UW News
The latest news from the UW
December 3, 2020
UW statement on the termination of professor John Sahr
In October 2019, the UW shared information about the results of a University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office (UCIRO) investigation into alleged sexual misconduct on the part of John Sahr, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and former interim director of the Robinson Center for Young Scholars. The adjudication proceeding has concluded and Sahr’s employment was terminated on Nov. 12, and his tenure has been revoked.
Tire-related chemical is largely responsible for adult coho salmon deaths in urban streams
A team led by researchers at UW Tacoma, UW and Washington State University Puyallup has discovered a chemical that kills coho salmon in urban streams before the fish can spawn.
Tag(s): Center for Urban Waters • College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Edward Kolodziej • Jenifer McIntyre • UW Tacoma • Washington State University • Zhenyu Tian
Leaving so soon? Unusual planetary nebula fades mere decades after it arrived
The tiny Stingray Nebula unexpectedly appeared in the 1980s is by far the youngest planetary nebula in our sky. But a team of astronomers recently analyzed a more recent image of the nebula, taken in 2016 by Hubble, and found that it has faded significantly and changed shape over the course of just 20 years. If dimming continues at current rates, in 20 or 30 years the Stingray Nebula will be barely perceptible.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • Bruce Balick • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy
How a police contact by middle school leads to different outcomes for Black, white youth
A new University of Washington study finds that Black youth are more likely than white youth to be treated as “usual suspects” after a first encounter with police, leading to subsequent arrests over time. Even as white young adults report engaging in significantly more illegal behavior, Black young adults face more criminal penalties.
Tag(s): Annie McGlynn-Wright • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Kevin Haggerty • Robert Crutchfield • School of Social Work • Social Development Research GroupDecember 2, 2020
COVID-19 vaccines may not prevent spread of virus, so mask-wearing, other protections still critical
Excitement and relief over news of vaccines that help prevent people from getting sick, winding up in the hospital or dying from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are warranted, says University of Washington’s Dr. Larry Corey. But, these messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines may not prevent people from getting infected or spreading the virus….
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center • Larry Corey • School of Medicine • vaccines
‘Performing Flight’: UW drama professor Scott Magelssen’s book studies aviation through perspective of performance studies
A talk with UW drama professor Scott Magelssen, who explores American aviation from the perspective of performance studies in his new book “Performing Flight.”
Tag(s): School of Drama • Scott Magelssen
Scientists organize to tackle crisis of coral bleaching
At the current rate of global warming, mass coral bleaching is expected to become more frequent and severe worldwide. An international consortium of scientists, including a coral researcher from the University of Washington, has created the first-ever common framework for increasing comparability of research findings on coral bleaching.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Jacqueline Padilla-Gamiño • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesNovember 30, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Katz Lecture: Remaking the Silicon Society, The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump, and more
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Katz…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Dance • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Drama • School of Music • Simpson Center for the Humanities • UW Alumni Association
Washington nonprofits feel more urgency during this ‘season of giving’
Nonprofit organizations throughout Washington state are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, as revenues and volunteering drop but demand for services remains high.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Erica Barnhart • Evans School of Public Policy & Governance • Mary Kay Gugerty • Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits and PhilanthropyNovember 24, 2020
Microbes help unlock phosphorus for plant growth
A research team led by the University of Washington and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has shown that microbes taken from trees growing beside pristine mountain-fed streams in Western Washington could make phosphorus trapped in soils more accessible to agricultural crops. The findings were published in October in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences • Sharon Doty
UW public health expert calls on state officials, citizens to defend and rebuild public health agencies
Even before the pandemic and disagreements over social restrictions recommended by public health officials across the state, public health agencies in Washington were struggling due to a lack of resources. In recent weeks, firings, resignations and death threats targeting local health officials has led to a staffing crisis in the agencies most responsible for local…
Tag(s): Betty Bekemeier • COVID-19 • Northwest Center for Public Health Practice • population health • School of Nursing
Study shows plant extinction is more common than previously realized
A new study reveals that 65 plant species have gone extinct in the continental United States and Canada since European settlement, more extinctions than any previous scientific study has ever documented.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Department of Biology • Richard Olmstead
Faculty/staff honors: Grants received, a top ‘Innovator Under 35’ and a career political science award
Recent honors and awards for UW faculty and staff include a top young innovator, a new endowed faculty fellow, research grants awarded and a career achievement award in environmental political science.
