UW atmospheric scientists are part of a month-long NASA effort to learn how smoke and clouds interact.
September 12, 2016
The latest news from the UW
UW forestry student wins Bullitt Foundation’s top prize for wildlife conservation
A Q&A with Carol Bogezi, a UW doctoral student in environmental and forest sciences who received the 10th annual Bullitt Environmental Prize. The award recognizes people with exceptional potential to become powerful leaders in the environmental movement.
September 8, 2016
How do shark teeth bite? Reciprocating saw, glue provide answers
A recent University of Washington study sought to understand why shark teeth are shaped differently and what biological advantages various shapes have by testing their performance under realistic conditions.
Life after Fitbit: Appealing to those who feel guilty vs. free
Is life better or worse after sticking your Fitbit in a drawer? UW researchers surveyed hundreds of people who had abandoned self-tracking tools and found emotions ranged from guilt to indifference to relief that the tracking experience was over.
September 7, 2016
Feeling they are part of a group increased preschoolers’ interest, success in STEM
Cultivating young children’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has become a leading educational priority, as experts predict that many future jobs will require substantial math and technology skills. Early education in STEM topics, as they’re known, is critical for boosting later success in school and attracting students to occupations in those fields. But little has been done to optimize STEM curriculum for preschoolers or help children seek out and enjoy STEM tasks. Now, a new study by University…
HemaApp screens for anemia, blood conditions without needle sticks
UW engineers have developed HemaApp, which uses a smartphone camera to estimate hemoglobin concentrations and screen for anemia without sticking patients with needles.
September 6, 2016
UW law professor named to United Nations working group on business and human rights
When law professor Anita Ramasastry began teaching at the University of Washington in 1996, she was working on an article about banks’ responsibilities around human rights, to the bemusement of her peers. The groundbreaking piece focused on the role of Swiss banks during World War II and the dormant accounts of Holocaust victims and their heirs — unusual territory for a law professor then. “At that time, this wasn’t a field of research and people thought it was a little…
Forefront marks World Suicide Prevention Day Sept. 10 with workshops, documentary film
World Suicide Prevention Day, Sept. 10, is a reminder that we all have a role to play in preventing suicide. Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention, based in the UW School of Social Work and led by Professor Jennifer Stuber, is offering a film and two suicide prevention workshops on Sept. 10.
September 2, 2016
Invasive green crab found on San Juan Island by citizen science volunteers
Earlier this week in Westcott Bay, San Juan Island, a team of volunteer monitors caught an invasive green crab, marking the first confirmation of this global invader in Washington’s inland waters.
August 30, 2016
UW student partners with WSECU for temporary art exhibit in the University District
Most landscape architecture projects conjure up an image of a permanent structure meant to be experienced indefinitely. But for Britton Shepard, a 2016 graduate of the University of Washington’s landscape architecture master’s program, it means exploring the temporary nature of urban terrains. Earlier this year, Shepard brought life back to a vacant and demolished lot in the University District — although it was only a short-lived endeavor. Shepard’s thesis project “Site 1121: Field Notes” centered around a Washington State Employee…
University of Washington and City of Auburn launch first Livable City Year partnership
The University of Washington has begun a yearlong partnership with the City of Auburn, under the new Livable City Year program. UW students and professors will work with the City of Auburn to advance the city’s goals for livability and sustainability throughout the upcoming academic year.
August 29, 2016
David Domke to discuss presidential election at Sept. 7 fundraising event
David Domke, chair of the UW Department of Communication, will discuss the wild 2016 presidential campaign and its implications for the country in a luncheon Sept. 7 for the William D. Ruckelshaus Center.
Plants’ future water use affects long-term drought estimates
Many popular long-term drought estimates ignore the fact that plants will be less thirsty as carbon dioxide goes up. Plants’ lower water use could roughly halve some current estimates for the extent of future drought, especially in central Africa and temperate Asia.
