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September 24, 2023

‘From this day forward, you are a Husky’: Incoming class welcomed at New Student Convocation

Students hold up lights at New Student Convocation

The University of Washington welcomed its incoming class and families on Sunday at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation.


September 20, 2023

Video: UW welcomes students to campus as thousands move into residence halls

About 8,500 students, including 78% of this year’s freshman class, are expected to move into UW residence halls and apartments this week.  


September 7, 2023

Video: New hives at UW Farm welcome us to ‘bee curious’

A close up of bees on a honey comb.

The UW Farm welcomed an addition this spring: two bee hives in an apiary on the south side of the Center for Urban Horticulture. The hives will serve as a teaching tool for students who want to know more about agriculture and the function of pollinators in the ecosystem.


August 29, 2023

The University of Washington’s Presidential Scholars — investing in tomorrow’s leaders

student entrepreneur

Each year, the University of Washington reviews thousands of applications from students who want to pursue their undergraduate studies at the state’s flagship university.


August 16, 2023

Q&A: As AI changes education, important conversations for kids still happen off-screen

Jason Yip, a UW associate professor in the Information School, discusses how parents and schools can adapt to new technologies in ways that support children’s learning.


June 10, 2023

Thousands cheer on UW graduates as more than 7,000 degrees conferred at Husky Stadium

2023 graduates in their hats and gowns at husky stadium

More than 7,000 degrees were conferred to University of Washington graduates Saturday at the 148th Commencement at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.


June 8, 2023

Video: UW School of Drama lead costumer retires after 15 years

Inside Hutchinson Hall, home of the University of Washington School of Drama, students work at tables as they learn to assemble patterns based on costume designs. They’re surrounded by dress forms, bolts of cloth, sewing machines and costumes in progress. This is the Costume Shop, the domain of Val Mayse, master dressmaker for the School of Drama.


June 7, 2023

Video: UW Architecture’s bench project turns an idea into an experience

In UW Architecture’s Making and Meaning class, students built benches to learn about design and construction, and to create community.


May 17, 2023

DO-IT Center celebrates 30 years of championing students with disabilities, building community

students working at a computer

A decade ago, Dustine Bowker went to a pizza party at the Husky Union Building.

Then a junior at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Bowker, who identifies as being on the autism spectrum, came to the University of Washington to learn about a program designed to help people like him. He had to learn to recognize social cues, he said, and adapt to fit into many situations.


May 15, 2023

Video: What to wear? UW Libraries explores age-old question

Around the world, people begin each day by deciding what clothes to put on their bodies. A yearlong exhibit in the Allen Library explores a history of clothing and fashion, featuring a rotating selection of prints, books and artwork inspired by dress from the early 19th century to the present.


April 27, 2023

Video: Tiny, fierce hummingbirds are also an evolutionary delight for UW, Burke researcher

Close up of hummingbird at a feeder

Many of us are familiar with the hummingbirds that visit feeders, plants and gardens around us. But these small creatures are unusual in the ways they push the limits of biology, says Alejandro Rico-Guevara, UW assistant professor biology and curator of ornithology at the Burke Museum. He and his students study hummingbirds and other birds…


April 24, 2023

Awakening the canoe: UW Canoe Family prepares for this summer’s Tribal Canoe Journey

The wide end of a wooden paddle is being held by a gloved hand in an indoor workshop setting.

Member of the University of Washington Canoe Family have spent months carving traditional paddles using only hand tools, all in preparation for this summer’s Tribal Canoe Journey.


April 6, 2023

National and local leaders convene at UW for discussion of CHIPS and Science Act, investing in scientific discovery

We see the back of the director of the National Science Foundation as he shakes hand with one student in a group of students in a lab.

Leaders from Washington higher education institutions met with national policymakers April 4 to discuss opportunities provided by the CHIPS and Science Act. U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan visited the University of Washington campus to talk about the legislation, which provides more than $100 billion to fund scientific research and…


March 15, 2023

Cherry blossoms get new visitors’ website, are on track for early April peak bloom

The cherry blossoms at the University of Washington campus are a seasonal tradition and celebration for the entire region. This year’s colder-than-usual spring is demanding a little more patience. Mark your calendars and plan your visit for a peak bloom expected in early April.


March 7, 2023

UW law professor goes to music school, launches interdisciplinary Music Law & Policy class

Peter Nicolas, professor of law and adjunct professor of music at the University of Washington, recently launched a new class. Music Law & Policy combines Nicolas’ legal training with his growing academic interest in the study of music.


