May 9, 2016
The idea that the young Earth had a thicker atmosphere turns out to be wrong. New research from the University of Washington uses bubbles trapped in 2.7 billion-year-old rocks to show that air at that time exerted at most half the pressure of today’s atmosphere. The results, published online May 9 in Nature Geoscience, reverse the commonly accepted idea that the early Earth had a thicker atmosphere to compensate for weaker sunlight. The finding also has implications for which gases…
May 6, 2016
Thirty-two colorful and creative artist books on display as part of the exhibit “Just One Look,” in University of Washington Libraries’ Special Collections department, in Allen Library. The exhibit co-curated by UW alumna Lauren Dudley with Sandra Kroupa, UW book arts and rare book curator.
May 5, 2016
Giving young children a two-minute warning that “screen time” is about to end makes transitions away from tablets, phones, televisions and other technological devices more painful, a new University of Washington study has found.
May 4, 2016
This week in the arts, see the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company perform at Meany Hall and witness the talent of the next generation at the 2016 School of Music Scholarship Recital. Explore production design at a UW Drama exhibition, take an ArtVenture at the Henry Art Gallery and shop for Native American art at the Burke Museum. Martha Graham Dance Company May 5-7 | Meany Theater UW World Series’ 2015-2016 season concludes with three performances by the Martha Graham…
What possible future scenarios lie ahead for urban design, and how will big data and new technologies affect science and decision-making? The UW Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Urban Design and Planning will tackle such questions in a daylong symposium May 5.
May 3, 2016
Dennis Hartmann, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
May 2, 2016
To help address the nation’s pressing need for better air quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a research team co-led by a University of Washington civil engineer a $10 million Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) grant.
University of Washington researchers have developed SpiroCall, a new health sensing tool that can accurately measure lung function from anywhere in the world over a simple phone call.
April 29, 2016
The upcoming season finale of TLC’s popular program “Who Do You Think You Are,” airing May 1, will feature UW professor Devin Naar helping television star Lea Michele learn about her Sephardic Jewish ancestry.
For some young men of color, college might seem a world away. To an African-American boy growing up in poverty, a Latino son of migrant farmworkers or a young Native American man living on a remote reservation, the path to post-secondary education can be hard to visualize. And once on campus, the reality can be daunting. Role models might be lacking, the sense of isolation overwhelming. A new University of Washington pilot program aims to address those obstacles and boost…
When 8-year-old filmmaker Celia Jensen and her dad decided to make a film about Seattle’s Gum Wall, Jeffrey Ochsner, professor of architecture and associate dean for academic affairs in the UW College of Built Environments, was happy to help.
April 28, 2016
Visitors to national parks are half as likely to see wolves in their natural habitat when wolf hunting is permitted just outside park boundaries, according to a new study.
Anthony Geist, professor of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, has been awarded one of Spain’s highest civil honors — a knighthood.
April 27, 2016
UW World Series presents its final two performances of the school year: Daedalus Quartet and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Graduating students from the School of Art + Art History + Design’s 3D4M program showcase their works at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, and the UW Dance Program and the Henry Art Gallery collaborate in a performance piece. UW Drama‘s production of “Force Continuum” continues through May 8. Daedalus Quartet 7:30 p.m., April 29 | Meany Theater This critically acclaimed string…
A UW mechanical engineer has developed a new assessment of motor control in children with cerebral palsy called Walk-DMC, which could help predict which patients are — or are not — likely to benefit from invasive surgical interventions.
April 25, 2016
Rock your baby in sync with music and you may wonder how the experience affects her and her developing brain. A new study by scientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) shows that a series of play sessions with music improved 9-month-old babies’ brain processing of both music and new speech sounds. “Our study is the first in young babies to suggest that experiencing a rhythmic pattern in music can also improve the ability…
April 21, 2016
Jerry Franklin, a professor of environmental and forest sciences, was honored by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation for his lifelong work in forest ecology, conservation and policy.
April 20, 2016
An interactive recycling and composting station installed this spring at PACCAR Hall is showing the University of Washington community exactly how much money can be saved by composting and recycling correctly. And it seems to be doing its job well.
Four University of Washington professors join 172 other academics as newly elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the group announced Wednesday.
This week in the arts, UW Drama opens their production of Force Continuum, and the School of Music presents two visiting artists: mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens and chamber ensemble Decoda. You can also hear the groundbreaking music of Harry Partch or attend the Henry Art Gallery’s annual Arty Party. Directions for a Cloud-Crowd 7 p.m., April 21 | Henry Art Gallery In this 90-minute performance, artists Anne Walsh, Jim Melchert and 3D4M Assistant Professor Michael Swaine explore the giving and taking…
As the U.S., China and other countries sign the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and limit climate change, UW experts talk about the possibilities and risks in what could be a turning point for global economies.
