UW News

News releases


June 14, 2018

Key ocean fish can prevail with changes to farmed fish, livestock diets

forage fish swimming

Anchovies, herring, sardines and other forage fish play an essential role in the food web as prey for seabirds, marine mammals and larger fish like salmon. When ground into fishmeal and oil, they are also a key food source for farmed seafood and land-based livestock such as pigs and poultry. As seafood consumption outpaces the…


June 11, 2018

Warmer climate will dramatically increase the volatility of global corn crops

corn field in sunshine

A study of global maize production in 2100 shows dramatic increases in the variability of corn yields from one year to the next under climate change, making simultaneous low yields across multiple high-producing regions more likely, which could lead to price hikes and global shortages.


Choice matters: The environmental costs of producing meat, seafood

beef cows

A new study led by the University of Washington considers which food type is more environmentally costly to produce: livestock, farmed seafood or wild-caught fish.


June 6, 2018

GIX team competes for $1 million XPRIZE for women’s safety

group photo

A team from the University of Washington’s GIX program are competing to win the $1 million Anu & Naveen Jain Women’s Safety XPRIZE.


Distinguished pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Danielson to speak at UW’s 143rd commencement Saturday

About 5,900 graduates, along with 50,000-plus family members, friends, faculty and other observers, are expected to attend the 143rd University of Washington commencement ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at Husky Stadium.


June 5, 2018

UW’s Allen School to expand direct freshmen admissions in computer science

In an effort to improve the student experience and provide certainty for prospective computer science majors, the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering is expanding its direct to major admissions program for incoming freshmen. Beginning with the class of fall 2019, direct admission from high school will be the primary pathway into computer science for the majority of UW undergraduates.


Ocean warming, ‘junk-food’ prey cause of massive seabird die-off, study finds

dead cassin's auklet

A new University of Washington-led paper pinpoints starvation as the cause of death for hundreds of thousands of Cassin’s auklet seabirds in late 2014 to early 2015.


May 24, 2018

Remaking a reef: UW landscape architecture students to present design for new artificial reef at Redondo dive site

A UW landscape architecture student's illustration of part of an artificial reef to be built at Washington's Redondo Beach dive area. UW students are working with the state, the dive community and others to design a new reef to provide a healthy habitat for marine life.

What makes a good artificial reef, for divers, and for marine life? University of Washington landscape architecture students have done designs for a state-funded project to replace the artificial reef at the Redondo Beach dive site. They will present and discuss their work in a public meeting May 30, in Des Moines. The landscape architecture…


May 23, 2018

A promising target in the quest for a 1-million-year-old Antarctic ice core

yellow tent on snow

The oldest ice core so far provides 800,000 years of our planet’s climate history. A UW field survey in Antarctica has pinpointed a location where an entire million years of undisturbed ice might be preserved intact.


May 17, 2018

Want to help your child succeed in school? Add language to the math, reading mix

A University of Washington-led study finds that a child's language skills in kindergarten predict his or her performance in other areas, including math and reading, throughout school.

    Research shows that the more skills children bring with them to kindergarten – in basic math, reading, even friendship and cooperation – the more likely they will succeed in those same areas in school. Hence, “kindergarten readiness” is the goal of many preschool programs, and a motivator for many parents. Now it’s time…


May 15, 2018

Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast

forest with dead trees

If an entire forest dies, new research shows, it has ricocheting effects in the atmosphere that can affect vegetation on the other side of the country.


Born of protest: Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity celebrates a half-century

protest

It was spring 1968. A group of students occupied the University of Washington administration building calling for change: justice, diversity, agency for Blacks on campus.


The first wireless flying robotic insect takes off

RoboFly in an engineer's hand

Engineers at the University of Washington have created RoboFly, the first wireless flying robotic insect. This might be one small flap for a robot, but it’s one giant leap for robot-kind.


May 14, 2018

UW statement regarding ongoing negotiations with academic student employees – May 14, 2018

The University of Washington W

ASEs have called on the University of Washington to address trans-affirming medical procedures, mental health coverage, sexual harassment prevention training and wages – and the latest proposal the UW offered Monday addresses each outstanding issue.


Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars

An artist’s impression of Earth as a frigid "‘snowball" planet. New research from the University of Washington indicates that aspects of a planet's axial tilt or orbit could trigger such a snowball state, where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible.

Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, according to new research from UW astronomers.


