UW News
The latest news from the UW
October 7, 2020
Turning hotels into emergency shelter as part of COVID-19 response limited spread of coronavirus, improved health and stability
A King County initiative to relocate people from homeless shelters to hotel rooms during the pandemic not only limited the spread of COVID-19, but also improved people’s mental health and well-being, and allowed them to focus on long-term goals.
Tag(s): College of Built Environments • COVID-19 • Evans School of Public Policy & Governance • Gregg Colburn • Population Health Initiative • Rachel Fyall • Runstad Department of Real Estate • Urban@UWOctober 6, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: From Ally to Antiracist, Re/Frame: Abandoned, and more
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Curating…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Anthropology • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • Simpson Center for the Humanities • UW alumni • UW Alumni Association
All together now: Experiments with twisted 2D materials catch electrons behaving collectively
In a paper published Sept. 14 in the journal Nature Physics, a team led by the University of Washington reports that carefully constructed stacks of graphene — a 2D form of carbon — can exhibit highly correlated electron properties. The team also found evidence that this type of collective behavior likely relates to the emergence of exotic magnetic states.
Tag(s): Clean Energy Institute • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Materials Science & Engineering • Department of Physics • Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems • Matthew Yankowitz • Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute • Xiaodong Xu
‘Neither Free Nor Fair’: New UW podcast takes on election security in US and abroad
Election security is the theme of a new podcast by James Long, an associate professor of political science at the University of Washington. “Neither Free Nor Fair?” features experts from the UW and elsewhere on topics such as mail-in voting, foreign interference and the role of social media, and resolving disputed elections.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Political Science • James LongOctober 5, 2020
Video: Using ‘Street View’ to track pandemic in Seattle over time
As the city of Seattle shut down in March 2020 to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, a group of University of Washington researchers decided to track how the city would react.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • COVID-19 • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering • Joseph Wartman • School of Public Health
UW secures competitive $1 million Luce Foundation grant to advance Southeast Asian research and community engagement
The Southeast Asia Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Libraries at the University of Washington will spearhead a new initiative of innovative collaborations to explore the effects and consequences of authoritarianism in Southeast Asia and on Southeast Asian American communities in the United States.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of American Ethnic Studies • Information School • Jackson School of International Studies • Southeast Asia Center • UW Libraries
Women, workers of color filling most ‘high-hazard/low-reward’ jobs in Washington
When exploring data on Washington workers during the pandemic — demographics, working conditions, wages and benefits, and risks of exposure to disease — the authors of a new report found that women hold two-thirds of the jobs in the harshest category of work. “The big takeaway from our research,” said David West, a co-author of…
Tag(s): Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Marissa Baker • School of Public HealthOctober 1, 2020
UW COVID-19 testing reveals few positives on campus; new outbreak in Greek community
FINAL UPDATE Jan. 11: For more than two months, this post has been updated regularly as cases have been added to the Greek community outbreak. The updates will continue to be provided on the UW COVID-19 Case tracking dashboard, which can be found here. Updates on the Greek community outbreak can be found by hovering…
Faculty/staff honors: Teaching and mentoring award; three Aeronautics & Astronautics professors recognized — and state dance educator of the year
Recent honors to UW faculty have come from the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics, the American Society of Composites, the Coalition for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology and the Dance Educators Association of Washington.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Daniel Enquobahrie • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • Department of Dance • Department of Epidemiology • Eli Livne • Etienne Cakpo • Jennifer Salk • Jinku "JK" Yang • Marco Saviato
Official notice: Northwest Behavioral Health Teaching Facility — adoption of existing document and addendum
The proposed UW Medical Center – Northwest Behavioral Health Teaching Facility is intended to provide innovative and integrated behavioral health care and teaching services to address the shortage of such services in the state of Washington. It would include the construction of a new building on the site of the existing D-wing building, would be up to seven stories tall, and provide approximately 210,000 square feet of above grade building space.
September 30, 2020
UW receives $1.5 million CDC grant to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents
With roughly 109 people dying every day and many others treated in emergency rooms from firearm-related injuries — which are the second leading cause of death among adolescents — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has, after decades, stepped in to fund critical firearm research. The CDC announced on Sept. 23 it would fund…
Tag(s): Ali Rowhani-Rahbar • Department of Epidemiology • Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program • Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center • population health • School of Public Health
UW researchers driving around Seattle to track COVID-19 response over time
UW researchers developed a project that scans the streets every few weeks to document how Seattle has reacted to the pandemic and what recovery looks like.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering • Joseph Wartman • Nicole Errett • RAPID Facility • School of Public Health • Scott Miles • Youngjun Choe
Greenland is on track to lose ice faster than in any century over the past 12,000 years, study finds
A new study combines ice cores, geologic records and computer models to understand the past, present and future of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The results show that emissions this century have a big influence on how much ice will be lost from Greenland.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Eric Steig • polar scienceSeptember 29, 2020
Aquatic hitchhikers: Using mobile technology to predict invasive species transmission
A new University of Washington study uses passive data from a fishing technology company to model the movement of anglers and predict where aquatic invasive species may be spreading.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Julian Olden • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
ArtSci Roundup: Velvet Sweatshops and Algorithmic Cruelty, Social Movements & Racial Justice, the Vice Presidential Debate Preview, and More
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Velvet…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Astrobiology Program • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Anthropology • Department of Astronomy • Department of English • Department of Germanics • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • population health • Population Health Initiative • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • Simpson Center for the Humanities • UW Alumni Association
Diplomacy on point: Anne Searcy’s book explores role of ballet in US-Soviet Cold War relations
A conversation with new School of Music professor Anne Searcy about her new book, “Ballet in the Cold War: A Soviet-American Exchange.”
