UW News
The latest news from the UW
August 16, 2021
New analysis of landmark scurvy study leads to update on vitamin C needs
It was wartime and food was scarce. Leaders of England’s effort to wage war and help the public survive during World War II needed to know: Were the rations in lifeboats adequate for survival at sea? And, among several experiments important for public as well as military heath, how much vitamin C did a person…
Tag(s): Department of Epidemiology • Phillipe Hujoel • School of DentistryAugust 11, 2021
‘More pepper, please’: New study analyzes role of scent compounds in the coevolution of bats and pepper plants
A study published Aug. 11 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by researchers at the University of Washington and Stony Brook University reports on how bats and pepper plants in Central America have coevolved to help each other survive.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • ecology • evolution • Jeffrey Riffell • Sharlene SantanaAugust 10, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: Hostile Terrain 94, Lux Aeterna, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more. While you’re enjoying summer break, connect with campus through UW live webcams of Red Square and the quad. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • 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 MusicAugust 6, 2021
UW expert discusses protecting workers from wildfire smoke
With wildfire smoke forecast for next week in Seattle and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Oregon posting rules for keeping workers safe during increasingly smoky conditions and heat in that state, we caught up with a University of Washington expert on worker safety for advice. Check out Professor Baker’s advice on worker safety…
Tag(s): Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Marissa Baker • School of Public Health • wildfiresAugust 5, 2021
Now how did that get up there? New study sheds light on development and evolution of dolphin, whale blowholes
New research by scientists at the University of Washington and Duke University is shedding light on how the nasal passage of dolphins and whales shifts during embryonic development from emerging at the tip of the snout to emerging at the top of the head as a blowhole. The findings, published July 19 in the Journal of Anatomy, are an integrative model for this developmental transition for cetaceans.
Tag(s): biology • evolution • Rachel Roston • School of Dentistry • whales
Drier, warmer night air is making some Western wildfires more active at night
Firefighters have reported that Western wildfires are starting earlier in the morning and dying down later at night, hampering their ability to recover and regroup before the next day’s flareup. A study by University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service scientists shows why: The drying power of nighttime air over much of the Western U.S. has increased dramatically in the past 40 years.
Tag(s): Andy Chiodi • climate change • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • wildfires
Superflares may be less harmful to exoplanets than previously thought, study shows
Astronomers have long suspected that superflares, extreme radiation bursts from stars, can cause lasting damage to the atmospheres — and thus habitability — of exoplanets. A new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reports that they pose only a limited danger to planetary systems.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • DIRAC Institute • James DavenportAugust 4, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: Grit City Think and Drink, Unpacking Form and Function: Ceramics, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more. While you’re enjoying summer break, connect with campus through UW live webcams of Red Square and the quad. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students…
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 Music
Fine particulate air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia
Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region — one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 — University of Washington researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia. In the UW-led study, a small increase…
Tag(s): Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Lianne Sheppard • Rachel Shaffer • School of Public HealthAugust 3, 2021
What the Olympic Games can teach us about the workplace
Bruce Avolio, executive director of the UW Center for Leadership & Strategic Thinking and a professor of management in the UW Foster School of Business, talks about what we can learn about leadership, competition and collaboration — factors that are important in the workplace as well as the Olympics.
Tag(s): Bruce Avolio • Foster School of BusinessAugust 2, 2021
New report: State of the science on western wildfires, forests and climate change
Seeing the urgent need for change, a team of scientists from leading research universities, conservation organizations and government laboratories across the West has produced a synthesis of the scientific literature that clearly lays out the established science and strength of evidence on climate change, wildfire and forest management for seasonally dry forests. The goal is to give land managers and others across the West access to a unified resource that summarizes the best-available science so they can make decisions about how to manage their landscapes.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Keala Hagmann • Paul Hessburg • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences • Susan Prichard • wildfires
New DNA study provides critical information on conserving rainforest lizards
A study published June 16 in Biotropica by a team of researchers at the University of Washington, the UW Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, WWF Hong Kong and the University of Colombo has provided an important road map to conserving rough-nosed horned lizards in Sri Lanka.
Tag(s): Adam Leache • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of BiologyJuly 30, 2021
Food insecurity remains high and need for assistance dramatically up in Washington
Washington residents continue to experience a dramatically higher level of food insecurity — from 10% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 27%, according to the latest University of Washington and Washington State University research on food insecurity and food assistance in the state. The study team also found that need for food assistance has continued to…
Tag(s): Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Jennifer Otten • Nutritional Sciences Program • School of Public Health • Washington State Food Security Survey
Video: A visit to Mt. Baker’s Easton Glacier
This week, a few members of our UW News team joined glaciologists from the UW Department of Earth & Space Sciences on a trip to Mt. Baker. Students that came along got to chat with their professor on the hike up, and we learned about how the recent heat wave impacted the snow melt on the ice.
