Affiliate professor of biology receives 2026 Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award��

, a research scientist and affiliate professor in the in the Department of Biology at the 91����, was honored with the ��from the��. The award recognizes exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, teaching, and service in marine mammalogy.��

Over a 40-year career, Moore’s research has focused on cetacean ecology, acoustics, and natural history, particularly in the Arctic. A prolific researcher, she is widely recognized as a pioneer in using marine mammals as ecosystem sentinels in this rapidly changing region. Over decades of studying whales, Moore has helped scientists understand the health of ocean environments and how they are changing over time. Her work provides critical insight into the impacts of climate change in the Arctic and how marine ecosystems are responding. Her contributions to Arctic science have also been recognized with the����from the International Arctic Science Committee and the 2023����from the Alaska SeaLife Center; she is also a science adviser to the Washington State Academy of��Sciences,��and was appointed Commissioner��of the�� in 2022.

Natt-Lingafelter professor of chemistry awarded 2026 Earle K. Plyler Prize��

,��professor of chemistry at the 91����,��was��awarded the 2026�� from the American Physical Society for her impactful contributions to the anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy and dynamics of molecular radicals, ions, and clusters. Established in 1976, the prize honors pioneering spectroscopist Earle K. Plyler and is sponsored by the Journal of Chemical Physics. The prize will be presented at the APS Global Physics Summit, the world’s largest physics research conference, in March 2026.

McCoy’s research focuses on theoretical chemistry, where she develops methods to understand how molecules move, vibrate, and exchange energy. Her work has helped scientists better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules—providing insight into how chemical reactions occur and how energy flows through molecular systems. Much of her recent work has focused on hydrogen-bonded systems and, specifically, proton transport. She is also interested in exotic molecules, like CH5+ and H5+, which have been proposed to exist in the interstellar medium. These advances help lay the groundwork for progress in areas ranging from atmospheric chemistry to materials science.

91���� joint professor of mathematics and computer science awarded inaugural Trevisan Prize��

91���� professor ��has received the�� for his breakthrough contributions to the study of optimization problems.��Rothvoss��holds joint appointments in the Department of Mathematics and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and was honored in the mid-career category—a recognition of his impactful work over the course of his career.

for outstanding work in the theory of computing is sponsored by the Department of Computing Sciences at Bocconi University and the Italian Academy of Sciences. Awardees receive a one-time monetary prize and a medal and are invited to give public lectures at Bocconi University. The award ceremony and lectures took place in January 2026.

Rothvoss��has built a distinguished record of contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete optimization. He shares that “over the years my focus has changed a bit…I worked on approximation algorithms, which deal with finding provably good solutions to NP-hard problems in polynomial time.” His work has since shifted toward discrepancy theory and the theoretical foundations of linear and integer programming.��In simple terms,��Rothvoss��studies��the mathematics��behind making��optimal��decisions��in��highly complex��systems. His research helps reveal when efficient solutions are��possible and optimization problems can be solved.��

Political��science��professor��receives John Gaus Award��

,��professor of��political��science at the 91����,��received the����from the American Political Science Association��(APSA).��

The John Gaus Award is presented annually to honor a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration. Prakash was selected unanimously for the award in recognition of a career devoted to advancing scholarship at the intersection of political science and public administration. A nomination letter noted that Prakash’s research, particularly on environmental issues, has helped bring environmental concerns into public administration in a variety of ways, including examining how businesses and NGOs can fill governance gaps. At the same time, the letter highlighted how his work explores the risks of these nontraditional governance mechanisms, including potential issues such as regulatory capture and accountability deficits.��

Prakash’s research spans environmental governance, public policy, and global political economy. Over the course of his career, he has published eight scholarly books and more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals, with his work cited more than 18,000 times across the field. As part of the honor, Prakash presented the Gaus Lecture at the APSA Annual Meeting in September 2025.

Washington Sea Grant��interim��director��receives��governor’s��leadership��award��

, interim director of Washington Sea Grant, received the��, which recognizes exemplary leadership and service to the state of Washington.

