News
May 17, 2012 | UW Today
'Hackademia': Course harnesses the spirit of old-school hacking
Beth Kolko, a UW professor of Human Centered Design and Engineering, is bringing the hacker spirit to campus with her experimental research course, Hackademia. Its mission: "Building functional engineers, one blinky LED at a time." The course is attracting grants and international interest.
May 9, 2012 | UW Today
Portable diagnostics designed to be shaken, not stirred
UW electrical engineering researchers have built and patented a surface that, when shaken, moves drops along certain paths to conduct medical or environmental tests. The low-cost system, published in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials, would require very little energy and avoids possible contamination by diluting or electrifying the samples in order to move them.
April 27, 2012 | UW Today
UW computer science students win national cyber defense competition
A dynasty in the making? A team of eight students from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering reclaimed the top spot at last weekend's National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in San Antonio, Texas. See also: Seattle Times
April 26, 2012 | UW Today
Cells in blood vessel found to cling more tightly in regions of rapid flow
Researchers in a lab led by Nathan Sniadecki, a UW assistant professor of mechanical engineering, have found that cells lining blood vessels pull more tightly together in areas of fast-flowing blood. The finding could influence how doctors design drugs to treat high cholesterol, or how cardiac surgeons plan their procedures.
April 11, 2012 | UW Today
Space weather forecast: Sunspotty, with an increasing chance of solar storms
A recent surge in solar flares has extended the northern lights southward and is piquing interest among the media and the general public. UW Today gets the inside story from John Sahr, a UW professor of electrical engineering who studies the upper atmosphere—in part by eavesdropping on rock 'n' roll.
April 4, 2012 | UW Today
Recipients announced: UW recognizes outstanding contributions to learning, service
This year's annual UW Awards of Excellence program will honor three of UW Engineering's own among the 26 individuals recognized for outstanding performance. We congratulate Jeff Berman of CEE (Teaching), Ramulu Mamidala of ME (Contributions to Lifelong Learning), and Joyce Yen of ADVANCE and BRAINS (Staff Leadership). The awards event is Thursday, June 7, 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Meany Hall.
March 30, 2012 | UW Today
Bigger, bolder, greener: The 2012 UW Environmental Innovation Challenge
Clean-tech teams made up of UW engineering and business students won honors and cash awards Thursday at the 2012 UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. The grand prize went to Green Innovative Safety Technologies (GIST) for highway lane dividers made of recycled rubber tires. Second prize went to Barrels of Hope -- sustainable, emergency housing kits that fit inside a rain barrel.
See also: GIST's pitch on video
See also: Urban Harvest's pitch to grow vegetables on commercial buildings
March 12, 2012 | UW Today
Bellingham Roadway with Recycled Toilets is World's First Official 'Greenroad'
Greenroads, a rating system developed at the University of Washington to promote sustainable roadway construction, awarded its first official certification to a Bellingham project that incorporates porcelain from recycled toilets.
See also: King 5 News | YouTube video
March 1, 2012 | UW Today
UW Students to Design Alternative-fuels Vehicle for EcoCAR 2 Competition
The UW campus is seeing more alternative fuel vehicles like the Toyota Prius, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt. In the lower level of the mechanical engineering building annex, UW students are working on a car that aims to leave them in the dust, from an environmental standpoint.
February 21, 2012 | UW Today
Design Eye for the Science Guy: Drop-in Clinic Helps Scientists Communicate Data
A group of University of Washington researchers has launched a unique experiment matching science students with those in design. The new Design Help Desk, similar to a writing help desk, offers scientists a chance to meet with someone who can help them create more effective figures, tables and graphs.
February 15, 2012 | UW Today
Shwetak Patel Awarded Sloan Research Fellowship
Shwetak Patel, assistant professor in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering can now add a Sloan Research Fellowship to his MacArthur Foundation and Microsoft Research fellowships. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards $50K in research funding to "early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars, the next generation of scientific leaders." Patel's research focuses on sensors, user interface and human-computer interaction. Recent projects include monitoring home energy and water use, and using a home's utility infrastructure to enable whole-house sensing.
February 14, 2012 | Oregon State University
Researchers Eye Monitoring System for Offshore Wind Energy Impacts
Researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Washington are developing a multi-sensor array to record the interactions—including impacts—of birds and bats on the blades, platforms, and towers of wind turbines. Brian Polagye, a UW research assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is co-principal investigator on the project.
February 09, 2012 | UW Today
UW’s David Stahl Elected to National Academy of Engineering
David Stahl, a UW professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Also elected are UW affiliate professor Henrique Malvar and UW alumnus Peter Farrell. Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
February 08, 2012 | UW Today
UW Launches Technology Startup Incubator, Aims to Double Startups in Three Years
A business incubator unveiled today is one element in a larger commercialization initiative announced by UW President Michael Young that will double the number of startups produced by the university—from an average of 10 a year to 20—during the next three years.
January 30, 2012 | UW Today
Ferroelectric Switching Discovered for First Time in Soft Biological Tissue
UW Engineers have found that the wall of the aorta exhibits ferroelectricity, a response to an electric field known to exist in inorganic and synthetic materials. The findings are being published in an upcoming issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. Jiangyu Li, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the lead author.
January 25, 2012 | UW Today
USDOT Awards $3.5 Million for UW-based Regional Transportation Center
Yinhai Wang, UW professor of civil and environmental engineering, directs the new PacTrans center. The center will focus on safe and sustainable transportation in environments ranging from busy urban centers to remote mountainous terrain, including road-sharing by bicyclists, pedestrians, transit and cars and issues around texting and driving.
