Melinda Webster, a research scientist at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, is the lead author on a new study that catalogs changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice over the past 50-plus years. She spoke with UW News about the story behind the numbers.
University of Washington researchers gathered eight kids on campus to explore how they played with AI toys. The kids initially were curious, asking introductory questions, such as “What is your name?” But after communication breakdowns, the kids turned to antagonizing the toys, calling them “ugly” and “evil” and joking about throwing them in the ocean.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: nectar-stealing Hawaiian honeycreepers, ChatGPT and anxious attachment, the cost of nursing for marine mammals, new magnetic nanomaterials, and a new strategy to subdue finicky plasma.
Astronomers at the University of Washington simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies for five billion (virtual) years to test a leading theory about how dark matter might influence streams of orbiting stars. The results could help researchers separate true evidence of dark matter from false positives.
Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what today’s energy crises reveal about contemporary societies’ dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a “solar-powered system.”
A new study attributes Antarctica’s brief stabilization to a short term climatic shift that increased precipitation over east Antarctica between 2021 and 2023, adding enough snow to temporarily balance ice loss at the continent’s edges.
Hossein Naghavi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UW, explores new applications for an underused segment of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the “terahertz band.” Naghavi recently received a grant from the Department of Energy to create powerful yet lightweight sensors using terahertz waves, which could aid emergency responders, autonomous vehicles, security systems and more.
After tracking birds in the Puget Sound lowlands for 12 years, researchers conclude that birds respond better to some development configurations than others, highlighting measures developers can take to protect native species while still meeting the region’s growing demands.
AI systems such as Google’s Gemini Storybook now let parents or teachers conjure illustrated, personalized kids stories. UW researchers found that when six leading AI models made stories about talking animals, 57% of characters were either gender neutral or ungendered, 41% were male, and just 2% were female.
As fires rage and smoke smothers the Pacific Northwest, UW News sat down with five UW experts in fire science, forestry, air pollution and more to ask how they manage wildfire season.
A new study using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: a new AI framework for developing advanced materials, a test of climate models’ ability to predict temperature trends, and the role of paternal body odor in brain-to-brain synchrony with infants.
University of Washington researchers created the Landslide Exposure Database, the first resource that maps per-building landslide vulnerability across the United States. The study estimates that roughly 6.5 million U.S. residents are highly vulnerable to landslides, and overturns the conventional picture of landslide risk in the U.S. by identifying high concentrations of exposure in Appalachia as well as a surprising urban-rural divide.
Researchers at the University of Washington are investigating how genetic changes impact the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. A new study supports the idea that deletions in genes that regulate early brain and neuron development are associated with more severe features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly lower cognitive abilities.
Researchers at the University of Washington and partners at Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating on a new project to help scientists use artificial intelligence to better understand the universe.
A new University of Washington study maps how the 2001 roadless rule protects U.S. rivers, and how rescinding the rule could impact access to clean drinking water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation and more.
A new study from Jade d’Alpoim Guedes, UW associate professor of anthropology, warns that the future of rice — arguably the most important crop on Earth — is in danger. Due to rising temperatures driven by climate change, projections show that Asia’s major rice-producing regions may soon pass the thermal limits that have remained consistent throughout the crop’s history. This would create unparalleled challenges in a region where more than a billion people rely on rice cultivation for their livelihoods.
The Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its ten-year survey of the southern sky, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately impacted by air pollution, an unfathomably fast chemical reaction, ups and downs in the methane record, and the cigar galaxy pictured at high resolution.
The prevalence of Bigg’s killer whales is increasing in Puget Sound, while the chances of sighting the southern residents remains slim, and pod-specific.
A University of Washington-led research team created GovScape, an efficient search system for PDFs from the End of Term Web Archive. Users can look up exact keywords, like “FAFSA,” or use semantic search, which finds documents on a topic even if the exact search terms don’t appear on the page. Because researchers used highly efficient artificial intelligence models, processing the 10 million PDFs hosted online during Donald Trump’s first term costs less than $1,500, or about $1 per 47,000 pages.
While the majority of the world just wants to swat mosquitoes, three University of Washington researchers find these insects fascinating. They told UW News what it’s like to study mosquitoes and why these critters are actually really important.
University of Washington researchers developed an artificial intelligence system that automatically estimates the environmental impacts of making different electronic devices. The system takes only a minute to run and achieves estimates with accuracy similar to human experts’.
New computing techniques — including AI and quantum computing — are enabling UW researchers to design unique and complex quantum materials.
Every summer, UW researchers head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment. UW News asked a few team members to describe their plans for this summer.
New research from Abhinav Gupta, professor of management at the University of Washington, shows the increased public attention on racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd influenced how Black and white employees interacted at work. The study examines how major societal events tied to race and injustice can shape workplace behavior.
Researchers have completed all planned seismic monitoring station installations for the regional ShakeAlert early warning system. They are now turning their attention to offshore seismic monitoring, which could improve detection and warning time for the much-anticipated Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
Efforts to restore fish passage are cropping up across the country, but these projects come with hefty price tags. In a new study, University of Washington researchers explore different approaches to improving the benefits from investments in salmon recovery.
UW researchers examined almost 3,000 science guidelines and assessment questions for any connections to society. Of the approximately 200 elements that had real-world implications, many discussed ethics and public health issues.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: how climate change is redirecting rivers, what bean plants use to protect themselves from pests, where the water in an atmospheric river comes from and how researchers are making tensegrities tiny.
Marina Alberti, a University of Washington professor of urban design and planning, studies how cities and natural ecosystems influence one another. UW News spoke to Alberti about how climate change is triggering evolutionary change within nature-based infrastructure projects — and what urban planners can do about it.
Burrowing shrimp, native to Washington, create problems for shellfish farmers. As their name suggests, these creatures burrow in marine sediments, and the excavated material piles up on the surface, which can smother oysters and clams growing there. State-funded research led by the University of Washington offers a new, non-chemical approach to controlling shrimp populations in shellfish-growing areas.
In a new study, University of Washington scientists eavesdropped on Cook Inlet belugas to better understand the context of their calls and how human noise is impacting their ability to communicate with each other.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku caused widespread damage on the Mariana islands in April, leaving many people without power, tearing roofs off homes and destroying vital infrastructure. Several ongoing UW research projects focused on native birds and plants were disrupted.
University of Washington researchers launched a pilot app that maps ‘little free pantries’ throughout the Seattle area and gives pantry users and donors new tools to communicate with and help one another.
A new analysis of a 481-meter tsunami generated by a landslide in Alaska’s popular Tracy Arm Fjord last summer describes how glacial retreat, due to global warming, primed the fjord for the colossal wave and what, if any, warning signs preceded it.
When pollinators decline, families risk poorer nutrition leading to higher vulnerability to illness and infections, and deeper cycles of poverty and poor health. One quarter of the global population currently suffer from this “hidden hunger.”
Katie Davis, a UW professor in the Information School, discusses a study in which she and a team of researchers interviewed 22 teachers about AI use.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: how sunbirds sip nectar through straw-like tongues, why the Seattle Fault might not pose as great a risk as previously thought, how to gauge landslide dam risk in the PNW, what marine microbes use for making meals and when the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will spot small inbound asteroids.
University of Washington researchers created BikeButler, a demo web app that lets users find personalized bike routes in Seattle. Cyclists plug in their destination and origin — just like in other mapping apps — and can then toggle sliders for eight attributes to create personalized route options.