UW News

College of Arts & Sciences


April 22, 2024

Faculty/staff honors: Rising Star Award for DEI, honors for ornithological work, and more

Bronze 'W' statue in front of the University of Washington campus.

Recent recognition for the University of Washington includes a Rising Star Award, honors for distinguished ornithological work and a Gold Medal Award for Impact in Psychology.


April 18, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Improvised Music Project Festival, Modern Abortion Around the World Panel, Taiwan’s Pop Music and more

This week, join the Jackson School for International Studies for a panel on Modern Abortion Around the World, head to Meany Hall for the Improvised Music Project Festival, celebrate Taiwan’s pop music, and much more. April 22, 3:30 – 5:00 pm | ‘Genbaku Otome: Reconsidering the “Hiroshima Maidens”’ with Kim Brandt (Columbia University), Thomson Hall…


Two UW researchers named AAAS Fellows

A tradition dating back to 1874, election as an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor, and all fellows are expected to meet the commonly held standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.


April 15, 2024

Q&A: How claims of anti-Christian bias can serve as racial dog whistles

A brown, leather Bible on its side with the spine facing the camera. The background is white.

A new University of Washington study showed that white and Black Christians perceived a politician concerned about anti-Christian bias as caring more about anti-white bias, being more willing to fight for white people and as less offensive than one concerned about anti-white bias.


April 11, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Center for Environmental Politics talk, ‘What Makes a Good Art Critic?’, Yefim Bronfman at Meany Hall and more

This week, head to Meany Hall for multiple Grammy Awards recipient Yefim Bronfman’s performance, learn from panelists during “What Makes a Good Art Critic?”, explore “The Imperative Challenges of Sustainability for the Forgotten” during the Center for Environmental Politics’ talk, and more. April 15, 3:30 – 5:00 pm | TALK | ‘Silver Democracy: Youth Representation…


April 10, 2024

Ranking: UW recognized as among the best in the world

building

The University of Washington has been named one of the world’s top universities, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject released Wednesday.


April 8, 2024

UW graduate and professional disciplines have strong showing on US News’ Best Graduate Schools rankings

campus photo with blooming trees

The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings released late Monday.


April 4, 2024

Q&A: Eclipses aren’t just good for jaw-dropping views — they’re also opportunities for stellar science, says UW astronomer

white circle on black background

Eclipses past and present aren’t just opportunities for incredible sights. Generations of researchers have used them to study phenomena ranging from the sun itself to the fabric of the universe. UW News intervewed Emily Levesque, author and associate professor of astronomy, about what scientists past and present have learned by studying eclipses.


April 3, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Chris Thile at Meany Hall, Northwest Sinfonietta, First Nations Spring Powwow, and more

This week, check out the 53rd Annual First Nations Spring Powwow, head to Meany Hall for a concert by Grammy Award-winning artist Chris Thile, enjoy the Northwest Sinfonietta’s performance with UW piano students, and more. April 11, 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Talking Gender in Europe Lecture Series | The Double-Helix Entanglements of Transnational Advocacy:…


March 28, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: DXARTS Time and Time Again Exhibition, Meany Hall Concert, Colloquium Lectures and more

This week, head to the Henry Art Gallery for the Freedom in Failure: “That’s how the light gets in” program, learn how virtual reality platforms can advance personalized treatment options for patients, visit the DXARTS gallery for Time and Time Again, and more. April 3, 12:30 pm | First Wednesday Concert Series: Students of the UW…


March 6, 2024

Scientists CT-scanned thousands of natural history specimens, which you can access for free

Natural history museums have entered a new stage of discovery and accessibility — one where scientists around the globe and curious folks at home can access valuable museum specimens to study, learn or just be amazed. This new era follows the completion of openVertebrate, or oVert, a five-year collaborative project among 18 institutions to create 3D reconstructions of vertebrate specimens and make them freely available online. The team behind this endeavor, which includes scientists at the University of Washington and its Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, published a summary of the project March 6 in the journal BioScience, offering a glimpse of how the data can be used to ask new questions and spur the development of innovative technology.


