Tales of artificial intelligence and its effects on future life are gathered in “Telling Stories: On Culturally Responsive Artificial Intelligence,” presented by the UW Tech Policy Lab.

UW Notebook features stories of interest to the UW community — including projects and books by, and recognition of, UW faculty, students and staff. If you’d like to submit a story idea, email uwnews@uw.edu.

Tales of artificial intelligence and its effects on future life are gathered in “Telling Stories: On Culturally Responsive Artificial Intelligence,” presented by the UW Tech Policy Lab.

“Jewish Questions,” a podcast from the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, explores issues of Jewish life, politics, history and culture

Balancing motherhood and medical school is a challenge, but panic attacks and memories of childhood trauma make the path all the more difficult. With therapy, Dr. Anne McTiernan found her way through. Now she discusses her experiences in an intimate memoir, “Cured: A Doctor’s Journey from Panic to Peace.”

Recent honors and achievements by UW faculty and staff include a grant for field research in the Middle East, a staffer’s play being streamed by a Seattle theater and a professor’s cartoon remembrance of a relative lost to COVID-19.

The Polymer Physics Prize from the American Physical Society and a dissertation award from the Society for American Archaeology.

Historian Anand Yang writes about the British history of shipping of convicted criminals to other continents; and new world music education books from ethnomusicologist Patricia Shehan Campbell.

Recent honors and achievements by UW faculty include a keynote address at a national Holocaust commemoration event, an album of new compositions and a best-of-2020 musical nod from the Seattle Times.

Notable recent books written or edited by UW faculty include an exploration of African American political theory, a book on philosophy and migration and a textbook on health data science.

UW student Zoe Mikuta’s first book, “Gearbreakers,” is set to come out June 29. Categorized in the young adult genre, it tells the story of Eris and Sona, who live under a tyrannical regime enforced by 100-foot-tall mecha robots. She’s sold the film rights to “Gearbreakers” and is currently working on its sequel.
Nicolaas Barr of the UW’s Comparative History of Ideas Department talks about his translation of “Djinn,” a memoir by Tofik Dibi, who served for six years as a member of the Dutch Parliament.

A talk with Robert Edmonds, professor emeritus in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, who has written a new history of UW forestry research and education called “Saving Forest Ecosystems: A Century Plus of Research and Education at the University of Washington.”

A book co-edited by Robert Pekkanen of the UW’s Jackson School of International Studies brings together top scholars to study the origins and effects of electoral systems in the United States and other democracies.

Recent honors to and awards for UW faculty and staff members include a documentary film appearance, a distinguished educator award and an honor for historic preservation planning.

In a new book, Taso Lagos of the UW Jackson School studies the rivalry between Aimee Semple McPherson and Robert “Fighting Bob” Shuler, two California-based performer-preachers who had the country’s rapt attention in the 1920s.

Here’s a quick look at some giftworthy books and music created by UW faculty and staff in 2020, and a reminder of some recent favorites.

A talk with UW drama professor Scott Magelssen, who explores American aviation from the perspective of performance studies in his new book “Performing Flight.”

Recent honors and awards for UW faculty and staff include a top young innovator, a new endowed faculty fellow, research grants awarded and a career achievement award in environmental political science.

A University of Washington meteorologist joins a national board for atmospheric research, an English professor’s story is honored and a Jackson School faculty member helps with research for a PBS show.

A preview of the Nov. 6 SPARC Symposium, which will feature a conversation with Andy Weir, author of “The Martian.”

A talk with Vanessa Freije of the UW Jackson School about her new book, “Citizens of Scandal: Journalism, Secrecy, and the Politics of Reckoning in Mexico.”

The National Academy of Medicine on Monday announced the election of 100 new members, including three from the : Patrick Heagerty, Dr. Joel Kaufman and Sean Sullivan. In addition, David Eaton, dean and vice provost emeritus of the UW’s Graduate School, was recognized for outstanding service.

The national Alcohol and Drugs History Society has established an annual book prize in the name of UW history professor William Rorabaugh, who died this spring, calling him “a pioneer in the social history of alcohol.”

Jennifer Bean, UW associate professor of cinema studies, suggests a few silent film viewing opportunities this fall.

New books by UW faculty members include children’s works profiling STEM researchers and a personal memoir of an immigrant’s journey to freedom. Also, UW Press remembers a century of publishing, and a book on British colonialism is honored.

Recent honors to UW faculty have come from the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics, the American Society of Composites, the Coalition for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology and the Dance Educators Association of Washington.

A conversation with new School of Music professor Anne Searcy about her new book, “Ballet in the Cold War: A Soviet-American Exchange.”

UW English professor Shawn Wong discusses his UW Press book series. “We’re interested in all Asian American authors, particularly classic works that have gone out of print. We are open to anything — fiction, poetry and nonfiction,” Wong said. “But we’re also interested in new works.”

A talk with the hosts of Washington Sea Grant’s “Coastal Café” podcast, which is also a radio show. And EarthLab’s podcast “Voices Unbound” releases a new season of timely topics.

Megan Ming Francis, University of Washington associate professor of political science, has been named one of 12 grant-supported “Freedom Scholars” in a new $3 million initiative by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation, working together.

A conversation with UW professor Cecilia Aragon about her new memoir, “Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team”

The Department of English has introduced its new “Literature, Language, Culture” Dialogue Series, a series of podcasts and YouTube videos — and Devin Naar of Sephardic Studies is interviewed on two podcasts

Recent news about UW-authored books includes a UW Press book on salmon habitat restoration amid climate change and a paperback edition of a book on building reuse. Also, Anu Taranath’s “Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World” is a Washington State Book Award finalist.

Recent honors and grants to University of Washington faculty and staff have come from the American Chemical Society, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Science Board and the family of engineers Ganesh and Hema Moorthy.

In his latest book, Rick Bonus discusses how Pacific Islander students at the UW used the ocean as a metaphor to create community for themselves and change their university.

Recent honors and grants to University of Washington individuals and units have come from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Marconi Society — and the White House.

UW Libraries has published timely new online guides to help researchers studying the Black experience in the Pacific Northwest and the broader topic of racial justice.

Recent honors to University of Washington faculty and staff members have come from the Women in Engineering ProActive Network, Association Media & Publishing and The American Society of Human Genetics.

José Alaniz says that comics — especially superhero tales — hooked him and “rewired” his brain at an early age. They also got him drawing his own comics, chronicling his life and the things he observes. Now Alaniz, a UW professor of Slavic languages and literatures, has published a collection of his own drawings and essays. “The Phantom Zone.”

Recent honors to University of Washington faculty and staff have come from Architect magazine, the Center for Research Libraries, member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the American Society of Human Genetics.

Notable new books by UW faculty and staff include a study of rebellion at sea, an emeritus faculty member’s Buddhist-focused memoir, a reconsideration of Northwest Coast Native American art with Indigenous perspectives in mind, thoughts on bridging cultural gaps through design — and an award for the editor-in-chief of UW Press.