School of Science and Engineering
News
From groundbreaking research and major funding wins to new leadership and student milestones, the Tulane School of Science and Engineering community is driving discovery at every level. Explore the latest news highlighting the faculty, students, and researchers shaping the future of science and engineering — in the lab, in the classroom, and across the Gulf Coast and beyond.
Rules of the road for self-driving cars are more than staying in lanes
It’s the stuff of science fiction and futuristic film: Self-driving vehicles are taking to the roadways in droves.
With the proliferation of vehicular automation, the role of computer scientists like Brent Venable, associate professor of computer science at Tulane University, is expanding.
Computer scientists do more than simply program cars to stop and go. They map out the ”ethics” of driving, dealing with life and death situations on the street.
Marsh grass defends the coast
The wetlands are critical to the survival of Louisiana’s coast. Serving as a front-line defense against hurricanes, floods and storm surges, the many species that line the coast have evolved to show resiliency in the face of natural and man-made hazards.
Undersea explorer
For Tulane professor Kyle Straub, a recent sabbatical meant an opportunity to explore one of the most intriguing places on earth.
Last year, Straub, associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, was invited by colleagues at ExxonMobil to join a research group at their new Woodlands campus in Houston, a facility that approximately 14,000 geologists, engineers, and investment traders call home.
Louisiana bird calls
In the autumn of 1820, John James Audubon left Cincinnati and headed toward Louisiana, following the great southern migration of birds down the Mississippi River flyway. His journey, part of his effort to create a mammoth pictorial survey called The Birds of America, acknowledged a central reality. Like any skilled observer of the natural world, Audubon knew that the life of birds is inextricably linked to the presence of water.
Female role models make science a better fit for girls
Studies have long shown that girls are less likely than boys to be interested in math and science, but new research by Tulane University researchers published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science suggests that matching girls with female role models could dramatically reverse that trend.
Grad student helps build model to study wildfires
Jordan Adams is no stranger to adventure.
Adams, a doctoral student in the School of Science and Engineering at Tulane, has worked in the mountains of Appalachia, the forests of Arizona and the peninsulas of Hawaii. She’s also worked right here in Louisiana, studying the hydrology of our very own Lake Pontchartrain.
Green Apple: Lisa Jackson
It’s a big and endless job responsibility to bear: “Leave the world better than you found it.”
That’s one of the mantras and operating principles of Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, the multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. While many workers might be daunted or even amused by such a directive, his employee of three years, Lisa Perez Jackson (E ’83), finds inspiration in the broad goal.
Engineering aid group helps solve water problems
In the tiny Ecuadorean village of Laquigo, hundreds of residents get their water from ditches. Water for bathing. Water for cooking. Water for drinking.
There’s a reason: The town of 2,400 tripled in population between 2000 and 2016, but the water distribution supply has not kept pace.
Math professor awarded for impact on the field
The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) annually recognizes scientists and professionals for their contributions to research in biosurveillance, and this year Mac Hyman, a mathematics professor in the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, is being honored twice.