May 23, 2018
This week in the arts, attend a hilarious and surprising play, celebrate the start of summer with an evening of Shakespeare, visit the Burke for free at First Thursday, and go to a graduation design show. Goldie, Max and Milk May 22 – June 3 | Glen Hughes Penthouse Theater Max, a single lesbian, just gave birth. She’s unemployed, with a house that’s falling apart, an ex on the loose, and no clue how to nurse her newborn. Can Goldie,…
The oldest ice core so far provides 800,000 years of our planet’s climate history. A UW field survey in Antarctica has pinpointed a location where an entire million years of undisturbed ice might be preserved intact.
May 21, 2018
Through Alexis Hiniker’s Designing for Evil course, which is unique to the UW, students have identified “emerging evil” technologies and redesigned them so that they are more likely to enhance — not detract from — users’ lives.
May 18, 2018
Eight decades ago to the day, the Faculty Senate met for the first time at the University of Washington.
For the past three years, a striking visual statement has marked Memorial Day on the University of Washington campus: thousands of miniature flags dotting the HUB lawn. The first year, student veterans placed hundreds of flags as a solemn gesture to underscore the significance of the holiday. The next year, the office of Student Veteran Life placed some 4,400 flags, to recognize the number of soldiers killed in the Iraq War. And in 2017, more than 5,800 flags…
May 17, 2018
Research shows that the more skills children bring with them to kindergarten – in basic math, reading, even friendship and cooperation – the more likely they will succeed in those same areas in school. Hence, “kindergarten readiness” is the goal of many preschool programs, and a motivator for many parents. Now it’s time to add language to that mix of skills, says a new University of Washington-led study. Not only does a child’s use of vocabulary and grammar…
With the grand opening of the new $171 million Life Sciences Building just months away, it’s time to fill the building with faculty. That was the idea behind a $3 million Washington Research Foundation (WRF) grant to hire four biology professors. It’s called a cluster hire and will help maintain the University of Washington’s leading reputation in primary research and life sciences.
May 16, 2018
This week in the arts, attend a hilarious and surprising play, join in on the Percussion Studio’s and Choir’s end of year performances, and attend a Seattle-based ensemble’s innovative chamber music concert. Goldie, Max and Milk May 22 – May 27 | Glen Hughes Penthouse Theater Max, a single lesbian, just gave birth. She’s unemployed, with a house that’s falling apart, an ex on the loose, and no clue how to nurse her newborn. Can Goldie, an Orthodox Jewish lactation…
May 15, 2018
If an entire forest dies, new research shows, it has ricocheting effects in the atmosphere that can affect vegetation on the other side of the country.
Karen Goldberg, an affiliate professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
It was spring 1968. A group of students occupied the University of Washington administration building calling for change: justice, diversity, agency for Blacks on campus.
Family-focused science lessons, robotics for young children and touch-based programming for the visually impaired are among the University of Washington research videos featured in the STEM for All Video Showcase, funded by the National Science Foundation. The weeklong online event, in its fourth year, highlights more than 200 projects from universities around the country and allows viewers to vote for their favorites. This year’s theme is “Transforming the Educational Landscape.” Researchers from the UW have submitted projects from the…
Engineers at the University of Washington have created RoboFly, the first wireless flying robotic insect. This might be one small flap for a robot, but it’s one giant leap for robot-kind.
May 14, 2018
ASEs have called on the University of Washington to address trans-affirming medical procedures, mental health coverage, sexual harassment prevention training and wages – and the latest proposal the UW offered Monday addresses each outstanding issue.
Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, according to new research from UW astronomers.
The presidents of four Seattle-area universities and colleges have joined forces to declare May 14-18, 2018 as Affordable Housing Week on their campuses. Dr. Jeff Wagnitz, interim president of Highline College; Dr. Daniel J. Martin of Seattle Pacific University; Steven V. Sundborg, S.J., president of Seattle University; and Ana Mari Cauce, president of University of Washington, have signed proclamations or otherwise affirmed the importance of safe, healthy, affordable homes in communities of opportunity. The higher-education institutions join King County and 20 King County cities, including Seattle, in recognizing the benefits of affordable housing to everyone in the community.
It’s a challenge to write a biography of a man who was functionally illiterate and whose papers were mostly destroyed, but UW lecturer Taso Lagos has achieved it with his new book, “American Zeus: The Life of Alexander Pantages, Theater Mogul.”
May 10, 2018
The UW School of Oceanography has a new vessel, named after marine biologist, author and conservationist Rachel Carson. It will explore Puget Sound and nearby coasts.
May 9, 2018
This week in the arts, six MFA candidates in dance invite you to see the premiere of their work, attend a conversation with contemporary Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat, listen to a 100-voice gospel choir, and more. MFA Dance Concert May 16 – 20 | Meany Studio Theater Six MFA candidates in dance invite you to participate in the premiere of six conceptually and aesthetically diverse works. Drawing from jazz, performance art, improvisational practices and contemporary dance, these new works…
May 8, 2018
UW glaciologist Knut Christianson is part of a massive collaboration that will collect on-the-ground data about a key Antarctic glacier that shows signs it could be collapsing into the sea.
