Engineering
April 6, 2023
National and local leaders convene at UW for discussion of CHIPS and Science Act, investing in scientific discovery
![We see the back of the director of the National Science Foundation as he shakes hand with one student in a group of students in a lab.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/04/06151508/00018.MTS_.01_34_09_06.Still001-150x150.jpg)
Leaders from Washington higher education institutions met with national policymakers April 4 to discuss opportunities provided by the CHIPS and Science Act. U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan visited the University of Washington campus to talk about the legislation, which provides more than $100 billion to fund scientific research and…
February 8, 2023
Q&A: UW researcher discusses future of quantum research
![Kai-Mei Fu headshot](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/02/06142541/08A4596-Vertical-Crop-2000px-150x150.jpg)
Scientists at the University of Washington are pursuing multiple quantum research projects spanning from creating materials with never-before-seen physical properties to studying the “quantum bits” — or qubits (pronounced “kyu-bits”) — that make quantum computing possible. UW News sat down with Professor Kai-Mei Fu, one of the leaders in quantum research on campus, to talk about the potential of quantum R&D, and why it’s so important.
January 23, 2023
Q&A: How AI can help people be more empathetic about mental health
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A team led by researchers at the University of Washington studied how artificial intelligence could help people on the platform TalkLife, where people give each other mental health support. The researchers developed an AI system that suggested changes to participants’ responses to make them more empathetic. The best responses resulted from a collaboration between AI and people.
December 5, 2022
New blood test can detect ‘toxic’ protein years before Alzheimer’s symptoms emerge, study shows
![stylized image of the human brain](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/04/15103952/brain-1787622_1920-150x150.jpg)
Researchers at the University of Washington have detected “toxic” small aggregates of a particular protein in the blood of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in individuals who showed no signs of cognitive impairment at the time the blood sample was taken, but who developed it at a later date. This blood test picks up oligomers — or small, misfolded aggregates — of the amyloid beta protein, which scientists believe triggers the development of Alzheimer’s.
November 16, 2022
Q&A: UW researchers find privacy risks with 3D tours on real estate websites
![A screenshot of a virtual tour of a house. The scene is in a living room and there is a bar over the picture that says "click to explore this 3D space"](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/11/15180017/Screen-Shot-2022-11-09-at-5.28.25-PM-150x150.png)
University of Washington researchers examined 44 3D tours in 44 states across the U.S. to look for potential security issues when personal details were included in the tour.
October 31, 2022
How low-cost earbuds can make newborn hearing screening accessible
![A person holds a child, who is looking at the camera. Another person's arm holds a probe to the child's ear. The probe is connected to a smartphone, which the third person is holding.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/31081210/newbornhearingWEB002-150x150.jpg)
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has created a new hearing screening system that uses a smartphone and earbuds.
October 24, 2022
A new approach, not currently described by the Clean Air Act, could eliminate air pollution disparities
![An aerial shot of Seattle showing a large road surrounded by neighborhoods and businesses. There is water on the right and downtown is in the top left.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/24101415/shutterstock_1190686564-150x150.jpg)
A team led by researchers at the University of Washington compared three potential strategies for reducing fine particulate matter pollution disparities across the contiguous U.S.
October 17, 2022
Q&A: UnlockedMaps provides real-time accessibility information for urban rail transit in six metro areas
![A screenshot of a map of Chicago. Rail stations are shown as green (accessible), yellow (elevator outage) or orange (not accessible) circles](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/14102546/Chicago-150x150.png)
UW researchers developed UnlockedMaps, a web-based map that allows users to see in real time how accessible rail transit stations are in six metro areas. UnlockedMaps shows which stations are accessible and which ones are experiencing elevator outages.
October 13, 2022
Video: Finding — and keeping — the perfect fit for a prosthetic leg
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University of Washington Professor Joan Sanders and her team are creating a new type of prosthetic leg: one that automatically adjusts its fit throughout the day. Their latest prototype detects in real time how well the prosthesis socket and amputation site are fitting and responds by automatically changing the size of the socket, without the need for adjustments to padding or user action.
October 12, 2022
UW’s Yejin Choi wins MacArthur Foundation ‘genius grant’
![a person stands in front of a stairwell](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/11180803/Choi_2022_hi-res-download_4-150x150.jpg)
Yejin Choi, University of Washington professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, has received a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Choi uses natural language processing to develop artificial intelligence systems that have the ability to reason and can understand the implied meanings in human language.
October 10, 2022
Engineering lecture series focuses on health care for the brain
![Two people look at a slide on a microscope](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/07141142/190425_HugoPontes_byBryanNakata-7-1-150x150.jpg)
The University of Washington’s annual Engineering Lecture Series will feature research with potential to transform brain therapeutics from infancy to late adulthood.
September 28, 2022
UW-developed wave sensors deployed to improve hurricane forecasts
![Person drops sensor from plane](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/09/28152011/microSWIFT_chute_drop-150x150.jpg)
Researchers dropped technology developed at the University of Washington off the coast of Florida this week to measure ocean waves in the path of Hurricane Ian. The test is one part of a broad effort to improve forecasts for these fast-moving and deadly systems.
