UW News
The latest news from the UW
January 26, 2022
Air pollution from planes, roads infiltrates schools and can be dramatically reduced with portable air filters
What started as a University of Washington-led project to measure air pollution near Sea-Tac International Airport has led to schools in the area installing portable air filters to improve indoor air quality. First, UW researchers found they were able to parse aircraft pollution from roadway pollution in the communities under Sea-Tac International Airport flight paths…
Tag(s): B.J. Cummings • College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Edmund Seto • Elena Austin • Jeffry Shirai • Lisa Hayward • Nancy Carmona • School of Public Health • Timothy Gould • Timothy Larson • Ultrafine Advisory Group
Glaciers are squishy, holding slightly more ice than thought
Though usually though of as a solid, glaciers are also slightly compressible, or squishy. This compression over the huge expanse of an ice sheet — like Antarctica or Greenland — makes the overall ice sheet more dense and lowers the surface by tens of feet compared to what would otherwise be expected.
Tag(s): Brad Lipovsky • climate change • College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • glaciers
Four UW faculty members, incoming Burke Museum leader named 2021 AAAS Fellows
Four current faculty members and the incoming executive director of the UW’s Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a Jan. 26 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021, who are recognized for “their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Biology • Department of Chemistry • Emily Carrington • Friday Harbor Laboratories • Gabriela Chavarria • Julia Kovacs • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Richard Ladner • Stefan StollJanuary 25, 2022
Hungry yeast are tiny, living thermometers
University of Washington researchers report that yeast cells can actively regulate a process called phase separation in one of their membranes. During phase separation, the membrane remains intact but partitions into multiple, distinct zones or domains that segregate lipids and proteins. The new findings show for the first time that, in response to environmental conditions, yeast cells precisely regulate the temperature at which their membrane undergoes phase separation.
Tag(s): Alex Merz • cell biology • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biochemistry • Department of Chemistry • Sarah Keller • School of MedicineJanuary 24, 2022
Fast, cheap test can detect COVID-19 virus’ genome without need for PCR
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new test for COVID-19 that combines the speed of over-the-counter antigen tests with the accuracy of PCR tests that are processed in medical labs and hospitals. The Harmony COVID-19 test is a diagnostic test that, like PCR tests for COVID-19, detects genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But whereas conventional PCR tests can take several hours, the Harmony kit can provide results in less than 20 minutes for some samples and with similar accuracy.
Tag(s): Barry Lutz • College of Engineering • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Department of Bioengineering • School of MedicineJanuary 20, 2022
Shift work helps marine microbes share scarce ocean resources
With a low supply of and high competition for key nutrients, scientists have puzzled over the vast diversity of microbial species found in the open ocean. A new study shows that time of day is key, with species of marine microbes specializing in different shifts throughout the day and night.
Tag(s): Anitra Ingalls • College of the Environment • oceanography • School of Oceanography • Virginia Armbrust
ArtSci Roundup: Small Island Big Song: Our Island, Photograph 51, 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. Small Island Big Song: Our Island January 29, 7:30 PM | The Great Hall and online In partnership with the UW Taiwan Studies…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of DramaJanuary 19, 2022
Bubbles of methane rising from seafloor in Puget Sound
The release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for almost a quarter of global warming, is being studied around the world, from Arctic wetlands to livestock feedlots. A University of Washington team has discovered a source much closer to home: 349 plumes of methane gas bubbling up from the seafloor in Puget Sound, which holds more water than any other U.S. estuary.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • oceanography • Paul Johnson • Puget Sound • School of OceanographyJanuary 17, 2022
Shifting ocean closures best way to protect animals from accidental catch
Many nations are calling for protection of 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 from some or all types of exploitation, including fishing. Building off this proposal, a new analysis led by the University of Washington looks at how effective fishing closures are at reducing accidental catch. Researchers found that permanent marine protected areas are a relatively inefficient way to protect marine biodiversity that is accidentally caught in fisheries. Dynamic ocean management — changing the pattern of closures as accidental catch hotspots shift — is much more effective.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Maite Pons • Ray Hilborn • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesJanuary 13, 2022
UW Pharmacy’s Drug Interaction Database, built to promote medication safety, wins national innovation award
The UW School of Pharmacy’s Drug Interaction Database — the core research tool from the school’s nonprofit Drug Interaction Solutions team — is celebrating both a national award for innovation and two decades of independent funding through licensing agreements with companies, research institutes and regulatory agencies around the globe.
Tag(s): CoMotion • Department of Medicinal Chemistry • Department of Neurological Surgery • Department of Pharmaceutics • Isabelle Ragueneau-Majlessi • René Levy • Roï Eisenkot • School of Medicine • School of PharmacyJanuary 12, 2022
ArtSci Roundup: Re/frame: Illumination, 2022 Critical Issues Lecture Series: Andrea Chung, 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: Illumination January 20, 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Online Light allows us to perceive our surroundings, it shows us the path ahead,…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Slavic Languages and Literature • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design
Q&A: Cuong Vu looks back at playing trumpet on new record by the late David Bowie
In 2000, the late David Bowie recorded his album “Toy,” which went unreleased due to the financial struggles of his record label. On Jan. 7, it was finally released, and it features Cuong Vu, UW professor of music and chair of the jazz studies department. Vu look back at working with Bowie, the music industry and music education.
