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Arts and entertainment

January 20, 2016

Arts Roundup: Musical Theater, Violist Melia Watras – and Steffani Jemison

UW’s Musical Theater program takes center stage with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” School of Music’s Melia Watras performs a solo viola recital and the Dance Program showcases choreography by its talented faculty. Catch a free play reading through the School of Drama series Seattle Theatres Lost and Founded, and swing by the Jacob Lawrence Gallery to see its newest exhibit, “Steffani Jemison: Sol.”   Dance Faculty Concert January 20-24 | Meany Studio Theater This popular annual concert…

Official notices

Issuance of Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Computer Science and Engineering II Project

Project Name: Computer Sciences and Engineering II Project Proponent: University of Washington Description: The project involves site selection and construction of a new 130,000 gross square foot above and below grade building to create expansion space for education and research for the computer science and engineering program. The structure will house new instructional space, undergraduate student spaces, research and educational labs, shops, offices and event space. For the purposes of environmental review, four alternatives are analyzed in the document: Alternative 1 (Preferred alternative) –…

Administrative affairs | Education | News releases | Profiles | UW and the community

January 19, 2016

Jennifer Cohen named interim athletic director at the UW

Jennifer Cohen, senior associate athletic director at the University of Washington, has been named interim athletic director, UW President Ana Mari Cauce announced Tuesday. Cohen steps in for Scott Woodward, who announced earlier this month he would be taking a position at Texas A&M University. Cohen’s appointment is effective Feb. 1. “With her years of experience as a senior administrator in our athletic department, Jen will provide excellent leadership as we undertake a national search for a new athletic director,”…

Administrative affairs | News releases | UW News blog

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 registrar search committee was looking for,” said Philip Reid, chair of the registrar search committee and professor of chemistry. “She has the right combination of…

Engineering | Health and medicine | Honors and awards | News releases | Science

January 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.

Official notices

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 WCG-110. The purpose of the hearing is to allow all interested persons an opportunity to present their views, either orally or in writing, on the…

For UW employees | UW and the community

$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 Facing Homelessness, a Seattle nonprofit who urges people to “just say hello” to people living on the street. Special events, including a Stair Climb at six…

Arts and entertainment

January 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 to Meany Hall for this year’s Dance Faculty Concert or a performance by the world-renowned Peking Acrobats. Bill Frisell & Michael Gibbs with the UW…

Engineering | Honors and awards | News releases | Research | Technology

January 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.

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

January 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 Northwest region. For Washington, El Niño typically brings warm, and often dry, winter weather. That may seem surprising, since the state just experienced a very…

Education | Engineering | Science | UW News blog

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.

UW News blog

January 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, dean of The George Washington University Law School. “It is an incredible honor for me to be elected president of AALS, and I look forward…

Engineering | News releases | Research | Science

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.

Politics and government | UW News blog

January 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 Research Center, stood alongside Inslee as he made the announcement at a mental health center in Burien. “This is a public health response to a…

Arts and entertainment

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 when it is joined by Michael Gibbs, Bill Frisell and UW Jazz Studies faculty for a January concert. Orpheus Ensemble 7:30 p.m., January 8 |…

Engineering | News releases | Research

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.

News releases | Politics and government | UW and the community

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.

Education | Engineering | Learning | Technology | UW and the community | UW News blog

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 students with a variety of disabilities. The application can be found online. Applicants who are selected as DO-IT scholars are loaned computers and adaptive technology needed to…

Education | Learning | News releases | Social science | UW and the community | UW News blog

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.

Social science

January 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 students. The UW students were taking the autumn quarter class on culture, crime and criminal justice alongside 10 male classmates who brought more than theoretical…

UW News blog

December 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 was with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory from 1965 to 2009, researching planet formation and the dynamics of gravity and our solar system. Lecar died in…

Education | Engineering | Environment | Health and medicine | Learning | News roundups | Research | Science | Social science | Technology

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. UW Regents name Ana Mari Cauce president October 13, 2015 The University of Washington Board of Regents selected Interim President Ana Mari Cauce to be…

News releases | Research | Social science

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: Clinical & Experimental Research, highlight the difficulties of gauging the impact of a formerly illicit drug as it moves into the mainstream. Recreational marijuana use…

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

December 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.

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

December 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 radiocarbon dating to map the history of activity at the site. The findings, published online Dec. 22 in the journal Geology, show that a massive…

Environment | News releases | Research | Science

December 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.

News releases | Research | Social science

December 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 the poorest areas of south Chicago. Her findings were published in November in the first issue of The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social…