News releases

February 12, 2015

UW Regents name Provost and Executive Vice President Ana Mari Cauce interim president

University of Washington Provost and Executive Vice President Ana Mari Cauce was named interim president by the Board of Regents at their regular meeting on Thursday. Her appointment will be effective March 2, 2015. She succeeds President Michael K. Young, who is leaving the UW for Texas A&M University. “Dr. Cauce is an extraordinary leader of our University – a person who is known throughout our community for her straightforward and accessible leadership, extraordinary intellect, plain-spoken common sense, honesty, sense…

University of Washington releases design plans, names architect for former Spokane visitors center

SPOKANE, Washington — The University of Washington has released its architectural renderings for the redesign of the former Spokane Visitors Center, soon to be the UW Spokane Center. Located in the heart of Spokane’s University District, the UW Spokane Center will serve as a hub for Spokane-area alumni, students, prospective students, parents and supporters with space for meetings and special events. The UW has retained Spokane architectural firm Blue Room Architecture & Design, PS to lead the remodel of the…

February 11, 2015

Statewide home prices leveling off, but affordability woes linger

Home sale prices were down in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the third quarter but up compared with the previous year, and the rate of home sales also dropped, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.

Earthquake early warning begins testing in Pacific Northwest

The first early earthquake warning system for the region has begun testing with a small group of users at businesses and public agencies in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

February 5, 2015

New tool monitors effects of tidal, wave energy on marine habitat

From left to right: UW researchers Ben Rush, Nick Michel-Hart, James Joslin and Paul Gibbs prepare to test the monitoring device underwater in a tank on campus.

A robot developed at the University of Washington will deploy instruments to gather information in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and tidal energy.

January 28, 2015

Child maltreatment not a clear path to adult crime

Research has found a significant link between childhood abuse and neglect and crime in adulthood. But a recent University of Washington study finds that link all but disappears when accounting for other life factors. “We find that children who were involved in child welfare services are at high risk of adult crimes, but once we accounted for childhood socioeconomic status and later marital status and education, many of those effects went away,” said co-author Todd Herrenkohl, an investigator at the…

Some potentially habitable planets began as gaseous, Neptune-like worlds

Strong irradiation from the host star can cause planets known as mini-Neptunes in the habitable zone to shed their gaseous envelopes and become potentially habitable worlds.

Two phenomena known to inhibit the potential habitability of planets — tidal forces and vigorous stellar activity — might instead help chances for life on certain planets orbiting low-mass stars, University of Washington astronomers have found.

January 27, 2015

UW researchers helping region get ready for the next Big One

On the anniversary of a massive earthquake off our region’s coast, UW researchers are working on everything from tsunami evacuation structures to updated seismic hazard maps.

January 20, 2015

Scientists drilling first deep ice core at the South Pole

photo of person in tent bending over ice core

A UW researcher is chief scientist this month on a project to drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, to understand the climate history in that section of Antarctica.

January 19, 2015

Boeing, UW open research lab on Seattle campus

Gov. Jay Inslee learns about riveting from Boeing engineer Riley Hanson Smith, left, and Sai Krovvidi, a UW doctoral student in mechanical engineering, at the opening of the Boeing Advanced Research Center on campus.

The Boeing Advanced Research Center, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the UW campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and UW engineering professors.

January 15, 2015

Tiny plant fossils a window into Earth’s landscape millions of years ago

An international team led by the University of Washington has discovered a way to determine the tree cover and density of trees, shrubs and bushes in locations over time based on clues in the cells of plant fossils preserved in rocks and soil.

January 9, 2015

Gould Pavilion: New look, educational space, exhibition gallery

The UW College of Built Environments has rebooted the east end of its Gould Hall home, creating an expanded area for collaboration and a new gallery to exhibit work from national and international sources as well as the college’s student, faculty and alumni.

January 8, 2015

Study: University of Washington generates $12.5 billion, nearly 80,000 jobs for the state

The University of Washington generates $12.5 billion a year in economic activity and supports 79,331 direct and indirect jobs in the state of Washington, according to a new economic impact report released Thursday by an independent research firm. The UW employs 34,668 people and, following Boeing and Microsoft, is the third-largest nonfederal employer in the state, with more than half of those jobs related to UW Medicine. “The University of Washington continues to be a major force in the Washington…

Epic survey finds regional patterns of soot and dirt on North American snow

University of Washington scientists published the first large-scale survey of impurities in North American snow. An almost 10,000-mile road trip showed that disturbed soil often mattered as much as air pollution for the whiteness of the snow.

January 7, 2015

How the ‘Beast Quake’ is helping scientists track real earthquakes

Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will install instruments this Thursday to provide real-time monitoring of the stadium’s movement during the 2015 NFL playoffs. It’s a valuable test of their newest seismic technology.

January 6, 2015

Mark Pagano selected as chancellor of UW Tacoma

University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today the selection of Mark Pagano, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Montana State University Billings, as the next chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma, effective March 16. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. “President Young and I are delighted to have Dr. Mark Pagano join the vibrant UW Tacoma community. Chancellor Pagano brings his expertise in leading…

December 29, 2014

William P. Gerberding, 27th president of the University of Washington, dies at 85

William P. Gerberding, the 27th and longest-serving president of the University of Washington, died Saturday. He was 85. Gerberding, who assumed the presidency in 1979 and retired in 1995, is credited for boosting the university into national prominence, navigating it through potentially devastating budget crises and significantly increasing private financial support. “We are all deeply saddened by this news. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Ruth and the rest of the Gerberding family,” UW President Michael K. Young said. “Bill left…

December 17, 2014

Improving forecasts for rain-on-snow flooding

Many of the worst West Coast winter floods involve heavy rains and melting snow, and UW hydrology experts are using the physics of these events to better predict the risks.

