News releases

March 9, 2017

$50M endowment establishes the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington

A $50 million endowment for the newly established Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering will propel the UW to the forefront of computer science education and innovation for generations to come.

March 7, 2017

‘Black swan’ events strike animal populations

A new analysis by the University of Washington and Simon Fraser University is the first to document that black swan events also occur in animal populations and usually manifest as massive, unexpected die-offs.

March 3, 2017

‘Poor writing makes for poor science’: Scott Montgomery publishes new edition of popular ‘Guide to Communicating Science’

The second edition of "The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science" by Scott L. Montgomery, published in February 2017 by University of Chicago Press Books.

Scientific research that doesn’t get communicated to the public may as well not have happened at all, says Scott Montgomery in the second edition of “The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science.”

March 1, 2017

Singing posters and talking shirts: UW engineers turn everyday objects into FM radio stations

A new technique pioneered by University of Washington engineers enables “singing” posters and “smart” clothing to send audio or data directly to your car’s radio or your smartphone by piggybacking on ambient FM radio signals.

February 28, 2017

UW security researchers show that Google’s AI platform for defeating Internet trolls can be easily deceived

UW researchers have bypassed Google’s new machine learning system that aims to curb toxic comments in online discussion forums can by simply misspelling or adding unnecessary punctuation to abusive words.

The Peace Corps announced Tuesday that the University of Washington (UW) ranked No. 2 among large schools on the agency’s 2017 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. There are 73 Huskies currently volunteering worldwide. UW ranks No. 3 all-time for total volunteers and has achieved elite top three status in the large school category for 13 consecutive years.

February 23, 2017

Universities establish joint center to use data for social good in Cascadia region

University of British Columbia and the UW announced the establishment of the Cascadia Urban Analytics Cooperative to use data to help cities and communities address challenges from traffic to homelessness. The effort will bring faculty, students, and community stakeholders together to solve problems, and is made possible thanks to a $1-million gift from Microsoft.

University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering announced today the establishment of the Guestrin Endowed Professorship in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This $1 million endowment will further enhance UW CSE’s ability to recruit and retain the world’s most outstanding faculty members in these burgeoning areas.

February 22, 2017

UW astronomer Eric Agol assists in new seven-planet NASA discovery using ‘distracted driving’ technique

This artist's concept shows what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses and distances from the host star. UW astronomer Eric Agol assisted with the big new discovery.

UW astronomy professor Eric Agol is part of the large team of researchers that has just announced confirmation of several Earth-sized, potentially habitable planets orbiting a star about 40 light-years away.

Scientists at the University of Washington and the state Department of Natural Resources intend to test a management approach that mimics natural disturbance patterns and processes across a large portion of the Olympic Peninsula, an area known for having the most rainfall in the lower 48 states, high tree-growth rates and old-growth forests, part of which remain today.

February 21, 2017

Winners, losers among fish when landscape undergoes change

A new study by the University of Washington and Simon Fraser University finds that some fish lose out while others benefit as urban and agricultural development encroaches on streams and rivers across the United States.

Three faculty members at the University of Washington have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 21, include Ali Farhadi, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Emily Levesque, assistant professor of astronomy; and John Tuthill, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics.

February 16, 2017

New clean energy facility accelerates testing of cleantech innovations and launching of companies

Cleantech Businesses and Academic Researchers can Prototype and Test Clean Energy Devices, Software and Systems at the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds A new facility for accelerating the clean energy innovation cycle opened in Seattle Feb. 16. The Clean Energy Institute, a research unit at the University of Washington, created the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds to…

Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered that a common type of cell in the vertebrate immune system plays a unique role in communication between other cells. It turns out that these cells, called macrophages, can transmit messages between non-immune cells.

Longtime philanthropists Charles and Lisa Simonyi have given a second Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus a major boost with a $5 million gift.

February 15, 2017

Predicting autism: Researchers find autism biomarkers in infancy

By using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the brains of infants who have older siblings with autism, scientists were able to correctly identify 80 percent of the babies who would be subsequently diagnosed with autism at 2 years of age.

Ozone levels in June 2015 were significantly higher than normal over a large swath of the Western U.S. Analysis ties this air quality pattern to the abnormal conditions in the northeast Pacific Ocean, nicknamed “the blob.”

February 13, 2017

New findings reveal health, aging experiences of LGBT older adults across nation

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from the University of Washington’s School of Social Work have released new findings this month on the health and aging of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults in the U.S.

February 10, 2017

Laser-based camera developed at UW improves view of the carotid artery to assess stroke and heart attack risk

A unique application of a medical camera developed by a University of Washington mechanical engineer could one day help physicians know who is at risk for stroke or heart attack by providing a better view of potential problem areas.

