UW News
The latest news from the UW
November 8, 2016
Clues in poached ivory yield ages and locations of origin
More than 90 percent of ivory in large, seized shipments came from elephants that died less than three years before, according to a new study from a team of scientists at the University of Utah, the University of Washington and partner institutions. They combined a new approach to radiocarbon dating of ivory samples with genetic analysis tools developed by UW biology professor Sam Wasser.
Tag(s): Center for Environmental Forensic Science • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology • Samuel WasserNovember 7, 2016
Telephone-based intervention shows promise in combating alcohol abuse among soldiers
Alcohol abuse is pervasive in the military, where a culture of heavy drinking and the stress of deployment lead many soldiers down a troubled path. Almost half of active-duty military members in the United States — 47 percent — were binge-drinkers in 2008, up from 35 percent a decade earlier. Rates of heavy drinking also…
Tag(s): alcohol use & abuse • Denise Walker • Innovative Programs Research Group • School of Social Work
Mislabeled seafood may be more sustainable, new study finds
A University of Washington study is the first to broadly examine the ecological and financial impacts of seafood mislabeling. The paper, published online Nov. 2 in Conservation Letters, finds that in most cases, mislabeling actually leads people to eat more sustainably, because the substituted fish is often more plentiful and of a better conservation status than the fish on the label.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesNovember 4, 2016
Election 2016: What happened? Evans School to host Nov. 10 public forum reviewing ballot results
The Evans School of Policy & Governance will look back at the 2016 election in a discussion on Nov. 10 at Parrington Hall.
Tag(s): Chris Vance • Evans School of Public Policy & GovernanceNovember 3, 2016
Jeffrey Scott named executive vice president for finance and administration at the University of Washington
Jeffrey F. Scott has been named executive vice president for finance and administration (EVP) at the University of Washington, President Ana Mari Cauce announced today. Currently Senior Vice President at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Scott will provide leadership for the central business services of the University, including finance and facilities, human resources, information technology,…
Electrical engineering lecture series to explore compressed sensing
The Department of Electrical Engineering’s 2016 Lytle Lecture series will explore bridging theory and practice in compressed sensing, which has enabled speedups in medical imaging and scientific signal processing.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer EngineeringNovember 2, 2016
Arts Roundup: Pianist Joyce Yang, UW Symphony – and Meet the Mammals
This week in the arts: the Henry Art Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Chuck Close and Meany Center for the Performing Arts presents programs by a classical pianist and a contemporary dance ensemble. Catch the UW Symphony’s first concert of the year or stop by the Burke Museum for its annual Meet the…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Music
Devin Naar’s book ‘Jewish Salonica’ tells of city’s transition from Ottoman Empire to Greece
Prof. Devin Naar of the Jackson School and the Department of History discusses his new book, “Jewish Salonica: Between the Ottoman Empire and Modern Greece,”
Tag(s): books • Devin Naar • Sephardic Studies Program • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
New study co-authored by UW geologists looks at what lies below Mount St. Helens
Research that peers below Mount St. Helens finds that the material below the western and eastern half of the mountain is different material and temperatures, and suggests that the source of explosive magma is coming from the east.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • earthquakes & seismology • John Vidale • Ken Creager • volcanoes
Tricking moths into revealing the computational underpinnings of sensory integration
A research team led by University of Washington biology professor Tom Daniel has teased out how hawkmoths integrate signals from two sensory systems: vision and touch.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • Tom DanielOctober 31, 2016
UW hosts two-day event on urban environmental justice
From access to green space to pollution exposure, environmental issues in cities often disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color. Climate change can exacerbate those issues, affecting everything from housing to food systems. And growing numbers of people moving to urban areas further strains infrastructure and creates additional challenges. The complex interplay between urban…
Tag(s): Urban@UWOctober 28, 2016
Interdisciplinary inspiration: Special journal edition honors multitalented UW alum, NOAA economist
In a tribute to a local natural resources economist’s life and career, former colleagues and collaborators — including several UW researchers and many alums — have contributed articles published this week in a special edition of the environmental science journal Coastal Management.
Tag(s): Melissa Poe • Phil Levin • Washington Sea GrantOctober 27, 2016
Book by political scientist Victor Menaldo debunks notion of ‘resource curse’
“The Institutions Curse,” a new book by UW political scientist Victor Menaldo, finds a new explanation for the “resource curse” problem — the idea that resource-rich countries tend to be burdened with corrupt governments and underdeveloped economies.
