UW News
The latest news from the UW
August 3, 2015
What would the world look like to someone with a bionic eye?
Various sight recovery therapies are being developed by companies around the world, offering new hope for people who are blind. But little is known about what the world will look like to patients who undergo those procedures. A new University of Washington study seeks to answer that question and offers visual simulations of what someone…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • Geoffrey Boynton • Ione FineJuly 31, 2015
Social media amplifies damage of product recalls to firms — rivals, too
A product recall is never good news for a firm. Research from the Foster School of Business indicates a recall is not necessarily good news for competitors, either.
Tag(s): Abhishek Borah • Foster School of BusinessJuly 30, 2015
UW-led group launches plan to reduce youth problems by 20 percent in a decade
A national coalition of experts that includes two University of Washington researchers has a bold plan to reduce behavioral health problems such as violence and depression among young people across the country by 20 percent in a decade. And their proposal rests on one simple principle: prevention. The group’s paper, recently published on the National…
Tag(s): David Hawkins • Rico Catalano • Social Development Research Group
Four West Coast universities funded for earthquake early warning system
The U.S. Geological Survey today announced $5 million in funding that will allow the University of Washington and three other institutions to help transition the prototype ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, under development since 2005, into a public-facing tool.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • John Vidale • Pacific Northwest Seismic Network • ShakeAlertJuly 29, 2015
Healthier Puget Sound depends on healthy people, report finds
The Puget Sound Partnership on Wednesday adopted new targets that seek to quantify aspects of the natural environment that boost our collective happiness and wellness. These people-focused benchmarks will help inform restoration plans and assess future progress in cleaning up Puget Sound.
Tag(s): Kelly Biedenweg • Puget Sound Institute • UW Tacoma
Two UW researchers elected AGU fellows
Two University of Washington scientists have been elected as new fellows of the American Geophysical Union. The Earth sciences group recognizes only one in 1,000 members each year for major scientific work and sustained impact. The UW honorees are among 60 new 2015 fellows from U.S. and international institutions. They will both be honored in…
Documents that Changed the World: Annals of the World, 1650
As shadows lengthened and day turned to night on Saturday, Oct. 22, in the year 4004 BCE, God created the universe. Or, perhaps not. Still, that’s the time and date for creation determined, after long and painstaking research, by Irish scholar and church leader James Ussher, author of the 17th century chronology, Annals of the World.
Tag(s): Documents that Changed the World • Information School • Joe Janes
‘Odd’ Puget Sound conditions prompt multi-agency awareness day
It’s been a strange summer for Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean that feeds it. Water temperatures are warmer than usual, shellfish harvesting has been closed because of a long-lived toxic algae bloom, and oxygen levels in some areas continue to drop, meaning fish kills could be a reality this fall. Local scientists from multiple…
NOAA funds UW, partners to investigate West Coast harmful algal bloom
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week it is committing $88,000 in event-response funding for our state to monitor and analyze an unusually large and long-lived bloom of toxic algae that has been affecting shellfish in the region. UW-based Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, or NANOOS, was awarded $75,000 of the…
July 28, 2015
‘Antigona’ dance performance born at UW nominated for two Bessie awards
“Antigona,” a dance production by Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca that was born at the University of Washington, has been nominated for two Bessie awards — the highest tribute in the New York dance world.
Tag(s): Meany Center for the Performing ArtsJuly 27, 2015
Babies’ brains show that social skills linked to second language learning
New findings by researchers at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) at the University of Washington demonstrate for the first time that an early social behavior called gaze shifting is linked to infants’ ability to learn new language sounds.
