An astronomer tells tales of stargazing and pursuing the universe’s big questions, a grandparent shares wisdom for happy living, a jazz drummer lays down a cool new album 鈥�

But behold, yet more! An engineer pens STEM biographies for children, a cartoonist draws stories from his life, researchers ponder the future of river and wildlife conservation, and faculty masters bring out new classical recordings on guitar and piano.

Though 2020 was a holy humbug of a year, 天美影视传媒 talents persevered, and published. Here’s a quick look at some giftworthy books and music created by UW faculty and staff, and a reminder of some recent favorites.

Stargazing stories: , associate professor of astronomy, published the anecdote-filled “” in August. “These are stories astronomers tell each other when all of us are hanging out at meetings,” Levesque said. Kirkus Reviews called them “entertaining, ardent tales from an era of stargazing that may not last much longer.”

‘Grand’ wisdom: , professor emeritus of English, has written novels, short stories and more, but takes a personal turn in “.” He offers his grandson, and readers, “what I hope are 10 fertile and essential ideas for the art of living.” It’s all presented “tentatively and with great humility,” Johnson says, as “grandfatherly advice is as plentiful as blackberries.”

Drums, duets: , assistant professor of music, released the album “” in March. Poor told UW News the music “is a celebration of space 鈥� space for drums to resonate and convey a feeling, and for the melody to dance around and push that feeling. It is primarily a collection of duets with saxophonist聽 and the sound of the record is focused on drums and sax throughout.”

STEM stories: , professor of civil and environmental engineering, published two books for young readers this fall: “The Secret Lives of Scientists, Engineers, and Doctors,” volumes and . The volumes showcase “the struggle, growth and success” of 12 professionals in STEM fields, including a geneticist, a biologist, a cancer researcher and a scientist at the National Institutes of Health. More books are .

Life drawings: , professor of Slavic languages and literatures and comparative literature, published “,” a eclectic collection of drawings and essays, highlighting his different styles through the years, “from tragedy to tragicomedy to documentary to black humor,” he said.

Guitar works: School of Music faculty guitarist released his 10^th album in March. “” features classical guitar works written for him by composers and

Sheppard plays Brahms: , internationally known professor and pianist, put out a digital release of 107 early Brahms works in October, titled “.” The work joins Sheppard’s lengthy from a decades-long career.

Ecological restoration: How has climate change affected regional ecological restoration? , a research scientist in human centered design and engineering, looks for answers in “,” from UW Press.

River history: Seattle was born from the banks of the Duwamish River, writes BJ Cummings of the UW Superfund Research Program, but the river鈥檚 story, and that of its people, has not fully been told. Cummings seeks to remedy that with 鈥�,鈥� published by UW Press.

Coexisting: Agriculture and wildlife can coexist, says , professor of environmental and forest sciences, in his book “.” But only “if farmers are justly rewarded for conservation, if future technological advancements increase food production and reduce food waste, and if consumers cut back on meat consumption.”

And here are some favorites from 2019:

O鈥橫ara鈥檚 鈥楥ode鈥�: History professor provides a sweeping history of California鈥檚 computer industry titans in “ The New York Times called it an “accessible yet sophisticated chronicle.”

Mindful travel: of the English Department and the Comparative History of Ideas program discusses how travelers can respectfully explore cultures with lower incomes, different cultural patterns and fewer luxuries in “.”

Kingdome man: , associate professor of architecture, studies the life and work of Jack Christiansen, designer of the Kingdome and other structures, in “,” published by UW Press.

Powerful silence: “,” a documentary directed by English professor about NFL star Marshawn Lynch’s use of silence as a form of protest, is available for rent or purchase on several platforms.

Seattle stories: UW Press republished English professor ‘s well-loved 1976 reflections on his city, “.” Sale, who taught at the UW for decades, died in 2017.

• Joanne De Pue, School of Music communications director, assisted with this story.

Climate change and adaptive restoration explored in ‘Anticipating Future Environments’

How do climate change and its symptoms 鈥� drought, wildfire, flooding, extreme weather 鈥� affect the daily work of scientists involved with ecological restoration?

, a research scientist with the 天美影视传媒 Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, looks for answers to this in a new book published in July by UW Press. “” tells of past and present salmon habitat restoration science in the Columbia Basin.

“Ecological restoration is often premised on the idea of returning a region to an earlier, healthier state,” Hirsch writes. “Yet the effects of climate change undercut that premise and challenge the ways scientists can work, destabilizing the idea of ‘normalcy’ and revealing the politics that shape what scientists can do. How can the practice of ecological restoration shift to anticipate an increasingly dynamic future? And how does a scientific field itself adapt to climate change?”

David Montgomery, UW professor of Earth and space sciences and author of several books, praised the new work: “In this hard look at how to restore an ecosystem that is changing our from under you, Hirsch reinforces the message that good science is not enough.”

UW Notebook asked Hirsch a few questions about the book and its topic.

How did the book come about?

Shana Lee Hirsch: I was researching water management in the Columbia River Basin and I was really struck by the complex and overwhelming issues that people are facing in terms of, not only managing water, but in sustaining livelihoods,聽and all of the life that depends on the river. When climate change is piled on top of that, the issues are magnified.

But what really stood out to me was the way that people didn’t give up 鈥� they just kept on working through all of these complexities, restoring the river and finding creative ways to adapt. I wanted to understand what people, and particularly restoration scientists and practitioners were doing differently in light of climate change. How were they adapting their science, and their work, to deal with a climate-changed river system?

Who is the book’s intended audience?

S.L.H: It is an academic book, but tried to write it in a way that is accessible to a broader audience of people who are generally interested in environmental management or restoration of salmon habitat, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

What do you hope readers take away from the book?

S.L.H: I hope that readers will be inspired by what the restorationist community is doing to ensure that salmon continue to survive in the Columbia River Basin. Despite all of the devastation that salmon populations have suffered from development, and now climate change, the salmon and the people are not giving up. There is simply too much to lose.

Climate change should not overwhelm and stifle us to inaction, it should spur us to action and hope. The restorationists in this book can serve as an inspiration in this regard.

For more information, contact Hirsch at slhirsch@uw.edu or visit her personal .

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In other UW book news:

Stay the wrecking ball: ‘Building Reuse’ out in paperback

UW associate professor of architecture argues for the environmental benefits of reusing buildings instead of tearing them down in her 2018 book “.” UW Press published a paperback edition of the book in August.

Tearing down buildings and “throwing away the energy and materials embodied in them” is contrary to the values of sustainable builders and environmental stewards, Merlino told UW News in 2018. “I’m not arguing that all buildings are worthy of preservation and reuse, but I think a change in discourse is necessary.”

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Anu Taranath’s ‘Beyond Guilt Trips’ a Washington State Book Award finalist

The Washington Center for the Book has named “” by a finalist for a 2020 Washington Book Award in the general nonfiction category. Taranath is a principal lecturer in the departments of English and the Comparative History of Ideas.

“Many of us want to connect with people unlike us, and we know that鈥檚 a good thing 鈥� it鈥檚 good for our democracy, good for our souls, good for our communities,鈥� Taranath told UW News in 2019. “But we鈥檙e also not sure how to do so, because of the persistent inequities in race, economics and global positioning. And having good intentions and knowing how to connect are two different things.”

The book also was on Oprah Magazine’s and the Fodor’s Travel list of books to inspire travel, and received an from the booksellers’ publication Foreword Reviews.

The Washington Book Awards were announced on Aug. 21, and the winners will be named on Sept. 25.