The University of Washington has received an 18-month grant of $110,299 from the state Attorney General’s Office to provide training and education for health professionals and the general public on the subject of chronic pain management and cannabis use.
Read more at UW Today.
On Friday (Oct. 11), the Washington State Economic Revenue & Forecast Council published it’s monthly economic and revenue update.
Among other news, the report shows that tax collections were again higher than previously forecast, and consumer confidence is down, likely as a byproduct of the federal government shutdown.
A few additional highlights from the update:
The ERFC’s revenue review released in November will be the basis for Governor Inslee’s supplemental budget proposal for the 2014 legislative session. Session is set to begin in early January.
The Seattle Times reports that Washington will be the eighth state to adopt the “Next Generation Science Standards,” which outline what students should know about big ideas of science, key practices scientists and engineers use to solve problems, and fundamental concepts that apply across all scientific fields.
The Times highlights the prominent role played by the UW:
The University of Washington has played a prominent role both in developing the standards and in helping teachers teach them.
Philip Bell, director of the university’s Institute for Science + Math Education, was one of 18 experts brought together by the National Research Council to identify the key ideas and practices in science that all high-school graduates should know not only for their jobs and further education, but to become scientifically literate citizens.
The Office of State Relations hosted a group of state legislators and staff on campus last Friday (September 27) for a tour of the Institute for Protein Design, a campus tour including the recently renovated Odegaard Undergraduate Library & Learning Commons and the Paul G. Allen Center for Computing & Engineering, and a lunch briefing with presentations by Vice Provost for Research Mary Lidstrom and Vice Provost and Undergraduate Academic Affairs Dean Ed Taylor.
The group included State Sen. David Frockt (D-Seattle), State Rep. Cindy Ryu (D-Shoreline), and State Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah), along with staff from the House Higher Education Committee and Senate Ways & Means Committee.
Additional campus visits this fall are already in the works. Stay tuned for more details soon!
As America’s number one federally funded public research university, the University of Washington is producing research with the power to change the world.
State legislators and other Olympia decision-makers will get a first-hand look at what UW researchers are discovering in a Friday, September 27 visit to The Baker Laboratory and the Institute for Protein Design, located in the University’s new Molecular Engineering and Sciences building.
Legislators and staff will be introduced to the Institute’s work integrating UW expertise in biochemistry, engineering, computer science and medicine, and leveraging local strength in the software industry to achieve new breakthroughs in medicine.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how UW research has the power to transform human health, how UW’s world-class research plays an important role in the state’s biotech research cluster, and how the University is propelling leading edge research and ideas out of our labs into the marketplace.
Learn more about the Institute for Protein Design in this video:
State legislators and their staff interested in the tour can contact the Office of State Relations at 206-543-7604.
A feature article in the Seattle Weekly focuses on the University of Washington’s online education efforts.
Here’s a preview:
[T]he University of Washington is betting on low-cost online courses that could attract more students and money. And maybe turn its professors into stars.
Read the article here.
University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher. To learn more, watch the video below, or read this article in UW Today.
Washington Monthly, which ranks universities based upon social mobility, research production and commitment to service, has ranked the University of Washington 13th among national universities for 2013.
The UW also was ranked ninth among national universities in “Best Bang for the Buck,” a measure of “colleges in America that do the best job of helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices,” according to the magazine.
Learn more at UW Today.
The Seattle Times recently reported on UW researcher Zoran Popovic‘s work to make computer games more effective at teaching math.
One of the most successful examples, for adults and students alike, is the UW Center for Game Science’s Foldit, which challenges users to help uncover the structures of biologically important proteins.
Players around the world have made a number of important discoveries about the structures of proteins just by playing the game.
The UW lab has recently turned to K-12 education, and is “using the same mechanisms to reach high levels of mastery for kids,” said Popovic, the center’s director.
…
“We were able to show that even kindergartners and first-graders can master solving equations,” Popovic said. “This is shockingly good,” he said — especially for elementary school, where algebra concepts usually are not taught.
Read the whole story.
Yesterday (August 14), UW External Affairs staff participated in a service project at the University Heights Center, a non-profit community-run organization.
From helping clean windows and alcoves, to landscaping upkeep, and moving soil for new raised beds in the P-Patch, the crew had a great time! Each year, the UW community provides over 346,000 hours of service to our communities.
Here’s a photo of the crew, after finishing up the project:
