2017 | UW News

February 1, 2017

UW introduces new master’s degree in applied child & adolescent psychology

A new UW graduate degree program – the Master of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment – aims to meet the growing need for mental health professionals trained to serve children, teens and families.

This week in the arts, traditional Japanese music, a modern twist on a Shakespearean classic, and a lecture featuring Cameron Rowland discusses contemporary art and its place in society. KODO 8 p.m., February 3 & 4 | Meany Theater An international phenomenon since 1981, the percussion ensemble KODO explores the limitless rhythmic possibilities of the traditional…

AccessMap – a University of Washington project spearheaded by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology — launched a new online travel planner offering customizable suggestions for people who need accessible or pedestrian-friendly routes when getting from point A to B in Seattle.

January 31, 2017

UW’s Forefront to recreate memorial, advocate for solutions at Suicide Prevention Education Day in Olympia

The UW-based Forefront will host a memorial for Washington state residents who died by suicide and join firearms dealers, veterans’ organizations, pharmacists, health care providers and suicide attempt and loss survivors to advocate for two legislative bills as part of Suicide Prevention Education Day.

Poet activists from around the nation will gather for daylong UW conference Feb. 3 on creativity in activism — and then give full voice to that creativity in performances 7 – 10 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library. All are welcome.

January 30, 2017

Artists in the lab: Talk will highlight a creative partnership between art and science

Jennifer Nemhauser leads a research laboratory of scientists, all immersed in the complex world of plant hormones. But last year, the University of Washington professor of biology boosted her lab’s roster with some unexpected talent. Claire Cowie — an artist, UW alumna and lecturer — spent three months in 2016 as a part-time artist-in-residence in Nemhauser’s lab….

January 27, 2017

UW statement regarding purported Red Square event Monday

A statement from Denzil Suite, vice president for student life at the University of Washington, regarding an event purported to be taking place Monday on Red Square.

A still from the dance troupe Step Afrika!'s production of "The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence," to be performed Feb. 16-18 at Meany Hall.

Meany Center for the Performing Arts and the School of Art + Art History + Design celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of artist Jacob Lawrence along with the Seattle Art Museum.

January 25, 2017

Arts Roundup: A trio, a quartet, and a chamber recital

It’s a musical week here at the UW! Attend the faculty-student chamber recital and performances by the Escher String Quartet and the Evergreen Trio. Undergraduate Theater Society: New Works Festival 7:30 p.m., January 27 through January 29 | Hutchinson Hall Cabaret Theater A long standing UTS tradition, the New Works Festival highlights work shopping new…

Researchers from across the UW are presenting their work at the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting this week in Seattle.

New research indicates that people who had more infections as babies harbor a key marker of cellular aging as young adults: the protective stretches of DNA which “cap” the ends of their chromosomes are shorter than in adults who were healthier as infants.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) announced today the foundation’s commitment to invest $279 million in IHME to expand its work over the next decade.

January 24, 2017

Prized fossil find — the oldest, most complete iguanian in the Americas — illuminates the lives of lizards in the Age of Dinosaurs

Paleontologists picking through a bounty of fossils from Montana have discovered something unexpected — a new species of lizard from the late dinosaur era, whose closest relatives roamed in faraway Asia.

The specific cues that trigger an animal’s natural defense vary depending on the species and its history in the ecosystem, a new University of Washington study finds.

January 20, 2017

Statement from UW President Ana Mari Cauce on shooting incident during protest in Red Square

A statement from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce following an incident in which a man suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen during a large protest in Red Square

January 18, 2017

Arts Roundup: Maple and Vine, a dance faculty concert, and Russian music of the 1960s

This week in the arts, take a trip in time with Maple and Vine, view choreography by nationally and internationally recognized faculty, and hear collaborative musical works at Meany Hall. Maple and Vine January 17 through January 22 | Jones Playhouse Written by Jordan Harrison and directed by Sean Ryan, this darkly funny and provocative investigation of…

The year 2016 was officially the hottest in recent history, beating previous records in 2014 and 2015. UW scientists let you hear the data speak for itself.

A new University of Washington study finds that one of Alaska’s most abundant freshwater fish species is altering its breeding patterns in response to climate change, which could impact the ecology of northern lakes that already acutely feel the effects of a changing climate.

Vitamin B-12 exists in two different, incompatible forms in the oceans. An organism thought to supply the essential vitamin B-12 in the marine environment is actually churning out a knockoff version.