Tag(s): Andrew Meltzoff • I-LABS • Patricia Kuhl • Rechele BrooksJuly 24, 2015
UW historian Quintard Taylor’s BlackPast.org website honored by National Education Association
BlackPast.org, an extensive online reference center for African-American history and African ancestry created by UW history professor Quintard Taylor, has been honored by the National Education Association. The website has won the 2015 Carter G. Woodson Award, given annually by the education association and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which…
July 23, 2015
UW astronomer, students report irregularities in ‘rare, exotic’ binary system
UW astronomers were recently reminded that the diplomatic axiom to “trust, but verify” also applies to scientific inquiry when they analyzed fresh data from a distant galaxy. As they reported in July in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, a puzzling stellar phenomenon may not be what other astronomers had reported. They studied…
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • Breanna Binder • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy
Free oil-spill prevention kits for Washington boaters
Recreational boaters and commercial fishing boats in Western Washington can get free oil-spill reporting and cleanup kits this summer as part of a new campaign to prevent spills in Puget Sound. Washington Sea Grant, based at the UW, along with U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, the Washington Department of Ecology and the state’s Clean…
July 22, 2015
Distinguished faculty to be inducted into Washington State Academy of Sciences
In recognition of their outstanding records of scientific achievement, 12 University of Washington professors will be inducted this fall into the Washington State Academy of Sciences. The professors will be honored for their “willingness to work on behalf of the academy” to bring top-quality scientific methods to research issues pertaining to Washington state. The induction ceremony will be…
Tag(s): Washington State Academy of Sciences
Two UW art professors honored with 2015 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards
Of the five recipients of 2015 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Awards, two — Robin K. Wright and Akio Takamori — are faculty members in the UW School of Art + Art History + Design. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s office announced the awards on Tuesday, July 21. The awards, notes say, “recognize the contributions of artists, creative…
Computer security tools for journalists lacking in a post-Snowden world
Despite heightened awareness of surveillance tactics and privacy breaches, existing computer security tools aren’t meeting the needs of journalists working with sensitive material, a new UW study finds.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Franziska Roesner • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringJuly 21, 2015
UW hosts conference on medieval text ‘Piers Plowman’
“Piers Plowman” is not only a 14th century alliterative narrative, it is also the reason a hundred scholars are coming to the UW this week. The Piers Plowman International Conference will be held July 23-25 in Alder Hall and the Simpson Center for the Humanities. “The poem is a work contemporary with Chaucer in the…
July 20, 2015
UW joins Seattle Sounders FC, others to support clean water partnership
In many areas of the world, women and girls walk an average of six kilometers to collect water for their families that often isn’t even safe to drink. Five Washington-based organizations — University of Washington, Washington Global Health Alliance (WGHA), PATH, Washington State University’s Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health and World Vision…
University of Washington named ‘Great College to Work For’
The University of Washington has been recognized as a “Great College to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education in its 2015 survey.
The Next MacGyver will be a woman — and a UW engineering student may invent her
Astronautics doctoral student Nao Murakami wants to invent the heir to Angus MacGyver — the 1980s television hero who inspired a generation of engineers by foiling criminals with household items like cooking oil, a shop vac or a tube sock. Only this time the engineering heroine will be a woman.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Aeronautics & AstronauticsJuly 17, 2015
‘Lives matter’: Simpson Center project marries animal, postcolonial studies
The study of animals meets up with postcolonial studies in The Postcolonial Animal, a cross-disciplinary research project hosted by the UW’s Simpson Center for the Humanities. The work, notes from the center state, “considers relations between human and nonhuman lives and with indigenous ways of knowing” and “follows a conviction that violence toward any life…
Two UW faculty members named to Justice Department Science Advisory Board
Two University of Washington faculty members have been appointed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board. Sociology professor Robert Crutchfield was named chair of the board’s justice system transparency and accountability subcommittee, and Alexes Harris, an associate professor of sociology, was named a new board member. The 25-member board,…
Marine plankton brighten clouds over Southern Ocean
New research led by the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory suggests tiny ocean life in vast stretches of the Southern Ocean plays a significant role in generating brighter clouds overhead.
Tag(s): climate • College of the Environment • Dennis Hartmann • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • Rob WoodJuly 16, 2015
$2.3M energy conservation project in Physics/Astronomy Building complete
University of Washington Facilities Services, Puget Sound Energy, McKinstry and the Washington State Department of Commerce celebrated the completion of a $2.3 million energy conservation project Wednesday that will improve teaching and research laboratories within the iconic Physics/Astronomy Building. The capital retrofit project has drastically reduced ventilation system waste by installing high-tech controls, drives and…
New book by UW’s Philip Howard urges democratic values for coming Internet of Things
UW professor Philip Howard discusses his new book, “Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set us Free or Lock Us Up,” published this spring by Yale University Press.
