applications for the iPad, while studying biomedical engineering at the university. His mentor, the School of Medicine’s Eric Leuthardt, MD, tries the application, which challenges players to use their thoughts to manipulate a flying brain icon past obstacles.

Dedric A. Carter, PhD, has been named associate dean for international education and research and professor of the practice in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis.

A low-cost medical device targeted at improving world health has taken home the top prize in Washington University School of Engineering & Applied Science’s inaugural Discovery Competition. Sparo Labs took the largest prize of $25,000. The company’s plan stems from an award-winning project to develop a low-cost, pocket-sized spirometer, which measures lung function.

Lihong Wang, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study oxygen consumption rates of individual cells using photoacoustic microscopy, a novel imaging technology he developed that uses light and sound to measure change.

Caitlin Kelleher, PhD, has received a prestigious research fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Kelleher is the Hugo F. & Ina Champ Urbauer Career Development Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. The two-year, $50,000 fellowship supports early-career scientists and scholars in science, mathematics, economics and computer science. Fellows may use the funds for equipment, technical assistance, professional travel or trainee support.

Nine new faculty members have joined the WUSTL School of Engineering & Applied Science this academic year. That marks the largest number of newly recruited faculty ever to join the school. The new faculty members’ expertise ranges from biomedical to electrical, and energy to mechanical engineering. Read more to learn about their backgrounds and what they each of them brings to the Engineering School.