ArtsUW Roundup: Romeo and Jules, Seattle Symphony: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Performing with the Brain, and more!

April 17, 2019

ArtsUW Roundup: Romeo and Jules, Seattle Symphony: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Performing with the Brain, and more!

This week in the arts, attend opening night of “Romeo and Jules”, witness musicians perform with their brains, drop in to the Allen Library for a lunchtime concert, and more! SOLD OUT: Kollar American Art Lecture: Elizabeth West Hutchinson April 18, 6:00 pm | Henry Art Gallery In the summer of 1868, Eadweard Muybridge accompanied a military inspection of southeastern Alaska. The photographs do not inspire confidence in American command over the the newly-acquired territory. Many of the pictures are…

April 11, 2019

Stars and stories: UW astronomer Emily Levesque gathering material for book on ‘true tales of observational astronomy’

Emily Levesque, University of Washington assistant professor of astronomy, is gathering stories for a book to be titled "The Last Stargazers: True Tales of the Colorful and Vanishing World of Observational Astronomy," which will be published in 2020.

Emily Levesque, UW assistant professor of astronomy, is gathering material for a new book to be called “The Last Stargazers: True Tales of the Colorful and Vanishing World of Observational Astronomy.”

April 10, 2019

David Thouless — Nobel laureate and UW professor emeritus — dies at age 84

David James Thouless, Nobel laureate and a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, died in Cambridge in the U.K. on April 6, 2019. He was 84 years old.

April 9, 2019

ArtsUW Roundup: The Hip Hop Architect, Anne Focke Leadership Award, Basara 婆娑羅 and the Medieval Origins of Japanese Maximalism, and more!

This week in the arts, celebrate 100 years of influence of the iconic choreographer Merce Cunningham; attend an East African Retro Pop concert with Alsarah and the Nubatrones, attend a graduation exhibition opening the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, and more. The Hip Hop Architect: Michael Ford April 10, 6:30 pm | Kane Hall, Room 130 The College of Built Environments is proud to host an evening with Michael Ford, a featured architect with BRANDNU Design. Ford is the Co-Founder of The…

March 26, 2019

ARTSUW Roundup: Reading with African-American Writers’ Alliance, Emanuel Ax performance, Graduation Exhibition, and Memory and Place Exhibition

This week in the arts, join members of the African-American Writers’ Alliance as they present new works written in response to the content and themes of Edgar Arceneaux’s Library of Black Lies, attend Pianist Emanuel Ax’s performance, and before that, stop by the graduation exhibition at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery! Reading: African-American Writers’ Alliance March 31, 2:00 pm | Henry Art Gallery Join us in the galleries for a reading with members of the African-American Writers’ Alliance as they present…

March 21, 2019

UW, Microsoft, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory establish new Northwest Quantum Nexus for a quantum revolution in science, technology

The University of Washington, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Microsoft Quantum announced this week that they have joined forces in a new coalition, the Northwest Quantum Nexus, to bring about a revolution in quantum research and technology.

March 18, 2019

Information School to welcome high school students March 19 for ‘MisInfo Day’ – from ‘Calling BS’ faculty duo

The UW Information School is taking a leading role in helping people better navigate this era of increasing online fakery and falsehood. On March 19, the school will welcome 200-some Seattle-area high school students for “MisInfo Day,” a daylong workshop on how to navigate the misinformation landscape, from Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom, the faculty duo behind “Calling BS in the Age of Big Data.”

March 14, 2019

Jackson School’s Devin Naar featured in documentary premiering March 24 at Seattle’s Jewish Film Festival

Professor Devin Naar of the UW Jackson School and Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, right, talks with Joseph F. Lovett, director of the documentary "Children of the Inquisition." The film, which Naar consulted on and appears in, will premiere at the 2019 Seattle Jewish Film Festival.

Devin Naar, UW professor of international studies and history, is featured in “Children of the Inquisition,” a new documentary film about descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions discovering their Sephardic Jewish heritage. The film will premiere March 24 as part of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival.

March 12, 2019

Eight postdoctoral researchers at the University of Washington receive awards from the Washington Research Foundation

Eight researchers at the University of Washington have been named 2019 Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows.

ARTSUW Roundup: The Bomba Experience, Seattle Symphony with UW Music Faculty, and more

This week in the arts, see In the Heart of America, experience recent augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) projects from UW students, attend a free concert with the Seattle Symphony and UW School of Music faculty, and more! In the Heart of America March 6 – 17 | Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse In the shadow of the Gulf War, a young Palestinian woman’s quest to learn what happened to her Marine brother, Remzi, leads her to a Kentuckian Marine named…

March 7, 2019

UW anthropologist connects communities to archive of Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia

This is one of dozens of photographs of Cambodian citizens, taken by journalist and UW alum Elizabeth Becker on her tour of the country in 1978. Photo of young girl in a factory

A new project by Jenna Grant, UW assistant professor of anthropology, uses an archive of photos and documents from the Khmer Rouge era — the donation of a journalist and UW alum — to help facilitate storytelling among Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans.