February 8, 2017

College of Engineering’s STARS program wins $2.2M to improve access for low-income students

The STARS program, which offers engineering students from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds extra academic support, will receive a one-time grant of $2.2 million from the Opportunity Expansion Fund passed by the Washington Legislature and funded by Microsoft.

Drainage of four interconnected lakes below Thwaites Glacier in late 2013 caused only a 10 percent increase in the glacier’s speed. The glacier’s recent speedup is therefore not due to changes in meltwater flow along its underside.

February 6, 2017

‘Overwhelming’ response, global press attention for new UW Information School course, ‘Calling BS’

It’s almost unheard-of for a university class to spark global press attention — and offers of book deals — before instruction even begins. But such is the case with the UW Information School’s new course, “Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data.”

February 1, 2017

UW introduces new master’s degree in applied child & adolescent psychology

A new UW graduate degree program – the Master of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment – aims to meet the growing need for mental health professionals trained to serve children, teens and families.

AccessMap – a University of Washington project spearheaded by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology — launched a new online travel planner offering customizable suggestions for people who need accessible or pedestrian-friendly routes when getting from point A to B in Seattle.

January 31, 2017

UW’s Forefront to recreate memorial, advocate for solutions at Suicide Prevention Education Day in Olympia

The UW-based Forefront will host a memorial for Washington state residents who died by suicide and join firearms dealers, veterans’ organizations, pharmacists, health care providers and suicide attempt and loss survivors to advocate for two legislative bills as part of Suicide Prevention Education Day.

Poet activists from around the nation will gather for daylong UW conference Feb. 3 on creativity in activism — and then give full voice to that creativity in performances 7 – 10 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library. All are welcome.

January 25, 2017

‘Protective’ DNA strands are shorter in adults who had more infections as infants

New research indicates that people who had more infections as babies harbor a key marker of cellular aging as young adults: the protective stretches of DNA which “cap” the ends of their chromosomes are shorter than in adults who were healthier as infants.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) announced today the foundation’s commitment to invest $279 million in IHME to expand its work over the next decade.

January 24, 2017

Prized fossil find — the oldest, most complete iguanian in the Americas — illuminates the lives of lizards in the Age of Dinosaurs

Paleontologists picking through a bounty of fossils from Montana have discovered something unexpected — a new species of lizard from the late dinosaur era, whose closest relatives roamed in faraway Asia.

The specific cues that trigger an animal’s natural defense vary depending on the species and its history in the ecosystem, a new University of Washington study finds.

January 20, 2017

Statement from UW President Ana Mari Cauce on shooting incident during protest in Red Square

A statement from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce following an incident in which a man suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen during a large protest in Red Square

January 18, 2017

Climate change prompts Alaska fish to change breeding behavior

A new University of Washington study finds that one of Alaska’s most abundant freshwater fish species is altering its breeding patterns in response to climate change, which could impact the ecology of northern lakes that already acutely feel the effects of a changing climate.

Vitamin B-12 exists in two different, incompatible forms in the oceans. An organism thought to supply the essential vitamin B-12 in the marine environment is actually churning out a knockoff version.

January 17, 2017

Conditions right for complex life may have come and gone in Earth’s distant past

A 1.9-billion-year-old stromatolite — or mound made by microbes that lived shallow water — called the Gunflint Formation in northern Minnesota. The environment of the oxygen "overshoot" described in research by Michael Kipp, Eva Stüeken and Roger Buick may have included this sort of oxygen-rich setting that is suitable for complex life.

Conditions suitable to support complex life may have developed in Earth’s oceans — and then faded — more than a billion years before life truly took hold, a new University of Washington-led study has found.

Fishing communities can survive ― and even thrive ― as fish abundance and market prices shift if they can catch a variety of species and nimbly move from one fishery to the next, a new University of Washington study finds.

In a paper published Jan. 17 in the journal Nature Communications, researchers report that fruit flies — perhaps the most widely studied insect in history — show signs of rational decision-making when choosing a mate.

January 12, 2017

UW law professor leads group defending ‘aural tradition’ of creativity in famous ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright case

UW School of Law professor Sean O’Connor has filed a brief in the famous “Blurred Lines” music copyright case, arguing for full composition credit for those who worked in the “aural tradition” and did not use traditional musical notation.

The acidification of the ocean expected as seawater absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will reverberate through the West Coast’s marine food web, but not necessarily in the ways you might expect, new research shows.

January 10, 2017

Rapid Arctic warming has in the past shifted Southern Ocean winds

Ice core records from the two poles show that during the last ice age, sharp spikes in Arctic temperatures triggered shifts in the winds around Antarctica.

Zillow Group, the Seattle-based company that houses real estate and home-related brands on mobile and web, has committed $5 million toward the development of a second Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the UW Seattle campus.

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