Education and family planning have long been tied to lower fertility trends. But new research from the University of Washington analyzes those factors to determine, what accelerates a decline in otherwise high-fertility countries.
September 8, 2020
The latest news from the UW
ArtSci Roundup: Re/frame at the Henry, Coexisting with COVID-19, 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. Re/frame: Tell Me a Tale/Show Me a Story September 17, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, 6:30 – 7:30 PM | Online via Zoom Join Ann Poulson, the…
September 4, 2020
Mask mandates delayed by nearly a month in Republican-led states, UW study finds
Political science researchers at the University of Washington examined the factors associated with statewide mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. When controlling for other factors, states with Republican governors delayed imposing broad indoor mask requirements by nearly a month.
Rankings: UW is among the best in the nation, world according to three news outlets
Three new rankings out this month place UW among the best schools in the nation and the world.
UW political science expert on the value of mail-in voting
Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the University of Washington, answers questions about mail-in voting.
September 3, 2020
First responders get training on how to decontaminate masks
A University of Washington-led team has developed a box that can decontaminate N95 respirator masks using ultraviolet light.
Fighting fire with fire in the Methow Valley
Agencies that are well practiced in putting out wildfires are now learning a new skill: how to set the spark and fan the flames. That’s the case for the state Department of Natural Resources, which is starting to use prescribed burning as part of its strategy for fighting wildfires.
September 2, 2020
UW Books: Climate change meets restoration science in ‘Anticipating Future Environments’; ‘Building Reuse’ in paperback — and Anu Taranath’s ‘Beyond Guilt Trips’ named a Washington State Book Award finalist
Recent news about UW-authored books includes a UW Press book on salmon habitat restoration amid climate change and a paperback edition of a book on building reuse. Also, Anu Taranath’s “Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World” is a Washington State Book Award finalist.
September 1, 2020
UW launches Institute for Foundations of Data Science
The University of Washington will lead a team of institutions in establishing an interdisciplinary research institute that brings together mathematicians, statisticians, computer scientists and engineers to develop the theoretical foundations of a fast-growing field: data science.
August 31, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: “From Ours to Alien: The Journey of Polish OBCY” lecture, MELTED RIOT: RGB performance, 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. Lecture: From Ours to Alien: The Journey of Polish OBCY September 9, 7:00 – 8:30 PM | Online via Zoom Join the Polish Studies Endowment for…
B-roll: UW Health Sciences Education Building breaks ground
UW Health Sciences leadership and Washington state legislators celebrated the start of construction of the Health Sciences Education Building with a small, physically distanced groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 27.
UW receives NSF funds for investment in an interdisciplinary quantum future
The National Science Foundation has awarded $3 million to establish a NSF Research Traineeship at the University of Washington for graduate students in quantum information science and technology. The new traineeship — known as Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies, or AQET — will make the UW one of just “a handful” of universities with a formal, interdisciplinary QIST curriculum.
August 28, 2020
UW breaks ground on the future of health sciences education and improving our health
The future of our health and the health of the communities we live in relies, in many ways, on students in the health sciences. The education and experiences that future doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and public health experts receive will to a large degree shape how those professionals work and work together when solving problems affecting our health. And while the University of Washington’s highly ranked health sciences schools have long focused on interdisciplinary education and training students…
August 27, 2020
Frequently asked questions: torpor in Antarctic Lystrosaurus
This FAQ discusses evidence for a hibernation-like condition in Lystrosaurus, a mammal relative that lived in the Antarctic portion of Pangea about 250 million years ago. This discovery was enabled by high-resolution of incremental growth marks preserved in the tusks of Lystrosaurus.
Weathering the tough times: Fossil evidence of ‘hibernation-like’ state in 250-million-year-old Antarctic animal
University of Washington scientists report evidence of a hibernation-like state in Lystrosaurus, an animal that lived in Antarctica during the Early Triassic, some 250 million years ago. The fossils are the oldest evidence of a hibernation-like state in a vertebrate, and indicate that torpor — a general term for hibernation and similar states in which animals temporarily lower their metabolic rate to get through a tough season — arose in vertebrates even before mammals and dinosaurs evolved.
August 26, 2020
Faculty from Allen School, Evans School tapped for NSF institutes on artificial intelligence
The National Science Foundation has announced five new institutes devoted to AI research and based at universities around the country. Six University of Washington faculty will be affiliated with the institutes.
Mount Everest summit success rates double, death rate stays the same over last 30 years
A new study led by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, Davis, finds that the success rate of summiting Mount Everest has doubled in the last three decades, even though the number of climbers has greatly increased, crowding the narrow route through the dangerous “death zone” near the summit. However, the death rate for climbers has hovered unchanged at around 1% since 1990.
Global ranking: UW is No. 16 in the world
The University of Washington is No. 16 in the world — No. 3 among U.S. public universities — on the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities, released this month.
August 25, 2020
Terms in Seattle-area rental ads reinforce neighborhood segregation, study says
A new University of Washington study of Seattle-area rental ads shows how certain words and phrases are common to different neighborhoods, helping to reinforce residential segregation.
