UW News

News releases


June 1, 2011

Commencement ceremonies scheduled for UW graduates

Commencement is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, June 11, for UW Seattle; 2 p.m. Sunday, June 12, for UW Bothell; and 10 a.m. Friday, June 10, for UW Tacoma.


May 31, 2011

UW Medicine goes smoke- and tobacco-free

UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center have gone smoke- and tobacco-free as of Tuesday, May 31 — World No Tobacco Day. All designated smoking areas will be phased out. Nicotine replacement therapy and counseling will be available to patients, along with referrals to tobacco cessation programs when they are discharged.


Code green: Energy-efficient programming to curb computers power use

A new system called EnerJ helps computer programmers go green, allowing them to cut a program’s energy consumption by as much as 50 percent.


May 26, 2011

President Obama appoints UW associate vice provost to Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics

Luis Fraga, associate vice provost for faculty advancement and Russell F. Stark University Professor at the University of Washington, has been appointed to the Presidents Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.


May 22, 2011

Scientists find odd twist in slow ‘earthquakes:’ tremor running backwards

UW scientists find that in an unfelt, weeks-long seismic phenomenon called episodic tremor and slip, the tremor can suddenly reverse direction and travel back through areas of the fault that it had ruptured in preceding days.


May 18, 2011

China fossil shows bird, crocodile family trees split earlier than thought

A fossil of a creature that died about 247 million years ago, originally thought to be a distant relative of both birds and crocodiles, actually came from the crocodile family tree after it had already split from the bird family tree, a UW researcher has found.


May 17, 2011

Real nature beats technological stand-ins for human well-being

In a new book, a University of Washington psychologist argues that to flourish, humans need exposure to the natural world.


May 16, 2011

Sporadic mutations identified in children with autism spectrum disorders

UW genome scientists have identified several sporadic mutations in children with autism spectrum disorder. By analyzing the protein-coding portions of the genome in 20 individuals with the disorder and in their parents, the researchers found 21 newly occurring mutations.


Digital imaging software creates a ‘Google Earth view of the bladder

A more automated approach to bladder exams could be cheaper, more comfortable and more convenient. The system would use the UWs ultrathin laser endoscope, which is like a thin piece of cooked spaghetti, in combination with software that automatically creates a 3-D panorama of the bladder interior.


May 13, 2011

Scientists design new anti-flu virus proteins using computational methods

Scientists have demonstrated the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules. The researchers created a protein that disabled the part of the 1918 pandemic flu virus involved in invading respiratory tract cells.


May 12, 2011

UW College of Education launches new accelerated teacher certification program for Teach For America participants

With UW Accelerated Certification for Teachers — called U-ACT for short — the College of Education will become the credential program provider in Washington state for Teach For America.


May 11, 2011

Recently passed bill helps give youthful offenders second chances

Thanks to students at the UW Child and Youth Legislative Advocacy Clinic, Gov. Chris Gregoire will on Thursday, May 2 sign a bill that bans private credit reporting agencies from selling a youths criminal records after he or she turns 21.


May 10, 2011

Razing Seattles viaduct doesnt guarantee nightmare commutes, model says

University of Washington statisticians used a computer model to study the effect of replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct on commuter travel times. They found that relying on surface streets would likely have less impact on travel times than previously reported, and that effects on commute times are not well known.


May 4, 2011

Dentistry Dean Martha Somerman leaving to direct NIH dental branch

Dr. Martha J. Somerman, dean of the UW School of Dentistry, has been named director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Timothy A. DeRouen, executive associate dean for research and academic affairs at the dental school, will serve as interim dean.


May 3, 2011

‘Fatting in: Immigrant groups eat high-calorie American meals to fit in

Immigrants to the United States and their U.S.-born children gain weight, and it’s not simply the abundance of high-calorie American junk food. Psychologists show that immigrants choose typical American dishes as a way to prove their American-ness.


May 2, 2011

UW Regents approve contract for Michael Young

At a special meeting May 2, the University of Washington Board of Regents approved a five-year contract for new president-designate Michael K. Young.


College students use of Kindle DX points to e-readers role in academia

A nine-month study of how University of Washington graduate students did or did not use the large-format Amazon Kindle DX in their course reading provides information on the potential future for e-readers in academia.


May 1, 2011

Several baffling puzzles in protein molecular structure solved with new method

The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a high performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous attempts had failed.


April 29, 2011

National thought leaders in mental health and healthcare delivery gather for summit in Seattle

A select group of thought leaders and researchers are participating in a summit meeting May 2 – 3 in Seattle to generate a national roadmap for integrating mental health services into primary care. The summit kicks off a year-long effort to increase Americans’ access to high-quality, Sevidence-based mental health care.


