UW News
The latest news from the UW
October 18, 2023
DNA shows where Washington culvert replacements helped spawning salmon
A project led by the UW used genetic sleuthing to study how salmon were affected by two major culvert replacements near the city of Bellingham. One project, a major upgrade under Interstate-5, had a big impact, while the other old culvert may have been less of a barrier to fish. Authors from the UW and NOAA are studying the use of eDNA in future environmental impact reporting.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • eDNA Collaborative • Ryan Kelly • salmon • School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
UW’s Chandan Reddy named one of six ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on race, gender and sexuality
Chandan Reddy, an associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies and of the comparative history of ideas at the University of Washington, has been named a “Freedom Scholar” by the Marguerite Casey Foundation.
Tag(s): Chandan Reddy • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Comparative History of Ideas • Select Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality StudiesOctober 17, 2023
UW announces four non-compliant items in recent USDA inspection of animal facilities in Seattle
The University of Washington’s animal facilities on the Seattle campus underwent a routine, unannounced inspection by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between Sept. 12 and 14. The inspection identified four non-compliant items, all of which had previously been self-reported by the UW and rectified before the inspection took place.
Closing in on the elusive neutrino
In a paper published Sept. 6 in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers in the United States, Germany and France reported that a distinctive strategy they have used shows real promise to be the first approach to measure the mass of the neutrino. Once fully scaled up, their collaboration — Project 8 — could also reveal how neutrinos influenced the early evolution of the universe as we know it.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Physics • Elise Novitski • Gray Rybka • physics
UW’s Briana Abrahms chosen as a Packard Fellow for 2023
Briana Abrahms, a University of Washington assistant professor of biology and researcher with the UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, has been named a 2023 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, according to an Oct. 16 announcement from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. As one of 20 new fellows across the country, Abrahms, who holds the Boersma Endowed Chair in Natural History and Conservation, will receive $875,000 over five years for her research.
Tag(s): Briana Abrahms • Center for Ecosystem Sentinels • climate change • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology
Q&A: Researchers aim to improve accessibility with augmented reality
This month, University of Washington researchers will introduce multiple projects that deploy augmented reality — through headsets and phone apps — with the aim of making the world more accessible for people with disabilities.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Jae (Jaewook) Lee • Jon Froehlich • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Xia Su
CDC funds UW to take first steps toward regional public health emergency preparedness center
The UW will convene partners across Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Oregon to develop a workplan to establish a future regional Center for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Tag(s): Center for Disaster Resilient Communities • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Nicole Errett • Population Health Initiative • School of Public HealthOctober 13, 2023
Determination of non-significance: East Campus Dock lmprovements
Pursuant to the provisions of WAC 197-11-340 and WAC 478-324-140, the University of Washington hereby provides public notice of: DETERMINATION OF NON-SIGNIFICANCE Project Name: East Campus Dock lmprovements Proponent/Lead Agency: University of Washington–Seattle Campus Comment Period Closes: October 27, 2023 Description of Proposal: The UW is proposing to repair, replace, and remove several docks located…
October 12, 2023
Video: Highlights from UW President’s annual address
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce delivered her annual address to the community on Oct. 12. Highlights of the speech are reflected in this video. The audience was invited to attend the event remotely via livestream.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce
ArtSci Roundup: Frontiers of Physics Lecture, a conversation with Bridgerton author, Archaeology Day at the Burke, and more
This week, attend the Frontiers of Physics Lecture, listen to a conversation with Julia Quinn the author of the Bridgerton series, head to the Burke Museum to celebrate International Archaeology Day, and more. October 17, 7:30pm | Frontiers of Physics Lecture | More perfect than we imagined: A physicist’s view of life, Kane Hall Among the most…
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Department of Global Health • Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures • Department of Physics • Jackson School of International Studies • Middle East Center • School of Music • School of Public Health • Simpson Center for the Humanities • South Asia Center • UW Libraries • UW Quantum XOctober 10, 2023
Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Cowles appointed chair of Ruckelshaus Center board
Elizabeth A. “Betsy” Cowles has been named chair of the Advisory Board to the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a public policy-minded collaboration of Washington State University and the University of Washington.
Tag(s): William R. Ruckelshaus Center
Fostering a more diverse faculty: How the new Vice Provost for Academic Personnel aims to build an office of ‘Faculty Success’
In 1996, two Kenyan scholars were awarded Fulbright Scholarships — honors the U.S. Department of State grants to promising young academics worldwide. Fred Muyia Nafukho, who joined the University of Washington earlier this year as the vice provost for academic personnel, vividly remembers the day he was called to the U.S. embassy in Nairobi.
