UW News
The latest news from the UW
June 10, 2020
Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students
Researchers examined 15 years of records of student performance, education and demographics for chemistry courses at the University of Washington. They found that underrepresented students received lower grades in the general chemistry series compared to their peers and, if the grade was sufficiently low, were less likely to continue in the series and more likely to leave STEM. But if underrepresented students completed the first general chemistry course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue in the series, they were more likely than their peers to continue the general chemistry series and complete this major step toward a STEM degree.
Tag(s): Biology Education Research Group • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Biology • Department of Chemistry • education • Scott FreemanJune 9, 2020
Video: Health care workers march to protest racism as a public health risk
Thousands of doctors, nurses, health care workers and public health experts from the University of Washington and other medical institutions turned out in downtown Seattle on June 6 to demand an end to systemic racism and calling for police reform.
Tag(s): COVID-19
Volcanic activity and changes in Earth’s mantle were key to rise of atmospheric oxygen
Evidence from rocks billions of years old suggest that volcanoes played a key role in the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere of the early Earth.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • David Catling • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • geologyJune 8, 2020
Early childhood intervention programs may reap benefits across generations
New research from a decades-long study by the University of Washington and the University of Colorado shows long-term benefits from a program to prevent problem behaviors in children.
Tag(s): College of Education • David Hawkins • Marina Epstein • population health • Richard Catalano • Rick Kosterman • Robert Abbott • School of Social Work • Social Development Research GroupJune 5, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: School of Art + Art History + Design graduation exhibitions, [Here/Now] interview series, 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.
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Center for Child and Family Well-Being • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Dance • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of MusicJune 4, 2020
UW guidelines helping to ramp up research safely during COVID-19
Mary Lidstrom, vice provost for research at the University of Washington, talks about the evolving picture of research at the UW in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Mary Lidstrom • Office of Research • population health • workplace safety
22 UW students receive Fulbright awards
Twenty-two UW students and alumni were awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year, joining about 1,900 students and recent graduates from around the country to study and teach abroad, once and if international travel resumes.
Tag(s): Fulbright ProgramJune 2, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: East Asia Resource Center grant; career awards in robotics, information processing
Recent honors to UW faculty and staff have come from the British Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group, the Freeman Foundation and the IEEE.
Tag(s): Chirag Shah • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • East Asia Resource Center • Information School • Jackson School of International Studies • Jaime Teevan • Kristi Roundtree • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringMay 29, 2020
Researchers use brain imaging to demonstrate weaker neural suppression in individuals with autism
In a paper published May 29 in Nature Communications, a team of scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Minnesota and the Johns Hopkins University reports that differences in visual motion perception in autism spectrum disorder are accompanied by weaker neural “suppression” in the visual cortex of the brain, which may help scientists understand sensory hypersensitivity in people with ASD.
Tag(s): autism • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Psychology • population health • Scott Murray
UW launches online training for contact tracing to help fight COVID-19
As businesses and public spaces reopen across the nation, the old-school public health detective work known as contact tracing is becoming a major component of the battle to contain the novel coronavirus that causes the deadly COVID-19 disease. It’s an investigative strategy long used for finding and informing people exposed to contagious diseases, such as…
Tag(s): Betty Bekemeier • COVID-19 • Janet Baseman • Northwest Center for Public Health Practice • population health • Sarah Manchanda • School of Nursing • School of Public HealthMay 28, 2020
The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA
A new study in Nature Microbiology shows that the most common organism in the world’s oceans — and possibly the whole planet — harbors a virus in its DNA. This virus may have helped it survive and outcompete other organisms. The study began as a UW School of Oceanography senior thesis.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • genetics & DNA • marine microbiology • microbes and viruses • oceanography • Robert Morris • School of Oceanography
Charles Johnson muses on ‘the art of living’ in new book ‘GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life’
Charles Johnson has written novels and short stories, screenplays and philosophical meditations, but his latest book is something different, and very personal. “GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life” was published May 5.
Tag(s): Charles Johnson • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of English
UW launches new Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences with $2.5 million investment from Microsoft
The University of Washington today announced the establishment of the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE). Fueled by a $2.5 million inaugural investment from Microsoft, UW CREATE is led by an interdisciplinary team whose mission is to make technology accessible and to make the world accessible through technology.
Tag(s): Ana Mari Cauce • Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences • College of Engineering • Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering • Department of Mechanical Engineering • Information School • Jacob Wobbrock • Jennifer Mankoff • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • School of MedicineMay 27, 2020
UW experts on challenges to worker safety in meat processing industry
Meat processing plants face challenges in keeping workers safe during the pandemic. Carrie Freshour, a UW assistant professor of geography, and Marissa Baker, an assistant professor in the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and an expert on worker safety related to infectious diseases, provides comments on what the industry can do to protect workers.
