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Arts and entertainment | UW and the community

June 24, 2020

ArtSci Roundup: Drop-in Meditation Session, Meany Center Virtual Programming, 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.  Drop-in Session: An Embodied Practice: Working with Our Intentions June 29, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | Zoom This session, hosted by the Center for Child and Family…

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

Puget Sound eelgrass beds create a ‘halo’ with fewer harmful algae, new method shows

Genetic clues show that eelgrass growing underwater along Puget Sound shorelines is associated with fewer of the single-celled algae that produce harmful toxins in shellfish. The evidence shows this effect extends 45 feet beyond the edge of the eelgrass bed.

Health and medicine | Population Health | Public Health | Research | Social science | UW News blog

Study asks Washington state residents to describe food security and access during pandemic, economic downturn

A new online survey for Washington state residents has launched to gather data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have affected food access and economic security. The Washington State Food Security Survey, which went live June 18 and runs through July 31, is open to all Washington state residents aged 18 or over.

Environment | Health and medicine | News releases | Population Health | Public Health

Videos: If you fish the Duwamish in Seattle, better eat the salmon — Comer el salmón, Ăn cá hồi, បរិភោគត្រីសាម៉ុង — and here’s how

It could take another generation before resident fish in the heavily polluted Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle will be safe to eat. Yet many fishers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds continue to fish the 5-mile stretch of river for fun, cultural connections and food even as cleanup of this designated Superfund site continues. The Duwamish was listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priority (or “Superfund”) List of sites that require cleanup in 2001. Since that time, federal,…

Arts and entertainment | Social science | UW and the community | UW Notebook

UW podcasts: EarthLab, Canadian Studies, Nancy Bell Evans Center, UW Bothell — and a book featured in Times Literary Supplement

A quick look at several UW-produced podcasts, from benevolent marketing to Arctic geopolitics — and a classics professor’s work being featured in a podcast produced by the Times Literary Supplement.

Education | News releases | UW and the community

June 23, 2020

UW’s K-8 reading program saw record numbers during COVID-19

When schools closed because of the coronavirus, Real Dawgs Read, a UW program that asks kids to read 30 minutes a day over 30 separate days, was there to fill the gap. During a special session between March 25 and June 5, it experienced its highest level of participation — with 3,240 readers taking part.

News releases | Population Health | Public Health | Research

75% of US workers can’t work exclusively from home, face greater risks during pandemic

About three-quarters of U.S. workers, or 108 million people, are in jobs that cannot be done from home during a pandemic, putting these workers at increased risk of exposure to disease. This majority of workers are also at higher risk for other job disruptions such as layoffs, furloughs or hours reductions, a University of Washington study shows. Such job disruptions can cause stress, anxiety and other mental health outcomes that could persist even as the United States reopens its economic…

Buildings and grounds | For UW employees | UW and the community | UW News blog

June 18, 2020

University of Washington issues COVID-19 face covering policy

The University of Washington has issued a face covering policy for all university personnel, students, staff, contractors and visitors who are on campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As a reminder, only employees designated as critical can be working in-person and only at the direction of their supervisor.

Arts and entertainment | UW and the community

ArtSci Roundup: Meany Center sets the stage, Henry Art Gallery’s Viewpoints closes soon, 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.  Drop-in Session: Cultivating Gratitude in Challenging Time June 22, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | Zoom Noticing what we are grateful for and cultivating practices of gratitude…

Honors and awards | Profiles | Research | Social science | UW Notebook

June 17, 2020

UW book notes: Physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir ‘Being Authentic’; Lambda Literary award for UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma

UW family physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir “Being Authentic,” and a Lambda Literary award goes to UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma.

Learning | News releases | Research | UW and the community

June 16, 2020

UW reinvents summer research, internships during COVID-19

The COVID-19 Clearinghouse at UW Law is just one of the ways that faculty and staff across the university have revamped summer research internships and worked with outside partners and employers to involve students in a remote working environment, even for jobs that would normally be out in the field.

