UW News
The latest news from the UW
September 26, 2017
Jackson School hosts lectures on ‘Trump in the World’ Mondays through fall
Faculty members in the UW’s Jackson School of International Studies will explore the ongoing impact of the Trump presidency in weekly lectures each Monday through fall quarter.
Tag(s): Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology • China Studies Program • College of Arts & Sciences • Daniel Bessner • David Bachman • East Asia Center • Glennys Young • Jackson School of International Studies • Joel Migdal • Kristian Ulrichsen • Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program • Middle East Center • Resat Kasaba • Sara Curran • South Asia Center • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • Sunila Kale • Tony Lucero • Yong-Chool HaSeptember 25, 2017
UW to host $15.6M NSF-funded center for innovation, education in materials science
The University of Washington is home to a new national center of excellence for research, education and training in materials science. The Molecular Engineering Materials Center is funded by a $15.6 million, six-year grant from the National Science Foundation as part of its highly competitive Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) program.
Tag(s): Christine Luscombe • Clean Energy Institute • clean or renewable energy • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Daniel Gamelin • Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute • Molecular Engineering Materials Center
Group project? Taking turns, working with friends may improve grades
It has become an almost essential element of academic life, from college lecture halls to elementary classrooms: the group assignment. Dreaded by some, loved by others, group projects typically aim to build teamwork and accountability while students learn about a topic. But depending on the assignment and the structure of the groups, a project…
Tag(s): Alison Crowe • Benjamin Wiggins • Biology Education Research Group • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • Elli TheobaldSeptember 21, 2017
Freshman Convocation Sept. 24 opens UW’s 2017-18 school year
University of Washington chemistry professor Sarah Keller, whose work and teaching have been recognized internationally, will be the featured speaker at the university’s 34th annual Freshman Convocation, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce
Scott Montgomery makes case for nuclear power in new book ‘Seeing the Light’
Scott L. Montgomery of the UW Jackson School of International Studies discusses his new book, “Seeing the Light: The Case for Nuclear power in the 21st Century.”
Tag(s): books • College of Arts & Sciences • Jackson School of International Studies • Scott L. Montgomery
Hacking a pressure sensor to track gradual motion along marine faults
University of Washington oceanographers are working with a local company to develop a simple new technique that could track seafloor movement in earthquake-prone coastal areas.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • College of the Environment • Dana Manalang • earthquakes & seismology • oceanography • School of Oceanography • William WilcockSeptember 20, 2017
Wave Glider surfs across stormy Drake Passage in Antarctica
A hardy ocean drone made a first-ever attempt to surf across Antarctica’s stormy Drake Passage gathering data about ocean mixing.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Jim Thomson • oceanography • polar scienceSeptember 18, 2017
Catching a diversity of fish species — instead of specializing — means more stable income for fishers
Researchers analyzed nearly 30 years of revenue and permitting records for individuals fishing in Alaskan waters and tracked how their fishing choices, in terms of permits purchased and species caught, influenced their year-to-year income volatility.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • Sean AndersonSeptember 14, 2017
Poverty decreases, income increases in Seattle area and Washington state
The share of Washingtonians living in poverty dropped from 12.2 percent to 11.3 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to new Census data released Thursday. This is the third straight year that poverty has decreased since the post-recession high of 14.1 percent in 2013.
