February 18, 2015
This coming week, the School of Music leads the way with a variety of events to keep your calendar full. Highlights include the UW Chamber Orchestra performing two nights, a faculty recital with Jazz Studies Professor Marc Seales, and a Music of Today performance in collaboration with the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media.
We’ve long known that humans and our cities affect the ecosystem and even drive some evolutionary change. What’s new is that these evolutionary changes are happening more quickly than previously thought, and have potential impacts not in the distant future — but now.
February 17, 2015
Factors affecting the quality of life for marginalized populations are the focus of a three-part UW lecture series that starts tomorrow. The 10th Annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lectures presents, “The Psychological Science of Inequity and Inequality,” bringing together faculty from the UW Department of Psychology with national experts for the free public talks. The first, at 7 p.m. Feb. 18, is titled “Implicit Bias: How Should Psychological Science Inform the Law?” and features UW psychology professor Anthony Greenwald and…
The life of a Bangladeshi garment factory worker is not an easy one. But new research from the University of Washington indicates that access to such factory jobs can improve the lives of young Bangladeshi women — motivating them to stay in school and lowering their likelihood of early marriage and childbirth.
February 16, 2015
Some of the oldest rocks on the planet push back scientific estimates of when life could have covered the Earth by 1 billion years.
February 13, 2015
A session Feb. 15 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting will explore how big data scientists can find careers at universities and within academic settings.
The University of Washington is one of 12 institutions to make the “top producers” list of both Fulbright scholars and students for 2014-15, according to lists released Thursday in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Fulbright Program, operated by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Seven scholars and 13 students from the UW were awarded Fulbright grants for 2014-2015, with the university landing fourth on the…
A research team has found that one group of bilingual speakers used emoticons more often when typing in their second language in casual, online communication than they did when typing in their native tongue.
February 12, 2015
University of Washington Provost and Executive Vice President Ana Mari Cauce was named interim president by the Board of Regents at their regular meeting on Thursday. Her appointment will be effective March 2, 2015. She succeeds President Michael K. Young, who is leaving the UW for Texas A&M University. “Dr. Cauce is an extraordinary leader of our University – a person who is known throughout our community for her straightforward and accessible leadership, extraordinary intellect, plain-spoken common sense, honesty, sense…
The UW College of Built Environments has added two names to the Roll of Honor located in the auditorium of Architecture Hall — Roland Terry and Grant Jones. A celebration for the two honorees will take place April 29. Terry was a Seattle architect committed to artistry appropriate to its regional setting who also played a role in developing the regional version of Modernism. His buildings, which include Washington Park Towers in Seattle, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Kenmore…
SPOKANE, Washington — The University of Washington has released its architectural renderings for the redesign of the former Spokane Visitors Center, soon to be the UW Spokane Center. Located in the heart of Spokane’s University District, the UW Spokane Center will serve as a hub for Spokane-area alumni, students, prospective students, parents and supporters with space for meetings and special events. The UW has retained Spokane architectural firm Blue Room Architecture & Design, PS to lead the remodel of the…
February 11, 2015
Home sale prices were down in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the third quarter but up compared with the previous year, and the rate of home sales also dropped, according to the UW’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies.
Women have long been underrepresented among undergraduates in computer science and engineering for a complex variety of reasons. A new study by University of Washington researchers identifies a main culprit for that disparity: inaccurate stereotypes depicting computer scientists and engineers as geeky, brilliant and socially awkward males. And they say broadening those stereotypes is key to attracting more girls to the two fields. Deeply ingrained in modern American society, stereotypes about computer science and engineering are widely accepted by students and…
This week, the UW World Series presents American dance ensemble Urban Bush Women, then quickly follows this with the Jerusalem Quartet.
