The upcoming season finale of TLC’s popular program “Who Do You Think You Are,” airing May 1, will feature UW professor Devin Naar helping television star Lea Michele learn about her Sephardic Jewish ancestry.
April 29, 2016
The latest news from the UW
New UW program aims to create ‘brotherhood’ for male students of color
For some young men of color, college might seem a world away. To an African-American boy growing up in poverty, a Latino son of migrant farmworkers or a young Native American man living on a remote reservation, the path to post-secondary education can be hard to visualize. And once on campus, the reality can be daunting. Role models might be lacking, the sense of isolation overwhelming. A new University of Washington pilot program aims to address those obstacles and boost…
Architecture professor Jeffrey Ochsner featured in young filmmaker’s Gum Wall documentary screening May 1
When 8-year-old filmmaker Celia Jensen and her dad decided to make a film about Seattle’s Gum Wall, Jeffrey Ochsner, professor of architecture and associate dean for academic affairs in the UW College of Built Environments, was happy to help.
April 28, 2016
Wolf hunting near Denali, Yellowstone cuts wolf sightings in half
Visitors to national parks are half as likely to see wolves in their natural habitat when wolf hunting is permitted just outside park boundaries, according to a new study.
Sir? Caballero? Anthony Geist awarded knighthood by Spain
Anthony Geist, professor of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, has been awarded one of Spain’s highest civil honors — a knighthood.
April 27, 2016
Arts Roundup: 3D4M Graduation Exhibition, Daedalus Quartet – and the Martha Graham Dance Company
UW World Series presents its final two performances of the school year: Daedalus Quartet and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Graduating students from the School of Art + Art History + Design’s 3D4M program showcase their works at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, and the UW Dance Program and the Henry Art Gallery collaborate in a performance piece. UW Drama‘s production of “Force Continuum” continues through May 8. Daedalus Quartet 7:30 p.m., April 29 | Meany Theater This critically acclaimed string…
‘Walk-DMC’ aims to improve surgery outcomes for children with cerebral palsy
A UW mechanical engineer has developed a new assessment of motor control in children with cerebral palsy called Walk-DMC, which could help predict which patients are — or are not — likely to benefit from invasive surgical interventions.
April 25, 2016
Music improves baby brain responses to music and speech
Rock your baby in sync with music and you may wonder how the experience affects her and her developing brain. A new study by scientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) shows that a series of play sessions with music improved 9-month-old babies’ brain processing of both music and new speech sounds. “Our study is the first in young babies to suggest that experiencing a rhythmic pattern in music can also improve the ability…
April 21, 2016
UW’s Jerry Franklin honored for lifetime of forest research, policy
Jerry Franklin, a professor of environmental and forest sciences, was honored by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation for his lifelong work in forest ecology, conservation and policy.
April 20, 2016
Cash in the trash: Interactive composting, recycling station shows savings in real time
An interactive recycling and composting station installed this spring at PACCAR Hall is showing the University of Washington community exactly how much money can be saved by composting and recycling correctly. And it seems to be doing its job well.
4 UW professors elected as fellows in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Four University of Washington professors join 172 other academics as newly elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the group announced Wednesday.
Arts Roundup: The Music of Harry Partch, Force Continuum – and Arty Party
This week in the arts, UW Drama opens their production of Force Continuum, and the School of Music presents two visiting artists: mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens and chamber ensemble Decoda. You can also hear the groundbreaking music of Harry Partch or attend the Henry Art Gallery’s annual Arty Party. Directions for a Cloud-Crowd 7 p.m., April 21 | Henry Art Gallery In this 90-minute performance, artists Anne Walsh, Jim Melchert and 3D4M Assistant Professor Michael Swaine explore the giving and taking…
UW experts call Paris climate agreement ‘bold,’ ‘encouraging’
As the U.S., China and other countries sign the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and limit climate change, UW experts talk about the possibilities and risks in what could be a turning point for global economies.
April 19, 2016
‘Shakespeare, Music, and Memory’ April 29 is colloquium, concert
A daylong colloquium, “Shakespeare, Music and Memory” will bring scholars and musicians to the University of Washington campus April 29 for lectures ending with a concert of Shakespeare-themed songs by the School of Music’s Collegium Musicum ensemble. The free events were organized by JoAnn Taricani, associate professor and chair of the School of Music‘s Division of Music History, are timed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare‘s death in April of 1616. Scholars from several universities will give presentations…
States with punitive justice systems have higher rates of foster care, study finds
The number of children in foster care across the country is driven not solely by child abuse and neglect, but by states’ varying politics and approaches to social problems, a new University of Washington study finds. States with more punitive criminal justice systems tend to remove children from their homes far more frequently than those with generous welfare programs – meaning that two states with similar rates of child abuse and neglect could have very different rates of foster care…
April 18, 2016
Board of Regents approves first University of Washington master’s program through Global Innovation Exchange
The University of Washington Board of Regents has approved the Master of Science in Technology Innovation degree, a 60-credit interdisciplinary program developed by the Global Innovation Exchange.