April 28, 2011

'COPE' online education responds to FDA call for safe prescribing of painkillers

A UW online training tool will help the region’s physicians follow new U.S. Food & Drug Administration(FDA)safety requirements in prescribing opioids. The new FDA requirements are in response to a rise in deaths from accidental painkiller overdoses.


UW research shows new road tolls might not unfairly burden low-income drivers

Tolls on the State Route 520 bridge begin this summer but UW research shows those tolls may not unfairly burden low-income households.


April 27, 2011

Era of canopy crane ending; certain research and education activities remain – view slideshow

The 25-story construction crane used since 1995 to investigate such things as how Pacific Northwest forests absorb carbon dioxide, obtain sufficient water and resist attacks by pests and diseases is being pruned back to just the tower.


8 percent of women physical oceanographers in tenure track, down from 23 percent – with audio clip

The gender gap for physical oceanographers in tenure-track positions has almost doubled since the mid-1990s.


April 25, 2011

Regents offer UW presidency to University of Utahs Michael K. Young

The UW Board of Regents has authorized its chair, Herb Simon, to offer the University presidency to Michael K. Young, who has been president of the University of Utah since 2004.


Federal subsidies for child nutrition: More funding is better

A new study from University of Washington researchers found that child-care providers who received higher reimbursements spent more on food, and the food was of higher nutritional quality than the food purchased by providers who received lower reimbursements.


Psychologists warn that therapies based on positive emotions may not work for Asians

Thinking happy thoughts is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis and improve overall mental health. But UW psychologists reveal that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures.


April 22, 2011

Harborview Medical Center honored for HIV/AIDS outreach

Twice in three years: Thats how frequently Secretary of Health Mary Selecky has brought Washingtons Excellence in Health Care Award to Harborview Medical Center. Selecky presented the 2010 Warren Featherstone Reid Award April 19 to honor the hospitals satellite HIV/AIDS care clinics in Everett and Bremerton.


April 21, 2011

Scientific roadblock overcome in designing genetic controls against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes

Mosquitoes can in principle be genetically engineered to resist malaria. The problem is how to drive these modifications into wild mosquito populations. Selfish genes, which promote their own propagation, might do the trick.


April 15, 2011

UW Department of Global Health center awarded $300 million for health training

International Training and Health works with local governments and institutions in resource-limited countries to develop skilled health care workers and strong national health systems. The new award is part of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.


April 14, 2011

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to speak at Commencement

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will speak at UW Commencement June 11.


Data catches up with theory: Ocean front is energetic contributor to mixing

For more than two decades scientists have suspected theres a substantial source of energy for ocean mixing at ocean fronts. Researchers with the Applied Physics Laboratory are the first to devise a way to prove it.


April 13, 2011

Child safety experts advise that children ride in rear-facing car seats until age two

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new passenger safety guidelines for children. Dr. Beth Ebel, director of Harborview’s Injury Prevention Center, tells how to keep children safe every ride, every time.


April 11, 2011

Social wasps show how bigger brains provide complex cognition — see slideshow

UW neurobiologists studied 10 species of social wasps and report that bigger-brained wasps devoted more brain space to complex thinking, implying that smaller-brained wasps can never get ahead.


April 10, 2011

West Antarctic warming triggered by warmer sea surface in tropical Pacific

New research shows that rising sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean drive atmospheric circulation that has caused some of the largest shifts in Antarctic climate in recent decades.


April 7, 2011

Free software makes computer mouse easier for people with disabilities

As the population ages, more people are having trouble with motor control, but a University of Washington team has invented two mouse cursors that make clicking targets a whole lot easier.


April 6, 2011

Amount of AIDS virus in genital secretions predicts risk of heterosexual transmission

The link between higher reproduction of the virus in the genital tracts and the increased risk transmitting HIV to others may reveal biological mechanisms of disease spread during sexual activity, and may suggest new strategies to reduce infection.


April 5, 2011

Ill just Google it: College students find plenty of information online, but often go offline to verify

According to a new study, college students use online sources to gather information for personal decisions but also rely almost as much on family and friends for finding and making choices about information.


April 4, 2011

Earthquake scientists discuss West Coast earthquake early warning system

Scientists from Washington, Oregon and California are in talks about the feasibility of establishing an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast.


High dose of oxygen enhances natural cancer treatment

An environment of pure oxygen at three-and-a-half times normal air pressure adds significantly to the effectiveness of a natural compound already shown to kill cancerous cells.


March 30, 2011

UW astrophysicist: White dwarfs could be fertile ground for other Earths

Hundreds of planets have been discovered outside the solar system in the last decade, but now a UW astrophysicist is suggesting that the best place to look for planets that could support life is around dying stars called white dwarfs.



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