Researchers have found clear evidence that communities rich in species are substantially healthier and more productive than those depleted of species, once complicating factors are removed.
January 13, 2016
The latest news from the UW
January 12, 2016
UW computer scientists to make financial products better and more available for the poor
UW computer scientists, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are launching a new research group to develop technological solutions that will make financial products more available to the lowest-income people around the world.
January 11, 2016
Northwest winter weather: El Niño, coastal effects, no more ‘blob’
What some have called the “Godzilla El Niño” is now lumbering ashore, right on schedule. El Niño tends to influence North American weather after the first of January, and indeed, we’re seeing warm temperatures in Alaska and much-needed rain in California. University of Washington researchers are tracking what the season will deliver to the Pacific Northwest region. For Washington, El Niño typically brings warm, and often dry, winter weather. That may seem surprising, since the state just experienced a very…
New master of applied bioengineering to prepare students for translational research
In December, the University of Washington’s Department of Bioengineering began accepting applications for its newest graduate degree program, the Master of Applied Bioengineering. The one-year, full-time program begins in August, and will train students to apply engineering design and entrepreneurship skills to address unmet clinical needs and to transform biomedical research into technologies for improving health care. The degree will position graduates to respond to market-based demands of industry, medicine and translational research.
West Coast study emphasizes challenges faced by marine organisms exposed to global change
Along the West Coast, ocean acidification and hypoxia combine with other factors, such as rising ocean temperatures, to create serious challenges for marine life, a new study finds.
January 8, 2016
UW law school Dean Kellye Y. Testy to serve as national group president
Kellye Y. Testy, dean of the University of Washington’s law school, will give her inaugural address as president of the Association of American Law Schools tomorrow night in Washington, D.C. Testy previously served on the association‘s executive committee and was voted in as its president in October 2014. She takes over from 2015 president Blake Morant, dean of The George Washington University Law School. “It is an incredible honor for me to be elected president of AALS, and I look forward…
Quiet quasar has apparently eaten its fill
Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) announced that a distant quasar ran out of gas. Their conclusions, reported Jan. 8 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, clarify why quasar SDSS J1011+5442 changed so dramatically in the handful of years between observations.
Stir no more: UW scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays
Three scientists at the University of Washington have proposed a way to speed up common bioassays used in research and diagnostics. Their solution, reminiscent of the magic behind washing machines, could reduce wait times to a fraction of what they once were. As they report in the journal Small, biological assays that once took hours could instead take minutes.
January 6, 2016
UW faculty members join Inslee in gun violence announcement
Two University of Washington faculty members joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Wednesday as he announced a new initiative to reduce gun-related deaths by strengthening background checks and implementing a statewide suicide prevention plan. Jennifer Stuber, an associate professor at the UW School of Social Work, and Monica Vavilala, director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, stood alongside Inslee as he made the announcement at a mental health center in Burien. “This is a public health response to a…
Arts Roundup: Orpheus Ensemble, pianist Garrick Ohlsson – and the UW Symphony
ArtsUW rings in the new year with art, opera and jazz. School of Music’s Stephen Stubbs leads UW students in scenes from early Baroque opera, world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson takes the stage at Meany Hall, and the Henry Art Gallery invites families to take an ArtVenture. Plus, it’s a genre mash-up for the UW Symphony when it is joined by Michael Gibbs, Bill Frisell and UW Jazz Studies faculty for a January concert. Orpheus Ensemble 7:30 p.m., January 8 |…
What motivates people to walk and bike? It varies by income
The built environment influences decisions to walk or bike differently for lower- and higher-income groups, UW researchers have found. Neighborhood density, accessible destinations and fewer vehicles were associated with more walking and biking in lower-income groups, while neighborhood attractiveness was relevant for higher-income groups.
UW climate scientists to give free talks at Mt. Baker Ski Area
UW scientists will give free talks on climate change for three consecutive Saturdays at Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Politics, pioneers and ‘pandemonium’: 2016 History Lecture Series digs into Seattle history
Seattle’s past — from its earliest years to the turn of the 21st century — will be the topic of the Winter 2016 History Lecture Series, “Excavating Seattle’s Histories: People, Politics, Place,” running Wednesdays from Jan. 13 to Feb 3, with an additional panel discussion on Feb. 10.
