Skip to content

The latest news from the UW

Engineering | Research | Science | Technology | UW News blog

November 16, 2017

UW receives top honors from CleanTech Alliance for research and support in energy innovation, industry partnerships

The CleanTech Alliance has presented the University of Washington with the organization’s 2017 CleanTech Achievement Award. The honor recognizes the UW’s dedication to research and development of transformative clean energy technologies, facilities, pipelines for startups and industry partnerships. The award was announced on Nov. 8 at the annual meeting and 10th anniversary of the CleanTech Alliance, a Seattle-based consortium of more than 300 businesses and interest groups across six U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The organization cited the UW’s…

Arts and entertainment

November 15, 2017

Arts Roundup: Monstrosity, an epic play; Jonty Harrison’s Voyages and performances by the Chamber Singers and University Chorale

This week in the arts; watch an epic play, Monstrosity, where girls are the heroes; experience new works of sonic and visual art through Jonty Harrison’s “Voyages,” enjoy student piano performances in Brechemin Auditorium, and listen to the UW’s top auditioned choir perform in their fall quarter concert.

Environment | News releases | Research | Social science

What counts as nature? It all depends

    Think, for a moment, about the last time you were out in nature. Were you in a city park? At a campground? On the beach? In the mountains? Now consider: What was this place like in your parents’ time? Your grandparents’? In many cases, the parks, beaches and campgrounds of today are surrounded by more development, or are themselves more developed, than they were decades ago. But to you, they still feel like nature. If we just try…

News releases | Research | Science

With launch of new night sky survey, UW researchers ready for era of ‘big data’ astronomy

The first astronomers had a limited toolkit: their eyes. They could only observe those stars, planets and celestial events bright enough to pick up unassisted. But today’s astronomers use increasingly sensitive and sophisticated instruments to view and track a bevy of cosmic wonders, including objects and events that were too dim or distant for their sky-gazing forebears. On Nov. 14, scientists with the California Institute of Technology, the University of Washington and eight additional partner institutions, announced that the Zwicky…

Engineering | News releases | Research | Science | Social science | Technology

November 13, 2017

New tool quantifies power imbalance between female and male characters in Hollywood movie scripts

UW researchers who used machine learning tools to analyze language in 800 Hollywood movie scripts found subtle but widespread gender bias in the way male and female characters are portrayed.

News releases | Research | Science

November 7, 2017

With climate change, Mount Rainier floral communities could ‘reassemble’ with new species relationships, interactions

An unseasonably warm, dry summer on Mount Rainier in 2015 caused subalpine wildflowers to change their bloom times and form ‘reassembled’ communities, with unknown consequences for species interactions among wildflowers, pollinators and other animals.

Environment | Honors and awards | Research | Science | UW News blog

November 2, 2017

Washington Sea Grant receives $1.1 million in federal funding for aquaculture research

Three federal grants announced this week will provide total funding of $1.1 million to Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington’s College of the Environment, for research that will sustainably further shellfish and finfish aquaculture in the state

Health and medicine | News releases | Research | Social science

How air pollution clouds mental health

  There is little debate over the link between air pollution and the human respiratory system: Research shows that dirty air can impair breathing and aggravate various lung diseases. Other potential effects are being investigated, too, as scientists examine connections between toxic air and obesity, diabetes and dementia. Now add to that list psychological distress, which University of Washington researchers have found is also associated with air pollution. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the UW-led study…

Arts and entertainment

October 31, 2017

Arts Roundup: ‘Amazing Animals’ at the Burke, voice division recital and — Concerto Competition

This week: Have a fuzzy, slimy, cuddly and crawly fun time at the Burke; hear the School of Music’s Voice Division Recital; feel the competition heat up as strings students compete for an incredible opportunity; hear jazz students perform original compositions; see a special art history lecture on “highly staged repository of works” from the Mughal era; and feel the rhythm course through you as Noche Flamenca brings to the stage “the essence and integrity of one of the world’s most complex and…

Arts and entertainment | News releases | Profiles | Research | Social science | Uncategorized | UW and the community

October 26, 2017

Serious study of comic art: International conference comes to UW Nov. 2-4

Comics and graphic can be serious business. Scholars, critics, historians, teachers, curators of comic art and graphic publications will gather at the UW and locations in Seattle Nov. 2-4 for the 2017 International Comic Arts Forum.

Arts and entertainment | Education | Health and medicine | Honors and awards | Learning | News releases | Social science | UW and the community

October 25, 2017

UW among top 10 in US News Best Global Universities ranking; No. 2 among US public institutions

The University of Washington climbed to the No. 10 spot on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities rankings, tied with Johns Hopkins University and Yale University. The UW is now second among American public institutions — an improvement from last year’s No. 3 slot. “I am proud to see the University of Washington recognized broadly for the impact of the work of our faculty and staff working side by side with our talented students,” UW President Ana…

Arts and entertainment

Arts Roundup: Littlefield Halloween organ concert; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Habib Koité and more

This week in the arts, hear the harrowing sounds of the Littlefield Organ Series’ Halloween show; see the first performance of the School of Drama’s 2017-18 season; enjoy a guest recital from a “leading champion of contemporary American piano music”; experience a special collaboration between the UW Symphony and Seattle Symphony Orchestra; and catch performer that Rolling Stone calls the “biggest pop star in Mali” at Meany Hall. LITTLEFIELD ORGAN SERIES: HALLOWEEN ORGAN CONCERT October 27 | Kane Hall, Walker-Ames Room Students of…

Arts and entertainment | For UW employees | Research | UW and the community | UW News blog

October 24, 2017

Vintage maps, books and more in UW Libraries Special Collections exhibit ‘All Over the Map’

UW Libraries Special Collections’ new exhibit, “All Over the Map: From Cartographs to (C)artifacts” — organized by UW Book Arts and Rare Book Curator Sandra Kroupa — is on display in Allen Library until Jan. 31, 2018.

