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Arts and entertainment

January 18, 2017

Arts Roundup: Maple and Vine, a dance faculty concert, and Russian music of the 1960s

This week in the arts, take a trip in time with Maple and Vine, view choreography by nationally and internationally recognized faculty, and hear collaborative musical works at Meany Hall. Maple and Vine January 17 through January 22 | Jones Playhouse Written by Jordan Harrison and directed by Sean Ryan, this darkly funny and provocative investigation of the modern condition asks us to consider how much mobility we’d sacrifice for the chance to just stand still next to someone we love. More info….

Administrative affairs | News releases | UW and the community | UW News blog

January 12, 2017

UW law professor leads group defending ‘aural tradition’ of creativity in famous ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright case

UW School of Law professor Sean O’Connor has filed a brief in the famous “Blurred Lines” music copyright case, arguing for full composition credit for those who worked in the “aural tradition” and did not use traditional musical notation.

Social science | Technology | UW News blog

Big data to help homelessness: Topic of UW, City of Seattle event Jan. 17

Using big data to address human services ― including health, foster care and the challenges of homelessness ― will be the focus of a workshop next week at Seattle City Hall hosted by the University of Washington and City of Seattle along with MetroLab Network, a recent White House initiative to improve cities through university-city partnerships.

Arts and entertainment

January 11, 2017

Arts Roundup: UW Tower exhibits, a lecture-recital, and a Littlefield Organ performance

This week, two new exhibits featuring local artists are on display in the UW Tower through March, a lecture-recital at Brechemin Auditorium, and a UW vocal performance highlighting scenes from Mozart’s operas. UW Tower Exhibit: Don Silverstein January through March 2017 | UW Tower The illustrative work and abstract paintings of prolific artist Donald Silverstein will be on display on the Mezzanine Level of the UW Tower this quarter.  More info. Lecture-Recital: Dainius Vaicekonis, Piano 7:30 p.m., January 12 | Brechemin Auditorium UW alumnus and…

Engineering | Health and medicine | Honors and awards | Science | Technology | UW News blog

January 10, 2017

Two UW professors win Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Two University of Washington professors have received the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early career scientists and engineers.

Buildings and grounds | Engineering | News releases | Technology | UW and the community

Zillow Group pledges $5 million for new UW Computer Science & Engineering building

Zillow Group, the Seattle-based company that houses real estate and home-related brands on mobile and web, has committed $5 million toward the development of a second Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) building on the UW Seattle campus.

Administrative affairs | UW and the community | UW News blog

January 5, 2017

UW President Ana Mari Cauce on board first West Coast commercial flight to Havana

UW President Ana Mari Cauce, the first Cuban-born president of a major American university, was on board the first West Coast commercial flight to Havana on Thursday. Cauce left Cuba with her family when she was 3 years old. “I’m thrilled at this new spirit of openness and the opportunity for us to build greater ties with the people of Cuba,” said Cauce. “We have much to share and learn about the Cuban people’s work in health care and education. This…

Arts and entertainment

January 4, 2017

Arts Roundup: ArtVenture, JACK Quartet, and Louis Lortie

This week, bring the whole family for an ArtVenture at Henry Art Gallery to discover how Paul McCarthy transformed small objects into giant sculptures, or catch performances from JACK Quartet and pianist Louis Lortie. ArtVenture: Toy Transformation! With Michelle Hagewood 1 p.m., January 8 | Henry Art Gallery How do toys reflect who we are? Bring a toy or dig through a collection of oddities to build a new doll, vehicle, or inventive plaything. We will explore how artist Paul McCarthy transformed…

News roundups | UW and the community | UW News blog

December 27, 2016

Year in review: 2016 news from the University of Washington

The research happening here at the University of Washington — across all three campuses — is exceptional and selecting only a handful of stories to feature from the hundreds, if not thousands, that came out this year is a monumental task. Using UW Today’s page view data, social media reach and news coverage, we have narrowed it down to these highlights showcasing the impact and ambition of the UW’s work regionally and around the world — listed here in chronological order.

