The latest news from the UW

For the first time, astronomers have created a rough map of a planet orbiting a distant sun-like star, using a technique that eventually could allow mapping of planets with Earth-like characteristics.

LEGAL LIGHTS: Three current or former School of Social Work students played key supporting roles in the successful effort to secure passage of the new family leave act signed into Washington state law recently.

The UW School of Nursing honored outstanding nurses and volunteers at its 2007 annual Nurses Recognition Banquet May 10 at the W Hotel in Seattle.

The Pacific oyster — a tasty shellfish that happens to be the most cultivated aquatic animal on the planet — is the subject of the talk, The Top Five Reasons for Loving Bivalves, set for Thursday, May 17.

A pilgrimage in song, faculty performances, a composers’ workshop and a special evening featuring several bands will be offered by the School of Music in coming days.

Looking back, I find it remarkable how one thing has led to another.

The Board of Regents will be reviewing today (Thursday) a draft operating budget for fiscal year 2008 that includes salary increases for faculty, professional staff and librarians that are well above those provided from funds allocated by the State Legislature.

Elise Saba, who will be receiving a bachelor’s degree in English, has been awarded a President’s Medal for scholarship as a transfer student — an award given to a student who entered the UW with at least 60 transfer credits from a Washington community college.

Minh-An Nguyen, 21, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry, has been named a President’s Medalist — the outstanding four-year student in this year’s senior class on the basis of her overall academic record, including grades.

• The University of Washington has been allocated $2.
  Continue reading University of Washington to develop specifications for large
  ocean observatory off coast of Washington and Oregon

Mark A.

Competition from big businesses, unmet financing needs and weak sales forecasts are the most pressing concerns shared by Washington state’s minority small-business owners, according to researchers at the University of Washington.

Mapping invasive burrowing shrimp in Willapa Bay, understanding biodiversity pathways in working forests and the pressures to convert forests to other uses in Western Washington are among the topics Thursday, May 17, during reports from a half-dozen of the UW College of Forest Resources’ research centers and initiatives.

Video games are so addictive that the Chinese government is attempting to restrict playing time in online cafés to three hours a day.

Katharine Liang, a UW senior, initially got interested in medical research to help her mom, who because of myopic degeneration and glaucoma is legally blind.

The UW recently signed an agreement with Snohomish County Public Utility District to study tidal currents in Puget Sound as a possible source of power.

Where are we? The photo above was taken somewhere on campus.

The Strategic Leadership Program has been reborn.

There’s understandable pride in the Music Education Program at the UW School of Music these days, where an alumna was recently named National Teacher of the Year.

Guitar duets, Schubert and Beethoven on piano, a faculty recital on bassoon and a choir of more than 100 voices lifted together in gospel music are all being presented by the UW School of Music in coming days.

Writer, teacher, social critic and mixed-race studies specialist Andrew Jolivette will speak at 7 p.

Stanford News Service

Rice farming in Indonesia is greatly affected by short-term climate variability and could be harmed significantly by long-term climate change, according to a new study by researchers at the UW, Stanford University, and the University of Wisconsin.