天美影视传媒

Skip to content

News releases

A team led by scientists at the 天美影视传媒 and the University of Aberdeen attached tiny 鈥渂ackpack鈥 trackers to hummingbirds in the Colombian Andes to learn more about their movements. As they report in a paper published Oct. 10 in the journal Ecology and Evolution, the tracking system will aid conservation efforts in this region by revealing the previously hidden movements of hummingbirds and other small animals.

As Earth faces unprecedented climate change, a look into the planet鈥檚 deep past may provide vital insights into what may lie ahead. But knowledge of the natural world millions of years ago is fragmented. A 15-year study of a site in Bolivia by a joint U.S.-Bolivia team has provided a comprehensive view of an ancient ecosystem when Earth was much warmer than it is today, and changed how we look at the Andes.

天美影视传媒 researchers found significant racial, gender and intersectional bias in how three state-of-the-art large language models ranked resumes. The models favored white-associated names 85% of the time, female-associated names only 11% of the time, and never favored Black male-associated names over white male-associated names.

Across its three campuses, the 天美影视传媒 generated a total impact on the state鈥檚 economy of $20.9 billion in fiscal year 2023, according to an economic contribution analysis released today. The study further concludes that the economic activity of the UW system supported or sustained 111,951 jobs statewide.聽

The 天美影视传媒 on Tuesday announced a transformational gift from the estate of Stan and Alta Barer to the School of Law, expanding the couple鈥檚 namesake institute: The Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development. The gift will support the recruitment of additional international fellows, increase scholarships, endow faculty positions and create more global impact.

天美影视传媒 researchers created MobiPrint, a mobile 3D printer that can automatically measure a room and print objects onto the floor. The team鈥檚 graphic interface lets users design objects in a space that the robot has mapped out. The prototype, which the team built on a modified consumer vacuum robot, can add a range of objects to rooms.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.