Founder of World Justice Project, former top Microsoft lawyer Bill Neukom to chair advisory board for UW Population Health Initiative

News releases

November 13, 2019

Founder of World Justice Project, former top Microsoft lawyer Bill Neukom to chair advisory board for UW Population Health Initiative

Known for his decades-long leadership of Microsoft鈥檚 law and corporate affairs team and then at the American Bar Association, his success as CEO of the San Francisco Giants and founder/CEO of the聽World Justice Project, Bill Neukom will now chair the external advisory board for the聽天美影视传媒 Population Health Initiative. The university initiative is a 25-year, interdisciplinary effort to bring understanding and solutions to the biggest challenges facing communities, and revolves around three major pillars 鈥� human health, environmental resilience…

November 12, 2019

New Weill Neurohub will unite UCSF, UC Berkeley, UW in race to find new treatments for brain diseases

With a $106 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation, UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco and the 天美影视传媒 have launched the Weill Neurohub, an innovative research network that will forge and nurture new collaborations between neuroscientists and researchers working in an array of other disciplines 鈥� including engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry and mathematics 鈥� to speed the development of new therapies for diseases and disorders that affect the brain and nervous system.

November 6, 2019

Mailed self-sampling kits helped more women get screened for cervical cancer

Woman's hand pulling envelop from mailbox

Signaling a potential major change in cervical cancer screening options for American women, a new study found that mailed self-sampling kits that test for HPV 鈥� the virus that can cause cervical cancer 鈥� helped significantly more women get screened for the cancer. The study involving nearly 20,000 women was conducted by researchers from the 天美影视传媒 and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and was published Nov. 6 in JAMA Network Open. In the study, women within the…

November 4, 2019

Single discrimination events alter college students’ daily behavior

Five hands making fists in a circle. All arms have black Fitbit trackers on them.

UW researchers aimed to understand both the prevalence of discrimination events and how these events affect college students in their daily lives. Over the course of two academic quarters, the team compared students’ self-reports of unfair treatment to passively tracked changes in daily activities, such as hours slept, steps taken or time spent on the phone.

Light-based ‘tractor beam’ assembles materials at the nanoscale

Researchers at the 天美影视传媒 have developed a method that could make reproducible manufacturing at the nanoscale possible. The team adapted a light-based technology employed widely in biology 鈥� known as optical traps or optical tweezers 鈥� to operate in a water-free liquid environment of carbon-rich organic solvents, thereby enabling new potential applications.

October 31, 2019

Washington’s first student-built satellite preparing for launch

tall silver rectangle inside glass box that reads "flight hardware"

After years of preparation, a tiny satellite built by UW students is scheduled to launch early Saturday, Nov. 2, from a NASA flight facility in Virginia. The launch will be broadcast live on NASA TV.

New technique lets researchers map strain in next-gen solar cells

an image showing the surface of a solar cell, and which sections of the surface are susceptible to heat loss

Researchers from the 天美影视传媒 and the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in the Netherlands have developed a way to map strain in lead halide perovskite solar cells. Their approach shows that misorientation between microscopic perovskite crystals is the primary contributor to the buildup of strain within the solar cell, which creates small-scale defects in the grain structure, interrupts the transport of electrons within the solar cell, and ultimately leads to heat loss through a process known as non-radiative recombination.

October 29, 2019

Popular third-party genetic genealogy site is vulnerable to compromised data, impersonations

A hand holding a tube in front of a 23andMe kit

UW researchers have found that the third-party genealogy site GEDmatch is vulnerable to multiple kinds of security risks.

October 28, 2019

Precision mapping with satellite, drone photos could help predict infections of a widespread tropical disease

A team led by the 天美影视传媒 and Stanford University has discovered clues in the environment that help identify transmission hotspots for schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that is second only to malaria in its global health impact.

October 23, 2019

UW is most innovative U.S. public university; No. 5 in the world, according to Reuters

The 天美影视传媒 is listed at No. 5 on the聽Reuters Top 100: The World鈥檚 Most Innovative Universities, released Wednesday. Now in its fifth year, the list ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy.

October 22, 2019

UW is No. 10 on global ranking; No. 2 among US public institutions

The 天美影视传媒 maintained its No. 10 spot on the U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 Best Global Universities rankings, released this week. The UW is ranked No. 2 among U.S. public institutions.

