A world of good rankings: UW rated among top institutions

US News & World Report released its first Best Global Universities rankings Tuesday. UW tops the list at #14, edging out many other leading institutions. The ranking system focuses on the academic research and overall reputation of more than 500 institutions across the globe, scoring universities on criteria that includes number of publications, percentage of highly cited papers and international collaboration. UW scores among the top 20 in five of the 10 ranking categories.

The report also includes the top 100 universities in subject rankings, which evaluate academic research and reputation in a field. UW ranks among the top 10 in the world in seven subject areas: microbiology (#3), geosciences (#5), immunology (#5), pharmacology and toxicology (#7), clinical medicine (#8), social sciences and public health (#8) and molecular biology and genetics (#9). Twenty subjects at UW made the overall rankings.

The report is designed to help the more than 4.5 million students who study abroad each year choose the best global universities to pursue their passion. UW’s top billing shows a proven impact in offering a leading-edge student experience and a growing global reputation.

Communicating about science? Consider culture, say UW researchers

Together with colleagues from Northwestern University, the American Indian Center of Chicago and the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin, UW researchers recently published new findings on the impact of cultural orientations on science communication.

“We argue that science communication – for example, words, photographs and illustrations – necessarily makes use of artifacts, both physical and conceptual, and these artifacts commonly reflect the cultural orientations and assumptions of their creators,” the authors write.

One example of this phenomenon is the depiction of nature in media such as children’s picture books. “There are profound implications not only for perceiving the issue but studying it, forming policy, or forging adaption for our collective futures,” said Megan Bang, a UW assistant professor of educational psychology.

$16 million grant awarded to Jackson School centers

The U.S. Department of Education will fund all eight of the Jackson School of International Studies‘ Title VI centers with grants of more than $16 million.

The Department of Education’s Title VI awards were introduced to ensure sufficient foreign language training for U.S. security. Grants are awarded to institutions of higher education every four years to establish and strengthen language and area-studies centers for foreign language instruction, research in international studies and world affairs and community outreach and consultation.

Carnegie Corp. funds Jackson School’s work tying international research to policy

The Jackson School of International Studies will split a five million dollar award aimed addressing the disconnect between global research with policymaking. Resat Kesaba, Director of the Jackson School of International Studies, says the award furthers the school’s current work. “We have worked with the companies and nonprofit organizations of the globally connected Pacific Northwest to address critical international challenges, and brought the results of this work to policy makers,” he says.

UW Tacoma launches Institute for Global Engagement

UW Tacoma will launch the Institute for Global Engagement October 3rd. The new campus center, grown from the Global Honors program, will increase student access to Global Honors coursework, foster increased campus engagement with the Tacoma community and create additional undergraduate research opportunities. The institute’s first initiatives will include study abroad presentations during International Education Week in November and a lecture series.

UW study finds Chinese childhood obesity rates rising

Researchers Christopher Murray and Marie Ng at the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation recently released a study demonstrating a sharp increase in obesity rates among Chinese children.

Read more from Bloomberg Business Week…

Want to stay healthy on your trip? Seek pre-travel health advice!

More than half of King Country travelers who fall ill while abroad have not sought pre-travel health advice. That’s the finding from a recent survey by Public Health – Seattle & King County in partnership with UW School of Public Health.

International travelers can protect their health by seeking pre-travel health advice and screenings. The Travel Clinic at UW Medicine’s Hall Health Center offers information, screening and care to UW travelers.

Grad student gets Young Investigator Award at International AIDS Conference

UW School of Nursing Ph.D. student Jillian Pintye has experience fighting health disparities across the globe. She was recognized at the recent 20th International AIDS Conference for her research investigating connections between male circumcision and disease transmission in Uganda and Kenya.

Read a conversation with Jillian Pintye from UW Health Sciences NewsBeat…

UW expert and international colleagues assess risks to global penguin populations

In the current issue of Conservation Biology, UW Professor Dee Boersma and colleagues around the world outline risks to world penguin populations and urge stakeholders to take action to protect the species. Professor Boersma also directs the UW Center for Penguins as Ocean Sentinels.

[VIDEO] UW’s robotic gliders provide arctic ice melt data

Researchers at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory have developed robotic gliders which will provide key data for the international effort to measure the rate at which arctic sea ice is melting.

Watch the report and hear from Professor Craig Lee on King 5 News…