UW News

The University of Washington is the host university for the 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting (AAAS). The conference is Feb. 13-16 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

The UW has more than 50 speakers and session moderators participating in the conference across a number of topics, including earthquakes, climate change impacts, misinformation during emergencies, criminal justice reform, early childhood learning and using artificial intelligence to stop child sex trafficking.

Additionally, UW President Ana Mari Cauce will welcome conference attendees to Seattle at a kickoff reception Feb. 13. The UW and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture will host a social event Feb. 15 at the museum for hundreds of journalists attending the conference.

Mount Rainier

Population Health Initiative

Learn about the UW’s 25-year, interdisciplinary effort to bring understanding and solutions to the biggest challenges facing communities.

UW booth (#219)

Stop by the University of Washington booth at the AAAS Expo.

More than a dozen UW scholars presenting at the meeting will be available Friday through Sunday to talk with attendees. Dubs II will make a special appearance at the booth on Sunday morning. The Expo Hall is open to the public with free on-site registration, check out the AAAS registration page for more info.

Schedule

 

Public event

Family Science Days are Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15-16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Register for Family Science Days

Research highlights from UW speakers at AAAS

Sea level map of Washington state.

Sea-level rise report contains best projections yet for Washington’s coasts

A University of Washington report provides the best projections yet for sea-level rise due to climate change at 171 sites along Washington’s coasts.

Closeup of fossil

Biggest extinction in Earth’s history caused by global warming

New research shows that the Permian mass extinction in the oceans was caused by global warming that left animals unable to breathe.

Hydropower dams cool rivers in the Mekong River basin, satellites show

Using 30 years of satellite data, UW researchers discovered that within one year of the opening of a major dam in the Mekong River basin, downstream river temperatures during the dry season dropped by up to 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C).


27 years with the most federal research funding.
There are more than 300 specialized research centers at the UW.

A tool resource center for natural disaster researchers

The RAPID Facility at the UW, which is the first of its kind in the world, contains over 300 instruments.

Scientists design protein that prods cancer-fighting T-cells

The achievement opens new approaches to the design of protein-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and other disorders.

Trees on Mount Rainier

Forests, human health, Northwest outlook

UW researchers were among the authors of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, an assessment of climate change across the nation produced every four years by the federal government.

Jevin West teaches a class in “Calling BS.”Quinn Russell Brown/University of Washington

UW creates Center for an Informed Public with $5 million investment from Knight Foundation

The UW Center for an Informed Public is led by an interdisciplinary group whose mission is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society and strengthen democratic discourse.

Gavel with dollar sign on marker

From counseling services to commissary items, how the private sector shapes ‘offender-funded justice’

Alexes Harris, UW professor of sociology, is leading a national study that has demonstrated the disproportionate impact of court-imposed fines and fees on the poor and on people of color.

Altruistic babies? Study shows infants are willing to give up food, help others

New research by the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences finds that altruism may begin in infancy.


7 UW faculty have won the Nobel Prize.
UW is No. 1 in innovation in Reuters' ranking.

Hells Creek landscape

Interactive tool helps explore a century of Pacific Northwest weather data

The UW College of the Environment partnered with Seattle visual analytics company Tableau Software to create a new, interactive visualization for historical observations of temperature and precipitation in the region.

Common murre bird

‘The blob,’ food supply squeeze to blame for largest seabird die-off

Scientists from the University of Washington, the U.S. Geological Survey and others blame an unexpected squeeze on the ecosystem’s food supply, brought on by a severe and long-lasting marine heatwave known as “the blob.”

Schooling herring fish

Young herring ‘go with the older fish’ a key finding in Ocean Modeling Forum

Similar to how children learn, often unconsciously, to mimic the adults around them, a small, silvery ocean fish employs this tactic when teaching the next generation.

Browse conference appearances by UW researchers

Full schedule from AAAS