Tag(s): Jennifer Romich • School of Social Work • West Coast Poverty Center
Old fish few and far between under fishing pressure
A new study by University of Washington scientists has found that, for dozens of fish populations around the globe, old fish are greatly depleted — mainly because of fishing pressure. The paper, published online Sept. 14 in Current Biology, is the first to report that old fish are missing in many populations around the world.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • Tim Essington • Trevor Branch
People of color exposed to more pollution from cars, trucks, power plants during 10-year period
A new nationwide study finds that the U.S. made little progress from 2000 to 2010 in reducing relative disparities between people of color and whites in exposure to harmful air pollution emitted by cars, trucks and other combustion sources.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Julian MarshallSeptember 13, 2017
Climate change challenges the survival of fish across the world
Climate change will force many amphibians, mammals and birds to move to cooler areas outside their normal ranges, provided they can find space and a clear trajectory among our urban developments and growing cities. But what are the chances for fish to survive as climate change continues to warm waters around the world? University…
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Julian Olden • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
UW team shatters long-range communication barrier for devices that consume almost no power
UW researchers have demonstrated for the first time that devices that run on almost zero power can transmit data across distances of up to 2.8 kilometers — breaking a long-held barrier and potentially enabling a vast array of interconnected devices.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Joshua Smith • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Shyam Gollakota
Offhand comments can expose underlying racism, UW study finds
Blatant racism is easy to identify — a shouted racial slur, a white supremacist rally, or the open discrimination, segregation and violence of the pre-civil rights era. But more subtle forms of bias, called microaggressions, emerge in the everyday exchanges among friends and strangers alike and can offend racial and ethnic…
Tag(s): Adam Kuczynski • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • Jonathan Kanter • Katherine ManbeckSeptember 12, 2017
Work broadening high-quality early learning bolstered by grant
The University of Washington College of Education’s work to expand access to high-quality early learning opportunities across the country is being strengthened with a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the next four years, the grant will support the College in generating tools and methods needed to launch…
Tag(s): College of Education • Gail Joseph • Kristi Kauerz • Molly Branson-Thayer • Nancy Hertzog • Soojin Oh Park • Susan Sandall • Thomas HalversonSeptember 7, 2017
Ship exhaust makes oceanic thunderstorms more intense
More than a decade of lightning strikes over the Indian Ocean shows for the first time that ship exhaust along major shipping routes alters thunderstorm intensity.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Joel Thornton • lightning
Land-sea experiment will track earthquakes, volcanoes along Alaska Peninsula
The National Science Foundation is funding the largest marine seismic-monitoring effort yet along the Alaska Peninsula, a region with frequent and diverse earthquake and volcanic activity. Involving aircraft and ships, the new Alaska Amphibious Community Seismic Experiment will be led by Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with partners at the University of Washington and…
Tag(s): College of the Environment • earthquakes & seismology • Emily Roland • School of Oceanography
Q&A | Sanne Knudsen: Consumers need more protection from chemicals and pesticides
Sanne Knudsen was an undergraduate in Chicago when she got her first close-up look at environmental justice. As an environmental engineering student at Northwestern University, Knudsen answered an attorney’s call for volunteers to study several neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side, communities that had endured more than their share of pollution and exposure to chemicals….
Tag(s): Q&A • Sanne Knudsen • School of LawSeptember 6, 2017
UW remains at No. 25 in the world, fourth among U.S. public institutions, on Times Higher Education ranking list
For the second consecutive year, the University of Washington has been ranked No. 25 on the Times Higher Education world rankings for 2018, released Tuesday. It is tied with the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Tag(s): Rankings
PupilScreen aims to allow parents, coaches, medics to detect concussion, brain injuries with a smartphone
University of Washington researchers are developing a smartphone app that is capable of objectively detecting concussion and other traumatic brain injuries in the field, which could provide a new level of screening for athletes and accident victims.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Department of Neurological Surgery • Lynn McGrath • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • School of Medicine • Shwetak Patel • UW Medicine
Earth as hybrid planet: New classification scheme places Anthropocene era in astrobiological context
A team of researchers including the UW’s Marina Alberti has devised a new classification scheme for the evolutionary stages of worlds based on “non-equilibrium thermodynamics” — a planet’s energy flow being out of synch, as the presence of life could cause.
Tag(s): Anthropocene • College of Built Environments • Marina AlbertiSeptember 5, 2017
UW, Seattle Housing Authority plan to build affordable housing in the U District
The University of Washington and the Seattle Housing Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding for the two organizations to develop affordable housing in the University District.
Gun dealers, suicide-prevention advocates partner to save lives
With 80 percent of firearms deaths in Washington related to suicide, the scenario isn’t hard to imagine: A person thinking of ending their life enters a gun store to buy the means to do it. Unfortunately, other scenarios play out, as well: A person filling a lethal dose of a prescription medication at a…
Tag(s): Forefront • Jennifer Stuber • School of Social Work
How governments can maintain strong public-private partnerships: Guide from Evans School’s Justin Marlowe
The biggest risk to public-private partnerships in governing is not financial or technical, but political, says UW Evans School professor Justin Marlowe in his fourth guide to financial literacy, published by Governing magazine.
Tag(s): Evans School of Public Policy & Governance • Justin MarloweAugust 31, 2017
Q&A: How Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Yellowstone National Park are confronting climate change
A new book focuses on climate change risks in the Northern Rocky Mountains, and how managers of public lands can prepare.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • David Peterson • forests • Q&A • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Record-low 2016 Antarctic sea ice due to ‘perfect storm’ of tropical, polar conditions
This exceptional, sudden nosedive in Antarctic sea ice last year was due to a unique one-two punch from atmospheric conditions both in the tropical Pacific Ocean and around the South Pole.
