UW News
The latest news from the UW
January 19, 2016
Helen Garrett named new registrar for the University of Washington
Helen Garrett has been selected as the University of Washington’s new university registrar and chief officer for enrollment information services. “Helen emerged as the top candidate from a very deep pool of applicants. Her substantial experience in enrollment management combined with her wealth of knowledge regarding data and student information services were exactly what the…
This smartphone technology 3-D maps your meal and counts its calories
A new laser mapping technology and smartphone app developed by University of Washington electrical engineers allows you to point your phone at a plate of food and get an estimate of the total calories and nutrition.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Electrical & Computer EngineeringJanuary 15, 2016
Twenty-seven UW faculty listed among ‘world’s most influential scientific minds’ by Thomson Reuters
The University of Washington is home to 26 researchers included on Thomson Reuters’ list of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” for 2015, which was released Jan. 14. The distinction, based on an analysis of over a decade of research paper citations among 21 general scientific fields, is meant to recognize scientists who are most cited by their peers.
Tag(s): Christopher Murray • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • Department of Global Health • Mohsen Naghavi • School of Medicine • School of Public Health • Theo Vos
Public hearing notice: Jan. 26, 2016
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held at Noon on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Room 332 of the Husky Union Building (HUB), on the University of Washington Seattle campus. Satellite locations will be available on the UW Bothell campus in Room UW2-307, and on the UW Tacoma campus in Room…
$2.2 million raised for UW Combined Fund Drive
The University of Washington Combined Fund Drive, the workplace giving campaign, raised a record $2,204,089 during the fall campaign. UW faculty, staff and retirees pledged to more than 1,800 nonprofits during the drive which ran Oct. 22 to Dec. 4, 2015. Each year, the UWCFD selects a featured charity, and the selection this year went to…
Salsa dance, commerce explored in Juliet McMains’ book ‘Spinning Mambo into Salsa’
Dance professor Juliet McMains discusses her book “Spinning Mambo into Salsa: Caribbean Dance in Global Commerce,” published by Oxford University Press.
Tag(s): Dance Faculty Concert • Department of Dance • Juliet McMainsJanuary 14, 2016
$682,000 Mellon grant to help academic publishers increase workforce diversity
The University of Washington Press, the MIT Press, Duke University Press, the University of Georgia Press, and the association of American University Presses (AAUP) join forces to create the University Press Diversity Fellowship Program.
Tag(s): University of Washington PressJanuary 13, 2016
Arts Roundup: Dance Faculty Concert, the UW Big Band – and the Peking Acrobats
From acrobats to jazz, and from dance to thirteenth-century Japanese literature, there’s an arts event for everybody this week. Catch the UW Big Band’s January concert, visit the Penthouse Theater for a new play workshop from the School of Drama, or catch a lecture about legendary dance choreographer Trisha Brown at the Henry. Head over…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Drama • School of Music
Fewer than 1 in 25 Seattleites can really eat locally
A new University of Washington study finds that urban crops in Seattle could only feed between 1 and 4 percent of the city’s population, even if all viable backyard and public green spaces were converted to growing produce.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • L. Monika Moskal • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Scientists solve long-standing ecological riddle
Researchers have found clear evidence that communities rich in species are substantially healthier and more productive than those depleted of species, once complicating factors are removed.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Jonathan Bakker • School of Environmental and Forest SciencesJanuary 12, 2016
UW computer scientists to make financial products better and more available for the poor
UW computer scientists, with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are launching a new research group to develop technological solutions that will make financial products more available to the lowest-income people around the world.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering • Richard AndersonJanuary 11, 2016
Northwest winter weather: El Niño, coastal effects, no more ‘blob’
What some have called the “Godzilla El Niño” is now lumbering ashore, right on schedule. El Niño tends to influence North American weather after the first of January, and indeed, we’re seeing warm temperatures in Alaska and much-needed rain in California. University of Washington researchers are tracking what the season will deliver to the Pacific…
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Cliff Mass • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • Ian Miller • Jan Newton • Nick Bond • Washington Sea Grant
New master of applied bioengineering to prepare students for translational research
In December, the University of Washington’s Department of Bioengineering began accepting applications for its newest graduate degree program, the Master of Applied Bioengineering. The one-year, full-time program begins in August, and will train students to apply engineering design and entrepreneurship skills to address unmet clinical needs and to transform biomedical research into technologies for improving health care. The degree will position graduates to respond to market-based demands of industry, medicine and translational research.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Bioengineering • School of Medicine
West Coast study emphasizes challenges faced by marine organisms exposed to global change
Along the West Coast, ocean acidification and hypoxia combine with other factors, such as rising ocean temperatures, to create serious challenges for marine life, a new study finds.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • ocean acidification • School of Marine and Environmental Affairs • Terrie KlingerJanuary 8, 2016
UW law school Dean Kellye Y. Testy to serve as national group president
Kellye Y. Testy, dean of the University of Washington’s law school, will give her inaugural address as president of the Association of American Law Schools tomorrow night in Washington, D.C. Testy previously served on the association‘s executive committee and was voted in as its president in October 2014. She takes over from 2015 president Blake Morant,…
Tag(s): Kellye Testy • School of Law
Quiet quasar has apparently eaten its fill
Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) announced that a distant quasar ran out of gas. Their conclusions, reported Jan. 8 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Kissimmee, Florida, clarify why quasar SDSS J1011+5442 changed so dramatically in the handful of years between observations.
