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News and features

The Arctic Council at Twenty: A dialogue on the status and future of the Arctic Council

You are invited to join us for a day-long dialogue on the current status and future of the Arctic Council including some of the founding voices in the Arctic Council and heads of the Permanent Participant organizations. Please join us for all or part of the day (see the program for presentation times). No registration necessary.

The Arctic Council at Twenty: Permanent Participants, Arctic Policy in Canada and the United States, and Stewardship

Friday, 20 November 2015, 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Odegaard 220, University of Washington

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic states, Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues. The Arctic Council is a unique international forum both historically and globally. It is the first international institution formed in dialogue with Indigenous peoples and the first where government and Indigenous organizations work on almost equal par to provide coordination for international decision making and activities in and concerning the circumpolar world. According the Griffith (2011) the Arctic Council was the result of a ground swell in civil society where scholars, practitioners and Indigenous leaders engaged in a dialogue concerning the need for an international coordinating body to address Arctic issues from a government and Indigenous perspective.

This workshop – supported by the Korea Maritime Institute, and hosted by the Canadian Studies Center/Arctic and International Relations in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies – will reflect on the almost 20-year history of the Arctic Council, its influence on Arctic policy in North America, and future options concerning its role. Participants will present and discuss their reflections on the Arctic Council including its influence on Canadian and U.S. Arctic policy, and the role of four of the six Permanent Participant organizations who are represented in the Pacific Northwest.

Cauce, Gregoire highlight inclusive innovation in The Seattle Times

cauce-gregoire-mugsPresident Ana Mari Cauce and former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire highlighted how the Puget Sound’s unique spirit of inclusive innovation presents international opportunities in today’s Seattle Times. Gregoire is taking part in the UW’s events in China this week.

“[T]he most meaningful innovations of the future will result from multidisciplinary, multi-institutional and multinational collaborations to address and solve some of the world’s most perplexing challenges,” the two wrote.

“We believe our two great countries have much to contribute to making our world better and that we can accomplish more if we work together.”

Read more at The Seattle Times.

UW Department of Communication well represented during #UWinChina

Comm-in-China-banner-01In a trip all about building international partnerships and bridging two cultures, it makes sense that the Department of Communication would be well represented.

This week the department highlighted the faculty, students and alumni taking part in the events in China.

Associate Professor Gina Neff and UW Communication Hall of Fame member and former Gov. Chris Gregoire will both speak at the UW Innovation Summit.

Meanwhile, three students and a recent graduate are also part of the week. UW junior Joe Knight, a men’s basketball player, and sophomore Jane Yang, a teaching assistant, are part of the Pac-12 China game and related educational activities, and junior Olivia Fuller and alumnus Erik Erickson are reporting on the events for The Daily and HUA Voice.

Read more on the department’s blog and keep up with the trip through #UWinChina.

Cauce talks about the UW in China with Seattle, Austin media

ana-mari-cauce-300x200Before departing for China, President Ana Mari Cauce and other UW officials, including Head Men’s Basketball Coach Lorenzo Romar, spoke with media from Seattle, as well as the home of the Huskies’ Pac-12 China game opponent.

The stories all encompassed the full range of activities — from academics and innovation to athletics — that will take place during the week. Follow all the events on Twitter at #UWinChina.

Media roundup:

A cultural exchange with fellow UW students in China

Kim Boudreau served as a Husky Presidential Ambassador this summer, traveling to China to study abroad and mentor incoming international freshmen. For this senior from Spokane, the trip was a chance to leave North America for the first time and share her Husky Pride with incoming freshmen. She came back with new friends and fresh perspectives.

Kim and friends in Beijing
Exploring Beijing

I loved exploring China with the freshmen students. Meeting them in their home country opened my world and theirs. I was matched with Qingyuan and Leo in Beijing, and with Zhicheng and Danni in Shanghai. One of my favorite memories is visiting the crowded, windy Hutongs of Beijing. The Hutongs are a series of old, narrow alleyways, not an ideal place for a big group. Our group of eight UW students was having so much fun that we decided to stick together anyway. Miraculously, we managed not to lose anyone.

I gained as much from the experience as the freshmen students did. I had traveled outside the U.S. only once before, on a trip to Montreal to visit family. This experience was on a whole new level. The Chinese students asked a ton of questions about life at the UW and in the United States. What are the professors like? Which classes should I take? Where’s the best place to eat? If I didn’t know the answer, I asked a fellow Husky Presidential Ambassador. This showed the freshmen students that peers are very useful resources. For my part, I learned that Chinese students are a lot like me. They have the same questions and worries that I had when I first started college. When I started at the UW I was very nervous, and I was only moving from Spokane. I can’t imagine moving halfway across the world. This experience totally changed my perspective on international students.

Back on campus
Back on campus

My study abroad experience was so much richer because I had the opportunity to participate in this cultural exchange. Being with someone who spoke the language and knew the culture made exploring Beijing and Shanghai much easier, but more importantly, I had new friends with me who could answer questions, and tell me about these new places from their perspective.

I didn’t want our time in China to end. At the same time, I was so excited to get back to Seattle because that meant I was one step closer to welcoming the Chinese students to the University of Washington. This quarter, we have class together every Friday. I’m excited for us to explore our University together.

Innovators preview their UW Innovation Summit presentations

In addition to keynote speeches from Ralph Haupter, CEO of Microsoft’s Greater China Region, and Jian Wang, co-founder and president of BGI International, the inaugural University of Washington Innovation Summit will also feature four UW innovators, who previewed their presentations this week:

 

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“Data empathy” is a concept Gina Neff is studying, and refers to how organizations can better meet the expectations people have for how their personal data will be used. Neff, an associate professor of communication, says the health-care system has examples that the technology industry can learn from, such as how providers now use patient data to not only build a relationship with patients, but also spur better health outcomes.

 

PATEL2-e1432233690432-375x281Much of that data may be collected by sensors in development by Shwetak Patel. His research involves using sensors to improve health and sustainability, including the sensors on mobile phones — namely microphones and cameras. Patel, the Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Endowed Professor in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering, has been developing tools that utilize these everyday sensors to diagnose everything from pulmonary conditions to infant jaundice. He’s also researching how energy and water usage can be better managed through residential sensing technology.

 

The innovators featured at the Summit aren’t exclusively faculty members. In fact, entrepreneurship and innovation are hallmarks of the UW student experience, as evidenced by a second pair of presenters:

 

BENWATERS-e1432234225501Ben Waters, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering, has focused his research around wirelessly powering the technologies that are playing an increasing role in shaping — and even saving — our lives. One of his innovations provides a way to wirelessly power left ventricular assist devices, which keep patients alive while awaiting heart transplants. Currently, these must be powered through a wire that pierces the skin, heightening the risk of infection. He’s also developing ways to power mobile robotics, from drones to robotic vacuum cleaners.

 

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And a personal tragedy served as the inspiration for Adina Mangubat, CEO of Spiral Genetics and a 2009 UW graduate with a degree in psychology. The death of her grandfather from lung cancer has driven her to innovate in the area of personalized medicine, specifically by creating a company that develops software for large-scale DNA sequencing. Such sequencing enables the genetic factors for certain conditions to be identified more quickly and for treatments to be personalized for maximum effectiveness.

 

More information about the Summit, including how to purchase tickets, is available at uw.edu/shanghai.