UW News

UW News blog


September 21, 2022

Video: UW welcomes students back to campus with move-in days

The University of Washington’s campus again is bustling as students began moving into residence halls on Tuesday and will participate in annual fall activities for incoming undergraduates. About 10,000 students are expected to move into campus housing this week.


New Global and Regional Studies major offers undergraduates a customizable window on the world

Hands typing on laptop keyboard

Global and Regional Studies, a new major in the University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies, offers more flexible course options, allows undergraduates focus on a particular geographic region and theme and provides more choices for the capstone experience.


August 17, 2022

New UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use fiber-optic cables for seismic sensing, glaciology and more

jumble of yellow cables

A University of Washington pilot project is exploring the use of fiber-optic sensing for seismology, glaciology, and even urban monitoring. Funded in part with a $473,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a nonprofit based in Vancouver, Washington, the new UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use photons traveling through a fiber-optic cable to detect ground motions as small as 1 nanometer.


August 15, 2022

Global ranking: UW is No. 17 in the world

The University of Washington is No. 17 in the world — No. 3 among U.S. public universities — on the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities, released today.


July 28, 2022

The University of Washington’s three campuses join the Common App

The University of Washington W

The Seattle campus of the University of Washington, UW Bothell, and UW Tacoma are pleased to announce that they have joined the Common App. The Common App is a college application platform used by over 900 universities, including several Washington colleges and universities.


July 19, 2022

Suicide prevention training for health care providers a first step in longer-term efficacy

doctor talking with patient

After Washington became the first state to require suicide prevention training for health care providers, the University of Washington worked with experts and organizations to develop the All Patients Safe program. A new study shows how All Patients Safe helped providers of all specialties learn how to identify and respond to patients at risk of suicide.


July 15, 2022

Seven UW faculty members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences

Campus photo

Seven professors at the University of Washington are among 25 new members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2022, according to a July 15 announcement.


June 24, 2022

‘Folks on the ground have been activated and ready’: UW expert on reproductive justice and the U.S. Supreme Court

Bettina Judd, associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies at the University of Washington, discusses the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.


June 14, 2022

UW, Seattle Public Library, Seattle Public Utilities collaboration uses VR goggles to visualize sea level rise in Seattle

laser tool by riverside and aerial view of city

The Our Future Duwamish project, available to community groups through The Seattle Public Library, uses an Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset to help viewers imagine rising seas from a vantage point along the South Seattle waterway.


June 12, 2022

Video: Classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 honored in weekend graduation celebrations

Man in a crowd wearing cap and gown waves his diploma in the air.

On Saturday, for the first time since 2019, the UW held in-person Commencement ceremonies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium where the University conferred degrees on the Class of 2022. On Sunday, it welcomed alumni from the 2020 and 2021 school years for a Return to Husky Stadium Graduation Celebration.


June 10, 2022

Early investors can forecast future of startup companies

Coffee, laptops and notebooks on a table with people's hands

New research from Emily Cox Pahnke, University of Washington associate professor of management and organization, shows that early investors often predict the future of startup companies.


June 9, 2022

Scientists seek to grow the field of eDNA research ‘without squelching creativity’

two researchers sample water in a stream.

A new effort at the University of Washington aims to accelerate eDNA research by supporting existing projects and building a network of practitioners to advance the nascent field.


June 1, 2022

Narcissistic bosses stymie knowledge flow, cooperation inside organizations

Two men, shown from the chest down, sitting at a table with a laptop

New research from University of Washington associate professor of management Abhinav Gupta shows that narcissism can cause knowledge barriers within organizations. Narcissists hinder cooperations between units due to a sense of superiority.


May 19, 2022

Q&A: Why discriminatory bias is a public health problem

Tony Greenwald, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Washington and creator of the Implicit Association Test, explains how public health strategies can help address unintended discrimination.


May 17, 2022

UW Foster School of Business faculty to speak May 20 on improving employee well-being

Man speaking at podium in front of audience

On May 20, faculty experts from the University of Washington Foster School of Business will share their perspectives and research in a series of short talks: “Foster Insights: Creating Better Workplaces and Better Lives.”


25th-annual Undergraduate Research Symposium celebrates undergraduate discovery

Mary Gates Hall

The 25th annual University of Washington Undergraduate Research Symposium returns this year on May 20 with a hybrid format including both online and in-person presentations, following two years of online only events due to the COVID pandemic.


May 13, 2022

‘Resistance Through Resilience’: Conference highlights compassion-based practices to interrupt racism

Advertisement for conference with raised fist in background

The seventh annual Center for Communication, Difference and Equity Conference, “Resistance Through Resilience,” will be held in collaboration with the University of Washington Resilience Lab.


May 12, 2022

Simulation offers UW students practical experience in crisis negotiation

Students sitting at a table

Robert Pekkanen, University of Washington professor in the Jackson School of International Studies, teaches Crisis Negotiation. The centerpiece of the course is the International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE), a negotiation simulation where students act as diplomatic teams facing a real-world crisis scenario.


Smokers who switch to e-cigarettes may adopt other healthy routines

bicyclists riding on a hillside at sunset

A University of Washington study of adult smokers finds that those who switch to vaping some or all of the time may adopt other healthy behaviors.


May 6, 2022

Model finds COVID-19 deaths among elderly may be due to genetic limit on cell division

Graphic of immune response

Your immune system’s ability to combat COVID-19, like any infection, largely depends on its ability to replicate the immune cells effective at destroying the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease. These cloned immune cells cannot be infinitely created, and a key hypothesis of a new University of Washington study is that the body’s ability to…


May 5, 2022

UW professors to participate in panel on recently removed Volunteer Park plaque

A road lined by trees leading into a park

University of Washington professors Christoph Giebel, Vicente Rafael and Ileana M. Rodríguez-Silva will participate in a discussion on about a memorial plaque that was recently removed from Volunteer Park due to concerns about its accuracy.


