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Arts and entertainment

May 5, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Sacred Breath: Indigenous Writing and Storytelling Series, Stroum Lectures In Jewish Studies 2022: America’s Jewish Question, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Andrew L. Markus Memorial Lecture: Japanese Propaganda and the Power of Love: Mobilizing the Wartime Empire May 9, 6:30 PM | Kane Hall 225 Historians and cultural critics often identify “exploiting hate” as the primary affective mode of propaganda. Particularly in the context of war, manufacturing a clear division in militarist propaganda between valorous “us” and demonized “them” seems axiomatic. An examination of kamishibai (literally, paper theater), one…

News releases | Research | Science

May 4, 2022

Astronomers discover a rare ’black widow’ binary, with the shortest orbit yet

The flashing of a nearby star drew the attention of a team of astronomers, who discovered that it is part of a rare and mysterious system. As they report in a paper published May 4 in Nature, the stellar oddity appears to be a “black widow binary” — a type of system consisting of a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar, that is circling and slowly consuming a smaller companion star, as its arachnid namesake does to its mate.

Expert quotes

May 3, 2022

Rolling back abortion rights is ‘democratic backsliding,’ UW political scientist says

Sophia Jordán Wallace, associate professor of political science at the University of Washington, explains the implications the draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the constitutional right to an abortion would have on democracy, abortion rights and the midterm elections.

Research | Science | UW News blog

Experiments measure freezing point of extraterrestrial oceans to aid search for life

A planetary scientist worked with engineers to measure the physical limits of a liquid for salty water under high pressure. Results suggest where robotic missions should look for extraterrestrial life on the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Titan.

Expert quotes | Health and medicine | Public Health

UW nursing, midwife experts address abortion issue in light of leaked SCOTUS opinion

Two University of Washington nursing and midwife experts in maternal health have provided the following quotes on the issue of restricting abortion or making it illegal — seen as increasingly likely due to the Supreme Court draft opinion, leaked to Politico on Monday. Molly Altman is an assistant professor in the UW School of Nursing and nurse midwife, whose scientific research focuses on respectful and equitable care during pregnancy and childbirth. Meghan Eagen-Torkko is associate professor and Director of Nursing…

Health and medicine | Population Health | Public Health | UW News blog

Many pathologists agree overdiagnosis of skin cancer happens, but don’t change diagnosis behavior

As the most serious type of skin cancer, a melanoma diagnosis carries emotional, financial and medical consequences. That’s why recent studies finding that there is an overdiagnosis of melanoma are a significant cause for concern. “Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of disease that will not harm a person in their lifetime. If melanoma is being overdiagnosed, it means that too many people are getting the scary news that they have cancer, and receiving and paying for unnecessary treatment,” said Kathleen Kerr,…

Arts and entertainment

April 29, 2022

ArtSci Roundup

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Carving out a brave space: Courage in art May 3, 7:00 PM | HUB Lyceum & Online “Have something to say. Be brave enough to say it. Use your art to change the world.” UW Drama Professor and Head of Directing & Playwriting Valerie Curtis-Newton lives by these words in her directing and teaching career. She urges artists to take risks and inspires audiences to see the world…

Environment | Research | Science | UW News blog

April 28, 2022

Unchecked global emissions on track to initiate mass extinction of marine life

If emissions from greenhouse gases continue, species losses from warming and oxygen depletion of ocean waters could eclipse all other human stressors on marine species by around 2100. Tropical waters would experience the greatest loss of biodiversity, while polar species are at the highest risk of extinction

Expert quotes | Technology

Professor Margaret O’Mara on contextualizing Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase and the future of online speech

University of Washington history professor Margaret O’Mara says Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has renewed debate about freedom of online speech, online content moderation and the power of billionaires to shape public conversation.

News releases | Research | Science

April 26, 2022

Scientists find elusive gas from post-starburst galaxies hiding in plain sight

Scientists once thought that post-starburst galaxies scattered all of their gas and dust — the fuel required for creating new stars — in violent bursts of energy, and with extraordinary speed. Now, a team led by University of Washington postdoctoral researcher Adam Smercina reports that these galaxies don’t scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Instead, after their supposed end, these dormant galaxies hold onto and compress large amounts of highly concentrated, turbulent gas. But contrary to expectation, they’re not using it to form stars.

Global | Profiles | UW and the community | UW News blog

April 25, 2022

La primera: Communication major Paula Thiele breaks in new ‘¡Spain Works!’ internship

Paula Thiele, a communication major who will graduate this spring, became the inaugural scholar to participate in the UW’s new Scholarship for Immersive Internships in León, dubbed “¡Spain Works!” — a partnership between the UW León Center, UW Study Abroad and the UW Career & Internship Center.

