UW Global Month celebrates our University’s global impact and community.��During the month of November, we highlight the connections and relationships the UW has all over the world and the impact of our University’s global engagement.

Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to��.��

Converge: Virtual Series

Ongoing

Without borders, registration fees or the challenges of travel, last year’s “Convirtual” created a historic gathering of Huskies from every corner of the globe. This year, we’re building on that momentum and, in a series first, bringing together five host communities for a UW Converge like no other. The Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore Huskies will each host events on leadership and the UW will host a final keynote address featuring UW President Ana Mari Cauce.��

Upcoming events:

• Leadership at the Crossroads of Gender and Culture – Hong Kong, November 5
• The Evolution of Event Technology – Japan, November 12
• Mental Resilience in the Transition to Endemic – Singapore, November 19
• Leading the UW Through Change, December 10

Free |

Working, Together: “Intersectional Class Struggle: Theory and Practice

November 3, 6:00 – 7:30 PM��|

��Let’s Talk Pop Health, “Crowded Out: How GoFundMe Is Changing Health Care in the US” with Nora Kenworthy

November 3, 3:30 – 4:30 PM |

Crowdfunding for health care via sites like GoFundMe has become a ubiquitous part of many societies. As social safety nets falter and crises multiply, more and more Americans turn each year to help from what GoFundMe calls “the giving layer of the internet.” But what, exactly, do they find when they do so? Drawing on seven years of mixed-methods, collaborative research, Prof. Kenworthy will explore what we think we know, what we actually know, and what we need to know about crowdfunding as it increasingly shapes health equity, access to care, and social solidarities in the US.

Nora Kenworthy is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý Bothell. Her research explores the impacts and politics of global health and charitable initiatives in communities. She is the author of��Mistreated: The Political Consequences of the Fight Against AIDS in Lesotho��(2017, Vanderbilt University Press). Her more recent research examines the use of crowdfunding for healthcare expenses in the US and abroad, and its implications for health equity, financing, and politics.

Free |

Conditional Citizens: On Belonging In America��

Hacking the Academy: Simpson Center Showcase

November 4, 1:00 – 2:00 PM��|

Afghanistan and Its Regional Relationships | A Round Table Discussion

Looking for more?

Check out UWAA’s Stronger Together web page for��more digital engagement opportunities.

The daylong will be held online on Nov. 6 and will feature introductory remarks by UW President Ana Mari Cauce and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell as well as of the U.S. Space Command. The symposium’s many come from academia, government and the aerospace industry in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

The symposium’s theme will be Autonomous Operations in Space: Tech & Policy. In the concluding , UW law professor and physicist will talk with “The Martian” author and others in a panel on “Building our Future in Deep Space.”

The co-directors of SPARC are , UW professor and chair of aeronautics and astronautics, and , professor of international studies. UW Notebook connected with Pekkanen over email with a few questions about this year’s symposium.

First, as a general overview, what is the mission of SPARC and its annual symposium?����

Saadia Pekkanen: SPARC’s mission is to bring together science, technology, and policy in a way that speaks across many disciplines. We seek to advance collaborative research as well as the education, training and networks of the next generation of space professionals.

Space entrepreneurship will be a key topic, as in years past. How is the Pacific Northwest faring as a growing hub for the space industry?����

S.P.: One of the key trends we are now seeing is that more established and well-known companies are also in the space startup business, so to speak. Many of our large local players are now tailoring some part of their operations to get into the space business, particularly focused on the hardware and data from operational satellites.

Amazon, for example, says it will invest $10 billion in a satellite constellation. Known as Project Kuiper, it will launch over 3,200 satellites to provide broadband internet access worldwide. Microsoft has recently announced a partnership with SpaceX to go after the cloud computing business focused on commercial, government and military space customers.

UW law professor��, director of the��, will moderate a panel on protecting Earth from orbital debris and near-Earth objects. We hear of low-Earth orbit being cluttered and of “near-misses” in the news. What is the current danger level from space debris?����

S.P.: I would say the levels for both accidental and deliberate threats are high. In both cases, the conditions enabling a runaway chain reaction of collision and more debris, called the Kessler syndrome, are concerning.��There are about 2,700 known operational satellites in orbit, more than half of which belong to U.S. civilian, commercial and military stakeholders. If the number of small satellites surpasses the 100,000 mark as it is projected to the chances for accidental collisions increases.

Deliberate threats such as those posed by debris-creating anti-satellite (ASAT) tests carried out by many countries are even more concerning. All this comes at a time when��the U.S has named both��Russia and China as great power competitors, and these��national rivalries have extended openly to outer space. We��should be working on restoring diplomacy to��strengthen��norms and rules, which is the only way to deal with a problem at the nexus of technology and��politics.

COVID remains a global challenge and menace. How has the coronavirus affected the space industry? Have projects or plans been delayed?��

S.P.: I think we will probably be assessing the impact with real data sometime next year. Right now, I imagine that most companies, especially smaller ones or new startups, are scrambling to adjust and float. Once again, the impact of the entry of the established companies may have a positive impact on the stability of supply chains and smaller startups as the competition moves forward.

What goals do you have for the Space Policy and Research Center in the next few years?

S.P.: We want to position as a premier university-centered think tank, which is seen as a trusted resource by audiences in government, business, education, media, and the nonprofit sector worldwide.

We also want to build out a truly interdisciplinary space studies curriculum for our students, speaking to technology, law and regional policies. We believe that such activities will bring together STEM, social sciences and humanities in the common enterprise of preserving peaceful prospects in outer space.