Research
April 29, 2020
Solar researchers across country join forces with industry to boost U.S. solar manufacturing

The University of Washington and its Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Toledo have formed the U.S. Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium, or US-MAP. This research and development coalition aims to accelerate the domestic commercialization of perovskite technologies.
April 28, 2020
Agricultural pickers in US to see unsafely hot workdays double by 2050

A new study looks at temperature increases in counties across the United States where crops are grown. It also looks at different strategies the industry could adopt to protect workers’ health.
April 27, 2020
Bacteria that are persistently resistant to one antibiotic are ‘primed’ to become multidrug-resistant bugs

Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Idaho report that, for a bacterial pathogen already resistant to an antibiotic, prolonged exposure to that antibiotic not only boosted its ability to retain its resistance gene, but also made the pathogen more readily pick up and maintain resistance to a second antibiotic and become a dangerous, multidrug-resistant strain.
‘Ethnic spaces’ make minority students feel at home on campus

New research by the University of Washington and the University of Exeter in the U.K., examined the value that college students — of many races — place on ethnic cultural centers.
April 24, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Education research, Salish Sea Prize, Association for Psychological Science award

Recent honors to UW faculty and staff have come from the American Education Research Association, the Association for Psychological Science and the SeaDoc Society.
April 23, 2020
Smart farming via satellite: NASA profiles UW researcher Faisal Hossain’s tech-based irrigation advisory system for Earth Day

Noting the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, NASA has featured UW-led research by Faisal Hossain that uses satellite data to help farmers manage water more efficiently.
April 20, 2020
A conversation with Dan Chirot about his new book ‘You Say You Want a Revolution,’ exploring radical idealism

A conversation with international studies professor Dan Chirot about his new book, “You Say You Want a Revolution: Radical Idealism and its Tragic Consequences.”
April 16, 2020
Dose of nature at home could help mental health, well-being during COVID-19

In light of stay-at-home orders, University of Washington researchers say studies show there is much to be gained from nature close to home, whether in a yard, on neighborhood walks or even indoors.
April 15, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Fellowships in medical and biological engineering; a remembrance of Ellis Goldberg

Recent honors to UW faculty and staff include fellows named by an organization for medical and biological engineering, and a remembrance of political science professor Ellis Goldberg, who died in 2019.
April 14, 2020
How families can use technology to juggle childcare and remote life

UW researchers are beginning a national study to help families discover technology that helps them both successfully navigate home-based learning and combat social isolation.
April 13, 2020
‘I saw you were online’: How online status indicators shape our behavior

After surveying smartphone users, UW researchers found that many people misunderstand online status indicators but still carefully shape their behavior to control how they are displayed to others.
April 10, 2020
US approaching peak of ‘active’ COVID-19 cases, strain on medical resources, new modeling shows

A new data-driven mathematical model of the coronavirus pandemic predicts that the United States will peak in the number of “active” COVID-19 cases on or around April 20, marking a critical milestone on the demand for medical resources.
Local response to UW social isolation study leads to national effort

With most states now under stay-at-home orders, UW researchers have launched a national study to test whether a motivational, mental health tip each day changes participants’ behavior during social distancing, and improves their mental and relational health.
Large majority of state’s heroin users want to reduce use; syringe programs helping during COVID-19 crisis

A new survey of people who inject illicit drugs in the state of Washington yields positive and important findings for policy makers as the world struggles to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, said authors of the survey by the University of Washington and Public Health-Seattle & King County. Most people – 82% – who inject…
April 7, 2020
Education books: Athletics and higher ed, supervising school principals, activist-oriented teaching — and a conversation with James Banks on his new book of essays

A talk with James Banks, UW professor emeritus of education, about his new book of essays, and three other education books are also noted.
April 3, 2020
Watch videos of UW students’ ideas for public toilets, road safety and job matches in India

A UW study abroad program empowers students from all disciplines to apply their skills to real-life problems.
April 1, 2020
Study synthesizes what climate change means for Northwest wildfires

A University of Washington study, published this winter in Fire Ecology, takes a big-picture look at what climate change could mean for wildfires in the Northwest, considering Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.
UW-created podcasts: ‘Crossing North’ by Scandinavian Studies — also College of Education, Information School’s Joe Janes, a discussion of soil health

UW Notebook visits with the producer of “Crossing North,” a podcast by the Scandinavian Studies Department, and notes other podcasts on campus and an appearance by David Montgomery on the podcast “Undark.”
March 31, 2020
UW researchers need your (digital) coughs

UW researchers are developing an app that will allow health organizations to monitor coughs from self-quarantined COVID-19 patients from home.
March 30, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Outstanding educator in landscape architecture, Royal Society of Edinburgh corresponding fellowship — and the Green Rat Clingfish takes a bow

Recent honors to University of Washington faculty and staff have come from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the World Register of Marine Species.
March 24, 2020
UW researchers to study resilience, well-being among King County residents during pandemic

University of Washington researchers have launched the King County COVID-19 Community Study — or KC3S — to gather data through April 19 on how individuals and communities throughout King County are coping with the measures put in place to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Ships’ emissions create measurable regional change in clouds