October 21, 2019

Humpback whale population on the rise after near miss with extinction

A new study finds that the western South Atlantic humpback population has grown to 25,000 whales. Researchers, including co-authors from the 天美影视传媒, believe this new estimate is now close to pre-whaling numbers.

October 18, 2019

UW Regents approve five-year contract extension for President Ana Mari Cauce

The 天美影视传媒 Board of Regents this week approved a five-year contract extension for President Ana Mari Cauce. The agreement was finalized under authority previously delegated to the board chair.

October 17, 2019

Old friends and new enemies: How evolutionary history can predict insect invader impacts

A team led by the 天美影视传媒 has developed a way to help foresters predict which nonnative insect invasions will be problematic, and help managers decide where to allocate resources to avoid widespread tree death.

October 15, 2019

Deaf infants more attuned to parent鈥檚 visual cues, study shows

Baby looking at something not seen by the camera.

A 天美影视传媒-led study finds that Deaf infants exposed to American Sign Language are especially tuned to a parent’s eye gaze, itself a social connection between parent and child that is linked to early learning.

Piranha fish swap old teeth for new simultaneously

With the help of new technologies, a team led by the 天美影视传媒 has confirmed that piranhas 鈥� and their plant-eating cousins, pacus 鈥� lose and regrow all the teeth on one side of their face multiple times throughout their lives. How they do it may help explain why the fish go to such efforts to replace their teeth.

First smart speaker system that uses white noise to monitor infants’ breathing

UW researchers have developed a new smart speaker skill that lets a device use white noise to both soothe sleeping babies and monitor their breathing and movement.

October 14, 2019

Fishing for the triple bottom line: profit, planet 鈥� and people

In a new study, an interdisciplinary group of researchers used Pacific herring in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, as a case study for modeling the implicit tradeoffs within the triple bottom line that result from various fisheries management decisions.

October 11, 2019

New UW center receives NIH grant to improve the fight against cancer

Even successful methods for diagnosing, treating and caring for people who are suffering from cancer are not enough without effective, practical tools and guidance for putting those methods into practice. To bridge this gap between cancer interventions and their implementation within communities across the country, the National Institutes of Health鈥檚 National Cancer Institute is funding the creation of six implementation science centers focused on cancer control. The creation of these centers are part of NIH鈥檚 Cancer Moonshot initiative to make…

October 10, 2019

UW names population health building after Swedish physician and ‘very serious possibilist’ Hans Rosling

Hans Rosling is known internationally for his captivating analysis of global health data, for discovering a paralyzing disease in Africa and explaining its socio-economic causes, and for his intense curiosity and life-long passion for educating students, world leaders and the public. Now, Hans Rosling 鈥� a Swedish doctor, statistician, author and professor 鈥� will be a name associated with the 天美影视传媒’s transformative work in population health. Today, the UW Board of Regents approved naming the $230 million building…

October 8, 2019

New paper explores race, representation in campaign finance

Jake Grumbach, UW political science professor with new research on race and campaign giving

In American politics, the question of “Who donates?” is linked to the crucial question of “Who governs?” Most campaign donations historically have come from white voters. But new UW-led research indicates that if more candidates of color ran for office, donations from individuals of color would likely increase as well.

October 7, 2019

Soundbites & B-roll: Pop-up gallery portrays homelessness with animals

The 天美影视传媒 Center for One Health Research will build 鈥減op-up galleries鈥� in public spaces around Seattle in October that will use autobiographical photographs taken by people experiencing homelessness with their companion animals. The photos will be accompanied by quotes from the participants about the challenges and the important bonds they share with their animals.

Pop-up galleries and data: Visualizing the lives of homeless people and their animals

Sparked by a grant from the聽UW Population Health Initiative,聽the UW鈥檚 Center for One Health Research has created a series of pop-up聽galleries featuring autobiographical photographs made by people experiencing homelessness with their animal companions. The first gallery was Oct. 4 in UW’s Red Square. Other pop-up gallery events are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, at Occidental Square聽in Seattle鈥檚 Pioneer Square district; Oct. 10 in Seattle鈥檚 Cal Anderson Park; and Oct. 13 in the Ballard Commons Park. The…

New metasurface design can control optical fields in three dimensions

An image showing how the optical element focuses light to a specific point in 3D space above the element's surface.

