UW News


October 13, 2023

Determination of non-significance: East Campus Dock lmprovements

Pursuant to the provisions of WAC 197-11-340 and WAC 478-324-140, the University of Washington hereby provides public notice of: DETERMINATION OF NON-SIGNIFICANCE Project Name: East Campus Dock lmprovements Proponent/Lead Agency: University of Washington–Seattle Campus Comment Period Closes: October 27, 2023 Description of Proposal: The UW is proposing to repair, replace, and remove several docks located…


October 12, 2023

Video: Highlights from UW President’s annual address

Ana Mari Cauce

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce delivered her annual address to the community on Oct. 12. Highlights of the speech are reflected in this video. The audience was invited to attend the event remotely via livestream.


October 10, 2023

Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Cowles appointed chair of Ruckelshaus Center board

Betsy Cowles

Elizabeth A. “Betsy” Cowles has been named chair of the Advisory Board to the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a public policy-minded collaboration of Washington State University and the University of Washington.


“Ways of Knowing” Epilogue


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 8: Translation

When you hear a cover of a favorite song, comparisons are inevitable. There are obvious similarities – the lyrics, the melody – but there are also enough differences to make each version unique. Those deviations say more than you might expect.     Maya Angela Smith, associate of professor of French at the University of…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 7: Material Culture

Picture a series of uniform mounds of earth, each about 6-feet high. Enclosing 50 acres, the mounds form an octagon that is connected to a circle. This is The Octagon Earthworks, located in central Ohio, and it’s one of thousands of Indigenous mounds across the eastern half of North America.     Chadwick Allen is…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 6: Visual Literacy

An empty wallet, a hairbrush, a diaper. These are just a few of the items left behind by migrants at the United States-Mexico border, photographed for a 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Diana Ruíz discusses how the same images can be used on both sides of the same debate. In…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 5: Disability Studies

Who gets to be a superhero? What about a villain? It depends on where you look. In the 1940s, comic book villains were often distinguished from heroes through physical disability. That changed in the 1960s and 70s, when it became more common for heroes – think Daredevil and Professor X – to be built around…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 4: Environmental Humanities

Centuries ago, writers depicted the natural world as terrifying and dangerous, no place for humans. But that fear, in the decades to come, gradually turned to appreciation, awe and joy, for poets and artists, sightseers and backpackers.     Louisa Mackenzie, associate professor of comparative history of ideas at the University of Washington, describes how…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 3: Close Reading Redux

The autobiography of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, was a standard bearer of the abolitionist movement. Having escaped slavery as a young man, Douglass became a famous activist, orator, statesman and businessman.   But it is another aspect of his story that is just as intriguing to Habiba Ibrahim, professor of English at the University…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 2: Close Reading

“Dover Beach,” a poem by 19th century British writer Matthew Arnold, can be read as both a romantic lament and, as many scholars have concluded, a dark, existential commentary on the loss of religious faith.     Through close reading, a way of reading for insight, not information, University of Washington English Professor Charles LaPorte…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 1: Reading

What marks the start of the Anthropocene – the geological epoch marked by human impact on the planet? The debate hinges, in part, on how we define “signature events,” the important information left behind as clues. But finding signature events transcends the study of the Anthropocene; it’s how we read to make meaning of a…


October 9, 2023

Three UW faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine

A large block W on a grass lawn. In the background is the University of Washington campus.

Among the most prestigious scientific organizations in the country, the Academy recognizes excellence in the fields of health and medicine, along with a commitment to volunteer service. 


October 4, 2023

New UW-themed plane takes to the skies

airplane painted in purple and gold with "Go Dawgs" written on the side.

Alaska Airlines has launched its third iteration of University of Washington-themed designs on its aircraft, with a purple and gold “Go Dawgs” Embraer E175 Horizon Air jet on a flight from Seattle to Portland on Oct. 3


October 3, 2023

Group seeks to understand how a new type of satellite will impact Earth-based astronomy

Astronomers with the International Astronomical Union are trying to understand how the brightness and transmissions of the BlueWalker3 satellite will interfere with Earth-based observations of the universe — and what can be done to minimize these effects as more of these satellites are launched.