December 16, 2014

Advisory council recommends UW medical school expansion in Spokane, increased residencies in rural areas

The University of Washington’s expansion of its medical school in Spokane and an increase in residency positions are among the ways to best meet the economic and health care needs in Spokane and throughout the state, according to an advisory council chairman’s report released Dec. 16.

December 9, 2014

Warmer Pacific Ocean could release millions of tons of seafloor methane

Water off Washington’s coast is warming a third of a mile down, where seafloor methane shifts from a frozen solid to a gas. Calculations suggest ocean warming is already releasing significant methane offshore of Alaska to California.

December 2, 2014

‘Mirage Earth’ exoplanets may have burned away chances for life

Illustration of a low-mass, M dwarf star, seen from an orbiting rocky planet.

Planets orbiting close to low-mass stars are prime targets in the search for life. But new research led by an astronomy graduate student at the UW indicates some such planets may have long since lost their chance at hosting life because of intense heat during their formative years.

November 21, 2014

UW-made tool displays West Coast ocean acidification data

A new tool developed at the UW displays real-time ocean acidification data for the open ocean and protected bays, helping shellfish growers and scientists see changes in water chemistry.

November 17, 2014

Major brain pathway rediscovered after century-old confusion, controversy

A scientist looking at MRI scans of human brains noticed a large fiber pathway that seemed to be part of the network that processes visual information. He just couldn’t couldn’t find it in any of the modern textbooks.

‘Probiotics’ for plants boost detox abilities; untreated plants overdose and die

Scientists using a microbe that occurs naturally in eastern cottonwood trees have boosted the ability of willow and lawn grass to withstand the withering effects of the nasty industrial pollutant phenanthrene.

November 12, 2014

Moving cameras talk to each other to identify, track pedestrians

University of Washington electrical engineers have developed a way to automatically track people across moving and still cameras by using an algorithm that trains the networked cameras to learn one another’s differences.

November 10, 2014

Global warming not just a blanket – in the long run, it’s more like tanning oil

Instead of carbon dioxide, or CO2, creating a blanket that slowly warms the planet, long-term warming happens because a darker surface and more moist air can absorb more of the incoming rays.

November 6, 2014

Zebrafish stripped of stripes

Within weeks of publishing surprising new insights about how zebrafish get their stripes, University of Washington researchers now explain how to “erase” them.

November 5, 2014

UW study shows direct brain interface between humans

An example of how the brain to brain interface demonstration would look.

University of Washington researchers have successfully replicated a direct brain-to-brain connection between pairs of people as part of a scientific study following the team’s initial demonstration a year ago.

November 4, 2014

‘Future proofing’: Present protections against challenges to come

You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it — that’s the thinking behind architect (and architecture graduate student and UW staff member) Brian Rich and his principles of “future proofing” existing and historical buildings.

October 31, 2014

Study: Expansion of UW medical school in Spokane is state’s lowest-cost, highest-quality and most-immediate solution

The University of Washington’s plan to double the size of its medical school in Spokane is “clearly the most cost-effective option” to meet the physician workforce needs in Eastern Washington and throughout the state, according to an independent study by research firm Tripp Umbach. The study also found that Eastern Washington currently cannot support two medical schools because of a lack of capacity in clinics and residency programs. “As an established program, UW School of Medicine has greater capacity than…

October 29, 2014

New study shows three abrupt pulses of CO2 during last deglaciation

This image from December 2010 shows a 1-meter-long section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide core with a dark ash layer.

Increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide that helped end the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago happened in three abrupt pulses, not gradually.

Fires and floods: North Cascades federal lands prepare for climate change

UW scientists worked with managers of federal parks and forests to come up with a strategy to address warmer temperatures, increased wildfires and more flooding in the North Cascades region.

October 24, 2014

U.S. Navy awards $8 million to develop wave, tidal energy technology

The UW has an $8 million, four-year contract to develop technologies that can harness waves, tides and currents to power naval facilities worldwide.

October 22, 2014

Traditional, tea party conservatives seem split on foreign policy

Foreign policy looms large as the 2014 midterm elections approach. But traditional conservatives and their tea party counterparts may bring different concerns and motivations to the November ballot, according to a University of Washington political scientist. While traditional conservatives seem most motivated by concern over American security, Christopher Parker, UW professor of political science, suggests that those identifying as tea party conservatives have somewhat more mixed motivations, linked with agitation over the Obama presidency and stemming from a feeling of…

October 20, 2014

UW student population grows, minority enrollment continues upward trend

Enrollment for the three University of Washington campuses increased nearly 3 percent in the new school year, according to the finalized Fall 2014 census of enrolled students released by Philip Ballinger, associate vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions.

October 14, 2014

Orphanage care linked to thinner brain tissue in regions related to ADHD

Psychological studies of children who began life in Romanian orphanages shows that institutionalization is linked to physical changes in brain structure. The thinning of the cortex leaves a lasting legacy that can explain impulsivity and inattention years later.

October 10, 2014

Citizen science key to keeping pace with environmental change

Seven students stand on beach holding bird carcass

Better integration of citizen science into professional science is a growing consideration at the UW and elsewhere.