UW News

The latest news from the UW


November 12, 2015

‘Pale orange dot’: Early Earth’s haze may give clue to habitability elsewhere in space

An atmospheric haze around a faraway planet — like the one which probably shrouded and cooled the young Earth — could show that the world is potentially habitable, or even be a sign of life itself.

Tag(s):

November 11, 2015

UW, NASA measure rain and snowfall to gauge new precipitation satellite

With high-tech weather radars, weather balloons, ground instruments and NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory, scientists will be watching rain and snow storms on Washington’s famously wet Olympic Peninsula.

Tag(s):

November 10, 2015

Arts Roundup: Akram Khan Dance Company, meet the mammals – and Beethoven back-to-back

Get your fill of Beethoven in three back-to-back days of concerts at the School of Music – and in a recital by cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, newly appointed artist-in-residence. DXARTS presents its fall concert of electroacoustic music, and the Henry hosts two public lectures. Plus, don’t miss three nights of Indian classical dance with the Akram…

Tag(s):

UW School of Music talents, influence featured in book ‘Classical Seattle’

Melinda Bargreen is a Seattle-based freelance arts writer who spent 31 years as classical music critic for The Seattle Times. She is the author of “Classical Seattle: Maestros, Impresarios, Virtuosi, and Other Music Makers,” published this fall by University of Washington Press. Bargreen is a University of Washington alumna, with a bachelor of arts in…

Tag(s):

UW psychology professor Anthony Greenwald receives award for social cognition work

University of Washington psychology professor Anthony Greenwald is one of two researchers chosen to receive the most prestigious award of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji, a social psychologist at Harvard University, recently were named joint recipients of the 2016 Kurt Lewin Award for distinguished research on social issues….

November 9, 2015

Documents that Changed the World: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1982

The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., is many things to many people. To Joe Janes of the Information School, the son of a World War II veteran and creator of the Documents that Changed the World podcast series, the memorial, the discussions it sparked and the hearts it helps heal — “the totality of the wall” he says – together comprise an important document.

Tag(s):

UW and Tsinghua University announce dual degree program through the Global Innovation Exchange

The University of Washington and Tsinghua University have agreed to launch an integrated dual degree program through the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) that combines project-based learning in design thinking, technology development and entrepreneurship.

Tag(s):

November 6, 2015

Swartz Foundation grant to boost UW research in computational neuroscience

Two University of Washington faculty members have been awarded a grant from The Swartz Foundation to support research in theoretical neuroscience. The award establishes the UW as the latest of the Swartz Foundation-supported centers for innovation in this growing field, which spans mathematics, statistics, physics and biology. “This award is a recognition of what is…

Tag(s):

UW women studies department marks 45th anniversary

Nancy Kenney came to the University of Washington in 1976 with a joint appointment in psychology and women studies. The arrangement was typical — women studies professors at the UW then had joint appointments, Kenney said, because the program wasn’t expected to be around long. “Women studies was not expected to be a viable academic…

Tag(s):

November 4, 2015

Arts Roundup: UW Symphony, Don Quixote — and ArtVentures

The School of Drama wraps up its first play of the year this week, and pays tribute to one of the great theaters of Seattle’s past. In Meany Theater, catch the UW Symphony’s first concert of the year or explore Indian classical dance with the Akram Kahn Company. Visit the Henry for an exploration of…

Tag(s):

Krispy Kreme crack and luxury food fever: new book links overeating to consumer culture

In an era of Fitbits, Skinnygirl margaritas and kale mania, isn’t overeating simply a failure of willpower, an unwillingness or inability to make good choices? It’s not that simple, says Kima Cargill, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Washington in Tacoma. In her new book “The Psychology of Overeating,” Cargill places the…

Tag(s):

November 3, 2015

UW social work professor named among nation’s top 50 Influencers in Aging

University of Washington social work professor Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen is among 50 people nationwide named on the first Next Avenue Influencers in Aging list. Compiled by Next Avenue, a public media website aimed at older Americans, the list recognizes people “who are changing how we age and think about aging in America.” Fredriksen-Goldsen, director of the…

Life, enhanced: UW professors study legal, social complexities of an augmented reality future

A report from the interdisciplinary UW Tech Policy Lab on the challenges of augmented reality suggests such systems should be adaptable to change, resistant to hacking and responsive to the needs of diverse users.