May 3, 2022

Experiments measure freezing point of extraterrestrial oceans to aid search for life

Europa Image

A planetary scientist worked with engineers to measure the physical limits of a liquid for salty water under high pressure. Results suggest where robotic missions should look for extraterrestrial life on the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Titan.


Many pathologists agree overdiagnosis of skin cancer happens, but don’t change diagnosis behavior

Doctor Examining Patient

As the most serious type of skin cancer, a melanoma diagnosis carries emotional, financial and medical consequences. That’s why recent studies finding that there is an overdiagnosis of melanoma are a significant cause for concern. “Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of disease that will not harm a person in their lifetime. If melanoma is being overdiagnosed,…


April 28, 2022

Unchecked global emissions on track to initiate mass extinction of marine life

If emissions from greenhouse gases continue, species losses from warming and oxygen depletion of ocean waters could eclipse all other human stressors on marine species by around 2100. Tropical waters would experience the greatest loss of biodiversity, while polar species are at the highest risk of extinction


New meta-analysis examines link between self-harm and stress

A new, University of Washington-led meta-analysis finds that people engage in self-injury and/or think about suicide to alleviate some types of stress; and that there is potential for therapy and other interventions.


April 25, 2022

La primera: Communication major Paula Thiele breaks in new ‘¡Spain Works!’ internship

Paula Thiele

Paula Thiele, a communication major who will graduate this spring, became the inaugural scholar to participate in the UW’s new Scholarship for Immersive Internships in León, dubbed “¡Spain Works!” — a partnership between the UW León Center, UW Study Abroad and the UW Career & Internship Center.


Ranking: UW is No. 25 in world

trees in bloom

The University of Washington ranks No. 25 in the world, or fifth among U.S. public institutions for student experience, faculty prestige and quality of research, according to a list published April 25 by the Center for World University Rankings. 


April 21, 2022

Q&A: Making Earth-friendly electronics

A hand holding a biodegradeable circuit board in a beaker full of water. The circuit board is dissolving

Three researchers in the University of Washington College of Engineering are exploring ways to make electronics more Earth-friendly.


April 13, 2022

Ice shards in Antarctic clouds let more solar energy reach Earth’s surface

clouds

Including the splintering of ice inside clouds around Antarctica improves high-resolution global models’ ability to simulate clouds over the Southern Ocean – and thus the models’ ability to simulate Earth’s climate.


April 7, 2022

UW documentary chronicles story of tree poacher accused of starting 2018 fire

Justin Wilkes looks up at trees with his back to the camera

A new documentary from University of Washington professors Lynn M. Thomas and Daniel Hoffman tells the story of a man accused of starting a wildfire while illegally removing trees from the Olympic National Forest.


April 6, 2022

UW recognized as leader in sustainability by STARS

Aerial view of UW Campus

The University of Washington once again has been recognized as a sustainability leader by the ​​Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).


UW-housed RAPID Facility receives $6M renewal grant

Researchers looks at boat drone in water

The first-of-its-kind center has received a $6 million renewal grant from the National Science Foundation.


March 18, 2022

Urbanization is driving evolution of plants globally, study finds

white clover blossom with leaves

A study led by evolutionary biologists at multiple institutions, including the University of Washington, focuses on a specific plant in examining whether parallel evolution is occurring in cities all over the world.


March 14, 2022

Q&A: Preserving context and user intent in the future of web search

Computer open to Google home screen

In a new perspective paper, University of Washington professors Emily M. Bender and Chirag Shah respond to proposals that reimagine web search as an application for large language model-driven conversation agents.


March 11, 2022

Statement from UW President on tragic deaths of two UW community members

Tom Schaefer and Evan Abramson

The following is a statement from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce following the news that a UW professor and a UW staff member were killed while diving off the coast of Mexico over the weekend.


March 10, 2022

Newest satellite data shows remarkable decline in Arctic sea ice over just three years

distant figures walking on snow-covered ice

In the past 20 years, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, and winter sea ice in the Arctic has lost about a foot and a half of thickness over just the past three years. This thinning is largely due to loss of older, multiyear sea ice that is more resistant to melting.


Gordon Stuart Peek, UW alumnus who donated Gerberding and Kane bells, dies at 96

carillon bells

Gordon Stuart Peek, a University of Washington alumnus who donated the bells that sit on two sides of Red Square, died peacefully at his home on March 2, 2022. He was 96.


March 9, 2022

More air pollution present in areas with historical redlining

Cars on a road with houses and mountains in the background

A team of researchers at the UW and UC Berkeley has found that housing discrimination practices dating from the 1930s still drive air pollution disparities in hundreds of American cities today.


February 28, 2022

UW statement on recent gift return, status of Israel Studies program

text reads "Statement"

University of Washington Professor Liora Halperin, supported by the Benaroya endowment, expressed views in a statement that were not shared by the donor, Becky Benaroya. Our mission as a university demands that our scholars have the freedom to pursue their scholarship where it leads them and to freely express their views as academics and as individuals. After several months of good faith conversations between University and Stroum Center leadership, Prof. Halperin and the donor, Mrs. Benaroya requested that her gift be returned, and it was determined that returning the gift was the best path forward.


February 4, 2022

Planting trees in pastureland provides significant cooling in the tropics

Farmer with bananas

Farmers struggling to adapt to rising temperatures in tropical regions can unleash the benefits of natural cooling, alongside a host of other wins, simply by dotting more trees across their pasturelands. For the first time, a study led by the University of Washington puts tangible numbers to the cooling effects of this practice.



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