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Expert quotes | Soundbites

February 5, 2020

Soundbites & B-roll: Altruistic babies

For journalists Download soundbites and b-roll   New research by the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, or I-LABS, finds that altruism may begin in infancy. In a study of nearly 100 19-month-olds, researchers found that children, even when hungry, gave a tasty snack to a stranger in need. The findings not only show that infants engage in altruistic behavior, but also suggest that early social experiences can shape altruism. Read the full story here. For more…

News releases

February 4, 2020

UW’s East Asia Library to be renamed the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi East Asia Library

There’s more to celebrate this Lunar New Year at University of Washington’s East Asia Library. The UW today announced a $6 million gift from the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation to the East Asia Library. In recognition of this gift, the library will be renamed the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi East Asia Library.

News releases | Population Health | Research | Science

First-of-its-kind hydrogel platform enables on-demand production of medicines and chemicals

A team of chemical engineers has developed a new way to produce medicines and chemicals and preserve them using portable “biofactories” embedded in water-based gels known as hydrogels. The approach could help people in remote villages or on military missions, where the absence of pharmacies, doctor’s offices or even basic refrigeration makes it hard to access critical medicines and other small-molecule compounds. The team — led by Hal Alper, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Texas, and…

Arts and entertainment | Education | Honors and awards | UW Notebook

February 3, 2020

UW Books in brief: Poetry of India’s Bani-Thani, equitable parent-school collaboration, building military cultural competence — and a 2019 National Jewish Book Award

Notable new books by UW faculty members include studies of military cultural education programs and equitable collaboration between schools and families. Also, National Endowment for the Humanities support for a coming book on an 18th century India poet, an honor for a work about postwar Japan — and a National Jewish Book Award.

Education | News releases | Research | Social science

Not just ‘baby talk’: Parentese helps parents, babies make ‘conversation’ and boosts language development

A study by the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington finds the value of using “parentese,” an exaggerated speaking style that conveys total engagement with a child.

News releases

January 31, 2020

University of Washington selected for 2020 Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification

The University of Washington today announced that its three campuses in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma have received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement. 

Arts and entertainment

ArtsUW Roundup: the Orlando Consort performs at Meany Hall, The Best of Everything kicks-off, and more

This week in the arts, attend Jacob Lawrence Legacy Resident Marisa Williamson’s artist talk, join the Henry Art Gallery for a trumpet and American Sign Language performance, listen as David Alexander Rahbee leads the UW Symphony, and more! To learn about more events taking place, visit ArtsUW. Open Rehearsal with the UW Symphony February 3,  3:30 pm – 6:00 pm | Meany Hall Get a special behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsal process of the UW Symphony Orchestra on Monday, February 3. Under the…

Administrative affairs | For UW employees | UW and the community | UW News blog

January 30, 2020

UPDATE: Negative coronavirus test results for third UW student; no confirmed cases and no more tests pending

The UW Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (ACCD) announced Thursday that it received negative test results for the third of three students who have been tested for coronavirus. Two students had previously also tested negative, and there are no remaining tests pending among any members of the UW community. There continue to be no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus among UW community members.

Health and medicine | News releases | Population Health | Research

UW’s new WE-REACH center to accelerate development of the ‘most exciting’ biomedical discoveries

With $4 million in matching funds from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Washington has created a new integrated center to match biomedical discoveries with the resources needed to bring innovative products to the public and improve health. “The University of Washington and regional partner institutions produce some of the most exciting biomedical discoveries and technologies in the world, but we always find it challenging to support their product development as they move into the early commercialization phases,”…

Administrative affairs | For UW employees | UW and the community | UW News blog

January 28, 2020

Update: Negative coronavirus test results for two people; awaiting results of third

The UW Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (ACCD) announced Tuesday that it received negative test results for the second student of three students who have been tested for coronavirus. One student had previously tested negative, and the University anticipates receiving test results this week for the third student tested. There continue to be no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus among UW community members.

