Research
February 23, 2016
Four UW scientists awarded Sloan Fellowships for early-career research
Four 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. 23, include Bingni Brunton, assistant professor of biology; Christopher Laumann, assistant professor of physics; Matthew McQuinn, assistant professor of astronomy; and Emina Torlak, assistant professor of computer science and engineering….
February 22, 2016
University of Washington named a ‘top producer’ of Fulbright students
The University of Washington is one of the top producers of Fulbright students for 2015-16, according to lists released Monday in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
February 19, 2016
UW part of team that drilled first deep ice core at the South Pole
UW glaciologists helped drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, which will provide new clues to Antarctica’s climate history.
Dangerous fishing may be endangered, new study finds
A new study of fishing practices found that the “risky” behavior that makes fishing one of the most dangerous lines of work dropped sharply following the adoption of catch shares management in the West Coast fixed gear sablefish fishery.
February 18, 2016
Three UW professors win Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Three members of the UW faculty have received the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early-career scientists and engineers.
February 12, 2016
Caught in the act: UW astronomers find a rare supernova ‘impostor’ in a nearby galaxy
UW astronomers Breanna Binder and Ben Williams have identified a rare type of ‘supernova impostor’ in a nearby galaxy, with implications for how scientists look at the short, complex lives of massive stars.
Rare beluga data show whales dive to maximize meals
As the Arctic continues to change due to rising temperatures, melting sea ice and human interest in developing oil and shipping routes, it’s important to understand belugas’ baseline behavior, argue the authors of a new paper.
UW scientists create ultrathin semiconductor heterostructures for new technological applications
University of Washington scientists have successfully combined two different ultrathin semiconductors — each just one layer of atoms thick and roughly 100,000 times thinner than a human hair — to make a new two-dimensional heterostructure with potential uses in clean energy and optically-active electronics.
February 11, 2016
Male biology students consistently underestimate female peers, study finds
Female college students are more likely to abandon studies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines than their male classmates, and new research from the University of Washington suggests that those male peers may play a key role in undermining their confidence. Published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, the study found that…
Bellingham Bay buoy an opportunity to observe marine waters for Northwest Indian College, world
The Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction, through its education partner the University of Washington, is deploying an oceanographic observing buoy in Bellingham Bay this week that will allow Northwest Indian College students both hands-on experience with the technology as well as the ability to study the data from their computers, through the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, NANOOS.
Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein’s prediction
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.
February 8, 2016
UW biology professor is a finalist for top conservation prize
P. Dee Boersma, a University of Washington professor of biology and Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science, is one of six finalists for the prestigious Indianapolis Prize for conservation. Boersma is the first UW faculty member nominated for this prize — the highest honor for animal conservationists — which has been awarded every other year since 2006.
UW’s Tom Anderson elected to National Academy of Engineering
Tom Anderson, a University of Washington professor of computer science and engineering and alumnus, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Also elected are UW civil engineering alumnus Jon Magnusson and computer science alumnus Albert Greenberg.
February 4, 2016
‘Pushback’ against constant connectivity also reflected in images, study follow-up finds
People expressing the wish to resist constant online connectivity — dubbed “pushback” by University of Washington Information School researchers — is manifested as powerfully in images as in text, further study has found.
February 2, 2016
UW awarded private, public grants to develop earthquake early warning tool
The UW is among West Coast universities awarded new funding to further develop ShakeAlert, an earthquake early warning system for the region.
Reflections on the habitability of — Planet Earth
We know the Earth is habitable because — well, here we are. But would it look like a good candidate for life from hundreds of light-years away?
Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds
A University of Washington study looked at potential risks associated with growing vegetables in urban gardens and determined that the benefits of locally produced vegetables in cities outweigh any risks from gardening in contaminated soils.
February 1, 2016
UW seismologist speaking at White House earthquake preparedness summit
UW seismologist John Vidale will participate in a White House summit focusing on national earthquake preparedness.
January 29, 2016
Moon’s tidal forces affect amount of rainfall on Earth
Satellite data show that the moon’s gravity puts a slight damper on rainfall on Earth.
January 28, 2016
Study shows U.S. has greater link between low birth weight and inequality
Health disparities are common in developed countries, including the U.S., but at what age those inequities take root and how they vary between countries is less clear. New research from the University of Washington compares the link between income, education and low birth weight in the United States with those in three comparable countries: the…
January 26, 2016
Mathematical model explains huge recurring rainstorms in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans
A new model explains the fundamental features of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which some scientists predict will be the “next El Nino.”
