UW News blog
December 17, 2014
Memorial planned for longtime editor of UW Press
A celebration of life for Naomi Brenner Pascal, the longtime editor-in-chief of the University of Washington Press, is being planned for February. She died Dec. 5 at the age of 88. Colleagues at UW Press remember Pascal as a model of grace, good humor and high standards. Her wide-ranging knowledge, integrity and commitment to diplomacy…
December 16, 2014
UW English Professor David Shields’ views debated in The New Yorker
David Shields, UW professor and New York Times best-selling author, was at the center of a Dec. 2 article by Adelle Waldman in The New Yorker titled “An Answer to the Novel’s Detractors.” Waldman places Shields among those detractors, but does not entirely disagree with him. “It’s no coincidence that many of the most exciting…
December 12, 2014
Fearn-Banks’ African-American TV dictionary gets second edition
Kathleen Fearn-Banks, UW associate professor of communication, drew upon her 21 years of experience as a publicist in network television to write her 2005 “Historical Dictionary of African American Television.” This fall, an expanded second edition of the book was published. Banks was NBC’s first African-American publicist and second-ever female publicist when hired there in…
Online tool lets Washington residents calculate carbon tax impacts
University of Washington computer scientists have partnered with members of the Carbon Washington grassroots campaign to create an online tool that lets residents calculate how a state carbon tax swap proposed by the organization would impact them financially. The calculator offers information users can’t find elsewhere and is meant to be a neutral, unbiased tool….
December 10, 2014
Art exhibit on polar field research opens Friday
Marine mammal expert Kristin Laidre, a polar scientist at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory and in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, studies Arctic mammals in their native habitat. She focuses on polar bears and narwhals, an Arctic whale with a distinctive spiral tusk. In spring 2013 she invited Seattle watercolor artist Maria Coryell-Martin…
I-LABS co-director part of White House Summit on Early Learning
The co-director of the UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences is among officials from around the country participating in today’s White House Summit on Early Education. Patricia Kuhl, a world-renowned scientist in early language and brain development, joins state and local policymakers, school district superintendents, community leaders and others for the summit. Participants are…
December 9, 2014
New book by José Alaniz studies superheroes through the lens of disability studies
Superheroes are generally assumed to be healthy and virtually immortal, tending their superpowers as they save the planet time and again. But a new book by José Alaniz, UW associate professor of Slavic languages and literatures, seeks to redefine the contemporary image of the superhero. “Death, Disability, and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond,”…
December 5, 2014
‘Music from the War to End All Wars’: A student performer’s view
Jane Heinrichs is a doctoral student in piano performance at the UW School of Music and will perform in two of the three concerts that comprise the three-part series “Music from the War to End All Wars.” The series begins Sunday, Dec. 7, in Brechemin Auditorium, and continues on March 3 and May 8, 2015….
UW chemistry faculty member snags NSF early career award
Andrew J. Boydston, a UW associate professor of chemistry, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation. The award is intended to support junior faculty who “exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research,” according to the NSF. Boydston received the…
December 3, 2014
Join a Google+ hangout on Southern Ocean climate
Join some of the world’s leading experts on the Southern Ocean for a webinar on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 11 a.m. to noon Seattle time. Viewers can log on here with a Google account, or watch on YouTube. “UW-built sensors to probe Antarctica’s Southern Ocean” UW Today | Sept. 11, 2014 The Southern Ocean Carbon…
Competitive award to fund new approaches to artificial intelligence work
Four University of Washington researchers have received the Allen Distinguished Investigator award for their work in artificial intelligence research. The awards, totaling about $2.7 million to the UW from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, will fund early stage research in several areas of artificial intelligence. The recipients from the UW are Jeffrey Heer, an…
December 1, 2014
School of Law to host discussion of Michael Brown case Dec 2
Seattle-based criminal defense attorney Jeff Robinson will join the University of Washington School of Law in a discussion of factual, ethical and legal issues relating to the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers in communities of color. He will be joined by Washington Supreme Court Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud. The event is titled…
Next Green Seed Fund proposal deadline Dec. 11
The Green Seed Fund – a grant fund for campus environmental research projects – is accepting proposals through Dec. 11 for the next round of grants. The Green Seed Fund aims to promote and fund research projects that advance sustainable research while contributing to the university’s sustainability goals. The fund was launched in 2013, and…
Renowned educator and author John Goodlad dies
Influential educator and former University of Washington professor John Goodlad died Nov. 29 at his Seattle home. He was 94. Goodlad came to the UW in 1984 after serving as dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Los Angeles. He created the Center for Educational Renewal at the UW…
November 26, 2014
Dan Evans to visit Evans School for public conversation Dec. 3
The University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs will host its namesake, former Washington governor and senator Daniel J. Evans, for a conversation from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in the Parrington Hall Forum. Evans served as governor from 1965 to 1977, then moved on to the presidency of Evergreen State College….
