UW Notebook
UW Notebook features stories of interest to the UW community — including projects and books by, and recognition of, UW faculty, students and staff. If you’d like to submit a story idea, email uwnews@uw.edu.
July 12, 2022
New faculty books: Threats to US democracy, early history of gay rights, and more
Federalism, queer history, the impact of the Russian Revolution on Jewish communities, and the evolution of Filipinx American studies are among the subjects of recent and upcoming books by UW faculty.
June 22, 2022
Q&A: New book from UW professor examines history, consequences of fifth columns
A new book co-edited by Scott Radnitz, associate professor in the University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies, features original papers on the roots and implications of the politics surrounding real and imagined fifth columns.
June 17, 2022
Q&A: New children’s book shows how natural world inspired inventor to create medieval robots
“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 16, 2022
Q&A: Healthier soil leads to more-nutritious food, argues new book by UW geomorphologist David Montgomery
David Montgomery, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, discusses soil health, food nutrients and human health. He is co-author of “What Your Food Ate,” being published this month.
June 15, 2022
Video: Improvised Music Project Festival’s new format focuses on recording process
This year, the School of Music’s Improvised Music Project focused on audio recording, inviting acclaimed recording engineer David Boucher for a weeklong workshop. The new format allowed students and faculty to gain experience with UW’s new mobile recording system while teaching fundamental recording and audio skills.
June 10, 2022
Q&A: Amy Snover, outgoing director of the UW Climate Impacts Group
Amy Snover, the retiring director of the UW Climate Impacts Group, reflects on her past decade of leadership and on how the groundbreaking climate preparedness group has evolved over more than a quarter century of existence.
June 8, 2022
UW doctoral student leads effort to change diploma name policy, demonstrating power of trans community
In 2021, UW registrar Helen Garrett announced that, for the first time, the UW would allow graduates to use a chosen first name for their diplomas. The policy change was the result of efforts led by Vern Harner, a UW doctoral student in social work, and a change.org petition that earned over 30,000 signatures, demonstrating the power of the trans community.
June 7, 2022
Burke Museum receives national award
The Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle today announced it is one of six recipients of the 2022 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. The award is given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Burke Museum is the only institution in Washington to be selected.
May 26, 2022
With EcoCAR, UW students experience post-COVID camaraderie under the hood of a hybrid vehicle
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.
Video: Alexes Harris draws attention to low representation of people of color in bone marrow registry
In 2016, Alexes Harris was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. But a search for a bone marrow donor turned up only five matches, and none ended up being a donor. People of color are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry; according to Be The Match, the nation’s largest bone marrow registry, white people have a 79% chance of finding a match. But a Black person’s potential match is only 29%, and Asian and Latinx people both have about a 47% chance. People of Native American ancestry have a 60% chance of finding a match.
May 11, 2022
Faculty/staff honors in STEM mentoring, applied mathematics and Inuit languages
Recent recognition of the includes the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring for Joyce Yen, the election of J. Nathan Kutz as a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics fellow and the recognition of Alexina Kublu with the 2022 Inuit Language Recognition Award.
May 9, 2022
Q&A: Exposing the anti-radical origins of anti-Asian racism
In his new book, University of Washington history professor Moon-Ho Jung traces how Asian radicals organized and confronted the U.S. empire and were labeled criminally seditious as a result.
April 14, 2022
Historian Bailkin, astronomer Levesque receive Guggenheim Fellowships
Two University of Washington faculty members are among 180 experts in the arts, humanities, law and the sciences chosen as 2022 Guggenheim Fellows, according to an April 7 announcement from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Jordanna Bailkin, a professor in the Department of History, and Emily Levesque, an associate professor in the Department of Astronomy, are among the new class of fellows, which were selected from a pool of nearly 2,500 applicants.
April 13, 2022
Two UW faculty named fellows of Ecological Society of America
Two University of Washington professors have been honored by the Ecological Society of America for their knowledge and contributions to the field of ecology.
UW artist in residence adds to Grammy Award total
An artist in residence at the University of Washington School of Music, Steve Rodby produced “Mirror, Mirror,” which won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. He now has 14 Grammy Awards.
April 8, 2022
UW professors show that Japanese democracy is ‘flourishing’ as co-editors of first Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics
Robert and Saadia Pekkanen, both professors in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, are co-editors of the first Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics, published online in September 2020 and in print in January 2022. They worked with dozens of collaborators around the world to add the topic to the respected collection of Oxford Handbooks that presents surveys of original research.
April 4, 2022
Q&A: From the Philippines to the US, analyzing a global political shift to the right
In his book “The Sovereign Trickster,” University of Washington history professor Vicente L. Rafael examines the authoritarian rule of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and tries to make sense of a global shift to the political right.
March 30, 2022
Faculty/staff honors: Student union association’s highest honor, supplier diversity award and more
Recent recognition of the includes the Butts-Whiting Award for L. Lincoln Johnson, INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine’s Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award, Ben Brunjes’ fellowship with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Policy Planning and Liaison, and the recognition of Yong Wei as a NOAA Ambassador of Tsunami Risk Assessment.
March 17, 2022
New volume on gender-neutral language sheds light on political controversy in France
In France, a political controversy arose when a gender-neutral pronoun was added to a respected dictionary. This controversy made a new volume co-edited by the UW’s Louisa Mackenzie especially relevant. It describes how nonbinary French speakers are changing their language to reflect their identity.
March 15, 2022
UW professor’s new book presents opportunity to ‘rethink housing’
A new book by Gregg Colburn, assistant professor of real estate at the UW, explores the factors that drive homelessness, and the cultural and economic shift that can ultimately benefit all — housed and unhoused.
