Researchers look at whether Ozark oases at Tyson Research Center — climate change refugia — could help species persist in spite of rising temperatures.
Addressing our deepest societal environmental challenges

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.

2025 Environmental Research and Creativity Week

By the numbers

109

Center scholars

7

Proposals/Grants supported

500+

Activity participants

181

Journal articles published
Jan-Oct 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.

Halting hidden hunger

Halting hidden hunger

Can improved nutrition during pregnancy help prevent stunted growth in children around the world? With partners in Ecuador, Lora Iannotti studies the effects of maternal diet on infant brain development.

Core soil samples being taken at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary

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.

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Research themes