News releases
November 21, 2025
Sharper, straighter, stiffer, stronger: Male green hermit hummingbirds have bills evolved for fighting
The green hermit hummingbird, which lives primarily in mountain forests of Central and South America, fights to win a mate. New research found that these fights have shaped the species’ evolution, yielding significant differences in bill shape for male and female green hermits.
November 18, 2025
$10M gift from Charles and Lisa Simonyi establishes AI@UW to advance artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
The University of Washington today announced a foundational $10 million gift from philanthropists Charles and Lisa Simonyi to support groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
November 17, 2025
Hasoni Pratts named chief of staff to the president
University of Washington President Robert J. Jones today appointed Hasoni Pratts to the position of Chief of Staff to the President. In this pivotal leadership role, Pratts will serve as a senior advisor to the President and play a critical role in advancing the university’s strategic priorities and institutional goals.
November 14, 2025
ArtSci Roundup: December
Come curious. Leave inspired. For those near and far, we invite you to end the year with us through a range of events, performances, exhibitions, podcasts, and more. As you begin to shape your December plans, don’t miss the inspiring events still to come this November. In addition, sign up to receive a monthly notice when…
University of Washington announces outside review of student conduct policies and procedures
The University of Washington will engage an outside firm to review its student conduct policies and procedures and make recommendations for improvements, President Robert J. Jones announced today.
November 13, 2025
Carbon-rich waters are becoming even more acidic as atmospheric CO2 levels rise
The Northeastern Pacific Ocean is becoming more acidic faster than other oceans as the water absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and natural processes feed carbon dioxide up from the deep. The rate of CO2 accumulation is outpacing atmospheric rises and driving acidity to new extremes.
November 10, 2025
People mirror AI systems’ hiring biases, study finds
In a new UW study, 528 participants worked with simulated AI systems to select job candidates. The researchers simulated different levels of racial biases for resumes from white, Black, Hispanic and Asian men. Without suggestions, participants’ choices exhibited little bias. But when provided with recommendations, participants mirrored the AI’s biases.
November 6, 2025
Space dust reveals Arctic ice conditions before satellite imaging
A new University of Washington-led study shows that space dust sandwiched between layers of sediment tells scientists where and when ice covered the Arctic, and what happened to marine life when it disappeared.
November 5, 2025
The chilling effect of air pollution
New University of Washington-led research attributes accelerated warming to reduced cloud reflectivity. As efforts to improve air quality have reduced pollution, clouds became less mirror-like, letting more solar radiation reach Earth and revealing the true impact of greenhouse gases.
November 3, 2025
UW-led study links wildfire smoke to increased odds of preterm birth
In mid-pregnancy, exposure to any smoke was associated with an elevated risk of preterm birth, with that risk peaking around the 21st week of gestation. In late pregnancy, elevated risk was most closely associated with exposure to high concentrations of wildfire PM2.5, above 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
October 30, 2025
Washington residents make up nearly three-fourths of incoming class as enrollment increases across all three UW campuses
Total enrollment is up across all three University of Washington campuses for the 2025-26 academic year, according to the annual census count released this month. Each year, the UW conducts an official enrollment count after the start of the fall quarter. The total number of students across all three campuses is 63,727. Enrollment increased 1.1%…
October 22, 2025
New ‘liquid metal’ composite material enables recyclable, flexible and reconfigurable electronics
Researchers at the UW have created a recyclable, flexible and self-healing composite material that could replace traditional circuit boards in future generations of wearable electronics.
October 21, 2025
Amazon launches AI PhD Fellowship program with UW
The University of Washington is one of nine universities to receive two years of funding from Amazon’s new AI PhD Fellowship program, which was announced on Tuesday. The UW will receive $2.2 million over two years, with total funding across all universities reaching nearly $10 million annually.
October 17, 2025
The Paris Agreement is working, but not well enough to offset economic growth
University of Washington researchers analyzed data collected in the decade following the Paris Agreement, an international treaty signed in 2015 to limit warming by cutting emissions. The treaty has helped nations reduce the amount of carbon released per dollar, but emissions are still too high due to global economic growth.
October 16, 2025
Coral skeletons left by a medieval tsunami whisper warning for Caribbean region
A new collaborative study led by scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science proposes that a tsunami struck the Caribbean island of Anegada between 1381 and 1391, carrying huge coral boulders inland and leaving behind a valuable record of geologic and climatic history.
October 13, 2025
ArtSci Roundup: November
Come curious. Leave inspired. We invite you to connect with us this November through a rich and varied schedule of more than 30 events, exhibitions, podcasts, and more. From chamber opera premieres and public lectures to Indigenous storytelling and poetry celebrations, there’s something to spark every curiosity. Expect boundary-pushing performances, thought-provoking dialogues on memory and…
October 9, 2025
Programmable proteins use logic to improve targeted drug delivery
Targeted drug delivery is a powerful and promising area of medicine. Therapies that pinpoint precise areas of the body can reduce the medicine dosage and avoid potentially harmful “off target” effects. Researchers at the UW took a significant step toward that goal by designing proteins with autonomous decision-making capabilities. By adding smart tail structures to therapeutic proteins, the team demonstrated that the proteins could be “programmed” to act based on the presence of specific environmental cues.
October 3, 2025
Discovery of organic compounds bolsters case that Saturn’s moon Enceladus could support life
A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean, have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth. The study, conducted in part by a UW researcher, contributes to mounting evidence that Enceladus could support life.
September 30, 2025
Q&A: How video games can lead people to more meaningful lives
UW researchers discuss their study which surveyed 166 gamers about how video games sparked meaningful changes in their lives.