New discovery Proxima b is in host star’s habitable zone — but could it really be habitable?
The world’s attention is now on Proxima Centauri b, a possibly Earth-like planet about 4.22 light-years away. It’s in its star’s habitable zone — but could it in fact be habitable? If so, the planet evolved very different than Earth, say researchers at the University of Washington-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory.
August 26, 2016
Interactive map shows where animals will move under climate change
The University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy have created an animated map showing where mammals, birds and amphibians are projected to move in the Western Hemisphere in response to climate change.
August 25, 2016
Report explores factors that might attract children to marijuana edibles
A new report from the UW School of Law’s Cannabis Law and Policy Project identifies factors that make food attractive to children. Commissioned by the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, the report studied research on what makes food appeal to children and the role that marketing and branding play.
August 24, 2016
Statewide housing market strong in second quarter of 2016
Washington state’s housing market remained strong in the second quarter of 2016. Home sale prices and the number of sales were up, although new building permits were down compared with a year ago, according to the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the UW.
August 21, 2016
Is divorce seasonal? UW research shows biannual spike in divorce filings
To everything there is a season — even divorce, new research from University of Washington sociologists concludes. Associate sociology professor Julie Brines and doctoral candidate Brian Serafini found what is believed to be the first quantitative evidence of a seasonal, biannual pattern of filings for divorce. The researchers analyzed filings in Washington state between 2001 and 2015 and found that they consistently peaked in March and August, the periods following winter and summer holidays. Their research, presented Aug. 21 at…
August 20, 2016
‘I miss you so much’: How Twitter is broadening the conversation on death and mourning
Death and mourning were largely considered private matters in the 20th century, with the public remembrances common in previous eras replaced by intimate gatherings behind closed doors in funeral parlors and family homes. But social media is redefining how people grieve, and Twitter in particular — with its ephemeral mix of rapid-fire broadcast and personal expression — is widening the conversation around death and mourning, two University of Washington sociologists say. In a paper presented Aug. 20 at the annual…
August 19, 2016
UW will host 2017 summer institute on teaching urban environmental issues
Faculty members from the UW College of Built Environments, Jackson School of International Studies and departments of French and Italian studies and history will team up in 2017 to give a new, three-week course for university and college instructors on urban environmental humanities.
August 18, 2016
From White House to Tacoma, WA, urban agriculture is growing
UW professor Sally Brown and collaborators have published the most extensive compilation to date explaining how to grow urban agriculture, and how doing so could save American cities.
Twins, especially male identical twins, live longer
Analysis of almost 3,000 pairs of Danish twins shows that they live longer than the general population, especially if they are identical.
Follow your nose: UW’s young corpse flower relocates to Volunteer Park Conservatory for fetid first bloom
Visitors to Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory are in for a stinking treat, courtesy of the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. The conservatory has taken in a young corpse lily, affectionately known as Dougsley, which is set to blossom this week or next.
Paleontologists with the UW’s Burke Museum discover major T. rex fossil
Paleontologists with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the UW have discovered a Tyrannosaurus rex, including a very complete skull. The find, which paleontologists estimate to be about 20 percent of the animal, includes vertebrae, ribs, hips and lower jaw bones.
August 17, 2016
UW again maintains No. 15 in world university ranking
The University of Washington remained No. 15 on the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities, conducted by researchers at the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Notice of possible rule making preproposal statement of inquiry
Reasons why rules on this subject may be needed and what they might accomplish: To update WAC 478-160-163, Waivers of tuition and fees, with waivers recently enacted through state legislation, and to make other amendments that update obsolete information sources or otherwise streamline administrative procedures.