Tag(s): Anne Searcy • College of Arts & Sciences • School of MusicSeptember 28, 2020
Soundbites: UW researchers examine deceptive ads on news websites
In this video: Franziska Roesner, associate professor in the Allen School Eric Zeng, graduate research assistant in the Allen School Journalists: download soundbites here With the election season ramping up, political ads are being splashed across the web. In the age of misinformation, how can news consumers tell if the ads they’re seeing are legitimate? USA…
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Eric Zeng • Franziska Roesner • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Q&A: UW researchers clicked ads on 200 news sites to track misinformation
A study by UW researchers found that both mainstream and misinformation news sites displayed similar levels of problematic ads. UW News had a conversation with the team about this research, where ads on news sites come from, and how things might change leading up to the election.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Franziska Roesner • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Tadayoshi Kohno
Book notes: A talk with UW English professor, author Shawn Wong about his UW Press book series for Asian American authors
UW English professor Shawn Wong discusses his UW Press book series. “We’re interested in all Asian American authors, particularly classic works that have gone out of print. We are open to anything — fiction, poetry and nonfiction,” Wong said. “But we’re also interested in new works.”
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • Shawn Wong • Shawn Wong Fund in Asian American Studies • University of Washington PressSeptember 27, 2020
UW’s 37th annual New Student Convocation goes online
University of Washington faculty member Ian Schnee, associate teaching professor in the Department of Philosophy, was the featured speaker at the UW’s 37th annual New Student Convocation. The virtual ceremony was held Sept. 27 and was livestreamed to audiences around the world. A recording is available here.
September 26, 2020
UW political scientist: Amy Coney Barrett gives conservatives a ‘hammerlock’ on the US Supreme Court
University of Washington political scientist Scott Lemieux calls Trump’s Supreme Court pick a conservative “hammerlock” on the nation’s highest court.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Political Science • Scott LemieuxSeptember 24, 2020
Colleges with primarily in-person instruction leading to thousands of COVID-19 cases per day in US
As universities and colleges struggle to find the right combination of in-person and online classes combined with protective measures to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, a new study by researchers from four institutions has reached a troubling conclusion. Reopening university and college campuses with primarily in-person instruction is associated with a significant…
Tag(s): Anirban Basu • CHOICE Institute • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • preprint • School of Pharmacy
Video: ‘Art game’ looks at the pandemic through an artist’s eye
Chanhee Choi is creating a digital art game called “Pandemic,” a vehicle for her thoughts and experiences since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
Tag(s): Chanhee Choi • COVID-19 • Digital Experimental Media • DXARTS
Age restrictions for handguns make little difference in homicides as US deals with ‘de facto availability’ of firearms
In the United States, individual state laws barring 18- to 20-year-olds from buying or possessing a handgun make little difference in the rate of homicides involving a gun by people in that age group, a new University of Washington study has found. “The central issue is that there’s a very high degree of informal access…
Tag(s): Ali Rowhani-Rahbar • Andrew Bowen • Caitlin Moe • Department of Epidemiology • Frederick Rivara • Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center • Miriam Haviland • School of Public HealthSeptember 23, 2020
Video: UW students move into residence halls
Around 4,000 students are moving into the residence halls at the University of Washington this week. This number is less than half the UW’s normal residence hall capacity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of special precautions are being taken to ensure minimal contact and proper physical distancing during the move-in process.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • UW Housing & Food Services
Some polar bears in far north are getting short-term benefit from thinning ice
The small subpopulation of polar bears in Kane Basin were doing better, on average, in recent years than in the 1990s. The bears are experiencing short-term benefits from thinning and shrinking multiyear sea ice that allows more sunlight to reach the ocean surface, which makes the system more ecologically productive.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • climate change • College of the Environment • Kristin Laidre • polar science • Polar Science Center • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesSeptember 22, 2020
Soundbites & B-roll: UW students move into residence halls
University of Washington students living in residence halls began moving in on Tuesday, and about 4,000 students total will move in this week. This number is less than half the UW’s normal residence hall capacity.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • UW Housing & Food Services
UW Podcasts: ‘Coastal Café’ explores marine, shoreline issues — and ‘Voices Unbound’ on racism in COVID-19 responses
A talk with the hosts of Washington Sea Grant’s “Coastal Café” podcast, which is also a radio show. And EarthLab’s podcast “Voices Unbound” releases a new season of timely topics.