February 28, 2024

UW graduate receives prestigious Gates Cambridge scholarship

woman in library

Sonia Fereidooni, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Washington, was selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Fereidooni, 22, will receive a full-cost scholarship to pursue doctoral work in Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge, England. The highly competitive scholarship brings recognition of accomplishments and future promise. This year, 26 students…


February 27, 2024

Q&A: Decline in condom use indicates need for further education, awareness

Two red condom wrappers on a light purple background

New research from Steven Goodreau, University of Washington professor of anthropology, shows that condom use has been trending downward among younger gay and bisexual men over the last decade, even when they aren’t taking pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.


February 22, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: War in the Middle East Lecture Series, Dance Majors Concert, Borden Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry, and more

This week, attend the War in the Middle East Lecture Series, check out the Dance Majors Concert, listen to the Weston and Sheila Borden Endowed Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry, and more. February 26, 7:30 pm | Baroque Ensemble: Telemannia, Brechemin Auditorium The UW Baroque Ensemble, led by director Tekla Cunningham, will perform works by Telemann…


February 15, 2024

First-ever atomic freeze-frame of liquid water

In an experiment akin to stop-motion photography, an international team co-led by University of Washington scientists has isolated the energetic movement of an electron in a sample of liquid water — while “freezing” the motion of the much larger atom it orbits.


February 8, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Journeys of Black Mathematicians, Circa Performance, Building Scyborgs Lecture, and more

This week, head to Kane Hall for the film screening of Journeys of Black Mathematicians: Forging Resilience, attend K. Wayne Yang’s discussion on scyborgs and decolonization, enjoy next level circus by the Australian contemporary circus group Circa, and more. February 12, 3:30 – 5:00 pm | Black Soldiers and the Racial Debilitation of Slavery and…


Foul fumes pose pollinator problems

Scientists at the University of Washington have discovered that nighttime air pollution — coming primarily from car exhaust and power plant emissions — is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity. Nitrate radicals (NO3) in the air degrade the scent chemicals released by a common wildflower, drastically reducing the scent-based cues that its chief pollinators rely on to locate the flower. The findings, published Feb. 9 in Science, are the first to show how nighttime pollution creates a chain of chemical reactions that degrades scent cues, leaving flowers undetectable by smell. The researchers also determined that pollution likely has worldwide impacts on pollination.


February 1, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: The Big Read, Guest Pianist Recital, Neuroinclusive Teaching Strategies, and more

This week, check out the Guest Pianist Recital with Alexandre Dossin, learn about neurodiverse teaching strategies with Hala Annabi, attend The Big Read hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, and more. February 6, 7:30 pm | Guest Pianist Recital: Alexandre Dossin, University of Oregon, Brechemin Auditorium The School of Music has invited pianist…


January 25, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Katz Distinguished Lecture, Book Talks, Michelle Cann Piano Performance, and more

This week, listen to the Katz Distinguished Lecture series led by Sasha Su-Ling Welland, join a book talk event with Dr. Alexander Bubb, be awed by Michelle Cann’s piano performance, and more. January 26, 10:00 – 11:00 am | 18/19 GRC Book Talk: Asian Classics on the Victorian Bookshelf with Dr. Alexander Bubb, Zoom UW…


January 18, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: History Lecture Series, Meany Center Dance Performance, “A Kabluna” Film Screening, and more

This week, attend the History Lecture Series on Mediterranean Imprints and Erasures in Seattle, view the film screening of A Kabluna at the University of Washington, head to Meany Hall to enjoy Spain’s premiere dance group Compañía Nacional de Danza, and more. January 22, 7:30 pm | Frequency: Variations, Meany Hall Chamber group Frequency—violinists Michael Jinsoo Lim and…


January 11, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: Patty Berne on Disability Justice, UW Dance Presents, Interrupting Privilege Museum Exhibition, and more

