News releases
February 8, 2016
UW biology professor is a finalist for top conservation prize
P. Dee Boersma, a University of Washington professor of biology and Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science, is one of six finalists for the prestigious Indianapolis Prize for conservation. Boersma is the first UW faculty member nominated for this prize — the highest honor for animal conservationists — which has been awarded every other year since 2006.
UW’s Tom Anderson elected to National Academy of Engineering
Tom Anderson, a University of Washington professor of computer science and engineering and alumnus, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Also elected are UW civil engineering alumnus Jon Magnusson and computer science alumnus Albert Greenberg.
February 5, 2016
Wall-walking dancer Rachael Lincoln: ‘It’s a duet’
At 10:30 a.m. Friday, Rachael Lincoln leaned slowly out into space, hands at her sides — and then walked down the side of Meany Hall for the Performing Arts.
February 4, 2016
‘Pushback’ against constant connectivity also reflected in images, study follow-up finds
People expressing the wish to resist constant online connectivity — dubbed “pushback” by University of Washington Information School researchers — is manifested as powerfully in images as in text, further study has found.
‘On-ramping’ paves the way for women scientists, engineers to return to academia
Pursuing scientific or engineering careers in industry, government or private research after getting a Ph.D. used to be considered a one-way ticket out of academia. But new UW research finds numerous benefits — to students, researchers and academic institutions looking to diversify their faculty — in making that return trip easier.
February 2, 2016
UW awarded private, public grants to develop earthquake early warning tool
The UW is among West Coast universities awarded new funding to further develop ShakeAlert, an earthquake early warning system for the region.
Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds
A University of Washington study looked at potential risks associated with growing vegetables in urban gardens and determined that the benefits of locally produced vegetables in cities outweigh any risks from gardening in contaminated soils.
February 1, 2016
‘Vertical dance’ on Meany Hall will celebrate UW World Series retrospective of choreographer Trisha Brown
A UW dance faculty member will walk down the side of Meany Hall on Friday, Feb. 5, performing a dance piece titled “Man Walking Down the Side of a Building” by famed choreographer Trisha Brown, a retrospective of whose work is being performed Feb. 4-6 on the Meany stage.
January 29, 2016
Moon’s tidal forces affect amount of rainfall on Earth
Satellite data show that the moon’s gravity puts a slight damper on rainfall on Earth.
January 28, 2016
Study shows U.S. has greater link between low birth weight and inequality
Health disparities are common in developed countries, including the U.S., but at what age those inequities take root and how they vary between countries is less clear. New research from the University of Washington compares the link between income, education and low birth weight in the United States with those in three comparable countries: the…
January 26, 2016
Mathematical model explains huge recurring rainstorms in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans
A new model explains the fundamental features of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which some scientists predict will be the “next El Nino.”
January 25, 2016
New handheld, pen-sized microscope could ID cancer cells in doctor’s offices and operating rooms
UW mechanical engineers are developing a handheld microscope to help doctors and dentists distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells in an office setting or operating room.
January 20, 2016
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensing from mobile devices may help improve bus service
UW transportation engineers have developed an inexpensive system to sense Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals from bus passengers’ mobile devices and collect data to build better transit systems.
January 19, 2016
Jennifer Cohen named interim athletic director at the UW
Jennifer Cohen, senior associate athletic director at the University of Washington, has been named interim athletic director, UW President Ana Mari Cauce announced Tuesday. Cohen steps in for Scott Woodward, who announced earlier this month he would be taking a position at Texas A&M University. Cohen’s appointment is effective Feb. 1. “With her years of…
Helen Garrett named new registrar for the University of Washington
Helen Garrett has been selected as the University of Washington’s new university registrar and chief officer for enrollment information services. “Helen emerged as the top candidate from a very deep pool of applicants. Her substantial experience in enrollment management combined with her wealth of knowledge regarding data and student information services were exactly what the…
This smartphone technology 3-D maps your meal and counts its calories
A new laser mapping technology and smartphone app developed by University of Washington electrical engineers allows you to point your phone at a plate of food and get an estimate of the total calories and nutrition.
January 15, 2016
Twenty-seven UW faculty listed among ‘world’s most influential scientific minds’ by Thomson Reuters
The University of Washington is home to 26 researchers included on Thomson Reuters’ list of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” for 2015, which was released Jan. 14. The distinction, based on an analysis of over a decade of research paper citations among 21 general scientific fields, is meant to recognize scientists who are most cited by their peers.
January 14, 2016
$682,000 Mellon grant to help academic publishers increase workforce diversity
The University of Washington Press, the MIT Press, Duke University Press, the University of Georgia Press, and the association of American University Presses (AAUP) join forces to create the University Press Diversity Fellowship Program.
January 13, 2016
Fewer than 1 in 25 Seattleites can really eat locally
A new University of Washington study finds that urban crops in Seattle could only feed between 1 and 4 percent of the city’s population, even if all viable backyard and public green spaces were converted to growing produce.
Scientists solve long-standing ecological riddle
Researchers have found clear evidence that communities rich in species are substantially healthier and more productive than those depleted of species, once complicating factors are removed.
January 12, 2016
UW computer scientists to make financial products better and more available for the poor
UW computer scientists, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are launching a new research group to develop technological solutions that will make financial products more available to the lowest-income people around the world.
