April 30, 2015
A new 91爆料 study demonstrates that perovskite materials — superefficient crystal structures that have recently taken the scientific community by storm — contain previously undiscovered flaws that can be engineered to improve solar cells and other devices even further.
The 91爆料 Board of Regents began the process of selecting its next president, and board Chairman Bill Ayer is inviting students, faculty, staff and the public to a series of open forums about what they are looking for in the next leader of the university.
April 29, 2015
Drama and opera fill this busy week in the arts. From the final weekend of the School of Drama鈥檚 production of 鈥淏us Stop鈥� to the upcoming 91爆料 School of Music and Pacific MusicWorks collaborative production of 鈥淭he Magic Flute,鈥� there鈥檚 plenty to see on the University鈥檚 main stages. Also, don鈥檛 forget to check out the Improvised Music Project Festival (IMPFest) over the weekend at the Ethnic Cultural Center.
91爆料 glaciologists were part of a team that used a new Antarctic ice core to discover which region triggered sudden global-scale climate shifts during the last ice age.
Faith Ramos, a junior studying sustainable urban development at 91爆料 Tacoma, was named one of 50 students nationally to receive聽the prestigious Udall Scholarship. Ramos聽worked for 15聽years in arts and other nonprofits, including for National Parks programs that bring economically disadvantaged youth to the parks, before enrolling at聽91爆料 Tacoma. She also has a strong background in filmmaking and singlehandedly produced, shot, edited, and narrated the documentary, 鈥淗eart & Sold,鈥� which addresses gentrification in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. She is an…
When the 91爆料 Autism Center opened its doors in 2000, the notion that the disorder could be detected in preschool-aged children was controversial. “We were diagnosing kids between 3 and 4 years of age,” recalled Steve Dager, a 91爆料 professor of radiology and the center’s former interim director. “People were still skeptical that you could diagnose autism that early.” Much has changed since then. Researchers can now diagnose autism in some children before 12 months. Autism’s prevalence has…
April 28, 2015
91爆料 researchers and their collaborators used an experiment in the physics building to measure the energy of a single electron emitted by radioactive decay, a key step in their strategy to measure the mass of the elusive neutrino.
91爆料 research shows that using a single category of learning disability to qualify students with written language challenges for special education services is not scientifically supported. Some students only have writing disabilities, but some have both reading and writing disabilities. The study, published online in NeuroImage: Clinical, is among the first to identify structural white matter and functional gray matter differences in the brain between children with dyslexia and dysgraphia, and between those children and typical language learners….
April 27, 2015
Teasing out how slow, silent earthquakes respond to tidal forces lets researchers calculate the friction inside the fault, which could help understand when and how the more hazardous earthquakes occur.
The gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnea 鈥� a disease which affects roughly 1 in 13 Americans 鈥� requires an overnight hospital stay and costs thousands of dollars. A new smartphone app developed at the 91爆料 can wirelessly test for sleep apnea events in a person’s own bedroom without needing special sensors attached to the body.
April 24, 2015
The bass marimba, big as a desk and twice as tall, uses an organ pipe as a resonator and answers the mallet with a musically wooden plonk. The Chromelodeon II, a retuned reed organ, wheezes a trio of soft tones with the press of a key. And the elaborate Cloud-Chamber Bowls deliver tones ranging from a bell-like gong to a glassy clank. These are the creations of Harry Partch (1901-1974), an eccentric musical genius who built them because he…
April 22, 2015
The NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory, based at the 91爆料, has long brought an interdisciplinary approach to the study of planets and search for life outside our solar system. Now, a new NASA initiative inspired by the 91爆料 lab is embracing that same team approach to bring together 10 universities and two research institutions in the ongoing search for life on planets around other stars.
This coming week, the School of Music leads the way with a variety of events to keep your calendar full. Highlights include the 91爆料 Symphony performing with the Seattle Symphony in a 鈥淪ide by Side鈥� concert, a faculty recital with faculty pianist Craig Sheppard, and the annual Improvised Music Project鈥檚 jazz festival.