This week, join Patty Berne for a talk on disability justice, enjoy an evening of live dance performance created by UW Dance, head to the Northwest African American Museum for an Interrupting Privilege Museum Exhibition, and more. January 17, 3:30 pm | Book Talk: U.S. – Taiwan Relations with Bonnie Glaser, Husky Union Building and Online…


January 5, 2024

Husky football players take their skills from the field to the classroom and beyond

Holly Barker, a University of Washington teaching professor of anthropology, and three current members of the UW football team — Ulumoo Ale, Makell Esteen and Faatui Tuitele — are studying how the skills they develop to maximize their chances of victory on the field have applications outside the stadium. Their work, which is ongoing, is showing that the research methods and analytical abilities of student-athletes are applicable in academic and research settings, as well as jobs in a variety of fields.


December 19, 2023

Scientists reveal superconductor with on/off switches

Researchers led by Jiun-Haw Chu, a University of Washington associate professor of physics, and Philip Ryan, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, have found a superconducting material that is uniquely sensitive to outside stimuli, enabling the superconducting properties to be enhanced or suppressed at will. This discovery could enable new opportunities for switchable, energy-efficient superconducting circuits.


December 12, 2023

Holiday blahs? Why social connection, even talking to strangers, can help

A close up of two women and a girl that look like family, looking at a book or a screen and sharing a laugh.

Milla Titova, assistant teaching professor of psychology and director of the Happiness and Well-Being Lab at the UW, offers strategies for joy this holiday season.


December 11, 2023

New faculty books: Story and comic collection, Washington state fossils, colonial roots of intersex medicine

Three book covers on a wooden table background

Three new faculty books from the University of Washington cover wide-ranging topics: life in the Rio Grande Valley, fossils of Washington state and the colonial roots of contemporary intersex medicine. UW News talked with the authors to learn more. Collection highlights life in Rio Grande Valley “Puro Pinche True Fictions” is a collection of short…


December 6, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: Pints for Puget Sound, Many Messiahs music performance, Native Art Markets, and more

This week, roam the Burke Museum galleries at night to check out their special exhibit We Are Puget Sound, enjoy the Many Messiahs performance by talented musicians, check out the Native Art Markets, and more. December 11, 7:00 pm | Degree Recital: Chiao-Yu Wu, piano, Brechemin Auditorium The School of Music presents a degree recital…


November 30, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: WinterFest, Ladino Day with Author Elizabeth Graver, Talk with Joss Whittaker, and more

This week, tune in to Kantika writer Elizabeth Graver’s discussion, Joss Whittaker’s recount on life in the Aru Islands, and the WinterFest presented by the Chamber Singers, University Chorale, University Singers, Treble Choir, Gospel Choir, and UW Glee Club, and more. Dec. 3, 10 a.m. | Ladino Day 2023: ‘Kantika’, a Sephardic Novel by Author Elizabeth…


November 13, 2023

UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences maintains No. 1 global ranking; more than two dozen UW subjects in top 50

campus entrance

Six University of Washington subjects ranked in the top 10, and atmospheric sciences maintained its position as No. 1 in the world on the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects list for 2023. The ranking, released at the end of October, was conducted by researchers at the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, a fully independent organization dedicated to research on higher education intelligence and consultation.


November 8, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: Diversity Lecture Series, Jacob Lawrence Gallery Reopening, Sacred Breath, and more.

