News releases
September 26, 2019
Income gains for many, but no change in poverty rates for Seattle and King County
The share of Washingtonians living below the federal poverty threshold declined from 11.0 to 10.3 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to new Census data released Thursday.
Galaxy found to float in a tranquil sea of halo gas
An international team of astronomers has analyzed the signal from a fast radio burst — an enigmatic blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond — to characterize the diffuse gas in the halo of a massive galaxy.
September 25, 2019
Fish micronutrients ‘slipping through the hands’ of malnourished people
Millions of people are suffering from malnutrition despite some of the most nutritious fish species in the world being caught near their homes, according to new research published Sept. 25 in Nature.
Joel Migdal, founder of International Studies Program, to mark UW retirement with public lecture, workshop, Oct. 3
Joel S. Migdal, professor in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, will celebrate retirement after 39 years at the UW on Oct. 3 with a daylong workshop featuring current and former students, followed by a lecture on “State and Society: Then and Now.”
September 19, 2019
New student convocation Sept. 22 opens UW’s 2019-2020 school year
University of Washington communication professor Matt McGarrity, founder of the UW Speaking Center, will be the featured speaker at the university’s 36th annual Convocation. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Introducing VPLanet: A virtual planet simulator for modeling distant worlds across time
UW astrobiologist Rory Barnes and co-authors have created software that simulates multiple aspects of planetary evolution across billions of years, with an eye toward finding and studying potentially habitable worlds.
Plasma flow near sun’s surface explains sunspots, other solar phenomena
A new model for plasma flow within the sun provides novel explanations for sunspots, the 11-year sunspot cycle, solar magnetic reversals and other previously unexplained solar phenomena.
September 16, 2019
UW is a ‘Great College to Work For’
The University of Washington has been recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for the sixth consecutive year, according to a new survey from The Great Colleges to Work For program.
Americans would rather drive themselves to work than have an autonomous vehicle drive them, study says
Are you willing to ride in a driverless car? Researchers at the University of Washington studied how Americans’ perceived cost of commute time changes depending on who’s driving.
KATRIN cuts the mass estimate for the elusive neutrino in half
An international team of scientists has announced a breakthrough in its quest to measure the mass of the neutrino, one of the most abundant, yet elusive, elementary particles in our universe. At the 2019 Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics conference in Toyama, Japan, leaders from the KATRIN experiment reported Sept. 13 that the estimated range for the rest mass of the neutrino is no larger than 1 electron volt, or eV.
September 12, 2019
Enhancing the way epilepsy is managed by engaging community pharmacists
The University of Washington’s School of Pharmacy announced on Thursday, Sept. 12, a collaboration with global biopharmaceutical company UCB to improve access to care for people living with epilepsy.This interdisciplinary project will explore ways in which community pharmacists can better support people living with this neurological disorder. The roughly 3.4 million people nationally and 75,000…
September 11, 2019
UW at No. 26 in the world, fourth among U.S. public institutions, on Times Higher Education ranking list
The University of Washington has been ranked No. 26 on the Times Higher Education world rankings for 2020, released Wednesday. The UW moved up two places from 2019.
September 10, 2019
Hugo House documentary ‘Where the House Was’ to debut Sept. 21 at Northwest Film Forum
“Where the House Was,” a new, 58-minute documentary produced by France McCue, UW senior lecturer in English, tells of the old location for Hugo House, the place for writer, and its subsequent demolition.
New coalition to address lack of access, resources for youth physical activity in King County
A report released Sept. 10 — the product of research led by the University of Washington — gives Seattle and King County a “D” in getting youth active through sport, play and outdoor recreation.
Tides don’t always flush water out to sea, study shows
Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Strathclyde report that, in Willapa Bay in Washington state, the water washing over the tidal flats during high tides is largely the same water that washed over the flats during the previous high tide. This “old” water has not been mixed in with “new” water from deeper parts of the bay or the open Pacific Ocean, and has different chemical and biological properties, such as lower levels of food for creatures within the tide flats.
September 9, 2019
UW-GU Regional Health Partnership announces new center in Spokane
McKinstry to design and construct $60 million ‘leap forward’ for medical education, health sciences research and innovation.
Lightning ‘superbolts’ form over oceans from November to February
A study of superbolts, which release a thousand times more electrical energy in the low-frequency range than regular lightning bolts, finds they occur at very different times and places than regular lightning. Superbolts tend to strike over particular parts of the oceans, while regular lightning strikes over land.
September 5, 2019
University of Washington Magazine takes the UW’s anchor publication to a broader audience
One of the Pacific Northwest’s largest-circulation magazines is changing its name and look.
University of Washington Magazine – the new quarterly publication from the University of Washington Alumni Association – is out for home delivery next week replacing what since 1989 has been known as Columns.
September 3, 2019
UW colleges, offices share three-year NSF grant to make ‘internet of things’ more secure
Several UW schools and offices will team up to research how organizational practices can affect the interagency collaboration needed to keep the “internet of things” — and institutional systems — safe and secure.
August 29, 2019
Crowdsourced archaeology shows how humans have influenced Earth for thousands of years
A new map synthesized from more than 250 archaeologists worldwide, including from the University of Washington, argues that the human imprint on our planet’s soil goes back much earlier than the nuclear age.
August 27, 2019
Pregnant women of color experience disempowerment by health care providers
A new study finds that women of color perceive their interactions with doctors, nurses and midwives as being misleading, with information being “packaged” in such a way as to disempower them by limiting maternity health care choices for themselves and their children.
