A new University of Washington study maps how the 2001 roadless rule protects U.S. rivers, and how rescinding the rule could impact access to clean drinking water, biodiversity, outdoor recreation and more.
Research
A new study from Jade d’Alpoim Guedes, UW associate professor of anthropology, warns that the future of rice — arguably the most important crop on Earth — is in danger. Due to rising temperatures driven by climate change, projections show that Asia’s major rice-producing regions may soon pass the thermal limits that have remained consistent throughout the crop’s history. This would create unparalleled challenges in a region where more than a billion people rely on rice cultivation for their livelihoods.
The Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its ten-year survey of the southern sky, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately impacted by air pollution, an unfathomably fast chemical reaction, ups and downs in the methane record, and the cigar galaxy pictured at high resolution.
The prevalence of Bigg’s killer whales is increasing in Puget Sound, while the chances of sighting the southern residents remains slim, and pod-specific.
A University of Washington-led research team created GovScape, an efficient search system for PDFs from the End of Term Web Archive. Users can look up exact keywords, like “FAFSA,” or use semantic search, which finds documents on a topic even if the exact search terms don’t appear on the page. Because researchers used highly efficient artificial intelligence models, processing the 10 million PDFs hosted online during Donald Trump’s first term costs less than $1,500, or about $1 per 47,000 pages.
While the majority of the world just wants to swat mosquitoes, three University of Washington researchers find these insects fascinating. They told UW News what it’s like to study mosquitoes and why these critters are actually really important.
University of Washington researchers developed an artificial intelligence system that automatically estimates the environmental impacts of making different electronic devices. The system takes only a minute to run and achieves estimates with accuracy similar to human experts’.
New computing techniques — including AI and quantum computing — are enabling UW researchers to design unique and complex quantum materials.
Every summer, UW researchers head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment. UW News asked a few team members to describe their plans for this summer.
New research from Abhinav Gupta, professor of management at the University of Washington, shows the increased public attention on racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd influenced how Black and white employees interacted at work. The study examines how major societal events tied to race and injustice can shape workplace behavior.
Researchers have completed all planned seismic monitoring station installations for the regional ShakeAlert early warning system. They are now turning their attention to offshore seismic monitoring, which could improve detection and warning time for the much-anticipated Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
Efforts to restore fish passage are cropping up across the country, but these projects come with hefty price tags. In a new study, University of Washington researchers explore different approaches to improving the benefits from investments in salmon recovery.
UW researchers examined almost 3,000 science guidelines and assessment questions for any connections to society. Of the approximately 200 elements that had real-world implications, many discussed ethics and public health issues.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: how climate change is redirecting rivers, what bean plants use to protect themselves from pests, where the water in an atmospheric river comes from and how researchers are making tensegrities tiny.
Marina Alberti, a University of Washington professor of urban design and planning, studies how cities and natural ecosystems influence one another. UW News spoke to Alberti about how climate change is triggering evolutionary change within nature-based infrastructure projects — and what urban planners can do about it.
Burrowing shrimp, native to Washington, create problems for shellfish farmers. As their name suggests, these creatures burrow in marine sediments, and the excavated material piles up on the surface, which can smother oysters and clams growing there. State-funded research led by the University of Washington offers a new, non-chemical approach to controlling shrimp populations in shellfish-growing areas.
In a new study, University of Washington scientists eavesdropped on Cook Inlet belugas to better understand the context of their calls and how human noise is impacting their ability to communicate with each other.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku caused widespread damage on the Mariana islands in April, leaving many people without power, tearing roofs off homes and destroying vital infrastructure. Several ongoing UW research projects focused on native birds and plants were disrupted.
University of Washington researchers launched a pilot app that maps ‘little free pantries’ throughout the Seattle area and gives pantry users and donors new tools to communicate with and help one another.
A new analysis of a 481-meter tsunami generated by a landslide in Alaska’s popular Tracy Arm Fjord last summer describes how glacial retreat, due to global warming, primed the fjord for the colossal wave and what, if any, warning signs preceded it.