Years of cloud data over a shipping route between Europe and South Africa shows that pollution from ships has significantly increased the reflectivity of the clouds. More generally, the results suggest that industrial pollution’s effect on clouds has masked about a third of the warming due to fossil fuel burning since the late 1800s.
March 23, 2020
Anatomy of a frogfish: New book explores world of fishes with arms and legs

Any old fish can swim. But what fish can walk, scoot, clamber over rocks, change color and even fight to the death? That would be the frogfish. A talk with Ted Pietsch, UW professor of emeritus of aquatic and fishery sciences, about his latest book, “Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology”
March 19, 2020
‘Sushi parasites’ have increased 283-fold in past 40 years

A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm.
March 18, 2020
How people investigate — or don’t — fake news on Twitter and Facebook

UW researchers watched 25 participants scroll through their Facebook or Twitter feeds while, unbeknownst to them, a Google Chrome extension randomly added debunked content on top of some of the real posts.
‘Fatal attraction’: Small carnivores drawn to kill sites, then ambushed by larger kin

University of Washington researchers have discovered that large predators play a key yet unexpected role in keeping smaller predators and deer in check. Their “fatal attraction” theory finds that smaller predators are drawn to the kill sites of large predators by the promise of leftover scraps, but the scavengers may be killed themselves if their larger kin return for seconds.
March 17, 2020
Survey: What blocks your bus?

UW researchers are inviting the public to share their experiences on their regular commutes in a survey.
March 12, 2020
Ocean acidification impacts oysters’ memory of environmental stress

Researchers from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences have discovered that ocean acidification impacts the ability of some oysters to pass down “memories” of environmental trauma to their offspring.
March 9, 2020
Underrepresented college students benefit more from ‘active learning’ techniques in STEM courses

Students from different backgrounds in the United States enter college with equal interest in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But that equal interest does not result in equal outcomes. Six years after starting an undergraduate STEM degree, roughly twice as many white students finished it compared to African American students. A new…
Book notes: UW architectural historian Tyler Sprague explores the work of Kingdome designer Jack Christiansen

A talk with UW architecture professor Tyler Sprague about his book “Sculpture on a Grand Scale: Jack Christiansen’s Thin Shell Modernism.” Plus books from Rick Bonus and Yong-Chool Ha.
Climate change at Mount Rainier expected to increase ‘mismatch’ between visitors and iconic wildflowers

The wildflowers of Mount Rainier’s subalpine meadows, which bloom once the winter snowpack melts, are a major draw for the more than 1 million visitors to this national park in Washington state each spring and summer. But by the end of this century, scientists expect that snow will melt months earlier due to climate change. New research led by the University of Washington shows that, under those conditions, many visitors would miss the flowers altogether.
March 6, 2020
Millions of US workers at risk of infections on the job, UW researchers calculate, emphasizing need to protect against COVID-19

A University of Washington researcher calculates that 14.4 million workers face exposure to infection once a week and 26.7 million at least once a month in the workplace, pointing to an important population needing protection as the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, continues to break out across the U.S. Marissa Baker, an assistant professor in the…
Dimming Betelgeuse likely isn’t cold, just dusty, new study shows

Late last year, news broke that the star Betelgeuse was fading significantly, ultimately dropping to around 40% of its usual brightness. The activity fueled popular speculation that the red supergiant would soon explode as a massive supernova. But astronomers have more benign theories to explain the star’s dimming behavior. And scientists at the University of…
March 2, 2020
New honors for scientists studying ‘ecosystem sentinels’

P. Dee Boersma, a UW professor of biology and director of the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, is a finalist for the 2020 Indianapolis Prize for conservation, to be awarded later this year by the Indianapolis Zoological Society. Sue Moore, a scientist with the center and a UW affiliate professor of biology and of aquatic and fishery sciences, has won the 2020 IASC Medal, also known as the Arctic Medal, from the International Arctic Science Committee.
Navigating the potential pitfalls of tracking college athletes

UW researchers interviewed 22 athletes and staff members from three college athletics programs to see how collecting data from college athletes might encroach on their autonomy.
Not a ‘math person’? You may be better at learning to code than you think

New research from the University of Washington finds that a natural aptitude for learning languages is a stronger predictor of learning to program than basic math knowledge.
February 27, 2020
Video: Warming Arctic means less ice, bigger waves

Throughout the month of November 2019, a team of University of Washington researchers chased storms in the Arctic Ocean. The project, Coastal Ocean Dynamics in the Arctic, or CODA, is looking at how water currents shift and waves hit the coast with more open water, to provide better forecasts and predictions for the region’s future.
Thinning, prescribed burns protected forests during the massive Carlton Complex wildfire

In the first major study following the devastating Carlton Complex fire in north central Washington, researchers from the University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service found that previous tree thinning and prescribed burns helped forests survive the fire.
February 26, 2020
Wildness in urban parks important for human well-being

A new University of Washington study has found that not all forms of nature are created equal when considering benefits to people’s well-being. Experiencing wildness, specifically, is particularly important for physical and mental health.
February 18, 2020
Campus podcasts: UW Tacoma, architecture, science papers explained

It’s the year 2020, and where two or more are gathered, it seems, there is a podcast. Given the level of creativity among University of Washington faculty and staff, it’s no surprise that many high-quality podcasts are now being produced on campus. Here’s a look at three podcasts being created by UW departments or people,…
Previous page Next page