August 24, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Strange Coupling 2020, Drop-In Meditation Session, 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. Lux Aeterna View at your leisure | Online The Jacob Lawrence Gallery & Northwest Film Forum have announced the launch of Lux Aeterna, a year-long project exploring…
August 21, 2020
Failure to ‘flatten the curve’ may kill more people than we thought
New research by the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington finds that every six additional ICU beds or seven additional non-ICU beds filled by COVID-19 patients leads to one additional COVID-19 death over the following week. “A spike in hospitalization naturally leads to more deaths, but these deaths may not only come from those who are hospitalized, but also from those who should have been hospitalized but were not,” said co-author Anirban Basu, a UW professor of health…
August 20, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Strange Coupling Exhibition, The Color of Law, 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. Strange Coupling 2020 Exhibition Launch View at your leisure | Online Strange Coupling has been a student-run tradition in the School of Art + Art History…
Faculty/staff honors: Public service award, endowed professorship, cybersecurity grant — and a UW professor among Talented 12
Recent honors and grants to University of Washington faculty and staff have come from the American Chemical Society, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Science Board and the family of engineers Ganesh and Hema Moorthy.
February lockdown in China caused a drop in some types of air pollution, but not others
Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide, which comes from transportation, was half of what would be expected over China in February 2020. Other emissions and cloud properties, however, showed no significant changes.
August 18, 2020
Data omission in key EPA insecticide study shows need for review of industry analysis
For nearly 50 years, a statistical omission tantamount to data falsification sat undiscovered in a critical study at the heart of regulating one of the most controversial and widely used pesticides in America. Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide created in the late 1960s by the Dow Chemical Co., has been linked to serious health problems, especially in children. It has been the subject of many lawsuits and banned in Europe and California. The EPA itself nearly banned the chemical, but in 2017 the…
August 14, 2020
UW team developing model to help lower COVID-19 infections in King County, guide eventual vaccine distribution
A UW team has received a grant to develop a model that uses local data to generate policy recommendations that could help lower COVID-19 infections in King County.
August 13, 2020
Systemic racism has consequences for all life in cities
Social inequalities, specifically racism and classism, are impacting the biodiversity, evolutionary shifts and ecological health of plants and animals in our cities. That’s the main finding of a review paper published Aug. 13 in Science led by the University of Washington, with co-authors at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan.
August 10, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Re/frame Series, Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair, #BurkeFromHome Trivia Night, 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. Re/frame: Still Life August 20, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Online Join Ann Poulson, the Henry Art Gallery‘s Associate…
Rick Bonus documents Pacific Islander students building community against odds at the UW in book
In his latest book, Rick Bonus discusses how Pacific Islander students at the UW used the ocean as a metaphor to create community for themselves and change their university.
August 7, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Grants for STEM equity, HIV prevention; innovation award — and a White House honor for engineering mentoring
Recent honors and grants to University of Washington individuals and units have come from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Marconi Society — and the White House.
August 6, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Kim Van Someren at J. Rinehard Gallery, UW Alumni Book Club, Dance Graduate Symposium, 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. Kim Van Someren: The Slate of Line View at your leisure, through Sept 12 | Online Celebrate School of Art + Art History + Design Instructional…
August 4, 2020
Generous gift bolsters effort to diversify the education workforce
The University of Washington today announced a $6 million anonymous gift earmarked to bolster diversity in the education workforce, a key driver in ultimate K-12 student success, especially for students of color.
August 3, 2020
New studies show how to save parasites and why it’s important
An international group of scientists has laid out an ambitious global conservation plan for parasites. A related paper led by the University of Washington found that responses of parasites to environmental change are likely to be complex, and that a changing world probably will see both outbreaks of some parasites and a total loss of other parasite species.
July 31, 2020
Soundbites: UW epidemiologist says face masks can be a tool for community health
Face coverings will continue to be an important and effective tool in combating the spread of COVID-19, public health experts say.
Empathy and understanding: UW psychologists offer tips on relationships during the pandemic
University of Washington psychologists say there are ways to approach interactions with friends and loved ones that can provide a positive path forward and help maintain healthy relationships during the pandemic.
July 30, 2020
Video: Meet the real-life kraken: the octopus
Seattle’s new hockey team is named for a legendary creature of the sea, and that’s a perfect fit, according to octopus researchers at the University of Washington.
UW expert: Kraken are undefeatable; few who see the beast live to tell the tale
Lauren Poyer is an assistant teaching professor in Scandinavian studies. She teaches courses in Scandinavian mythology and Vikings in contemporary culture, among other topics, and she is well steeped in all kinds of Nordic and Icelandic lore.
Video: Face coverings an important tool to fight COVID-19
Face coverings will continue to be an important and effective tool in combating the spread of COVID-19.
Deep-sea anglerfishes have evolved a new type of immune system
Deep-sea anglerfishes employ an incredible reproductive strategy. Tiny dwarfed males become permanently attached to relatively gigantic females, fuse their tissues and then establish a common blood circulation. Now scientists have figured out why female anglerfishes so readily accept their male mates. Their findings are published July 30 in Science.
National Academies publishes guide to help public officials make sense of COVID-19 data
University of Washington professor Adrian Raftery is lead author on a National Academies guide to help officials interpret and understand different COVID-19 statistics and data sources as they make decisions about opening and closing schools, businesses and community facilities.