Event focuses on militarized policing and protests
“Militarized Policing and Public Protest: From the WTO Protests to Ferguson” is the topic of a documentary video screening and panel discussion at the University of Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The event, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, starts with a screening of “This Is What Democracy…
November 24, 2014
Mike Honey remembers singer John Handcox in ‘Smithsonian Folkways’ article
University of Washington historian Michael Honey learned about folk singer and union organizer John Handcox through a mutual friend whose name might be familiar: Pete Seeger. Honey tells of the 1985 meeting, and of “Sharecropper’s Troubadour,” the book he came to write about Handcox (with Seeger penning the foreword), in an article in Smithsonian Folkways…
Sea-star wasting culprit is virus
Disintegrating sea stars – a process described as melting, with the arms detaching and crawling away from each other – is being caused by a virus that’s been detected in West Coast waters for more than 70 years. That’s according to new findings published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…
November 21, 2014
3 UW professors to speak in local TEDxRainier event
Three University of Washington professors will join a congressman, a mountain climber, inventors, architects, advocates, an astronaut and even a barista at this year’s TEDxRainier event, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. The independently run, one-day event is in its fifth year in Seattle, modeled…
November 19, 2014
Deadlines approach for Awards of Excellence nominations
Do you know an outstanding University of Washington employee, alumnus, student or retiree who contributes to the richness and diversity of the university community? Honor that person with an Awards of Excellence nomination. Nominations are due beginning in November and continuing in succeeding months for the 2015 University of Washington Awards of Excellence categories. Details of awards and…
What are our survival chances? Astrobiology meets sustainability science
We Homo sapiens and our energy-gobbling technologies are changing the very ecology of the Earth. But even as these human-caused changes unfold, some wonder whether we have doomed ourselves to extinction. In a new paper in the journal Anthropocene, University of Washington astronomer Woodruff Sullivan and co-author Adam Frank, a University of Rochester astrophysicist and…
November 18, 2014
Dark conversation: Webcast to explore the hunt for dark matter
As you might guess from the name, dark matter is quite elusive. Its particles make up about one-quarter of the mass of the universe and as much as 85 percent of all matter. But it apparently does not interact with light or other matter and so it’s never been directly observed. In a webcast Thursday,…
November 17, 2014
‘Building the Bionic Man’ lecture on campus this week
The latest in the Seattle Arts & Lectures SAL U series will look at technologies that could help repair a person’s cognitive or sensory-motor functions. “Brain-Computer Interfaces: Building the Bionic Man” is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Kane Hall room 110. The speaker is Rajesh Rao, a UW professor of computer science and…
November 14, 2014
Top Canadian limnology award goes to Daniel Schindler, 31 years after his father won it
Daniel Schindler, a University of Washington fisheries ecologist who explores aquatic ecosystem dynamics, has been named the 2015 Frank Rigler Award recipient. The award is the highest honor given by the Society of Canadian Limnologists and recognizes major achievements in the field of limnology by Canadians or those working in Canada, the society says. Schindler,…
November 12, 2014
University of Washington secures building lease in Spokane
The Spokane City Council on Monday night formally approved the lease of the former Spokane Visitor Information Center to the University of Washington, which will use the space for many purposes, including business outreach, alumni activities and student admissions. The site will also help support the UW’s efforts to expand its existing medical school in…
UW statistician, philosopher win prize for detecting bias in peer review
In the wake of a 2011 study that found black applicants for National Institutes of Health grants were significantly less likely to receive funding than their equally qualified white counterparts, the health agency began to look at ways to uncover and address bias in how it awards research funding. The agency launched a contest last…
UW to host second International Ladino Day Dec. 4.
