News releases
September 14, 2021
Study examines teens’ thoughts, plans around suicide
New research by the University of Washington and New York University explored gender, racial and ethnic differences among teens who think about and/or attempt suicide, as well as associated behavioral and environmental factors.
September 13, 2021
Do Alexa and Siri make kids bossier? New research suggests you might not need to worry
A team led by UW studied whether hanging out with conversational agents, such as Alexa or Siri, could affect the way children communicate with their fellow humans.
September 10, 2021
UW campus prepares for return to in-person classes, activities
It’s been about 18 months since the University of Washington led the nation in pivoting to largely online learning and working as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
September 9, 2021
NSF to fund revolutionary center for optoelectronic, quantum technologies
The National Science Foundation has announced it will fund a new endeavor to bring atomic-level precision to the devices and technologies that underpin much of modern life, and will transform fields like information technology in the decades to come. The five-year, $25 million Science and Technology Center grant will found the Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand — or IMOD — a collaboration of scientists and engineers at 11 universities led by the University of Washington.
September 7, 2021
Research, education hub on ‘coastal resiliency’ will focus on earthquakes, coastal erosion and climate change
The new Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, led by Oregon State University and the University of Washington, will study coastal hazards and community resilience. The National Science Foundation awarded $18.9 million for the hub over five years.
September 1, 2021
Mary Gresch named UW’s Senior Vice President for University Advancement
Mary Gresch has been named senior vice president for advancement at the University of Washington, UW President Ana Mari Cauce announced this week. Gresch’s appointment is effective Sept. 1.
August 25, 2021
Volcanic eruptions may have spurred first ‘whiffs’ of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere
A new analysis of 2.5-billion-year-old rocks from Australia finds that volcanic eruptions may have stimulated population surges of marine microorganisms, creating the first puffs of oxygen into the atmosphere. This would change existing stories of Earth’s early atmosphere, which assumed that most changes in the early atmosphere were controlled by geologic or chemical processes.
August 16, 2021
New analysis of landmark scurvy study leads to update on vitamin C needs
It was wartime and food was scarce. Leaders of England’s effort to wage war and help the public survive during World War II needed to know: Were the rations in lifeboats adequate for survival at sea? And, among several experiments important for public as well as military heath, how much vitamin C did a person…
August 11, 2021
‘More pepper, please’: New study analyzes role of scent compounds in the coevolution of bats and pepper plants
A study published Aug. 11 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by researchers at the University of Washington and Stony Brook University reports on how bats and pepper plants in Central America have coevolved to help each other survive.
August 5, 2021
Now how did that get up there? New study sheds light on development and evolution of dolphin, whale blowholes
New research by scientists at the University of Washington and Duke University is shedding light on how the nasal passage of dolphins and whales shifts during embryonic development from emerging at the tip of the snout to emerging at the top of the head as a blowhole. The findings, published July 19 in the Journal of Anatomy, are an integrative model for this developmental transition for cetaceans.
Drier, warmer night air is making some Western wildfires more active at night
Firefighters have reported that Western wildfires are starting earlier in the morning and dying down later at night, hampering their ability to recover and regroup before the next day’s flareup. A study by University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service scientists shows why: The drying power of nighttime air over much of the Western U.S. has increased dramatically in the past 40 years.
Superflares may be less harmful to exoplanets than previously thought, study shows
Astronomers have long suspected that superflares, extreme radiation bursts from stars, can cause lasting damage to the atmospheres — and thus habitability — of exoplanets. A new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reports that they pose only a limited danger to planetary systems.
August 4, 2021
Fine particulate air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia
Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region — one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 — University of Washington researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia. In the UW-led study, a small increase…
August 2, 2021
New report: State of the science on western wildfires, forests and climate change
Seeing the urgent need for change, a team of scientists from leading research universities, conservation organizations and government laboratories across the West has produced a synthesis of the scientific literature that clearly lays out the established science and strength of evidence on climate change, wildfire and forest management for seasonally dry forests. The goal is to give land managers and others across the West access to a unified resource that summarizes the best-available science so they can make decisions about how to manage their landscapes.
