UW News
The latest news from the UW
December 14, 2016
Businesses shape international law through ‘astroturf activism,’ paper finds
The furor over the 2010 Citizens United decision drew intense scrutiny to the role of corporate money in U.S. politics and raised questions about the influence of businesses in American lawmaking. But corporate interests also play a powerful role in international legal processes, sometimes by covertly creating or co-opting non-governmental organizations to lobby lawmakers on…
Tag(s): Melissa Durkee • School of LawDecember 13, 2016
Studies of vulnerable populations get a ‘bootstrapped’ boost from statisticians
In a paper published online Dec. 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Washington researchers report on a statistical approach called “tree bootstrapping” can help social scientists study hard-to-reach populations like drug users.
Tag(s): Adrian Raftery • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Department of Statistics
UW is founding member of alliance to expand access and opportunity for 50,000 students from lower- and middle-income families
The University of Washington joins 30 of the nation’s most respected colleges and universities Tuesday in a new initiative to substantially expand the number of talented low- and moderate-income students at America’s top-performing undergraduate institutions with the highest graduation rates.
December 12, 2016
UW welcomes Joe Dacca as new state relations director
The University of Washington announced staffing changes in the Office of State Relations on Monday, naming Joe Dacca director of state relations.
Practical, personal thoughts on storytelling in Charles Johnson’s latest book, ‘The Way of the Writer’
Charles Johnson, University of Washington professor emeritus of English, discusses his latest book, “The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling.”
Tag(s): books • Charles Johnson • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English
Mountain glaciers are showing some of the strongest responses to climate change
A University of Washington study addresses controversies over the cause of mountain glacier retreat, and finds that for most glaciers the observed retreat is more than 99 percent likely due to climate change.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Gerard Roe • glaciersDecember 8, 2016
New study traces the marsupial origins in N. America, finds mammals during Age of Dinosaurs packed a powerful bite
A new study by paleontologists at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture and the University of Washington describes an early marsupial relative called Didelphodon vorax that lived alongside dinosaurs and had, pound-for-pound, the strongest bite force of any mammal ever recorded.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • dinosaurs • evolution • Gregory Wilson Mantilla • paleontology
Frequently asked questions: odontoma in a gorgonopsian
Answers to frequently asked questions about a 255-year-old tumor in a ‘pre-mammal.’
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • cancer • Christian Sidor • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • paleontology
Fossilized evidence of a tumor in a 255-million-year-old mammal forerunner
University of Washington paleontologists have discovered a benign tumor made up of miniature, tooth-like structures embedded in the jaw of an extinct ‘mammal-like’ gorgonopsian. Known as a compound odontoma, this type of tumor is common to mammals today. But this animal lived 255 million years ago, before mammals even existed.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • cancer • Christian Sidor • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • evolution • paleontologyDecember 7, 2016
Arts Roundup: Curator Talk, Jonathan Biss – and An Appalachian Christmas
The quarter ends with performances of classical piano, jazz and Appalachian holiday music. The School of Drama concludes its final production of the quarter. Visit the Jacob Lawrence Gallery for the final days of Utopia Neighborhood Club and join Henry Art Gallery’s Luis Croquer for a curator talk at the Henry. Jazz Innovations Part II…
Tag(s): Henry Art Gallery • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Music
Volunteers hack toys for children with disabilities at UW Dec. 11
At the Hack for Access: Holiday Toy event on Dec. 11 and the UW, community volunteers will disassemble and rewire toys to make them more accessible for children with disabilities.
Tag(s): Anat Caspi • College of Engineering • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Taskar Center for Accessible TechnologyDecember 6, 2016
Put people at the center of conservation, new study advises
People must be part of the equation in conservation projects to increase local support and effectiveness, according to a new study by the University of Washington and other institutions.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Nathan Bennett • Patrick Christie • School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
USDOT awards $14M for mobility research at UW-led transportation center
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded approximately $14 million over five years to a multi-university, regional transportation center led by the University of Washington to fund research aimed at improving the mobility of people and goods across the Pacific Northwest.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • PacTrans • Yinhai WangDecember 5, 2016
No peeking: Humans play computer game using only direct brain stimulation
UW researchers have published the first demonstration of humans playing a simple, two-dimensional computer game using only input from direct brain stimulation — without relying on any usual sensory cues from sight, hearing or touch.