The University of Washington Sephardic Studies Program and the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies will host the second annual celebration of International Ladino Day with an event at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in Kane Hall room 130. The event is free and open to the public but advance registration is recommended. International Ladino Day…
November 10, 2014
UW’s Ian Joughin one of Seattle Mag’s ‘Most Influential People’ of 2014
The November issue of Seattle Magazine includes a list of 51 local people who made 2014 what it was. Along with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and the Seahawks team’s “12th man” fans, it includes UW glaciologist Ian Joughin, whom the magazine dubs the “ice breaker.” The magazine notes: “In the face of global warming, it’s…
UW top tier among best-landscaped West Coast colleges
The UW and other Washington schools hog half the spots on a new list of the West Coast’s 10 best-landscaped colleges, with the UW coming in at No. 4. The amount of green space, unique landscaping and attention to lawns earned the UW its ranking. The list was created by inspecting hundreds of photos, interviewing…
November 6, 2014
UW ranked 14th in the world by U.S. News & World Report
The University of Washington landed in a three-way tie for No. 14 in U.S. News & World Report’s first ranking of Best Global Universities – a new ranking that is separate from its annual Best Colleges list. The publication released world rankings, it said, in recognition of the fact that more students are looking beyond…
November 5, 2014
Ditch tokens and increase light for optimal learning
Classroom décor may seem relatively unimportant, but it can play a surprisingly big role in influencing student learning and achievement. That’s among the key findings in a new paper co-authored by University of Washington researchers. Published this week in the inaugural issue of Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the paper finds that…
November 4, 2014
Two new degrees coming from UW School of Law
The University of Washington School of Law is introducing two new programs to expand its degree offerings and provide more options for students. Beginning in January 2015, the school will offer an accelerated Juris Doctor/Master’s in Business Administration program that will enable students to earn degrees from the school the Foster School of Business in…
November 3, 2014
KCTS-9 Washington Poll: Strong support for Initiatives 594, 1351
The latest KCTS-9 Washington Poll has found strong support for the background checks on gun sales promoted by Initiative 594 and the reduced classroom sizes sought by Initiative 1351, and slightly less support for Initiative 591, which seeks to prohibit background checks for gun sales minus a national standard. The poll, directed by Matt Barreto,…
October 31, 2014
Genesee Adkins named UW director of state relations
Genesee Adkins, who brings 12 years of experience in the halls of state government, has been appointed director of state relations at the University of Washington, effective Nov. 12. “We are getting an experienced, highly capable government relations professional who understands the subtleties of Olympia and will be able to represent the university’s interests extremely…
October 29, 2014
Geoscience teachers honor David Montgomery
David Montgomery, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, took home the 2014 James H. Shea Award, given annually since 1991 by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. The award, presented Oct. 21 during the national meeting of the Geological Society of America in Vancouver, British Columbia, was for “exceptional contributions in the form…
UW pedals to gold
The University of Washington’s innovative “Ride in the Rain challenge” is among the reasons the university has just moved up to the highest gold level set by the League of American Bicyclists. Among the 100 current Bicycle Friendly Universities recognized by the league, only 10 have achieved gold. The league’s president and a panel of…
October 27, 2014
Political scientist Christopher Parker: ‘If it were not for big government…’
Political scientist Christopher Parker: ‘If it were not for big government…” Christopher Parker, University of Washington associate professor of political science, rarely minces words when debating about American politics and government.He has done much research on philosophical differences between the tea party and traditional conservatives, and was co-author, with fellow UW political scientist Matt Barreto,…
Portraits from time of change in Western Washington logging industry
“I’ve had my leg crushed; been in a full-leg cast for 16 months; put more of my buddies six feet under than I care to think about; been frost bitten and treated for heat exhaustion; and had every one of my fingers and most of my toes broken. [But] when I’m at the top of…
October 24, 2014
Fusion researchers take a different approach to a heated conversation
When Thomas Jarboe and Derek Sutherland took their concept for an economically feasible fusion reactor into the public sphere two weeks ago, they expected some negative loud mouths and naysayers. After all, this is fusion physics, a field that seems so inaccessible to most people that it carries a certain mystique and inspires an almost…
Jackson School hosts daylong discussion of Kurdistan, Middle East Nov. 6
The University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies will host a daylong conference titled “Kurdistan and the Changing Middle East” on Thursday, Nov. 6, in the Peterson Room on the fifth floor of Allen Library. Reşat Kasaba, Jackson School director, will give introductory remarks and moderate panels titled “Regional Dynamics” and “State-Society Relations in…
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