The latest news from the UW

The first-ever direct measurements of the energy flux of the “internal” tide along the Hawaiian Ridge were reported last week by University of Washington researchers at the American Geophysical Union and American Society of Limnology’s Ocean Sciences meeting

The quest to predict toxic-algae outbreaks, estimate how much of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is being absorbed by the oceans and gain other insights into the lives of phytoplankton — microscopic plants that generate about half the oxygen we breathe — are subjects of a free, public lecture, “Molecular Explorations of the Oceans: New Ways to Study Marine Ecosystems,” by University of Washington oceanographer Virginia Armbrust.

Just about anyone who has flown knows the sensation of climbing through smog and bursting into bright, clear air. And once you’re there, the air generally stays clear no matter how high you go. But a University of Washington researcher has found it doesn’t always work that way.

Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen has given $14 million to the University of Washington to ensure the completion of a new facility for the university’s nationally ranked Department of Computer Science & Engineering, officials announced this evening

The promise of upward mobility — a centerpiece of the American dream, which fosters the notion that anyone can get ahead with hard work — may have disappeared with the 20th century. Prospects for upward mobility were on the decline long before the current economic downturn and the aftereffects of the Sept.11 terrorist attacks, contends Martina Morris, a University of Washington professor of sociology and statistics.

University of Washington researchers interested in building and maintaining healthier family relationships are looking for 200 Puget Sound families with a child 8 years of age to participate in a five-year study.

University of Washington President Richard L. McCormick has named long-time UW Professor Bruce Bare, an expert on the economics, management and sustainable use of forestlands, dean of the College of Forest Resources.

Steven Rogel, president and chief executive officer of Weyerhaeuser Co. and a key player in the company’s recent lengthy takeover bid for Willamette Industries will discuss his plans for the company’s increased performance during an address at the University of Washington Business School.

In years past, scientific speculation about how life began on Earth envisioned primordial soups and slimy goo as the incubators in which the first tiny microorganisms developed, billions of years ago.

SWAT Robotics, a team that combines students from the UW’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Roosevelt High School, will host a robotics competition to test their latest creation against the handiwork of other area teams in preparation for a regional competition.

The UW’s Chamber Dance Company will explore the impact of humanism and expressionism on modern dance during its annual winter concert.

The School of Music will help romantics celebrate Valentine’s Day with a concert tonight at 7:30 in Meany Theater.

The College of Education is accepting reservations for a colloquium designed to help facilitate partnerships between K-12 and the UW campus.

University Week Staff Report

The latest crime data from the UW Police Department show an 8 percent increase in reported crimes for 2001.

The award-winning UW-based DO-IT program is using cyberspace to reach a national audience with strategies for creating a level playing field in the academic world for students with disabilities.

For Aaron Hertzmann, painting like a master is more a matter of algorithms than brush strokes.

Oxygen in the upper waters of the North Pacific, an area that accounts for about 40 percent of the world’s oceans, decreased as much as 15 percent in a little less than two decades between the early 1980s and late 1990s.

Christina Roux never saw her Franklin High School economics students so engaged — designing dynamic Web sites, poring through the daily papers, throwing themselves into research projects.

Ben Santos has never been plagued with doubts about who he is.

Chris Jarvis
Washington State Attorney General’s Office

With as many as 94 percent of Americans concerned about possible misuse of personal information, the business community has a strong interest in promoting consumer privacy policies that bolster consumer confidence.

Six graduate students, one from each health sciences school, are working on projects as Magnuson Scholars for the 2001-2002 academic year.

Students in the UW School of Dentistry are finding a new and high-tech way to communicate with patients and plan comprehensive treatment.

Sylvia Burns, a licensed massage practitioner (LMP) in the Exercise Training Center at Roosevelt, is the UW Medical Center’s “entrant” in the Winter Olympic Games now under way in Salt Lake City.

A faculty development workshop on “Leadership and Institutional Change” has been scheduled from 8:30 a.

Artist Gary Smoot has a thing for wiener dogs — the kind made out of balloons (note the drawing on his shirt).

DISSENTING VOICE: A recent story in the Columbus Dispatch examined the controversy surrounding genetically altered grass.

Where are we? Here’s another in our series of more difficult photos for you to guess.

Academic Opportunities

Secretary of the Faculty Applicants Sought

Faculty Senate Leadership, in collaboration with the President, seeks applications for the position of Secretary of the Faculty.

FABULOUS FURNITURE: Would you like to see Suzzallo’s Reading Room returned to its former glory when it reopens late this summer? Well, you may be able to help.

Dr. Paul B. Robertson, dean of the University of Washington School of Dentistry for nine years until June 30, 2001, has been appointed the Washington Dental Service Foundation Distinguished Professor in Dentistry.

The award-winning University of Washington-based DO-IT program is using cyberspace to reach a national audience with strategies for creating a level academic playing field for students with disabilities.

Physicians at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center urge King County residents today to prepare for a new child passenger safety law by putting their 4-8 year-old children in booster seats when travelling in motor vehicles.

A research center based at the UW School of Dentistry will try to understand the causes, and some of the answers, for needless suffering among diverse groups in the Northwest and Alaska.

Researchers at the UW are testing to see if a mainstay of human health — the body’s immune system — can better battle one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases than conventional therapies.

Many research studies are looking for people willing to have some blood drawn once or twice and perhaps fill out a questionnaire.

“Nursing’s legacy of keen observation, combined with a focus on the multiple environmental factors that influence human health and illness, has been the foundation for contemporary nursing research in general and women’s health research in particular.

Amy is sure there is something wrong with her.

U-DOC is a six-week high school summer enrichment program offered by the UW School of Medicine’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Eight current and former UW-affiliated physicians and a School of Medicine graduate are featured in the new book, This Side of Doctoring: Reflections from Women in Medicine (edited by Dr.