News releases
October 17, 2024
Life could exist on Mars in shallow meltwater pools below icy surface, study suggests
Researchers think meltwater beneath Martian ice could host microbial life. New results show that dusty ice could allow deeper layers to melt, while allowing enough sunlight through to support photosynthesis.
October 15, 2024
Antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces issue final reports, findings and recommendations to UW leadership
Final reports from the 天美影视传媒鈥檚 task forces on antisemitism and Islamophobia were released Tuesday. The task forces were established by UW President Ana Mari Cauce on March 7, 2024, with the goal of assessing 鈥渉ow students, faculty and staff are experiencing discrimination or harassment because they are Jewish and/or Palestinian, Middle Eastern or Muslim on our campus, and to what degree they feel the climate is supportive and welcoming.鈥�
October 14, 2024
UW鈥檚 2024 entering class is most diverse
The 天美影视传媒鈥檚 newest freshman class is the most diverse in the school鈥檚 164-year history, and the incoming class at UW Bothell is the largest since the school first welcomed students in 1990, while UW Tacoma鈥檚 enrollment increased 4% over last year.
September 25, 2024
To make fluid flow in one direction down a pipe, it helps to be a shark
Researchers from the 天美影视传媒 have discovered a new way to help liquid flow in only one direction, but without using the flaps that engines and our circulatory system rely upon to prevent fluid backup. The team built a flexible pipe with an interior helical structure inspired by the anatomy of shark intestines 鈥� creating a prototype inspired by biology but with applications in engineering and medicine.
September 23, 2024
UW introduces 鈥楩ive for Flourishing,鈥� an innovative suite of academic interventions to help students thrive
Every year, undergraduates at the 天美影视传媒 start their college experience, often in cavernous classrooms, learning alongside dozens, if not hundreds, of their peers. Research shows that taking these courses 鈥� some prerequisites and other classes on popular topics 鈥� can make students feel isolated, scared and not up to the task.
September 21, 2024
Remembering former Washington governor, senator, public servant and UW alumnus, Daniel J. Evans
Daniel Jackson Evans, a man whose impact on the state of Washington and the 天美影视传媒 spans decades and is memorialized in his namesake, the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, died Sept. 20, 2024. He was 98.
September 20, 2024
UW鈥檚 incoming class welcomed at New Student Convocation
The 天美影视传媒 will welcome its incoming classes and their families on Sunday, Sept. 22 at the University鈥檚 annual New Student Convocation, which will be held in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
September 19, 2024
Over 8 years, UW Population Health Initiative has turned ideas into impact
In just eight years, the UW Population Health Initiative has funded 227 innovative, interdisciplinary projects. With the Initiative now a third of the way into its 25-year vision, UW News checked in with three projects that recently received funding to scale their efforts.聽
What鈥檚 for dinner? Scientists unearth key clues to cuisine of resident killer whales
Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the southern residents, which reside primarily in the Salish Sea and off the coast of Washington, British Columbia, Oregon and northern California. The two populations show broad preference for salmon, particularly Chinook, chum and coho. But they differ in when they switch to hunting and eating different salmon species, as well as the other fish species they pursue to supplement their diets. This information could aid conservation efforts for southern resident killer whales, which remain critically endangered due to pollution, loss of salmon habitat and other human-caused factors that disrupt their hunting and reproductive capabilities.
September 18, 2024
Video: UW welcomes incoming fall students to on-campus housing
Mild fall temperatures this week helped welcome the first group of students who moved into 天美影视传媒 residence halls and apartments. More than 10,000 students are expected to live in UW housing this year, including more than 77.5% of the freshman class. This year鈥檚 incoming class is expected to be around 7,150, according to preliminary information.
September 10, 2024
UW researchers develop a stretchable, wearable device that lights up an LED using only the warmth of your skin
UW researchers have developed a flexible, durable electronic prototype that can harvest energy from body heat and turn it into electricity that can be used to power small electronics, such as batteries, sensors or LEDs. This device is also resilient 鈥� it still functions even after being pierced several times and then stretched 2,000 times.
Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully
New research led by the 天美影视传媒 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed how underwater noise produced by humans may help explain why southern resident orca populations have not recovered from historic lows. In a paper published Sept. 10 in Global Change Biology, the team reports that underwater noise pollution 鈥� from both large and small vessels 鈥� forces northern and southern resident orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fish. The din also lowers the overall success of their hunting efforts. Noise from ships likely has an outsized impact on southern resident orca pods, which spend more time in parts of the Salish Sea with high ship traffic.
September 9, 2024
COVID-19 lockdowns prematurely aged teenage brains, UW study shows
New research from the 天美影视传媒 found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.
August 30, 2024
New discoveries about how mosquitoes mate may help the fight against malaria
An international team led by researchers at the 天美影视传媒 has uncovered surprising details about mosquito mating, which could lead to improved malaria control techniques and even help develop precision drone flight. In a paper published Aug. 30 in the journal Current Biology, the team revealed that when a male Anopheles coluzzii mosquito hears the sound of female-specific wingbeats, his eyes 鈥渁ctivate鈥� and he visually scans the immediate vicinity for a potential mate.