Two 91爆料 faculty members are among the leaders from academia, business, philanthropy, humanities and the arts elected as 2015 fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Stanley Fields, a professor of genome sciences and medicine, and David B. Kaplan, a professor of physics and director of the 91爆料-based Institute for Nuclear Theory, join 197 new academy members announced today. 鈥淲e are honored to elect a new…
Tatiana Toro, a 91爆料 professor and associate chair of mathematics, is among 175 new fellows from the U.S. and Canada recognized this year by the Guggenheim Foundation. Winners, chosen from more than 3,100 applicants, receive grants of varying amounts that allow them to pursue creative projects of six to 12 months in the fields of science, academic scholarship and the arts. Toro, who holds the Robert R. and Elaine F. Phelps endowed professorship, earned her doctorate at Stanford…
April 20, 2015
New 91爆料 research finds that children’s early environments have a lasting impact on their responses to stress later in life, and that the negative effects of deprived early environments can be mitigated聽鈥� but only if that happens before age 2. Published April 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research is believed to be the first to identify a sensitive period during early life when children’s stress response systems are particularly likely to…
At the 91爆料’s first engineering open house, visitors marveled at early-1900s scientific advances: using electricity to cook and curl hair, sending wireless messages over a distance of five miles, experimenting with lightning. Engineering Discovery Days Fri., April 24, 9 a.m. 鈥� 2 p.m. (registration full) Sat., April 25, 9 a.m. 鈥� 2 p.m. Exhibit location map Fast forward a century, and this week’s on-campus activities for the 100th anniversary of Engineering Discovery Days include forming nanoparticles, extracting DNA…
The聽91爆料 Stroum Center for Jewish Studies will host聽its third聽annual Spring Research Symposium 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, in room 214 of the HUB. The event is free but advance registration is recommended. This half-day event highlights research by the five members of the 2014-15 Jewish Studies Graduate Fellowship, with topics ranging from biblical interpretation to Jewish animated short films. The graduate students are Summer Satushek of comparative religion, Christina Sztajnkrycer of French and Italian studies, Katja Schatte…
April 17, 2015
Last summer, a team of 91爆料 oceanographers successfully installed hardware deep underwater for an Internet-connected observatory off the Washington and Oregon coasts. Now scientists from around the country are meeting to discuss how this will change how people monitor and study seafloor geology. The Networked Observations and Visualizations of the Axial Environment, or NOVAE, workshop, titled “Axial volcano: Wired and restless,” will take place April 20 through 22 at the Talaris Conference Center near the 91爆料. The program…
Craig Sheppard, professor of piano in the School of Music, will perform all of the 24 Preludes and Fugues, Opus 87, by Dmitri Shostakovich in a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, in Meany Hall. He answered a few questions about the music and his approach to the performance. In a 1993 review of a performance of the Preludes and Fugues by well-known Russian pianist Tatyana Nikolayeva, for whom Shostakovich composed the music, the New York Times…
The 91爆料 will be working with the Bainbridge Island-based Puget Sound Restoration Fund to see whether growing seaweed could help combat ocean acidification in Puget Sound waters. Like plants on land, kelps and other seaweeds naturally take up carbon dioxide. Puget Sound waters are already high in carbon dioxide and are projected to become more so in the future. Seaweeds, which are naturally abundant in Puget Sound, could help address this growing problem. The team proposes to cultivate…
Some people think Jonathan Bricker is a geek, and they mean it in the best way possible. Bricker, an affiliate professor of psychology at the 91爆料 and a psychologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is among five finalists for the annual “Geek of the Year Award” from Seattle technology news site GeekWire. The award honors “someone who created a technological breakthrough that made the world a better place, or strengthened the community through their work or good deeds.” Bricker,…
April 16, 2015
91爆料 Interim President Ana Mari Cauce will give remarks and lead a conversation about equity, racism and difference Thursday afternoon on campus at the Intellectual House. Updated 4/14: Transcript of Cauce’s remarks The roundtable event, which starts at 2 p.m., will encourage students to participate in a discussion about these issues. Space is limited and participants were asked to RSVP in advance. “As one of the world’s great public universities, we have a responsibility to live out our core values…
91爆料 and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers studied how mobile-based food journals integrate into everyday life. A new study suggests how future designs might make it easier and more effective.
April 15, 2015
3-D printing has been used to make everything from cars to medical implants. Now, 91爆料 ecologists are using the technology to make artificial flowers, which they say could revolutionize our understanding of plant-pollinator interactions.
The 91爆料 School of Law, supported by a number of leading Puget Sound-area businesses and law firms, has announced the creation of the Gregoire Fellows Program to help bring greater diversity to the school and the legal profession.