DO-IT looking for high school student scholars
DO-IT, a University of Washington program, is looking for high school students with disabilities to apply to be program scholars. Applicants must be a current high school sophomore or junior in Washington, have an aptitude and interest in attending college, have any disability, and must be motivated to participate and interested in interacting with other students with a variety of disabilities. The application can be found online. Applicants who are selected as DO-IT scholars are loaned computers and adaptive technology needed to…
January 5, 2016
Study: College graduates often challenged with life skills, motivation for ongoing learning
Today’s college graduates tend to be highly trained and employable but often lack a key skill needed for post-college life: how to identify and ask their own questions, according to a new study.
January 4, 2016
UW class pairs students and inmates for unique learning experience
On a rainy December afternoon, a group of students in the University of Washington’s Law, Societies & Justice program sit in a classroom discussing what elements might be included in a restorative justice program. The conversation is lively, the comments thoughtful. But this isn’t any ordinary classroom, and it isn’t your usual group of university students. The UW students were taking the autumn quarter class on culture, crime and criminal justice alongside 10 male classmates who brought more than theoretical…
December 30, 2015
UW astronomer Eric Agol honored by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Eric Agol, a University of Washington professor of astronomy, will receive the 2016 Lecar Prize from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The award, now in its third year, recognizes exceptional contributions to the study of exoplanets — those beyond our solar system — and theoretical astrophysics. It is named for Myron S. “Mike” Lecar, who was with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from 1965 to 2009, researching planet formation and the dynamics of gravity and our solar system. Lecar died in…
December 29, 2015
#BestofUW: Top news stories of 2015
From a new president and lasers cooling liquids to spotting rare sea creatures and major collaborations, great things have happened at the University of Washington in 2015. Here’s a look back at the top stories of the year. These stories were chosen based on the total number of views they received on our website and are not in any particular order. UW Regents name Ana Mari Cauce president October 13, 2015 The University of Washington Board of Regents selected Interim President Ana Mari Cauce to be…
No easy answers in UW study of legal marijuana’s impact on alcohol use
Does legal marijuana tempt pot users to consume more alcohol — or are they likely to opt for cannabis instead of chardonnay? A University of Washington team of researchers sought to address those questions in the context of evolving marijuana policies in the United States. Their findings, published online Dec. 21 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, highlight the difficulties of gauging the impact of a formerly illicit drug as it moves into the mainstream. Recreational marijuana use…
December 28, 2015
UW center receives $16M to work on first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs
The UW’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering has won a $16M NSF grant to develop the first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs and restore motor function in stroke or spinal cord injury patients.
December 23, 2015
Documents that Changed the World: The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 1896
A glance at a kitchen bookshelf gave UW Information School professor Joe Janes the idea for the latest installment of his Documents that Changed the World podcast — about the famous Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, more popularly known as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
December 22, 2015
Dating historic activity at Oso site shows recurring major landslides
The large, fast-moving mudslide that buried much of Oso, Washington in March 2014 was the deadliest landslide in U.S. history. Since then it’s been revealed that this area has experienced major slides before, but it’s not known how long ago they occurred. University of Washington geologists analyzed woody debris buried in earlier slides and used radiocarbon dating to map the history of activity at the site. The findings, published online Dec. 22 in the journal Geology, show that a massive…
December 21, 2015
Rivers, lakes impact ability of forests to store carbon
Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams, a new paper finds.
December 18, 2015
Oxygen provided breath of life that allowed animals to evolve
It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a study co-authored by two University of Washington scientists and led by the University College London.
December 17, 2015
Study: Safety net fails impoverished grandmothers raising children
Increasing numbers of grandmothers across the United States are raising their grandchildren, many of them living in poverty and grappling with a public assistance system not designed to meet their needs. LaShawnDa Pittman, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of American Ethnic Studies, interviewed 77 African American grandmothers living in some of the poorest areas of south Chicago. Her findings were published in November in the first issue of The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social…
December 16, 2015
UW Tacoma geoscientist tracked risks from deadly 2015 Nepal earthquake
When an earthquake struck Nepal in late April 2015, thousands of lives were lost in the initial disaster. But it was hard to assess the scale of the damage to rural areas, and still lurking were threats from unstable slopes and dammed glacier-fed lakes that could dislodge at any time to flood villages below. A University of Washington Tacoma faculty member was part of an international team of scientists who worked with government agencies and private companies on a massive…
Composting food waste remains your best option, says UW study
A new University of Washington study confirms that composting food scraps is better than throwing them away, and also calculates the environmental benefits associated with keeping these organic materials out of landfills.
