In the News: Cell phone fallout; Google recruits UW's best and brightest

« Washington Engineer - October 2005

Debate continues after bioengineer's research experiences rekindle questions about cell phone safety, industry influence

: Bioengineer Henry Lai is in the news again after a Toronto Star series on the potential hazards of cell phones related his experiences with the industry after early research indicated possible problems.

Read the first story in the Toronto Star series

Read the second story

Read the original Columns article

UW bioengineer Henry Lai was back in the news recently when Canada’s biggest newspaper, the Toronto Star, published a two-part series on children and cell phones. The stories referenced studies out of Europe indicating possible health hazards of prolonged exposure to cell phone radiation, which has led to warnings overseas about letting children use the devices.

Studies done by Lai and colleague Narendra Singh in the mid-1990s raised the possibility of problems, and those findings ignited a conflict with the multi-billion industry. In the stories, Lai recounts some of his experiences – experiences he shared earlier in the year in a front page article in Columns, the UW alumni magazine. The Toronto Star story was picked up by media outlets worldwide.

Google goes to UW for ‘best and brightest’

Listen to the National Public Radio story

When Google CEO Eric Schmidt visited the UW campus recently, he told engineering students that he wanted them to consider a career at his company. He told the group that he already had hired more than 50 grads from the university, and wanted to thank the school for producing a quality product.

“We’re working on making sure we get the very best and the brightest,” Schmidt said. “And this is one of the three or four universities where we find it.”

A reporter from the Seattle National Public Radio affiliate got the address on tape. Google is one of a number of leading tech companies that recruit heavily from the UW; others include Microsoft, Intel and Amazon.com.

Beat the clock: biology versus tenure

Read the journal article

Electrical Engineering Professor Eve Riskin, director of the Advance program at the UW, is quoted in JOM, the member Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, in an article about issues that women in science face. Look for Riskin in the sidebar

On the frontiers of search

Read the Time magazine article

Read a news release on Oren Eztioni’s research

Computer Science & Engineering Professor Oren Etzioni made it into a forward-looking article in Time magazine about the future of Internet search. Etzioni is a specialist in the area, having, among other things, founded a startup company based on a program that mines airline ticket pricing data over time, then uses a sophisticated algorithm to predict price fluctuations.

A broader definition of being tech savvy

Read the New York Times article

UW Computer Science & Engineering graduate Ken Michelson is entering Columbia University this fall to continue his studies, but not as a computer scientist. His quest for graduate learning is taking him to medical school.

It’s part of a trend blending tech and other pursuits, according to a New York Times article. That trend indicates successful education in computer science, according to Ed Lazowska, who is also quoted in the story.

“Educating the engineers who design and build computers and software will remain important,” Lazowska said, “but we need to be educating everyone else, too.”

The story also includes comments from UW post-graduate researcher Kira Lehtomaki, who combines her love of art and technology to do computer animation.