August 29, 2024
Scientists will study nearby galaxies to uncover galactic formation history and dark matter
NASA鈥檚 upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will look for 鈥渇ossils鈥� of galaxy formation by conducting high-resolution imaging studies. Through a grant from NASA, astronomers are designing a set of possible observations called RINGS 鈥� the Roman Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey 鈥� that would collect these images, and the team is producing publicly available tools that the astronomy community can use once Roman launches and starts collecting data.
August 28, 2024
Large language models can help detect social media bots 鈥� but can also make the problem worse
A team led by 天美影视传媒 researchers found that large language models, such as ChatGPT, can make social media bots more sophisticated at evading detection. But these models can also improve systems that detect bots.
August 21, 2024
Human-wildlife overlap expected to increase across more than half of Earth鈥檚 land by 2070
The overlap between humans and animals will increase substantially across much of the planet in less than 50 years due to human population growth and climate change, according to a collaborative study by scientists at the University of Michigan, the 天美影视传媒 and University College London. By 2070, the overlap between humans and more than 22,000 vertebrate species will rise across nearly 57% of Earth鈥檚 land, according to the team.
August 20, 2024
New independent venture capital fund accelerates and enhances innovation ecosystem at the UW
Pack Ventures, a new venture capital fund that is collaborating with the 天美影视传媒, aims to help entrepreneurs launch new innovations and grow startups that emerge across the UW, while also giving Husky alumni access to investment opportunities.
August 16, 2024
Why isn’t Colorado’s snowpack ending up in the Colorado River? New research suggests the problem might be the lack of spring rainfall
The Colorado River and its tributaries provide water for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water in seven U.S. states and Mexico. But since 2000, water managers have struggled to predict how much water will come from the snowpack. The problem lies with the lack of rainfall in the spring, according to new research from the UW.
August 14, 2024
Galaxies in dense environments tend to be larger, settling one cosmic question and raising others
A new study has found galaxies with more neighbors tend to be larger than their counterparts that have a similar shape and mass, but reside in less dense environments. In a paper published Aug. 14 in the Astrophysical Journal, the team, which used a machine-learning algorithm to analyze millions of galaxies, reports that galaxies found in denser regions of the universe are as much as 25% larger than isolated galaxies. The findings resolve a long-standing debate among astrophysicists over the relationship between a galaxy鈥檚 size and its environment, but also raise new questions about how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years.
August 8, 2024
Many survey respondents rated seeking out sexually explicit 鈥榙eepfakes鈥� as more acceptable than creating or sharing them
In a survey of 315 people conducted by researchers at the 天美影视传媒 and Georgetown University, respondents largely found creating and sharing sexually explicit 鈥渄eepfakes鈥� unacceptable. But far fewer respondents strongly opposed seeking out these media. Previous research has shown that other people viewing non-AI image-based abuse harms the victims significantly.
August 7, 2024
Using photos or videos, these AI systems can conjure simulations that train robots to function in physical spaces
Two new studies introduce AI systems that use either video or photos to create simulations that can train robots to function in the real world. This could significantly lower the costs of training robots to function in complex settings.
August 5, 2024
Randy Hodgins, vice president of the Office of External Affairs, to retire in June 2025
After more than two decades with the 天美影视传媒, Vice President Randy Hodgins announced today that he will step down from his role leading the UW Office of External Affairs and retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. During his upcoming final year as Vice President, Hodgins said he will remain committed to advancing the University鈥檚 mission and ensuring a smooth transition.
July 29, 2024
UW model shows cortical implants like Elon Musk鈥檚 Blindsight unlikely to 鈥榚xceed normal human vision鈥�
New research from Ione Fine and Geoffrey Boynton, UW professors of psychology, shows Elon Musk鈥檚 projection for the latest Neuralink project rests on the flawed premise that implanting millions of tiny electrodes into the visual cortex, the region of the brain that processes information received from the eye, will result in high-resolution vision.
July 25, 2024
How iBuyers are changing real estate racial disparities and individual homeownership rates in one major city
天美影视传媒 researchers investigated how iBuyers 鈥� companies that use automated algorithms to quickly buy and sell homes 鈥� have affected the well-documented racial bias against Black home sellers. Looking at Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, they found that on average iBuyers paid more equal prices to Black and white home sellers than individual buyers, largely because iBuyers paid white sellers significantly less on average than an individual buyer. They also discovered that iBuyers were significantly more likely to resell homes to institutions, such as large rental companies that鈥檝e been tied to high eviction rates and rent-gouging.
July 16, 2024
Even on Instagram, teens mostly feel bored
New research from the 天美影视传媒 finds that teens open Instagram because they鈥檙e bored. Then they sift through largely irrelevant content, mostly feeling bored, while seeking interesting bits to share with their friends in direct messages. Then, eventually bored with what researchers call a 鈥渃ontent soup,鈥� they log off.