Engineering | News releases | Research | Science | Technology

October 18, 2017

For $1000, anyone can purchase online ads to track your location and app use

New University of Washington research finds that for a budget of roughly $1000, it is possible for someone to track your location and app use by purchasing and targeting mobile ads. The team hopes to raise industry awareness about the potential privacy threat.

Engineering | News releases | Research | Science | Technology

October 17, 2017

Flexible ‘skin’ can help robots, prosthetics perform everyday tasks by sensing shear force

UW and UCLA engineers have developed a flexible sensor “skin” that can be stretched over any part of a robot’s body or prosthetic to accurately convey information about shear forces and vibration, which are critical to tasks ranging from cooking an egg to dismantling a bomb.

Research | Social science | UW News blog

Tweeting rage: How immigration policies can polarize public discourse

  Before a border wall became a budget bargaining chip, before the presidential pardon of a controversial sheriff and before federal policies were announced on social media, there was Arizona Senate Bill 1070, the “show me your papers” law. And of course, there was Twitter. To René D. Flores, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Washington, Twitter is a trove of insight into people’s beliefs and their willingness to express them. By analyzing tweets in the months…

Arts and entertainment

October 12, 2017

Arts Roundup: Blue Nights and Night Flowers, MFA Exhibition, a Faculty Recital, the Chamber Dance Concert, and more

This week in the arts, the School of Art + Art History + Design second year MFA show continues at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery; dance and social activism take the stage at the Chamber Dance Concert; Creative Research Fellow Daniel Alexander Jones meditates on nearly a quarter century of performance art and theatre; “a true theatrical original” takes the stage for a night of storytelling and song; and a School of Music faculty member premieres new works for cello. MATERIAL PERFORMANCE: 2ND YEAR…

Buildings and grounds | Engineering | News releases | Research | Science | Technology

UW names second CSE building the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering

The University of Washington Board of Regents on Thursday approved the naming of the new computer science building under construction on the Seattle campus as the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering. The naming of the building was made possible by gifts from Microsoft Corp. and a group of local business and philanthropic leaders who are longtime friends and colleagues of the couple.

News releases | Research | Social science

Using Facebook data as a real-time census

    Determining how many people live in Seattle, perhaps of a certain age, perhaps from a specific country, is the sort of question that finds its answer in the census, a massive data dump for places across the country. But just how fresh is that data? After all, the census is updated once a decade, and the U.S. Census Bureau’s smaller but more detailed American Community Survey, annually. There’s also a delay between when data are collected and when…

Interactive | News releases | Research | Social science | UW and the community

October 11, 2017

In Seattle, cost of meeting basic needs up $30,000 in a decade

A Seattle family of four must bring in $75,000 annually to pay for basic housing, food, transportation and health and child care – an increase of 62 percent since 2006, based on a new report from the University of Washington. The city’s escalating cost of living may not be a surprise. But across the state, the amount of money required to make ends meet for two adults, a preschooler and a school-age child has risen as well, according to the…

Engineering | Health and medicine | Honors and awards | Research | Science | UW News blog

October 6, 2017

3 UW researchers chosen for NIH High-Risk, High-Rewards program

Three University of Washington faculty members are among those honored with an NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research grant, which fund exceptionally creative scientists proposing to use highly innovative approaches to tackle major challenges in biomedical research.

Arts and entertainment

Arts Roundup: BANDALOOP, Material Performance, Brian Jungen, Nathan Lee, Chamber Dance Concert

This week in the arts, the School of Art + Art History + Design second year MFA show continues at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery; a final look at Brian Jungen’s exploration of First Nations culture and globalism; BANDALOOP turns Meany’s dance floor on its side; a child virtuoso takes the Brechemin stage; and innovative choreographers fuse dance with social activism. MATERIAL PERFORMANCE: 2ND YEAR MFA EXHIBITION Through November 4| Jacob Lawrence Gallery See work created by students beginning their second year in…

Research | Social science | UW News blog

Asking kids about drugs doesn’t prompt drug use, study finds

    It is an oft-repeated fear, particularly among parents: that discussing an undesirable behavior, or even an illegal or dangerous one, may encourage kids to try it. But when it comes to asking pre-teens about alcohol, drug and tobacco use, a University of Washington-led study finds no evidence that children will, as a consequence of being asked about it, use the substance in question. The study by the UW Social Development Research Group, published in the October issue of…

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

New portable blood analyzer could improve anemia detection worldwide

To reduce the burden of anemia worldwide, health officials need a portable and affordable way to analyze blood. Mechanical engineering researchers at the University of Washington developed a device smaller than a toaster that can detect the level of hemoglobin in whole blood samples using optical absorbance.

Education | News releases | Politics and government | UW News blog

October 2, 2017

UW Center for Human Rights studies law enforcement collaboration with federal agencies on immigration

Cities and counties concerned about immigrant rights should closely examine law enforcement’s collaboration with federal immigration authorities — and the role a for-profit company has in drafting language used in many law enforcement policy manuals — according to a new report from the UW’s Center for Human Rights.

Honors and awards | Research | Science | UW News blog

UW alumnus Jeffrey C. Hall awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute has awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Jeffrey C. Hall — an alumnus of the University of Washington — along with Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young “for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm,” according to an announcement Monday morning.