UW News

The latest news from the UW


April 8, 2022

UW professors show that Japanese democracy is ‘flourishing’ as co-editors of first Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics

Robert and Saadia Pekkanen, both professors in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, are co-editors of the first Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics, published online in September 2020 and in print in January 2022. They worked with dozens of collaborators around the world to add the topic to the respected collection of Oxford Handbooks that presents surveys of original research.

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April 7, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Beauty That Saved Their World: Ukrainian Women’s Arts and Crafts in the Soviet Gulag, Jeremy Denk, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Faculty Recital: Melia Watras: Song: An Endless Flight April 11, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall Violist/composer Melia Watras is joined onstage by narrator Shelia Daniels, violinist…

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UW documentary chronicles story of tree poacher accused of starting 2018 fire

A new documentary from University of Washington professors Lynn M. Thomas and Daniel Hoffman tells the story of a man accused of starting a wildfire while illegally removing trees from the Olympic National Forest.

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April 6, 2022

UW recognized as leader in sustainability by STARS

The University of Washington once again has been recognized as a sustainability leader by the ​​Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

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UW-housed RAPID Facility receives $6M renewal grant

The first-of-its-kind center has received a $6 million renewal grant from the National Science Foundation.

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April 4, 2022

Q&A: From the Philippines to the US, analyzing a global political shift to the right

In his book “The Sovereign Trickster,” University of Washington history professor Vicente L. Rafael examines the authoritarian rule of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and tries to make sense of a global shift to the political right.

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Researchers find patterns of handgun carrying among youth in rural areas, building foundation for injury prevention

The first results of research led by the University of Washington into handgun carrying by young people growing up in rural areas has found six distinct patterns for when and how often these individuals carry a handgun. The patterns, or “longitudinal trajectories,” suggest that youths in rural areas differ in some ways from their urban…

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April 1, 2022

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

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.

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March 31, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Perspectives on Cosmopolitan Istanbul in the Hit Netflix Series, “The Club”, School of Art + Art History + Design Graduation Exhibitions, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  School of Art + Art History + Design Graduation Exhibitions Ongoing| Jacob Lawrence Art Gallery Join the School of Art + Art History +…

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March 30, 2022

Faculty/staff honors: Student union association’s highest honor, supplier diversity award and more

Recent recognition of the  includes the Butts-Whiting Award for L. Lincoln Johnson, INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine’s Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award, Ben Brunjes’ fellowship with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Policy Planning and Liaison, and the recognition of Yong Wei as a NOAA Ambassador of Tsunami Risk Assessment.

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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.

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March 29, 2022

Scientists identify overgrowth of key brain structure in babies who later develop autism

New research from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) Network, which includes the University of Washington, finds that the amygdala, an area of the brain critical for interpreting emotions, grows too rapidly in infants who go on to develop autism.

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UW announces John and Rosalind Jacobi Family Endowed Deanship in the College of Built Environments

The University of Washington today announced the establishment of the John and Rosalind Jacobi Family Endowed Deanship in the College of Built Environments, strengthening the school’s vision of a more just and beautiful world for all.

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March 28, 2022

UW graduate and professional disciplines again place high in US News’ best graduate school rankings

The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Graduate School rankings released Tuesday.

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Sherri Berdine named UW’s Director of Tribal Relations

Sherri Berdine has been named Director of Tribal Relations at the University of Washington, UW Vice President for External Affairs Randy Hodgins announced Monday. Berdine’s appointment is effective March 28.

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Solar energy explains fast yearly retreat of Antarctica’s sea ice

Sea ice around Antarctica retreats more quickly than it advances, an asymmetry that has been a puzzle. New analysis shows that the Southern Hemisphere is following simple rules of physics, as peak midsummer sun causes rapid changes. In this respect, it seems, it’s Arctic sea ice that is more mysterious.

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March 21, 2022

UW expert: Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings ‘will hold a mirror up to this nation’

LaTaSha Levy, assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington, and Elizabeth Porter, interim dean of the UW School of Law, offer perspectives on the nomination and confirmation process of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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March 18, 2022

Urbanization is driving evolution of plants globally, study finds

A study led by evolutionary biologists at multiple institutions, including the University of Washington, focuses on a specific plant in examining whether parallel evolution is occurring in cities all over the world.

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March 17, 2022

New volume on gender-neutral language sheds light on political controversy in France

In France, a political controversy arose when a gender-neutral pronoun was added to a respected dictionary. This controversy made a new volume co-edited by the UW’s Louisa Mackenzie especially relevant. It describes how nonbinary French speakers are changing their language to reflect their identity.