March 5, 2019

FASER detector at the Large Hadron Collider to seek clues about hidden matter in the universe

A computer image of a device that will detect particles in the Large Hadron Collider.

On March 5, the CERN research board approved a new experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva to search for evidence of fundamental dark matter particles. UW scientists are part of this endeavor, the Forward Search Experiment — or FASER — which seeks to answer one of the outstanding questions in particle physics: What is dark matter made of?

Reading summer camp? Study to examine how soon-to-be kindergartners are wired for literacy

A study this summer will examine how the word-recognition portion of the brain develops in preschoolers. Photo of young child sorting cards with simple words on them.

The University of Washington is launching a reading instruction study this summer, a two-week “camp” targeting children entering kindergarten in the fall that aims to teach early literacy skills and measure brain activity before and after instruction.

March 4, 2019

Fake faces: UWs ‘Calling BS’ duo opens new website asking ‘Which face is real?’

Which of these two very realistic renderings of faces is real, and which is a computer-generated fake? Biology professor Carl Bergstrom and Information School professor Jevin West -- creators of the "Calling BS" class and site -- now have a website to help you better discern between fake and real images online. Here, the image on the right is real. Check your own skills at their site, WhichFaceisReal.com

A new website from the UW’s Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom, the duo behind the popular “Calling BS” class, asks viewers to choose which of two realistic face photos is real and which is a complete fake.

ARTSUW Roundup: Opening of “In the Heart of America,” Dance Majors Concert, Emerson String Quartet, and more!

This week in the arts, attend a performance with Emerson String Quartet, partake in the Strange Coupling silent and live auction, see the film screening of “The Gold Fish Casino,” and more! In the Heart of America March 6 – 17 (previews March 2 & 5) | Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse In the shadow of the Gulf War, a young Palestinian woman’s quest to learn what happened to her Marine brother, Remzi, leads her to a Kentuckian Marine named Craver….

March 1, 2019

Video: Amarilys Ríos shares the ‘bomba’ experience

Amarilys Ríos is a professional percussionist, singer and dancer from San Juan, Puerto Rico. In this video she gives an introduction to “bomba,” an Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance tradition in which dancers lead the drummer to sound out their improvised movements. “Bomba is a way of expression and communication” with key ingredients, explains Ríos. There are bomba drums with a lead drummer, singer, dancer and chorus. “Each one is as important as the other,” she said, and all…

February 25, 2019

ARTSUW Roundup: (Im)migration: Music of Displaced People, Critical Issues Lecture with Lizzi Bougatsos, and more!

This week in the arts, attend a talk with an artist whose work stands at the crossroad of art and science, listen to music of today, see the preview of “In the Heart of American,” and more! SOLD OUT: A Conversation with Zadie Smith, Moderated by Valerie Curtis-Newton February 27, 7:30 pm | Benaroya Hall Seattle Arts & Lectures Series brings to you Zadie Smith, one of the world’s preeminent fiction and non-fiction writers. Her novels include White Teeth, The Autograph Man,…

It’s all in the twist: Physicists stack 2D materials at angles to trap particles on the nanoscale, creating a unique platform to study quantum optical physics

A depiction of single-layer semiconductors.

In a paper published Feb. 25 in the journal Nature, a University of Washington-led team of physicists report that it has developed a new system to trap individual excitons — bound pairs of electrons and their associated positive charges. Their system could form the basis of a novel experimental platform for monitoring excitons with precision and potentially developing new quantum technologies.

February 20, 2019

ArtsUW Roundup: Programs with Los Angeles-based artist Carolina Caycedo, Mark Morris Dance Group — and more

This week in the arts, see one of “[The] most successful and influential choreographer alive and indisputably the most musical (The New York Times)” on stage, have an inside look of the Ceramic and Metal Arts Building at the 3D4M Open House, and more! Gurvich Visiting Artist: Carolina Caycedo Los Angeles-based artist Carolina Caycedo will engage in a series of programs that explore the geopolitics of water, collective resistance, and regional narratives that relate to her ongoing project Be Dammed, aspects…

February 19, 2019

Climate change and national security: Jackson School to hold public discussion March 6 featuring Gov. Jay Inslee

What geopolitical challenges is global climate change creating for the national security of the United States and throughout the world? The UW’s Jackson School of International Studies will host a public panel discussion of these issues on March 6, featuring Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

February 13, 2019

Parents don’t pick favorites, at least if you’re a Magellanic penguin

Researchers at the University of Washington wanted to know how Magellanic penguin parents in South America balance the dietary demands of multiple chicks. As they report in a paper published Jan. 23 in the journal Animal Behaviour, when a Magellanic penguin parent returns to its nest with fish, the parent tries to feed each of its two chicks equal portions of food, regardless of the youngsters’ differences in age or size.