Tag(s): Cuong Vu • School of MusicJanuary 11, 2022
Researchers find concerns for animals tied to same habitats
Like humans, wild animals often return to the same places to eat, walk on the same paths to travel and use the same places to raise their young. A team led by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Wyoming has reviewed the scientific literature and found that, while “consistent” behavior may be beneficial when environmental conditions don’t change very fast, those benefits may not be realized in the ever-changing world dominated by humans.
Tag(s): Anthropocene • Briana Abrahms • Center for Ecosystem Sentinels • climate change • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology
Q&A: Bringing a justice lens to wildlife management
A team of researchers led by the University of Washington drew upon the field of environmental justice — which primarily has focused on harms to people and public health — and applied its concepts to wildlife management, considering forms of injustice that people, communities and animal groups might experience. Lead author and UW assistant professor Alex McInturff talks with UW News about this work and why it’s significant.
Tag(s): Alex McInturff • College of the Environment • School of Environmental and Forest SciencesJanuary 6, 2022
ArtSci Roundup: Virtual Artist Panel, EL SUEÑO: THE FLOWERS THAT BLOOM, 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. Virtual Artist Panel: The Work of Collaboration with Barbara Earl Thomas, Derrick Adams, Janelle Iglesias, and Lisa Iglesias January 13, 6:00 PM |…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + DesignJanuary 4, 2022
Mass die-off of Magellanic penguins seen during 2019 heat wave
In 2019, University of Washington researchers witnessed the consequences of an extreme heat event in Argentina at one of the world’s largest breeding colonies for Magellanic penguins. On Jan. 19, temperatures at the site in Punta Tombo, on Argentina’s southern coast, spiked in the shade to 44 C, or 111.2 F. As the team reports in a paper published Jan. 4 in the journal Ornithological Applications, the extreme heat wave killed at least 354 penguins, based on a search for bodies by UW researchers in the days following the record high temperature. Nearly three-quarters of the penguins that died — 264 — were adults, many of which likely died of dehydration, based on postmortem analyses.
Tag(s): Center for Ecosystem Sentinels • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Dee Boersma • Department of BiologyDecember 22, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: UW Dance Presents, 2022 History Lecture Series, 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. Restoring Public Trust in Higher Education January 6, 6-7:30 PM | Online Recent studies show a trend of declining trust in higher education…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Dance • Department of English • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • UW Alumni AssociationDecember 17, 2021
Deforestation-fueled heat already affecting millions of outdoor workers in the tropics
New research from an interdisciplinary team at the University of Washington, Duke University and The Nature Conservancy shows how local temperature increases in the tropics – compounded by accelerating deforestation – may already be jeopardizing the well-being and productivity of outdoor workers.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • June Spector • population health • School of Public Health
Video: UW News 2021 highlights
As the year draws to a close, we present highlights from video stories produced by UW News during 2021 — a year where the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact our lives.
December 16, 2021
Bias against Native Americans spikes when mascots are removed
New research led by the University of Washington shows how discontinuing a Native American mascot can stoke racism among a team’s surrounding community.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • Tyler JimenezDecember 15, 2021
Despite cleaner air, pollution disparities for people of color remain across the US
UW researchers investigated disparities in exposure to six major air pollutants in 1990, 2000 and 2010 by comparing models of air pollution levels to census data. While overall pollutant concentrations have decreased since 1990, people of color are still more likely to be exposed to all six pollutants than white people, regardless of income level, across the continental United States.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Julian Marshall • population healthDecember 14, 2021
Millions in savings from construction of UW’s Hans Rosling Center for Population Health to fund new research
Using project savings from the construction of the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, the University of Washington will fund dozens of new research projects through the Population Health Initiative’s interdisciplinary grant program. The new grants will fall into three tiers, with funding from $20,000 to $200,000 per award. “We are delighted to have the…
Tag(s): Ali Mokdad • Hans Rosling Center for Population Health • Population Health Initiative
Nonprofits show resilience and initiative during second year of pandemic
A new study from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington explores not only how the pandemic economy impacted donations to, and the operations of, charitable organizations, but also how nonprofits responded to the simultaneous call for racial justice.