Education | Politics and government

December 22, 2016

New UW law course focuses on presidential power in the Trump era

Donald Trump’s promises on the campaign trail have generated confusion and consternation around the country, as many wonder not only what the president-elect actually intends to do, but what is within his power to accomplish. Will Trump follow through on his threat to deport millions of undocumented immigrants? Could he pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement? And what of Trump’s promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act? Such questions will be the focus of new…

Research | Social science

Study: Children can ‘catch’ social bias through nonverbal signals expressed by adults

Most conscientious adults tend to avoid making biased or discriminatory comments in the presence of children. But new research from the University of Washington suggests that preschool-aged children can learn bias even through nonverbal signals displayed by adults, such as a condescending tone of voice or a disapproving look. Published Dec. 21 in the journal Psychological Science, the research found that children can “catch” social bias by seeing negative signals expressed by adults and are likely to generalize that learned…

News releases | Research | Science

December 20, 2016

Researchers model how ‘publication bias’ does — and doesn’t — affect the ‘canonization’ of facts in science

In an article published Dec. 20 in the journal eLife, researchers present a mathematical model that explores whether “publication bias” — the tendency of journals to publish mostly positive experimental results — influences how scientists canonize facts. Their results offer a warning that sharing positive results comes with the risk that a false claim could be canonized as fact. But their findings also offer hope by suggesting that simple changes to publication practices can minimize the risk of false canonization.

Engineering | Research | Science | UW News blog

December 19, 2016

UW researcher pursues synthetic ‘scaffolds’ for muscle regeneration

Miqin Zhang, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Washington, is looking for ways to help the body heal itself when injury, disease or surgery cause large-scale damage to one type of tissue in particular: skeletal muscle. Her goal is to create a synthetic, porous, biologically compatible “scaffold” that mimics the normal extracellular environment of skeletal muscle — onto which human cells could migrate and grow new replacement fibers.

Social science | Technology

$5 million will expand UW-developed technology to help West Coast children and families

Technology developed at the University of Washington to improve service delivery in child welfare, foster care and homeless youth systems will soon be expanded to other states through $5 million in new funding. The grant will allow Oliver — a social service management solution developed by Partners for Our Children, an organization in the UW School of Social Work — to be expanded to five communities in Washington, Oregon, and California. The funds include a $2.4 million grant from the…

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

December 15, 2016

Underwater volcano’s eruption captured in exquisite detail by seafloor observatory

The cracking, bulging and shaking from the eruption of a mile-high volcano where two tectonic plates separate has been captured in more detail than ever before. A University of Washington study published this week shows how the volcano behaved during its spring 2015 eruption, revealing new clues about the behavior of volcanoes where two ocean plates are moving apart. “The new network allowed us to see in incredible detail where the faults are, and which were active during the eruption,”…

Administrative affairs | For UW employees | UW News blog

Dozens of projects aimed at efficiency are on track as part of the Transforming Administration Program

Provost Jerry Baldasty kicked off the Transforming Administration Program in Spring 2015 with a key goal of creating one administration, one university with an enhanced culture of service ultimately serving faculty and staff to achieve the University of Washington’s teaching, research and service missions. The program aims to make administrative departments more efficient and effective, and eliminate silos.

Politics and government | Research

Businesses shape international law through ‘astroturf activism,’ paper finds

The furor over the 2010 Citizens United decision drew intense scrutiny to the role of corporate money in U.S. politics and raised questions about the influence of businesses in American lawmaking. But corporate interests also play a powerful role in international legal processes, sometimes by covertly creating or co-opting non-governmental organizations to lobby lawmakers on their behalf — creating a type of “astroturf activism” that masquerades as grassroots efforts. That’s the conclusion of a new paper by Melissa Durkee, an…

News releases | Research | Science | Social science

December 13, 2016

Studies of vulnerable populations get a ‘bootstrapped’ boost from statisticians

In a paper published online Dec. 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Washington researchers report on a statistical approach called “tree bootstrapping” can help social scientists study hard-to-reach populations like drug users.

Administrative affairs | Education | For UW employees | Learning | News releases | UW and the community

UW is founding member of alliance to expand access and opportunity for 50,000 students from lower- and middle-income families

The University of Washington joins 30 of the nation’s most respected colleges and universities Tuesday in a new initiative to substantially expand the number of talented low- and moderate-income students at America’s top-performing undergraduate institutions with the highest graduation rates.