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The latest news from the UW

April 24, 2017

UW Law School hosts ‘How We Police in America: A Case for Reform’ May 4

Officer-involved shootings. Federal investigations. Body cameras. Civilian review boards. Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. In cities around the country, the relationship between police and community is fraught with tension — sometimes the direct result of violent incidents, sometimes the reverberations of problems elsewhere. And almost always, talk of police reform is in the air. But rather than enact changes after the fact, argues Barry Friedman, the Jacob D. Fuchsberg professor of law and director of the Policing Project at…

Conservation not an effective tool for reducing infectious disease in people, study finds

Conservation projects that protect forests and encourage a diversity of plants and animals can provide many benefits to humans. But improved human health is not among those benefits ― at least when health is measured through the lens of infectious disease. That’s the main finding of a paper published April 24 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, which analyzed the relationship between infectious diseases and their environmental, demographic and economic drivers in dozens of countries over 20 years….

Military service boosts resilience, well-being among transgender veterans

  Transgender people make up a small percentage of active-duty U.S. military personnel, but their experience in the service may yield long-term, positive effects on their mental health and quality of life. A study from the University of Washington finds that among transgender older adults, those who had served in the military reported fewer symptoms of depression and greater mental health-related quality of life. The findings were published in a February special supplement of The Gerontologist. The paper is part…

April 20, 2017

Research team tracks complex web of monetary sanctions in 9 states

UW sociologist Alexes Harris leads a team of researchers at nine universities who are exploring the role of monetary sanctions in the criminal justice system. They recently completed a review of financial punishments in the laws of each of their home states. Based on their preliminary findings, the impact to a person’s pocketbook depends largely on his or her location on a map.

UW ranks seventh in Milken Institute’s ranking of universities for technology transfer and commercialization

The University of Washington ranks seventh among national universities in a new Milken Institute report on technology transfer, “Concept to Commercialization: The Best Universities for Technology Transfer.” The report highlights the vital role research universities play in spurring economic growth.

April 19, 2017

Official notice: Housekeeping amendments to various Title 478 WAC rules

Notice of Expedited Rule Making (Per RCW 34.05.353) Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information:  Housekeeping amendments to various Title 478 WAC rules. Statutory Authority for Adoption and Statute Being Implemented:  RCW 28B.20.130. Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules:  Housekeeping changes to Title 478 WAC rules are intended to keep the University’s rules accurate and up to date; these include: Amendments that “clarify Language of a rule without changing its effect” are…

More than recess: How playing on the swings helps kids learn to cooperate

A favorite childhood pastime — swinging on the playground swing set — also may be teaching kids how to get along. The measured, synchronous movement of children on the swings can encourage preschoolers to cooperate on subsequent activities, University of Washington researchers have found. A study by the UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) shows the potential of synchronized movement in helping young children develop collaborative skills. The study is published online in the Journal of Experimental Child…

New many-toothed clingfish discovered with help of digital scans

Scientists at the University of Washington, Texas A&M University and the Western Australian Museum have discovered and named a new genus and species of clingfish after stumbling upon a specimen preserved in a jar dating back to the 1970s. High-resolution scans and 3-D printing helped the researchers make their discovery.

April 14, 2017

UW tax program takes law students to remote corners of Alaska

Tax Day can mean different things to different people: stacks of paperwork; evenings at the kitchen table; appointments with the accountant; the rush to the post office to meet the deadline. For about 20 University of Washington law students, it means a February trip to the frozen tundra. Each year, in advance of the April income tax filing deadline, UW law students fly to Alaska, hop on bush planes and snowmobiles and travel to remote villages, where they spend a…

UW, Tohoku University establish Academic Open Space partnership for innovations in aerospace, clean energy, disaster preparedness

The University of Washington and Japan’s Tohoku University have agreed to create an Academic Open Space to foster collaborations and academic exchanges between these two leading research institutions of the Pacific Rim. The agreement, signed April 14 by leaders of both institutions at the UW campus in Seattle, is expected to build upon current collaborations in aerospace design and materials, as well as launch new science and engineering partnerships.

April 13, 2017

Married LGBT older adults are healthier, happier than singles, study finds

  Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for nearly two years — and in some states for even longer — but researchers can already detect positive health outcomes among couples who have tied the knot, a University of Washington study finds. For years, studies have linked marriage with happiness among heterosexual couples. But a study from the UW School of Social Work is among the first to explore the potential benefits of marriage among LGBT couples. It…

UW College of Engineering announces Direct to College admission for 2018 incoming freshman class

The University of Washington’s College of Engineering will offer Direct to College admission beginning with the entering freshman class of 2018, assuring students who are admitted into the college and their families that they will be able to pursue an engineering degree at the UW.

