More than 100 scientists and crew from more than 20 U.S. research institutions, including the UW, will depart in August for a month-long expedition to study how the ocean absorbs carbon from the atmosphere.
June 21, 2018
The latest news from the UW
June 20, 2018
Why 9 to 5 isn’t the only shift that can work for busy families
For the millions of Americans who work “nonstandard” shifts – evenings, nights or with rotating days off – the schedule can be especially challenging with children at home. But a new study from the University of Washington finds that consistent hours, at whatever time of day, can give families flexibility and in some cases, improve children’s behavior. The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Family Issues, focuses on two-parent families in which one parent…
Ali Mokdad named chief strategy officer for Population Health
Ali Mokdad has been named the chief strategy officer for Population Health at the University of Washington, President Ana Mari Cauce announced today. In this new role he will be responsible for collaboratively setting and executing the UW’s vision and strategy for the Population Health Initiative, a 25-year effort to create a world where all people can live healthier and more fulfilling lives.
June 18, 2018
Evans School faculty to study Fauntleroy ferry concerns for Washington State Ferries
The Washington State Legislature has commissioned faculty members with the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance to study ticketing and loading procedures at the West Seattle ferry dock and suggest ways to improve terminal operations. Evans School professor Alison Cullen and associate professor Stephen Page will lead the study, which begins this week and is expected to conclude in December. The work is being funded by $75,000 from the state supplemental transportation budget. Cullen is principal…
Great white sharks dive deep into warm-water whirlpools in the Atlantic
Tracking of two great white sharks reveals for the first time that in the open ocean they spend more time deep inside warm-water eddies.
June 15, 2018
Study: Undergrad research experiences make a noticeable difference
A new analysis suggests the value of structured research programs for undergraduates extends to society as a whole by encouraging participants to seek advanced degrees in scientific and technological fields.
June 14, 2018
‘Teachers are brain engineers’: UW study shows how intensive instruction changes brain circuitry in struggling readers
The early years are when the brain develops the most, forming neural connections that pave the way for how a child — and the eventual adult — will express feelings, embark on a task, and learn new skills and concepts. Scientists have even theorized that the anatomical structure of neural connections forms the basis for how children identify letters and recognize words. In other words, the brain’s architecture may predetermine who will have trouble with reading, including children…
Key ocean fish can prevail with changes to farmed fish, livestock diets
Anchovies, herring, sardines and other forage fish play an essential role in the food web as prey for seabirds, marine mammals and larger fish like salmon. When ground into fishmeal and oil, they are also a key food source for farmed seafood and land-based livestock such as pigs and poultry. As seafood consumption outpaces the growth of other food sectors and continues to grow worldwide, farmed seafood — also called aquaculture — has increased rapidly to meet consumer demand. That…
June 12, 2018
Anthropology professor focuses book on the bonds between humans, animals
Radhika Govindrajan’s book “Animal Intimacies” started attracting attention before it was even available to readers. A University of Washington assistant professor of anthropology since 2015, Govindrajan specializes in animal studies, and in the politics and culture of the Central Himalayas, where much of the research for this book was conducted. “Animal Intimacies,” published in May 2018 by University of Chicago Press, recounts the varying relationships people have with animals — as companions, as sources of food and as performers of…
June 11, 2018
Warmer climate will dramatically increase the volatility of global corn crops
A study of global maize production in 2100 shows dramatic increases in the variability of corn yields from one year to the next under climate change, making simultaneous low yields across multiple high-producing regions more likely, which could lead to price hikes and global shortages.
Choice matters: The environmental costs of producing meat, seafood
A new study led by the University of Washington considers which food type is more environmentally costly to produce: livestock, farmed seafood or wild-caught fish.
June 6, 2018
GIX team competes for $1 million XPRIZE for women’s safety
A team from the University of Washington’s GIX program are competing to win the $1 million Anu & Naveen Jain Women’s Safety XPRIZE.
Distinguished pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Danielson to speak at UW’s 143rd commencement Saturday
About 5,900 graduates, along with 50,000-plus family members, friends, faculty and other observers, are expected to attend the 143rd University of Washington commencement ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at Husky Stadium.
