UW News


January 3, 2011

Engineering students hack Kinect for surgical robotics research

Students in the Biorobotics Laboratory hacked the Kinect, a motion-based controller for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming system, for research on telerobotic surgery.


December 20, 2010

Students water-testing tool wins $40,000, launches nonprofit

UW engineering students won an international contest for designing a way to monitor water disinfection by solar rays. The students will share a $40,000 prize from the Rockefeller Foundation and are now working with nonprofits to turn their concept into a reality.


December 13, 2010

Assessing the environmental effects of tidal turbines

UW scientists are helping to prepare for a tidal energy project in Puget Sound. Researchers say this pilot project will have the most comprehensive environmental monitoring of any tidal energy installation to date.


November 15, 2010

Scented consumer products shown to emit many unlisted chemicals

Widely used fragranced products — including those that claim to be “green” — give off many chemicals that are not listed on the label, including some that are toxic, a UW study found.


November 9, 2010

Undergraduates’ low-cost ultrasound system wins Gates Foundation grant

UW undergraduate students will travel to Africa to test an ultrasound system aimed at lowering childbirth-related mortality, which kills an estimated 1,000 women each day, almost entirely in the developing world.


November 1, 2010

Molecular imaging and therapy center to develop, commercialize technologies

Ultrasound could soon be a way for spotting cancerous cells before a tumor develops, precisely monitoring how a person responds to treatment or delivering genetic therapies.


August 19, 2010

Deaf, hard-of-hearing students do first test of sign language by cell phone

Person signing at smartphone

Editor’s note: Each year the summer academy hosts a premier of the students’ animated short films.


July 8, 2010

Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautics & Astronautics appoint new chairs

James Hermanson and Per Reinhall

The UW departments of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics & Astronautics have appointed new chairs.


April 22, 2010

UW energy- and water-sensing technology acquired by Belkin

Zensi, a research startup that uses simple technology to monitor home electricity and water use, has been acquired by electronics company Belkin International Inc.


January 13, 2010

‘Greenroads’ rates sustainable road projects

Greenroads, the first rating system for sustainable roads, unveiled today.


August 10, 2009

‘Puter Profs: Experts who can address a variety of computer-related issues

Ed Lazowska
Professor, Computer Science & Engineering
Phone: 206-543-4755
E-mail: <A href="mailto:Lazowska@cs.


April 16, 2009

Scorpion venom with nanoparticles slows spread of brain cancer

By combining nanoparticles with a scorpion venom compound already being investigated for treating brain cancer, University of Washington researchers found they could cut the spread of cancerous cells by 98 percent, compared to 45 percent for the scorpion venom alone.


August 21, 2008

‘Can you see me now?’ Sign language over cell phones comes to United States

Anna Cavender signing

A group at the University of Washington has developed software that for the first time enables deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans to use sign language over a mobile phone.


July 16, 2007

Microsoft picks new UW center to develop distance learning technologies

Last year, students enrolled in a professional master’s degree program in Seattle sat 800 miles from their teacher.



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