News releases

January 16, 2019

ArtsUW Roundup: Guest Artist Recital, Preview and Opening of Rutherford and Son, and more

This week in the arts, partake in an exhibition opening with Danny Giles, the 2019 Jacob Lawrence Legacy Resident, attend the preview of a School of Drama production, and more! Guest Artist Recital Tony Cho, Piano and David Bowlin, Violin January 17, 7:30 PM| Brechmin Auditorium Oberlin Conservatory colleagues Tony Cho, piano, and David Bowlin, violin, perform duo arrangements of chamber music repertoire. Cho, a former piano student of UW professor Craig Sheppard, completed a DMA in piano performance at the…

UW opens Othello Commons in Southeast Seattle

The University of Washington today opened the doors to Othello-UW Commons, a new multifunctional partnership space in the heart of Southeast Seattle’s Othello neighborhood.

January 15, 2019

Esports Arena & Gaming Lounge to open at University of Washington

Esports — the phenomenally popular world of competitive video games — soon will have a home at the University of Washington.

This spring, the UW’s Husky Union Building (HUB) will officially open the doors to the HUB Esports Arena & Gaming Lounge – a full-service, state-of-the-art gaming center that supports both casual and competitive gaming and virtual reality. The 1,000 square-foot space will serve as the epicenter between student communities, business communities and gaming culture in the Northwest.

January 14, 2019

Seattle bike share programs show infrequent helmet use, little disparity in access to bikes among neighborhoods

People riding free-floating bike share rentals in Seattle are wearing helmets infrequently, according to a new analysis conducted by University of Washington researchers. Only 20 percent of bike share riders wore helmets in the study, while more than 90 percent of cyclists wore helmets while riding their own bikes.

Different research on the free-floating bike share systems showed that bikes were usually available in all Seattle neighborhoods across economic, racial and ethnic lines. However, more bikes were located in more-advantaged neighborhoods.

January 10, 2019

Astronomers find signatures of a ‘messy’ star that made its companion go supernova

An image of a galaxy in outer space, with a bright supernova visible at its outer edge.

On Jan. 10 at the 2019 American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, an international team of astronomers announced that they have identified the type of companion star that made its partner in a binary system, a carbon-oxygen white dwarf star, explode. Through repeated observations of SN 2015cp, a supernova 545 million light years away, the team detected hydrogen-rich debris that the companion star had shed prior to the explosion.

Evans School researchers study options for possible Washington public bank

Justin Marlowe, professor in the UW Evans School and co-author of new state-commissioned study about possibility of a cooperative state bank in Washington.

If Washington state were to establish a public bank, what type of bank might work best? One that can provide targeted products and services to local governments across the state, says a new report by UW researchers from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.

January 9, 2019

ARTSUW Roundup: Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Indigo Mist with Special Guest Bill Frisell, and more

This week in the arts, attend the first Critical Issues Lecture with Maria Nordman, go to a performance by UW Music faculty band, Indigo Mist, with renowned guitarist Bill Frisell, and more! Critical Issues Lecture Series: Maria Nordman January 10, 7:00 PM| Henry Art Gallery Maria Nordman, a German-American sculptor and conceptual artist, will deliver the first lecture of the Critical Issues Lecture Series, brought to you by the School of Art + Art History + Design with assistance from…

Minority Ph.D. students in STEM fare better with clear expectations, acceptance

Women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields are more likely to advance professionally, publish more research and secure postdoctoral and faculty positions if their institutional culture is welcoming and sets clear expectations, according to a study of hundreds of Ph.D. students at four top-tier California research universities.

First smartphone app to detect opioid overdose and its precursors

Second Chance uses sonar to monitor someone's breathing rate

UW researchers have developed a smartphone app that uses sonar to monitor someone’s breathing rate and sense when an opioid overdose has occurred.

January 2, 2019

UW mourns the death of Blake Nordstrom

Statements from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce, director of athletics Jennifer Cohen and men’s rowing head coach Michael Callahan

The number of single male Magellanic penguins is rising at this breeding colony. Here’s why.

A curious Magellanic penguin looking into the camera lens

Female Magellanic penguins are more likely to die at sea as juveniles, which has caused a skewed sex ratio of nearly three adult males to every female, as well as population decline of more than 40 percent since 1987 at one of their largest breeding colonies — Punta Tombo in Argentina.

How economic theory and the Netflix Prize could make research funding more efficient

In a paper published Jan. 2 in PLOS Biology, two scientists at the University of Washington and North Carolina State University use the economic theory of contests to illustrate how the competitive grant-application system has made the pursuit of research funding inefficient and unsustainable — and that alternative methods, such as a partial lottery to award grants, could relieve pressure on professors and free up time for research.

December 24, 2018

New global migration estimates show rates proportionally steady since 1990, high rate of return migration

Two University of Washington scientists have unveiled a new statistical method for estimating migration flows between countries. They show that rates of migration are higher than previously thought, but also relatively stable, fluctuating between 1.1 and 1.3 percent of global population from 1990 to 2015. In addition, since 1990 approximately 45 percent of migrants have returned to their home countries, a much higher estimate than other methods.

December 19, 2018

Researchers develop a new houseplant that can clean your home’s air

a scientist puts a plant into a glass tube

Researchers at the University of Washington have genetically modified a common houseplant to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it.

December 18, 2018

Salmon may lose the ability to smell danger as carbon emissions rise

New research shows that the powerful sense of smell Pacific salmon rely on for migration, finding food and avoiding predators might be in trouble as carbon emissions continue to be absorbed by our ocean.