Little was honored for her work supporting the state’s coastal communities through Washington Sea Grant’s research, outreach, and partnership-driven initiatives.��

Little has dedicated more than 15 years to strengthening Washington’s coast through strategic vision, inclusive practices, and sustained investment in community-centered programs. Under her leadership, Washington Sea Grant delivered nearly $250 million in services and economic benefits statewide between 2021 and 2024, reflecting the program’s broad impact across coastal and maritime communities.��

“A big thank you to the team at Washington Sea Grant for the nomination,” Little said.��“I’m��deeply grateful to work alongside such thoughtful colleagues, who are so dedicated to our shared work.��I’m��so honored by this recognition from the��governor. This award really is a testament to the impact of Washington Sea Grant’s work in serving the state’s coastal communities.”

Biology��professor��awarded Rome Prize Fellowship in Environmental Arts & Humanities��

, professor of biology��at��the 91����,��was awarded��the prestigious in the new Environmental Arts & Humanities category by the��. This pilot fellowship supports collaborative projects that explore how human beings relate to, experience, and interpret the natural world.

In partnership with Katharine Ogle, lecturer��of��English at��the University��of Southern California, Summers will pursue a project titled��“Piscis Romana.”��Their work draws on��natural history��research conducted at the Friday Harbor Laboratories to investigate the links between marine life,��ecology,��and poetic expression.��

“This��award will allow��Katie Ogle and��me to��further explore the links between poetry and natural history that have been developed by a group of us at Friday Harbor Labs,”��Summers said.��

Summers’ biological research spans marine and aquatic systems with a strong emphasis on understanding organismal form,��function,��and the broader natural-history context in which��species��evolve and interact. Partnering��with Ogle, he will extend that scientific inquiry into the realm of arts and humanities, looking at how the natural world inspires literary forms,��metaphors,��and cultural narratives.��

With this Rome Prize fellowship, Summers joins a competitive cohort selected from��nearly 1,000��applicants and will spend several��months in��residence at the Academy in Rome, working among scholars and artists from around the world.��

In all, 91���� professors make up one-third of the 24 new members, who will be formally inducted in September during an annual meeting at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Elected by current members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences:

• , professor of environmental and occupational health sciences
• , associate dean for faculty affairs and professor in the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
• , professor of chemistry
• , professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate vice provost of research
• , professor and chair of mechanical engineering
• , professor of physics at the 91���� Institute for Nuclear Theory
• , professor of pharmacology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences

Additionally, , professor of atmospheric sciences and of applied mathematics, was elected to the state academy by virtue of his election into the National Academy of Sciences.

A published April 18 in the journal Science by researchers at Yale University and the 91���� offers a new level of observation and analysis. They provide the first direct measurement of variations in frequency and complexity associated with bonded oxygen and hydrogen atoms perched on the surface of water — when one of these so-called “O-H” groups is sticking out of it. The researchers also offer the first measurement of how these O-H groups are coupled together on the surface plane of water.

“There is great interest in this for addressing fundamental science questions,” said , a professor of chemistry at the 91����. “People can use these results to test their models of how water behaves on larger scales and get a better sense of what’s going on in other types of water systems — such as looking at the structure and properties of bulk water or looking at the behavior of ions in water systems.”

A theoretical chemist, McCoy is co-corresponding author on the paper along with Mark Johnson, a professor of chemistry at Yale University. Johnson’s team used several spectroscopy techniques, some of which they developed in their laboratory, to collect this precise data on the behavior of O-H groups on the surface of a tiny drop of water — just 20 water molecules surrounding a cesium ion. McCoy performed calculations on the fundamental interactions among all of the atoms in the experimental setup.

Together, McCoy’s calculations and the Yale group’s measurements allowed them to create a physical model of the layout of the 20 water molecules around the cesium ion, including the orientation of O-H groups sticking up from the surface and the arrangement of water molecules at the surface.

