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In This IssueUW Gives Details of $73M in Budget Cuts The University of Washington released details April 29 of how it intends to slash its budget by $73 million over the next fiscal year. The cuts range from 9 percent in the College of Arts and Sciences to 16 percent in President Mark Emmert’s office. Read more... Also see:
Message from President Emmert to the UW Community: "The 2009–11 state budget for the UW" The Daily News: "Legislature passes budget to bridge $9 billion gap" HeraldNet: "Schools at all levels prepare for cuts" The Seattle Times (editorial): "Washington state's patchwork budget" Puget Sound Business Journal: "UW Tacoma announces layoffs"
An ancient script that's defied generations of archaeologists has yielded some of its secrets to artificially intelligent computers. Computational analysis of symbols used 4,000 years ago by a long-lost Indus Valley civilization suggests they represent a spoken language. Some frustrated linguists thought the symbols were merely pretty pictures. "The underlying grammatical structure seems similar to what's found in many languages," said University of Washington computer scientist Rajesh Rao. Rao, a machine learning specialist who read about the Indus script in high school and decided to apply his expertise to the script while on sabbatical in India, may have solved the language-versus-symbol question, if not the script itself. Read more... Also see:
UW News: "Indus script encodes language, reveals new study of ancient symbols" The Guardian (U.K.): "Scientists claim to have found language of ancient Indus civilization" UW Researchers Identify Autism Genes in Study A research team that includes a group of current and former University of Washington researchers has connected some of the pieces of the autism puzzle. The group says it has identified genes with important contributions to autism. Read more...
Robert M. Gates, who has served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense since December 2006, will be the University of Washington’s Commencement speaker in ceremonies at Husky Stadium June 13. Read more... People's Misperceptions Cloud Their Understanding of Rainy Weather Forecasts If Mark Twain were alive today he might rephrase his frequently cited observation about everyone talking about the weather but not doing anything about it to say, "Everyone reads or watches weather forecasts, but many people don't understand them." He'd do that because new research indicates that only about half the population knows what a forecast means when it predicts a 20 percent chance of rain, according to researchers at the UW. Read more... Six in UW Community Named Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Six members of the UW community—active and retired—are among 210 new Fellows named this week to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The UW tied for first among public universities for new academy fellows. David Baker, biochemistry; William Gerberding, president emeritus; Andrew Meltzoff, psychology; Ed Miles, marine affairs; James Truman, biology (emeritus) and Gunther Uhlmann, mathematics, join one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and a center for independent policy research. The UW is tied (with UCLA) for first among public universities in the number of Fellows elected. Members of the academy are leaders in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, business, public affairs and the nonprofit sector. Read more...
An Irresistible Pitch: See the Mariners, Save Money, Support Students Then, on July 10, it's Husky Summer Celebration Night with the Mariners. UW alumni, faculty, staff and students can pick up discounted tickets to the M's/Rangers game. A portion of each sale goes to student scholarships. Check It OutOffbeat and/or outstanding UW-related links:
May 2009 UW NewsLinks Trivia ContestDefense Secretary Robert Gates is only the latest high-profile political figure to be named the UW’s commencement speaker. Which of the following politicians has never spoken at a graduation on any of the three UW campuses?
2. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright 3. Former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin 4. Former Washington Governor Gary Locke 5. Former U.S. Speaker of the House Tom Foley Answer this month's question Resources |
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