Washington state Supreme Court takes up court-fee reform, considers UW data at sold-out Wednesday symposium
African-Americans in Washington state are 2.3 times more likely than whites to be sentenced to fines and fees, and carry about three times the debt in unpaid monetary sanctions. In all, said University of Washington sociology professor Alexes Harris, legal financial obligations represented nearly $2.5 billion in debt in Washington in 2014, the most recent year for which statistics are available. But several states, including Washington, are starting to pursue solutions to a system that disproportionately affects the poor…
June 5, 2018
UW’s Allen School to expand direct freshmen admissions in computer science
In an effort to improve the student experience and provide certainty for prospective computer science majors, the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering is expanding its direct to major admissions program for incoming freshmen. Beginning with the class of fall 2019, direct admission from high school will be the primary pathway into computer science for the majority of UW undergraduates.
Ocean warming, ‘junk-food’ prey cause of massive seabird die-off, study finds
A new University of Washington-led paper pinpoints starvation as the cause of death for hundreds of thousands of Cassin’s auklet seabirds in late 2014 to early 2015.
June 4, 2018
Polar scientist Kristin Laidre documents perspectives of polar bear hunters in East Greenland
Twenty-five polar bear hunters in East Greenland were interviewed before the first formal assessment of this subpopulation, one of 19 subpopulations of polar bears in a changing Arctic.
June 1, 2018
Art, design provide eclectic mix for annual graduate show at Henry Art Gallery
Art and design can amaze, inform, entertain, challenge or even gently baffle the viewer — and the annual thesis exhibition for Master of Fine Arts and Master of Design at the Henry Art Gallery reliably offers a little of each.
May 29, 2018
Global rankings put UW at No. 4 among US public universities
Two renowned global rankings released this week place the University of Washington fourth among U.S. public institutions.
May 25, 2018
UW statement regarding ongoing negotiations with academic student employees – May 25, 2018
The academic student employees (ASEs) at the University of Washington have announced a strike to begin June 2, despite the fact that two bargaining sessions are scheduled before that date. The UW is working with deans, chancellors and department chairs to avoid disruption or delay in grades or graduation should the ASEs strike.
Class of ’68 reflects and looks ahead
Assassinations. War in Vietnam. Racial clashes. Far more than simply the generation who lived the Summer of Love, the Class of 1968, which celebrates its 50th reunion next week, recalled their college years during a turbulent time in the nation’s history.
Broccoli in space: How probiotics could help grow veggies in microgravity
Astronauts at the International Space Station are spending more time away from Earth, but they still need their daily serving of vegetables. In the quest to find a viable way for crew to grow their own veggies while orbiting — and possibly one day on the moon or Mars — student researchers are sending broccoli seeds coated with a healthy dose of probiotics to space. Watch the May 21 launch Six broccoli seeds were aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft…
Anthropologist explores China’s changing art scene in ‘Experimental Beijing’
On a two-year stint teaching English in Beijing, Sasha Welland got her first glimpse of contemporary Chinese art. Not the antiquities so common in Western museums of Asian art, or the scroll paintings or ceramics or Buddhist sculptures, explains Welland, an associate professor in the University of Washington departments of anthropology and gender, women and sexuality studies. Rather, the art of China that was well underway at that point in the early 1990s was of a distinctly provocative style, gaining…
May 24, 2018
Remaking a reef: UW landscape architecture students to present design for new artificial reef at Redondo dive site
What makes a good artificial reef, for divers, and for marine life? University of Washington landscape architecture students have done designs for a state-funded project to replace the artificial reef at the Redondo Beach dive site. They will present and discuss their work in a public meeting May 30, in Des Moines. The landscape architecture studio class is taught by associate professor Iain Robertson, with lecturer and landscape designer Brooke Sullivan, who is working on her doctorate at the University…
May 23, 2018
Arts Roundup: An Evening of Shakespeare, Design Show, and more
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,…
A promising target in the quest for a 1-million-year-old Antarctic ice core
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
Designed for evil: How to make bad technologies better
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
UW Faculty Senate celebrates its 80-year history
Eight decades ago to the day, the Faculty Senate met for the first time at the University of Washington.
Memorial Day events focus on veteran mental health, suicide
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
Want to help your child succeed in school? Add language to the math, reading mix
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…
Washington Research Foundation grant brings on four new biology faculty just in time for new Life Sciences Building
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
Arts Roundup: Percussion Ensemble, UW Sings, and more
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
Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast
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.
Chemist Karen Goldberg elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Karen Goldberg, an affiliate professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Born of protest: Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity celebrates a half-century
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.
STEM for All Video Showcase features six UW projects
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…
The first wireless flying robotic insect takes off
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
UW statement regarding ongoing negotiations with academic student employees – 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.
Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars
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.
Seattle-area universities and colleges declare Affordable Housing Week, May 14-18
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.