January 17, 2017

Conditions right for complex life may have come and gone in Earth’s distant past

A 1.9-billion-year-old stromatolite — or mound made by microbes that lived shallow water — called the Gunflint Formation in northern Minnesota. The environment of the oxygen "overshoot" described in research by Michael Kipp, Eva Stüeken and Roger Buick may have included this sort of oxygen-rich setting that is suitable for complex life.

Conditions suitable to support complex life may have developed in Earth’s oceans — and then faded — more than a billion years before life truly took hold, a new University of Washington-led study has found.

The UW Dance Program will team with the “vertical dance company” BANDALOOP for part of its annual Dance Faculty Concert, to be held Jan. 20 – 22 in Meany Hall.

Fishing communities can survive ― and even thrive ― as fish abundance and market prices shift if they can catch a variety of species and nimbly move from one fishery to the next, a new University of Washington study finds.

In a paper published Jan. 17 in the journal Nature Communications, researchers report that fruit flies — perhaps the most widely studied insect in history — show signs of rational decision-making when choosing a mate.

January 12, 2017

UW law professor leads group defending ‘aural tradition’ of creativity in famous ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright case

UW School of Law professor Sean O’Connor has filed a brief in the famous “Blurred Lines” music copyright case, arguing for full composition credit for those who worked in the “aural tradition” and did not use traditional musical notation.

Using big data to address human services ― including health, foster care and the challenges of homelessness ― will be the focus of a workshop next week at Seattle City Hall hosted by the University of Washington and City of Seattle along with MetroLab Network, a recent White House initiative to improve cities through university-city partnerships.

The acidification of the ocean expected as seawater absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will reverberate through the West Coast’s marine food web, but not necessarily in the ways you might expect, new research shows.

A new national program at the UW — LATTICE — aims to diversify the national engineering faculty population by building supportive communities during the critical transition from graduate studies to permanent tenure-track positions.

January 11, 2017

Arts Roundup: UW Tower exhibits, a lecture-recital, and a Littlefield Organ performance

This week, two new exhibits featuring local artists are on display in the UW Tower through March, a lecture-recital at Brechemin Auditorium, and a UW vocal performance highlighting scenes from Mozart’s operas. UW Tower Exhibit: Don Silverstein January through March 2017 | UW Tower The illustrative work and abstract paintings of prolific artist Donald Silverstein will be on display…

Autonomous floating sensors built at the UW are being deployed to track conditions in the waters surrounding Antarctica.

January 10, 2017

Two UW professors win Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Two University of Washington professors have received the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early career scientists and engineers.

Ice core records from the two poles show that during the last ice age, sharp spikes in Arctic temperatures triggered shifts in the winds around Antarctica.

Zillow Group, the Seattle-based company that houses real estate and home-related brands on mobile and web, has committed $5 million toward the development of a second Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the UW Seattle campus.

January 5, 2017

UW President Ana Mari Cauce on board first West Coast commercial flight to Havana

UW President Ana Mari Cauce, the first Cuban-born president of a major American university, was on board the first West Coast commercial flight to Havana on Thursday. Cauce left Cuba with her family when she was 3 years old. “I’m thrilled at this new spirit of openness and the opportunity for us to build greater ties…

A new study led by the University of Washington finds the annual migration of some beluga whales in Alaska is altered by sea ice changes in the Arctic, while other belugas do not appear to be affected.

January 4, 2017

Arts Roundup: ArtVenture, JACK Quartet, and Louis Lortie

This week, bring the whole family for an ArtVenture at Henry Art Gallery to discover how Paul McCarthy transformed small objects into giant sculptures, or catch performances from JACK Quartet and pianist Louis Lortie. ArtVenture: Toy Transformation! With Michelle Hagewood 1 p.m., January 8 | Henry Art Gallery How do toys reflect who we are? Bring a…

An eelgrass bed near Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Eelgrass, a marine plant crucial to the success of migrating juvenile salmon and spawning Pacific herring, is stable and flourishing in Puget Sound, despite a doubling of the region’s human population and significant shoreline development over the past several decades.

January 3, 2017

Songbirds divorce, flee, fail to reproduce due to suburban sprawl

Dark-eyed junco, an "exploiter" species.

New research finds that for some songbirds, urban sprawl is kicking them out of their territory, forcing divorce and stunting their ability to find new mates and reproduce successfully, even after relocating.

A new multi-institution study led by the UW shows more clearly than ever that urbanization is affecting the genetic makeup of species that are crucial to ecosystem health and success.