February 17, 2023

Video: Lummi Nation School students visit UW to talk to International Space Station astronaut

Astronaut Josh Cassada holding a microphone and floating in the International Space Station.

Students from the Lummi Nation School visited the University of Washington in earlh February for a real-time Q&A with astronaut Josh Cassada aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Cassada helped do space research on a plant science experiment the students sent to the ISS.


February 2, 2023

Hitting the snow with a new course on accessibility and disability justice

Scene of chair lift on in a snowy area with skiers being transported on a chair above.

It’s ski season and cold sunny days fill outdoor enthusiasts with delight, but ski areas usually come with stairs, crowds and an infrastructure generally built for skiers and snowboarders who ride solo and on two legs.   
Observing this winter activity through a lens of accessibility and disability justice is the point of a new class developed by UW Bothell associate teaching professor Jason Naranjo. His course, “Disability & Society — A Focus on Community and the Outdoors,” pairs UW students with skiers from Outdoors for All, an organization that provides adaptive outdoor activities for people who, for cognitive or physical reasons, can’t simply pop on skis and hit the slopes.


December 14, 2022

Video highlights: UW News in 2022

Couple taking selfie in front of cherry trees

The year 2022 saw the UW community coming together again with in-person classes, events and fascinating research that make videographers excited to hit “record” and share these scenes with you.


December 2, 2022

‘Good manners are good economics’: UW’s Anthony Gill on the value of giving

Holiday sweater with a cat's frowning face on it and the words Merry Whatever.

University of Washington political science professor Anthony Gill explains the social and economic value of gift-giving — and how even unwanted gifts help promote trust and build relationships.


November 28, 2022

‘Everything that you need is already in you’: Supporting young women of color through the Sisterhood Initiative

Faces of young brown skinned woman and a friend smiling with purple paw prints on their faces

The University of Washington’s new Sisterhood Initiative aims to support young women of color through a cohort-based program, building on the success of the UW’s Brotherhood Initiative, which focuses on young men of color.


October 27, 2022

Bats are everywhere, but they get special attention around Halloween

Large bat flying during the day as seen from below against the sky.

These nocturnal flying mammals live in cities and rural areas and in most climates around the world – and maybe even in your own backyard.
Sharlene Santana, a University of Washington professor of biology and curator of mammals at the Burke Museum, explains that there are over 1,400 species of bats spanning an incredible diversity.


October 21, 2022

Video: Highlights from 2022 Annual President’s Address

Ana Mari Cauce

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce delivered her annual address to the community on Oct. 20. Highlights of the speech are reflected in this video. The audience was invited to attend the event remotely via livestream. President Cauce talked about the power of public research universities to bring communities together across differences to address…


October 13, 2022

Video: Finding — and keeping — the perfect fit for a prosthetic leg

University of Washington Professor Joan Sanders and her team are creating a new type of prosthetic leg: one that automatically adjusts its fit throughout the day. Their latest prototype detects in real time how well the prosthesis socket and amputation site are fitting and responds by automatically changing the size of the socket, without the need for adjustments to padding or user action.


October 6, 2022

Chamber Dance Company shifts focus, reimagines repertoire in return to stage

Comprised of University of Washington graduate students, the Chamber Dance Company works to perform, record and archive dance works of artistic and historical significance. This year, the company will exclusively perform contemporary works created within the last 15 years.


September 26, 2022

UW’s incoming class, one of the university’s largest and most diverse, welcomed at New Student Convocation

students listen to convocation speaker

The University of Washington on Sunday held its 39th annual New Student Convocation, which returned to Alaska Airlines Arena, Hec Edmundson Pavilion, for the first time since 2019.


September 21, 2022

Video: UW welcomes students back to campus with move-in days

The University of Washington’s campus again is bustling as students began moving into residence halls on Tuesday and will participate in annual fall activities for incoming undergraduates. About 10,000 students are expected to move into campus housing this week.


August 17, 2022

New UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use fiber-optic cables for seismic sensing, glaciology and more

jumble of yellow cables

A University of Washington pilot project is exploring the use of fiber-optic sensing for seismology, glaciology, and even urban monitoring. Funded in part with a $473,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a nonprofit based in Vancouver, Washington, the new UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use photons traveling through a fiber-optic cable to detect ground motions as small as 1 nanometer.


