Director's Message: THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the center's kick-off events last week. We owe the week's success to you and to all of our committed partners, staff, faculty, students, alumni, and community members who came together to make this week of learning and connection possible.

Our community is like an ecosystem and that analogy extends to the web of labs, centers, facilities, teams, and individuals across the university. Showcasing this ecosystem of interdependent work is a key aspect of our new website: environment.wustl.edu. From the site's WashU Ecosystem page to its collection of Center Scholars and the listing of partner events, we aim for this site to be a tool to further connect our community.

I encourage you to review this newsletter's listing of events with a particular eye for the Ecology Now! series that focuses on the art, cultural, religious and health elements of the environment in a human-centered world. We are excited to be a partner in co-sponsoring this series that is organized by the Program in Public Scholarship, the Center for the Humanities, the Kathryn M. Buder Center, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and Science in the Public Square

I am grateful to be a part of this ecosystem with you.

Dan Giammar

Director, Center for the Environment

Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering

Assistant Vice Provost

Scenes from Kickoff Week

(Photos: Gara Lacy/Washington University)

Kick-off week began on Monday with a science communications Q&A with students and Assembly Series talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert.

The week continued with workshops, panels and guest lectures exploring the breadth and depth of challenges, research, and efforts to protect the environment.

Graduate students and postdocs develop their own research stories and practice presentation and communication skills during a workshop Tuesday night.

Panelists share experience on research and regulation focused on the climate and environmental impacts of plastic production and waste during a panel co-hosted with the Office of Sustainability.

Researchers from WashU's Living Earth Collaborative, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and other organizations discuss the importance and intricacies of community-based conservation in Madagascar.

Read more about a few of the week's highlights:

Gateway STEM students visit campus for Kolbert Q&A - The Source

Elizabeth Kolbert talks climate change and the Sixth Extinction in Assembly Series lecture - Student Life

environment.wustl.edu: our new home online

We are excited to announce our new website! Visit to learn more about our mission and progress, stay up to date on upcoming events, connect with the WashU ecosystem of environmental research and programs, and more.

Ecology Now!

The Program in Public Scholarship is partnering with the Center for the Environment, the Center for the Humanities, the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and Science in the Public Square (funded by the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures) to present Ecology Now!, a series of public events that will frame our relationship with the environment from new, unexpected perspectives. 

This series invites us to consider our rapidly changing environment through the lenses of visual art, religion, public health, and cultural studies. All are welcome!

Midwest Climate Summit | April 3-5 | Indianapolis

Join climate leaders, researchers, students, and professionals from across the Midwest for a three-day summit in Indianapolis.

The 2024 summit will focus on expanding knowledge, accelerating climate action, and catalyzing new partnerships for an equitable Midwestern response to the climate crisis.

The Midwest Climate Collaborative is hosted by the Center for the Environment, and WashU students and employees receive a member discount when registering.

Upcoming WashU environmental events

February

March

If you have an environmentally-focused event you would like included in a future newsletter, submit the event here.

Follow us on Instagram for a weekly event updates.

Become a Center Scholar

We are accepting applications for our Center Scholars program. Center Scholars will have access to opportunities and support from the center to highlight their work, support their research, and connect with other potential collaborators. Click here to learn more about the program's benefits and expectations.