Tag(s): Aaron Barnett • Christopher Schell • EarthLab • MaryAnn Wagner • Robin Evans-Agnew • UW Tacoma • Voices Unbound • Washington Sea Grant
Muslims, atheists more likely to face religious discrimination in US
A new study led by the University of Washington found that Muslims and atheists in the United States are more likely than those of Christian faiths to experience religious discrimination. Researchers focused on public schools and tested how principals responded to an individual’s expression of religious belief.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Steve Pfaff
ArtSci Roundup: Community and Solidarity on the Frontlines, Election 2020, and More
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Community…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Anthropology • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Jackson School of International Studies • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of MusicSeptember 17, 2020
Watching over whales: Online tool detects whales and ships in California’s Santa Barbara Channel in near real-time
Whale Safe — an online tool launched Sept. 17 by scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Washington and other partner institutions — allows users to detect and better protect these endangered animals in the Santa Barbara Channel. It is a mapping and analysis tool to help prevent ships from running into whales.
Tag(s): Briana Abrahms • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology • whales
Environmental health professor emeritus Sverre Vedal serves on committee studying respiratory effects of Southwest Asia military service
Dr. Sverre Vedal, UW professor emeritus of environmental and health sciences, served on an expert committee for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine studying the long-term respiratory health impacts of military service in Southeast Asia.
Tag(s): Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • School of Public Health • Sverre VedalSeptember 16, 2020
Most landslides in western Oregon triggered by heavy rainfall, not big earthquakes
Researchers at the University of Washington, Portland State University and the University of Oregon have shown that deep-seated landslides in the central Oregon Coast Range are triggered mostly by rainfall, not by large offshore earthquakes. The open-access paper was published Sept. 16 in Science Advances. “Geomorphologists have long understood the importance of rainfall in triggering…
Tag(s): Alison Duvall • College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • earthquakes & seismology • geology • landslide
Marine animals live where ocean is most ‘breathable,’ but ranges could shrink with climate change
New research shows that a wide variety of marine animals — from vertebrates to crustaceans to mollusks — already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology will allow. The findings provide a warning about climate change: Since warmer waters will harbor less oxygen, some stretches of ocean that are breathable today for a given species may not be in the future.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Curtis Deutsch • oceanography • School of OceanographySeptember 15, 2020
The University of Washington mourns the loss of Bill Gates Sr.
Though Bill Gates, Sr., may have graduated from the University of Washington nearly 70 years ago, in many ways he never really left.
Gates was a standout Husky — as a Regent for 15 years, leader of ground breaking philanthropic campaigns and a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award in 2013. He loved Husky football and cheered on from Husky Stadium, Row K, Seat 32.
Gates died Monday. He was 94.
Tag(s): Bill Gates Sr.
UW political scientist Megan Ming Francis named one of 12 grant-supported ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on economic and social equity
Megan Ming Francis, University of Washington associate professor of political science, has been named one of 12 grant-supported “Freedom Scholars” in a new $3 million initiative by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation, working together.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Political Science • Megan Ming Francis
Wildfire smoke disproportionally harms poorer communities, remedies necessary to address health inequity
With most of the Northwest blanketed by wildfire smoke, public officials and health experts suggest staying inside as much as possible to reduce exposure to the significant health risks of wildfire smoke. However, inequity in our communities means not every home provides great protection and many workers in disadvantaged populations can’t afford to stay home,…
Tag(s): Anjum Hajat • COVID-19 • Department of Epidemiology • population health • School of Public Health • wildfires
Video: How to make your own home air purifier
With wildfire smoke blanketing most of the western U.S. this week, public health experts suggest staying inside as much as possible to protect yourself from smoky air. If you don’t have air conditioning or an air purifier in your home, it’s possible to make your own inexpensive purifier. Here’s how.
Tag(s): Dan Jaffe • population health • UW Bothell • wildfiresSeptember 14, 2020
UW announces COVID-19 testing program for students, faculty and staff across all three campuses
The University of Washington on Monday announced a comprehensive COVID-19 fall quarter testing program in advance of some students, faculty and staff returning to the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses later this month.
September 11, 2020
‘Dancing in the sky’: UW professor Cecilia Aragon tells of beating fear, becoming competitive pilot in memoir ‘Flying Free’
A conversation with UW professor Cecilia Aragon about her new memoir, “Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team”
Tag(s): Cecilia Aragon • College of Engineering • Continuum College • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • HumanCentered Data Science Lab« Previous Page Next Page »
