Since the conclusion of the longest legislative session in Washington state history in July, the State Relations team has been using the interim as an opportunity to engage members, legislative staff, industry partners, and the campus community.
House Commerce & Gaming Visit to South Lake Union
In partnership with UW Medicine, our team organized a presentation and tour at the UW Medicine – South Lake Union location for members and staff of the House Commerce and
Gaming Committee on September 14. The group learned about the university’s cannabis research efforts from Dr. Nephi Stella and Dr. Beatriz Carlini.
Following the presentation, members and staff toured the Quellos High Throughput Screening Core facility with Dr. Timothy Martins, who discussed the unique research capabilities of the lab.
Drs. Carlini and Charles Chavkin were invited to follow up the tour with a presentation at a committee work session in Olympia on October 19.
House Higher Education Visit to Spokane
On September 27, six state representatives and three legislative staff members from the House Higher Education Committee visited University of Washington health sciences programs located in Spokane. The group started their time with the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program, a joint venture between the UW School of Dentistry and Eastern Washington University. UW and EWU faculty provided information about the program and student Arley Medrano described the valuable experiences he gained by being based in Eastern Washington and his plans to return to his hometown of Okanagan to practice after graduation. The committee also saw demonstrations of distance learning classroom technology, the dental lab and dental clinic spaces.
The legislators and staff then traveled to the Schoenberg Center on the Gonzaga University campus, where they learned about the UW School of Medicine partnership with Gonzaga University. UWSOM students Alex Hoffman, Mackenzie Rinaldi and Cheyenne Enevold described the valuable training experiences they gained in rural community health care settings across the state and their plans to return to those communities after they complete their training. The group was also able to participate in a “Care Across the Lifecycle” workshop session with students before spending an hour learning about the MEDEX Northwest physician assistant program with the new class of students (many of whom grew up in Spokane and Eastern Washington) and program administrators.
Engineering Showcase
On October 17, Federal and State Relations partnered with the College of Engineering to host an Engineering Showcase for legislators, staff, and industry partners to tour engineering labs and facilities. During the tour, guests had an opportunity to learn about innovative programs and research conducted by engineering departments from faculty and students.
The tour began in the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Lab where guests learned about solar cell polymers from Professor Christine Luscombe and saw student demonstrations on solar technology.
Next up was a tour of the Ubicomp Lab where Professor Shwetak Patel and students discussed their work in advancing healthcare screenings through smartphone technology. This included demonstrations of the HemaApp which measures hemoglobin concentration from a smartphone camera and BiliCam which uses smartphone technology to monitor jaundice in newborns.
While at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Professor Ed Lazowska presented on the student and workforce demands in computer science, including how the university is working to address these issues and where continued investment is needed.
During lunch, guests were greeted by private sector representatives of the College’s Visiting Committee and heard from a student panel moderated by Dean of Engineering, Mike Bragg. Students shared their stories about what lead them to the college of engineering, the importance of support provided through programs like the Washington STate Academic RedShirt (STARS) program, and positive contributions they are making both at the university in and the community.
Following the student panel, guests toured the More Hall Structures Lab where Professor Jeff Berman and Professor Joe Wartmen shared the work being done on seismic retrofitting and challenges to advancing the field.
The Engineering Showcase concluded with a tour of the Boeing Advanced Research Center (BARC), led by Dave Polland and Kevin Bray. Students also demonstrated their use of virtual simulation technology and robotics to advance workplace safety at Boeing assembly plants.
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