UW News

News releases


April 18, 2018

Screen reader plus keyboard helps blind, low-vision users browse modern webpages

fingers above keyboard with computer screen above

By using a keyboard to provide tactile feedback along with with a screen reader, blind and low-vision users were three times more successful at navigating complex modern webpages, similar to a typical Airbnb booking site.


April 16, 2018

Statement on UW School of Dentistry financial deficit

The University of Washington W

A statement from Victor Balta, UW spokesperson, on the financial deficit in the University of Washington School of Dentistry.


April 12, 2018

Peptide-based biogenic dental product may cure cavities

Tooth image

Researchers at the University of Washington have designed a convenient and natural product that uses proteins to rebuild tooth enamel and treat dental cavities.


UW’s Kristina Olson wins NSF Waterman Award for studies of ‘how children see themselves and the world’

Kristina Olson, University of Washington associate professor of psychology, on Oct. 4 was named one of the MacArthur Foundation's Fellows. She receives a $625,000, no-strings-attached stipend.

  The National Science Foundation today named Kristina Olson, University of Washington associate professor of psychology, winner of this year’s Alan T. Waterman Award. The Waterman Award is the U.S. government’s highest honor for an early career scientist or engineer, recognizing an outstanding scientist under the age of 40 or within 10 years of receiving…


Circumbinary castaways: Short-period binary systems can eject orbiting worlds

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to orbit two stars - what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. New research from the University of Washington indicates that certain shot-period binary star systems eject circumbinary planets as a consequence of the host stars' evolution.

Planets orbiting “short-period” binary stars, or stars locked in close orbital embrace, can be ejected off into space as a consequence of their host stars’ evolution, according to new research from the University of Washington.


April 10, 2018

UW’s Samuel Wasser receives prestigious Albert Schweitzer Medal

head shot

A University of Washington professor has been awarded the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Medal for his work for developing noninvasive tools for monitoring human impacts on wildlife. Samuel K. Wasser was honored in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Tuesday evening. The award was presented by Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell.


April 9, 2018

After 30 years of R&D, breakthrough announced in dark matter detection technology, definitive search to begin for axion particles

Two men standing in a particle physics laboratory

This week, the Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX) announced that it has achieved the necessary sensitivity to “hear” the telltale signs of dark matter axions. This technological breakthrough is the result of more than 30 years of research and development, with the latest piece of the puzzle coming in the form of a quantum-enabled device that allows ADMX to listen for axions more closely than any experiment ever built.


April 6, 2018

University of Washington professor recognized by Guggenheim Foundation

head shot

A University of Washington professor is among the 173 scholars, artists and scientists from the U.S. and Canada recognized this year by the Guggenheim Foundation. Christian Lee Novetzke, associate director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, and director, Center for Global Studies, was among the winners chosen from more than 3,000 applicants.


April 4, 2018

UW’s newest icon — a carillon of bells atop Kane Hall — to be dedicated Thursday

Bells

A new carillon — the only such instrument in Western Washington — will ring in full concert at the University of Washington for the first time Thursday.


April 3, 2018

Bowhead whales, the ‘jazz musicians’ of the Arctic, sing many different songs

whale near floating ice

Bowhead whales are constantly changing their tune, unlike the only other whale species that sings, the humpback.


Four UW students honored by Goldwater Foundation

School shot

Three University of Washington undergraduates are among 211 students nationwide named as 2018 Goldwater Scholars. One UW student received honorable mention.


Real estate department named in honor of Jon and Judy Runstad

head shot

The College of Built Environments Department of Real Estate, formerly the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, has been named in honor of Jon and Judy Runstad.


April 2, 2018

Earth’s stable temperature past suggests other planets could also sustain life

image of early Earth with thermometer and pH strip overlaid

Earth has had moderate temperatures throughout its early history, and neutral seawater acidity. This means other rocky planets could likely also maintain this equilibrium and allow life to evolve.