Tag(s): Cecilia Bitz • College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • polar science • sea iceAugust 28, 2017
Home prices up, supply down in second quarter of 2017
Washington state’s housing market showed the continuing effects of high demand in the second quarter of 2017, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington The statewide median sales price rose to $337,700 in the second quarter, 6.6 percent higher than the same time period last year. This represents…
Tag(s): James Young • Runstad Department of Real Estate • Washington Center for Real Estate Research
New app could use smartphone selfies to screen for pancreatic cancer
A new app could lead to earlier detection of pancreatic cancer simply by snapping a smartphone selfie. The disease kills 90 percent of patients within five years, in part because there are no telltale symptoms or non-invasive screening tools to catch a tumor before it spreads.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Department of Pediatrics • James Taylor • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • School of Medicine • Shwetak Patel
How reading and writing with your child boost more than just literacy
Children who read and write at home — whether for assignments or just for fun — are building long-term study and executive function skills, according to a paper from the University of Washington. And while home literacy activities have already been associated with higher test scores, the new study shows these activities also provide…
Tag(s): College of Education • Virginia BerningerAugust 25, 2017
As Tolstoy noted (sort of), all unhappy microbiomes are unhappy in their own way
The bacterial communities that live inside each of our guts are relatively similar when times are good, but when stress enters the equation, those communities can react very differently from person to person.
Tag(s): Jesse Zaneveld • marine microbiology • microbes and viruses • UW BothellAugust 24, 2017
Scientists to create digital encyclopedia of 3-D vertebrate specimens
A $2.5 million National Science Foundation grant will daylight thousands of specimens from their museum shelves by CT scanning 20,000 vertebrates and making these data-rich, 3-D images available online to researchers, educators, students and the public. The University of Washington is a partner institution contributing most of the fish and bat scans.
Tag(s): Adam Summers • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • Department of Biology • Luke Tornabene • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • Sharlene Santana
A dean looks back: Harry Bruce reflects on UW ‘iSchool’ past, future
Information School Dean Harry Bruce talks about his job and life as he prepares to step down.
Tag(s): Anind Dey • Harry Bruce • Information School
Lesbian, gay and bisexual older adults suffer more chronic health conditions than heterosexuals, study finds
Lesbian and bisexual older women are more likely than heterosexual older women to suffer chronic health conditions, experience sleep problems and drink excessively, a new University of Washington study finds. In general, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) older adults were found to be in poorer health than heterosexuals, specifically in terms of higher rates…
Tag(s): aging • Aging with Pride • Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen • School of Social WorkAugust 23, 2017
UW is No. 13 in the world, third among public universities, in new ranking
The University of Washington is ranked No. 13 in the world — No. 3 among public universities — on the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities, released this month.
Tag(s): Rankings
Greetings from Earth: Documents that Changed the World podcast revisits Voyager’s ‘Golden Record,’ 1977
Forty years ago this month, Planet Earth said hello to the cosmos with the launch of the two Voyager probes that used gravity to swing from world to world on a grand tour of the solar system. Each bore a two-sided, 12-inch, gold-plated copper “Golden Record” of sights and sounds from Earth and its…
Tag(s): Documents that Changed the World • Information School • Joe JanesAugust 21, 2017
Native American youth launch high-altitude balloons for unique perspective on solar eclipse
While many people across the country donned viewing glasses and prepared to watch Monday’s solar eclipse, a group of 100 teenagers from tribes across the Pacific Northwest launched balloons thousands of feet into the air, gaining a novel perspective of the eclipse — and the chance to send meaningful artifacts to the edge of space during a memorable moment in history.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Robert Winglee • Washington NASA Space Grant ConsortiumAugust 18, 2017
‘Be sure to look around you’: Tips on Seattle eclipse viewing
With many in Seattle are wondering what the Aug. 21 solar eclipse will be like in our city, Bruce Balick, UW professor emeritus of astronomy, shared a few thoughts.
Tag(s): Bruce BalickAugust 17, 2017
Q & A: Sarah Quinn lifts the curtain on the ‘hidden state’
Given today’s political climate, one might assume that terms like “administrative state” and “deep state” are merely examples of polarized rhetoric. But the wariness underlying those terms goes back much further, said Sarah Quinn, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Washington. Try colonial America. “Some historians will say this is something…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Q&A • Sarah QuinnAugust 16, 2017
Modern genetic sequencing tools give clearer picture of how corals are related
As corals face threats from warming oceans, a new study uses modern genetic-sequencing tools to help reveal the relationships between three similar-looking corals.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • Steven Roberts
Computer scientists use music to covertly track body movements, activity
Researchers at the University of Washington have demonstrated how it is possible to transform a smart device into a surveillance tool that can collect information about the body position and movements of the user, as well as other people in the device’s immediate vicinity. Their approach involves remotely hijacking smart devices to play music embedded with repeating pulses that track a person’s position, body movements, and activities both in the vicinity of the device as well as through walls.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Shyam Gollakota • Tadayoshi Kohno« Previous Page Next Page »