January 23, 2015
UW Center for Philosophy for Children to host High School Ethics Bowl Jan. 31
The University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children will host the 2015 Washington State High School Ethics Bowl on campus Saturday, January 31. The event is modeled after the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl and involves teams of high school students competing to analyze wide-ranging ethical dilemmas. Twenty-three high school bowls will take place around the…
John Wilkerson’s Legislative Explorer honored, paper published
The online Legislative Explorer, the big-data policy project by John Wilkerson and Nicholas Stramp of the UW political science department, has been named an award of excellence winner in interactive design by Communication Arts, an international trade journal of visual communications. Their website, www.legex.org, which tracks all Congressional legislation in the last 40 years, also…
$3.9 million project will identify, treat Washington state toddlers at risk for autism

Early detection can make a world of difference for toddlers with autism, but many children do not get diagnosed until they’re at least 4 years old. As a result, they often don’t get specialized services during the critical period up to age 3 that can greatly improve their skills and behavior. A new project at…
January 22, 2015
Seahawks and fans save best for last on the seismograph
The UW seismologists couldn’t have asked for a better football game to monitor fan-generated stadium shaking. And indeed, the Seahawks’ improbable comeback victory in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game showed the biggest vibrations ever recorded at CenturyLink Field. See also: “How the ‘Beast Quake’ is helping scientists track real earthquakes” (Jan. 7) “Packers versus Seahawks game…
January 21, 2015
UW receives record number of freshman applications for 2015
A record 36,528 freshman applications – an increase of 5,000, or 16 percent, over last year – were submitted to the University of Washington for the 2015 academic year, according to figures released by the UW’s admissions office. Increases occurred among all categories: 12 percent from Washington residents, 19 percent from other parts of the…
Arts Roundup: Music, drama – and the Dance Faculty Concert

It’s an exciting week in the arts as various units ramp up their winter events. For drama fans, there’s the Undergraduate Theater Society’s production of “Yellow Face” and the School of Drama’s take on “Twelfth Night.” For music lovers, don’t miss the rich sounds of the Nile Project at Meany Hall or the UW Symphony at Benaroya Hall.
Dance program kicks off 50th anniversary with Dance Faculty Concert Jan. 23-25
The University of Washington Dance Program begins its 50th anniversary with the 2015 Dance Faculty Concert which, advance notes say, “includes everything from flying bodies to soup cans that playfully and architecturally define space.” The concert will feature choreography by UW dance faculty members Rachael Lincoln and Wilson Mendieta, with guests Holley Farmer, an alumna…
January 20, 2015
Scientists drilling first deep ice core at the South Pole

A UW researcher is chief scientist this month on a project to drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, to understand the climate history in that section of Antarctica.
January 19, 2015
Boeing, UW open research lab on Seattle campus

The Boeing Advanced Research Center, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the UW campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and UW engineering professors.
January 15, 2015
Seismologists analyze last week’s game, prepare for more stadium shaking
UW seismologists (and everyone else in the region) got their wish: The Seahawks won last Saturday, and will play another hometown game in front of a cheering crowd that can rock the stadium. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s post-game seismic analysis of the Jan. 10 game shows 197,000 page requests, almost twice as many as…
‘Paris and Beyond’: Jackson School to discuss recent terrorism in Jan. 21 roundtable
The eyes of the world are on France in the wake of the deadly shootings at the office of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. The Jan. 7 act of terrorism has sparked questions about radical Islam, European unity and conflicts in the Middle East. The University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies will…
Tiny plant fossils a window into Earth’s landscape millions of years ago

An international team led by the University of Washington has discovered a way to determine the tree cover and density of trees, shrubs and bushes in locations over time based on clues in the cells of plant fossils preserved in rocks and soil.
January 14, 2015
Arts Roundup: Exhibitions, Artbreak — and a contemporary art lecture series