New DNA study provides critical information on conserving rainforest lizards
A study published June 16 in Biotropica by a team of researchers at the University of Washington, the UW Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, WWF Hong Kong and the University of Colombo has provided an important road map to conserving rough-nosed horned lizards in Sri Lanka.
July 29, 2021
Climate change to fuel increase in human-wildlife conflict, UW biologist says
Climate change is further exacerbating human-wildlife conflicts by straining ecosystems and altering behaviors, both of which can deepen the contacts — and potential competition — between people and animals. In an article published July 30 in the journal Science, Briana Abrahms, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Washington and its Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, calls for expanding research into the many ways that climate change will impact the complex interplay between human activities and wildlife populations.
UW to lead new NSF institute for using artificial intelligence to understand dynamic systems
The UW will lead a new artificial intelligence research institute that will focus on fundamental AI and machine learning theory, algorithms and applications for real-time learning and control of complex dynamic systems, which describe chaotic situations where conditions are constantly shifting and hard to predict.
July 27, 2021
Possible future for Western wildfires: Decade-long burst, followed by gradual decline
A model of the eastern California forests of the Sierra Nevada looks at the longer-term future of wildfires under future climate change scenarios. Results show an initial roughly decade-long burst of wildfire activity, followed by recurring fires of decreasing area — a pattern that could apply to other hot, dry forests in the West.
July 26, 2021
Scientists model ‘true prevalence’ of COVID-19 throughout pandemic
Two University of Washington scientists have developed a statistical framework that incorporates key COVID-19 data — such as case counts and deaths due to COVID-19 — to model the true prevalence of this disease in the United States and individual states. Their approach, published the week of July 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that in the U.S. as many as 60% of COVID-19 cases went undetected as of March 7, 2021, the last date for which the dataset they employed is available.
July 22, 2021
Gaming graphics card allows faster, more precise control of fusion energy experiments
UW researchers have developed a method that uses a gaming graphics card to control plasma formation in their prototype fusion reactor.
July 20, 2021
New 3D images of shark intestines show they function like Nikola Tesla’s valve
For more than a century, researchers have relied on flat sketches of sharks’ digestive systems to discern how they function — and how what they eat and excrete impacts other species in the ocean. Now, researchers have produced a series of high-resolution, 3D scans of intestines from nearly three dozen shark species that will advance the understanding of how sharks eat and digest their food.
July 15, 2021
Dianne Harris named dean of UW College of Arts & Sciences
University of Washington Provost Mark A. Richards today announced Dianne Harris will become dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, beginning Sept. 1.
July 13, 2021
Sheila Edwards Lange selected as chancellor of UW Tacoma
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark A. Richards today announced the selection of Sheila Edwards Lange, president of Seattle Central College, as chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma. Her appointment, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents, is set to begin Sept. 16.
From ‘distress’ to ‘unscathed’ — mental health of UW students during spring 2020
To understand how the UW’s transition to online-only classes affected college students’ mental health in the spring of 2020, UW researchers surveyed 147 UW undergraduates over the 2020 spring quarter.
July 9, 2021
Study model explores impact of police action on population health
A specific police action, an arrest or a shooting, has an immediate and direct effect on the individuals involved, but how far and wide do the reverberations of that action spread through the community? What are the health consequences for a specific, though not necessarily geographically defined, population? The authors of a new UW-led study…
July 8, 2021
Mari Ostendorf named UW Vice Provost for Research
University of Washington Provost Mark Richards today announced the appointment of Mari Ostendorf as Vice Provost for Research, set to begin Sept. 1. Ostendorf has been serving as Associate Vice Provost for Research in the Office of Research since 2017.
July 1, 2021
Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change
The region north of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic has been termed the Last Ice Area, where sea ice will remain the longest in summertime, providing a refuge for ice-dependent Arctic species. But conditions last summer show that parts of this region are already experiencing less summer ice due to climate change.
June 29, 2021
Air pollution from wildfires impacts ability to observe birds
Researchers from the University of Washington provide a first look at the probability of observing common birds as air pollution worsens during wildfire seasons. They found that smoke affected the ability to detect more than a third of the bird species studied in Washington state over a four-year period. Sometimes smoke made it harder to observe birds, while other species were actually easier to detect when smoke was present.