Early analysis of Seattle’s $15 wage law: Effect on prices minimal one year after implementation
Most Seattle employers in a UW-led study said in 2015 they expected to raise prices on goods and services to compensate for the city’s new $15 per hour minimum wage law — but a year after implementation such increases are not in evidence.
First Salish Sea-wide shoreline armoring study shows cumulative effects on ecosystem
A new University of Washington study shows that impacts associated with shoreline armoring can scale up to have cumulative, large-scale effects on the characteristics of Salish Sea shorelines and the diversity of life they support.
UW to study link between recession-related stress and health in older Americans
The Great Recession devastated millions of Americans financially — but what impacts did that economic stress have on their physical and mental well-being? Gillian Marshall, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Washington Tacoma, wants to answer that question. Marshall was awarded a five-year, $654,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the link between financial hardship and health. She is the first faculty member at UW Tacoma to receive an NIH Mentored Research Scientist…
April 14, 2016
Author, reporter Lynda V. Mapes discusses year with 100-year-old ‘Witness Tree’ in April 21 talk
Local author and Seattle Times reporter Lynda V. Mapes is the featured speaker in this year’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences annual Sustaining Our World Lecture, 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21.
Scientists crack secrets of the monarch butterfly’s internal compass
Each fall, monarch butterflies across Canada and the United States turn their orange, black and white-mottled wings toward the Rio Grande and migrate over 2,000 miles to the relative warmth of central Mexico. This journey, repeated instinctively by generations of monarchs, continues even as monarch numbers have plummeted due to loss of their sole larval food source — milkweed. But amid this sad news, a research team believes they have cracked the secret of the internal, genetically encoded compass that the…
April 13, 2016
Arts Roundup: Violinist Gil Shaham, Pianist Murray Perahia – and the Kollar American Art Lecture
Visit Meany Hall this week for the chance to hear two world-renowned classical musicians – violinist Gil Shaham and pianist Murray Perahia – each perform solo recitals. Join the UW Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band for an exploration of music by French composers, or catch lectures by artist Buster Simpson and art historian Susan P. Casteras. Artist Talk: Buster Simpson 7 p.m., April 14 | Henry Art Gallery Artist Buster Simpson will discuss the development of his current commission for…
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, to be UW’s 2016 commencement speaker
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, a 1978 graduate of the UW and a former member of the UW Board of Regents, will be the featured speaker at the University of Washington’s Commencement exercises Saturday, June 11.
UW study aimed at users of both marijuana and tobacco
If you’re looking to give up marijuana and possibly cigarettes as well, a group of researchers at the University of Washington would like to hear from you. The Innovative Programs Research Group, an organization in the UW School of Social Work, is recruiting people 18 and older for a free marijuana and tobacco treatment trial. The study is aimed at adults who are regularly using both substances, want to quit marijuana and are willing to consider kicking the tobacco habit…
April 12, 2016
UW undergrads to present at national science festivals in D.C.
Two national celebrations of science are happening this week in D.C., and University of Washington undergraduates will be in the spotlight at both events. Clara Orndorff, a pre-engineering undergraduate in the UW Honors Program, will travel with two fellow underwater roboticists to compete in Wednesday’s White House Science Fair. She will be among more than 100 top students who will showcase their projects, perhaps even to President Barack Obama, at the sixth annual event launched by his administration. The science fair…
UW undergraduate team wins $10,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for gloves that translate sign language
Two University of Washington undergraduates have won a $10,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for their “SignAloud” invention — gloves that can translate American Sign Language into text or speech.
