Research

April 25, 2014

Online ‘Legislative Explorer’ uses big data to track decades of lawmaking

John Wilkerson, creator of the Legislative Explorer

University of Washington political scientist John Wilkerson has matched data visualization with the study of lawmaking to create a new online tool for researchers and students called the Legislative Explorer. Think of it as big data meeting up with How a Bill Becomes a Law. “The goal was to get beyond the ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ narrative and let users discover the lawmaking process for themselves,” said Wilkerson, UW professor of political science and director of the UW’s Center for American Politics…

April 23, 2014

Fisheries act, up for reauthorization, subject of UW symposium

The Magnuson-Stevens Act is the subject of this year’s Bevan Series on Sustainable Fisheries.

Thousands on campus for Engineering Discovery Days, April 25-26

Students check out 3-D printers at the 2013 Engineering Discovery Days.

Engineers and scientists at the University of Washington will display their most engaging research and projects Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, during the annual Engineering Discovery Days, which is free and open to the public.

April 22, 2014

Doug Underwood scouts border between fiction, journalism in new book

Cover of The Undeclared War Between Journalism and Fiction by Doug Underwood, UW professor of communication

Doug Underwood, UW professor of communication, discusses his latest book, “The Undeclared War between Fiction and Journalism: Journalists as Genre Benders in Literary History.”

April 21, 2014

‘Upside-down planet’ reveals new method for studying binary star systems

An image of the Sun used to simulate what the sun-like star in a self-lensing binary star system might look like in a self-lensing binary star system.

What looked at first like a sort of upside-down planet has instead revealed a new method for studying binary star systems, discovered by a UW student astronomer.

April 15, 2014

Astronomers: ‘Tilt-a-worlds’ could harbor life

Tilted orbits such as those shown might make some planets wobble like a top that's almost done spinning, an effect that could maintain liquid water on the surface, thus giving life a chance -- according to new research by UW astronomer Rory Barnes.

A fluctuating tilt in a planet’s orbit does not preclude the possibility of life, according to new research by astronomers at the University of Washington, Utah’s Weber State University and NASA. In fact, sometimes it helps.

UW graduate’s lens turns any smartphone into a portable microscope

Photo of the micro phone lens on a smartphone.

The Micro Phone Lens, developed by UW mechanical engineering alumnus Thomas Larson (’13), can turn any smartphone or tablet computer into a handheld microscope.

Puget Sound’s rich waters supplied by deep, turbulent canyon

UW oceanographers found fast-flowing water and intense mixing in a submarine canyon just off the Washington coast.

April 11, 2014

Greenland ice cores show industrial record of acid rain, success of U.S. Clean Air Act

Detailed ice core measurements show smog-related ratios leveling off in 1970, and suggests these deposits are sensitive to the same chemicals that cause acid rain.

April 10, 2014

Fruit flies, fighter jets use similar nimble tactics when under attack

Get on your 3-D glasses for one of the animations of tiny fruit flies employing banked turns to evade attacks just like fighter jets.

April 9, 2014

Automated age-progression software lets you see how a child will age

A single photo of a child (far left) is age progressed (left in each pair) and compared to actual photos of the same person at the corresponding age (right in each pair).

University of Washington engineers have developed software that automatically generates images of a young child’s face as it ages through a lifetime. The technique is the first fully automated approach for aging babies to adults that works with variable lighting, expressions and poses.

April 7, 2014

UW startup creates underwater robotics with a human touch

Undergraduates students work on instrumentation with the BluHaptics team.

A team of University of Washington scientists and engineers working at the Applied Physics Laboratory is creating a control system for underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. Researchers will demonstrate the technology at the SmartAmerica Challenge in Washington, D.C. in June.

April 4, 2014

UW researchers, radar company conduct aerial surveys of Oso site

UW researchers made some of the first aerial surveys over the Oso mudslide, using radar technology to map the condition immediately after the slide.

April 2, 2014

Science-themed music videos boost scientific literacy, study shows

As the United States puts ever-greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to keep competitive in the global economy, schools are trying to figure out how to improve student learning in science. University of Washington researchers think music may be the answer for some students.

New book explores ‘frontier’ metaphor in science

"On the Frontier of Science" by Leah Ceccarelli, UW professor of communication.

Leah Ceccarelli, professor of communication, discusses her well-reviewed new book “On the Frontier of Science: An American Rhetoric of Exploration and Exploitation.”

March 28, 2014

“Simming” a mile in others’ shoes

Role players in a simulated Iraqi village

A waiter in a logging camp, Mexican migrant trying to cross into the U.S, and observer during an attack on an Iraqi village are examples of roles played by Scott Magelssen, a UW associate professor of drama, and described in his new book about simulated experiences.

Documents that Changed the World: Mental disorder diagnostic manual, 1952

Three little words fittingly kick off the latest installment of Joe Janes’ Documents that Changed the World podcast series: “Are you crazy?”

March 26, 2014

Decline of natural history troubling for science, society

Seventeen North American scientists outline the importance of natural science and call for a revitalization of the practice.

March 19, 2014

Anti-anxiety drug ameliorates autistic behaviors in mice

Increasing cell signals that put the brake on excitatory brain cells reduces repetitive behaviors and learning problems and improves social interactions in a mouse model of autism. This was achieved with a low dose of benzodiazipine, a common anti-anxiety, anti-seizure medication.

March 13, 2014

Negative effects of joining a gang last long after gang membership ends

Joining a gang in adolescence has significant consequences in adulthood beyond criminal behavior, even after a person leaves the gang. Former gang members are more likely to be in poor health, receiving government assistance and struggling with drug abuse than someone who never joined a gang.

Tethered robots tested for Internet-connected ocean observatory

The UW this fall will complete installation of a huge high-tech ocean observatory. Dozens of instruments will connect to power and Internet cables on the seafloor, but the observatory also includes a new generation of ocean explorers: robots that will zoom up and down through almost two miles of ocean to monitor the water conditions and marine life above.

March 10, 2014

Scientists build thinnest-possible LEDs to be stronger, more energy efficient

This graphical representation shows the layers of the 2-D LED and how it emits light.

University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows.

March 4, 2014

Polar science this weekend at Pacific Science Center

The 9th annual Polar Science Weekend will bring polar research, art and an actual ice core to the Pacific Science Center.

February 27, 2014

Battery-free technology brings gesture recognition to all devices

AllSee detects the unique signal changes (shown on the oscilloscope) and classifies a rich set of hand gestures.

University of Washington computer scientists have built a low-cost gesture recognition system that runs without batteries and lets users control their electronic devices hidden from sight with simple hand movements. The prototype, called “AllSee,” uses existing TV signals as both a power source and the means for detecting a user’s gesture command.

February 26, 2014