College of Engineering
December 19, 2019
Mindful travel, Silicon Valley’s evolution, Schumann on viola, Seattle history — UW-authored books, music for the Husky on your list
A teacher discusses respectful world travel, a historian explores Silicon Valley’s evolution, a professor and violist plays the music of Robert Schumann and a late English faculty member’s meditation on Seattle returns … Here’s a quick look at some gift-worthy books and music created by UW faculty in the last year — and a…
December 16, 2019
Faculty/staff honors: Distinguished teaching honor, new editor for environmental health journal, overseeing education in Uganda, Allen School honors
Recent honors to UW faculty and staff include the new editorship of a major journal, a post with the Republic of Uganda and honors from the American College of Physicians, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
December 9, 2019
Brian Johnson receives $4.9 million from U.S. Department of Energy to support solar energy systems
Brian Johnson, assistant professor in the UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, has received a $4.9 million grant across three years from the U.S. Department of Energy.
December 6, 2019
Astronomy fellowship demonstrates effective measures to dismantle bias, increase diversity in STEM
Joyce Yen — director of the University of Washington’s ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change, an NSF-funded body to promote female STEM faculty on campus — recently worked with the Heising-Simons Foundation to dismantle bias and promote diversity in a prominent grant that the Foundation awards to postdoctoral researchers in planetary science. In this Q&A, Yen shares the many, sometimes counterintuitive ways bias can work against goals toward greater diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields.
December 4, 2019
Warmer temperatures will increase arsenic levels in rice, study shows
UW researchers have found that warmer temperatures, at levels expected under most climate change projections, can lead to higher concentrations of arsenic in rice grains.
December 3, 2019
Communities around Sea-Tac Airport exposed to a unique mix of air pollution associated with aircraft
Communities underneath and downwind of jets landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are exposed to a type of ultrafine particle pollution that is distinctly associated with aircraft, according to a new University of Washington study, the first to identify the unique signature of aircraft emissions in the state of Washington. The finding comes from the two-year…
December 2, 2019
Grants awarded: Speeding the engineering life cycle with data science; developing literacy interventions for students with intellectual disabilities; preventing depression among young women
UW faculty members Roxanne Hudson and Magdalena Balazinska have received grants for research to be conducted over the next few years.
Carpentry Compiler helps woodworkers design objects that they can actually make
UW researchers have created Carpentry Compiler, a digital tool that allows users to design woodworking projects. Once a project is designed, the tool creates optimized fabrication instructions based on the materials and equipment a user has available.
November 27, 2019
A method with roots in AI uncovers how humans make choices in groups and social media
Using a mathematical framework with roots in artificial intelligence and robotics, UW researchers were able to uncover the process of how a person makes choices in groups. And, they also found they were able to predict a person’s choice more often than more traditional descriptive methods.
November 20, 2019
Emissions from electricity generation lead to disproportionate number of premature deaths for some racial groups
UW researchers have found that air pollution from electricity generation emissions in 2014 led to about 16,000 premature deaths in the continental U.S. In many states, the majority of the health impacts came from emissions originating in other states.
November 15, 2019
UW aerospace engineer part of $1.7M grant to study corals
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from multiple institutions — including the University of Washington — has received a two-year $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant to study coral growth.
November 5, 2019
Fall storms, coastal erosion focus of northern Alaska research cruise
A University of Washington team is leaving to study how fall storms, dwindling sea ice and vulnerable coastlines might combine in a changing Arctic.
November 4, 2019
Single discrimination events alter college students’ daily behavior
UW researchers aimed to understand both the prevalence of discrimination events and how these events affect college students in their daily lives. Over the course of two academic quarters, the team compared students’ self-reports of unfair treatment to passively tracked changes in daily activities, such as hours slept, steps taken or time spent on the phone.
Light-based ‘tractor beam’ assembles materials at the nanoscale
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a method that could make reproducible manufacturing at the nanoscale possible. The team adapted a light-based technology employed widely in biology — known as optical traps or optical tweezers — to operate in a water-free liquid environment of carbon-rich organic solvents, thereby enabling new potential applications.
October 29, 2019
Popular third-party genetic genealogy site is vulnerable to compromised data, impersonations
UW researchers have found that the third-party genealogy site GEDmatch is vulnerable to multiple kinds of security risks.
October 23, 2019
UW team sending autonomous surfboard to explore Antarctic waters
This week a UW team is releasing a robotic surfboard to explore the surface ocean around Antarctica.
October 15, 2019
First smart speaker system that uses white noise to monitor infants’ breathing
UW researchers have developed a new smart speaker skill that lets a device use white noise to both soothe sleeping babies and monitor their breathing and movement.
October 7, 2019
How bike sharing in Seattle rose from the ashes of Pronto’s failure
University of Washington transportation researchers looked into why the docked bike-share program Pronto failed while dockless bike sharing has been so successful.
October 4, 2019
New metasurface design can control optical fields in three dimensions
A team led by scientists at the University of Washington has designed and tested a 3D-printed metamaterial that can manipulate light with nanoscale precision. As they report in a paper published Oct. 4 in the journal Science Advances, their designed optical element focuses light to discrete points in a 3D helical pattern.
October 1, 2019
Engineering lecture series focuses on future of food
This fall the University of Washington’s annual engineering lecture series will feature three UW engineers and scientists who are working across disciplines to manage the quality and quantity of the food we eat and grow.