April 10, 2016
Shakespeare at 400: Drama’s Andrew Tsao on teaching The Bard to new generations
Introducing new generations of students to Shakespeare might be less daunting if begun with study of a single, intriguing line, said Andrew Tsao, UW associate professor of drama, at recent workshop for educators on the First Folio at the Seattle Public Library. The First Folio is the common name for a 1623 volume formally titled “Mr. Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.” It was the first to preserve such masterpieces as “Macbeth,” “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night” in print for future…
April 8, 2016
UW law students lay groundwork for new state privacy office
University of Washington law students played a key role in a law passed last week that aims to better protect privacy and monitor data collection by agencies in the state. House Bill 2875, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee April 1, establishes the state Office of Privacy and Data Protection. The office will examine what information is being collected by state agencies, work with agencies to reduce the amount of consumer data being collected and monitor citizen complaints. It…
UW-led research team wins $7.5M MURI grant to defend against advanced cyberattacks
A University of Washington-led research team has won a $7.5 million, five-year Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant from the Department of Defense to better model and mount defenses against stealthy, continuous computer hacking attacks known as “advanced persistent threats.”
April 7, 2016
UW team stores digital images in DNA — and retrieves them perfectly
University of Washington and Microsoft researchers have developed one of the first complete systems to store digital data in DNA — allowing one to store data that today would fill a Walmart supercenter in a space the size of a sugar cube.
April 6, 2016
3 University of Washington professors recognized by Guggenheim Foundation
Three University of Washington professors are among the 178 scholars, artists, and scientists from the U.S. and Canada recognized this year by the Guggenheim Foundation.
Arts Roundup: Anoushka Shankar, Creole Carnival – and the New Burke Community Open House
UW World Series takes center stage this week with three events: dance-theater ensemble Jane Comfort & Company, world-renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar, and GlobalFEST: Creole Carnival. Learn about the Burke Museum’s renovation plans at a community open house, see an exhibition by School of Art + Art History + Design graduating honors students, or take the whole family on an ArtVenture at the Henry Art Gallery. Jane Comfort & Company April 7-9 | Meany Studio Theater Jane Comfort & Company…
UW-led field project watching clouds from a remote island off Antarctica
From a tiny island halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica, scientists hope to learn more about the physics of clouds above the stormy, inhospitable Southern Ocean.
Marine preserve to help penguins in a ‘predictably unpredictable’ place
New regulations by the government of Ecuador to protect the waters around the Galapagos Islands as a marine preserve, including main feeding areas for Galapagos penguins.
April 5, 2016
UW joins public-private partnership for flexible electronics
The University of Washington has joined NextFlex, a consortium of 30 academic institutions and industrial partners to develop the next generation of flexible electronic devices. As a founding member of this alliance, the UW will seek local and regional partners in the electronics and manufacturing industries to develop and produce flexible electronics for applications from medicine to transportation. Flexible electronics are inherently thin and designed to be bent, rolled, folded or incorporated into new technologies or products in ways that…
April 4, 2016
Scientists recommend immediate plan to combat changes to West Coast seawater chemistry
Global carbon dioxide emissions are triggering troubling changes to ocean chemistry along the West Coast that require immediate, decisive actions to combat through a coordinated regional approach, a panel of scientific experts has unanimously concluded.
The Twittersphere does listen to the voice of reason — sometimes
In the maelstrom of information, opinion and conjecture that is Twitter, the voice of truth and reason does occasionally prevail, according to a new study from UW researchers. Tweets from “official accounts” — the government agencies, emergency responders, media or companies at the center of a fast-moving story — can slow the spread of rumors on Twitter and correct misinformation that’s taken on a life of its own.
Bilingual baby brains show increased activity in executive function regions
Many brain studies show that bilingual adults have more activity in areas associated with executive function, a set of mental abilities that includes problem-solving, shifting attention and other desirable cognitive traits. Now new findings reveal that this bilingualism-related difference in brain activity is evident as early as 11 months of age, just as babies are on the verge of producing their first words. “Our results suggest that before they even start talking, babies raised in bilingual households are getting practice…
April 1, 2016
UW ranked among top 25 ‘Best Value Colleges’ by Forbes
The University of Washington is ranked No. 23 in the nation for best value by Forbes, according to a list released this week. The rankings are based on several factors including quality (based on the 2015 Forbes Top Colleges ranking), drop-out risk, average time to graduate, tuition and post-graduation salaries and skills. The magazine said the top colleges are “mostly West Coast, public and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-oriented.” Among public institutions, the UW is ranked No. 14. The UW is No. 9 among…
Interdisciplinary conference April 8 to study sights, sounds of ‘difference’
What do scholars and academics mean when they talk about “difference”? The University of Washington Simpson Center for the Humanities and Center for Communication, Difference & Equity will hold an interdisciplinary daylong conference April 8 to study such questions, focusing in particular on how difference looks and sounds.