News releases

François Baneyx named UW Vice Provost for Innovation at inaugural meeting of UW Innovation Roundtable

François Baneyx has been named Vice Provost for Innovation at the University of Washington, Provost Mark Richards announced yesterday at the inaugural meeting of the UW Innovation Roundtable. Baneyx was appointed Interim Vice Provost for Innovation in July 2019. Baneyx is also director of CoMotion, UW’s collaborative innovation hub dedicated to expanding the economic and societal impact of the UW community. In addition, he is the Charles W.H. Matthaei Professor of Chemical Engineering and an adjunct professor of Bioengineering, and…

For UW employees | Honors and awards | UW and the community | UW Notebook

January 27, 2020

Faculty/staff honors: Honorary doctorate, early career award, Washington state LGTBQ Commission, writing program praise

Recent honors to UW faculty and staff include an early career award in astronomy, an honorary doctorate from the Delft University of Technology, a seat on Washington state’s new LGBTQ Commission and national honor for an English Department writing program.

Administrative affairs | For UW employees | UW and the community | UW News blog

January 26, 2020

Three UW students in Seattle screened for novel coronavirus

The University of Washington was notified by Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) that three students from the UW’s Seattle campus are being screened for the novel (new) coronavirus. These three students recently traveled to Wuhan, China, and developed symptoms after returning. One person lives off campus, and that student’s test was negative for infection. Two students live in on-campus housing and are awaiting their test results. These are not confirmed cases. The two students awaiting test results…

Health and medicine | Interactive | News releases | Population Health | Public Health | Research

January 24, 2020

Rural kids carrying handguns is ‘not uncommon’ and starts as early as sixth grade

Roughly one-third of young males and 1 in 10 females in rural communities have carried a handgun, reports a new University of Washington study. And, the study found, many of those rural kids started carrying as early as the sixth grade. “This is one of the first longitudinal studies of rural adolescent handgun carrying across multiple states in the U.S. It provides evidence that youth handgun carrying in these settings is not uncommon,” said lead author Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, a UW…

Arts and entertainment | News releases

ArtsUW Roundup: Preserving Elephants in the Age of Extinction, Brian Brooks Moving Company, The Best of Everything, and more

This week in the arts, experience a free concert at Benaroya Hall commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, attend a lecture about the story of Shawn Wong’s rediscovery of “No-No Boy,” and more! To learn about more events taking place, visit ArtsUW. Music of Remembrance: Art from Ashes – Free Concert Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz January 27, 5:30 pm | Benaroya Hall Seattle-based Music of Remembrance (MOR) presents Art From Ashes, a free community-wide concert marking…

News releases | Population Health | Research | Social science

Community-based counselors help mitigate grief, stress among children orphaned in East Africa

The University of Washington led a clinical trial involving more than 600 children in Kenya and Tanzania, in which community members were trained to deliver mental health treatment, showed improvement in participants’ trauma-related symptoms up to a year after receiving therapy.

News releases | Population Health | Public Health | Social science | UW News blog | Video

January 21, 2020

A foundation for ‘safe motherhood’ created with and for the Somali community

On a recent Saturday evening, a dozen women gathered around a table at a community room in the White Center neighborhood of Seattle, settling in with snacks and conversation. The evening’s program would be more education than entertainment, an opportunity to discuss topics so sensitive that, without the group of women assembled that night, might not be discussed at all. Against one wall of the room, a model of the female reproductive system. Standing before them, a doula, one of…

News releases | Population Health | Research | Science

Mosquitoes are drawn to flowers as much as people — and now scientists know why

Despite their reputation as blood-suckers, mosquitoes actually spend most of their time drinking nectar from flowers. Scientists have identified the chemical cues in flowers that stimulate mosquitoes’ sense of smell and draw them in. Their findings show how cues from flowers can stimulate the mosquito brain as much as a warm-blooded host — information that could help develop less toxic repellents and better traps.