Tag(s): Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Taryn BlackJuly 29, 2021
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy honors UW College of Built Environments faculty, Nehemiah Studio for curriculum on mitigating gentrification
The Nehemiah Studio, a UW class on mitigating gentrification in Seattle’s Central District, has been honored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Tag(s): Al Levine • College of Built Environments • Donald King • Nehemiah Studio • Rachel Berney • Renee Cheng
ArtSci Roundup: Lux Aeterna, Faculty Trio: Beethoven Piano Trios, Part 3, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more. While you’re enjoying summer break, connect with campus through UW live webcams of Red Square and the quad. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Music
Climate change to fuel increase in human-wildlife conflict, UW biologist says
Climate change is further exacerbating human-wildlife conflicts by straining ecosystems and altering behaviors, both of which can deepen the contacts — and potential competition — between people and animals. In an article published July 30 in the journal Science, Briana Abrahms, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Washington and its Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, calls for expanding research into the many ways that climate change will impact the complex interplay between human activities and wildlife populations.
Tag(s): Briana Abrahms • Center for Ecosystem Sentinels • climate change • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology • ecology
UW to lead new NSF institute for using artificial intelligence to understand dynamic systems
The UW will lead a new artificial intelligence research institute that will focus on fundamental AI and machine learning theory, algorithms and applications for real-time learning and control of complex dynamic systems, which describe chaotic situations where conditions are constantly shifting and hard to predict.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Applied Mathematics • Department of Mechanical Engineering • J. Nathan Kutz • Steve BruntonJuly 28, 2021
Video: scientist tests soil for hidden contaminants in community gardens
Soil, particularly in urban areas, can hold contaminants that are unhealthy for people who handle it or eat things grown in the ground. Chemicals left behind by vehicles, air pollution and heavy industry can show up in the ground and in plants. Melanie Malone, assistant professor in UW Bothell’s School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences investigates these contaminants and their prevalence in shared garden spaces.
Tag(s): Melanie Malone • UW BothellJuly 27, 2021
Possible future for Western wildfires: Decade-long burst, followed by gradual decline
A model of the eastern California forests of the Sierra Nevada looks at the longer-term future of wildfires under future climate change scenarios. Results show an initial roughly decade-long burst of wildfire activity, followed by recurring fires of decreasing area — a pattern that could apply to other hot, dry forests in the West.
Tag(s): climate change • Maureen Kennedy • UW Tacoma • wildfiresJuly 26, 2021
Scientists model ‘true prevalence’ of COVID-19 throughout pandemic
Two University of Washington scientists have developed a statistical framework that incorporates key COVID-19 data — such as case counts and deaths due to COVID-19 — to model the true prevalence of this disease in the United States and individual states. Their approach, published the week of July 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that in the U.S. as many as 60% of COVID-19 cases went undetected as of March 7, 2021, the last date for which the dataset they employed is available.
Tag(s): Adrian Raftery • College of Arts & Sciences • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Department of Sociology • Department of StatisticsJuly 23, 2021
Older workers needed for UW study on worker safety during COVID-19 pandemic
Public health researchers have learned a lot about how the pandemic affected workers and exacerbated existing health disparities that exist in many communities. However, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the experience of workers deemed essential in the food industry and who were at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, such those working in…
Tag(s): Anjum Hajat • COVID-19 studies • Department of Epidemiology • population health • School of Public HealthJuly 22, 2021
Gaming graphics card allows faster, more precise control of fusion energy experiments
UW researchers have developed a method that uses a gaming graphics card to control plasma formation in their prototype fusion reactor.
Tag(s): Chris Hansen • College of Engineering • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • Kyle MorganJuly 20, 2021
New 3D images of shark intestines show they function like Nikola Tesla’s valve
For more than a century, researchers have relied on flat sketches of sharks’ digestive systems to discern how they function — and how what they eat and excrete impacts other species in the ocean. Now, researchers have produced a series of high-resolution, 3D scans of intestines from nearly three dozen shark species that will advance the understanding of how sharks eat and digest their food.
Tag(s): Adam Summers • College of the Environment • Department of Biology • Friday Harbor LaboratoriesJuly 16, 2021
20 UW researchers elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021
Twenty scientists and engineers at the University of Washington are among the 38 new members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021, according to a July 15 announcement. New members were chosen for “their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”
Tag(s): Alshakim Nelson • Anna Karlin • Brandi Cossairt • Center for Dialysis Innovation • Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases • Center for Health and the Global Environment • Center for Urban Waters • Cheryl Kaiser • Clean Energy Institute • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • College of the Environment • Dan Jaffe • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine • Department of Applied Mathematics • Department of Astronomy • Department of Biology • Department of Biostatistics • Department of Chemistry • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Global Health • Department of Medicine • Department of Neurobiology & Biophysics • Department of Ophthalmology • Department of Pediatrics • Department of Psychology • eScience Institute • Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center • Joel Baker • Jonathan Himmelfarb • Julie Theriot • Kristi Morgansen • Kristie Ebi • Lisa Graumlich • Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute • Monica Vavilala • Munira Khalil • Patrick Heagerty • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Puget Sound Institute • Rachel Wong • Randy LeVeque • Sapna Cheryan • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences • School of Medicine • School of Public Health • Tueng Shen • UW Bothell • UW Eye Institute • UW Tacoma • Victoria Meadows • Virtual Planetary Laboratory • Washington State Academy of Sciences • Wesley Van VoorhisJuly 15, 2021
Dianne Harris named dean of UW College of Arts & Sciences
University of Washington Provost Mark A. Richards today announced Dianne Harris will become dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, beginning Sept. 1.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Dianne Harris • Robert StaceyJuly 13, 2021
Sheila Edwards Lange selected as chancellor of UW Tacoma
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark A. Richards today announced the selection of Sheila Edwards Lange, president of Seattle Central College, as chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma. Her appointment, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents, is set to begin Sept. 16.
