The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs again were recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate Schools released late Monday.
Tag: College of the Environment
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.
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.
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.
Researchers tracked ravens and wolves in Yellowstone National Park for two and half years to show that ravens do not follow wolves to scavenge their prey but instead remember where wolves often kill and monitor these sites for fresh meat.
Spring is here, which in Seattle, means cherry blossoms. The UW’s iconic display — featuring 29 Yoshino cherry trees — is set to peak around March 20 this year. Check out the cherry blossom visitors’ website to learn more.
A new study examining 13 years of ground motion data from sites near the Cascadia Subduction Zone shows that the entirety of the fault may not be as tightly locked as researchers thought, which could change our understanding of how a big earthquake might hit the Pacific Northwest.
Five University of Washington faculty members have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
NASA announced on Thursday last week that both the University of Washington STRIVE team and the UW-affiliated EDGE team were selected to lead satellite missions to better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.
A University of Washington study shows that existing models underestimate methane loss in the stratosphere and generate uncertainty in the global methane budget — a key metric for tracking climate change.
The University of Washington was awarded $2.5 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to fund 16 postdoctoral fellows in a number of fields across the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of the Environment.
University of Washington researchers show that wildfire is increasingly impacting lands managed under the Northwest Forest Plan, a seminal measure enacted in 1994 to preserve habitat for endangered species.
Rivers cover more than 4 million miles of the U.S., but protections for rivers are piecemeal, accounting for less than 20% of total river length and varying widely by region, shows a new study co-led by the University of Washington.
The American Geophysical Union honored five University of Washington faculty and researchers from the departments of Earth and space sciences and atmospheric and climate science this week for their valuable researcher contributions.
More than a decade ago, data from the Cassini mission to Saturn suggested that the planet’s largest moon, Titan, had a vast ocean of liquid water below its frozen surface. In a new study, UW researchers teamed up with NASA scientists to show that the interior is likely composed of slushy layers instead.
In a new study, University of Washington researchers collected salmon DNA in air filters near a stream, showing that eDNA can move between air and water, a possibility scientists hadn’t accounted for that opens new avenues for monitoring aquatic species.
“The Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice” — a documentary film featuring Eric Steig, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences — tells the story of a U.S. military and research base established in Greenland during the Cold War, and how the samples collected there are driving modern climate science. The film is now available on YouTube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
The University of Washington is proud to announce that 56 faculty and researchers who completed their work while at UW have been named on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list from Clarivate.
The Northeastern Pacific Ocean is becoming more acidic faster than other oceans as the water absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and natural processes feed carbon dioxide up from the deep. The rate of CO2 accumulation is outpacing atmospheric rises and driving acidity to new extremes.
A new University of Washington-led study shows that space dust sandwiched between layers of sediment tells scientists where and when ice covered the Arctic, and what happened to marine life when it disappeared.
New University of Washington-led research attributes accelerated warming to reduced cloud reflectivity. As efforts to improve air quality have reduced pollution, clouds became less mirror-like, letting more solar radiation reach Earth and revealing the true impact of greenhouse gases.
In the wake of One Ocean Week Seattle, participating University of Washington researchers share highlights, connecting the week’s events to ongoing efforts to understand and protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
A new collaborative study led by scientists at the University of Washington and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science proposes that a tsunami struck the Caribbean island of Anegada between 1381 and 1391, carrying huge coral boulders inland and leaving behind a valuable record of geologic and climatic history.
A new analysis of data from the Cassini space probe has identified organic compounds within jets of water ice erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Some of the compounds, which likely originated in Enceladus’ subsurface ocean, have never before been identified on another world beyond Earth. The study, conducted in part by a UW researcher, contributes to mounting evidence that Enceladus could support life.
Bee experts wouldn’t have previously expected to find the likes of Osmia cyaneonitens, Dufourea dilatipes and Stelis heronae in Washington. But this year, while collecting pollinators in Chelan County to study how climate and wildfires affect native bee populations, Autumn Maust, a University of Washington research scientist of biology, discovered eight bee species never recorded in Washington.
University of Washington researchers found, in historical whaling data, that longer baleen whale mothers were more likely to birth female calves than males. These results run contrary to a leading evolutionary theory that suggests that fit mothers will benefit more from male offspring.
Antarctic ice is melting at a startling pace, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. Researchers thought westerly winds were accelerating ice loss, but a new study from UW flips the narrative by 90 degrees, pointing instead to winds from the north.
Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.
New findings call into question one of the core assumptions about teeth. Adult male spotted ratfish, a shark-like species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, have rows of teeth on top of their heads, lining a cartilaginous appendage called the tenaculum, in addition to those in their jaws. They used their tenaculum teeth to grip females while mating in water.
The positive impact of Big Ten universities across the Pacific Northwest and around the nation will be highlighted in a new 30-second ad that will air during sporting events featuring conference members, starting with this week’s season-opening football games. The ad – entitled “We Are Here” – will air alongside the fan-favorite “Maps” spot. The new spot focuses on how the University of Washington and other Big Ten universities make America healthier, safer and more prosperous in a variety of…
The University of Washington’s College of the Environment will expand its work related to climate solutions thanks to a grant announced today from Fund for Science and Technology, FFST, a new foundation within the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem.
New research shows that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred 100 million years later than previously thought, aligning with the growth and spread of land plants. Once oxygenated, the ocean hosted rapid animal evolution, leading to the rise of modern vertebrates.
University of Washington researchers use AI to simulate the Earth’s current climate and interannual variability for up to 1,000 years. The model runs on a single processor and takes just 12 hours to generate a forecast.
A UW-led team of researchers used a fiber-optic cable to capture calving dynamics across the fjord of the Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat glacier in South Greenland. This allowed them to document — without getting too close — one of the key processes that is accelerating the rate of glacial mass loss and in turn, threatening the stability of ice sheets, with consequences for global ocean currents and local ecosystems.
An international research effort, including scientists from the University of Washington, has finally revealed the cause of sea star wasting disease: a strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida.
University of Washington researchers showed that they can monitor seismic activity at the ocean floor using fiber optic cables without disrupting telecommunications. They developed this technique in Alaska and then tested it off the coast of Oregon.
Kendall Valentine, an assistant professor of oceanography at University of Washington, along with collaborators from the University of Rhode Island and the Desert Research Institute are traveling to Anchorage and the Copper River Delta to study marshes that formed in the years following the 1964 earthquake.
University of Washington Provost Tricia R. Serio announced that Joel Thornton has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of the Environment, effective July 1, until a new permanent dean is selected.
Four University of Washington researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2025-2026 and will pursue studies in Spain, Taiwan, Poland and Japan.