Tag(s): Andrea Stocco • Center for Neurotechnology • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Psychology • I-LABS • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Rajesh RaoDecember 1, 2016
The many worlds of UW astronomer — and astrobiologist — Woody Sullivan
UW astronomer and astrobiologist Woody Sullivan discusses recent work and future plans in a multifaceted career that’s changing gears, but far from winding down.
Tag(s): Adam Frank • astrobiology • Department of Astronomy • Woody Sullivan
For the first time, scientists catch water molecules passing the proton baton
Water conducts electricity, but the process by which this familiar fluid passes along positive charges has puzzled scientists for decades. But in a paper published in the Dec. 2 in issue of the journal Science, an international team of researchers has finally caught water in the act — showing how water molecules pass along excess charges and, in the process, conduct electricity.
Tag(s): Anne McCoy • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of ChemistryNovember 30, 2016
Arts Roundup: CarolFest, Harry Partch, and The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G
December brings a full slate of arts events on campus. The School of Drama kicks off a production about a playwright interacting with his own characters. The School of Music showcases the Harry Partch instrument collection and presents a night of Caribbean music and dance. Robin McCabe opens a three-part series exploring music and literature,…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Drama • School of Music
What makes Bach sound like Bach? New dataset teaches algorithms classical music
MusicNet is the first publicly available large-scale classical music dataset designed to allow machine learning algorithms to tackle everything from automated music transcription to listening recommendations based on the structure of music itself.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Statistics • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Sham Kakade • Zaid HarchaouiNovember 29, 2016
In one-two punch, researchers load ‘nanocarriers’ to deliver cancer-fighting drugs and imaging molecules to tumors
In a paper published Sept. 27 in the journal Small, scientists at the University of Washington describe a new system to encase chemotherapy drugs within tiny, synthetic “nanocarrier” packages, which could be injected into patients and disassembled at the tumor site to release their toxic cargo.
Tag(s): cancer • College of Engineering • Department of Materials Science & Engineering • Miqin ZhangNovember 28, 2016
Statement from UW President Ana Mari Cauce regarding Nov. 15 attack on Muslim student
“Our university is and will always be a welcoming place for people of every race and faith, including our Muslim students, faculty and staff.”
Our closest worm kin regrow body parts, raising hopes of regeneration in humans
A new study of one of our closest invertebrate relatives, the acorn worm, reveals that regenerating body parts might one day be possible.
Tag(s): Billie Swalla • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • Department of Biology • Friday Harbor Laboratories
Undergraduate Theater Society takes on Shakespeare — all of it! — in fast-paced show Dec. 1-11
The UW Undergraduate Theater Society will perform the high-energy parody “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised],” Dec. 1-11 in the Cabaret Theatre in Hutchinson Hall.
Tag(s): School of Drama • Undergraduate Theater SocietyNovember 22, 2016
UW has 29 faculty on list of ‘highly cited researchers’ for 2016
Twenty-nine University of Washington faculty members are among a list of the year’s most highly cited researchers in the natural and social sciences.