Tag(s): ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change • Chadwick Allen • Fredrick Nafukho • Joyce Yen • Paula Houston • UW Medicine
“Ways of Knowing” Epilogue
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 8: Translation
When you hear a cover of a favorite song, comparisons are inevitable. There are obvious similarities – the lyrics, the melody – but there are also enough differences to make each version unique. Those deviations say more than you might expect. Maya Angela Smith, associate of professor of French at the University of…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of French & Italian Studies • Maya Angela Smith • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 7: Material Culture
Picture a series of uniform mounds of earth, each about 6-feet high. Enclosing 50 acres, the mounds form an octagon that is connected to a circle. This is The Octagon Earthworks, located in central Ohio, and it’s one of thousands of Indigenous mounds across the eastern half of North America. Chadwick Allen is…
Tag(s): Chadwick Allen • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of American Indian Studies • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 6: Visual Literacy
An empty wallet, a hairbrush, a diaper. These are just a few of the items left behind by migrants at the United States-Mexico border, photographed for a 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Diana Ruíz discusses how the same images can be used on both sides of the same debate. In…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Cinema & Media Studies • Diana Ruíz
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 5: Disability Studies
Who gets to be a superhero? What about a villain? It depends on where you look. In the 1940s, comic book villains were often distinguished from heroes through physical disability. That changed in the 1960s and 70s, when it became more common for heroes – think Daredevil and Professor X – to be built around…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Slavic Languages and Literature • Jose Alaniz • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 4: Environmental Humanities
Centuries ago, writers depicted the natural world as terrifying and dangerous, no place for humans. But that fear, in the decades to come, gradually turned to appreciation, awe and joy, for poets and artists, sightseers and backpackers. Louisa Mackenzie, associate professor of comparative history of ideas at the University of Washington, describes how…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of French & Italian Studies • Louisa Mackenzie • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 3: Close Reading Redux
The autobiography of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, was a standard bearer of the abolitionist movement. Having escaped slavery as a young man, Douglass became a famous activist, orator, statesman and businessman. But it is another aspect of his story that is just as intriguing to Habiba Ibrahim, professor of English at the University…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • Habiba Ibrahim • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 2: Close Reading
“Dover Beach,” a poem by 19th century British writer Matthew Arnold, can be read as both a romantic lament and, as many scholars have concluded, a dark, existential commentary on the loss of religious faith. Through close reading, a way of reading for insight, not information, University of Washington English Professor Charles LaPorte…
Tag(s): Charles LaPorte • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • ways of knowing
“Ways of Knowing” Episode 1: Reading
What marks the start of the Anthropocene – the geological epoch marked by human impact on the planet? The debate hinges, in part, on how we define “signature events,” the important information left behind as clues. But finding signature events transcends the study of the Anthropocene; it’s how we read to make meaning of a…
Tag(s): Anthropocene • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English • Jesse Oak Taylor • ways of knowingOctober 9, 2023
Prescription opioid companies increased marketing after Purdue Pharma lawsuit, UW study shows
Public scrutiny of Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis increased sharply in the years after the state of Kentucky filed a lawsuit against the company. New research from David Tan, University of Washington associate professor of management, examines the ensuing behavior of competing prescription opioid companies.
Tag(s): David Tan • Foster School of Business
Three UW faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
Among the most prestigious scientific organizations in the country, the Academy recognizes excellence in the fields of health and medicine, along with a commitment to volunteer service.
Tag(s): Ali Rowhani-Rahbar • Department of Biochemistry • Department of Epidemiology • Department of Pediatrics • Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program • Hongkui Zeng • School of Medicine • School of Public Health • Seattle Children's Hospital • Tricia Serio • Tumaini Rucker CokerOctober 7, 2023
University of Washington appoints Troy Dannen as Director of Athletics
The University of Washington has appointed Troy Dannen to serve as its 16th Director of Athletics, UW President Ana Mari Cauce announced today. Dannen most recently served as the Director of Athletics at Tulane University, where during his eight-year tenure the Green Wave had 49 All-Americans and 21 conference champions, and made 41 postseason appearances,…
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • UW AthleticsOctober 5, 2023
ArtSci Roundup: A Conversation with Emily M. Bender, Dubal Memorial Lecture, and more
This week, learn why Emily Bender believes “AI” is a bad term, take part in the Dubal Memorial Lecture on ‘Race, Science, and Pregnancy Trials in the Postgenomic Era’, view the film screening of Tortoise Under the Earth, and more. October 12, 7:00 – 8:30pm | Jewish History and Jewish Memory Revisited: ‘Zakhor’ at 40,…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • College of Arts & Sciences • Comparative History of Ideas Program • Department of Linguistics • Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies • Jackson School of International Studies • Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program • School of Music • Simpson Center for the Humanities • Stroum Center for Jewish StudiesOctober 4, 2023
New UW-themed plane takes to the skies
Alaska Airlines has launched its third iteration of University of Washington-themed designs on its aircraft, with a purple and gold “Go Dawgs” Embraer E175 Horizon Air jet on a flight from Seattle to Portland on Oct. 3
October 3, 2023
Group seeks to understand how a new type of satellite will impact Earth-based astronomy
Astronomers with the International Astronomical Union are trying to understand how the brightness and transmissions of the BlueWalker3 satellite will interfere with Earth-based observations of the universe — and what can be done to minimize these effects as more of these satellites are launched.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • DIRAC Institute • Meredith RawlsSeptember 28, 2023
ArtSci Roundup: Faculty Concert, The Secret Language of Art Radicals, and more
This week, explore “how to use art for resistance” with Elisheba Johnson, head to Meany Hall for an engaging performance by the Turtle Island Quartet, and more. October 2, 7:30pm | Faculty Concert: UW Faculty Brass, Meany Hall UW faculty brass instructors and Seattle Symphony members David Gordon (trumpet), John DiCesare (tuba), John Turman (French…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Center for Korea Studies • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Anthropology • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Music • UW Alumni AssociationSeptember 27, 2023
MilliMobile is a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by light and radio waves
The robot, equipped with a solar panel–like energy harvester and four wheels, is about the size of a penny, weighs as much as a raisin and can move about the length of a bus in an hour on a cloudy day.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Kyle Johnson • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Vikram Iyer • Zachary EnglhardtSeptember 25, 2023
Q&A: Can AI in school actually help students be more creative and self-directed?