March 4, 2022
Ukrainian American professor shares insights on ‘gut-wrenching’ events in Ukraine
Laada Bilaniuk is a professor of anthropology at the whose expertise is Ukrainian culture and society. The daughter of Ukrainian Americans, she shares insights on the Ukrainian people who are resisting, how the conflict relates to the use of language and the perspective of the local Ukrainian community.
February 22, 2022
Q&A: Student Kaden Lee on competing in the ‘Jeopardy! College National Championship’
The “Jeopardy! College National Championship” brought together undergraduate students from 36 U.S. colleges and universities. Kaden Lee, a UW junior from Medical Lake, Washington, majoring in aeronautics and astronautics, appeared in the tournament on Feb. 11.
February 17, 2022
UW biologist and computer scientist named Sloan Fellows
Two 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, are Brianna Abrahms, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, and Yulia Tsvetkov, an assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
February 11, 2022
Samson Jenekhe, Anna Karlin elected to National Academy of Engineering
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.
February 3, 2022
Custodians share COVID experiences, show pride in their work in art exhibit
The UW Custodian Project is advocating for custodians, lifting their voices and raising awareness about their important roles on campus. As part of the project, an art exhibit called “(in)Visibility” is hanging in UW Tower through March. It features photos taken by 16 custodians, paired with their testimonials.
January 31, 2022
UW wins 2021 EPA Regional Food Recovery Challenge, preventing waste and feeding the hungry
The University of Washington’s Seattle campus saved more than 5 tons of food from being thrown away in 2020, preventing unnecessary waste and helping feed people in the community who struggle with food security.
January 26, 2022
Four UW faculty members, incoming Burke Museum leader named 2021 AAAS Fellows
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 13, 2022
UW Pharmacy’s Drug Interaction Database, built to promote medication safety, wins national innovation award
The UW School of Pharmacy’s Drug Interaction Database — the core research tool from the school’s nonprofit Drug Interaction Solutions team — is celebrating both a national award for innovation and two decades of independent funding through licensing agreements with companies, research institutes and regulatory agencies around the globe.
January 12, 2022
Q&A: Cuong Vu looks back at playing trumpet on new record by the late David Bowie
In 2000, the late David Bowie recorded his album “Toy,” which went unreleased due to the financial struggles of his record label. On Jan. 7, it was finally released, and it features Cuong Vu, UW professor of music and chair of the jazz studies department. Vu look back at working with Bowie, the music industry and music education.
December 6, 2021
UW Law’s Angélica Cházaro named one of six ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on immigration, abolition
Angélica Cházaro is one of six researchers around the country to be named a “Freedom Scholar” by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation.
December 3, 2021
Hans Rosling Center wins state, national architectural design and project awards
The Hans Rosling Center for Population Health has won top awards in 2021 from state and national design and construction associations for both its architectural design and unique project delivery approach. The building was designed by The Miller Hull Partnership and the general contractor was Lease Crutcher Lewis. The Design Build Institute of America in…
November 5, 2021
From the land of the Reindeer People to Red Square: Teacher brings the Mongolian language to the UW
Azjargal Amarsanaa, a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, is teaching the Mongolian language to UW students for the 2021-22 academic year. It’s the first chance UW students have had to learn Mongolian in 15 years.
October 20, 2021
The Jackson School’s Taso Lagos reflects on becoming American at his family’s restaurant, the Continental
In 2013, Seattle’s U District neighborhood lost one of its most cherished businesses. The Continental Greek Restaurant and Pastry Shop, owned by the family of the Jackson School’s Taso Lagos, sat on University Way for nearly 40 years before closing its doors that June. Lagos looks back on the restaurant and what it meant to his family in a memoir due to be released this fall.
October 4, 2021
UW’s Shyam Gollakota named 2021 Moore Inventor Fellow
Shyam Gollakota, a UW professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, has taken inspiration from nature’s tiniest creatures, creating inventions that allow humans to use technology to go where they haven’t gone before. He is being celebrated for those inventions as a 2021 Moore Inventor Fellow.
September 14, 2021
Returning to the U District: Recovering from the pandemic with more changes ahead
Hardship, change and resilience — that’s been the experience of the U District community during the pandemic, just as it’s been the experience of us all. As students, faculty and staff return to campus in September, they are going to find that the UW’s front door looks different — and it is on the precipice of even bigger changes to come.
July 29, 2021
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy honors UW College of Built Environments faculty, Nehemiah Studio for curriculum on mitigating gentrification
The Nehemiah Studio, a UW class on mitigating gentrification in Seattle’s Central District, has been honored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
July 9, 2021
Faculty/staff honors: Early career honor in communication, distinguished service award in theoretical computing
Recent honors and achievements by UW faculty include an early career award for study of family communication and a distinguished service award for decades in support of theoretical computing.
June 29, 2021
From the Jackson School: Endowed scholarship for India study, book on angels in ancient Jewish culture
Recent news from the Jackson School of International Studies includes a new endowed scholarship for study of India made possible by two alumni, and a book on angels in ancient Jewish culture by Jewish Studies professor Mika Ahuvia.
June 23, 2021
Jana Mohr Lone advocates for children’s voices in new book, ‘Seen and Not Heard’
In her new book, Jana Mohr Lone of the UW Center for Philosophy for Children asks, how would the world benefit if children were recognized as independent thinkers?
June 16, 2021
UW Ocean Voices program, seeking equity in ocean science, gets key approval from United Nations
Ocean Voices, a program of the UW Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center to advance equity in ocean science, has been named among the first group of actions taken in a United Nations-sponsored, decade-long program of ocean science for sustainable development.
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