Study finds bias, disgust toward mixed-race couples
Interracial marriage has grown in the United States over the past few decades, and polls show that most Americans are accepting of mixed-race relationships. A 2012 study by the Pew Research Center found that interracial marriages in the U.S. had doubled between 1980 and 2010 to about 15 percent, and just 11 percent of respondents disapproved of interracial marriage. But new research from the University of Washington suggests that reported acceptance of interracial marriage masks deeper feelings of discomfort —…
Interscatter communication enables first-ever implanted devices, smart contact lenses, credit cards that ‘talk’ Wi-Fi
“Interscatter” communication developed by UW engineers allows power-limited devices such as brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards and smaller wearable electronics to talk to everyday devices such as smartphones and watches.
August 16, 2016
Big fish — and their pee — are key parts of coral reef ecosystems
Large, carnivorous fish excrete almost half of the key nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen, that are essential for the survival of coral reefs.
August 15, 2016
Luna moth’s long tail could confuse bat sonar through its twist
A detailed look at how sound waves bounce off a flying moth’s body offers new clues for how its long, twisted tail might help it evade predatory bats.
UW research backs up ongoing efforts to protect the enigmatic Nautilus
University of Washington biologist Peter Ward’s body of research has helped policymakers recognize the impact nautiluses have on ocean ecosystems, as well as how they can — and cannot — replenish their numbers in the face of unrestricted, unregulated fishing. At a CITES meeting in September, Ward and his team hope nautiluses will get much-needed protections from trade and harvesting.
Unearthing trackers of the past: UW computer scientists reveal the history of third-party web tracking
At the USENIX Security Conference in Austin, Texas, a team of University of Washington researchers on Aug. 12 presented the first-ever comprehensive analysis of third-party web tracking across three decades and a new tool, TrackingExcavator, which they developed to extract and analyze tracking behaviors on a given web page. They saw a four-fold increase in third-party tracking on top sites from 1996 to 2016, and mapped the growing complexity of trackers stretching back decades.
August 12, 2016
‘Hilloccio’ vs the ‘gas giant’: Suzzallo Library exhibit features powerful editorial cartoons from campaign 2016
The editorial cartoons filling a ground floor exhibit in Suzzallo Library through November are hard-hitting, but they fairly depict the wild campaign of 2016, and the serious issues the year has brought as well.
Q&A: Phil Levin joins UW, The Nature Conservancy in new role
Phil Levin, a former senior scientist at NOAA Fisheries, recently began a joint role at the University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy. UW Today sat down with Levin to find out why he took this job and what he hopes to accomplish.
August 9, 2016
Three UW Earth scientists elected as AGU fellows
Charles Eriksen, Deborah Kelley and Stephen Warren are among 60 newly elected fellows from U.S. and international institutions.
New book ‘Cities that Think Like Planets’ imagines urban regions resilient to change
What does it mean for a city to “think like a planet”? Marina Alberti of the UW College of Built Environments discusses her new book, “Cities that Think Like Planets,” published by UW Press.
August 8, 2016
Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies names new permanent director
Simon Stevenson of the United Kingdom’s University of Reading will be the next director of the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, in the College of Built Environments.
August 5, 2016
Employee open forums Aug. 15, 17 to report on UW HR/Payroll Integrated Service Center
University of Washington employees are invited to attend an open forum either Monday, Aug. 15, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Odegaard 220 or Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the HUB, Room 250, to learn more about the design of the HR/Payroll Integrated Service Center. The goal of the center is to provide a single point of contact to effectively support faculty, staff and student employees with their human resources, academic human resources and payroll-related questions and service needs. Data input sessions last winter garnered more…
August 4, 2016
UW geologist: Ancient Chinese flood is latest to match oral, geologic histories
A Science commentary written by UW professor of Earth and space sciences David Montgomery discusses how recent geological findings support the historical basis for traditional tales about China’s Great Flood.
Local media moments recalled in Seattle Television History project
A wild-eyed television preacher, uncensored public access nuttiness, even a young Ellen DeGeneres featured on a local comedy show segment — when Stephen Groening had students explore the history of local television for a class, they sure found a lot of good stuff.