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ArtSci Roundup: Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT, Life in One Cubic Foot, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Donna Huanca: MAGMA SLIT Opens April 2 | Henry Art Gallery Bolivian-American artist Donna Huanca creates work that destabilizes the male gaze while exploring…

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March 16, 2022

Tiny battery-free devices float in the wind like dandelion seeds

Inspired by how dandelions use the wind to distribute their seeds, a University of Washington team has developed a tiny sensor-carrying device that can be blown by the wind as it tumbles toward the ground.

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March 15, 2022

UW professor’s new book presents opportunity to ‘rethink housing’

A new book by Gregg Colburn, assistant professor of real estate at the UW, explores the factors that drive homelessness, and the cultural and economic shift that can ultimately benefit all — housed and unhoused.

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March 14, 2022

UW Regents approve milestone development in new Portage Bay Crossing area on Seattle campus

The University of Washington Board of Regents last week approved the development plan for the first major project in the UW’s newly named Portage Bay Crossing area on the west side of the Seattle campus. The Regents approved a ground lease of the property at Site W27 to Wexford Science + Technology and a lease of building space by the University.

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Q&A: Preserving context and user intent in the future of web search

In a new perspective paper, University of Washington professors Emily M. Bender and Chirag Shah respond to proposals that reimagine web search as an application for large language model-driven conversation agents.

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March 11, 2022

Statement from UW President on tragic deaths of two UW community members

The following is a statement from University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce following the news that a UW professor and a UW staff member were killed while diving off the coast of Mexico over the weekend.

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March 10, 2022

Newest satellite data shows remarkable decline in Arctic sea ice over just three years

In the past 20 years, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, and winter sea ice in the Arctic has lost about a foot and a half of thickness over just the past three years. This thinning is largely due to loss of older, multiyear sea ice that is more resistant to melting.

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ArtSci Roundup: Re/frame: Orange, Sharon Isbin, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Re/frame: Orange March 17, 12:00 PM | Online Orange can symbolize power, danger, excitement, and enlightenment. In different contexts, orange evokes images ranging…

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Gordon Stuart Peek, UW alumnus who donated Gerberding and Kane bells, dies at 96

Gordon Stuart Peek, a University of Washington alumnus who donated the bells that sit on two sides of Red Square, died peacefully at his home on March 2, 2022. He was 96.

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

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.

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March 9, 2022

More air pollution present in areas with historical redlining

A team of researchers at the UW and UC Berkeley has found that housing discrimination practices dating from the 1930s still drive air pollution disparities in hundreds of American cities today.

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March 8, 2022

O-pH, a new UW dental tool prototype, can spot the acidic conditions that lead to cavities

You and your dentist have a lot of tools and techniques for stopping cavities, but detecting the specific chemical conditions that can lead to cavities and then preventing them from ever getting started is much harder. Now, in a new study, University of Washington researchers have shown that a dental tool they created can measure…

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March 7, 2022

How Black Lives Matter protests sparked interest, can lead to change

A new study by the University of Washington and Indiana University finds that the growing use of anti-racist terms shows how Black Lives Matter has shifted the conversation around racism, raising awareness of issues and laying the foundation for social change.

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March 4, 2022

Ukrainian American professor shares insights on ‘gut-wrenching’ events in Ukraine

Laada Bilaniuk is a professor of anthropology at the whose expertise is Ukrainian culture and society. The daughter of Ukrainian Americans, she shares insights on the Ukrainian people who are resisting, how the conflict relates to the use of language and the perspective of the local Ukrainian community.

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March 3, 2022

Mindfulness meditation can reduce guilt, leading to unintended negative social consequences

Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management practice with ancient lineage that cultivates nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, often by directing attention to the physical sensations of breathing. Initially inspired by centuries-old Buddhist practices consisting of philosophies and meditations together, today a secular version of mindfulness — consisting of meditations alone — is becoming increasingly popular.

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Moon jellies appear to be gobbling up zooplankton in Puget Sound

University of Washington-led research suggests moon jellies are feasting on zooplankton, the various tiny animals that drift with the currents, in the bays they inhabit. This could affect other hungry marine life, like juvenile salmon or herring — especially if predictions are correct and climate change will favor fast-growing jellyfish.

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March 2, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, Space Between: Photographs from the Collection, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band March 8, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall The UW Wind Ensemble (Timothy Salzman, director) performs music by Joseph…

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UW’s campuses in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell announce the return of in-person commencement ceremonies

University of Washington’s 147th commencement ceremonies are scheduled to return this June to in-person celebrations in Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for the first time since 2019. Similar in-person commencement ceremonies are being planned for UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.

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Counties that rely on the courts for revenue sentence more women to incarceration

Washington counties that rely more on revenue from court-imposed fines and fees also sentence more women to incarceration, a study by the University of Washington finds.

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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.

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March 1, 2022

UW celebrates 50 years of the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center

Visit the University of Washington’s Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center once, and you’ll be impressed by its size, the historic murals and the number of resources available to students.

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