Arts and entertainment

January 17, 2020

ArtsUW Roundup: Midori with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, UW Dance Presents, Burke NiteLife, and more

This week in the arts, see a film screening at SAM, partake in a party at the Burke, attend a Department of Dance concert, and more! Film: “Edo Avant Garde: How Japan Invented Modern Art” with filmmaker Linda Hoaglund January 20, 1:00 – 4:00 pm | Seattle Art Museum Visit the Seattle Art Museum for a screening with director Linda Hoaglund. Edo Avant-Garde is a feature documentary film that tells the untold story of the vital role Japanese artists of the Edo era…

Environment | News releases | Politics and government | Research | Science

January 16, 2020

Mobile protected areas needed to preserve biodiversity in the high seas

Leaders are updating the laws for international waters that apply to most of the world’s ocean environment. This provides a unique opportunity, argues a UW Bothell marine scientist, to anticipate new techniques that allow protected zones to shift as species move under climate change.

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

January 15, 2020

‘The blob,’ food supply squeeze to blame for largest seabird die-off

When nearly one million common murres died at sea and washed ashore from California to Alaska in 2015 and 2016, it was unprecedented. Scientists from the University of Washington, the U.S. Geological Survey and others blame an unexpected squeeze on the ecosystem’s food supply, brought on by a severe and long-lasting marine heat wave known as “the blob.”

For UW employees | Honors and awards | Public Health | Science | Social science | UW Notebook

Faculty/staff honors: Consulting assignment in Africa, honorary doctorate in Bern, conservation leadership award

Recent honors to UW faculty and staff include an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern, an award for biodiversity conservation and a consulting assignment for the World Health Organization.

Environment | Interactive | News releases | Research | Science

January 13, 2020

Fisheries management is actually working, global analysis shows

Nearly half of the fish caught worldwide are from stocks that are scientifically monitored and, on average, are increasing in abundance. Effective management appears to be the main reason these stocks are at sustainable levels or successfully rebuilding, according to a new study led by the University of Washington.

Arts and entertainment

ArtsUW Roundup: Low Brow/High Culture exhibit opens in the Allen Library, guest pianist Conor Hanick performs, and more

This week in the arts, attend a film screening at SAM, visit museums on campus for free with your Husky card, and more! Guest Artist Recital: Conor Hanick, piano January 13, 7:30 pm | Brechemin Auditorium Brooklyn-based concert pianist Conor Hanick performs works of Galina Ustvolskaya and Morton Feldman on Monday evening and leads a free master class with UW piano students on Tuesday. Hanick is regarded as one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music old and new. With a unique adeptness…

News releases | Population Health | Public Health | Research

At gun safety events, 40% of gun owners reported not locking all household guns — even around kids

While waiting for free firearm storage devices at gun safety events held in sporting goods stores across Washington, nearly 3,000 people filled out a one-page survey asking how they stored guns at home and other household information. What the participants reported emphasizes the need for these public events, Seattle Children’s and University of Washington researchers say, because 40% of gun owners at the events reported having at least one firearm in their home that was not locked up. In addition,…

Education | For UW employees | Learning | Social science | UW and the community | UW Notebook

January 6, 2020

Supporting diversity, inclusion in neuroscience: A conversation about the BRAINS Program with UW psychology professor Sheri Mizumori

A conversation with UW psychology professor Sheri Mizumori about the UW-based program Broadening the Representations of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience — or BRAINS for short — designed to accelerate career advancement for postdoctoral researchers and assistant professors from underrepresented populations.

Arts and entertainment

January 3, 2020

ArtsUW Roundup: welcome 2020 with a celebration of Asian American writers, kick-off the Critical Issues Lecture Series, and more

This week in the arts, attend several screenings with the 2020 Southeast Asia x Seattle Film Festival, visit museums on campus for free with your Husky card, and more! Shawn Wong & Tara Fickle January 9, 7:00 pm | The Elliott Bay Book Company Come celebrate the publication of the Third Edition of Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers (published by University of Washington Press) with UW Professor of English, Shawn Wong, and literary scholar, Tara Fickle. This groundbreaking collection of writing by Asian Americans,…