July 10, 2024
Wolves鈥� return has had only small impact on deer populations in NE Washington, study shows
Wolves returned to Washington state in 2008. A new study shows that, despite their rising numbers, wolves are not having much of an impact on white-tailed deer, one of their primary prey. In a paper published June 18 in Ecological Applications, scientists from the 天美影视传媒 and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife report that the biggest factor shaping white-tailed deer populations in northeast Washington is the quality of habitat available, which is largely determined by human activity. Cougars were second in their impact. Wolves were a distant third.
June 26, 2024
UW taps Hilaire Thompson to be next dean of the School of Nursing
天美影视传媒 Provost Tricia Serio today announced the appointment of Hilaire Thompson as next executive dean of the School of Nursing, effective Aug. 1, pending approval by the Board of Regents.
June 21, 2024
ChatGPT is biased against resumes with credentials that imply a disability 鈥� but it can improve
UW researchers found that ChatGPT consistently ranked resumes with disability-related honors and credentials 鈥� such as the 鈥淭om Wilson Disability Leadership Award鈥� 鈥� lower than the same resumes without those honors and credentials. But when researchers customized the tool with written instructions directing it not to be ableist, the tool reduced this bias for all but one of the disabilities tested.
June 12, 2024
UW President Ana Mari Cauce will step down in June 2025, following a decade in office
天美影视传媒 President Ana Mari Cauce announced Wednesday that she will step down from her leadership role at the conclusion of her second five-year term in June 2025 鈥斅燼 transition that has been planned for several years with the UW Board of Regents 鈥� and return to her faculty position. In her upcoming final year in office, Cauce said she is committed to advancing the work of the UW and ensuring a smooth transition.
June 3, 2024
UW celebrates Class of 2024 as thousands march in events in Husky Stadium, the Tacoma Dome and T-Mobile Park
More than 7,000 UW graduates of the Class of 2024 plan to participate in the June 8 ceremony for UW Seattle. Officials expect about 40,000 family and friends to cheer the graduates from the Husky Stadium grandstands. UW Tacoma will hold its commencement June 7; UW Bothell鈥檚 graduation ceremonies are June 9. UW President Ana Mari Cauce will present 18,006 degrees to the Class of 2024 across all three UW campuses鈥� ceremonies.
UW study abroad returns to pre-pandemic participation levels, helps increase graduation rates
As the academic school year comes to an end, many students will continue their studies by packing a suitcase and heading overseas.
About 3,000 天美影视传媒 students will study abroad this school year, a number that surpasses the previous high set in 2018-2019. That means study abroad participation is back to pre-pandemic levels. UW leaders say these programs promise profound experiences and lifelong memories. and 聽new research shows that college students who study abroad are more likely to graduate.
May 30, 2024
Dana Robinson Slote becomes director of media relations, leading UW News
Dana Robinson Slote, who for more than a decade ran communications efforts for the Seattle City Council, is the new director of media relations at the 天美影视传媒, effective May 20.
May 29, 2024
Q&A: How AI affects kids鈥� creativity
鈥淲e asked one 11-year-old how he鈥檇 feel if his favorite book series was written by AI instead of an author, and he said it would 鈥榙ismantle鈥� the joy of reading for him. We often don’t think about kids having these deep, existential questions about what it means to be an artist,鈥� said Michele Newman, a 天美影视传媒 doctoral student in the Information School.
May 28, 2024
UW鈥檚 Larry Dalton and wife, Nicole Boand, make $10 million bequest to the School of Nursing for scholarships and clinical education
The 天美影视传媒 School of Nursing today announced a $10 million bequest from UW chemistry professor emeritus Larry R. Dalton and his wife, Nicole A. Boand.
May 23, 2024
AI headphones let wearer listen to a single person in a crowd, by looking at them just once
A 天美影视传媒 team has developed an artificial intelligence system that lets someone wearing headphones look at a person speaking for three to five seconds to 鈥渆nroll鈥� them. The system then plays just the enrolled speaker鈥檚 voice in real time, even as the pair move around in noisy environments.
May 15, 2024
Scientists want to know how the smells of nature benefit our health
Spending time in nature is good for us. And knowing more about nature鈥檚 effects on our bodies could not only help our well-being, but could also improve how we care for land, preserve ecosystems and design cities, homes and parks. Many studies have focused on how seeing nature affects us. A team of scientists from around the world wants to understand what the nose knows. They are calling for more research into how odors and scents from natural settings impact our health and well-being.
Q&A: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect older adults鈥� technology use?
天美影视传媒 researchers interviewed 16 older adults in Washington and Oregon, ages 65 to 80, about how their technology use with their social support networks changed during the pandemic.
May 14, 2024
UW-led project to study ozone, atmospheric layers a finalist for next-generation NASA satellite
A project led by the 天美影视传媒 to better understand our atmosphere鈥檚 complexity is a finalist for NASA鈥檚 next generation of Earth-observing satellites. STRIVE will receive $5 million to conduct a one-year concept study, and then will hear whether it is selected for launch.
May 10, 2024
University statement on encampment and counter-protest on Sunday
A statement from the 天美影视传媒 regarding the encampment protest in the Quad and a planned counter-protest on Sunday
Next page