Rounding out this month is a variety of events to keep you entertained. From the Lyon Opera Ballet, Emerson String Quartet and Simone Dinnerstein 鈥� all presented by 91爆料 World Series 鈥� to the annual, family-friendly Arty Party hosted by the Henry Art Gallery, prepare yourself for the rest of spring quarter because it鈥檚 looking bright!
California man Mike May made international headlines in 2000 when his sight was restored by a pioneering stem cell procedure after 40 years of blindness. But a study published three years after the operation found that the then-49-year-old could see colors, motion and some simple two-dimensional shapes, but was incapable of more complex visual processing. Hoping May might eventually regain those visual skills, 91爆料 researchers and colleagues retested him a decade later. But in a paper now available…
April 14, 2015
Katie Davis, assistant professor at the 91爆料 Information School, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation. Davis, who studies the role of digital media technologies in the lives of teenagers, will receive $759,462 over five years for a project titled “Digital Badges for STEM Education.” The work aims to develop and implement a system to identify and reward science, technology, engineering and math skills and achievements in a science-based after-school program at…
Researchers from the 91爆料 have teamed up with medical device manufacturer Medtronic to use the Activa庐 PC+S Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system with people who have essential tremor.
April 13, 2015
Public Notice University Of Washington Pursuant to the provisions of WAC 197-11-460 & 510 and WAC 478-324-140, the 91爆料 hereby provides public notice of the: Determination of non-significance Project Name:聽Seattle Campus — West Campus Utility Plant Proponent: 91爆料 Description of Proposal:聽The proposed West Campus Utility Plant (WCUP) Project is intended to provide additional capacity for processed chilled water and emergency power to serve existing and future development in the West Campus and South Campus areas. The…
The 91爆料 Bothell and Tacoma campuses were recognized April 13 by both Gov. Jay Inslee and the State Senate with a proclamation and senate resolution acknowledging the 25th anniversary of the state鈥檚 newest public university campuses.
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has a hazy atmosphere and surface rivers, mountains, lakes and sand dunes. But the dunes and prevailing surface winds don’t point in the same direction. New research from 91爆料 astronomer Benjamin Charnay may have solved this mystery.
April 10, 2015
The 91爆料 announced today it is increasing the minimum pay for its student workers to $11 an hour, effective April 1, 2015, consistent with its announcement March 31 that it was moving 70 non-student staff earning below $11 to the new level. Approximately 2,600 student workers are affected. On March 31, the University said it was working with student groups to assess the feasibility of increasing student worker wages. Student jobs at the 91爆料 are funded from a…
April 9, 2015
A patch of warm water off the West Coast, nicknamed “the blob” by a 91爆料 scientist, is part of a larger shift in the Pacific Ocean that may be responsible for widespread weather changes.
A 91爆料 study assesses how accurately gender representations in online image search results for 45 different occupations — from CEO to telemarketer to engineer — match reality. Exposure to skewed image results shifted people’s perceptions about how many women actually hold those jobs.
April 8, 2015
What helps children who have just met form a connection? A new study shows that a simple game played together in sync on a computer led 8-year-olds to report a greater sense of similarity and closeness immediately after the activity. Children who played the same game but not in a synchronous way did not report the same increase in connection. The findings, published April 8 by PLOS ONE, give an example of how a physical activity performed in unison helps…
April 7, 2015
A 91爆料 postdoctoral scientist is among six nationwide recipients of the 2015 Carl Sagan Exoplanet Postdoctoral Fellowships. The Sagan Fellowships support recent postdoctoral students in research related to the scientific goals of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program 鈥� specifically, to discover and characterize planetary systems and Earth-like planets around stars. Daniel Foreman-Mackey , an incoming postdoctoral researcher in the 91爆料 Department of Astronomy, will focus on using statistical methods to research exoplanet discoveries, with the goal of developing a framework for…
A new study finds the economic value of enjoying urban birds to be $120 million each year for Seattle residents and $70 million for people living in Berlin. Residents in both cities spend more than the average U.S. adult on bird-supporting activities, which then benefit the local economies as residents invest in bird food and conservation.
April 6, 2015
A new study implicates fishing in the collapse of forage fish stocks and recommends risk-based management tools that would track a fishery’s numbers and suspend fishing when necessary.