SSE News

Tulane chemists to create clean hydrogen fuel using water, sunlight

Hydrogen is an indispensable chemical for important processes such as ammonia production. But producing industrial hydrogen is often energy intensive, environmentally unfriendly and unsustainable, according to scientists at Tulane University.

“Hydrogen will only truly be ‘clean’ when it is produced from water using renewable energy, as opposed to the current predominant method, which uses methane gas and produces large volumes of carbon dioxide,” said James Donahue, PhD, a chemistry professor in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering.

Tulane awarded $5 million to find out if recycled glass can help save Louisiana wetlands

For the past 12 months, Tulane University scientists and engineers have been working almost non-stop to prove that sand made from recycled glass can help prevent coastal land loss. They’ve shown that the material can grow native marsh grasses and willow trees, is non-toxic to marine life and can resist erosion better than silt.

Bombed labs, war won’t stop collaboration between Tulane and Ukrainian scientists

The ongoing war in Ukraine hasn’t stopped a Ukrainian university from collaborating with Tulane University scientists and engineers, even after its research labs were reduced to rubble in the conflict.

AI is smart — can we make it ethical, too?

EPISODE 39 - Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and it’s getting smarter. It’s driving cars, screening resumes, monitoring surveillance networks and even helping doctors make medical diagnoses. How do we make sure such a powerful tool doesn’t become a threat? Tulane computer scientist Nicholas Mattei is a co-author of Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging through Science Fiction, a book coming out this fall about the growing field of AI ethics.

Having children makes parents more conservative, study finds

Does becoming a parent make people more likely to become conservative?

Yes, according to a new Tulane University study, which detected the association across different countries and cultures and found that it became even stronger the more children people had.

Tulane working on test to predict COVID-19 complications

Could some of those who died from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases have been saved by a diagnosis that predicts how severe their cases will be and provides timelier treatment?

An interdisciplinary team of engineers and doctors at Tulane University hopes to answer that question with the development of new technology designed to detect severe COVID complications such as thrombosis, a condition in which blood clots block veins and arteries.

Tulane physicist awarded $8.2 million to precisely measure lifetime of the free neutron

Tulane University physics professor Fred Wietfeldt has been awarded an $8.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build a new apparatus aimed at solving “one of the most important problems in physics today” — precisely measuring the lifetime of a free neutron.

Tulane physicist awarded $8.2 million to precisely measure lifetime of the free neutron

Tulane University physics professor Fred Wietfeldt has been awarded an $8.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build a new apparatus aimed at solving “one of the most important problems in physics today” — precisely measuring the lifetime of a free neutron.

What bats can teach us about stopping the next pandemic

Why are bats often linked to incubating coronaviruses such as those behind COVID-19, SARS and other highly contagious respiratory diseases?

A new Tulane University study suggests that the link between bats and coronaviruses is likely due to a long-shared history, and that their genetic information can help us prevent and manage future pandemics.

ByWater Institute director sees a better way for science to change the world

The news is full of stories detailing the negative impact humans have had on the environment and the potential peril of precious natural resources, such as water, that sustain life on this planet. But John Sabo, director of the Tulane ByWater Institute and professor in the Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering at the School of Science and Engineering, is one of a new vanguard of scientists who are moving away from analyzing the problems to finding solutions to them.