Administrative affairs | For UW employees | UW News blog

June 11, 2020

UW Regents approve 2020-21 budget as University faces financial challenges from COVID-19

The University of Washington Board of Regents on Thursday approved the University’s 2020-21 budget, which seeks to continue prioritizing its academic mission while also responding to the financial pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arts and entertainment | UW and the community

ArtSci Roundup: Re/Frame with Henry Art Gallery, Mindfulness practices, 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: Order & Chaos Online June 18, 12:00 PM and 6:30 PM | Zoom Join Ann Poulson, the Henry’s Associate Curator of Collections, for an interactive…

Administrative affairs | Education | For UW employees | News releases | UW and the community

UW removes standardized testing requirement for incoming students beyond fall 2021

The University of Washington has removed the requirement of standardized test scores, such as the SAT and ACT, for incoming students beyond the fall of 2021. The requirement had already been temporarily removed for the fall 2021 incoming class due to the lack of available testing sites in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Research | Science | UW News blog

Scientists close in on 12 billion-year-old signal from the end of the universe’s ‘dark age’

When the universe was in its infancy, it contained no stars at all. And an international team of scientists is closer than ever to detecting, measuring and studying a signal from this era that has been traveling through the cosmos ever since that starless era ended some 13 billion years ago.

Education | Engineering | Health and medicine | Learning | News releases | Science | Technology

June 10, 2020

Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students

Researchers examined 15 years of records of student performance, education and demographics for chemistry courses at the University of Washington. They found that underrepresented students received lower grades in the general chemistry series compared to their peers and, if the grade was sufficiently low, were less likely to continue in the series and more likely to leave STEM. But if underrepresented students completed the first general chemistry course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue in the series, they were more likely than their peers to continue the general chemistry series and complete this major step toward a STEM degree.

Arts and entertainment | UW and the community

June 5, 2020

ArtSci Roundup: School of Art + Art History + Design graduation exhibitions, [Here/Now] interview series, 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. 

Population Health | Research | Science | UW News blog

May 29, 2020

Researchers use brain imaging to demonstrate weaker neural suppression in individuals with autism

In a paper published May 29 in Nature Communications, a team of scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Minnesota and the Johns Hopkins University reports that differences in visual motion perception in autism spectrum disorder are accompanied by weaker neural “suppression” in the visual cortex of the brain, which may help scientists understand sensory hypersensitivity in people with ASD.

News releases | Population Health | Public Health

UW launches online training for contact tracing to help fight COVID-19

As businesses and public spaces reopen across the nation, the old-school public health detective work known as contact tracing is becoming a major component of the battle to contain the novel coronavirus that causes the deadly COVID-19 disease. It’s an investigative strategy long used for finding and informing people exposed to contagious diseases, such as measles and STDs, and now agencies across the country focused on combating the pandemic need support to expand their workforce to conduct contact-tracing interviews and…

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

May 28, 2020

The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA

A new study in Nature Microbiology shows that the most common organism in the world’s oceans — and possibly the whole planet — harbors a virus in its DNA. This virus may have helped it survive and outcompete other organisms. The study began as a UW School of Oceanography senior thesis.

Arts and entertainment | Profiles | UW and the community | UW Notebook

Charles Johnson muses on ‘the art of living’ in new book ‘GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life’

Charles Johnson has written novels and short stories, screenplays and philosophical meditations, but his latest book is something different, and very personal. “GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life” was published May 5.

News releases

UW launches new Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences with $2.5 million investment from Microsoft

The University of Washington today announced the establishment of the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE). Fueled by a $2.5 million inaugural investment from Microsoft, UW CREATE is led by an interdisciplinary team whose mission is to make technology accessible and to make the world accessible through technology.

Expert quotes | Population Health | Public Health

May 27, 2020

UW experts on challenges to worker safety in meat processing industry

Meat processing plants face challenges in keeping workers safe during the pandemic. Carrie Freshour, a UW assistant professor of geography, and Marissa Baker, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and an expert on worker safety related to infectious diseases, provides comments on what the industry can do to protect workers.

Arts and entertainment | UW and the community

ArtSci Roundup: Pandemic Then (and Now), UW Bothell 2020 MFA Spring Festival, 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.    Pandemic Then (and Now): COVID-19 through the Lens of the 1918 Influenza Crisis June 2, 2:30 – 3:30 PM | Online via Zoom History Department Professor…

News releases | Research | Science

Cosmic bursts unveil universe’s missing matter

An international team of astronomers has used mysterious fast radio bursts to solve a decades-old mystery of “missing matter,” material long predicted to exist in the universe but never detected — until now. The researchers have now found all of the missing “normal” matter in the vast space between stars and galaxies. The team, which includes scientists based in Australia, the United States and Chile, announced its findings in a paper published May 27 in the journal Nature.