June 13, 2014
News digest: NeuroFutures Conference, Honors: David Wright, Richard Haag, UWTV
Inaugural NeuroFutures Conference begins Monday evening
Researchers from the University of Washington, UW Medicine, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Swedish Neuroscience Institute and the federal government will have the chance to share their expertise and learn from each other next week during the two-day inaugural NeuroFutures Conference.
The conference, held at the UW, kicks off with a free public talk by University of Toronto neurosurgeon Andres Lozano on Monday, June 16, at 7 p.m. in Kane Hall. Lozano has pioneered the use of deep brain stimulation, a technology that is being used to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, obesity, depression and neurological disorders.
The meeting comes at a time when national attention is focused on neuroscience research. This month an advisory committee proposed increasing funding for the federal Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative to $4.5 billion over the next decade. And the National Institutes of Health recently announced a $3.4 million grant to the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science to study Alzheimer’s disease.
The Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering at the UW, which is backed by the National Science Foundation, is taking the lead on organizing the event, with the hope that it will become an annual conference.
Wright receives national award from procurement association
David Wright, director of communications for UW Procurement Services, has received the Neil D. Markee Communicator of the Year Award from the National Association of Educational Procurement, an organization with more than 1,500 colleges and universities in U.S. and Canada.
Wright communicates procurement’s initiatives both internally to staff and externally to procurement’s customers and the supplier community. His award-winning efforts include conducting procurement services forums, website improvements and supplier fairs and producing newsletters and other targeted outreach efforts.
He received his award in May at the association’s national meeting in Louisville.
Landscape architect Richard Haag honored with video series
The life and 50-year career of Richard Haag, UW professor emeritus of landscape architecture, are celebrated in a new series of oral history videos by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit agency that promotes landscape architecture and its practitioners.
The videos are part of a series called Pioneers of American Landscape Design the foundation has created to “document, collect and preserve first-hand information from pioneering landscape architects/educators.”
Haag, founder of the UW landscape architecture department, has been honored for his design work at Seattle’s Gas Works Park and Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. He has twice received the American Society of Landscape Architecture’s President Award for Design Excellence.
UWTV wins Northwest Emmy Award
“Cold War Spy Talks,” a UW360 short story about a retired CIA operative, has won UWTV an Emmy Award from the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The award was presented June 7.
The segment won an Emmy in the historic/cultural feature segment category. The story explored the life of Vaughn Sherman, a former CIA operative and UW graduate in the class of ’51, as he recounted experiences from his CIA service during the Cold War.
UW360 is a magazine-style show that profiles UW people, programs and the relationships with the broader regional community.
