Winter 2021
Plastic
Piling up without foreseeable end, Washington State University researchers work to solve the “plastics problem.” » More ...
Engineering
Winter 2021
Plant plastics
Why make plastic from petroleum and fossil fuels when they can be made from plants and bio-based materials?
Plastic waste remains a huge problem, one that WSU researchers are working on, but other research across the country looks at alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics.
WSU collaborates with Iowa State University on the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (CB2) on developing high-value biobased products from agricultural and forestry feedstocks. The WSU Composite Materials and Engineering Center provides expertise in renewable resources to develop those novel bio-based polymers, chemicals, and composites.
The work at WSU has been underway for a … » More …
Fall 2021
Mimicking mother nature
Manufacturing biological components to fix broken bodies is no longer a science fiction. » More ...
Fall 2021
Research—a review
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred innovation in research topics and methods at WSU. » More ...
Fall 2021
Videos: Eye control research at Microsoft
Eye-controlled wheelchairs and other devices can help people with neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, communicate and connect.
Watch how engineer Jon Campbell (’03 Comp. Sci. & Comp. Eng., ’05 MS Comp. Sci.) and the Microsoft Research Enable Team are developing eye control technology.
Read more about Campbell and eye-control technology.
Spring 2021
Circling back to hydrogen
From the simplest element comes the greatest potential to power the world. » More ...
Spring 2021
Hydrogen fuel research at WSU
Washington State University is home to the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Laboratory. As the only cryogenic hydrogen research laboratory in US academia, HYPER has a number of projects to improve hydrogen production and storage, all at extremely cold temperatures below 130 Kelvin (-225°F).
Read more about hydrogen fuel and the rising green hydrogen economy.
Hydrogen refueling stations
Current refueling stations use large and expensive hydrogen compressors to achieve the necessary pressure for fuel storage. Those large compressors are also prone to breakdowns. A new method called cryogenic thermal compression being tested at WSU may … » More …
Spring 2020
How to encourage a girl: Improving diversity in STEM
“Your daughter is obviously good at math,” the teacher says to the girl’s parents at a fourth-grade parent-teacher meeting.
The parents have noticed this, too, and suggest to the fourth grader that she study physics, astronomy, maybe engineering or another math-intensive field. As she gets older, she remains interested in all those things, but she’s also picking up messages that are telling her something quite different.
She and her family are avid Big Bang Theory fans. They’ve watched every episode. So even as her parents and teachers are saying, “You’re good at this!” and “Follow your passion!” she’s seeing portrayals of men in gendered professions, … » More …
Spring 2020
I, scientist
Cultural constraints and biases keep women and people of color from entering and remaining in science, technology, engineering, and math. Washington State University and other national universities are working to increase the participation of these underrepresented minorities. » More ...
Winter 2019
Winds of change
Understanding the capricious changes to our planet's winds keeps WSU and other atmospheric researchers' heads in the clouds. » More ...