David Briggs, professor emeritus of environmental and forest sciences, will be remembered Sunday, Aug. 17 at the University of Washington Club.
August 8, 2014
The latest news from the UW
Ancient shellfish remains rewrite 10,000-year history of El Niño cycles
Piles of ancient shells provide the first reliable long-term record for the powerful driver of year-to-year climate changes. Results show that the El Niños 10,000 years ago were as strong and frequent as they are today.
August 7, 2014
Ocean’s most oxygen-deprived zones to shrink under climate change
Predictions that the lowest-oxygen environments in the ocean will get worse may not come to pass. UW research shows climate change, by weakening the trade winds, will shrink these extremely low-oxygen waters.
Rebuilding part of the Large Hadron Collider – with Legos
UW students used Legos to build a replica of the Atlas detector, part of the Large Hadron Collider that made physics history. (With video)
August 6, 2014
Penguins at risk world over, scientists urge new strategies
Scientists writing in the current issue of Conservation Biology call for marine protected areas and partially protected areas to help penguins cope.
August 5, 2014
Funding approval a big step forward for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
With a key funding approval, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, an international astronomy project of which the University of Washington is a founding member, is taking a major step toward becoming a reality.
August 4, 2014
No-power Wi-Fi connectivity could fuel Internet of Things reality
University of Washington engineers have designed a new communication system that uses radio frequency signals as a power source and reuses existing Wi-Fi infrastructure to provide Internet connectivity to battery-free devices.
August 1, 2014
Determination of non-significance — UW Police Department Facility
University of Washington — Determination of non-significance (DNS) Project Name: UW Police Department Facility Description of Proposal: Construction of a proposed three-story (two above-grade levels plus a basement), approximately 29,241-gross square foot building. The building would provide space for approximately 93 staff members and would include offices, a dispatch/communications center, records storage, identification lab, evidence storage, locker/fitness rooms, conference rooms, community multipurpose/training rooms and fleet parking. Proponent: University of Washington Location of Proposal: 3939 15th Avenue NE The site is…
A unique lab class: UW students explore nation’s largest dam removal
A spring research apprenticeship course had nine undergraduates living at Friday Harbor Labs and studying what will happen to sediment released by dam removals on the Elwha River.
July 31, 2014
Rovy Branon named vice provost for UW Educational Outreach
University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today the selection of Rovy Branon as the new vice provost for UW Educational Outreach, effective Oct. 15, 2014. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. “Rovy Branon’s prior leadership experiences make him uniquely qualified for this important leadership position,” UW Provost Ana Mari Cauce said. “There is wide ranging consensus that his values, vision, and goals are similar to those of…
Companion planets can increase old worlds’ chance at life
Having a companion in old age is good for people — and, it turns out, might extend the chance for life on certain Earth-sized planets in the cosmos as well.
July 30, 2014
Availability of a draft environmental impact statement — Animal Research and Care Facility
Project Name: Animal Research and Care Facility (ARCF) Proponent: University of Washington Description: The University is proposing to construct a new state of the art” two-story below-grade structure approximately 96,000 square feet of building development to replace currently non-compliant facilities and provide centralized holding and procedure space for the Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM) and the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC). Below-grade development would also include an expanded loading dock that would contain an access corridor to link the…
Dissolvable fabric loaded with medicine might offer faster protection against HIV
University of Washington bioengineers have discovered a potentially faster way to deliver a topical drug that protects women from contracting HIV. Their method spins the drug into silk-like fibers that quickly dissolve when in contact with moisture, releasing higher doses of the drug than possible with other materials.
July 29, 2014
UW sophomore part of America’s Got Talent tonight
A UW student takes center stage on America’s Got Talent. (With video)
Huge waves measured for first time in Arctic Ocean
The first measurements of waves in the middle of the Arctic Ocean recorded house-sized waves during a September 2012 storm. More sensors are going out this summer to study waves in newly ice-free Arctic waters.
Health Sciences News Digest 7.29.2014
News from the UW Health Sciences: Alzheimer’s impact on our aging population, hunger cues, trauma treatment study, avoiding burnout, training new neuroscientists, an AIDS-free generation
July 28, 2014
UW alum, Bremerton native wins global architecture award
World-renowned architect and UW alumnus Steven Holl recently received a 2014 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award in architecture, joining the likes of I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry and Rem Koolhaas.
More than half of new state academy of sciences members are UW faculty
The Washington State Academy of Sciences has added 18 new members, 10 from the University of Washington.
New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer’s, related diseases
University of Washington bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body’s normal proteins into a state that’s linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
July 25, 2014
News Digest: Honors: Christopher Adolph and Ruth Johnston
Compiled by the Office of News and Information.