June 25, 2021
Kristin Esterberg selected as chancellor of UW Bothell
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark A. Richards today announced the selection of Kristin Esterberg, president of the State University of New York at Potsdam, as chancellor of the University of Washington Bothell. Her appointment, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents, is set to begin Oct. 1.
June 17, 2021
Researchers discover yessotoxins, produced by certain phytoplankton, to be a culprit behind summer mass shellfish mortality events in Washington
Back in the summers of 2018 and 2019, the shellfish industry in Washington state was rocked by mass mortalities of its crops. Now, researchers think they have figured out why: high concentrations of yessotoxinss, which are produced by blooms of certain phytoplankton. The researchers’ findings were published last month in the open-access journal Harmful Algae.
June 16, 2021
Pandemic-era crowdfunding more common, successful in affluent communities
A new University of Washington study of requests and donations to the popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe, along with Census data, shows stark inequities in where the money went and how much was donated.
June 15, 2021
Drug rebates for insurers tied to higher costs for patients, especially the uninsured
Federal agencies that regulate drug pricing and healthcare insurance are concerned that an industry practice of using rebates to lower drug costs for insurers has led to increases in list prices and out-of-pockets costs for patients. To investigate whether patients with or without insurance were paying more because of rebates to insurers, researchers led by…
June 14, 2021
Communication technology, study of collective behavior must be ‘crisis discipline,’ researchers argue
Our ability to confront global crises, from pandemics to climate change, depends on how we interact and share information.
Social media and other forms of communication technology restructure these interactions in ways that have consequences. Unfortunately, we have little insight into whether these changes will bring about a healthy, sustainable and equitable world. As a result, researchers now say that the study of collective behavior must rise to a “crisis discipline,” just like medicine, conservation and climate science have done, according to a new paper published June 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
UW researchers can turn a single photo into a video
UW researchers have developed a deep learning method that can animate any flowing material, including waterfalls, smoke or clouds.
June 11, 2021
Edge of Pine Island Glacier’s ice shelf is ripping apart, causing key Antarctic glacier to gain speed
Satellite images show that from 2017 to 2020, Pine Island Glacier’s ice shelf lost about one-fifth of its area, mostly in three dramatic breaks. This caused the glacier to speed up by 12%, hastening its downward motion and boosting its contribution to rising seas.
June 10, 2021
Cause, scope determined for deadly winter debris flow in Uttarakhand, India
On Feb. 7, 2021, a wall of debris and water barreled down river valleys in India, destroyed two hydropower facilities and left more than 200 people dead or missing. A self-organized coalition of 53 scientists from 14 countries, including researchers from the University of Washington, worked nonstop following the disaster to investigate the cause, scope and impacts.
June 9, 2021
Endangered blue whales recorded off southwest coast of India
Endangered blue whales are present and singing off the southwest coast of India. The results provide insight into a poorly studied population and suggest conservation measures should include this region.
June 7, 2021
Simon Neame named dean of UW Libraries
Simon Neame was appointed the new dean of University Libraries, University of Washington Provost Mark Richards announced today. The appointment, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents, is set to begin Sept. 1.
June 3, 2021
Anticipation builds for UW’s 146th commencement, to be held virtually
Drumheller Fountain is turning purple.
The iconic University of Washington landmark will be illuminated in the school’s signature color from dusk to dawn as the anticipation builds for the June 12 commencement ceremonies.
The special accent lighting is just one of many features the UW is adding to its already beautiful campus to provide graduates opportunities to pose for photos with family and friends. Special banners will hang on Suzzallo Library and the HUB, among other locations. Sidewalks in the Quad and along Rainier Vista will be decorated and 4-foot-tall block Ws will be strategically placed making already terrific photo ops even better.
Renowned marine scientist and former NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco to speak at 2021 commencement
Renowned marine scientist, University of Washington alumna and former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco will deliver the 2021 UW virtual commencement address on June 12.
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