March 29, 2018

Mario L. Barnes named dean of the School of Law

head shot

Mario L. Barnes has been named the next Toni Rembe dean of the University of Washington’s School of Law, President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty announced today. His appointment, set to begin July 5, 2018, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.


March 28, 2018

UW historian Michael Honey recalls Martin Luther King’s message of economic justice in new book, ‘To the Promised Land’

Michael Honey, author of "To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice."

As the 50th anniversary approaches of the murder of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, UW historian Michael Honey reminds us in a new book that economic justice and labor rights were always part of King’s progressive message.


Decade of fossil collecting in Africa gives new perspective on Triassic period, emergence of dinosaurs

an artist rendering of teleocrater, an early dinosaur relative

A University of Washington-led project spanning countries, years and institutions has attempted to reconstruct what the southern end of the world looked like during the Triassic period, 252 to 199 million years ago.


March 27, 2018

Distinguished pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Danielson to be UW’s 2018 commencement speaker

mug shot

Dr. Benjamin Danielson, a 1992 graduate of the UW School of Medicine, a Children’s Hospital pediatrician and director of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, will be the featured speaker at the University of Washington’s Commencement exercises Saturday, June 9.


March 26, 2018

Underground neutrino experiment sets the stage for deep discovery about matter

Copper housing for a stack of germanium detectors.

In a study published March 26 in Physical Review Letters, collaborators of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR have shown they can shield a sensitive, scalable 44-kilogram germanium detector array from background radioactivity. This accomplishment is critical to developing a much larger future experiment to study the nature of neutrinos.


March 19, 2018

University of Washington graduate and professional disciplines rank highly in US News’ Best Graduate School lists

library at night

Nearly 50 different graduate and professional programs and specialties at the University of Washington are among the top 10 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Graduate School rankings released March 20.


March 15, 2018

With new ‘shuffling’ trick, researchers can measure gene activity in single cells

A drawing of cells being sorted.

Researchers at the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have developed a new method to classify and track the multitude of cells in a tissue sample. In a paper published March 15 in the journal Science, the team reports that this new approach — known as SPLiT-seq — reliably tracks gene activity in a tissue down to the level of single cells.


March 14, 2018

Could anti-Trump sentiment mobilize African-American voters in 2018?

African-American voters who dislike and feel threatened by Donald Trump and his presidency are more likely to vote and to engage with politics, according to new research from the UW and California State University, Sacramento.


March 13, 2018

Renée Cheng named dean of the College of Built Environments

mug shot

Renée Cheng has been named dean of the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments, President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Gerald J. “Jerry” Baldasty announced today. Her appointment, set to begin Jan. 1, 2019, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.


March 8, 2018

‘Trump in the World’: Jackson School faculty give public talks through spring quarter

The UW Jackson School of International Studies presents “Trump in the World: International Implications of the Trump presidency,” a series of public lectures and discussions Tuesday afternoons through spring quarter.


UW political scientist Megan Ming Francis named fellow with NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Institute

UW political science associate professor Megan Ming Francis. Story is that she has been named a fellow of the NAACP's Thurgood Marshall Institute.

Megan Ming Francis, UW associate professor of political science, has been named a fellow with the Thurgood Marshall Institute. The institute is a multidisciplinary research and advocacy policy center within the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund.


March 6, 2018

Glaciers in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert actually shrank during the last ice age

researchers walking on ice

High in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, the climate is so dry and cold that glaciers shrank during the last ice age. Dating of rock deposits shows how glaciers in this less-studied region can behave very differently as the climate shifts.


March 5, 2018

Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies to hold ‘Re-imagining Solidarity’ conference March 10

Immigrant rights, environmental concerns and racial, class, gender and sexual justice will be the focus of a daylong conference hosted by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies March 10 at the UW.


March 2, 2018

Celebrated poet Charles Simic to give UW’s 54th Theodore Roethke Poetry Reading April 12

Charles Simic

Charles Simic, one of America’s most celebrated poets, will give the 2018 Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Reading on April 12. Simic will be the 54th poet to appear in the series since its inception in 1964.