The first early earthquake warning system for the region has begun testing with a small group of users at businesses and public agencies in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
The University of Washington has chosen 14 researchers across campus to receive this year’s UW Innovation Awards. The awards are given to encourage early and mid-career scientists to pursue projects that may not yet qualify for outside funding, but show future promise and will engage students in innovative, creative work. “These are some of the most creative thinkers in our midst and are at the heart of the UW’s innovation ecosystem. We congratulate them for fueling the innovative research and…
February 10, 2015
There is a widely recognized gender gap in the English language Wikipedia. Two members of the campus community are teaming to offer a four-hour hands-on workshop and discussion to bring feminist dialogues and theory to the information website, the seventh most-viewed in the United States. The event, titled “I Love To You: Critical Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon,” will be from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, in the UW Research Commons. It is being organized by Amanda Menking, a doctoral…
February 9, 2015
The Board of Regents will hold their Regular Meeting at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the Petersen Room of Allen Library. The full schedule and agendas are available online.
Pardon, Princeton. Step aside, Harvard. Maybe next time, Yale and Columbia — this one’s going to the University of Washington Department of English. UW colleges and departments are often named among the best in the country for science, technology and research. But the latest ranking has more to do with semi-colons than computer algorithms: USA Today has named the UW English Department as the third-best in the country for English majors. “The university challenges students to view the world through…
A UW chemistry lab teamed up with UW engineers studying 3-D printing to create 3-D printed objects with new capabilities.
The Green Seed Fund, a grant fund for sustainability research projects at the UW, will award money to six projects that contribute to the university’s sustainability goals, are well-planned and achievable and will help the UW reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The six winning projects for 2015 will share about $250,000 in grant money and were chosen by a committee of students, faculty and staff. The projects are: Carbon challenge: Footprint reduction through curricular development and community building: This UW…
February 6, 2015
Anti-Kickback, Conflict of Interest and Whistleblower Regulations Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR 52.203-7) require the University to implement procedures designed to prevent and detect violations of the Anti-Kickback Act of 1986 (41 USC 51-58). This is published as a reminder of the policies and procedures in place at the University of Washington 1. Kickback Defined. “Kickback” as defined by FAR means any money, fee commission, credit, gift, gratuity, thing of value or compensation of any kind that is provided directly or…
As a girl growing up in Alaska, Elizabeth Fleagle learned life lessons and hands-on skills from her grandmother, from cooking to making fish nets and moccasins. “Our grandma taught us how to make everything we had to make,” said Fleagle, who lives in Fairbanks and is Inupiat Eskimo. “In my culture, that’s how we learn.” Fleagle, 79, recently shared that way of learning at the University of Washington as one of 12 Elders participating in a new pilot program launched…
February 5, 2015
Amy Snover, director of the UW’s Climate Impacts Group and assistant dean for applied research in the UW’s College of the Environment, has been named a White House Champions of Change for her work in promoting climate education and literacy. She will be honored during a ceremony Monday at the White House from 10 a.m. – noon Pacific Time. The event includes a panel discussion where participants will talk about their work and the challenges and opportunities they encountered. The…
Laurie Olin, teacher, artist, innovator and one of landscape architecture’s most famous names, will return to his alma mater to deliver the College of Built Environments’ 2015 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Architecture Hall. His talk will be titled “Global, Regional, Local; Working Toward a Meaningful Landscape.” Olin is known for his design of Battery Park City and Bryant Park in New York City, as well as the London’s Bishopsgate, the outdoor sculpture garden at…
A robot developed at the University of Washington will deploy instruments to gather information in unprecedented detail about how marine life interacts with underwater equipment used to harvest wave and tidal energy.
February 4, 2015
The 2014 University of Washington Combined Fund Drive, part of the state’s workplace giving campaign, raised $2,199,793, making it the most successful campaign in the program’s 30-year history. The campaign ran from Oct. 16 to Dec. 5, 2014, with UW faculty, staff and retirees pledging to 1,819 nonprofit organizations. Employees contributed through ongoing payroll deduction or one-time gifts. “The UW community’s philanthropic spirit is inspirational,” said Kerri Everly, campaign manager for the UW Combined Fund Drive. “Our record-breaking campaign will…
Following up last week’s full schedule of arts events, this week is equally packed. The School of Drama’s production of “Twelfth Night” runs its final weekend, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery’s exhibit, “The Way Black Machine,” is now open and the School of Music presents a faculty recital with Douglas Cleveland on organ and David Gordon on trumpet.