Tag(s): Mark Pagano • Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity • Sheila Edwards Lange • UW Tacoma
From ‘distress’ to ‘unscathed’ — mental health of UW students during spring 2020
To understand how the UW’s transition to online-only classes affected college students’ mental health in the spring of 2020, UW researchers surveyed 147 UW undergraduates over the 2020 spring quarter.
Tag(s): Anind Dey • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Department of Psychology • Eve Riskin • Information School • Jennifer Mankoff • Kevin Kuehn • Margaret Morris • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Paula Nurius • School of Social Work
ArtSci Roundup: Will Rawls: Everlasting Stranger Performance, Northwest Modernism: Four Japanese Americans, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more. While you’re enjoying summer break, connect with campus through UW live webcams of Red Square and the quad. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • DXARTS • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of MusicJuly 9, 2021
‘We need to be patient’ — UW’s Dawn Lehman on the collapse of the Champlain Towers South
While there is currently no explanation for why the Champlain Towers South building collapsed, Dawn Lehman, a University of Washington professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been studying photographs, videos, drawings, reports and permits to investigate this tragedy to understand what happened. UW News asked her to help us understand why buildings fail.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Dawn Lehman • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Study model explores impact of police action on population health
A specific police action, an arrest or a shooting, has an immediate and direct effect on the individuals involved, but how far and wide do the reverberations of that action spread through the community? What are the health consequences for a specific, though not necessarily geographically defined, population? The authors of a new UW-led study…
Tag(s): Ali Rowhani-Rahbar • Anjum Hajat • Department of Epidemiology • Maayan Simckes • population health
Faculty/staff honors: Early career honor in communication, distinguished service award in theoretical computing
Recent honors and achievements by UW faculty include an early career award for study of family communication and a distinguished service award for decades in support of theoretical computing.
Tag(s): Department of Communication • Kristina Scharp • Paul Beame • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringJuly 8, 2021
Mari Ostendorf named UW Vice Provost for Research
University of Washington Provost Mark Richards today announced the appointment of Mari Ostendorf as Vice Provost for Research, set to begin Sept. 1. Ostendorf has been serving as Associate Vice Provost for Research in the Office of Research since 2017.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Mari Ostendorf • Mary Lidstrom
Remotely-piloted sailboats monitor ‘cold pools’ in tropical environments
A UW-led study uses data from remotely-piloted sailboats to better understand cold air pools — pockets of cooler air that form when rain evaporates below tropical storm clouds. These fleeting weather phenomena are thought to influence tropical weather patterns.
Tag(s): climate • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • oceanography • weatherJuly 6, 2021
ArtSci Roundup: Will Rawls: Everlasting Stranger, Grit City Think & Drink: Global Themes in World History since 1500 in Five Images, and More
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! This week, attend gallery exhibitions, watch recorded events, and more. While you’re enjoying summer break, connect with campus through UW live webcams of Red Square and the quad. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of History • Department of Physics • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing ArtsJuly 1, 2021
How long can a person live? The 21st century may see a record-breaker
A new University of Washington study calculates the probability of living past age 110, which, though rare, likely will increase this century.
Tag(s): Adrian Raftery • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Department of Statistics • Michael Pearce
Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change
The region north of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic has been termed the Last Ice Area, where sea ice will remain the longest in summertime, providing a refuge for ice-dependent Arctic species. But conditions last summer show that parts of this region are already experiencing less summer ice due to climate change.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Axel Schweiger • College of the Environment • Kristin Laidre • Polar Science Center • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesJune 30, 2021
University of Washington releases annual update to Sustainability Action Plan
The University of Washington is announcing the steps it will take in this fiscal year, starting July 1, to reach the targets set in the UW’s Sustainability Action Plan.
Tag(s): UW Facilities • UW SustainabilityJune 29, 2021
From the Jackson School: Endowed scholarship for India study, book on angels in ancient Jewish culture
Recent news from the Jackson School of International Studies includes a new endowed scholarship for study of India made possible by two alumni, and a book on angels in ancient Jewish culture by Jewish Studies professor Mika Ahuvia.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Jackson School of International Studies • Mika Ahuvia • South Asia Center • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
Air pollution from wildfires impacts ability to observe birds
Researchers from the University of Washington provide a first look at the probability of observing common birds as air pollution worsens during wildfire seasons. They found that smoke affected the ability to detect more than a third of the bird species studied in Washington state over a four-year period. Sometimes smoke made it harder to observe birds, while other species were actually easier to detect when smoke was present.
Tag(s): Beth Gardner • College of the Environment • Olivia Sanderfoot • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences« Previous Page Next Page »