Tag(s): astronomy & astrophysics • College of Arts & Sciences • Department of Astronomy • Scott Anderson • Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Stir no more: UW scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays
Three scientists at the University of Washington have proposed a way to speed up common bioassays used in research and diagnostics. Their solution, reminiscent of the magic behind washing machines, could reduce wait times to a fraction of what they once were. As they report in the journal Small, biological assays that once took hours could instead take minutes.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Bioengineering • School of Medicine • Xiaohu GaoJanuary 6, 2016
UW faculty members join Inslee in gun violence announcement
Two University of Washington faculty members joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Wednesday as he announced a new initiative to reduce gun-related deaths by strengthening background checks and implementing a statewide suicide prevention plan. Jennifer Stuber, an associate professor at the UW School of Social Work, and Monica Vavilala, director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and…
Tag(s): Forefront • Jennifer Stuber • Monica Vavilala
Arts Roundup: Orpheus Ensemble, pianist Garrick Ohlsson – and the UW Symphony
ArtsUW rings in the new year with art, opera and jazz. School of Music’s Stephen Stubbs leads UW students in scenes from early Baroque opera, world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson takes the stage at Meany Hall, and the Henry Art Gallery invites families to take an ArtVenture. Plus, it’s a genre mash-up for the UW Symphony…
Tag(s): ArtsUW • Henry Art Gallery • Meany Center for the Performing Arts • School of Music
What motivates people to walk and bike? It varies by income
The built environment influences decisions to walk or bike differently for lower- and higher-income groups, UW researchers have found. Neighborhood density, accessible destinations and fewer vehicles were associated with more walking and biking in lower-income groups, while neighborhood attractiveness was relevant for higher-income groups.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Cynthia Chen • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
UW climate scientists to give free talks at Mt. Baker Ski Area
UW scientists will give free talks on climate change for three consecutive Saturdays at Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Tag(s): Cecilia Bitz • College of the Environment • Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies • Daniel Schindler • Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science • Nick Bond • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Politics, pioneers and ‘pandemonium’: 2016 History Lecture Series digs into Seattle history
Seattle’s past — from its earliest years to the turn of the 21st century — will be the topic of the Winter 2016 History Lecture Series, “Excavating Seattle’s Histories: People, Politics, Place,” running Wednesdays from Jan. 13 to Feb 3, with an additional panel discussion on Feb. 10.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Department of History • History Lecture Series • James Gregory • John Findlay • Linda Nash • Quintard Taylor
DO-IT looking for high school student scholars
DO-IT, a University of Washington program, is looking for high school students with disabilities to apply to be program scholars. Applicants must be a current high school sophomore or junior in Washington, have an aptitude and interest in attending college, have any disability, and must be motivated to participate and interested in interacting with other…
January 5, 2016
Study: College graduates often challenged with life skills, motivation for ongoing learning
Today’s college graduates tend to be highly trained and employable but often lack a key skill needed for post-college life: how to identify and ask their own questions, according to a new study.
Tag(s): Alison Head • Information SchoolJanuary 4, 2016
UW class pairs students and inmates for unique learning experience
On a rainy December afternoon, a group of students in the University of Washington’s Law, Societies & Justice program sit in a classroom discussing what elements might be included in a restorative justice program. The conversation is lively, the comments thoughtful. But this isn’t any ordinary classroom, and it isn’t your usual group of university…
Tag(s): law • Law Societies & Justice Department • Steve HerbertDecember 30, 2015
UW astronomer Eric Agol honored by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Eric Agol, a University of Washington professor of astronomy, will receive the 2016 Lecar Prize from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The award, now in its third year, recognizes exceptional contributions to the study of exoplanets — those beyond our solar system — and theoretical astrophysics. It is named for Myron S. “Mike” Lecar, who…
December 29, 2015
#BestofUW: Top news stories of 2015
From a new president and lasers cooling liquids to spotting rare sea creatures and major collaborations, great things have happened at the University of Washington in 2015. Here’s a look back at the top stories of the year. These stories were chosen based on the total number of views they received on our website and are not in any particular order….
