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News & events

[em]Washington Engineer[/em] - November 2015

In the November 2015 issue:

  • Dean's Message
  • Research - AI Takes the SAT, Wearable Detects Carbon Footprint, Wine and Your Arsenic Load
  • Campus News - UW 4th Most Innovative, Nanotechnology Gets Boost, Accessible Makerspaces
  • Events - UW in Shanghai, It's a Big Data World, Future of Research at Microsoft
  • In the Media - The Master Algorithm, Shift Labs Shifts Device Design
     

Dean's Message

The dean highlights the news at UW engineering, including the launch of our new Career Center, campus investments in nanotechnology and molecular engineering, and the UW's outstanding rating as the most innovative public university in the world. Read message »

Michael Bragg

Research

photo of sample geometry questions. Aaron Escobar, flickr
 
AI system solves SAT geometry questions as well as average human test taker
UW researchers, in collaboration with the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, have created an artificial intelligence system that can solve SAT geometry questions as well as the average American 11th grade student, a breakthrough in AI research.
The New York Times | The Washington Post | Christian Science Monitor | UK Daily Mail

 
Diagram of bulky MagnifiSense prototype on a person's wrist showing signals traveling from blender, to device, to a display
 
New wearable technology can sense appliance use, help track carbon footprint
A new wearable technology developed by UW engineers and called MagnifiSense can sense what devices and vehicles the user interacts with throughout the day, which can help track that individual’s carbon footprint, enable smart home applications or assist with elder care.
NBC News | IEEE Spectrum | Engadget | Gizmag | GeekWire

 
photo of a glass of red wine
 
Arsenic found in many U.S. red wines, but health risks depend on total diet
UW electrical engineering professor Denise Wilson tested U.S. red wines and found 98 percent had arsenic levels that exceeded drinking water standards. But health risks from the naturally-occurring toxic element depend on how much apple juice, rice, cereal bars, and other foods known to be high in arsenic an individual consumes.
msn.com | CBS News | The Daily Telegraph | Yahoo!Health | Eater
 

Campus News

graphic showing UW's #4 worldwide ranking in innovation
 
Reuters names UW the world's most innovative public university, fourth overall
The University of Washington is the most innovative public university in the world, and fourth overall, according to a new Reuters ranking that considers research grants, patents, startup and commercialization successes, and numbers of STEM students. Seattle Times | GeekWire | Xconomy

 
WNF equipment photo
 
UW labs win $4.5 million NSF nanotechnology infrastructure grant
The University of Washington and Oregon State University have won a $4.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance nanoscale research and become one of 16 sites in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) program.
Seattle Times | GeekWire | Puget Sound Business Journal

 
photo as UW sophomore Kayla Wheeler, a congenital amputee, offers input on making makerspaces more accessible to people with disabilities. Dennis Wise/University of Washington
 
How makerspaces can be accessible to people with disabilities
To ensure the UW CoMotion MakerSpace — where users sew costumes, build custom amplifiers or 3-D print — and others nationwide are truly inclusive, a UW mechanical engineer has developed new guidelines to make makerspaces more accessible to people with disabilities.
KUOW | KING5 | Huffington Post

Events

Vikram Jandhyala and Shwetak Patel

 
The UW in Shanghai
November 13-14, 2015

The UW Innovation Summit will be held on Friday, November 13 and features presentations by engineering faculty including Vikram Jandhyala and Shwetak Patel.
Cecilia Aragon

 
Being Human in a Big Data World
December 2, 4:30 p.m. | UW Seattle campus

Human Centered Design & Engineering Associate Professor and eScience Institute Senior Data Science Fellow Cecilia Aragon focuses on human-centered data science in HCDE's seminar series.
Jeannette Wing

 
Research at Microsoft: Looking Beyond the Horizon
December 10, 3:30 p.m. | UW Seattle campus

Jeannette Wing, Microsoft Research Corporate Vice President, offers insights into the industrial research lab's mission and future in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering's distinguished lecture series.

In the Media

Professor Pedro Domingos and the cover of his book The Master Algorithm
 
The sum of all human knowledge
The Wall Street Journal | Sept. 18, 2915
Computers govern how long the microwave heats food or the dryer spins clothes. Can they learn to form ideas and theories about the world around them as well? A review of UW Computer Science & Engineering professor Pedro Domingos' new book "The Master Algorithm."
National Geographic | Los Angeles Times | Huffington Post | The Washington Post | Slate | UW Today

 
The compact, smartphone-sized DripAssist, designed to make monitoring IV drugs simpler. Courtesy Shift Labs
 
Startup Shift Labs wants to change how medical devices are made
Fortune | Sept. 9, 2015
One Seattle-based company is on a mission to bring affordable, reliable health devices to developing countries around the world. Human Centered Design and Engineering professor Beth Kolko's startup Shift Labs is featured.

 
still image from NOVA program on cyberwar threat
 
CyberWar Threat
NOVA | Oct. 14, 2015
NOVA examines the science and technology behind cyber warfare. Car and home automation system hacking research led by Tadayoshi Kohno, professor of computer science and engineering, are featured. (UW portion of video begins at 29:51.)