University of Washington biologist Samuel Wasser uses DNA evidence to trace the origin of illegal ivory and help police an international trade that is decimating African elephant populations. New results show that over the past decade, ivory has largely come from just two areas in Africa.
An international team of researchers that includes a University of Washington electrical engineer has discovered two key strategies that enable Saharan silver ants to survive in one of the hottest terrestrial environments on Earth.
A team of University of Washington researchers has identified a mechanism that some plant cells use to receive complex and contradictory messages from their neighbors.
Satellites orbiting our planet gather vast amounts of data that have the potential to be used for the greater good — to give residents in flood-prone areas early warning, predict where mosquito-borne disease outbreaks are likely or monitor soil to grow healthier crops. But unlocking that potential requires packaging NASA observations in a way that can help farmers in Tanzania or water managers in Pakistan or foresters in Belize make informed decisions, which doesn’t happen on its own. Scientists and…
Caregiving is a part of daily life for millions of Americans, particularly the so-called sandwich generation balancing the needs of aging parents with looking after their own children. A new study looks at just who is doing that caregiving, and who they’re caring for — and some of the findings are surprising.
The University of Washington has received notice from the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that a complaint has been filed by a student alleging discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for failing to provide the student with a prompt and equitable grievance process after the student reported an incident of sexual violence. Filing a complaint under Title IX triggers an inquiry from OCR, which has requested information from the University. As…
Researchers at the UW and many federal, state, municipal and Tribal agencies are looking at what climate change may bring for our region. A new magazine brings together some of these stories, including many featuring UW climate scientists. The inaugural edition of the annual Northwest Climate Magazine was published in May by three regional federal offices, including the Northwest Climate Science Center, of which the UW is one of three academic members. The new publication is intended to help share…
Oceanographers found the genetic ‘needles in a haystack’ to gain the first hints at how diatoms — tiny drifting algae that carry out a large part of Earth’s photosynthesis — detect and respond to increasing carbon dioxide from burning of fossil fuels.
The University of Washington has the nation’s highest percentage of women in tenure-track engineering faculty positions. An online toolkit based on UW’s leadership workshops for department chairs could help replicate that success at other institutions.
Microsoft Corp. is awarding a $10 million gift to kick-start a campaign to build a second Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the University of Washington campus as an “investment in students who will become the innovators and creators of tomorrow,”
The University of Washington recognized and honored faculty, staff, students and distinguished alumni for the amazing work they do for the UW, for our local communities, for the citizens of Washington, and for our world. The Awards of Excellence were presented at Meany Hall on June 11, 2015. The following is based on remarks made by Interim President Ana Mari Cauce and Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Gerald J. Baldasty. Ross Braine, Tribal Liaison, in the Office of Minority…
A record 5,600-plus graduates, along with more than 40,000 family members, friends, faculty and other observers, are expected to attend the 140th University of Washington commencement ceremonies June 13 at Husky Stadium.
While the Shell drilling platform sits in a Seattle port and its future is hotly debated, a conference on changing Northern waters – including the Chukchi Sea where the oil company plans to use the rig to search for oil – will be held June 15-17 on the UW campus. The symposium is the 10th annual meeting of the international Ecosystem Studies of Sub-Arctic Seas Program, or ESSAS, which includes members from the U.S., Canada, Iceland, Norway, Japan and other…
African-American adults — particularly women — are much more likely to know or be related to someone behind bars than whites, according to the first national estimates of Americans’ ties to prisoners.
What researchers have discovered about the hummingbird-sized hawkmoth could help the next generation of small flying robots operate efficiently under a broad range of lighting conditions. The research is published in the June 12 edition of Science.
Washington state’s rural communities with the highest suicide rates soon will get more resources to help with prevention training and support. Washington Women’s Foundation is giving Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention $100,000 for suicide prevention in six underserved rural communities.
School may be out for summer, but the arts on campus are heating up. Art Breaks and ArtVentures abound at the Henry Art Gallery, and the Jacob Lawrence Gallery is buzzing with the work of recent grads. Kids and kids at heart will want to check out the daily activities offered at the Burke Museum – crafts, scavenger hunts, and adventures await. Art Breaks: Coley Mixan 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., June 13 | Henry Art Gallery Coley Mixan, MFA candidate…
Juan Felipe Herrera, visiting professor of ethnic studies at the University of Washington, was named the 21st United States Poet Laureate on Wednesday. Herrera, who for the past two years has been the California Poet Laureate, is the first Latino honored since the U.S. Consultant in Poetry program began in 1937 (the title changed to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry in 1986). In addition to writing poetry, Herrera also explores issues relevant to Latino culture through his novels, short stories…
Early intervention for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder helps improve their intellectual ability and reduces autism symptoms years after originally getting treatment, a new study shows.
The prolific David Shields, New York Times best-selling author and University of Washington professor of English, has a new book out, titled “That Thing You Do With Your Mouth: The Sexual Autobiography of Samantha Matthews as Told to David Shields.” The book is an extended monologue by Matthews — who is Shields’ cousin once removed — examining her sexual history “from her abuse at the hands of a family member to her present-day life in Barcelona, where she once moonlighted…
Planets with volcanic activity are considered better candidates for life than worlds without such heated internal goings-on.
Now, graduate students at the UW have found a way to detect volcanic activity in the atmospheres of faraway planets when they transit, or pass in front of their host stars.
