News and Updates

When you think of a typical learning environment for UW students, you probably think of a lecture hall or a research lab. But how about an entire city? That’s where some UW students will be learning this year, thanks to an innovative partnership with Auburn. It’s part of a new program called “Livable City Year.” Learn more from this UW 360 story.

Zillow Group has pledged $5 million toward the development of a Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the UW campus. The new building will be the second CSE building and will allow the university to double the number of CSE degrees awarded each year and reduce the number of qualified students who are turned away from the program. Read more from UW News & Information.

The 2017 Regular Session of the Washington State Legislature began on Monday. Both the House and Senate convened to as the 65th Legislature and begin a 105-day budget writing session. Tomorrow, Governor Jay Inslee is scheduled to give his second inaugural address to the legislature.

The University of Washington released its 2017 Legislative Agenda prior to the commencement of the session. See it here. The Office of State Relations also welcomed new staff in 2017. Joe Dacca serves as director and Jillian Kilby as associate director.

UW President Ana Mari Cauce was on board the first West Coast commercial flight to Havana on Thursday. Read more and watch video of President Cauce’s remarks from News & Information.

Seattle to Portland in 15 minutes? A group of University of Washington students is trying just that. They are attempting inventor Elon Musk’s dream of hyperloop, a conceptual form of high-speed travel. The UW students are finalists in a collegiate competition to build a hyperloop pod for competition in January. Read more from The Seattle Times and visit the UW’s team website to learn more about their project.