September 24, 2023

‘From this day forward, you are a Husky’: Incoming class welcomed at New Student Convocation

Students hold up lights at New Student Convocation

The University of Washington welcomed its incoming class and families on Sunday at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation.


September 21, 2023

NSF funds internet-connected ocean observatory through 2028

map of Juan de Fuca plate

The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Washington $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.


UW’s incoming class to be welcomed at New Student Convocation

Purple video boards in a darkened arena

The University of Washington will welcome its incoming classes and their families on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation, which will be held in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.


September 19, 2023

Five UW faculty members elected as AGU Fellows, plus more honors

block W

The American Geophysical Union announced Sept. 13 that five University of Washington faculty members have been elected as new fellows, representing the departments of astronomy, Earth and space sciences, oceanography, global health, and environmental and occupational health sciences.


September 14, 2023

Faculty/staff honors: Two professors on TIME100 AI list, UW President Ana Mari Cauce honored for contributions to León, and more

Recent recognition for the University of Washington includes Emily M. Bender and Yejin Choi on the TIME100 AI list, President Ana Mari Cauce receiving a Decrees Award and Jeff Hou’s election to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Council of Fellows.


September 8, 2023

UW a lead partner on new NSF-funded earthquake research center

tsunami evacuation sign

The University of Washington is a lead partner on a new multi-institution earthquake research center that will study the Cascadia subduction zone and bolster earthquake preparedness in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.


September 7, 2023

UW claims top 3 spots on ‘Best Value’ list for Washington state; UW also ranks high on national list for educational and public impact

students on campus

The University of Washington has been recognized on two lists that measure impact on students and communities. The UW placed third in the nation among public universities on the Washington Monthly 2023 National University Rankings, which ranks the school’s impact on its graduates and the nation. In a separate ranking, all three UW campuses topped the state for best value, according to SmartAsset, a financial services portal.


September 5, 2023

Public Notice: UWMC-Northwest Major Institution Master Plan SEPA Draft EIS

Official Notice image

 Project Name: UWMC-Northwest Major Institution Master Plan (MIMP) Proponent & Lead Agency: University of Washington Comment Period Closes: October 5, 2023 Description of Proposal: The UW Medical Center – Northwest Major Institution Master Plan will allow for space on the campus to accommodate projected population growth and corresponding increase in healthcare demands. It would also…


August 29, 2023

The University of Washington’s Presidential Scholars — investing in tomorrow’s leaders

student entrepreneur

Each year, the University of Washington reviews thousands of applications from students who want to pursue their undergraduate studies at the state’s flagship university.


Researchers prefer same-gender co-authors, UW study shows

A group of people at a table with papers and water bottles.

A new study from the University of Washington and Cornell University shows researchers more likely to write scientific papers with co-authors of the same gender, a pattern that can’t be explained by varying gender representations across scientific disciplines and time.


August 15, 2023

Ranking: UW among top 20 in the world, No. 3 in US publics

campus image

The University of Washington is No. 18 in the world — and No. 3 among U.S. public universities — on the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities, released Aug. 15.


August 14, 2023

UW bioengineering researchers help create a roadmap to diversify faculty hiring

A biochemistry lab bench with pipettes and bottles of liquid. A microcentrifuge and a Bunsen burner sit to the right

A team of biomedical researchers has developed a new method for hiring engineering professors. The primary goal is to actively recruit a more diverse group of applicants and improve the rate that doctoral students from historically excluded groups go on to become faculty members.


August 10, 2023

Muon g-2 doubles down with latest measurement, explores uncharted territory in search of new physics

A particle physics experiment decades in the making — the Muon g-2 experiment — looks increasingly like it might set up a showdown over whether there are fundamental particles or forces in the universe that are unaccounted for in the current Standard Model. On Aug. 10, the international team of scientists behind Muon g-2 — pronounced “g minus 2” — released the world’s most precise measurement yet of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. Calculating the muon’s magnetic moment at a high precision will indicate whether it is interacting solely with the particles and forces known today, or if unknown particles or forces are out there.