“Our work is really a fundamental science contribution,” said Johnson. “Its importance lies in the fact that elementary mechanics and chemical properties of water are important in many fields, and many researchers are involved in simulating this behavior from first principles. We provide a quantitative benchmark upon which to calibrate such simulations.”

“There’s a lot about water that’s weird, yet it’s essential for life,” said McCoy. “Experiments like this let us get closer to understanding why.”

Lead author on the study is Nan Yang and co-authors are Chinh Duong and Patrick Kelleher — all from Yale. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

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For more information, contact McCoy at abmccoy@uw.edu.

Adapted from by Jim Shelton at Yale University.

But in published in the Dec. 2 issue of the journal , an international team of researchers has finally caught water in the act — showing how water molecules pass along excess charges and, in the process, conduct electricity.

“This fundamental process in chemistry and biology has eluded a firm explanation,” said co-author , a professor of chemistry at the 91����. “And now we have the missing piece that gives us the bigger picture: how protons essentially ‘move’ through water.”

The team was led by , senior author and a professor at Yale University. For over a decade, Johnson, McCoy and two co-authors — professor at the University of Pittsburgh and , a professor at Leipzig University — have collaborated to understand how molecules in complex arrangements pass along charged particles.

For water, this is an old question. Chemists call the process by which water conducts electricity the . When excess protons — the positively charged subatomic particles within atoms — are introduced into water, they pass quickly through the fluid, riding a transient, ever-shifting network of loose bonds between water molecules. By the Grotthuss mechanism, a water molecule can pick up an excess charge and pass it along to a neighbor almost instantaneously.

The exchange is fundamental to understanding the behavior of water in biological and industrial settings. But it is also so fast and the vibrations between water molecules so great that the hand-off cannot be captured using traditional spectroscopy — a technique that scatters light against a molecule to learn about its structure.

“With spectroscopy, you hit objects with a beam of photons, see how those photons are scattered and use that scattering information to determine information about the object’s structure and arrangement of atoms,” said McCoy. “And this is where Mark Johnson’s lab at Yale has really been a leader — in adapting spectroscopy to better capture this transfer of protons among water molecules.”

Johnson’s lab, along with collaborators in Asmis’s lab in Germany, figured out how to freeze the proton relay to slow the process, giving the researchers time to visualize the Grotthuss mechanism using spectroscopy. When these “spectroscopic snapshots” proved still too blurry due to vibrations in chemical bonds, they switched to studying this mechanism in “heavy water.” In heavy water, regular hydrogen atoms are replaced by a heavier isotope called deuterium. By the quirky rules of quantum mechanics that underlie the behavior of subatomic particles, bonds in heavy water shake less than traditional H₂O.

But this snapshot required massive amounts of theoretical and computational decoding to reveal just how water molecules momentarily altered their structure to both receive and pass along an extra proton. McCoy’s and Jordan’s groups helped develop computational approaches to analyze the spectroscopy data.

“In spectroscopy, your goal is to determine the structure of molecules based on how they scatter light,” said McCoy. “In our approach, we also asked how the behavior of bonds will affect spectroscopy. That really completed our circle of inquiry and allowed us to visualize this transfer of protons.”

In their paper, they describe the Grotthuss mechanism attaching various tag molecules to complexes made up of four molecules of heavy water. According to McCoy, they would like to see how the proton relay changes among larger groups of water molecules and to expand these spectroscopy techniques to include other small molecules with complex structures.

Lead author on the paper is Conrad Wolke at Yale University. Other co-authors are Joseph Fournier of the University of Chicago; of The Ohio State University; Matias Fagiani and Harald Knorke of Leipzig University; and Tuguldur Odbadrakh of the University of Pittsburgh. McCoy, who moved to 91���� from The Ohio State University in 2015, currently maintains labs at both institutions and Dzugan is a member of her . The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the German Research Foundation.

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For more information, contact McCoy at 206-543-7464 or abmccoy@uw.edu.

Grant numbers: DE-FG02-06ER15800, DEFG02-06ER15066, CHE-1619660.