News releases

April 22, 2022

Former UW Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Robert Stacey to deliver address for classes of 2020 and 2021 on June 12

Former UW Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Robert Stacey will speak to the graduates of the classes of 2020 and 2021 when they return to Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for an in-person celebration on Sunday, June 12.

News releases | Research | Science

Heavens need environmental protection just like Earth, experts say

Space urgently needs special legal protection similar to that given to land, sea and atmosphere to protect its fragile environment, argues a team of scientists. The scientific, economic and cultural benefits of space should be considered against the damaging environmental impacts posed by an influx of space debris — roughly 60 miles above Earth’s surface — fueled by the rapid growth of so-called satellite mega-constellations. In a paper published April 22 in Nature Astronomy, the authors assert that space is an important environment to preserve on behalf of professional astronomers, amateur stargazers and Indigenous peoples.

Arts and entertainment

April 21, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: A Conversation with Brad Smith, UW Public Lectures: An Evening with Masha Gessen, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Katz Distinguished Lecture: Abderrahmane Sissako April 26, 7:00 PM | Kane Hall 210 What is the place of West Africa in the world and of the world in West Africa? These are the questions that the Oscar- and Palme d’Or-nominated filmmaker Adberrahmane Sissako asks insistently in films that address the impact of World Bank and IMF policies in Mali and beyond (Bamako, 2006), the confrontation between extremist and…

Engineering | News releases | Research | Science

April 20, 2022

Lasers trigger magnetism in atomically thin quantum materials

Researchers have discovered that light — from a laser — can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons “spins,” which have a potential applications in quantum computing. Scientists discovered that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser. By controlling and aligning electron spins at this level of detail and accuracy, this platform could have applications in quantum computing, quantum simulation and other fields. The experiment, led by scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Hong Kong and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was published April 20 in Nature.

Honors and awards | Science | UW Notebook

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.

Arts and entertainment

ArtSci Roundup: School of Art + Art History + Design Graduation Exhibitions, A Conversation with Rep. Adam Smith on US National Security Challenges, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Entwined Like a Word and its Meaning: Reflections on Fifty Years of Sanskrit Studies April 20, 7:00 PM | Online Professor Emeritus Richard Salomon (Department of Asian Languages and Literature, UW) will share some of the insights and inspirations he has gained from studying Sanskrit and classical Indian literature and culture for over fifty years. He will also outline the long-standing tradition of Sanskrit instruction at the University of…

UW Notebook

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.

Arts and entertainment

April 7, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Beauty That Saved Their World: Ukrainian Women’s Arts and Crafts in the Soviet Gulag, Jeremy Denk, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Faculty Recital: Melia Watras: Song: An Endless Flight April 11, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall Violist/composer Melia Watras is joined onstage by narrator Shelia Daniels, violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim and vocalist Carrie Henneman Shaw for a program for the School of Music of newly commissioned music by Alessandra Barrett and Anne…

News releases | Politics and government | Population Health | Public Health | Research

Researchers find patterns of handgun carrying among youth in rural areas, building foundation for injury prevention

The first results of research led by the University of Washington into handgun carrying by young people growing up in rural areas has found six distinct patterns for when and how often these individuals carry a handgun. The patterns, or “longitudinal trajectories,” suggest that youths in rural areas differ in some ways from their urban counterparts when it comes to handgun carrying and provide information for programs designed to help prevent firearm violence and injury. “Because firearms in many rural…

Arts and entertainment

March 31, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: Perspectives on Cosmopolitan Istanbul in the Hit Netflix Series, “The Club”, School of Art + Art History + Design Graduation Exhibitions, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  School of Art + Art History + Design Graduation Exhibitions Ongoing| Jacob Lawrence Art Gallery Join the School of Art + Art History + Design for a series of graduation exhibitions for students receiving Bachelor of Arts degrees in Art. Graduation Exhibition 1: April 6 – 16 Graduation Exhibition 2:…

UW Notebook

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.

For UW employees | News releases | Public Health | Social science | UW and the community | Video

Video: New face mask guidance for UW’s 2022 spring quarter

With the start of spring quarter on March 28, face masks became optional — but still recommended — inside most UW facilities. In light of the policy change, UW News spoke with several experts about what to expect on campus, how the current science and transmission rates inform our policy, and emotions and feelings we may experience as a result of removing our face coverings.

Engineering | Health and medicine | News releases | Research | Science

March 29, 2022

Scientists identify overgrowth of key brain structure in babies who later develop autism

New research from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) Network, which includes the University of Washington, finds that the amygdala, an area of the brain critical for interpreting emotions, grows too rapidly in infants who go on to develop autism.