Vince Stricherz

January 13, 2010

New research resolves conflict in theory of how galaxies form

New research solves nagging issues in the theory of how cold dark matter let the universe evolve into the galaxy-rich cosmos we see today.

January 7, 2010

Tremors between slip events: More evidence of great quake danger to Seattle

For most of a decade, scientists have documented unfelt and slow-moving seismic events, called episodic tremor and slip, showing up in regular cycles under the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state and Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

December 15, 2009

Tremors between slip events: More evidence of great quake danger to Seattle

Scientists discover more small seismic tremor events in a megathrust earthquake zone in western Washington and British Columbia.

December 14, 2009

Scientists seek Seattle-area volunteers to host special seismographs

Scientists are hunting for sites in the Seattle area for specially designed seismographs to record moderate to strong urban earthquakes

November 24, 2009

New report says climate change accelerating much faster than expected

Scientists say effects of climate change greater than expected and getting more serious

October 29, 2009

First evidence for a second breeding season among migratory songbirds

Biologists for the first time have documented a second breeding season during the annual cycle of five songbird species that spend summers in temperate North America and winters in tropical Central and South America.

Fortuitous research provides first detailed documentation of tsunami erosion

Tsunamis are among the most-devastating natural calamities.

October 27, 2009

Fortuitous research provides first detailed documentation of tsunami erosion

Tsunamis are among the most-devastating natural calamities.

October 26, 2009

First evidence for a second breeding season among migratory songbirds

Biologists document a second breeding season for songbirds that spend summers in temperate North America and winters in the tropics.

October 22, 2009

Researchers make key step toward turning methane gas into liquid fuel

Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have taken an important step in converting methane gas to a liquid, potentially making it more useful as a fuel and as a source for making other chemicals.

Research gives glimpse of tectonic history on Puget Sound-region fault zones

For nearly two decades scientists have known about the Seattle fault and have been refining their understanding of the danger it presents to the Puget Sound region if it ruptures in a major earthquake.

Researchers make key step towards turning methane gas into liquid fuel

UW scientist instrumental in important step to convert methane gas to a liquid, giving the potential of making it more useful as a fuel.

October 19, 2009

Research gives glimpse of tectonic history on Puget Sound-region fault zones

New research finds evidence that ancient earthquakes rased land at least 6 feet on the west edge of Washington state’s Puget Sound.

August 20, 2009

Let there be light: Teaching magnets to do more than just stick around

That palm tree magnet commemorating your last vacation is programmed for a simple function – to stick to your refrigerator.

Let there be light: Teaching magnets to do more than just stick around

Researchers have found a way to train tiny semiconductor crystals to display magnetic functions at room temperature using light as a trigger

August 6, 2009

Crashing comets probably not the cause of Earth’s mass extinctions

Scientists have debated how many mass extinction events in Earth’s history were triggered by a space body crashing into the planet’s surface.

Plastics that convert light to electricity could have a big impact

Researchers the world over are striving to develop organic solar cells that can be produced easily and inexpensively as thin films that could be used to generate electricity.

August 4, 2009

Plastics that convert light to electricity could have a big impact

Researchers have found a way to measure exactly how much electricity is carried by tiny structures that form inside nanoscale solar cells.

July 30, 2009

Crashing comets not likely the cause of Earth’s mass extinctions

New research shows that comet collisions most likely are not responsible for any of the mass extinctions in Earth’s history.

July 27, 2009

Seattle area could see record-setting high temperatures this week

Western Washington is braced for unusually hot weather this week, but University of Washington scientists say this could be one for the record books, with Seattle experiencing historic triple-digit readings.

July 9, 2009

Straighten up and fly right: Moths benefit more from flexible wings than rigid

Most scientists who create models trying to understand the mechanics and aerodynamics of insect flight have assumed that insect wings are relatively rigid as they flap.

June 29, 2009

Straighten up and fly right: Moths benefit more from flexible wings than rigid

New research shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to get rid of the sand, are the best for staying aloft.

June 25, 2009

New definition could further limit habitable zones around distant suns

As astronomers gaze toward nearby planetary systems in search of life, they are focusing their attention on each system’s habitable zone, where heat radiated from the star is just right to keep a planet’s water in liquid form.

June 10, 2009

New definition could further limit habitable zones around distant suns

New calculations indicate that, in nearby star systems, tidal forces exerted on planets by their parent star’s gravity could limit what is regarded as a star’s habitable zone and change the criteria for planets where life could potentially take root.

May 28, 2009

New technique could find water on Earth-like planets orbiting distant suns

Since the early 1990s astronomers have discovered more than 300 planets orbiting stars other than our sun, nearly all of them gas giants like Jupiter.

May 26, 2009

New technique could find water on Earth-like planets orbiting distant suns

A team of astronomers and astrobiologists has devised a technique to tell whether small Earth-like planets orbiting other suns harbor liquid water, which in turn could tell whether they might be able to support life.

May 21, 2009

New book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all

In the past 50 years it has become commonplace to think of Earth as a nurturing place, straining mightily to maintain equilibrium so that life might continue and flourish.

May 20, 2009

New book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all

In a new book, University of Washington paleontologist Peter Ward suggests that Earth is ultimately inhospitable to life, and that life itself might be the primary reason. Rather than the nurturing idea of the Gaia hypothesis, he invokes the darker Medea from Greek mythology.

May 14, 2009

Any way you slice it, warming climate is affecting Cascades snowpack

There has been sharp disagreement in recent years about how much, or even whether, winter snowpack has declined in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon during the last half-century.

May 12, 2009

Any way you slice it, warming climate is affecting Cascades snowpack

There has been recent disagreement about the snowpack decline in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest, but new research leaves little doubt that a warmer climate has a significant effect on the snowpack, even if other factors keep year-to-year measurements close to normal for a period of years.

May 7, 2009