Tag(s): books • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Political Science • Victor MenaldoOctober 26, 2016
Arts Roundup: Calidore String Quartet, I Dig Dinos – and a Halloween Organ Concert
Celebrate Halloween with a concert of spooky organ classics in Kane Hall or a dinosaur dress-up party at the Burke Museum. Catch performances from jazz pianist Marc Seales, the Calidore String Quartet, or fado singer Mariza. The Jacob Lawrence Gallery celebrates the centennial anniversary of its namesake’s birth with a new exhibition. Calidore String Quartet…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Music
New permanent ballot box located outside UW’s Schmitz Hall
A new permanent ballot drop box is now located on the north side of Schmitz Hall. King County voters can drop off their completed ballots any time between Oct. 20 and 8 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 8. Schmitz Hall is at 1400 NE Campus Parkway. The ballot box is located by the north…
Completed boardwalk trail in Yesler Swamp offers access to wildlife, natural areas
The UW’s Yesler Swamp, part of the Union Bay Natural Area along Lake Washington, has a newly completed, fully handicapped-accessible boardwalk trail that loops throughout the wetland, offering opportunities for birdwatching, exercise and a chance to experience nature in the heart of the city.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Fred Hoyt • Kern Ewing • UW Botanic Gardens
For the first time in humans, researchers use brain surface stimulation to provide ‘touch’ feedback to direct movement
For the first time in humans, UW Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE) researchers have used direct stimulation of the human brain surface to provide basic sensory feedback through artificial electrical signals, enabling patients to control movement while opening and closing their hand.
Tag(s): Center for Neurotechnology • College of Engineering • Department of Bioengineering • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Rajesh Rao • School of MedicineOctober 25, 2016
Philosophy of immigration: Panel discussion Oct. 27 part of two-day UW conference
A UW panel discussion Oct. 27 will look at immigration-related questions from philosophical, sociological and historical perspectives. It’s part of a two-day international conference on immigration.
Tag(s): Amos Nascimento • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Philosophy • Kathie Friedman • Michael Blake • Michael Rosenthal • Simpson Center for the Humanities • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • UW Tacoma • William J. Talbott
New NSF initiative to bring ‘real-world’ mathematics to elementary education
The National Science Foundation will fund a three-year, $1.5 million research project to study teaching and learning of mathematical modeling in elementary education. Julia Aguirre, an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington Tacoma, is one of four principal investigators leading the endeavor. “Mathematical modeling is a process of using mathematics to…
Tag(s): education • Julia Aguirre • UW Tacoma
UW maintains No. 11 position in US News Best Global Universities ranking; third among public institutions
The University of Washington maintained its No. 11 spot in the 2017 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings. The UW remains the third-ranked public university on the global list, behind University of California, Berkeley (fourth) and UCLA (10th). “This recognition reflects the work of our faculty and students in seeking…
Tag(s): Rankings
University of Washington Population Health Initiative receives transformative gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The University of Washington’s Population Health Initiative, which aims to bring together the research and resources of the UW and partners around the Puget Sound and beyond to improve the health and well-being of people around the world, has received a significant vote of support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the university announced…
October 24, 2016
Uber service faster in low income Seattle neighborhoods, initial study finds
Your wait time for an Uber ride in Seattle is shorter if you are in a lower income neighborhood. Alternatively, wait times are longer for an Uber in wealthier neighborhoods, according to a new University of Washington study that measures one dimension of whether TNCs are providing equitable access.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Don MacKenzie
Nanometer-scale image reveals new details about formation of a marine shell
Oceanographers used tools developed for semiconductor research to view the formation of a marine shell in the most detail yet, to understand how organisms turn seawater into solid mineral.
Tag(s): Alex Gagnon • College of the Environment • oceanography • School of Oceanography
HCDE professor’s invention wins Popular Science 2016 ‘Best of What’s New’ award
An IV drip technology developed by Shift Labs, founded by University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering Professor Beth Kolko, has been recognized by Popular Science with a 2016 “Best of What’s New” Award.
Tag(s): Beth Kolko • College of Engineering • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering
Turning your living room into a wireless charging station
A flat-screen panel that resembles a TV on your living room wall could one day remotely charge any device within its line of sight, according to new research from UW and Duke University engineers.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Matt Reynolds • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringOctober 21, 2016
Research in complex computational problems snares Packard honors for UW’s Thomas Rothvoss
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded a prestigious fellowship to University of Washington assistant professor Thomas Rothvoss to fuel his passion to balance precision and efficiency in complex mathematical calculations. The Packard Foundation Fellowships for Science and Engineering honor early-career academics pursuing innovative research in all fields of science and engineering. “It’s a…
Tag(s): awards • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Mathematics • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Thomas Rothvoss
Communication professor Leah Ceccarelli honored, discusses ‘rhetoric of science’
Communication professor Leah Ceccarelli discusses the work that brought her the National Communication Association’s Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award for 2016.