Tag(s): Carrie Freshour • College of Arts & Sciences • COVID-19 • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Geography • Marissa Baker • population health • School of Public Health
ArtSci Roundup: Pandemic Then (and Now), UW Bothell 2020 MFA Spring Festival, 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. …
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Center for Child and Family Well-Being • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Dance • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music
Cosmic bursts unveil universe’s missing matter
An international team of astronomers has used mysterious fast radio bursts to solve a decades-old mystery of “missing matter,” material long predicted to exist in the universe but never detected — until now. The researchers have now found all of the missing “normal” matter in the vast space between stars and galaxies. The team, which includes scientists based in Australia, the United States and Chile, announced its findings in a paper published May 27 in the journal Nature.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • Matthew McQuinnMay 26, 2020
Gift promotes added diversity at UW School of Law
The University of Washington today announced a $250,000 gift from UW Regent Blaine Tamaki and his wife, Preciosa Tamaki, to the School of Law to support efforts to increase diversity, provide students with greater access to mental health resources, and support the work of UW Law faculty and students in the Tribal Court Clinic, part of the Native American Law Center.
Tag(s): Blaine Tamaki • School of LawMay 22, 2020
Video: How cloth face masks protect people during the pandemic
The dean of the UW School of Public Health shares information about using face coverings, including what kinds of masks are appropriate to wear and how they protect people.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Hilary Godwin • School of Public Health
Q&A: UW’s Teresa Ward talks us through sleep troubles during the COVID-19 pandemic
A UW sleep expert sat down with UW News to provide some perspective on sleep during the pandemic, and what we can do to help ourselves and our families get through this time a little more well-rested.
Tag(s): Center for Innovation in Sleep Self-Management • COVID-19 • population health • School of Nursing • Teresa Ward
Book notes: Harborview administrator Amy Mower publishes volume of stories, poems about ultramarathon running
It’s one thing to run a marathon for 26.2 miles. But what possesses some people to run 100 miles or more, and do it again and again? “Salvation,” answers Amy Mower in a new book about ultramarathon running, “or at least a very good time.”
Tag(s): Amy Mower • Harborview Medical CenterMay 21, 2020
Survey follow-up: UW research team seeks campus input on continuing COVID-19 mobility impacts
Three professors are teaming for a study of the mobility impacts of the coronavirus — and they are inviting UW faculty, staff and students to complete a short online survey to assist the research.
Tag(s): Anne Vernez Moudon • College of Built Environments • College of Engineering • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Department of Urban Design and Planning • Jeff Ban • Qing Shen
NOAA selects UW to host new, regional institute for climate, ocean and ecosystem research
A 5-year, up to $300 million grant from NOAA establishes the new Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, a UW-based institute with partners at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Oregon State University. The institute will lead collaborative, multidisciplinary research and education activities around oceans and climate.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • John Horne • School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesMay 19, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Former Prime Minister of Italy Talk, Pandemic Urbanism Symposium, 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. Former…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of History • Department of Political Science • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Art + Art History + Design • School of Drama • School of Music • UW Drama
Campus colleagues: Curtis Takahashi — academic adviser, live radio ‘sound effects dude’
How do you make the sound of birds flying for a radio broadcast? Flapping leather gloves will do. Curtis Takahashi of UW Bothell’s Career Development Program talks about his side gig of providing sound effects for local live radio broadcasts.
Tag(s): Curtis Takahashi • UW BothellMay 18, 2020
Soundbites: UW dean of public health gives advice on where and how (and how not) to wear masks
Beginning May 18, King County is directing people to wear face coverings in most public settings. Expert Hilary Godwin answers questions about the directive and shares information about using face coverings.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Hilary Godwin • School of Public Health
COVID-19: UW study reports ‘staggering’ death toll in US among those infected who show symptoms
COVID-19 is a lot more deadly than the flu, according to a new study by the University of Washington published May 7 in the journal Health Affairs. The study’s results also project a grim future if the U.S. doesn’t put up a strong fight against the spread of the virus.
Tag(s): Anirban Basu • COVID-19 • COVID-19 studies • population health • School of PharmacyMay 15, 2020
ArtSci Roundup: Faculty recital: Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, ‘Developing Capacity Through Collaborative Action,’ 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. Faculty…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture • Center for Child and Family Well-Being • College of Arts & Sciences • College of the Environment • Department of Dance • Department of Political Science • Environmental Studies • Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • Meany Hall for the Performing Arts • School of Music • UW Drama
Staff feature: What it’s like to photograph the stories of a quiet university campus and bustling medical center amid a pandemic
One of the essential roles that is often not seen is the work of our campus photographers. They continue to capture the visual stories and people on campus in a time when many of us aren’t there to see them ourselves. UW News asked one of our campus photographers to share some of his favorite photos he’s taken this spring, and to describe what it’s like working on campus now.
Tag(s): cherry blossoms • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • COVID-19 • Drumheller Fountain • Ian Schnee • UW Facilities • UW Medicine
Ocean ‘breathability’ key to past, future habitat of West Coast marine species
Historical observations collected off California since the 1950s suggest that anchovies thrive where the water is breathable — a combination of the oxygen levels in the water and the species’ oxygen needs, which are affected by temperature. Future projections suggest that the waters off Mexico and Southern California could be uninhabitable by 2100.
