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News and Updates

News and Updates

State Legislators and staff visit the UW

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The Office of State Relations hosted a group of state legislators and staff on campus last Friday (September 27) for a tour of the Institute for Protein Design, a campus tour including the recently renovated Odegaard Undergraduate Library & Learning Commons and the Paul G. Allen Center for Computing & Engineering, and a lunch briefing with presentations by Vice Provost for Research Mary Lidstrom and Vice Provost and Undergraduate Academic Affairs Dean Ed Taylor.

The group included State Sen. David Frockt (D-Seattle), State Rep. Cindy Ryu (D-Shoreline), and State Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah), along with staff from the House Higher Education Committee and Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Legislative Visit 9-27-13 b
State Legislators and Staff Visit an Active Learning Classroom in Odegaard.

Additional campus visits this fall are already in the works. Stay tuned for more details soon!

Discover the UW: Institute for Protein Design

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As America’s number one federally funded public research university, the University of Washington is producing research with the power to change the world.

State legislators and other Olympia decision-makers will get a first-hand look at what UW researchers are discovering in a Friday, September 27 visit to The Baker Laboratory and the Institute for Protein Design, located in the University’s new Molecular Engineering and Sciences building.

Legislators and staff will be introduced to the Institute’s work integrating UW expertise in biochemistry, engineering, computer science and medicine, and leveraging local strength in the software industry to achieve new breakthroughs in medicine.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how UW research has the power to transform human health, how UW’s world-class research plays an important role in the state’s biotech research cluster, and how the University is propelling leading edge research and ideas out of our labs into the marketplace.

Learn more about the Institute for Protein Design in this video:

State legislators and their staff interested in the tour can contact the Office of State Relations at 206-543-7604.

Governor Inslee launches Results Washington initiative

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Today (Sept. 10), Gov. Jay Inslee launched a new performance management initiative dubbed Results Washington.

The data-driven performance management and continuous improvement system focuses on five goal areas:

Continue reading “Governor Inslee launches Results Washington initiative”

UW ranked 13th nationally by Washington Monthly, 9th in “Bang for Buck”

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Washington Monthly cover

Washington Monthly, which ranks universities based upon social mobility, research production and commitment to service, has ranked the University of Washington 13th among national universities for 2013.

The UW also was ranked ninth among national universities in “Best Bang for the Buck,” a measure of  “colleges in America that do the best job of helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices,” according to the magazine.

Learn more at UW Today.

Seattle Times: Computer games + math = fun and learning in schools

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The Seattle Times recently reported on UW researcher Zoran Popovic‘s work to make computer games more effective at teaching math.

One of the most successful examples, for adults and students alike, is the UW Center for Game Science’s Foldit, which challenges users to help uncover the structures of biologically important proteins.

Players around the world have made a number of important discoveries about the structures of proteins just by playing the game.

The UW lab has recently turned to K-12 education, and is “using the same mechanisms to reach high levels of mastery for kids,” said Popovic, the center’s director.

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“We were able to show that even kindergartners and first-graders can master solving equations,” Popovic said. “This is shockingly good,” he said — especially for elementary school, where algebra concepts usually are not taught.

Read the whole story.

External Affairs service project at University Heights Center

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Yesterday (August 14), UW External Affairs staff participated in a service project at the University Heights Center, a non-profit community-run organization.

From helping clean windows and alcoves, to landscaping upkeep, and moving soil for new raised beds in the P-Patch, the crew had a great time! Each year, the UW community provides over 346,000 hours of service to our communities.

Here’s a photo of the crew, after finishing up the project:

Dubs Up!
Dubs Up!

UW School of Medicine ranks first among medical students

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The Puget Sound Business Journal reports:

University of Washington School of Medicine was ranked No. 1 in a national survey of current medical students.

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One Class of 2015 student at UW wrote: “The first thing every faculty and staff member in my program has said is, ‘We are here to help you; this is going to be a lot of hard work, but we are here for you,’ and that makes all the difference in the world to me. Graduate school is never going to be easy and it shouldn’t be, but having that support structure is what makes this a great program.”

Read the article here.