Tackling the Grand Challenges
Washington State University research is uniting the best minds across disciplines and addressing ambitious goals known as the Grand Challenges.
The Grand Challenges came out of a University-wide effort to encourage faculty and academic leaders to identify and think about how we might help solve our society’s biggest problems. The five broad inspirational research themes aim to focus University priorities and encourage collaboration and multidisciplinary work across the University.
What problems can we solve?
Sustainable Resources
Students compete for solar home prize
Washington State University students have begun designing a solar home for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition. The contest, set for fall of 2017 in Denver, Colorado, will award $2 million in prize money.
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Plus…
Key improvement made in solar cell voltage technology
Smart Systems
Holistic approach to developing smarter cities
Researchers in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture are leading a five-year, $1.5 million initiative to develop a framework to monitor, predict, and control energy and air quality in an urban environment, and record resulting health impacts in Spokane’s University District.
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Plus…
State advances as hotbed of energy innovation
Sustaining Health
Students engage to save lives
Washington State University engineering students Emily Willard and Katherine Brandenstein are hoping to save lives someday with a product they developed to make injections safer in the developing world.
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Plus…
New alternative to antibiotics
Strategic funding leads to community health analytics research institute
National Security
Students partner with PNNL on nuclear safety
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is partnering with Washington State University students to develop new instruments, tools, and methods to support nuclear nonproliferation and international safeguards.
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Out the hack door: Simulating cyber attacks to protect the smart grid
Opportunity and Equity
Reach for the STARS
The Washington State Academic RedShirt (STARS) program equips motivated first- year engineering students with the tools and community they need to be successful in engineering.
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