January 11, 2016
Northwest winter weather: El Niño, coastal effects, no more ‘blob’
What some have called the “Godzilla El Niño” is now lumbering ashore, right on schedule. El Niño tends to influence North American weather after the first of January, and indeed, we’re seeing warm temperatures in Alaska and much-needed rain in California. University of Washington researchers are tracking what the season will deliver to the Pacific…
West Coast study emphasizes challenges faced by marine organisms exposed to global change
Along the West Coast, ocean acidification and hypoxia combine with other factors, such as rising ocean temperatures, to create serious challenges for marine life, a new study finds.
January 8, 2016
Stir no more: UW scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays
Three scientists at the University of Washington have proposed a way to speed up common bioassays used in research and diagnostics. Their solution, reminiscent of the magic behind washing machines, could reduce wait times to a fraction of what they once were. As they report in the journal Small, biological assays that once took hours could instead take minutes.
January 6, 2016
What motivates people to walk and bike? It varies by income
The built environment influences decisions to walk or bike differently for lower- and higher-income groups, UW researchers have found. Neighborhood density, accessible destinations and fewer vehicles were associated with more walking and biking in lower-income groups, while neighborhood attractiveness was relevant for higher-income groups.
Politics, pioneers and ‘pandemonium’: 2016 History Lecture Series digs into Seattle history
Seattle’s past — from its earliest years to the turn of the 21st century — will be the topic of the Winter 2016 History Lecture Series, “Excavating Seattle’s Histories: People, Politics, Place,” running Wednesdays from Jan. 13 to Feb 3, with an additional panel discussion on Feb. 10.
January 5, 2016
Study: College graduates often challenged with life skills, motivation for ongoing learning
Today’s college graduates tend to be highly trained and employable but often lack a key skill needed for post-college life: how to identify and ask their own questions, according to a new study.
December 29, 2015
No easy answers in UW study of legal marijuana’s impact on alcohol use
Does legal marijuana tempt pot users to consume more alcohol — or are they likely to opt for cannabis instead of chardonnay? A University of Washington team of researchers sought to address those questions in the context of evolving marijuana policies in the United States. Their findings, published online Dec. 21 in the journal Alcoholism:…
December 28, 2015
UW center receives $16M to work on first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs
The UW’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering has won a $16M NSF grant to develop the first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs and restore motor function in stroke or spinal cord injury patients.
December 22, 2015
Dating historic activity at Oso site shows recurring major landslides
The large, fast-moving mudslide that buried much of Oso, Washington in March 2014 was the deadliest landslide in U.S. history. Since then it’s been revealed that this area has experienced major slides before, but it’s not known how long ago they occurred. University of Washington geologists analyzed woody debris buried in earlier slides and used…
December 21, 2015
Rivers, lakes impact ability of forests to store carbon
Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams, a new paper finds.
December 18, 2015
Oxygen provided breath of life that allowed animals to evolve
It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a study co-authored by two University of Washington scientists and led by the University College London.
December 17, 2015
Study: Safety net fails impoverished grandmothers raising children
Increasing numbers of grandmothers across the United States are raising their grandchildren, many of them living in poverty and grappling with a public assistance system not designed to meet their needs. LaShawnDa Pittman, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of American Ethnic Studies, interviewed 77 African American grandmothers living in some of…
December 16, 2015
UW Tacoma geoscientist tracked risks from deadly 2015 Nepal earthquake
When an earthquake struck Nepal in late April 2015, thousands of lives were lost in the initial disaster. But it was hard to assess the scale of the damage to rural areas, and still lurking were threats from unstable slopes and dammed glacier-fed lakes that could dislodge at any time to flood villages below. A…
Composting food waste remains your best option, says UW study
A new University of Washington study confirms that composting food scraps is better than throwing them away, and also calculates the environmental benefits associated with keeping these organic materials out of landfills.
December 15, 2015
UW conservationists celebrate new protected areas for Argentine penguins
On Dec. 3, the legislature for Argentina’s Chubut province established a new marine protected area off Punta Tombo, which would help preserve the feeding grounds for about 500,000 Magellanic penguins that make their home along this rocky stretch of Argentine coast. This is welcome news for the UW scientists who have studied these penguins for decades and advocated for their conservation.
Fuel economy improvements in US climate commitment on par with 1970s gains
A new UW study finds that fuel efficiency improvements needed to meet U.S. climate commitments are on par with what the auto industry delivered in the 1970s and 1980s.
Forefront launches suicide prevention effort in three rural Washington counties
Suicide is a tough issue to broach. How could an adult know if a child in the community might be suicidal and when to intervene? Is it appropriate to ask a friends or colleagues if they’re considering suicide? If someone is in crisis, what’s the best way to respond? Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention hopes…
December 14, 2015
UW Board of Regents approves new Master of Science in Data Science for professionals
The UW will offer a new Master of Science in Data Science program to provide students with advanced technical expertise in managing, modeling and visualizing big data to meet the growing needs of industry and research.
Seattle’s Ballard is ripe for green-space restoration, new report says
A University of Washington graduate student saw green-starved Ballard as an opportunity to call attention to areas in the neighborhood that have restoration potential. Her new report, the “Ballard Green Spaces Project,” identifies 55 sites that could be restored as natural areas for people and wildlife, increasing the neighborhood’s total amount of accessible green spaces.
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