July 31, 2023

New algorithm ensnares its first ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid

An asteroid discovery algorithm — designed to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky — has identified its first “potentially hazardous” asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth’s vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on. The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today’s methods. That is important because, though scientists know of more than 2,000 near-Earth asteroids, they estimate that another 3,000 await discovery!


June 14, 2023

Phosphate, a key building block of life, found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

gray planet in cross-section with white plumes escaping from surface

An international team including a UW scientist found that the water on one of Saturn’s moons harbors phosphates, a key building block of life. The team used data from NASA’s Cassini space mission to detect evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.


June 13, 2023

Allison Webel named interim dean of the School of Nursing

University of Washington Provost Mark  Richards announced that Allison Webel has agreed to serve as interim executive dean of the School of Nursing, effective Aug. 1, until a new permanent dean is selected.


UW welcomes PepsiCo as official partner beginning July 1

Campus photo

The University of Washington today announced that PepsiCo will become its official beverage partner beginning July 1.


June 10, 2023

Thousands cheer on UW graduates as more than 7,000 degrees conferred at Husky Stadium

2023 graduates in their hats and gowns at husky stadium

More than 7,000 degrees were conferred to University of Washington graduates Saturday at the 148th Commencement at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.


May 26, 2023

From Botswana to Taiwan, a dozen UW students receive Fulbright exchange awards

images of students

Twelve UW students and recent alumni were awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships this year, joining about 2,000 students and recent graduates from around the country to study and teach abroad.


May 23, 2023

UW a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers; Forbes names UW a ‘Best Employer for New Graduates’

block W

The Peace Corps announced that the University of Washington is No. 3 on a list of top-volunteer producing institutions for the past two decades.


May 11, 2023

UW, partners celebrate the groundbreaking of new U District Station Building

Artist rendering of the new U District Station Building.

The University of Washington joined Lincoln Property Company, Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation and Sound Transit on May 10 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new University District Station Building, along with local officials, community leaders and neighbors. The 266,000-square-foot office building resting above the University District light rail station will feature ground-floor retail and amenities, office space and a rooftop terrace.


April 24, 2023

University of Washington is a core member of newly announced New York Climate Exchange

illustration of building on Governors Island with Manhattan in the distance

UW will be a core member of a consortium led by Stony Brook University that will build and operate The New York Climate Exchange – a carbon-neutral international hub focused on climate action and adaptation


April 13, 2023

Africa’s grassy habitats emerged 10+ million years earlier than previously thought

A pair of studies published April 14 in the journal Science paint a new picture about apes, ancient Africa and the origins of humans. Many scientists had once hypothesized that the first apes to evolve in Africa more than 20 million years ago ate primarily fruit and lived within the thick, closed canopy of a nearly continent-wide forest ecosystem. Instead, the new research indicates that early apes ate a leafy diet in a more arid ecosystem of varyingly open woodlands with abundant grasses.


April 5, 2023

UW’s Phil Levin to direct first-ever US National Nature Assessment

headshot wearing blue checked shirt and glasses

Phil Levin, professor of practice in environmental and forest sciences at the University of Washington and lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy in Washington, has been appointed to direct the first-ever U.S. National Nature Assessment. The 3-year assessment will take an interdisciplinary approach to better understand the role of nature in the lives of people across the country, and how those benefits might be altered under climate change.


March 29, 2023

Determination of significance: UWMC-Northwest Major Institution Master Plan

Official Notice image

Project Name: UWMC-Northwest Major Institution Master Plan (MIMP) Proponent & Lead Agency: University of Washington Comment Period Closes: April 17, 2023 Description of Proposal: The UW Medical Center – Northwest Major Institution Master Plan will allow for space on the campus to accommodate projected population growth and corresponding increase in healthcare demands. It would also…



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