Country musician Billy Mize worked with great people in his long career — Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell and many more. He also worked in a different way with Diane Kendall, now a University of Washington professor of speech and hearing sciences and director of the UW’s Aphasia Research Laboratory. Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language but does not affect intelligence or cognition. Kendall’s work helping Mize regain his…
Warming temperatures and decreasing levels of dissolved oxygen will act together to create metabolic stress for marine animals. Habitats will shift to places in the ocean where the oxygen supply can meet the animals’ increasing future needs.
The Large Hadron Collider has started recording data from the highest-energy particle collisions ever achieved on Earth. This new data, the first recorded since 2012, will enable an international collaboration of researchers — including many from the UW — to study the Higgs boson, search for dark matter and develop a more complete understanding of the laws of nature.
Don’t stress about upcoming finals this week. Instead, calm the mind and spirit at a Mindfulness Meditation class at Henry Art Gallery. Afterwards, browse the Willem De Rooij exhibit “Bouqet XI,” featuring beautiful floral sculptures that are a playful nod to Holland’s role as a major hub in the international flower trade; and stop by the Jacob Lawrence Gallery for the 2015 UW Design Show, featuring the work of graduates in Industrial Design, Interaction Design, and Visual Communication Design. UW Symphony…
The Ocean Modeling Forum is trying something very rare — bringing together multiple science models and people who care about a particular ocean resource or fishery to decide what’s most important for its vitality and the communities it serves.
University of Washington psychology professor Yuichi Shoda has been honored for his ongoing participation in a well-known — and perhaps slightly misunderstood — long-term study about delayed gratification.
Gov. Jay Inslee has named Vanessa Kritzer, a graduate student at the University of Washington, as the next student member of the UW Board of Regents. The year-long appointment is effective July 1.
UW researchers are scaling up a novel plasma confinement device with a DOE grant, in hopes of producing a self-sustaining reaction to create fusion energy.
Drumheller Fountain, one of the University of Washington’s campus icons, reopened Monday, one week ahead of schedule after having been closed by Facilities Services crews April 27 for its biannual cleaning and maintenance. “Drumheller Fountain is the centerpiece of our campus,” maintenance supervisor Dale Baxmann said. “We need to be good stewards of our campus landmarks; responsible planning and maintenance work is really important to our aging icons.” Maintenance activities included patching and repairing the fountain’s liner, to prevent water leaks. Facilities’…
University of Washington civil and environmental engineering students have joined a 4,000-volunteer crowdsourcing effort to turn satellite imagery of Nepal into maps that aid earthquake relief efforts.
Elena I. Campbell, a University of Washington associate professor of history, has published her first book, which studies Russia’s policies toward Muslims in the 19th and 20th centuries and the impact of the “Muslim Question” on the modernizing path the country would follow. “The Muslim Question and Russian Imperial Governance” was published early this spring by Indiana University Press. “From the time of the Crimean War through the fall of the Tsar, the question of what to do about the…
One of the best ways children learn is by copying what they see others do. Now new research shows that this learning strategy can be used even with things that cannot be seen, including invisible scientific concepts. Weight, for example, is a concept that cannot be seen directly, and it puzzles most preschool-aged children. While they can figure out other more obvious properties about objects, such as their shape, color, or the sound they make, weight trips them up. Researchers…
UW physicists have conducted the most precise and controlled measurements yet of the interaction between the atoms and molecules that comprise air and the type of carbon surface used in battery electrodes and air filters — key information for improving those technologies.
This week, head to the theater to enjoy the School of Drama’s production of the bitingly funny “Boy’s Life” or the Undergraduate Theater Society’s adventurous production of “On the Verge.” Also this week, the School of Music presents the UW Gospel Choir, UW Symphony, and more. 3D4M BFA Show May 27 – June 6 | Jacob Lawrence Gallery This graduation exhibition features pieces by students receiving a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the 3D4M: ceramics + glass + sculpture Program. More…
Using seawater collected in Seattle, Whidbey Island and other sites, UW oceanographers show that just as with plants on land, a common species of ocean diatom grows faster in the presence of helpful bacteria.
As a graduate student and food justice activist in Santa Barbara, California, Megan Carney became aware that many migrant women in the area struggled to feed their families. Her recently published book “The Unending Hunger: Tracing Women and Food Insecurity Across Borders,” examines the personal and political aspects of hunger and tells the stories of the women she met through her research. Carney, now a lecturer in the University of Washington’s anthropology department and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies…
Sylvie Troxel didn’t own a driver’s license when she joined the University of Washington’s EcoCAR team as a freshman four years ago. A lifelong bus rider, she knew virtually nothing about cars. She had never manufactured anything before she started working in the UW machine shop where students fabricate the components to turn an iconic muscle car into a high-performance electric hybrid. “I joined the team with no skills and sort of no confidence in my engineering ability,” said Troxel,…
How can a sushi bar eliminate some of its most popular fish from the menu and still be profitable? One local establishment accomplished this, claiming that sustainable seafood is more important than profits in the long term. Hajime Sato, owner of Mashiko Japanese restaurant in West Seattle, will speak about his experience converting his sushi bar into the first (and likely still the only) fully sustainable sushi restaurant in the city as part of a UW School of Marine and…
The University of Washington communication department will open its new Center for Communication, Difference and Equity with public events May 27 to 29, on campus and off. “The CCDE is a space — a physical space, intellectual space and community space — where we as a department and as a university are going to be able to center these issues of power, privilege and difference,” said Ralina Joseph, professor of communication and the center’s director. “And to think of how…