January 25, 2016
New handheld, pen-sized microscope could ID cancer cells in doctor’s offices and operating rooms
UW mechanical engineers are developing a handheld microscope to help doctors and dentists distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells in an office setting or operating room.
January 20, 2016
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensing from mobile devices may help improve bus service
UW transportation engineers have developed an inexpensive system to sense Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals from bus passengers’ mobile devices and collect data to build better transit systems.
January 19, 2016
This smartphone technology 3-D maps your meal and counts its calories
A new laser mapping technology and smartphone app developed by University of Washington electrical engineers allows you to point your phone at a plate of food and get an estimate of the total calories and nutrition.
January 15, 2016
Salsa dance, commerce explored in Juliet McMains’ book ‘Spinning Mambo into Salsa’
Dance professor Juliet McMains discusses her book “Spinning Mambo into Salsa: Caribbean Dance in Global Commerce,” published by Oxford University Press.
January 13, 2016
Fewer than 1 in 25 Seattleites can really eat locally
A new University of Washington study finds that urban crops in Seattle could only feed between 1 and 4 percent of the city’s population, even if all viable backyard and public green spaces were converted to growing produce.
Scientists solve long-standing ecological riddle
Researchers have found clear evidence that communities rich in species are substantially healthier and more productive than those depleted of species, once complicating factors are removed.
January 12, 2016
UW computer scientists to make financial products better and more available for the poor
UW computer scientists, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are launching a new research group to develop technological solutions that will make financial products more available to the lowest-income people around the world.
January 11, 2016
Northwest winter weather: El Niño, coastal effects, no more ‘blob’
What some have called the “Godzilla El Niño” is now lumbering ashore, right on schedule. El Niño tends to influence North American weather after the first of January, and indeed, we’re seeing warm temperatures in Alaska and much-needed rain in California. University of Washington researchers are tracking what the season will deliver to the Pacific…
West Coast study emphasizes challenges faced by marine organisms exposed to global change
Along the West Coast, ocean acidification and hypoxia combine with other factors, such as rising ocean temperatures, to create serious challenges for marine life, a new study finds.
January 8, 2016
Quiet quasar has apparently eaten its fill
Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) announced that a distant quasar ran out of gas. Their conclusions, reported Jan. 8 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, clarify why quasar SDSS J1011+5442 changed so dramatically in the handful of years between observations.
Stir no more: UW scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays
Three scientists at the University of Washington have proposed a way to speed up common bioassays used in research and diagnostics. Their solution, reminiscent of the magic behind washing machines, could reduce wait times to a fraction of what they once were. As they report in the journal Small, biological assays that once took hours could instead take minutes.
January 6, 2016
What motivates people to walk and bike? It varies by income
The built environment influences decisions to walk or bike differently for lower- and higher-income groups, UW researchers have found. Neighborhood density, accessible destinations and fewer vehicles were associated with more walking and biking in lower-income groups, while neighborhood attractiveness was relevant for higher-income groups.
December 29, 2015
#BestofUW: Top news stories of 2015
From a new president and lasers cooling liquids to spotting rare sea creatures and major collaborations, great things have happened at the University of Washington in 2015. Here’s a look back at the top stories of the year. These stories were chosen based on the total number of views they received on our website and are not in any particular order….
No easy answers in UW study of legal marijuana’s impact on alcohol use
Does legal marijuana tempt pot users to consume more alcohol — or are they likely to opt for cannabis instead of chardonnay? A University of Washington team of researchers sought to address those questions in the context of evolving marijuana policies in the United States. Their findings, published online Dec. 21 in the journal Alcoholism:…
December 28, 2015
UW center receives $16M to work on first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs
The UW’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering has won a $16M NSF grant to develop the first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs and restore motor function in stroke or spinal cord injury patients.
December 22, 2015
Dating historic activity at Oso site shows recurring major landslides
The large, fast-moving mudslide that buried much of Oso, Washington in March 2014 was the deadliest landslide in U.S. history. Since then it’s been revealed that this area has experienced major slides before, but it’s not known how long ago they occurred. University of Washington geologists analyzed woody debris buried in earlier slides and used…
December 21, 2015
Rivers, lakes impact ability of forests to store carbon
Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams, a new paper finds.
December 18, 2015
Oxygen provided breath of life that allowed animals to evolve
It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a study co-authored by two University of Washington scientists and led by the University College London.
December 17, 2015
Study: Safety net fails impoverished grandmothers raising children
Increasing numbers of grandmothers across the United States are raising their grandchildren, many of them living in poverty and grappling with a public assistance system not designed to meet their needs. LaShawnDa Pittman, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of American Ethnic Studies, interviewed 77 African American grandmothers living in some of…
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