September 26, 2022
UW joins industry-academia alliance to accelerate research in neuroscience
![An image of neurons under a microscope](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/11/11181105/cytoskeleton-of-neuron-from-ips_UCSF_web_cropped-150x150.jpg)
The University of Washington has joined the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience (ATN), a long-term research partnership between academia and industry geared to transform the fight against brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Launched in 2021 by the University of California, San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Genentech — a member of the Roche group — and Roche Holding AG, the ATN seeks to accelerate the development of new therapies for a broad range of brain and central nervous system conditions.
September 19, 2022
A smartphone’s camera and flash could help people measure blood oxygen levels at home
![A hand holding a cellphone with one finger over the flash and the camera. The flash is shining through the finger and glowing red.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/09/15124615/SpO2smartphone003-150x150.jpg)
In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
September 13, 2022
Q&A: UW researchers develop a reactor that can destroy ‘forever chemicals’
![Metal objects on a table. There are two tubes and also two other hexagonal shapes](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/09/13152516/reactors-150x150.jpg)
UW researchers have created a reactor that can completely break down hard-to-destroy chemicals.
August 15, 2022
UW to host college students for NASA-funded lunar rover challenge
![Photo of rover on simulated lunar surface](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/08/15115157/RobertRover-150x150.png)
The University of Washington received a nearly $500,000 grant to run one of NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges in which participants turn a model lunar lava tube into a habitat suitable for housing humans on the moon or Mars.
August 4, 2022
UW to construct new Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, expanding contemporary educational spaces for students
![building exterior](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/08/03100137/UWIEB-Exterior-e1660586221657-150x150.png)
The University of Washington will break ground this fall on a new, $90 million Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, thanks in part to a $10 million donation from Boeing. Once complete, the state-of-the-art building will be a leading example of a student-focused learning facility backed by both public and private investments. The state of Washington has also dedicated $50 million to support the project that aims to fuel economic growth and create a pipeline of future, local engineering talent.
July 28, 2022
How to help assembly-line robots shift gears and pick up almost anything
![22 objects on a table top. Objects include white 3D printed shapes and also random household items such as a drill, a mustard container, a bowl and a tennis ball](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/07/27185336/passive_gripperobjects2-150x150.jpg)
A UW team created a new tool that can design a 3D-printable passive gripper and calculate the best path to pick up an object. The team tested this system on a suite of 22 objects — including a 3D-printed bunny, a doorstop-shaped wedge, a tennis ball and a drill.
July 15, 2022
Seven UW faculty members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
![Campus photo](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/10/27123840/20181007_October-Campus_0431-150x150.jpg)
Seven professors at the University of Washington are among 25 new members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2022, according to a July 15 announcement.
July 14, 2022
UW professor’s new book and course on sexual harassment in engineering seek to disrupt culture of silence
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Denise Wilson, a University of Washington professor of electrical and computer engineering, is working to end the prevalence of sexual harassment in engineering. She and her colleague Jennifer VanAntwerp of Calvin University are co-authors of “Sex, Gender, and Engineering: Harassment at Work and in School,” published in April by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
July 11, 2022
ClearBuds: First wireless earbuds that clear up calls using deep learning
![A hand holding up a 3D printed earbud](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/07/05143036/ClearBudsWEB002-150x150.jpg)
UW researchers created ClearBuds, earbuds that enhance the speaker’s voice and reduce background noise.
June 17, 2022
Q&A: New children’s book shows how natural world inspired inventor to create medieval robots
![Book cover showing a medieval robot](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/06/17122739/robots-book-cover-150x150.jpg)
“Robots and Other Amazing Gadgets Invented 800 Years Ago,” a children’s book by the UW’s Faisal Hossain and Qishi Zhou, shares the inventions of Ismail Al-Jazari, a 12th-century polymath considered by many to be the “father of robotics.”
June 13, 2022
Is there snow in that tree? Citizen science helps unpack snow’s effect on summer water supplies
![Trees in a forest. The trees are blanketed by heavy snow.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/05/27130748/NiwotRidge_3-150x150.jpg)
To investigate what happens to snow intercepted by trees, UW researchers created a citizen science project called Snow Spotter.
June 1, 2022
VoxLens: Adding one line of code can make some interactive visualizations accessible to screen-reader users
![A laptop with a screen reader attached sitting on a table](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/05/27134947/elizabeth-woolner-9xxNZCJZ8bA-unsplash-150x150.jpg)
VoxLens users can gain a high-level summary of the information described in a graph, listen to a graph translated into sound or use voice-activated commands to ask specific questions about the data, such as the mean or the minimum value.
May 26, 2022
With EcoCAR, UW students experience post-COVID camaraderie under the hood of a hybrid vehicle
![students standing with a car with logos on it](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/05/26171138/UWEcoCAR_Phoenix-150x150.jpg)
With the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, UW students modified a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer to use electrification, advanced propulsion systems and automated vehicle technology. It’s an opportunity for students — across four years — to take a car from design to a consumer-ready product.