Tag(s): Department of Communication • Leah Ceccarelli
University of Washington launches historic $5 billion philanthropic campaign
The University of Washington on Friday is launching the public phase of its most ambitious philanthropic campaign in history, with a goal of raising $5 billion by the year 2020.
October 19, 2016
Arts Roundup: Iphigenia and Other Daughters, The Kreutzer Sonata – and Music of Today
This week, the University of Washington launches its philanthropic campaign with a live multimedia experience. The School of Drama revisits a classical tale, and faculty performances are front and center at the School of Music. Swing by the Henry for an exhibition that explores the history of transgender communities in the Pacific Northwest. Iphigenia and…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Henry Art Gallery • School of Drama • School of Music
Popular Science picks DNA data storage project for 2016 ‘Best of What’s New’ Award
A technique to store and retrieve digital data in DNA developed by University of Washington and Microsoft researchers is one of the most innovative and game-changing technologies of the year, according to Popular Science’s 2016 “Best of What’s New” Awards.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Georg Seelig • Luis Ceze • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringOctober 18, 2016
Documentary, archive to remember the ‘Seattle Freeway Revolt’
Minda Martin had not lived in Seattle long before, on a walking tour, she noticed the famously truncated “ramps to nowhere” in the Washington Park Arboretum. A filmmaker and faculty member at UW Bothell, she was fascinated — and inspired. “I was stunned by these giant freeway stumps covered in ivy along land that didn’t…
Tag(s): film • Minda Martin • Simpson Center for the Humanities • UW BothellOctober 16, 2016
Week of festivities celebrating launch of University of Washington campaign
The impact of the University of Washington will be even more visible this week during the lead-up to a Friday night celebration marking the launch of the UW’s most ambitious philanthropic campaign.
Tag(s): Ana Mari CauceOctober 14, 2016
A new way to ‘college’: University of Washington Continuum College
The University of Washington has renamed Educational Outreach to Continuum College, a new name for a new era of higher education.
Tag(s): Continuum CollegeOctober 12, 2016
In new book, UW’s Estella Leopold revisits childhood at the family shack, described in Aldo Leopold’s best-seller ‘A Sand County Almanac’
Estella Leopold, a University of Washington professor emeritus of biology, has written a new memoir of her formative years, “Stories from the Leopold Shack: Sand County Revisited.” She describes life on the land where her father, Aldo Leopold, practiced the revolutionary conservation philosophy described in his famous book of essays “A Sand County Almanac.”
Tag(s): books • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology • Estella Leopold • Q&A
Why do some STEM fields have fewer women than others? UW study may have the answer
Women’s relative lack of participation in science, technology, engineering and math is well documented, but why women are more represented in some STEM areas than others is less clear. A new University of Washington study is among the first to address that question by comparing gender disparities across STEM fields. Published Oct. 12 in the…
Tag(s): diversity • diversity, equity and inclusion in academia • Sapna Cheryan
Arts Roundup: Chamber Dance Company, Mindfulness Meditation – and Stylus Fantasticus
The Chamber Dance Company celebrates the birth of post-modern dance in Meany Hall, the School of Drama opens its season with a modern retelling of a Greek classic, and School of Music faculty members Stephen Stubbs and Tekla Cunningham give a performance of 17th century works. The Henry Art Gallery invites the public to practice…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Department of Dance • Henry Art Gallery • School of Drama • School of Music
Cars vs. health: UW’s Moudon, Dannenberg contribute to Lancet series on urban planning, public health
Automobiles — and the planning and infrastructure to support them — are making our cities sick, says an international group of researchers now publishing a three-part series in the British medical journal The Lancet.
Tag(s): Andrew Dannenberg • Anne Vernez Moudon • College of Built Environments • School of Public Health • Urban Form Lab
UW law professor Ryan Calo to join experts at White House conference
Ryan Calo, an assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Law, will be among national experts at a White House event tomorrow on innovations in science and technology. A nationally known expert on robotics and privacy law, Calo will speak at the White House Frontiers Conference at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon…
Tag(s): Ryan Calo • School of Law
As online retailing booms, new Urban Freight Lab to work with industry, SDOT on delivery challenges
As online retailing booms, the new UW Urban Freight Lab will partner with UPS, Costco, Nordstrom and SDOT to research solutions for businesses delivering goods in urban settings and cities trying to manage limited street space.
Tag(s): Anne Goodchild • College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics CenterOctober 11, 2016
Morel mushrooms pop up, cluster together after wildfires
A new study finds that morel mushrooms cluster in groups across burned areas in the forest after a wildfire. It’s one of the only scientific studies to actually quantify morels’ abundance after a fire.
Tag(s): Alina Cansler • College of the Environment • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences • wildfires« Previous Page Next Page »