This week, attend the Diversity Lecture Series “Unveiling Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States”, celebrate the Jacob Lawrence Gallery Reopening, listen to Indigenous storytellers at Sacred Breath, and more. November 13, 3:00 – 4:30pm | Diversity Lecture Series: “Unveiling Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States: Disparities and Challenges in Women’s Health”,…


November 2, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: UW Pandemic Project Radical Listening Session, National First-Generation College Celebration, and more

This week, attend the UW Pandemic Project’s Radical Listening Session to honor each individual’s lived pandemics experiences, head to Meany Hall for Garrick Ohlsson’s piano performance, celebrate Diwali with the Burke Museum, and more. November 7, 4:30 – 6:00pm | Sharon Stein, “The University and Its Responsibility for Repair: Confronting Colonial Foundations and Enabling Different…


October 26, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: Grammy-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth, Labor Studies Annual Awards Celebration, and more

This week, check out Grammy-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth’s performance, an ingenious dark comedy written by Jen Silverman, attend the Labor Studies Annual Awards Celebration Banquet, and more. November 2, 7:30pm | Roomful of Teeth with Gabriel Kahane, Meany Hall  The Grammy-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth continue to expand the capabilities of the…


Fruit, nectar, bugs and blood: How bat teeth and jaws evolved for a diverse dinnertime

There are more than 200 species of noctilionoid bats, mostly in the American tropics. And despite being close relatives, their jaws evolved in wildly divergent shapes and sizes to exploit different food sources. A paper published Aug. 22 in Nature Communications shows those adaptations include dramatic, but also consistent, modifications to tooth number, size, shape and position. For example, bats with short snouts lack certain teeth, presumably due to a lack of space. Species with longer jaws have room for more teeth — and, like humans, their total tooth complement is closer to what the ancestor of placental mammals had.


October 19, 2023

ArtSci Roundup: Fall Concert with DXARTS, Dance Graduate Research Symposium and more

This week, check out the Fall Concert hosted by DXARTS (Department of Digital Arts and Experimental Media), attend the Dance Graduate Research Symposium, listen to guest composer concerts, and more. October 25, 7:30pm | DXARTS FALL CONCERT: Ritual-Entropy-Storm, Meany Hall  Join the Department of Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) as they host a Fall…


October 18, 2023

UW’s Chandan Reddy named one of six ‘Freedom Scholars’ for work on race, gender and sexuality

Chandan Reddy, an associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies and of the comparative history of ideas at the University of Washington, has been named a “Freedom Scholar” by the Marguerite Casey Foundation.


October 17, 2023

Closing in on the elusive neutrino

In a paper published Sept. 6 in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers in the United States, Germany and France reported that a distinctive strategy they have used shows real promise to be the first approach to measure the mass of the neutrino. Once fully scaled up, their collaboration — Project 8 — could also reveal how neutrinos influenced the early evolution of the universe as we know it.


UW’s Briana Abrahms chosen as a Packard Fellow for 2023

Briana Abrahms, a University of Washington assistant professor of biology and researcher with the UW Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, has been named a 2023 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, according to an Oct. 16 announcement from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. As one of 20 new fellows across the country, Abrahms, who holds the Boersma Endowed Chair in Natural History and Conservation, will receive $875,000 over five years for her research.


October 10, 2023

“Ways of Knowing” Episode 8: Translation

When you hear a cover of a favorite song, comparisons are inevitable. There are obvious similarities – the lyrics, the melody – but there are also enough differences to make each version unique. Those deviations say more than you might expect.     Maya Angela Smith, associate of professor of French at the University of…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 7: Material Culture

Picture a series of uniform mounds of earth, each about 6-feet high. Enclosing 50 acres, the mounds form an octagon that is connected to a circle. This is The Octagon Earthworks, located in central Ohio, and it’s one of thousands of Indigenous mounds across the eastern half of North America.     Chadwick Allen is…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 6: Visual Literacy

An empty wallet, a hairbrush, a diaper. These are just a few of the items left behind by migrants at the United States-Mexico border, photographed for a 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Diana Ruíz discusses how the same images can be used on both sides of the same debate. In…


“Ways of Knowing” Episode 5: Disability Studies

Who gets to be a superhero? What about a villain? It depends on where you look. In the 1940s, comic book villains were often distinguished from heroes through physical disability. That changed in the 1960s and 70s, when it became more common for heroes – think Daredevil and Professor X – to be built around…



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