April 21, 2022
Q&A: Making Earth-friendly electronics
![A hand holding a biodegradeable circuit board in a beaker full of water. The circuit board is dissolving](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/20110919/BiodegradingMouseWEB003-150x150.jpg)
Three researchers in the University of Washington College of Engineering are exploring ways to make electronics more Earth-friendly.
April 20, 2022
Lasers trigger magnetism in atomically thin quantum materials
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Researchers have discovered that light — from a laser — can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons “spins,” which have a potential applications in quantum computing. Scientists discovered that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser. By controlling and aligning electron spins at this level of detail and accuracy, this platform could have applications in quantum computing, quantum simulation and other fields. The experiment, led by scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Hong Kong and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was published April 20 in Nature.
April 6, 2022
UW-housed RAPID Facility receives $6M renewal grant
![Researchers looks at boat drone in water](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/01/28134520/RAPID_WEB0011-150x150.jpg)
The first-of-its-kind center has received a $6 million renewal grant from the National Science Foundation.
March 29, 2022
Scientists identify overgrowth of key brain structure in babies who later develop autism
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New research from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) Network, which includes the University of Washington, finds that the amygdala, an area of the brain critical for interpreting emotions, grows too rapidly in infants who go on to develop autism.
March 16, 2022
Tiny battery-free devices float in the wind like dandelion seeds
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Inspired by how dandelions use the wind to distribute their seeds, a University of Washington team has developed a tiny sensor-carrying device that can be blown by the wind as it tumbles toward the ground.
March 8, 2022
O-pH, a new UW dental tool prototype, can spot the acidic conditions that lead to cavities
![Patient in dental exam](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/08084929/Imaging-scope_full-view-150x150.jpeg)
You and your dentist have a lot of tools and techniques for stopping cavities, but detecting the specific chemical conditions that can lead to cavities and then preventing them from ever getting started is much harder. Now, in a new study, University of Washington researchers have shown that a dental tool they created can measure…
February 11, 2022
Samson Jenekhe, Anna Karlin elected to National Academy of Engineering
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Samson Jenehke, a University of Washington professor in both the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Anna Karlin, a UW professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, announced Feb. 9 by the academy.
Smartphone app can vibrate a single drop of blood to determine how well it clots
![Close up of a person holding a phone with a plastic attachment that holds a cup under the camera. The person is adding a red solution to the cup.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/02/10111023/bloodclottingWEB002-150x150.jpg)
Researchers at the UW have developed a new blood-clotting test that uses a single drop of blood and a smartphone vibration motor and camera.
February 9, 2022
UW and Amazon announce creation of the Science Hub
![aerieal shot of UW](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/02/08114707/aerialw-TILE-150x150.jpg)
The University of Washington and Amazon today announced the Science Hub, an effort that deepens the relationship between the two organizations and will advance innovation in core robotics, artificial intelligence technologies and their applications.
January 26, 2022
Four UW faculty members, incoming Burke Museum leader named 2021 AAAS Fellows
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Four current faculty members and the incoming executive director of the UW’s Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a Jan. 26 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021, who are recognized for “their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering.
January 24, 2022
Fast, cheap test can detect COVID-19 virus’ genome without need for PCR
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Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new test for COVID-19 that combines the speed of over-the-counter antigen tests with the accuracy of PCR tests that are processed in medical labs and hospitals. The Harmony COVID-19 test is a diagnostic test that, like PCR tests for COVID-19, detects genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But whereas conventional PCR tests can take several hours, the Harmony kit can provide results in less than 20 minutes for some samples and with similar accuracy.
December 9, 2021
3D imaging method may help doctors better determine prostate cancer aggressiveness
![picture of research leads with microscope](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/06/04140821/UW-light-sheet-leads-150x150.jpg)
A team led by the UW has developed a new, non-destructive method that images entire 3D biopsies instead of a slice for determining prostate cancer aggressiveness. The 3D images provided more information than a 2D image — specifically, details about the tree-like structure of the glands throughout the tissue.
November 22, 2021
Kids, teens believe girls aren’t interested in computer science, study shows
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Children as young as age 6 develop stereotypes that girls aren’t interested in computer science and engineering, according to new research from the University of Washington and the University of Houston.
November 17, 2021
A chatbot can help doctors better understand incoming emergency department patients’ social needs
![A row of green chairs in a waiting room](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/11/16151859/greg-rosenke-65stNyETOU0-unsplash_crop-150x150.jpg)
A team led by the UW developed a chatbot that could ask emergency department visitors about social needs, including housing, food, access to medical care and physical safety.
November 8, 2021
Political ads during the 2020 presidential election cycle collected personal information and spread misleading information
![bar chart showing an increase in number of political ads in Atlanta as the date approaches for the Georgia run-off election in 2021](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/11/05110901/featured-image-150x150.png)
University of Washington researchers looked at almost 56,000 political ads from almost 750 news sites between September 2020 and January 2021.
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