When pollinators decline, families risk poorer nutrition leading to higher vulnerability to illness and infections, and deeper cycles of poverty and poor health. One quarter of the global population currently suffer from this “hidden hunger.”
Katie Davis, a UW professor in the Information School, discusses a study in which she and a team of researchers interviewed 22 teachers about AI use.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: how sunbirds sip nectar through straw-like tongues, why the Seattle Fault might not pose as great a risk as previously thought, how to gauge landslide dam risk in the PNW, what marine microbes use for making meals and when the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will spot small inbound asteroids.
University of Washington researchers created BikeButler, a demo web app that lets users find personalized bike routes in Seattle. Cyclists plug in their destination and origin — just like in other mapping apps — and can then toggle sliders for eight attributes to create personalized route options.
A research team led by the UW has identified a new species of an ancient rodent-like creature. The new species, named Cimolodon desosai, was about the size of a golden hamster, the researchers said. It likely scampered on the ground and in the trees and ate fruits and insects.
UW News spoke with Paul Wiggins, a University of Washington associate professor of both physics and bioengineering, to learn about a surprisingly relatable behavior prompting bacteria to stockpile huge reserves of essential proteins.
David Hertzog, a University of Washington professor of physics, is a recipient of the 2026 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics. The award is shared among roughly 400 scientists and celebrates decades of work to better understand the muon — a subatomic particle with anomalous properties.
A directive signed by former Gov. Jay Inslee in 2018 aimed to eliminate hepatitis C from Washington state by 2030. A new study led by the University of Washington found that the plan not only expanded access to tests and treatment, but may save money in the long run.
The Ecological Society of America named the UW’s Claire Willing a 2026 Early Career Fellow. Willing, an assistant professor of environmental and forest science, studies fungal ecology, looking at how fungi are evolving and supporting plant communities as the climate changes.
In a new study, University of Washington researchers show that an Earth-sized planet likely needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth’s oceans to maintain a critical natural cycle that keeps water on the surface. These new parameters could exclude many exoplanets in the so-called habitable zone.
University of Washington researchers developed a system called VueBuds that uses tiny cameras in off-the-shelf wireless earbuds to allow users to talk with an AI model about the scene in front of them. For instance, a user might look at a Korean food package and say, “Hey VueBuds, translate this for me.” They’d then hear an AI voice say, “The visible text translates to ‘Cold Noodles’ in English.
A new study doubles the evolutionary history of the weasel family. Researchers, including Chris Law, a UW principal research scientist in the biology department, have determined that a fossil that was discovered in Spain belongs to a new species dating back to around 6.5 million years ago. This new species was likely similar in size to the smallest living weasel species today, the least weasel.
At the brand-new Quantum Technologies Training and Testbed lab, researchers from across the UW probe the “spooky” mysteries of quantum phenomena.
New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, was found in one-third of coyotes surveyed from the Puget Sound region.
Using preliminary data from the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids in our solar system. The findings include hundreds of distant worlds beyond Neptune as well as 33 previously unknown near-Earth objects.
Explore recent research from the University of Washington: the habits and habitats of Nautilus and Allonautilus, how green clay tennis courts remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, why temperature dynamics matter to mussels and what prompts bacteria to attack diatoms.
A team of 170 scientists and experts — led by Phil Levin, interim executive director of the UW’s EarthLab — has published a draft of a report detailing the health of U.S. nature. While some of the resulting statistics are grim, the report highlights many areas of opportunity. Researchers welcome public comment through May 30.
New research shows that as winters get warmer, more icy crusts may form within snowpacks in much of the Pacific Northwest, increasing the risk of avalanche in some areas and changing the behavior of wildlife across the region.
In a new study, University of Washington researchers examine the impact of tilling on soil moisture and water retention using methods designed for monitoring earthquakes. They show that tilling disrupts important soil microstructures and highlight the potential utility of this method for precision agriculture and more.