Tag(s): Alshakim Nelson • Aseem Prakash • Center for Digital Fabrication • Center for Environmental Politics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • Department of Political Science • Information School • James Carothers • Jill McKinstry • Joshua Smith • Lilo Pozzo • Machine Agency • Miranda Berlarde-Lewis • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Four UW faculty members named AAAS fellows for 2020
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has named four University of Washington faculty members as AAAS Fellows, according to a Nov. 24 announcement from the organization. The four are part of a cohort of 489 new fellows for 2020, which were chosen by their peers for “their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Daniel Raftery • Daniel Weld • Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine • Department of Physiology & Biophysics • Eberhard Fetz • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Pedro Domingos • School of Medicine
Q&A: Animal Crossing to K-pop: Gaming, music fandom groups provide human connection during the pandemic
In this Q&A, UW Information School associate professor Jin Ha Lee discusses how video game and music fandom communities can be “places of light” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Information School • Jin Ha LeeNovember 23, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Ladino Day 2020, Commemorating the Centennial of the Negro Leagues in baseball, Meany Center presents Ragamala Dance Company, and More
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Ladino…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Dance • Department of History • Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Sephardic Studies Program • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
US seafood industry flounders due to COVID-19
The global pandemic is hurting the seafood industry, and American fishmongers may flounder without more government aid, according to the largest study of COVID-19’s impacts on U.S. fisheries.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • Trevor BranchNovember 19, 2020
UW celebrates more than 50 researchers on Highly Cited Researchers 2020 List
The University of Washington is proud to announce that more than 50 UW faculty and researchers have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list from Clarivate.
Tag(s): Rankings
The 2020 census: deadlines, politics and what may come next
The 2020 census has been subject to court fights, shifting deadlines and pandemic-related process adjustments. Sara Curran, director of the UW Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, explains the developments with this year’s count.
Tag(s): Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Sociology • Evans School of Public Policy & Governance • Jackson School of International Studies • Sara Curran
UW ranked No. 7 nationally for graduate entrepreneurship in 2021 Princeton Review rankings
A commitment to innovation powered the University of Washington to a No. 7 ranking for graduate entrepreneurship programs by The Princeton Review. The 2021 ranking marks an all-time high — solidifying UW and the Foster School of Business as a leader in entrepreneurial education and incubation within the Pac-12 and across the Western United States.
Tag(s): Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship • CoMotion • Foster School of Business • RankingsNovember 18, 2020
UW introduces new minor in data science
Responding to the burgeoning amounts of data being generated across disciplines, and the development of new tools for working with these data, the University of Washington now offers a minor track for non-STEM students in data science. It’s one of the first such programs in the country.
Tag(s): Ben Marwick • data science
Lisa Graumlich, dean of UW College of the Environment, named president-elect of AGU
The American Geophysical Union announced that its members have elected Lisa Graumlich, dean of the UW College of the Environment, as the president-elect starting Jan. 1. After two years in this role Graumlich will begin a two-year term as president of the AGU board beginning in 2023.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Lisa Graumlich • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
ArtSci Roundup: Lessons (Not) Learned from the Holocaust, What to Watch, Read, and Listen to at Home, and Drawing Wild Washington
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Lessons…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Cinema & Media Studies • Department of Dance • Department of English • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Department of Slavic Languages and Literature • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • Stroum Center for Jewish Studies • University Book Store • UW Alumni Association • UW LibrariesNovember 17, 2020
UW part of $5.8M contract to study wireless charging on moon
A team of organizations — led by the space technology company Astrobotic and including the University of Washington and the UW spinout WiBotic — has received a $5.8 million contract to develop a line of lightweight, ultrafast wireless chargers that could help both humans and robots live and work on the moon.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Joshua Smith • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringNovember 14, 2020
B-roll: UW welcomes back Tent City 3 for winter quarter 2021
Download this B-roll here. The University of Washington welcomes back Tent City 3 — an organized tent-city community — to its Seattle campus for 90 days during winter quarter 2021. Move-in is scheduled to begin Dec. 19. The UW previously hosted Tent City 3 in winter 2017, in the same location it will be…
November 13, 2020
Addressing homelessness: UW to welcome back Tent City 3 for winter quarter 2021
Homelessness is a crisis in Washington and across the U.S. Last year, an annual count revealed that in King County alone, 11,200 people reported being homeless at the time of the survey. The numbers have only increased during the pandemic.
Tag(s): homelessness
More to watch: UW Libraries expands online resources during pandemic, emphasizing arts, equity
Students in the arts and other fields will have greater access to research texts and media thanks to an expansion of online resources by UW Libraries to help meet the needs of remote learning during the pandemic.
Tag(s): Academic Video Online • Classical Scores Library • Drama Online Core Collection • UW LibrariesNovember 12, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Rick Steves at UW Global Month, Beethoven Piano Trios, Lessons (Not) Learned from the Holocaust, and more
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Livestream:…
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Communication • Department of Geography • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Jacob Lawrence Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Music • Stroum Center for Jewish StudiesNovember 9, 2020
Professor Margaret O’Mara on history around election concessions nationally and in Washington
Concessions from U.S. presidents usually happen quickly, without drama, says UW history professor Margaret O’Mara.