December 15, 2015
UW conservationists celebrate new protected areas for Argentine penguins
On Dec. 3, the legislature for Argentina’s Chubut province established a new marine protected area off Punta Tombo, which would help preserve the feeding grounds for about 500,000 Magellanic penguins that make their home along this rocky stretch of Argentine coast. This is welcome news for the UW scientists who have studied these penguins for decades and advocated for their conservation.
Fuel economy improvements in US climate commitment on par with 1970s gains
A new UW study finds that fuel efficiency improvements needed to meet U.S. climate commitments are on par with what the auto industry delivered in the 1970s and 1980s.
New options for working parents and caregivers at the UW
University of Washington working parents and caregivers balancing responsibilities at work and home will soon have more choices. To offset the waitlists parents experience at UW’s four child care centers, new full-time care options will be available in January at designated Bright Horizons and KinderCare centers. Enrollment priority will be offered by both centers and tuition discounts will offered by KinderCare. UW families looking for child care before and after school for school age children will find 10 percent savings…
Study: Reason, not disruption, rules when growing a social movement
When campaigning for social change, disruptive protests may win a few battles but education is more likely to win the war, according to research by Abhinav Gupta, an assistant professor of strategic management at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Gupta and co-authors studied “Rein in Russell,” a 2009 campaign by United Students Against Sweatshops at Pennsylvania State University and other institutions designed to pressure the company Russell Athletic to change its anti-union business tactics and reopen a…
Forefront launches suicide prevention effort in three rural Washington counties
Suicide is a tough issue to broach. How could an adult know if a child in the community might be suicidal and when to intervene? Is it appropriate to ask a friends or colleagues if they’re considering suicide? If someone is in crisis, what’s the best way to respond? Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention hopes to give people in three Washington rural counties with some of the highest suicide rates in the state the skills and knowledge to address such…
December 14, 2015
UW Board of Regents approves new Master of Science in Data Science for professionals
The UW will offer a new Master of Science in Data Science program to provide students with advanced technical expertise in managing, modeling and visualizing big data to meet the growing needs of industry and research.
Seattle’s Ballard is ripe for green-space restoration, new report says
A University of Washington graduate student saw green-starved Ballard as an opportunity to call attention to areas in the neighborhood that have restoration potential. Her new report, the “Ballard Green Spaces Project,” identifies 55 sites that could be restored as natural areas for people and wildlife, increasing the neighborhood’s total amount of accessible green spaces.
History meets geography: James Gregory’s collaborative digital project tracks key 20th century social movements
UW historian James Gregory’s new collaborative digital project, “Mapping American Social Movements through the 20th Century” uses data visualization and interactive maps to depict the progress of various social movements — with more to come.
December 10, 2015
Trees either hunker down or press on in a drying and warming western U.S. climate
Two University of Washington researchers have uncovered details of the radically divergent strategies that two common tree species employ to cope with drought in southwestern Colorado. As they report in a new paper in the journal Global Change Biology, one tree species shuts down production and conserves water, while the other alters its physiology to continue growing and using water.
December 9, 2015
Arts Roundup: UW Symphony, Maker:Market – and Handel’s ‘Messiah’
The School of Music wraps up the quarter with four back-to-back days of events, including the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic and Campus Bands, UW Symphony, and two performances of Handel’s “Messiah.” There are still a few days left to catch the School of Drama’s production of “Loot” or visit the Jacob Lawrence Gallery for “Toward a Democracy of Making.” All month long, head over to the Burke for Maker:Market, and explore Native American boat making. Wind Ensemble, Symphonic and Campus Bands…
Iceland volcano’s eruption shows how sulfur particles influence clouds
The long, slow 2014 eruption of Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano offers a testbed to show how sulfur emissions, from volcanoes or humans, act to brighten clouds and reflect more sunlight.
Design meets health: UW College of Built Environments, School of Public Health chosen for national architect association’s design and research consortium
The University of Washington College of Built Environments and School of Public Health have been selected as part of a national initiative seeking to translate research on how design impacts public health into architectural practice. The two UW schools have been selected to join the American Institute of Architects’ multi-school Design & Health Research Consortium. Over a three-year period, the institute and the Architects Foundation will provide support for the new members, promoting local and national partnerships and the sharing…
December 8, 2015
Hour of Code: UW President Ana Mari Cauce gets schooled in coding
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce joined a small group of UW students Monday morning to get a crash course in coding as part of Code.org‘s Hour of Code event during Computer Science Education Week. Cauce worked with Sukhdeep Singh, a freshman at UW who hopes to double major in business and computer science, in the Hour of Code Monday. See GeekWire’s coverage of Monday’s events at the UW and across Seattle. For more information about Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code,…