New grasses neutralize toxic pollution from bombs, explosives and munitions
UW engineers have developed the first transgenic grass species that can take up and destroy RDX — a toxic compound that has been widely used in explosives since World War II and contaminates military bases, battlegrounds and some drinking water wells.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Stuart StrandNovember 21, 2016
Ocean acidification study offers warnings for marine life, habitats
Acidification of the world’s oceans could drive a cascading loss of biodiversity in some marine habitats, according to research published Nov. 21 in Nature Climate Change.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Marine and Environmental Affairs • Terrie Klinger
How to monitor global ocean warming – without harming whales
Tracking the speed of internal tides offers a cheap, simple way to monitor temperature changes throughout the world’s oceans.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • climate change • oceanography • Zhongxiang ZhaoNovember 18, 2016
Q&A: Harry Stern discusses historical maps, the Northwest Passage and the future of Arctic Ocean shipping
See also: “How Capt. James Cook’s intricate 1778 records reveal global warming today in Arctic” Seattle Times, Nov. 16 Harry Stern, a polar scientist at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory, has been studying the Arctic Ocean for decades, and sailed part of the Northwest Passage in 2009. Stern’s latest work uses the earliest…
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Harry Stern • history • polar science • Polar Science Center • Q&A • sea iceNovember 17, 2016
Trump and foreign policy: UW Jackson School faculty speak out
Several Jackson School of International Studies faculty members comment on the geopolitical possibilities of the coming Donald Trump administration.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • David Bachman • Jackson School of International Studies • Kathie Friedman • Resat Kasaba • Sabine Lang • Scott Radnitz
New UW major prepares educators for lessons outside the traditional classroom
Kim Boudreau enrolled at the University of Washington planning to major in business administration and human resources management, but it didn’t feel like quite the right fit. Boudreau realized she was interested in workforce training, so she added a minor in education. But she still wasn’t convinced her studies would take her where she wanted…
Tag(s): Carol Davis • Cassady Glass Hastings • College of EducationNovember 16, 2016
Arts Roundup: DXARTS, American Art Lecture – and Baroque Ensemble
This week, DXARTS presents a new improvisational work in its fall concert and the School of Drama puts a modern spin on an American classic. Explore American art history with a lecture from the School of Art + Art History + Design, catch a performance by the School of Music’s Baroque Ensemble and watch instrumental…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • DXARTS • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music
Large forest die-offs can have effects that ricochet to distant ecosystems
Major forest die-offs due to drought, heat and beetle infestations or deforestation could have consequences far beyond the local landscape. Wiping out an entire forest can have significant effects on global climate patterns and alter vegetation on the other side of the world.
Tag(s): Abigail Swann • climate • climate change • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Department of Biology • forests
2 UW scientists lead effort to craft ‘blueprint’ for holistic fisheries management
Two University of Washington professors are leading an effort to help U.S. fisheries consider the larger marine environment, rather than just a single species, when managing a fishery.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Phil Levin • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences • Tim EssingtonNovember 15, 2016
Study provides insight into children’s race and gender identities
Children’s knowledge and use of race and gender labels have been well-explored by researchers, but how kids think about their own identities in those contexts, especially before adolescence, is less clear. A new study from the University of Washington provides a rare glimpse into how children perceive their social identities in middle childhood. The research…
Tag(s): Andrew Meltzoff • gender • I-LABS • Race
Open Doors 2016: The UW named a leader in global student engagement
The 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange names the University of Washington a leader in global student engagement. The report was released Monday by the Institute for International Education. Global engagement is integral to the UW student experience, also known as the Husky Experience. UW graduates leave with a global perspective, the ability…
November 14, 2016
State’s housing market strong in third quarter of 2016
Washington state’s housing market remained strong in the third quarter of 2016, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.
Tag(s): College of Built Environments • Peter Orser • Runstad Department of Real EstateNovember 10, 2016
University of Washington fall 2016 entering class its most diverse ever
The University of Washington welcomed the largest and most diverse class of new students across all three campuses, in UW history, according to the finalized Fall 2016 census of enrolled students released by Philip Ballinger, associate vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions.
How lightning strikes can improve storm forecasts
Research shows that real-time lightning observations could significantly improve forecasts of large storm events.
Tag(s): Cliff Mass • College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Gregory Hakim • Robert Holzworth • weatherNovember 9, 2016
UW Libraries to hold Veterans Day open house for WWI-themed exhibit
UW Libraries will host an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, in conjunction with the current World War I-themed exhibit, “Washington on the Western Front: At Home and Over There.”
Tag(s): Lisa Oberg • UW Libraries
Arts Roundup: ArtVenture, Music of Max Reger – and Jessica Lang Dance
This week in the arts: the Henry Art Gallery invites families and children to create their own portraits, and Meany Center for the Performing Arts presents performances by Jessica Lang Dance and the Imani Winds. The School of Music celebrates the music of composer Max Reger with a two-day symposium and kicks off this year’s…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of MusicNovember 8, 2016
Determination of significance and request for comments on scope of Environmental Impact Statement
The UW Bothell and Cascadia College Campus Master Plan will guide development, building on the 2010 (rev 2011) Campus Master Plan and extending the continuity of planning developed over the next 20 years. The Campus Master Plan will include guidelines and policies for new development on the campus.
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