Profiles
August 29, 2023
The University of Washington’s Presidential Scholars — investing in tomorrow’s leaders
Each year, the University of Washington reviews thousands of applications from students who want to pursue their undergraduate studies at the state’s flagship university.
May 26, 2022
Video: Alexes Harris draws attention to low representation of people of color in bone marrow registry
In 2016, Alexes Harris was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. But a search for a bone marrow donor turned up only five matches, and none ended up being a donor. People of color are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry; according to Be The Match, the nation’s largest bone marrow registry, white people have a 79% chance of finding a match. But a Black person’s potential match is only 29%, and Asian and Latinx people both have about a 47% chance. People of Native American ancestry have a 60% chance of finding a match.
April 25, 2022
La primera: Communication major Paula Thiele breaks in new ‘¡Spain Works!’ internship
Paula Thiele, a communication major who will graduate this spring, became the inaugural scholar to participate in the UW’s new Scholarship for Immersive Internships in León, dubbed “¡Spain Works!” — a partnership between the UW León Center, UW Study Abroad and the UW Career & Internship Center.
November 5, 2021
From the land of the Reindeer People to Red Square: Teacher brings the Mongolian language to the UW
Azjargal Amarsanaa, a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, is teaching the Mongolian language to UW students for the 2021-22 academic year. It’s the first chance UW students have had to learn Mongolian in 15 years.
October 4, 2021
UW’s Shyam Gollakota named 2021 Moore Inventor Fellow
Shyam Gollakota, a UW professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, has taken inspiration from nature’s tiniest creatures, creating inventions that allow humans to use technology to go where they haven’t gone before. He is being celebrated for those inventions as a 2021 Moore Inventor Fellow.
June 15, 2021
UW astronomer redefines the scientific hero as part of The Great Courses
Prof. Emily Levesque’s course “Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy” — part of The Great Courses, a popular online learning platform — takes viewers on a tour of the biggest advancements in one of humanity’s oldest sciences and the people behind them.
May 3, 2021
Dean Azita Emami’s ‘insider–outsider’ perspective shapes her UW School of Nursing leadership
UW School of Nursing Dean Azita Emami’s commitment to fighting for those underserved by the health care system has deep roots in her identity. Born in Iran, she has been shaped by the experience of being an “insider–outsider.”
April 1, 2021
John Schaufelberger to receive 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from national Associated Schools of Construction
John Schaufelberger, UW professor of construction management and dean emeritus of the College of Built Environments, has received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Associated Schools of Construction.
February 19, 2021
Vice Provost for Research Mary Lidstrom stepping down after 15 years
After more than 15 years serving as Vice Provost for Research, Mary Lidstrom will step down from her position on Aug. 31, 2021, with plans to return full time to the faculty, concentrate on her research, and establish mentoring and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
January 27, 2021
Undergrad’s first novel, optioned for a movie, features big robots and even bigger feelings
UW student Zoe Mikuta’s first book, “Gearbreakers,” is set to come out June 29. Categorized in the young adult genre, it tells the story of Eris and Sona, who live under a tyrannical regime enforced by 100-foot-tall mecha robots. She’s sold the film rights to “Gearbreakers” and is currently working on its sequel.
December 28, 2020
Dueling pulpits: Book by Jackson School’s Taso Lagos explores rivalry between two charismatic early-20th century preachers
In a new book, Taso Lagos of the UW Jackson School studies the rivalry between Aimee Semple McPherson and Robert “Fighting Bob” Shuler, two California-based performer-preachers who had the country’s rapt attention in the 1920s.
December 2, 2020
‘Performing Flight’: UW drama professor Scott Magelssen’s book studies aviation through perspective of performance studies
A talk with UW drama professor Scott Magelssen, who explores American aviation from the perspective of performance studies in his new book “Performing Flight.”
September 11, 2020
‘Dancing in the sky’: UW professor Cecilia Aragon tells of beating fear, becoming competitive pilot in memoir ‘Flying Free’
A conversation with UW professor Cecilia Aragon about her new memoir, “Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the US Aerobatic Team”
July 20, 2020
‘A world of my own’: José Alaniz publishes a life of cartooning — so far — in collection ‘The Phantom Zone’
José Alaniz says that comics — especially superhero tales — hooked him and “rewired” his brain at an early age. They also got him drawing his own comics, chronicling his life and the things he observes. Now Alaniz, a UW professor of Slavic languages and literatures, has published a collection of his own drawings and essays. “The Phantom Zone.”
July 13, 2020
UW books in brief: Mutiny at sea, an anthropologist’s memoir, ‘unsettling’ Native American art histories, global social media design — and an award for UW Press
Notable new books by UW faculty and staff include a study of rebellion at sea, an emeritus faculty member’s Buddhist-focused memoir, a reconsideration of Northwest Coast Native American art with Indigenous perspectives in mind, thoughts on bridging cultural gaps through design — and an award for the editor-in-chief of UW Press.
June 17, 2020
UW book notes: Physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir ‘Being Authentic’; Lambda Literary award for UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma
UW family physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir “Being Authentic,” and a Lambda Literary award goes to UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma.
May 28, 2020
Charles Johnson muses on ‘the art of living’ in new book ‘GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life’
Charles Johnson has written novels and short stories, screenplays and philosophical meditations, but his latest book is something different, and very personal. “GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life” was published May 5.
May 22, 2020
Book notes: Harborview administrator Amy Mower publishes volume of stories, poems about ultramarathon running
It’s one thing to run a marathon for 26.2 miles. But what possesses some people to run 100 miles or more, and do it again and again? “Salvation,” answers Amy Mower in a new book about ultramarathon running, “or at least a very good time.”