Tag(s): Emily Finchum-Mason • Erica Mills Barnhart • Evans School of Public Policy & Governance • Mary Kay GugertyDecember 13, 2021
Video: Modeling how debris affects buildings during a tsunami
Researchers are modeling how tsunami debris pushes on a building — either by hitting it or getting lodged on it and creating a dam. They are also looking for patterns in the way floating debris moves around and against rigid shapes. The information may help in designing buildings in coastal communities that can better withstand damage by floating objects in tsunami events.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Mike Motley
Artificial intelligence can create better lightning forecasts
New research shows that machine learning — computer algorithms that improve themselves without direct programming by humans — can be used to improve forecasts for lightning, one of the most destructive forces of nature.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Daehyun Kim • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • lightningDecember 9, 2021
3D imaging method may help doctors better determine prostate cancer aggressiveness
A team led by the UW has developed a new, non-destructive method that images entire 3D biopsies instead of a slice for determining prostate cancer aggressiveness. The 3D images provided more information than a 2D image — specifically, details about the tree-like structure of the glands throughout the tissue.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Bioengineering • Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology • Department of Mechanical Engineering • Jonathan Liu • Lawrence True • School of Medicine
Video: Peer Health Educators help students meet life’s challenges
Who do you talk to when you have a problem? For a student, it’s most likely a friend. Because young people tend to talk first to someone in their peer group, UW’s LiveWell created a Peer Health Education program where trained students teach other students about taking care of themselves and each other.
Tag(s): Jennifer Laxague • LiveWell
ArtSci Roundup: Diana Al-Hadid: Archive of Longings, Burke Museum Exhibitions, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Relax toward the end of the quarter by visiting on-campus museums and watching recorded events. Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Diana Al-Hadid: Archive of Longings Through February 6…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing ArtsDecember 8, 2021
‘Would you like a little ice with your exoplanet?’ For Earth-like worlds, that may be a tall order
A team at the University of Washington and the University of Bern has computationally simulated more than 200,000 hypothetical Earth-like worlds all in orbit of stars like our sun. As they report in a paper accepted to the Planetary Science Journal and submitted Dec. 6 to the preprint site arXiv, on these simulated exoplanets, one common feature of present-day Earth was often lacking: partial ice coverage. About 90% of these potentially habitable hypothetical worlds lacked partial surface ice like polar caps.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • planetary science • preprint • Rory Barnes • Virtual Planetary Laboratory
Simulations show how earthquake early warning might be improved for magnitude-9 earthquakes
Seismologists used 30 detailed simulations of magnitude-9 slips on the Cascadia Subduction Zone to evaluate how the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system would perform in these events. Results show the alerts generally work well, but suggest that lower alert thresholds provide more timely warnings over the full area that will feel the shaking.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • earthquakes & seismology • Pacific Northwest Seismic Network • Renate HartogDecember 6, 2021
UW Law’s Angélica Cházaro named one of six ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on immigration, abolition
Angélica Cházaro is one of six researchers around the country to be named a “Freedom Scholar” by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation.
Tag(s): Angelica Chazaro • School of LawDecember 3, 2021
Killer whales lingering in increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean
Underwater microphones show that killer whales, or orcas, have spent more time in the Arctic Ocean in recent years. The increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean may give orcas more opportunity to hunt for prey off the west and north coasts of Alaska.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • whales
Hans Rosling Center wins state, national architectural design and project awards
The Hans Rosling Center for Population Health has won top awards in 2021 from state and national design and construction associations for both its architectural design and unique project delivery approach. The building was designed by The Miller Hull Partnership and the general contractor was Lease Crutcher Lewis. The Design Build Institute of America in…
Tag(s): Ali Mokdad • Hans Rosling Center for Population Health • Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation • Population Health InitiativeDecember 1, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: 9th Annual Ladino Day, CarolFest, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend concerts, lectures, and more. Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Gospel Choir December 6, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall Phyllis Byrdwell, School of Music alumni and Minister…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Classics • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Music • Select Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies • Sephardic Studies Program • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • UW Alumni AssociationNovember 23, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: “Working, Together” Seminar Series, First Wednesday Concert Series: UW Baroque Ensemble, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend concerts, exhibitions, and more. Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Roundtable – Challenging Hegemony: Taiwan, the Baltic, and the EU November 30, 7:00 PM | Online…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of MusicNovember 22, 2021
Video: UW students build purifiers that can remove virus particles, other pollutants
A UW class that normally is about air pollution has pivoted to focus on another airborne health hazard — coronavirus aerosols. As part of the class project, students are designing and building air purifiers and testing how effective they are.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Julian Marshall
Nearly 50 UW-affiliated experts included on Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list
The University of Washington is proud to announce that 50 UW faculty and researchers have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list from Clarivate.
Tag(s): Rankings
Kids, teens believe girls aren’t interested in computer science, study shows
Children as young as age 6 develop stereotypes that girls aren’t interested in computer science and engineering, according to new research from the University of Washington and the University of Houston.
Tag(s): Andrew Meltzoff • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • I-LABS • Sapna CheryanNovember 18, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: Astria Suparak: Asian futures, without Asians, Jazz Innovations, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend lectures, exhibitions, and more. Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Astria Suparak: Asian futures, without Asians November 30, 6:00 PM | Online What does it mean…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Slavic Languages and Literature • Henry Art Gallery • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Music • Simpson Center for the HumanitiesNovember 17, 2021
A chatbot can help doctors better understand incoming emergency department patients’ social needs
A team led by the UW developed a chatbot that could ask emergency department visitors about social needs, including housing, food, access to medical care and physical safety.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Emergency Medicine • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • Gary Hsieh • Herbert Duber • population health • Raina Langevin • School of Medicine« Previous Page Next Page »
