In this issue:

• Dean's Message
• Research - Etching Next-Gen Microchips; Portable Diagnostics; Electric Plants Vulnerable to Climate Change
• Campus News - Machine-Learning Hires; 'Hackademia'; Lunar Mining
• Events - Molecular Engineering & Sciences Symposium; Fall Lecture Series
• In the Media

Dean's Message Dean Matt O’Donnell discusses the opening of the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Building, and the launch of the UW's Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute. Watch video »

Research

	Plasma startup creates high-energy light to make smaller microchips Aeronautical engineers are generating extreme UV light that can etch more transistors on chips, to keep up with Moore's Law. They are bringing their technology to market through the startup Zplasma. EE Times | Xconomy | Photonics.com | GigaOM
	Portable diagnostics designed to be shaken, not stirred Electrical engineers have built and patented a low-cost surface that, when shaken, moves drops along certain paths to conduct medical or environmental testing.
	Nuclear and coal-fired electrical plants vulnerable to climate change A new study by European and UW scientists published in Nature Climate Change looks at how climate change will affect the supply of water used to cool electrical power plants. New York Times | USA Today | Washington Post

Campus News

	New hires catapult UW's expertise in machine learning and 'big data' Four incoming faculty members promise to make the University of Washington a leading institution in machine learning and "big data." Seattle Times | Xconomy | GeekWire
	'Hackademia': Course harnesses the spirit of old-school hacking A UW engineer has launched an experimental course. Its goal: "Building functional engineers, one blinky LED at a time."
	UW students win NASA contest with their plan for mining the moon Aeronautics and Astronautics students won a national competition with their detailed plan to travel to the moon, establish a mining outpost and jettison the product back to Earth.

Events

Molecular Engineering & Sciences Symposium Tuesday, Sept. 18, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. UW Seattle campus A free, all-day kickoff event with speakers from UC Berkeley, General Motors and the UW. Reception and building tour to follow.

Save the Date: Engineering Lecture Series This year's fall lecture series will focus on Molecular Engineering. Talks begin at 7 p.m. in the UW's Kane Hall, and are followed by a Q&A. Tuesday, Oct. 16: "Launching the Molecular Engineering Revolution" with Matt O'Donnell Thursday, Nov. 1: "Here Comes the Sun: Engineering New Solar Technologies at the Molecular Scale" with Hugh Hillhouse and Christine Luscombe Thursday, Nov. 8: "Into the Body: Molecular Systems for Healing" with Pat Stayton and Suzie Pun

In the Media

	'Mohawk Guy' of Mars mission graduated from UW KING 5 TV | Aug. 6, 2012 UW alumnus Bobak Ferdowsi ('01), a flight controller for NASA's Curiosity rover mission to Mars, became an overnight celebrity following the spacecraft's successful landing.
	“A Northwest Pipeline to Silicon Valley” The New York Times | July 8, 2012 A profile of the UW’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, which has quietly established itself as "the other West Coast nexus" of the information economy.