Tag(s):

November 2, 2015

Modern world learns from ancient civilizations in Scott Montgomery’s history of science

Scott L. Montgomery, a lecturer in the Jackson School of International Studies, uses a range of case studies and the notion of “scientific culture” to trace the evolution of technical thought through eight major civilizations from ancient Egypt to Medieval and Renaissance Europe in his latest book, “A History of Science in World Cultures.” “A…

Children’s self-esteem already established by age 5, new study finds

By age 5 children have a sense of self-esteem comparable in strength to that of adults, according to a new study by University of Washington researchers.

Tag(s):

UW to co-lead West Coast ‘Big Data brain trust’ for NSF

The National Science Foundation has selected the University of Washington, along with the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, Berkeley, to co-lead one of four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs around the country.

Tag(s):

October 30, 2015

Emergency drills at new Husky Stadium Sound Transit station

Sound Transit will host a series of emergency drills with Seattle first responders Monday through Thursday at the new University of Washington and Capitol Hill light rail stations. These drills are part of the commissioning process for the new University Link light rail line from downtown Seattle to UW that opens early next year. The drills…

October 29, 2015

Alexia Whitaker joins UW as affirmative action officer

Alexia Whitaker, who had previously served as a program manager in the Office of Affirmative Action at Arkansas State University, has joined the University of Washington as its affirmative action officer.

Nov. 5 bioengineering lecture focuses on ‘Engineering Personalized Medicine’

We have personal trainers and tailored suits. Why don’t we have personalized medicine? That question — and the prospects for stem-cell-based treatments that reverse disease and repair damage rather than simply addressing symptoms — will be the focus of the University of Washington’s Department of Bioengineering’s 2015 Allan S. Hoffman Lecture on Nov. 5. Molly…

Now you see it: cloaking technology arrives sooner than UW mathematician expected

In science, decades can pass between a proposed theory and its real-world application. That is precisely what University of Washington mathematics professor Gunther Uhlmann was expecting when he and three colleagues proposed a means to develop an electromagnetic wormhole in a 2007 paper in Physical Review Letters. Their theoretical wormhole — an invisible tube for…

Tag(s):

UW President Cauce receives Greater Seattle Business Association social justice award

Even before she became the University of Washington’s 33rd president earlier this month, Ana Mari Cauce was a leader who broke down barriers and inspired students and other community members. That’s why Cauce was selected to receive the Greater Seattle Business Association’s 2015 Special Recognition: Voice for Social Justice Award, said Louise Chernin, the association’s…

First Environmental Law Symposium takes on ocean acidification

The UW School of Law will bring together many of the world’s leading experts on ocean acidification in its first-annual Environmental Law Symposium Nov. 6. The day-long event will be held in the William H. Gates Hall on the UW campus and will include panels detailing the latest findings from scientists, current ocean acidification lawsuits…

UW scientists are the first to simulate 3-D exotic clouds on an exoplanet

A nearby exoplanet has an atmosphere that might be similar to Earth’s before life evolved. In an attempt to simulate the structure of this exoplanet’s atmosphere, UW researchers became the first to simulate three-dimensional exotic clouds on another world.

Tag(s):

October 28, 2015

Arts Roundup: Pae White, the Danish String Quartet – and spooky Halloween music

The School of Music sets the mood for Halloween with a concert of spooky organ music. UW World Series presents The Danish String Quartet, and the Henry Art Gallery opens a new exhibition by noted American artist Pae White. Don’t forget to catch the School of Drama’s first production of the year, “The Cradle Will…

Tag(s):

Alaskan trout choose early retirement over risky ocean-going career

A new study in Ecology shows that Alaskan Dolly Varden trout, once they reach about 12 inches in length, can retire permanently from going to sea. They rely on digestive organs that can massively expand and contract and a unique relationship with sockeye salmon.