May 19, 2020
Campus colleagues: Curtis Takahashi — academic adviser, live radio ‘sound effects dude’
How do you make the sound of birds flying for a radio broadcast? Flapping leather gloves will do. Curtis Takahashi of UW Bothell’s Career Development Program talks about his side gig of providing sound effects for local live radio broadcasts.
March 9, 2020
Book notes: UW architectural historian Tyler Sprague explores the work of Kingdome designer Jack Christiansen
A talk with UW architecture professor Tyler Sprague about his book “Sculpture on a Grand Scale: Jack Christiansen’s Thin Shell Modernism.” Plus books from Rick Bonus and Yong-Chool Ha.
January 28, 2020
Campus colleagues: Special Collections librarian Allee Monheim finds gems for social media, has new exhibit on ‘lowbrow’ art
UW Notebook visits with Allee Monheim, UW Libraries public service librarian, who curates the libraries distinctive social media accounts.
August 22, 2019
UW books in brief: Tribal sovereignty and the courts, mentoring through fan fiction, UW Press paperback editions
Recent notable books by UW faculty members explore the legal history of Indigenous nations and the mentoring benefits of fan fiction. Plus, a UW anthropologist’s book is honored, a former English faculty member is remembered in a biography, and UW Press brings out paperback editions of three popular titles.
August 21, 2019
3 UW graduate students earn NASA fellowships, continue legacy of success
Three University of Washington graduate students are among this year’s recipients of a prestigious NASA fellowship that funds student research projects in the fields of Earth and planetary sciences and astrophysics.
June 18, 2019
Of octopuses and astrobiology: Conference talk speculates on cognition beyond Earth
Of the many papers and presentations scheduled for AbSciCon2019, the conference on astrobiology and the search for life in space happening in Bellevue the week of June 24, the UW’s Dominic Sivitilli’s is perhaps unique — he’ll discuss his research into how octopuses “think.”
April 11, 2019
Stars and stories: UW astronomer Emily Levesque gathering material for book on ‘true tales of observational astronomy’
Emily Levesque, UW assistant professor of astronomy, is gathering material for a new book to be called “The Last Stargazers: True Tales of the Colorful and Vanishing World of Observational Astronomy.”
April 10, 2019
David Thouless — Nobel laureate and UW professor emeritus — dies at age 84
David James Thouless, Nobel laureate and a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, died in Cambridge in the U.K. on April 6, 2019. He was 84 years old.
January 30, 2019
Building equity: A talk with Renée Cheng, new dean of the UW College of Built Environments
UW News talks with Renée Cheng, new dean of the UW College of Built Environments, about her background and plans for the college. Cheng joined the UW on Jan. 1.
January 2, 2019
Video: UW Husky football players mentor Seattle youth
Husky football players, including Myles Gaskin and JoJo McIntosh, mentor teens each week as part of a program hosted by the Yesler Community Center in Seattle.
December 10, 2018
Q&A: New Washington Sea Grant director brings love of learning, experience across sectors
Russell Callender began as Washington Sea Grant’s new director this fall, and UW News sat down with him recently to learn more about what he hopes to bring to the organization.
November 13, 2018
UW communication professor Ralina Joseph’s new book navigates minefield of ‘postracial racialism’
Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication, discusses here new book “Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media, and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity,” published this October by New York University Press.
September 24, 2018
David Shields deconstructs the mind of President Donald Trump in latest book
David Shields, UW professor of English, discusses his latest book, “Nobody Hates Trump More than Trump: An Intervention.”
August 28, 2018
Working class heroes: A look inside the Labor Archives of Washington
An exploration of UW Libraries’ Labor Archives of Washington with labor archivist Conor Casey.
May 14, 2018
Jackson School’s Taso Lagos pens ‘American Zeus,’ biography of theater mogul Alexander Pantages
It’s a challenge to write a biography of a man who was functionally illiterate and whose papers were mostly destroyed, but UW lecturer Taso Lagos has achieved it with his new book, “American Zeus: The Life of Alexander Pantages, Theater Mogul.”
April 30, 2018
Q&A: Washington Sea Grant’s Penny Dalton a leader, mentor in ocean policy field
A Q&A with retiring Washington Sea Grant director Penny Dalton on her drive to serve the public, and the ways in which she has helped young marine policy experts get started in the field.
April 19, 2018
Vikram Prakash’s ‘ArchitectureTalk’ podcast explores topics ‘at the edge of the known’
Vikram Prakash says his weekly “ArchitectureTalk” podcast got its start, as many things do, from a student’s idea.
March 28, 2018
UW historian Michael Honey recalls Martin Luther King’s message of economic justice in new book, ‘To the Promised Land’
As the 50th anniversary approaches of the murder of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, UW historian Michael Honey reminds us in a new book that economic justice and labor rights were always part of King’s progressive message.
March 9, 2018
A prestigious award brings UW composer Huck Hodge time to reflect, write
UW music professor Huck Hodge talks about the Charles Ives Living Award, bestowed on him by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
February 21, 2018
A talk with UW historian Quintard Taylor: Taking ‘the long view’ in troubled times
Quintard Taylor, UW professor emeritus of history and recipient of a lifetime achievement honor from Washington State Historical Society, discusses his work and this unusual moment in American history.
January 26, 2018
School of Music’s Laila Storch republishes biography of renowned oboist, teacher Marcel Tabuteau
A biography of world-renowned oboe performer and teacher Marcel Tabuteau by the UW School of Music’s Laila Storch has been republished in paperback by Indiana University Press.
January 19, 2018
University Faculty Lecture to highlight screening newborns for genetic diseases
For this year’s University Faculty Lecture, University of Washington chemistry professor Michael Gelb will discuss the science behind screening newborns for treatable — but rare — genetic diseases.
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