May 7, 2018

Stomata — the plant pores that give us life — arise thanks to a gene called MUTE, scientists report

A microscopy image of the surface of a plant.

New research in plants shows that a gene called MUTE is required for the formation of stomata — the tiny pores that are critical for gas exchange, including releasing the oxygen gas that we breathe.


Author Charles Johnson — with new story collection ‘Night Hawks’ out — discusses the anatomy of a short story

Prof. Charles Johnson's fourth book of stories, "Night Hawks," was published by Scribner.

Charles Johnson, UW professor emeritus of English, has released his fourth book of short stories, “Night Hawks.” He discusses his creative process for short story-writing.


May 3, 2018

Atomically thin magnetic device could lead to new memory technologies

A depiction of the crystal structure of chromium triiodide (CrI3), with chromium atoms shown in purple and iodine atoms in yellow. The black arrows represent the electron "spins," which are analogous to tiny bar magnets.

In a study published online May 3 in the journal Science, a University of Washington-led team announced that it has discovered a method to encode information using magnets that are just a few layers of atoms in thickness. This breakthrough may revolutionize both cloud computing technologies and consumer electronics by enabling data storage at a greater density and improved energy efficiency.


May 2, 2018

Hilary Godwin named dean of the School of Public Health

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Hilary Godwin has been named the next dean of the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Jerry Baldasty announced today. Her appointment, set to begin July 15, 2018, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.


UW, plaintiffs reach agreement on ADA lawsuit regarding parking facilities on campus

The University of Washington announced today it has reached agreement with a group of three plaintiffs in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit alleging violations in the University’s parking facilities on the Seattle campus.


Researchers develop an app for crowdsourced exercise plans, which rival personal trainers in effectiveness

Image of a person walking

Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle University have created CrowdFit, a platform for exercise planning that relies on crowdsourcing from nonexperts to create workout regimens guided by national exercise recommendations and tailored around user schedules and interests.


Center for Communication, Difference and Equity to explore issues of race and media in conference May 10-12

Issues of race and racism permeate American culture and media more than ever. The UW’s Center for Communication, Difference and Equity will hold a three-day conference May 10-12 to explore these issues and foster engagement and support among academics.


May 1, 2018

UW astrobiologist Victoria Meadows receives SETI Institute’s Frank Drake Award

Victoria Meadows, UW astrobiologist and professor of astronomy.

Victoria Meadows, University of Washington astrobiologist, professor of astronomy and leader of NASA’s UW-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory, has been named recipient of the 2018 Frank Drake Award from the SETI Institute. She is the first woman to receive the award.


Apps for children should emphasize parent and child choice, researchers say

screenshot

Parents don’t need to fear their children playing with iPads and other devices, researchers say. Mindful play with an adult, combined with thoughtful design features, can prove beneficial to young developing minds. New research shows that thoughtfully designed content that intentionally supports parent-child interactions facilitated the same kind of play and development as analog toys.


April 26, 2018

Community efforts to prevent teen problems have lasting benefits

A University of Washington study finds that a community-based approach to substance-abuse prevention, which can include after-school activities, can affect young people into adulthood.

  Want to prevent kids from using drugs and make it stick into young adulthood? Get the community involved and intervene before they’re teens, say researchers from the University of Washington. A new, longitudinal study from the UW Social Development Research Group shows that young adults who grew up in communities that used a coordinated,…


April 25, 2018

UW breaks ground on new Population Health building

A crowd of dignitaries gathered Wednesday for the official groundbreaking of the university’s new 290,000-square-foot Population Health Building, a facility that will house the Population Health Initiative launched by the UW in 2016.


Breaking bottlenecks to the electronic-photonic information technology revolution

Switch rendering

Researchers at the University of Washington, working with researchers from the ETH-Zurich, Purdue University and Virginia Commonwealth University, have achieved an optical communications breakthrough that could revolutionize information technology. They created a tiny device, smaller than a human hair, that translates electrical bits (0s and 1s of the digital language) into light, or photonic bits, at speeds 10s of times faster than current technologies.


April 19, 2018

Researchers achieve HD video streaming at 10,000 times lower power

Saman with a camera prototype on his glasses

Engineers at the University of Washington have developed a new HD video streaming method that doesn’t need to be plugged in. Their prototype skips the power-hungry components and has something else, like a smartphone, process the video instead.


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

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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

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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

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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.



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