April 19, 2016
A daylong colloquium, “Shakespeare, Music and Memory” will bring scholars and musicians to the University of Washington campus April 29 for lectures ending with a concert of Shakespeare-themed songs by the School of Music’s Collegium Musicum ensemble. The free events were organized by JoAnn Taricani, associate professor and chair of the School of Music‘s Division of Music History, are timed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare‘s death in April of 1616. Scholars from several universities will give presentations…
The number of children in foster care across the country is driven not solely by child abuse and neglect, but by states’ varying politics and approaches to social problems, a new University of Washington study finds. States with more punitive criminal justice systems tend to remove children from their homes far more frequently than those with generous welfare programs – meaning that two states with similar rates of child abuse and neglect could have very different rates of foster care…
April 18, 2016
The University of Washington Board of Regents has approved the Master of Science in Technology Innovation degree, a 60-credit interdisciplinary program developed by the Global Innovation Exchange.
Most Seattle employers in a UW-led study said in 2015 they expected to raise prices on goods and services to compensate for the city’s new $15 per hour minimum wage law — but a year after implementation such increases are not in evidence.
A new University of Washington study shows that impacts associated with shoreline armoring can scale up to have cumulative, large-scale effects on the characteristics of Salish Sea shorelines and the diversity of life they support.
The Great Recession devastated millions of Americans financially — but what impacts did that economic stress have on their physical and mental well-being? Gillian Marshall, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Washington Tacoma, wants to answer that question. Marshall was awarded a five-year, $654,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the link between financial hardship and health. She is the first faculty member at UW Tacoma to receive an NIH Mentored Research Scientist…
April 14, 2016
Local author and Seattle Times reporter Lynda V. Mapes is the featured speaker in this year’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences annual Sustaining Our World Lecture, 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21.
Each fall, monarch butterflies across Canada and the United States turn their orange, black and white-mottled wings toward the Rio Grande and migrate over 2,000 miles to the relative warmth of central Mexico. This journey, repeated instinctively by generations of monarchs, continues even as monarch numbers have plummeted due to loss of their sole larval food source — milkweed. But amid this sad news, a research team believes they have cracked the secret of the internal, genetically encoded compass that the…
April 13, 2016
Visit Meany Hall this week for the chance to hear two world-renowned classical musicians – violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Murray Perahia – each perform solo recitals. Join the UW Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band for an exploration of music by French composers, or catch lectures by artist Buster Simpson and art historian Susan P. Casteras. Artist Talk: Buster Simpson 7 p.m., April 14 | Henry Art Gallery Artist Buster Simpson will discuss the development of his current commission for…
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, a 1978 graduate of the UW and a former member of the UW Board of Regents, will be the featured speaker at the University of Washington’s Commencement exercises Saturday, June 11.
If you’re looking to give up marijuana and possibly cigarettes as well, a group of researchers at the University of Washington would like to hear from you. The Innovative Programs Research Group, an organization in the UW School of Social Work, is recruiting people 18 and older for a free marijuana and tobacco treatment trial. The study is aimed at adults who are regularly using both substances, want to quit marijuana and are willing to consider kicking the tobacco habit…
April 12, 2016
Two national celebrations of science are happening this week in D.C., and University of Washington undergraduates will be in the spotlight at both events. Clara Orndorff, a pre-engineering undergraduate in the UW Honors Program, will travel with two fellow underwater roboticists to compete in Wednesday’s White House Science Fair. She will be among more than 100 top students who will showcase their projects, perhaps even to President Barack Obama, at the sixth annual event launched by his administration. The science fair…
Two University of Washington undergraduates have won a $10,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for their “SignAloud” invention — gloves that can translate American Sign Language into text or speech.
April 10, 2016
Introducing new generations of students to Shakespeare might be less daunting if begun with study of a single, intriguing line, said Andrew Tsao, UW associate professor of drama, at recent workshop for educators on the First Folio at the Seattle Public Library. The First Folio is the common name for a 1623 volume formally titled “Mr. Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.” It was the first to preserve such masterpieces as “Macbeth,” “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night” in print for future…
April 8, 2016
University of Washington law students played a key role in a law passed last week that aims to better protect privacy and monitor data collection by agencies in the state. House Bill 2875, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee April 1, establishes the state Office of Privacy and Data Protection. The office will examine what information is being collected by state agencies, work with agencies to reduce the amount of consumer data being collected and monitor citizen complaints. It…
A University of Washington-led research team has won a $7.5 million, five-year Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant from the Department of Defense to better model and mount defenses against stealthy, continuous computer hacking attacks known as “advanced persistent threats.”
April 7, 2016
University of Washington and Microsoft researchers have developed one of the first complete systems to store digital data in DNA — allowing one to store data that today would fill a Walmart supercenter in a space the size of a sugar cube.
April 6, 2016
Three University of Washington professors are among the 178 scholars, artists, and scientists from the U.S. and Canada recognized this year by the Guggenheim Foundation.
UW World Series takes center stage this week with three events: dance-theater ensemble Jane Comfort & Company, world-renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar, and GlobalFEST: Creole Carnival. Learn about the Burke Museum’s renovation plans at a community open house, see an exhibition by School of Art + Art History + Design graduating honors students, or take the whole family on an ArtVenture at the Henry Art Gallery. Jane Comfort & Company April 7-9 | Meany Studio Theater Jane Comfort & Company…