Experts from the University of Washington are set to engage in next week’s Arctic Encounter Symposium. The largest annual Arctic policy event in the United States, the Symposium confronts the leading issues in Arctic policy, innovation, and development. It aims to raise awareness, engage challenges, and develop solutions for the future of a region and a people.
Category: UW researchers
Teaching a class on immigration during a refugee crisis
Professor Kathie Friedman discusses the evolution of her course on immigration, and what each of us can do to stay involved with the ongoing refugee crisis.
Biology professor advocates for Argentine penguins
The legislature for Chubut province in Argentina has 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.
University of Washington biology affiliate associate professor Pablo Garcia Borboroglu says, “This new [marine protected area] designation is an historical accomplishment, since [until now] there is only one protected area in Argentina that is exclusively marine and only 4 percent of the marine surface of the country is currently protected.”
Law 103/15 passed the Chubut legislature with backing from the Global Penguin Society, its co-founder and president Borboroglu and teams of scientists led by Boersma, who provided key data about the penguins from their decades of research at Punta Tombo. The government and the Global Penguin Society agreed to the marine protected area in 2013, and Borboroglu drafted the proposal and designed the protected area. Critically, he also made regular trips to Rawson, the provincial capital, to explain its importance to legislators, answer questions, negotiate details and monitor the bill’s progress.
“This wouldn’t have happened without him,” said UW biology professor Dee Boersma. “The legislature had put off the vote for months, and then on Dec. 3 they voted — and just in the nick of time, too.”
Climate project uses logbooks from historic whaling ships
As climate negotiations continue in Paris, Old Weather, a citizen-science project led by a University of Washington scientist, is mining historic ships logs to get a unique peek at Arctic climate over the past two centuries.
UW researchers use cell phone metadata to estimate poverty in developing countries
In developing or war-ravaged countries where government censuses are few and far between, gathering data for public services or policymaking can be difficult, dangerous or near-impossible. Now, researchers with the University of Washington Information School and Computer Science and Engineering Department have devised a way to estimate the distribution of wealth and poverty in an area by studying metadata from calls and texts made on cell phones.
Nov. 24: Paris roundtable with UW faculty
Join UW faculty on Tuesday, Nov. 24 for a roundtable discussion on “Paris II: Making Sense of the World” in Thomson Hall 101 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
More details from the Jackson School of International Studies…
Panelists for this event include:
Daniel Chirot, Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies
Kathie Friedman, Associate Professor, Jackson School of International Studies
Ray Jonas, Colonel Donald W. Wiethuechter, USA Ret., Endowed Faculty Fellow in History
Reşat Kasaba, Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies; and Director, Jackson School of International Studies
Anand Yang, moderator; Chair, Department of History; and Tamaki Professor, International Studies
Presented by The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, the Department of History, the Center for Global Studies, the Center for West European Studies, the European Union Center of Excellence, and the Middle East Center. The Middle East Center’s sponsorship of this event does not imply that the Center endorses its content.
UW Law professor’s land reform agency receives humanitarian award
Roy Prosterman, professor emeritus of the University of Washington School of Law, founded Landesa, an international land reform agency a half-century ago. Today, Landesa was honored with a prestigious Hilton Humanitarian Prize. The prize comes with a $2 million cash award.
Prosterman is delighted that the award will help continue Landesa’s important work. “It will be extremely helpful and will lead, I’m sure, to a great deal of coverage of land and the land issue,” Prosterman said. “The award itself will be unrestricted and so it will allow us to work in places where it might otherwise take an extended period of time to get funding earmarked to do it.”
Jackson School to host forum on Syria humanitarian crisis
The University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies will hold a free, public forum at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Room 101 of Thomson Hall. The forum is titled “Focus on Syria: A Humanitarian Crisis,” and will be moderated by Resat Kasaba, Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies and director of the Jackson School.
News roundup: President Xi’s visit and the UW
Leaders from across Washington, including UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce, have met with President Xi during his visit to Seattle this week. Learn more about President Xi’s visit to Seattle, including analysis by UW faculty:
China, the U.S. and outerspace security
Saadia Pekkanen of the UW Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies says the U.S. military is partnering with nations worldwide to safeguard space capabilities.