Tag(s): books • College of Arts & Sciences • Information School • Jackson School of International Studies • Philip Howard • Q&A
Many mobile health apps neglect needs of blind users
University of Washington researchers who conducted the first academic review of nine mhealth iPhone apps on the market in March 2014 found none met all the criteria that would make them accessible to blind customers. Accessibility shortcomings ranged from improperly labeled buttons to layouts that confuse built-in screen readers that assist low-vision smartphone users.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Richard Ladner
UW researchers show that the mosquito smells, before it sees, a bloody feast
A team of biologists from the University of Washington and the California Institute of Technology has cracked the cues mosquitoes use to find us.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • Jeffrey Riffell • neuroscience & brain scienceJuly 15, 2015
Students, researchers at sea working on recently erupted deep-sea volcano
A team of researchers, engineers and students is now at sea to check the equipment in a massive seafloor laboratory, where underwater stations off the Pacific Northwest coast collect data and provide a real-time, virtual eye on the deep sea for people on shore.
Tag(s): Deborah Kelley • John Delaney
UW chemists help develop a novel drug to fight malaria
An international team of scientists — led by researchers from the University of Washington and two other institutions — has announced that a new compound to fight malaria is ready for human trials.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Chemistry • infectious disease • Pradipsinh RathodJuly 13, 2015
Robotics and the law: When software can harm you
Twenty years in, the law is finally starting to get used to the Internet. Now it is imperative, says Ryan Calo, assistant professor in the UW School of Law, that the law figure out how to deal effectively with the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence.
Tag(s): robotics • Ryan Calo • School of LawJuly 10, 2015
Ice core records show how huge volcanic eruptions cooled the planet
When big volcanoes like Mount St. Helens or Mount Pinatubo really blow their tops, the skies darken and temperatures drop. But since such massive eruptions – luckily for us – are fairly uncommon, scientists have few examples to help them piece together the details of how much it cools, and how far and long the…
July 9, 2015
UW Botanic Gardens ranked top in nation
The University of Washington Botanic Gardens is one of the best university gardens in the nation, according to a new ranking by Best Colleges Online. The UW tied for first place along with three other universities for the top honor. UW Botanic Gardens, which includes the gardens and programs at the Washington Park Arboretum and…
July 8, 2015
UW’s Conservation magazine snares top writing honors
The UW-based Conservation magazine has won a gold award in a national competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE. Conservation shares this top honor with a magazine from Stanford Medicine. The award recognizes magazines produced by universities or colleges for special external constituencies, including publications affiliated with individual colleges…
Tag(s): awards • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Dee Boersma • Department of Biology
New maritime security project draws Coast Guard’s top admiral to visit UW
Puget Sound’s complex maritime landscape — with huge port operations, ferries, commercial fishing fleets, cruise ships, recreational boaters, U.S. Navy ships, and tribes — makes a good test bed for investigating and improving security practices. A new University of Washington research center that has uncovered “profound actionable implications” for improving maritime security nationwide is drawing…
Seafloor hot springs a significant source of iron in the oceans
A two-month voyage tracking a deep current flowing from one of the most active underwater volcanoes proves that iron released from hydrothermal vents travels thousands of miles, providing a significant source of iron to support life in the broader oceans.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • Joe Resing • oceanographyJuly 7, 2015
Harsh prison sentences swell ranks of lifers and raise questions about fairness, study finds
Stricter state sentencing laws in Washington have swelled the ranks of inmates serving life sentences to nearly one in five. And some lifers who opted to go to trial are serving much longer sentences than others who committed the same crimes and plea-bargained — raising questions about equitable treatment of prisoners. Those are among the…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Katherine Beckett • law • Law Societies & Justice DepartmentJuly 6, 2015
In a cosmic ‘call to arms,’ UW astronomer proposes new deep-space telescope to scan the sky for signs of life
On July 6, a team of astronomers proposed a new type of mission to crack some of the universe’s most intriguing mysteries and search for life on distant worlds.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • Julianne Dalcanton • planetary science
Risk of interbreeding due to climate change lower than expected
Despite worries about interbreeding due to climate change, a new study finds that only about 6 percent of closely related species in the Americas are likely to come into contact by the end of this century.
Tag(s): climate change • Climate Impacts Group • College of the Environment • Meade KrosbyJuly 1, 2015
International meeting on the inner life of ocean diatoms
A meeting on campus the week of July 7, “Molecular Life of Diatoms 2015” will bring together leading experts on diatoms—the same type of drifting algae now causing a huge harmful algal bloom off the West Coast—to discuss the perils and promise of these microscopic algae that live throughout the world’s oceans. A dazzling variety…
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