Tag(s): Year in review
No easy answers in UW study of legal marijuana’s impact on alcohol use
Does legal marijuana tempt pot users to consume more alcohol — or are they likely to opt for cannabis instead of chardonnay? A University of Washington team of researchers sought to address those questions in the context of evolving marijuana policies in the United States. Their findings, published online Dec. 21 in the journal Alcoholism:…
Tag(s): alcohol use & abuse • Katarina Guttmannova • Marijuana • Social Development Research GroupDecember 28, 2015
UW center receives $16M to work on first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs
The UW’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering has won a $16M NSF grant to develop the first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs and restore motor function in stroke or spinal cord injury patients.
Tag(s): Center for Neurotechnology • Chet Moritz • Rajesh RaoDecember 23, 2015
Documents that Changed the World: The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 1896
A glance at a kitchen bookshelf gave UW Information School professor Joe Janes the idea for the latest installment of his Documents that Changed the World podcast — about the famous Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, more popularly known as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
Tag(s): Documents that Changed the World • Information School • Joe JanesDecember 22, 2015
Dating historic activity at Oso site shows recurring major landslides
The large, fast-moving mudslide that buried much of Oso, Washington in March 2014 was the deadliest landslide in U.S. history. Since then it’s been revealed that this area has experienced major slides before, but it’s not known how long ago they occurred. University of Washington geologists analyzed woody debris buried in earlier slides and used…
Tag(s): Alison Duvall • College of the Environment • David Montgomery • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • geology • landslideDecember 21, 2015
Rivers, lakes impact ability of forests to store carbon
Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams, a new paper finds.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • School of Environmental and Forest SciencesDecember 18, 2015
Oxygen provided breath of life that allowed animals to evolve
It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a study co-authored by two University of Washington scientists and led by the University College London.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • David Catling • Department of Earth and Space SciencesDecember 17, 2015
Study: Safety net fails impoverished grandmothers raising children
Increasing numbers of grandmothers across the United States are raising their grandchildren, many of them living in poverty and grappling with a public assistance system not designed to meet their needs. LaShawnDa Pittman, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of American Ethnic Studies, interviewed 77 African American grandmothers living in some of…
Tag(s): Department of American Ethnic Studies • LaShawnDa PittmanDecember 16, 2015
UW Tacoma geoscientist tracked risks from deadly 2015 Nepal earthquake
When an earthquake struck Nepal in late April 2015, thousands of lives were lost in the initial disaster. But it was hard to assess the scale of the damage to rural areas, and still lurking were threats from unstable slopes and dammed glacier-fed lakes that could dislodge at any time to flood villages below. A…
Tag(s): Dan Shugar • earthquakes & seismology • UW Tacoma
Composting food waste remains your best option, says UW study
A new University of Washington study confirms that composting food scraps is better than throwing them away, and also calculates the environmental benefits associated with keeping these organic materials out of landfills.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Sally Brown • School of Environmental and Forest SciencesDecember 15, 2015
UW conservationists celebrate new protected areas for Argentine penguins
On Dec. 3, the legislature for Argentina’s Chubut province established a new marine protected area off Punta Tombo, which would help preserve the feeding grounds for about 500,000 Magellanic penguins that make their home along this rocky stretch of Argentine coast. This is welcome news for the UW scientists who have studied these penguins for decades and advocated for their conservation.
Tag(s): Center for Ecosystem Sentinels • College of Arts & Sciences • conservation • Dee Boersma • Department of Biology • Pablo Garcia Borboroglu
Fuel economy improvements in US climate commitment on par with 1970s gains
A new UW study finds that fuel efficiency improvements needed to meet U.S. climate commitments are on par with what the auto industry delivered in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tag(s): College of Engineering • Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering • Don MacKenzie
New options for working parents and caregivers at the UW
University of Washington working parents and caregivers balancing responsibilities at work and home will soon have more choices. To offset the waitlists parents experience at UW’s four child care centers, new full-time care options will be available in January at designated Bright Horizons and KinderCare centers. Enrollment priority will be offered by both centers and…
Tag(s): Human Resources
Study: Reason, not disruption, rules when growing a social movement
When campaigning for social change, disruptive protests may win a few battles but education is more likely to win the war, according to research by Abhinav Gupta, an assistant professor of strategic management at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Gupta and co-authors studied “Rein in Russell,” a 2009 campaign by United Students…
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