A team led by scientists at the 天美影视传媒 has designed and tested a 3D-printed metamaterial that can manipulate light with nanoscale precision. As they report in a paper published Oct. 4 in the journal Science Advances, their designed optical element focuses light to discrete points in a 3D helical pattern.

October 2, 2019

Inspired by Northern clingfish, researchers make a better suction cup

A 天美影视传媒 team inspired by the clingfish’s suction power set out to develop an artificial suction cup that borrows from nature’s design. Their prototype actually performed better than the clingfish.

September 26, 2019

Pay, flexibility, advancement: They all matter for workers’ health and safety, study shows

The terms and conditions of your employment 鈥� including your pay, hours, schedule flexibility and job security 鈥� influence your overall health as well as your risk of being injured on the job, according to new research from the 天美影视传媒. The analysis takes a comprehensive approach to show that the overall pattern of employment conditions is important for health, beyond any single measure of employment, such as wages or contract type. “This research is part of a growing…

Galaxy found to float in a tranquil sea of halo gas

A graphic showing a fast radio burst leaving its host galaxy and arriving at Earth.

An international team of astronomers has analyzed the signal from a fast radio burst 鈥� an enigmatic blast of cosmic radio waves lasting less than a millisecond 鈥� to characterize the diffuse gas in the halo of a massive galaxy.

Joel Migdal, founder of International Studies Program, to mark UW retirement with public lecture, workshop, Oct. 3

Joel Migdal retiring Jackson School professor founded the UW international studies program

Joel S. Migdal, professor in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, will celebrate retirement after 39 years at the UW on Oct. 3 with a daylong workshop featuring current and former students, followed by a lecture on 鈥淪tate and Society: Then and Now.鈥�

September 19, 2019

New student convocation Sept. 22 opens UW鈥檚 2019-2020 school year

天美影视传媒 communication professor Matt McGarrity, founder of the UW Speaking Center, will be the featured speaker at the university鈥檚 36th annual Convocation. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Introducing VPLanet: A virtual planet simulator for modeling distant worlds across time

Image is illustration of several possibly habitable worlds

UW astrobiologist Rory Barnes and co-authors have created software that simulates multiple aspects of planetary evolution across billions of years, with an eye toward finding and studying potentially habitable worlds.

Plasma flow near sun’s surface explains sunspots, other solar phenomena

A new model for plasma flow within the sun provides novel explanations for sunspots, the 11-year sunspot cycle, solar magnetic reversals and other previously unexplained solar phenomena.

September 16, 2019

UW is a 鈥楪reat College to Work For鈥�

The 天美影视传媒 has been recognized as a 鈥淕reat College to Work For鈥� for the sixth consecutive year, according to a new survey from The Great Colleges to Work For program.

Americans would rather drive themselves to work than have an autonomous vehicle drive them, study says

A traffic jam on a huge freeway at night

Are you willing to ride in a driverless car? Researchers at the 天美影视传媒 studied how Americans’ perceived cost of commute time changes depending on who’s driving.

KATRIN cuts the mass estimate for the elusive neutrino in half

A large piece of scientific equipment being moved through a town

An international team of scientists has announced a breakthrough in its quest to measure the mass of the neutrino, one of the most abundant, yet elusive, elementary particles in our universe. At the 2019 Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics conference in Toyama, Japan, leaders from the KATRIN experiment reported Sept. 13 that the estimated range for the rest mass of the neutrino is no larger than 1 electron volt, or eV.

September 12, 2019

Enhancing the way epilepsy is managed by engaging community pharmacists

Community pharmacists can play a key role in managing care for people living with epilepsy.

The 天美影视传媒鈥檚 School of Pharmacy announced on Thursday, Sept. 12, a collaboration with global biopharmaceutical company UCB to improve access to care for people living with epilepsy.This interdisciplinary project will explore ways in which community pharmacists can better support people living with this neurological disorder. The roughly 3.4 million people nationally and 75,000 people in Washington state who live with epilepsy often get fragmented and uncoordinated healthcare and community services. 鈥淔or the growing population of people living with…

September 11, 2019

UW at No. 26 in the world, fourth among U.S. public institutions, on Times Higher Education ranking list

The 天美影视传媒 has been ranked No. 26 on the Times Higher Education world rankings for 2020,聽released Wednesday. The UW moved up two places from 2019.聽