May 7, 2018
New research in plants shows that a gene called MUTE is required for the formation of stomata — the tiny pores that are critical for gas exchange, including releasing the oxygen gas that we breathe.
Charles Johnson, UW professor emeritus of English, has released his fourth book of short stories, “Night Hawks.” He discusses his creative process for short story-writing.
May 3, 2018
Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary is scheduled to visit the University of Washington on Friday morning.
In a study published online May 3 in the journal Science, a University of Washington-led team announced that it has discovered a method to encode information using magnets that are just a few layers of atoms in thickness. This breakthrough may revolutionize both cloud computing technologies and consumer electronics by enabling data storage at a greater density and improved energy efficiency.
May 2, 2018
Hilary Godwin has been named the next dean of the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty announced today. Her appointment, set to begin July 15, 2018, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.
The University of Washington announced today it has reached agreement with a group of three plaintiffs in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit alleging violations in the University’s parking facilities on the Seattle campus.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle University have created CrowdFit, a platform for exercise planning that relies on crowdsourcing from nonexperts to create workout regimens guided by national exercise recommendations and tailored around user schedules and interests.
Issues of race and racism permeate American culture and media more than ever. The UW’s Center for Communication, Difference and Equity will hold a three-day conference May 10-12 to explore these issues and foster engagement and support among academics.
May 1, 2018
The UW has proposed a three-year contract which includes annual wage increases over the next three years, a continuation of high-quality health insurance fully paid by the university and the continuation of waivers on many student-approved fees. The UW has also agreed to pay for two 50 percent ASE employees to partner with SafeCampus to develop and conduct a sexual harassment and prevention training program to address ASE-specific issues.
This week in the arts, experience a rock-opera-style ballet that pays homage to David Bowie’s iconic and chameleonic spirit, attend a lecture with American artist Sharon Lockhart, see the premiere of six conceptually diverse dance pieces, and more. Harry Partch Festival 7:30 p.m., May 11 – 13 | Meany Theater Twentieth century American composer Harry Partch created an original musical world and hand-hewn instruments on which to perform his microtonal compositions, which continue to inspire and influence musicians and composers…
Victoria Meadows, University of Washington astrobiologist, professor of astronomy and leader of NASA’s UW-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory, has been named recipient of the 2018 Frank Drake Award from the SETI Institute. She is the first woman to receive the award.
Parents don’t need to fear their children playing with iPads and other devices, researchers say. Mindful play with an adult, combined with thoughtful design features, can prove beneficial to young developing minds. New research shows that thoughtfully designed content that intentionally supports parent-child interactions facilitated the same kind of play and development as analog toys.
April 30, 2018
A Q&A with retiring Washington Sea Grant director Penny Dalton on her drive to serve the public, and the ways in which she has helped young marine policy experts get started in the field.
April 27, 2018
Oceanographer Cecilia Peralta Ferriz is spending the academic year in Tromsø, Norway, to collaborate with colleagues who study flow out of the Arctic Ocean.
The University of Washington this week ranked No. 5 on the Forbes list of Best Value Colleges 2018. The UW rose from 23rd place in the 2016 ranking.
April 26, 2018
Want to prevent kids from using drugs and make it stick into young adulthood? Get the community involved and intervene before they’re teens, say researchers from the University of Washington. A new, longitudinal study from the UW Social Development Research Group shows that young adults who grew up in communities that used a coordinated, science-based approach to prevention were more likely to have abstained from substance use, violence and other antisocial behaviors through age 21. Researchers at the group,…
April 25, 2018
This week in the arts, visit a graduation exhibit featuring the works of Interdisciplinary Visual Arts students, see Tony Kushner’s epic tale of AIDS in the 1980s, attend a lecture by award-winning author and frequent New Yorker contributor Gary Shteyngart, learn about themes related to Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition ‘Figuring History’ with Catharina Manchanda, and participate in a festival that celebrates the music and influence of Harry Partch. Graduation Exhibition: Interdisciplinary Visual Arts April 25 – May 5 | Jacob…
A crowd of dignitaries gathered Wednesday for the official groundbreaking of the university’s new 290,000-square-foot Population Health Building, a facility that will house the Population Health Initiative launched by the UW in 2016.
About twice each decade, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, looks at what is known about the science of climate change, the extent to which human activities are changing the Earth’s climate, and what risks these changes pose to human and natural systems. Organized into three working groups, each assessment is a years-long international effort that lays out the current understanding, projections for change over this century and options to manage the challenges ahead. The most…
Researchers at the University of Washington, working with researchers from the ETH-Zurich, Purdue University and Virginia Commonwealth University, have achieved an optical communications breakthrough that could revolutionize information technology. They created a tiny device, smaller than a human hair, that translates electrical bits (0s and 1s of the digital language) into light, or photonic bits, at speeds 10s of times faster than current technologies.