Tag(s): climate change • College of the Environment • Curtis Deutsch • fisheries biology • oceanography • School of OceanographyMay 14, 2020
Bike commuting accelerated when bike-share systems rolled into town
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in cities where bike-share systems have been introduced, bike commuting increased by 20%, according to a new UW study.
Tag(s): Dafeng Xu • Evans School of Public Policy & GovernanceMay 13, 2020
Faculty/staff honors: Rare Care plant program honor, society presidency, Jackson School Task Force recognized — and a powerful personal essay
Recent honors to UW faculty and staff have come from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Washington Native Plant Society, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Republic of Ghana.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Danny Hoffman • Francis Abugbilla • Jackson School of International Studies • Klaus Mergener • Roberto Montenegro • School of Medicine • Stacy Kinsell • UW Botanic Gardens • UW Medicine • Wendy GibbleMay 12, 2020
Seismologists to host virtual event on 40th anniversary of Mount St. Helens eruption
The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, based at the University of Washington, will host an online event on the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, featuring seismologists from the UW and other institutions who can explain the events before, during and after the historic blast. The virtual event will take place from 6:30…
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • Pacific Northwest Seismic Network • volcanoesMay 11, 2020
UW dean’s Senate testimony included in ‘Call on White House’ for COVID-19 guidelines for aviation industry
In a letter to the White House Coronavirus Task Force, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) drew upon the testimony by Hilary Godwin, dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, in calling for federal guidelines be established for the aviation industry and the traveling public.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • Hilary Godwin • School of Public Health
B-roll: RV Thomas G. Thompson comes home
The UW’s large research vessel, the RV Thomas G. Thompson, returned May 8 to its home port after more than two years exploring the world’s oceans. A scheduled cruise in Tahiti has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the return is roughly two months earlier than planned.
Tag(s): COVID-19 • RV Thomas G. Thompson • School of Oceanography
EarthLab announces Innovation Grant recipients for 2020
Research projects funded for 2020 by EarthLab’s Innovation Grants Program will study how vegetation might reduce pollution, help an Alaskan village achieve safety and resilience amid climate change, organize a California river’s restoration with tribal involvement, compare practices in self-managed indigenous immigrant communities and more.
Tag(s): Cecilia Bitz • Chelsea Wood • Cleo Woelfle-Erskine • Coco Alarcon • College of Engineering • College of the Environment • Comparative History of Ideas Program • David Shean • Department of Atmospheric Sciences • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • EarthLab • Edmund Seto • Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth • Joel Thornton • July Hazard • Kathleen Wolf • Leann Andrews • P. Joshua Griffin • Peter Rabinowitz • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences • School of Marine and Environmental Affairs • School of Public Health • Timothy LarsonMay 8, 2020
Two UW juniors named Udall Scholars
Two University of Washington students have been named 2020 Udall Scholars. Sierra Campbell and Taylor Owens join only 55 students nationally to receive this prestigious honor.
Tag(s): Undergraduate Academic Affairs • UW TacomaMay 7, 2020
For Mother’s Day, the gift of compassion: UW psychology professor on celebrating parenthood during a pandemic
What does it feel like to be a mother on this Mother’s Day? And how can we make the day seem special when life feels so uncertain and stressful? University of Washington psychology professor Liliana Lengua offers some perspective.
Tag(s): Center for Child and Family Well-Being • College of Arts & Sciences • COVID-19 • Department of Psychology • Liliana Lengua
Sleep difficulties in the first year of life linked to altered brain development in infants who later develop autism
New research led by the University of Washington finds that sleep problems in a baby’s first 12 months may not only precede an autism diagnosis, but also may be associated with altered growth trajectory in a key part of the brain, the hippocampus.
Tag(s): Annette Estes • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Radiology • Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences • Kate MacDuffie • School of Medicine • Stephen Dager • Tanya St. John • UW Autism CenterMay 6, 2020
UW experts on understanding ‘quarantine fatigue’ and protecting workers
As the push to relax social and economic restrictions for combating the pandemic gain traction, we need to understand personal motives behind what many experts consider a dangerous rush to “reopen” and how to protect workers most at risk when communities do “go back to work.” Three UW experts weigh in.
Tag(s): Adam Kuczynski • College of Arts & Sciences • COVID-19 • Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences • Department of Psychology • Marissa Baker • population health • School of Public Health • Susan Joslyn
Should you help a sick person? UW psychology, computer science faculty study ‘moral dilemmas’ of COVID-19
A new international study led by the University of Washington aims to gauge the perception of ethical situations as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves around the world.
Tag(s): Andrew Meltzoff • Center for Neurotechnology • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • COVID-19 • Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering • Department of Psychology • I-LABS • Katharina Reinecke • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Rajesh Rao« Previous Page Next Page »