Tag(s):

UW team to lead research efforts on initiative for incarcerated parents

The University of Washington will play a key role in a new initiative aimed at helping inmates with children transition back into society, be successful parents and partners and remain out of prison. Partners for Our Children, a UW School of Social Work center that works to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families…

October 27, 2015

UW initiative aims to tackle city, region’s most pressing urban issues

When Thaisa Way put a call out last spring to see if University of Washington faculty members working on urban issues wanted to join forces, she wasn’t sure what the response would be. “There were a lot of people who said, ‘You’re not going to get anyone to show up,’” said Way, a UW associate…

Tag(s):

October 26, 2015

UW affiliate prof writes biography about discoverer of continental drift

Mott Greene, an emeritus professor at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and an affiliate professor in the UW’s Department of Earth & Space Sciences, has published a biography of Alfred Wegener, the man who laid the foundations for plate tectonics. “Alfred Wegener: Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift” was published this…

Nominations open: Distinguished Staff Award and Thorud Leadership Award

Celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of a colleague or team with a nomination for the Distinguished Staff Award, the University of Washington’s highest staff honor, and celebrate outstanding leadership with a nomination for the David B. Thorud Award. Recipients of the Distinguished Staff Award are those who achieve excellence and exude a passionate commitment to the…

October 23, 2015

From cell phones to DNA: Electrical engineering lectures explore information theory

The Science of Information: From Pushing Bits over the Air to Assembling the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle Monday, Nov. 2, 3:30 p.m. Paul G. Allen Center Atrium Information theory is the science behind the engineering of all modern-day communication systems and also has surprising applications far beyond communication. Stanford University professor David Tse will focus…

October 22, 2015

UW Tacoma historian Michael Honey’s film about Rev. James Lawson to screen locally

UW historian Michael Honey and filmmaker Errol Webber have produced a documentary about the life of Methodist minister and civil rights activist Rev. James Lawson that will be screened in Tacoma on Oct. 28, Seattle on Oct. 29

Tag(s):

New UW model helps zero in on harmful genetic mutations

By more accurately predicting how variations in DNA sequences affect gene splicing, a new UW model and publicly available Web tool can help narrow down which genetic mutations cause disease and which have little effect on a person’s health.

Tag(s):

October 21, 2015

Arts Roundup: French opera, percussion – and ‘The Cradle Will Rock’

The School of Drama kicks off its 75th anniversary season with the infamous musical “The Cradle Will Rock.” Catch performances of Gabriel Fauré’s opera “Pénélope,” the Mallethead series, and Ensemble Dal Niente, all presented by the School of Music. In the visual arts, the Henry Art Gallery throws its Fall Open House and a new…

Tag(s):

Gear, not geoducks, impacts ecosystem if farming increases

The equipment used to farm geoducks, including PVC pipes and nets, might have a greater impact on the Puget Sound food web than the addition of the clams themselves. That’s one of the findings of the first major scientific study to examine the broad, long-term ecosystem effects of geoduck aquaculture in Puget Sound.

Tag(s):

School of Law’s Roy Prosterman delighted by humanitarian award for agency he started half a century ago

Roy Prosterman, professor emeritus of the University of Washington School of Law, says he knew Landesa, the international land reform agency he founded a half century ago, had been considered before for the prestigious Hilton Humanitarian Prize, with its $2 million cash award. “But I didn’t know that lightning was going to strike in 2015,”…

UW autism expert helped shape new ‘Sesame Street’ initiative

During its almost half-century on television, “Sesame Street” has tackled thorny issues ranging from divorce to death, food insecurity and parental incarceration. The show is now turning its attention to autism, and a University of Washington expert played a pivotal role in the effort. Wendy Stone, director of the UW’s Research in Early Autism Detection and Intervention…

Tag(s):

October 20, 2015

UW Combined Fund Drive kicks off with Charity Fair & Silent Auction

The UW Combined Fund Drive begins its fall campaign with a Charity Fair & Silent Auction on Thursday, Oct. 22, in the HUB ballroom from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Representatives from more than 80 nonprofits will be on hand ready to describe their community work. The UWCFD, UW’s workplace giving campaign, raised more than $2…

UW study: Will Puget Sound’s population spike under climate change?

A UW graduate student’s research paper is the first serious study of whether climate change is likely to cause human migration to the Puget Sound region.

Tag(s):

October 19, 2015

‘Pivotal Tuesdays’: New book by historian Margaret O’Mara studies four key elections of 20th century

Margaret O’Mara, UW associate professor of history, discusses her new book, “Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections that Shaped the Twentieth Century.”

Tag(s):

In astronomy-themed concert, Benaroya Hall launches audience to the cosmos

A Nov. 7 concert in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall promises to offer the audience a decidedly stellar musical experience. The event, “Origins: Life and the Universe,” will pair live performances of new compositions with video and slideshow scenes depicting cosmic events like the Big Bang, as well as scenes from distant worlds and Earth’s own life-filled…

Tag(s):
« Previous Page Next Page »