Katie Davis, a University of Washington associate professor in the Information School, discusses how generative AI might support learning, instead of detracting from it, if kids can keep their agency.
Tag(s): artificial intelligence • education • Information School • Katie DavisSeptember 24, 2023
‘From this day forward, you are a Husky’: Incoming class welcomed at New Student Convocation
The University of Washington welcomed its incoming class and families on Sunday at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • Tricia Serio • UW convocationSeptember 22, 2023
Q&A: How new software is changing our understanding of human brain development
A team including researchers at the University of Washington recently used new software to compare MRIs from 300 babies and discovered that myelin, a part of the brain’s so-called white matter, develops much slower after birth.
Tag(s): Ariel Rokem • Department of Psychology • eScience InstituteSeptember 21, 2023
ArtSci Roundup: Kicking the school year off with the Henry Art Gallery, Dawg Daze, and more
Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week. This week, attend gallery exhibitions, Dawg Daze events, and more. As the UW community returns to campus, consider taking advantage of campus perks available to UW employees and students: Free admission to the Henry Art Gallery and Burke Museum Discounted tickets to performances…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Anthropology • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Music • Simpson Center for the Humanities
NSF funds internet-connected ocean observatory through 2028
The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Washington $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • College of the Environment • Deborah Kelley • Ocean Observatories Initiative • oceanography • RV Thomas G. Thompson • School of Oceanography
UW’s incoming class to be welcomed at New Student Convocation
The University of Washington will welcome its incoming classes and their families on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the University’s 40th annual New Student Convocation, which will be held in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • Tricia Serio • UW convocation
UW team’s shape-changing smart speaker lets users mute different areas of a room
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed system of robotic self-deploying microphones, which lets users control sound in a room, muting certain areas and creating “active zones” in others.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Malek Itani • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Shyam Gollakota • Tuochao ChenSeptember 20, 2023
Video: UW welcomes students to campus as thousands move into residence halls
About 8,500 students, including 78% of this year’s freshman class, are expected to move into UW residence halls and apartments this week.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • Move-in day • Pamela Schreiber • UW Housing & Food ServicesSeptember 19, 2023
Five UW faculty members elected as AGU Fellows, plus more honors
The American Geophysical Union announced Sept. 13 that five University of Washington faculty members have been elected as new fellows, representing the departments of astronomy, Earth and space sciences, oceanography, global health, and environmental and occupational health sciences.
Tag(s): Baptiste Journaux • Becky Alexander • Brendan Crowell • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • David Catling • Department of Astronomy • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Global Health • Eric Steig • Jody Deming • Kristie Ebi • School of Medicine • School of Oceanography • School of Public Health • Victoria MeadowsSeptember 15, 2023
Polar experiments reveal seasonal cycle in Antarctic sea ice algae
The frigid ocean surrounding Antarctica is home to much of the region’s photosynthetic life. A new University of Washington study provides the first measurements of how sea-ice algae and other single-celled life handle dramatic seasonal swings, offering clues to how this ecosystem might adapt to climate change.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Jodi Young • marine microbiology • microbiology • oceanography • polar science • School of OceanographySeptember 14, 2023
Faculty/staff honors: Two professors on TIME100 AI list, UW President Ana Mari Cauce honored for contributions to León, and more
Recent recognition for the University of Washington includes Emily M. Bender and Yejin Choi on the TIME100 AI list, President Ana Mari Cauce receiving a Decrees Award and Jeff Hou’s election to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Council of Fellows.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Built Environments • College of Engineering • Department of Landscape Architecture • Department of Linguistics • Emily M. Bender • Jeff Hou • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Yejin Choi« Previous Page Next Page »