February 3, 2015
University of Washington President Michael K. Young on Tuesday was named as the sole finalist for president of Texas A&M University by its Board of Regents. Young became President of the UW in July 2011. Young is expected to assume his duties at Texas A&M in the spring. Statement from UW President Michael K. Young “Deciding to be a candidate for the presidency of Texas A&M University was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. I was…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has worked for years with the University of Washington Information School‘s Technology & Social Change Group on the foundation’s multi-year Global Libraries Initiative, dedicated to improving digital connectivity around the world. The Gates Foundation announced in May 2014 that the initiative is entering a three- to five-year winding-down phase and is creating a “legacy strategy” to help leave the library field in strong shape after that time. The strategy is still being drafted, but…
Are you a UW alum or other local educator who’s passionate about your work and willing to talk publicly about it? The UW College of Education and the Seattle Times are hosting a storytelling event at the university on Feb. 25 and are looking for a handful of teachers to share five-minute personal stories onstage. To be considered, call the Seattle Times at 206-464-2057 and leave a two-minute, condensed version of your story and your full name, phone number and…
February 2, 2015
A recent study found that graduates of the University of Washington’s two early-entrance university programs excelled in their academic and subsequent professional lives. The study was published in January in Roeper Review, a publication focused on education for gifted students. It looked at the academic, professional and personal outcomes for 192 students in the UW Early Entrance Program, which started in 1977 and enrolls students as young as age 13, and UW Academy, an early admission program started in 2001….
The famous World War II-era poster of Rosie the Riveter is less a document that changed the world than the other way around — an image the world adopted and filled with meaning. But such turnabout is fair play in the ongoing Documents that Changed the World podcast series by UW Information School Professor Joe Janes.
January 30, 2015
The 2015 Super Bowl just got serious, because now it involves a bet over delicious seafood between dining services at the University of Washington and the University of Massachusetts. UMass threw down the gauntlet, in the form of lobster, and the UW responded with crab. Here’s the bet: If the Seahawks win, UMass will provide a seafood dinner — a clambake of lobster, clams, steamers, corn and Boston cream pie — for eight lucky students in UW housing chosen at…
Three members of the UW College of the Environment are among the first 20 recipients of a Wilburforce Fellowship, a new year-long training for conservation scientists in Western North America. The year-long program provides communication and leadership training to help build a community of conservation scientists and encourage them to reach beyond the scientific audiences. The three UW fellows are: Jonathan Bakker, an associate professor in the UW’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences who works on the restoration of…
The University of Washington’s eScience Institute and GitHub, a code-sharing and publishing service, are hosting a town hall discussion on campus 6-9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, to talk about the role of software in academic research today. Six panelists will give short presentations, followed by a discussion moderated by Arfon Smith with GitHub. Dan Halperin, director of research in scalable data analytics at UW’s eScience Institute, and Marina Meila, a UW associate professor of statistics, will join other speakers from…
All faculty are invited to a town hall discussion of the proposed new faculty salary policy at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, in the Walker Ames Room (225) in Kane Hall. The first half of the program will be devoted to a panel discussion and debate of the major arguments for and against the policy that have emerged so far. The five faculty panelists and the moderator come from diverse units: Arts & Sciences, Medicine, Business, Public Health, UW Bothell,…
January 29, 2015
Marlo Mack’s son was 3 years old when he told her very adamantly that he was not a boy, but a girl. Unsure what to do, Mack went in search of answers. She found little information online, her pediatrician knew nothing about transgender children, and even a psychologist who specialized in child identity issues couldn’t answer her questions. Mack quickly learned there was almost no research that could help her determine whether to allow her son to live as a…
January 28, 2015
Research has found a significant link between childhood abuse and neglect and crime in adulthood. But a recent University of Washington study finds that link all but disappears when accounting for other life factors. “We find that children who were involved in child welfare services are at high risk of adult crimes, but once we accounted for childhood socioeconomic status and later marital status and education, many of those effects went away,” said co-author Todd Herrenkohl, an investigator at the…
Kristy Leissle, a lecturer in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, will appear in an episode of the PBS television series “Nature” tonight, Jan. 28. The episode, titled “Penguin Post Office,” is about a unique British post office located in the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula at Port Lockroy, about 700 miles south of Argentina and Chile. The spot is Antarctica’s most popular tourist destination, with cruise ship passengers from around the world coming ashore to see…