April 12, 2017

Arts Roundup: Amazing Animals, Marc Seales — and Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

This week in the arts, wrap up spring break at the Burke; hear a noted Northwest jazz pianist; see classically-inspired textural print works in Edmonds; experience the School of Art’s Painting + Drawing Graduate Exhibition; and hear the UW Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band present their spring quarter concert. AMAZING ANIMALS: WATER & SKY EDITION SPRING BREAK CAMP Through April 14 | Burke Museum Spend spring break with the Burke as we look high and low to discover glowing creatures of the…

Why treating animals may be important in fighting resurgent tropical disease

  As the World Health Organization steps up its efforts to eradicate a once-rampant tropical disease, a University of Washington study suggests that monitoring, and potentially treating, the monkeys that co-exist with humans in affected parts of the world may be part of the global strategy. Yaws, an infectious disease that causes disfiguring skin lesions and bone destruction — stems from a bacterium, Treponema pallidum, that also has been found in certain primates in Africa and Asia. The disease, treatable…

University of Washington and Starbucks to create unique coffeehouse destination at Suzzallo Library

The University of Washington and Starbucks Coffee Company are coming together to create a world-class coffeehouse destination in the historic and iconic Suzzallo Library. The design of the new café, set to open this fall, will honor the library’s rich history and legacy.

April 5, 2017

Arts Roundup: Jacob Lawrence, 3D4M Grad Exhibition, A Final Look at the Wild Nearby, and Dido and Aeneas

This week in the arts, get one final look at the Burke’s Wild Nearby; see student’s capstone in ceramics, glass, and sculpture; celebrate the centennial of Jacob Lawrence; experience an experimental performance using a mind-driven instrument; and hear voice students in a monumental Baroque opera. Music of Today: DXARTS 7:30 p.m., April 6| Meany Theater The University of Washington School of Music and The Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) co-sponsor this series featuring groundbreaking new works and modern classics…

April 3, 2017

UW lands at No. 9 with 45 subjects ranked in the top 10 in Center for World University Rankings inaugural subject list

The University of Washington landed at No. 9 with 45 subjects ranked in the top 10 in the Center for World University Rankings’ inaugural subjects ranking. The ranking features the top global universities in 227 subjects covering all academic disciplines in the sciences and social sciences. This is the highest the UW has placed in a global subject ranking.

UW security researchers show that Google’s AI tool for video searching can be easily deceived

University of Washington security researchers have shown that Google’s new tool that uses machine learning to automatically analyze and label video content can be deceived by inserting a photograph periodically into videos. After they inserted an image of a car into a video about animals, for instance, the system thought the video was about an Audi.

March 31, 2017

Music played by EEG featured in DXARTS Spring Concert April 6

The Disklavier is an electromagnetic piano that — like the UW-created encephalophone recently reported on by the Seattle Times — is played by brain waves alone, via an electroencephalogram. UW audiences can see and hear this new technology in “Music of Today: The DXARTS Spring Concert,” April 6, in Meany Hall.

March 29, 2017

Arts Roundup: Last chance for Chuck Close Photographs, Piano and Cello Faculty Recital, Brechemin Piano Series; Music of Today: DXARTS

This week in the arts, get a last look at the comprehensive survey of the photographic work of Chuck Close; hear faculty artists play Beethoven; enjoy piano works from School of Music students; check out groundbreaking new works and modern classics by faculty and guest composers. Chuck Close Photographs Through April 2| Henry Art Gallery Don’t miss the final days of the first comprehensive survey of the photographic work by renowned American artist Chuck Close (born 1940), featuring over ninety photographic works from 1964 to…

March 28, 2017

After much media attention, UW Information School’s ‘Calling BS’ class begins

The very name of the class, when proposed, seemed to fire imaginations nationwide and beyond. Now with the beginning of spring quarter, the UW Information School’s new course “Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data” is getting started.

Public notice: Availability of a final supplemental environmental impact statement

The University is proposing a site selection and construction of a new above and below grade building to create a physical convening space and compelling catalyst for Population Health endeavors across all three UW campuses, the region and the world, creating a high profile marker for the UW’s commitment to Population Health, as outlined in President Ana Mari Cauce’s May 2016 address to the community.

Parents who play ‘Pokémon GO’ with kids: ‘It wasn’t really about the Pokémon’

In the first study to survey and interview parents who play Pokémon GO with their children, families report a number of side benefits, including increased exercise, more time spent outdoors and opportunities for family bonding.

Distinguished educator and humanitarian Dr. Johnnetta Cole to be UW’s 2017 commencement speaker

Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, former president of Spelman College and Bennett College, and recently retired director of the National Museum of African Art, will be the featured speaker at the University of Washington’s Commencement exercises Saturday, June 10.

March 23, 2017

Jackson School to offer lectures for students on ‘Trump in the World’

Faculty with the UW Jackson School of International Studies will explore the impact of the 2016 election on their respective areas of expertise in a new two-credit class titled “Trump in the World: International Implications of the Trump Presidency.”