February 27, 2018

Largest Chinook salmon disappearing from West Coast

chinook salmon

The largest and oldest Chinook salmon — fish also known as “kings” and prized for their exceptional size — have mostly disappeared along the West Coast, according to a new study led by the University of Washington.


February 22, 2018

Reducing failed deliveries, truck parking time could improve downtown Seattle congestion, new report finds

truck parked curbside

If online shopping continues to grow at its current rate, there may be twice as many trucks delivering packages in Seattle’s city center within five years, a new report projects — and double the number of trucks looking for a parking space.


February 21, 2018

UW among Peace Corps’ 2018 top volunteer-producing colleges & universities

The Peace Corps today announced that University of Washington ranked No. 2 among large schools on the agency’s 2018 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. There are 74 UW alumni currently volunteering worldwide.


February 20, 2018

University of Washington is a top producer of Fulbright scholars

The University of Washington ranked second in the country in producing Fulbright Scholars. Fulbrights were awarded to 11 researchers at UW’s Seattle campus, and to three faculty members at UW Bothell.


Beluga whales dive deeper, longer to find food in Arctic

beluga whales

Reductions in sea ice in the Arctic have a clear impact on animals such as polar bears that rely on frozen surfaces for feeding, mating and migrating. But sea ice loss is changing Arctic habitat and affecting other species in more indirect ways, new research finds. Beluga whales that spend summers feeding in the Arctic…


Using a laser to wirelessly charge a smartphone safely across a room

Five people posing

Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time developed a method to safely charge a smartphone wirelessly using a laser.


February 15, 2018

Five UW scientists awarded Sloan Fellowships for early-career research

Five faculty members at the University of Washington have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 15, include Maya Cakmak, assistant professor of computer science and engineering; Jiun-Haw Chu, assistant professor of clean energy and physics; Arka Majumdar, assistant professor of electrical engineering and physics; Jessica Werk, assistant professor of astronomy; and Chelsea Wood, assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.


February 12, 2018

Hybrid optics bring color imaging using ultrathin metalenses into focus

A portion of the team’s experimental setup for capturing an image using a metalens. The researchers capture an image of flowers through a metalens (mounted on a microscope slide) and visualize it through a microscope.

In a paper published Feb. 9 in Science Advances, scientists at the University of Washington announced that they have successfully combined two different imaging methods — a type of lens designed for nanoscale interaction with lightwaves, along with robust computational processing — to create full-color images.


February 9, 2018

Research uncovers the mysterious lives of narwhals

narwhals

New findings could help scientists understand a little more about the elusive narwhal and how these marine mammals might fare in a changing climate.


February 8, 2018

Simple rules can help fishery managers cope with ecological complexity

herring fish

A team of ecologists and economists is the first to test whether real-life ecological interactions produce economic benefits for the fishing industry. The results were published online Jan. 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


February 7, 2018

Fruit bat’s echolocation may work like sophisticated surveillance sonar

blue bat head shape

High-speed recordings of Egyptian fruit bats in flight show that instead of using a primitive form of echolocation, these animals actually use a technique recently developed by humans for surveillance and navigation.


February 6, 2018

UW astronomer Woody Sullivan assists in renovation of Olympia’s Territorial Sundial

Woody Sullivan, UW professor emeritus of astronomy, consults with Larry Tate, principal at Seattle's Fabrication Specialties Ltd., right, on the necessary angle and placement of a new gnomon to ensure the time-keeping accuracy of Olympia's Territorial Sundial.

After six months of repair and restoration — assisted by UW astronomer and sundial expert Woody Sullivan — Olympia’s iconic Territorial Sundial is back in place.


February 5, 2018

Watery worlds: UW astronomer Eric Agol assists in new findings of TRAPPIST-1 planetary system

This artist's concept shows what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets' diameters, masses and distances from the host star, as of February 2018.

A team of astronomers including Eric Agol of the University of Washington has found that the seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 are all made mostly of rock, and some could even have more water — which can give life a chance — than Earth itself. The research was led by Simon Grimm of…



Previous page Next page