Tag(s): Department of History • Margaret O'Mara • politicsNovember 5, 2020
New global archive logs changes in behavior of Arctic animals
Scientists from around the world, including the University of Washington, have established the Arctic Animal Movement Archive, an online repository for data documenting the movements of animals in the Arctic and Subarctic. With this archive, scientists can share their knowledge and collaborate to ask questions about how animals are responding to a changing climate.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Laura Prugh • School of Environmental and Forest SciencesNovember 4, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: New atmospheric research board trustee; prize-winning fiction; PBS show consultant
A University of Washington meteorologist joins a national board for atmospheric research, an English professor’s story is honored and a Jackson School faculty member helps with research for a PBS show.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • David Crouse • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Department of English • Devin Naar • Jackson School of International Studies • Sephardic Studies Program • Shuyi ChenNovember 3, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Global Challenges Discussion, Katz Lecture: Abderrahmane Sissako, and more
During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online. Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT. Lessons…
Tag(s): African Studies Program • ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Comparative History of Ideas Program • Department of American Ethnic Studies • Department of Dance • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Department of Gender Women and Sexuality Studies • Department of History • Henry Art Gallery • Jackson School of International Studies • Jazz • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music • Simpson Center for the Humanities • Stroum Center for Jewish StudiesNovember 2, 2020
Video: Free coronavirus testing for UW community open for more enrollment
The Husky Coronavirus Testing program, powered by the Seattle Flu Study, launched on Sept. 24 and now has more than 12,500 members of the UW community enrolled and has conducted more than 10,000 tests.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • population health
Break it up: Polymer derived from material in shrimp’s shells could deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumor sites
A University of Washington team led by Miqin Zhang, a professor of materials science and engineering and of neurological surgery, has developed a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely. Their nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that, among other things, makes up the outer shells of shrimp.
Tag(s): cancer • College of Engineering • Department of Materials Science & Engineering • Department of Neurological Surgery • Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems • Miqin Zhang • Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute • School of Medicine
Flying through wildfire smoke plumes could improve smoke forecasts
The biggest study yet of West Coast wildfire plumes shows how a smoke plume’s chemistry changes over time. Results suggest current models may not accurately predict the air quality downwind of a wildfire.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Joel Thornton • pollution • wildfires
No social distancing in the Cretaceous: New study finds earliest evidence for mammal social behavior
A new study led by paleontologists at the University of Washington indicates that the earliest evidence of mammal social behavior goes back to the Age of Dinosaurs. A multituberculate that lived 75.5 million years ago, Filikomys primaevus engaged in multi-generational, group-nesting and burrowing behavior, and possibly lived in colonies.
Tag(s): Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • evolution • Gregory Wilson Mantilla • paleontologyOctober 30, 2020
‘2020: The Course’ ponders the meaning of this unusual year
For a time unlike any before, the University of Washington has developed “2020: The Course,” a new online class for UW students that helps contextualize this year’s extraordinary events and societal upheaval. “2020: The Course” gives students an opportunity to hear from UW professors and special guests who will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, race in the United States, the state of the environment, the economic recession, civic participation, citizenship and this election season and outcomes.
Tag(s): College of Education • Information School • Undergraduate Academic AffairsOctober 29, 2020
UW Space Policy and Research Center brings researchers, policymakers together for online symposium Nov. 6
A preview of the Nov. 6 SPARC Symposium, which will feature a conversation with Andy Weir, author of “The Martian.”
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • College of the Environment • Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Jackson School of International Studies • Kristi Morgansen • Ryan Calo • Saadia Pekkanen • School of Law • Space Policy and Research Center • Technology Law and Public Policy Clinic • Tim Elam • William Covington
Models show how COVID-19 cuts a neighborhood path
A research team led by UC Irvine and the University of Washington has created a new model of how the coronavirus can spread through a community. The model factors in network exposure — whom one interacts with — and demographics to simulate at a more detailed level both where and how quickly the coronavirus could spread through Seattle and 18 other major cities.
Tag(s): Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology • College of Arts & Sciences • COVID-19 • Department of Sociology • eScience Institute • population health • Zack Almquist
UW awarded $23.5M to build floating robots as part of NSF project to monitor the world’s oceans
The University of Washington is among leading U.S. oceanographic institutions that have received National Science Foundation funding to build and deploy 500 robotic ocean-monitoring floats to monitor the chemistry and biology of the world’s oceans.
Tag(s): Alison Gray • College of the Environment • oceanography • School of Oceanography • Stephen Riser« Previous Page Next Page »
