October 9, 2013
News Digest: New employee housing, Carlos Pellegrini installed as president, Math Across Campus kicks off, Honor: Gerry Philipsen, health and safety nominations open
Ground broken in U District for employee housing
Seattle Children’s, Security Properties Inc. and the University of Washington broke ground last week on the 184-unit Bridges@11th apartments, a new employee housing community with priority access for Children’s and UW employees.
Bridges@11th, slated to open in 2015, is located in the University District near 4529 11th Ave. N.E. The project replaces housing that was removed for Children’s recent campus expansion.
While units will be available on a priority basis to employees of Children’s and UW, apartments also will be available to the general public. There will be a total of 184 studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
The UW owns the land, and has provided it on a long-term land lease to Security Properties, which will develop the property in a joint venture with an institutional capital investor.
American College of Surgeons installs Carlos Pellegrini as president
Carlos Pellegrini, the Henry N. Harkins Professor and Chair of Surgery at the UW, has been installed as the 94th president of the American College of Surgeons. The installation took place Oct. 6 in Washington, D.C., during the associations’ 2013 Clinical Congress. Pellegrini is a pioneer in minimally invasive surgery on the digestive tract. He has chaired the UW Department of Surgery since 1993. Under his leadership, the UW opened the Center for Videoendoscopic Surgery, the Center for Esophageal and Gastric Surgery, and the Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies. The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association. It was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of surgical care by setting high standards for surgical training and practice.
Math Across Campus considers challenge of sustainability
The challenge of sustainability and the promise of mathematics will be discussed by biologist Simon Levin from Princeton University, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 11, Kane 210 as Math Across Campus kicks off for the year.
The continual increase in the human population and our demands on the Earth’s limited resources raises the urgent mandate of understanding the degree to which our actions are sustainable, Levin says. This is an enormous scientific challenge and mathematics provides a common language across disciplines. Mathematical tools help in understanding the collective dynamics of systems from bacterial biofilms to bird flocks and fish schools to ecosystems and the biosphere. They also provide ways to resolve the game-theoretic challenges of achieving cooperation among individuals and among nations in providing for our common future.
Gerry Philipsen honored by National Communication Association
Gerry Philipsen, UW professor of communication, has been named a Distinguished Scholar for 2013 by the National Communication Association.
The award, given to four individuals each year, was created in 1991 to recognize and reward association members for a lifetime of scholarly achievement in the study of human communication.
Philipsen will be presented with the award during the association’s 99th annual convention, Nov. 21-24 in Washington, D.C.
UW Health and Safety Committee nominations close Nov. 1
Nominations are now open through Nov. 1 for UW’s 11 organizational safety committees. All employees – whether faculty, staff or temporary-, hourly- or student-employees – may participate. You can nominate yourself or a willing colleague to serve a two‐year term, which runs Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2015. Appointments will be announced in December.