June 15, 2022

Video: Improvised Music Project Festival’s new format focuses on recording process

Man wearing mask sits behind professional looking microphone

This year, the School of Music’s Improvised Music Project focused on audio recording, inviting acclaimed recording engineer David Boucher for a weeklong workshop. The new format allowed students and faculty to gain experience with UW’s new mobile recording system while teaching fundamental recording and audio skills. 


June 13, 2022

Is there snow in that tree? Citizen science helps unpack snow’s effect on summer water supplies

Trees in a forest. The trees are blanketed by heavy snow.

To investigate what happens to snow intercepted by trees, UW researchers created a citizen science project called Snow Spotter.


June 12, 2022

Video: Classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 honored in weekend graduation celebrations

Man in a crowd wearing cap and gown waves his diploma in the air.

On Saturday, for the first time since 2019, the UW held in-person Commencement ceremonies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium where the University conferred degrees on the Class of 2022. On Sunday, it welcomed alumni from the 2020 and 2021 school years for a Return to Husky Stadium Graduation Celebration.


May 26, 2022

With EcoCAR, UW students experience post-COVID camaraderie under the hood of a hybrid vehicle

students standing with a car with logos on it

With the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, UW students modified a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer to use electrification, advanced propulsion systems and automated vehicle technology. It’s an opportunity for students — across four years — to take a car from design to a consumer-ready product.


Video: Alexes Harris draws attention to low representation of people of color in bone marrow registry

Bald woman in hospital bed looking at nurse examining medications beside her

In 2016, Alexes Harris was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. But a search for a bone marrow donor turned up only five matches, and none ended up being a donor. People of color are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry; according to Be The Match, the nation’s largest bone marrow registry, white people have a 79% chance of finding a match. But a Black person’s potential match is only 29%, and Asian and Latinx people both have about a 47% chance. People of Native American ancestry have a 60% chance of finding a match.


May 24, 2022

Video: Experts collaborate to troubleshoot necessary fires and harmful smoke

Forest on fire with smoke billowing, as seen from a helicopter

Forest fire smoke can make you sick, and we’re experiencing more them. In terms of public health, it seems logical to reduce forest fires to limit unhealthy air pollution, but forest managers are increasingly seeing prescribed burning as an essential tool to reduce explosive wildfires. How should we plan to deal with the impacts of these fires?


April 1, 2022

Video: Rubbish is reborn as ‘Trash Art’ in unique contest

Image of quilt made from disposable face masks

Bottle tops, face masks and dog hair — these are all items usually destined for the dumpster. But UW Recycling came up with a unique art contest that takes waste from garbage to gallery.


March 30, 2022

Video: New face mask guidance for UW’s 2022 spring quarter

With the start of spring quarter on March 28, face masks became optional — but still recommended — inside most UW facilities. In light of the policy change, UW News spoke with several experts about what to expect on campus, how the current science and transmission rates inform our policy, and emotions and feelings we may experience as a result of removing our face coverings.


March 10, 2022

UW welcomes community to view cherry blossoms; peak bloom expected mid-March

full bloom expected mid-march for cherry blossoms

The 29 cherry trees in the Quad usually reach peak bloom the third week of March, and this year is on track to meet that timing.


March 2, 2022

Multi-state study of monetary sanctions finds widespread inequities, far-reaching consequences

Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the University of Washington, discusses her team’s five-year, eight-state study of legal financial obligations, and their findings that court-imposed fines and fees perpetuate inequality.


February 16, 2022

Faculty programs welcome most diverse cohort in recent UW history

head shots

Angélica Amezcua never thought she’d achieve a doctoral degree, never mind landing a tenure-track job at the University of Washington. Raised in Mexico, she moved to California when she was 11, and she’s the first in her family to earn a Ph. D. She once believed that a career in academia was unattainable due to the obstacles placed in society for people of color.


December 17, 2021

Video: UW News 2021 highlights

students walking around campus

As the year draws to a close, we present highlights from video stories produced by UW News during 2021 — a year where the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact our lives.


December 13, 2021

Video: Modeling how debris affects buildings during a tsunami

Researchers are modeling how tsunami debris pushes on a building — either by hitting it or getting lodged on it and creating a dam. They are also looking for patterns in the way floating debris moves around and against rigid shapes. The information may help in designing buildings in coastal communities that can better withstand damage by floating objects in tsunami events. 



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