This week marks the first lecture in the School of Art + Art History + Design’s annual public lecture series, this year focusing on critical issues in contemporary art.
UW’s Calo, Weld advocate research for ‘robust, beneficial’ artificial intelligence
Two UW faculty members — Ryan Calo, assistant professor of law, and Daniel Weld, professor of computer science and engineering — have joined hundreds of other researchers in an open letter calling for research to make artificial intelligence more robust and beneficial to humankind. Others signing the letter include physicist Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk…
January 13, 2015
How large are the ocean’s biggest whales, squids and turtles?
How long are the tentacles of the largest jellyfish and how big are the ocean’s famed whales? It turns out it’s difficult to get exact measurements of many of the world’s largest marine megafauna, for the reasons one might expect: many of these animals are few in number, tricky to find and logistically hard to…
Washington state Legislature to celebrate Daniel J. Evans Jan. 14
The Washington state Legislature will pause to honor Daniel J. Evans on Jan. 14, marking 50 years, plus a day, since he was sworn in for the first of three terms as Washington state governor, on Jan. 13, 1965. Evans also will address the Senate. Evans began his office-holding career as a member of the…
January 9, 2015
50th anniversary edition of Native art book released
Half a century ago, UW graduate Bill Holm published what would become a seminal work on the distinctive art of the people who first inhabited the Pacific Northwest. “Northwest Coast Indian Art” was the result of Holm’s 15-year analysis of hundreds of artworks while studying at UW under Erna Gunther, former director of the Burke…
Gould Pavilion: New look, educational space, exhibition gallery

The UW College of Built Environments has rebooted the east end of its Gould Hall home, creating an expanded area for collaboration and a new gallery to exhibit work from national and international sources as well as the college’s student, faculty and alumni.
January 8, 2015
Study: University of Washington generates $12.5 billion, nearly 80,000 jobs for the state

The University of Washington generates $12.5 billion a year in economic activity and supports 79,331 direct and indirect jobs in the state of Washington, according to a new economic impact report released Thursday by an independent research firm. The UW employs 34,668 people and, following Boeing and Microsoft, is the third-largest nonfederal employer in the…
Epic survey finds regional patterns of soot and dirt on North American snow

University of Washington scientists published the first large-scale survey of impurities in North American snow. An almost 10,000-mile road trip showed that disturbed soil often mattered as much as air pollution for the whiteness of the snow.
January 7, 2015
Long, strange trip samples the continent’s snow
A survey of pollution and other impurities in North American snow required researchers to find sites with undisturbed snow far from any city or major road – in other words, a recipe for getting stranded by the side of a cold, lonely road. During the campaign that went from late January to late March 2013,…
Arts Roundup: Lectures, ArtBreak – and the Takács Quartet

Welcome back to a new year and new quarter! Henry Art Gallery kicks off the first Arts Roundup of the year with an assortment of events related to the exhibit “Ann Hamilton: the common S E N S E,” including a lecture presented by Seattle Arts and Lectures and an unusual exhibition tour with ArtVenture.
3 UW engineers make Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in energy list
Three University of Washington engineers were selected by Forbes magazine as part of its top 30 people in the world under age 30 in energy. This year’s list largely focuses on people who have produced inventions and founded companies with the goal of saving or conserving energy, instead of creating it. Shyam Gollakota, an assistant professor…
How the ‘Beast Quake’ is helping scientists track real earthquakes

Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will install instruments this Thursday to provide real-time monitoring of the stadium’s movement during the 2015 NFL playoffs. It’s a valuable test of their newest seismic technology.
January 6, 2015
New David Shields book a collaboration, an argument — and a movie, too

Two men, four days, one cabin and an epic discussion of life and art, while James Franco makes a movie of it all. That’s the setup for the latest book by UW English Professor David Shields, working this time with former student Caleb Powell.
Mark Pagano selected as chancellor of UW Tacoma

University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today the selection of Mark Pagano, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Montana State University Billings, as the next chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma, effective March 16. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of…
New open-source program aims to help parents of children in foster care

The first time Alise Hegle saw her daughter again after her birth was 11 months later at a court-ordered, supervised visit. Newly out of jail and treatment for drug addiction, Hegle was riddled with anxiety. She had no idea how to parent her only child and worried about the visitation supervisor who sat silently observing,…
January 5, 2015
What singles should look for in a city
When deciding where to live, single people should choose cities with affordable housing, interesting job opportunities, vibrant neighborhoods and abundant sports activities. That was the advice of Pepper Schwartz, a UW sociology professor who was among experts consulted for personal finance website WalletHub’s recent ranking of 2014’s Best & Worst Cities for Singles. The site…
January 2, 2015
Board of Regents — Jan. 8 meeting
The Board of Regents will hold their Regular Meeting at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, in the Petersen Room of Allen Library. The full schedule and agendas are available online.
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