September 19, 2019
Plasma flow near sun’s surface explains sunspots, other solar phenomena
A new model for plasma flow within the sun provides novel explanations for sunspots, the 11-year sunspot cycle, solar magnetic reversals and other previously unexplained solar phenomena.
September 16, 2019
Americans would rather drive themselves to work than have an autonomous vehicle drive them, study says
Are you willing to ride in a driverless car? Researchers at the University of Washington studied how Americans’ perceived cost of commute time changes depending on who’s driving.
August 21, 2019
3 UW graduate students earn NASA fellowships, continue legacy of success
Three University of Washington graduate students are among this year’s recipients of a prestigious NASA fellowship that funds student research projects in the fields of Earth and planetary sciences and astrophysics.
August 20, 2019
New tools to minimize risks in shared, augmented-reality environments
UW security researchers have created ShareAR, a toolkit that lets developers build collaborative and interactive features into AR apps without sacrificing their users’ privacy and security.
August 19, 2019
How ergonomic is your warehouse job? Soon, an app might be able to tell you
Researchers at the UW have used machine learning to develop a new system that can monitor factory and warehouse workers and tell them how ergonomic their jobs are in real time.
August 16, 2019
ArtsUW Roundup: Creating Alternative Worlds, Bulrusher, Final Week of James Coupe: Exercises in Passivity and more!
In the arts, celebrate the accomplishments of the 2019 Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities program’s undergraduate researchers in “Creating Alternative Worlds,” attend Bulrusher – an Intiman Theatre production directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton at the Jones Playhouse, drop into the Library for the Fourth Wednesday Concert Series featuring Brian Schappals and more! Creating Alternative…
August 13, 2019
Dr. Nancy Allbritton named dean of UW’s College of Engineering
Dr. Nancy Allbritton has been named the next Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Washington Provost Mark Richards announced today. Allbritton’s appointment, set to begin Nov. 1, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.
August 12, 2019
First cells on ancient Earth may have emerged because building blocks of proteins stabilized membranes
Scientists have discovered that the building blocks of proteins can stabilize cell membranes. This finding may explain how the first cells emerged from the primordial soup billions of years ago: The protein building blocks could have stabilized cell membranes against salt and ions that were present in ancient oceans. In addition, membranes may have been a site for these precursor molecules to co-localize, a potential mechanism to explain what brought together the ingredients for life.
August 9, 2019
Artificial intelligence could yield more accurate breast cancer diagnoses
Researchers at UW and UCLA have developed an artificial intelligence system that could help pathologists read biopsies more accurately, and lead to better detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.
August 8, 2019
UW, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley receive $5M NSF award to simplify researcher access to public clouds
The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $5 million grant to the University of California, San Diego, the University of Washington and the University of California, Berkeley to develop CloudBank, a suite of managed services to simplify public cloud access for computer science research and education.
July 29, 2019
Stressed at school? Art therapy reduces teenage girls’ headaches
In a pilot study led by the UW, researchers explored art-based mindfulness activities that schools could use to reduce headaches, a common side effect of stress in adolescent girls. After three weeks of twice-weekly mindfulness and art therapy sessions, eight teenage girls reported experiencing significantly fewer headaches.
July 22, 2019
University of Washington to create UW Center for an Informed Public with $5 million investment from Knight Foundation
The University of Washington today announced a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create the UW Center for an Informed Public, led by an interdisciplinary group whose mission is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse. The Center is also funded by a $600,000 award from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
July 18, 2019
François Baneyx named director of UW’s CoMotion and Interim Vice Provost for Innovation
François Baneyx has been named the new director of CoMotion and Interim Vice Provost of Innovation at the University of Washington, Provost Mark Richards announced today. Baneyx fills a position formerly held by Vikram Jandhyala, who died in March. “François is a respected researcher, teacher and innovator with connections throughout academia and industry, as well…
July 17, 2019
First-ever visualizations of electrical gating effects on electronic structure could lead to longer-lasting devices
Scientists have visualized the electronic structure in a microelectronic device for the first time, opening up opportunities for finely tuned, high-performance electronic devices. Physicists from the University of Washington and the University of Warwick developed a technique to measure the energy and momentum of electrons in operating microelectronic devices made of atomically thin — so-called 2D — materials.
Magdalena Balazinska named director of UW’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Magdalena Balazinska has been named the new director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2020, and is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.
July 16, 2019
8 UW professors elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2019
Eight scientists and engineers from the University of Washington have been elected this year to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
July 9, 2019
UW professors to receive 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Six University of Washington professors are to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, according to an announcement July 2 from the White House. The award, also known as the PECASE, is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early-career scientists and engineers “who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.”
July 1, 2019
How you and your friends can play a video game together using only your minds
UW researchers created a method for two people help a third person solve a task using only their minds.
June 19, 2019
Partnerships for Impact: NSF Awards an additional $4M to the West Big Data Innovation Hub co-led by the UW eScience Institute
The National Science Foundation is awarding a second round of funding for the Regional Big Data Innovation Hubs — organizations launched in 2015 to build and strengthen data science partnerships across industry, academia, nonprofits and government to address scientific and societal challenges. The University of Washington, in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Diego, will continue to coordinate the West Big Data Innovation Hub.
‘Alexa, monitor my heart’: Researchers develop first contactless cardiac arrest AI system for smart speakers
UW researchers have developed a new tool to monitor people for cardiac arrest while they’re asleep — all without touching them. The tool is essentially an app for a smart speaker or a smartphone that allows it to detect the signature sounds of cardiac arrest and call for help.
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