August 22, 2019
UW books in brief: Tribal sovereignty and the courts, mentoring through fan fiction, UW Press paperback editions
Recent notable books by UW faculty members explore the legal history of Indigenous nations and the mentoring benefits of fan fiction. Plus, a UW anthropologist’s book is honored, a former English faculty member is remembered in a biography, and UW Press brings out paperback editions of three popular titles.
August 20, 2019
New tools to minimize risks in shared, augmented-reality environments
UW security researchers have created ShareAR, a toolkit that lets developers build collaborative and interactive features into AR apps without sacrificing their users’ privacy and security.
August 19, 2019
‘Hidden’ data exacerbates rural public health inequities
The SHARE-NW project is a five-year effort to identify, gather and visualize data in four Northwest states to help rural communities more effectively address health disparities and achieve health equity.
How ergonomic is your warehouse job? Soon, an app might be able to tell you
Researchers at the UW have used machine learning to develop a new system that can monitor factory and warehouse workers and tell them how ergonomic their jobs are in real time.
August 13, 2019
James Webb Space Telescope could begin learning about TRAPPIST-1 atmospheres in a single year, study indicates
New research from astronomers at the UW uses the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 planetary system as a kind of laboratory to model not the planets themselves, but how the coming James Webb Space Telescope might detect and study their atmospheres, on the path toward looking for life beyond Earth.
Dr. Nancy Allbritton named dean of UW’s College of Engineering
Dr. Nancy Allbritton has been named the next Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Washington Provost Mark Richards announced today. Allbritton’s appointment, set to begin Nov. 1, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.
Air pollution can accelerate lung disease as much as a pack a day of cigarettes
Air pollution—especially ozone air pollution which is increasing with climate change—accelerates the progression of emphysema of the lung, according to a new study led by the University of Washington, Columbia University and the University at Buffalo.
August 12, 2019
First cells on ancient Earth may have emerged because building blocks of proteins stabilized membranes
Scientists have discovered that the building blocks of proteins can stabilize cell membranes. This finding may explain how the first cells emerged from the primordial soup billions of years ago: The protein building blocks could have stabilized cell membranes against salt and ions that were present in ancient oceans. In addition, membranes may have been a site for these precursor molecules to co-localize, a potential mechanism to explain what brought together the ingredients for life.
August 9, 2019
Scientists can now control thermal profiles at the nanoscale
Scientists have designed and tested an experimental system that uses a near-infrared laser to actively heat two gold nanorod antennae — metal rods designed and built at the nanoscale — to different temperatures. The nanorods are so close together that they are both electromagnetically and thermally coupled. Yet the team measured temperature differences between the rods as high as 20 degrees Celsius and could change which nanorod was cooler and which was warmer, even though the rods were made of the same material.
August 8, 2019
Study shows gun shops can aid in preventing suicides
Firearm retailers throughout Washington are willing to learn about suicide prevention but are reluctant to talk to customers about mental health issues, according to a new study by Forefront Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington.
More than 100 years of Arctic sea ice volume reconstructed with help from historic ships’ logbooks
A new study provides a 110-year record of the total volume of Arctic sea ice, using early U.S. ships’ voyages to verify the earlier part of the record. The longer record puts the recent loss into perspective.
August 6, 2019
How the Pacific Ocean influences long-term drought in the Southwestern U.S.
Analyzing the full life cycle of long-term droughts and how they relate to El Niño and La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean could eventually lead to better prediction of damaging, multiyear droughts in the Southwestern U.S.
August 2, 2019
UW selects artists and tops out Population Health Building
The University of Washington today announced the topping out of the new $230 million Population Health Building. The UW also has selected two artists whose work will help tell the story of the education and research that will take place within the new facility.
August 1, 2019
UW Division of Design faculty, Seattle Children’s physicians collaborate on more effective anesthesia cart organization
In recent years, physicians at Seattle Children’s Hospital have worked with UW faculty members in design to come up with a better, safer, more reliable way to order and use drugs on an operating room’s anesthesia cart.
July 30, 2019
UW study: House move during early pregnancy linked to heightened premature birth risk
Moving to a new residence during the first three months of pregnancy is linked to a heightened risk of premature birth and low birthweight, as well as a slightly higher risk of a smaller-than-expected-size baby, according to new research from the University of Washington published online today in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
July 29, 2019
Medicaid expansion may prevent child neglect, UW study shows
More than 4 million reports of child maltreatment involving about 7.5 million children were made in 2017 to Child Protective Services. While much work has been done to reduce these high rates of child abuse and neglect in the United States, few programs have been consistently effective.
Stressed at school? Art therapy reduces teenage girls’ headaches
In a pilot study led by the UW, researchers explored art-based mindfulness activities that schools could use to reduce headaches, a common side effect of stress in adolescent girls. After three weeks of twice-weekly mindfulness and art therapy sessions, eight teenage girls reported experiencing significantly fewer headaches.
July 25, 2019
Decades after a grade-school program to promote social development, adults report healthier, more successful lives
University of Washington researchers have found that that “good life” in adulthood can start in grade school, by teaching parents and teachers to build stronger bonds with their children, and to help children form greater attachments to family and school.
July 24, 2019
How to consider nature’s impact on mental health in city plans
An international team led by the UW and Stanford has created a framework for how city planners and municipalities around the world can start to measure the mental health benefits of nature and incorporate those into plans and policies for cities and their residents.
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