Budget or bust: Primer on public finance teaches government officials the basics
Many newly elected or appointed officials arrive knowing next to nothing about public finance. That’s why Justin Marlowe of the Evans School of Public Affairs wrote this basic guide to public finance.
July 23, 2014
Historical guide ‘Shaping Seattle Architecture’ returns in second edition
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, UW professor of architecture, discusses the second edition of “Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects.” Ochsner edited both editions, working with a five-person editorial board.
July 22, 2014
University of Washington named ‘Great College to Work For’
UW is recognized as a “Great College to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Oso disaster had its roots in earlier landslides
The UW is part of a new study that shows the disastrous landslide that killed 43 people at Oso, Washington, involved the “remobilization” of a 2006 landslide in the same place.
July 21, 2014
Sean D. Sullivan named dean of UW School of Pharmacy
University of Washington President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced Monday the selection of Sean D. Sullivan as the new dean of the UW School of Pharmacy, effective Sept. 15. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents. “Dr. Sullivan occupies a very prominent position nationally and internationally in pharmacy practice and education,” said Cauce. “We have had the great good fortune to have him on our faculty for the past 22 years….
July 18, 2014
Sloan Digital Sky Survey — including UW — now to view entire sky
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a consortium of institutions of which the University of Washington is part, will soon expand its view to see the entire sky, and even peer into the Milky Way’s galactic center.
July 17, 2014
Geophysicists prep for massive ‘ultrasound’ of Mount St. Helens
Dozens of geophysicists and volunteers will deploy 3,500 seismic sensors at Mount St. Helens next week in an unprecedented study of the volcano’s plumbing.
July 16, 2014
Tracking the breakup of Arctic summer sea ice
An international team has placed sensors on and under Arctic sea ice to monitor this season’s retreat. Scientists hope to understand the physics of the ice edge in order to predict summer conditions in the Arctic Ocean.
July 15, 2014
Sustainable, sharing communities explored in Karen Litfin’s book ‘Ecovillages’
UW political scientist Karen Litfin spent a year traveling to 14 ecovillages worldwide in researching her book “Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community.”
Brain responses to emotional images predict PTSD symptoms after Boston Marathon bombing
By using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans from before the attack and survey data from after, the researchers found that heightened amygdala reaction to negative emotional stimuli was a risk factor for later developing symptoms of PTSD.
July 14, 2014
Months before their first words, babies’ brains rehearse speech mechanics
Research from UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences shows that in 7- and 11-month-old infants speech sounds stimulate areas of the brain that coordinate and plan motor movements for speech.
July 11, 2014
University of Washington sees record-breaking fundraising in 2013-14
Donors contributed more money — more than $482 million — to the UW in the 2013-14 fiscal year than in any previous year.
July 10, 2014
Students calculate future sea-level rise in Olympia
Students in a UW statistics course did a case study on sea-level rise in Olympia. All are co-authors on a new paper that looks at the uncertainties around estimates of rising seas.
UW business incubator gets top spot in global ranking
The UW’s New Ventures Facility has been named emerging incubator of the year in a global ranking of top university business incubators.
July 9, 2014
Arts Roundup: Exhibits, theater and Burke’s Summer Festival
Summer is here and with that comes a vibrant local arts scene. In this special issue, we highlight events not only on the UW’s Seattle campus but also events in the community that involve our talented students, faculty and alumni.
July 8, 2014
Documents that Changed the World: Rules of Association Football (soccer), 1863
Joe Janes explores the rules of “an ancient and sometimes dangerous game, now generally regarded as the most popular sport in the world.”
Better visualizing of fitness-app data helps discover trends, reach goals
University of Washington researchers have developed visual tools to help self-trackers understand their daily activity patterns over a longer period and in more detail. They found people had an easier time meeting personal fitness and activity goals when they could see their data presented in a broader, more visual way.
July 3, 2014
Board of Regents — July 10 meeting
The Board of Regents will hold meetings Thursday, July 10. The Board meetings will take place in the Bill & Melinda Gates Commons, CSE Room 691, Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering. The first committee meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. The Regular Board meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:05 a.m. The full schedule and agendas are available online.
July 2, 2014
‘I see it, learn it and do it’: A peek into the lives of some of UW’s online students
Forty-nine students from eight states are part of the inaugural group of Huskies in the UW’s first online bachelor’s degree completion program in early childhood and family studies.
July 1, 2014
Victor Balta becomes director of UW Office of News and Information
The former news planning editor for Aljazeera.com, the online home of Al Jazeera America cable news channel, is the new director of the Office of News and Information.