February 7, 2019

All the data in the sky, alerted via UW eyes

The Zwicky Transient Facility, based at the Palomar Observatory, has identified over a thousand new objects and phenomena in the night sky, including more than 1,100 new supernovae and 50 near-Earth asteroids. University of Washington scientists are part of the ZTF team and led the development of the collaboration’s alert system, which informs science teams of possible new objects or changes to known objects in the sky.

January 31, 2019

Iguana-sized dinosaur cousin discovered in Antarctica, shows how life at the South Pole bounced back after mass extinction

An illustration of a forest in Antarctica 250 million years ago, showing reptiles that lived there.

Scientists have just discovered a dinosaur relative that lived in Antarctica 250 million years ago. The iguana-sized reptile’s genus name, Antarctanax, means “Antarctic king.”

January 28, 2019

UW’s Stroum Center affiliates present on Holocaust, Ladino archives and more at 50th anniversary Jewish studies conference

The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, was well represented at the 50th annual conference of the Association for Jewish Studies Dec. 16-18 in Boston.

January 22, 2019

UW books in brief: Healthy travel, Hebrew in America, principals supporting teachers and more

Recent notable books by University of Washington faculty members explore the importance of Hebrew to modern America, remember the 1919 Seattle General Strike and look at issues in education, among other topics. Practical advice for healthy travel, near or far A new book by Dr. Christopher Sanford offers simple, practical recommendations for those traveling near or far, short or long term, for work or recreation, to “destinations ranging from rural areas to large cities, in both developing and industrialized…

January 16, 2019

ArtsUW Roundup: Guest Artist Recital, Preview and Opening of Rutherford and Son, and more

This week in the arts, partake in an exhibition opening with Danny Giles, the 2019 Jacob Lawrence Legacy Resident, attend the preview of a School of Drama production, and more! Guest Artist Recital Tony Cho, Piano and David Bowlin, Violin January 17, 7:30 PM| Brechmin Auditorium Oberlin Conservatory colleagues Tony Cho, piano, and David Bowlin, violin, perform duo arrangements of chamber music repertoire. Cho, a former piano student of UW professor Craig Sheppard, completed a DMA in piano performance at the…

January 10, 2019

Astronomers find signatures of a ‘messy’ star that made its companion go supernova

An image of a galaxy in outer space, with a bright supernova visible at its outer edge.

On Jan. 10 at the 2019 American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, an international team of astronomers announced that they have identified the type of companion star that made its partner in a binary system, a carbon-oxygen white dwarf star, explode. Through repeated observations of SN 2015cp, a supernova 545 million light years away, the team detected hydrogen-rich debris that the companion star had shed prior to the explosion.

January 8, 2019

Triangulum Galaxy shows stunning face in detailed Hubble portrait

As part of a University of Washington-led project, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has produced a stunningly detailed portrait of the Triangulum Galaxy, displaying a full spiral face aglow with the light of nearly 25 million individually resolved stars.

January 2, 2019

The number of single male Magellanic penguins is rising at this breeding colony. Here’s why.

A curious Magellanic penguin looking into the camera lens

Female Magellanic penguins are more likely to die at sea as juveniles, which has caused a skewed sex ratio of nearly three adult males to every female, as well as population decline of more than 40 percent since 1987 at one of their largest breeding colonies — Punta Tombo in Argentina.

How economic theory and the Netflix Prize could make research funding more efficient

In a paper published Jan. 2 in PLOS Biology, two scientists at the University of Washington and North Carolina State University use the economic theory of contests to illustrate how the competitive grant-application system has made the pursuit of research funding inefficient and unsustainable — and that alternative methods, such as a partial lottery to award grants, could relieve pressure on professors and free up time for research.

December 24, 2018

New global migration estimates show rates proportionally steady since 1990, high rate of return migration

Two University of Washington scientists have unveiled a new statistical method for estimating migration flows between countries. They show that rates of migration are higher than previously thought, but also relatively stable, fluctuating between 1.1 and 1.3 percent of global population from 1990 to 2015. In addition, since 1990 approximately 45 percent of migrants have returned to their home countries, a much higher estimate than other methods.

December 13, 2018

Hark! UW talents — on page and disc — for the good Dawgs on your holiday shopping list

As the year comes to a close and festivities abound, some UW faculty creations can make great gifts for the thinking Dawg on your giving list.

December 12, 2018

Arts Roundup: Visit the Henry Art Gallery, see Clotilde Jiménez’s exhibition, and attend the last event of the year at the Burke

End 2018 artfully by visiting the Henry Art Gallery, seeing Clotilde Jiménez’s “Apple of My Eye” before it closes, and ringing in the new year and at the same time – saying goodbye – to the old Burke Museum! Visit the Henry Art Gallery The Henry is internationally recognized for bold and challenging exhibitions, for pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and culture, and for being the first to premiere new works by established and emerging artists. Enjoy, learn, and be…

Teens get more sleep, show improved grades and attendance with later school start time, researchers find

In 2016, Seattle Public Schools pushed back the start times for the district’s 18 high schools by 55 minutes, from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. And as hoped, teenagers used the extra time to sleep in.