December 12, 2018

Teens get more sleep, show improved grades and attendance with later school start time, researchers find

In 2016, Seattle Public Schools pushed back the start times for the district’s 18 high schools by 55 minutes, from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. And as hoped, teenagers used the extra time to sleep in.

Researchers create first sensor package that can ride aboard bees

Farmers can already use drones to soar over huge fields and monitor temperature, humidity or crop health. But these machines need so much power to fly that they can’t get very far without needing a charge. Now, engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensing system that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee.

December 10, 2018

Frank Hodge named dean of the Foster School of Business

Frank Hodge has been named the next Orin and Janet Smith dean of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, Provost Mark A. Richards announced today. His appointment, set to begin July 9, 2019, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.

December 7, 2018

UW is top U.S. public institution for federal research expenditures

The University of Washington is the top public institution in the country when ranked by 2017 fiscal year (FY) federal research expenditures according to data recently released by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

December 6, 2018

Two-dimensional materials skip the energy barrier by growing one row at a time

Picture of how small protein molecules interact with one another.

A new collaborative study led by a research team at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Washington could provide engineers new design rules for creating microelectronics, membranes and tissues, and open up better production methods for new materials.

Biggest extinction in Earth’s history caused by global warming leaving ocean animals gasping for breath

New research from the University of Washington and Stanford University combines models of ocean conditions and animal metabolism with published lab data and paleoceanographic records to show that the Permian mass extinction in the oceans was caused by global warming that left animals unable to breathe. As temperatures rose and the metabolism of marine animals sped up, the warmer waters could not hold enough oxygen for them to survive.

December 3, 2018

UW’s Havana McElvaine selected as prestigious Marshall scholar

University of Washington alumna Havana McElvaine, Class of 2017, has been selected as a Marshall scholar, one of the highest honors available to college graduates in the U.S. She plans to attend the London School of Economics and Oxford University.

November 27, 2018

Threatened tropical coral reefs form complex, ancient associations with bacteria, researchers say

In a comprehensive study of healthy corals published Nov. 22 in the journal Nature Communications, a team of scientists from the University of Washington Bothell, Pennsylvania State University and Oregon State University report that coral bacteria are a surprisingly diverse bunch — and that different sections of the coral body can host unique communities of bacteria.

November 26, 2018

UW, Tableau create interactive tool to explore more than a century of Pacific Northwest weather observations

A new, free tool with temperature and precipitation records across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana as far back as 1881 lets users play around to discover significant trends. It also includes historical snow records for Washington state.

November 20, 2018

Study brings new climate models of small star TRAPPIST 1’s seven intriguing worlds

The small, cool M dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 and its seven worlds. New research from the University of Washington speculates on possible climates of these worlds and how they may have evolved.

Not all stars are like the sun, so not all planetary systems can be studied with the same expectations. New research from a University of Washington-led team of astronomers gives updated climate models for the seven planets around the star TRAPPIST-1.

November 19, 2018

UW’s Marina Alberti to lead new NSF-funded research network to study impact of cities on Earth’s evolutionary dynamics

The cycle of eco-evolutionary feedback -- the topic of a new research coordination network funded by the National Science Foundation.

Here in what is called the Anthropocene era, humans and our urban environments appear to be driving accelerated evolutionary change in plants, animals, fungi, viruses and more — changes that could affect key ecosystem functions and thus human well-being. These interactions between evolution and ecology are called “eco-evolutionary feedback.” The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $500,000 grant to a multi-institution research network team headed by Marina Alberti, University of Washington professor of urban design and planning, to advance…

November 18, 2018

UW joins with WSU to promote affordability of public higher education

Public higher education is not just possible, it is easily within reach for Washington residents. That’s the message behind a new joint public-awareness campaign of the University of Washington and Washington State University to promote the affordability of higher education in the state of Washington.

November 14, 2018

First tally of U.S.-Russia polar bears finds a healthy population

The first assessment of polar bears that live in the biologically rich Chukchi Sea region that spans the U.S. and Russia, finds that the population is healthy and not yet suffering from declining sea ice.

New resources support tribes in preparing for climate change

The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and regional tribal partners have developed a collection of resources that may be useful to tribes at any stage in the process of evaluating their vulnerability to climate change. The project is a partnership among tribes, tribal associations, universities and the federal government.

November 8, 2018

Common allergen, ragweed, will shift northward under climate change

The first study of common ragweed’s future U.S. distribution finds the top allergen will expand its range northward as the climate warms, reaching new parts of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, while retreating from current hot spots.

November 7, 2018

University of Washington’s Fall 2018 entering class is largest ever

The University of Washington welcomed the largest class of new students across all three campuses, and the largest number of Washington residents in UW history, according to the finalized Fall 2018 census of enrolled students released by all three campuses.

UW Evans School, Harvard, Northeastern study: State governments’ internet footprints reveal what they do — and how and why they differ

To better understand how state governments across the United States execute their diverse responsibilities, look at their internet footprint, says a new study by researchers at the University of Washington, Harvard University, and Northeastern University.

After a bad winter in the ocean, female Magellanic penguins suffer most, study shows

Researchers from the University of Washington have shown how Magellanic penguins fare during the winter months when they spend months at sea feeding. They have discovered that oceanographic features are more likely to negatively impact the body conditions of Magellanic penguin females, but not males, when the penguins return to their nesting grounds in spring.

November 6, 2018

Updated book compiles 45 years of changes in Pacific Northwest flora

Botanists at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture have created a much-needed second edition of the “Flora of the Pacific Northwest.”