September 29, 2025
A simple intervention significantly improved patent outcomes for women inventors
Research by the University of Washington and the USPTO found that some simple interventions increased the probability that female inventors would get patents by 12%. For first-time applicants, that probability increased to 17%.
September 25, 2025
Q&A: Insect pollinators need more higher-quality habitats to help farmers, new research says
In a new study, a team of scientists determined the minimum natural habitat on agricultural land that will allow insect pollinators — including bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies — to thrive. UW News reached out to co-author Berry Brosi, UW professor of biology, to learn more about these results and how habitat is important to two types of bees native to Washington.
After schools instituted universal free meals, fewer students had high blood pressure, UW study finds
Students schools that offered free meals to all students were less likely to have high blood pressure, suggesting that universal free meals might be a powerful tool for improving public health.
September 23, 2025
Longer body size means more female calves for baleen whale moms
University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading evolutionary theory that suggests that fit mothers will benefit more from male offspring.
September 22, 2025
Inconsistent charging stations hinder EV adoption
New research from the UW tested how much a car owner’s perception of public charger reliability influences their willingness to buy their first EV. The results were dramatic: Participants with a negative view of public charging were far less likely to choose an EV than those with a moderate view.
September 21, 2025
UW’s incoming classes welcomed by President Robert J. Jones at New Student Convocation
The University of Washington’s incoming classes were welcomed Sunday at the University’s 42nd annual New Student Convocation inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The ceremony was attended by thousands of students, family and friends. Welcome, Huskies! Thousands of incoming @uofwa.bsky.social students gathered for an annual 'W' formation today after kicking off the school…
September 20, 2025
President Jones to welcome incoming class at New Student Convocation on Sunday
The University of Washington’s incoming classes will be welcomed on Sunday by President Robert J. Jones at the University’s 42nd annual New Student Convocation inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The ceremony is expected to be attended by thousands of students, family and friends. Preliminary figures show the incoming freshman class will be…
September 18, 2025
Community Notes help reduce the virality of false information on X, study finds
A University of Washington-led study of X found that posts with Community Notes attached were less prone to going viral and got less engagement. After getting a Community Note, on average, reposts dropped 46% and likes dropped 44%.
September 17, 2025
VIDEO: UW welcomes incoming students to on-campus housing
This week the University of Washington campus is once again buzzing with energy as students begin to move into the residence halls and participate in annual fall activities for incoming undergraduates. A majority of the UW freshman class has signed up to live on campus for Autumn 2025, and thousands of students are expected to…
University of Washington breaks ground on ASUW Shell House renovation
University of Washington President Robert J. Jones, author Daniel James Brown, and other members of the ASUW Shell House community gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic building, which is undergoing final stages of adaptive reuse.
September 15, 2025
Webb telescope finds clues to Earth’s creation in a cosmic butterfly
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in the core of the Butterfly Nebula, known to astronomers as NGC 6302. From the dense ring of dust that surrounds the nebula’s core to the tiny but bright star hidden within, the Webb observations paint a never-before-seen portrait of the nebula’s inner workings. Researchers at the UW and around the world are studying the imagery to learn more about the origins of cosmic dust and its role in the formation of planets like ours.
September 12, 2025
Warming climate drives surge in dengue fever cases
Dengue fever incidence could rise as much as 76% by 2050 due to climate warming across a large swath of Asia and the Americas, according to a new study.
September 10, 2025
Q&A: Transparency in medical AI systems is vital, UW researchers say
In a recent paper, University of Washington researchers argue that a key standard for deploying medical AI is transparency — that is, using various methods to clarify how a medical AI system arrives at its diagnoses and outputs.
Researchers find key to Antarctic ice loss blowing in the north wind
Antarctic ice is melting at a startling pace, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. Researchers thought westerly winds were accelerating ice loss, but a new study from UW flips the narrative by 90 degrees, pointing instead to winds from the north.
September 8, 2025
Ocean warming puts vital marine microbe at risk
Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.
September 4, 2025
This common fish has an uncommon feature: Forehead teeth, used for mating
New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads, lining a cartilaginous appendage called the tenaculum, in addition to those in their jaws. They used their tenaculum teeth to grip females while mating in water.
Deep beneath the French Alps, dark matter hunters narrow their search
Physicists have floated numerous theories to explain what dark matter might be, but to date, no experiment has turned up compelling evidence to support any of them. An international team of physicists, including researchers from the UW, is now working on a new kind of dark matter detector with the goal of capturing the first direct observation of the puzzling material. Results from the detector’s prototype have already ruled out one of the leading theories of how dark matter originated.
August 27, 2025
New ad highlights national impact of Big Ten universities
The positive impact of Big Ten universities across the Pacific Northwest and around the nation will be highlighted in a new 30-second ad that will air during sporting events featuring conference members, starting with this week’s season-opening football games. The ad – entitled “We Are Here” – will air alongside the fan-favorite “Maps” spot. The…
Fund for Science and Technology invests in the UW College of the Environment to further innovation and research related to climate solutions
The University of Washington’s College of the Environment will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, FFST, a new foundation within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem.
August 25, 2025
How oxygen made the deep ocean home to animals, spurring rapid evolution
New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid animal evolution, leading to the rise of modern vertebrates.
This AI model simulates 1000 years of the current climate in just one day
University of Washington researchers use AI to simulate the Earth’s current climate and interannual variability for up to 1,000 years. The model runs on a single processor and takes just 12 hours to generate a forecast.
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