January 12, 2012 | UW Today
Surgical Robots to Provide Open-source Platform for Medical Robotics Research
Seven identical, surgical robots named Raven will soon be be on their way from UW to collaborating labs across the country. “With everyone working on the same, open-source platform we can more easily share new developments and innovations,” said UW electrical engineering professor Blake Hannaford.
See also: Jan. 13 Open House | UW News video
December 30, 2011 | Nature Chemistry via UW Engineering
UW Chemical Engineers Develop a New Polymer to Boost Protein-based Therapies
UW chemical engineering professor Shaoyi Jiang and PhD student Andrew Keefe have developed a polymer that increases the effectiveness of protein therapeutics much more than current methods. Their results are published in a December 2011 article in Nature Chemistry.
December 27, 2011 | The Seattle Times
3-D Printing on Way to Becoming Affordable
Mechanical engineering professor Mark Ganter and UW's Solheim Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Manufacturing Lab "push the boundaries of materials in 3-D printing." The article includes a video of 3-D printing in the lab.
See also: Solheim Lab photos
December 19, 2011 | Computer Science & Engineering
CSE's Jake Appelbaum, Sidhant Gupta in Forbes "30 Under 30"
Two UW computer scientists are on Forbes list of "30 Under 30" in the Technology category. Jacob Appelbaum, 28, is a staff research scientist in the UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) noted for uncovering security flaws in software. Sidhant Gupta, 27, is a CSE graduate student working under the mentorship of Shwetak N. Patel to develop sensors for conserving energy in the home.
See also: UW Today | Forbes
December 8, 2011 | UW Today
Decoding Unselfishness—the Double-helix of Enthusiasm
Three UW graduate students worked hundreds of hours with the more than 50 students who competed in November to win the iGEM championship, a competition in synthetic biology that involves genetic engineering of microbes. One of the mentors is Electrical Engineering's Rob Egbert.
December 7, 2011 | UW Today
Device Promises Nutrition Diagnosis in Minutes
UW BioE and ChemE professor Buddy Ratner believes his lab's latest device — the Plasma Pencil Atmospheric Mass Spectrometer — could be a powerful tool, capable of addressing health and child development issues by delivering a blood test in minutes to some of the most remote parts of the globe.
November 22, 2011 | UW Today
Big Step Forward for Safety of Bionic Contact Lenses
UW researchers have successfully tested wireless power and control of an image in the eye of a rabbit by means of a contact lens device. They say it is proof of concept for eventual use by people. Authors of a new paper in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering include UW associate professors Babak Parviz and Brian Otis (electrical engineering) and Tueng Shen (bioengineering and opthalmology).
See also: UW 360 video (April 2011)
November 21, 2011 | UW Today
BioE Senior Cameron Turtle Named Rhodes Scholar
One of two UW students receiving 2012 Rhodes scholarships, Cameron Turtle is also a Mary Gates scholar and a Goldwater scholar. He co-founded Bioengineers Without Borders at the UW, and is a social entrepreneur, founding and now serving as CEO of Point of Care Technologies, a company that develops molecular medical diagnostic devices that interface with Android-based mobile equipment. From Pullman, Turtle will study cardiovascular medicine at Oxford starting October 2012.
See also: American Heart Association fellowship | Goldwater Scholarship
November 17, 2011 | UW Today
UW Engineers Help Team with Nano Discovery
Two UW researchers are on a team that documented the nanoscale switching of a ferroelectric memory bit. The findings, published in the journal Science, could help significantly reduce electrical power demands of computer memory technology. Authors include Jiangyu Li (pictured), associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Yuanming Liu, a UW doctoral candidate.
See also: video from Michigan Engineering | paper in Science
November 16, 2011 | UW Today
Pushing the Envelope on Paper-based Diagnostics
UW researchers are working to make diagnosing a range of infectious illnesses as simple as a pregnancy test, without needing a high concentration of the pathogen, and at low cost. Major grants are boosting the effort. Earlier in November, a team of bioengineers and electrical engineers published a system for testing patient specimens by enfolding them within a little paper box: "microfluidic origami" labs.
See also: video of origami device | paper in Lab on a Chip
November 8, 2011 | UW Today
Engineered Critters Bring 'World' Title to UW Team
A UW student team won the World Championship in synthetic biology Nov. 7 after months of lab work and genetic engineering of microbes. UW undergrad members came from the departments of biochemistry, microbiology, bioengineering, materials science and engineering, and computer science and engineering.
See also: Seattle Times | video (UW award at time point 57:20)
November 7, 2011 | UW Today
Paper Uncovers Power of Foldit Gamers' Strategies
In a new paper published online at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UW researchers reveal the creative power of Foldit players’ strategies and compare them to the best-known scientist-developed methods.
October 20, 2011 | UW Electrical Engineering
DoE Grant Boosts Work on Energy Positioning for Renewables
The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $1.4 million to a smart grid collaboration between UW electrical engineering professor Daniel Kirschen and University of Michigan professor Ian Hiskens. The project, entitled "Energy Positioning: Control and Economics," will help the nation's grid system accommodate large-scale alternative energy sources.
See also: U-M news item
October 13, 2011 | UW Today
Improving the Physics of Grocery Store Display Cases to Save Energy
Aeronautical engineers are devising ways to boost the efficiency of open-air refrigerated cases, which are increasingly common in supermarkets. Results could lower the energy use of existing cases by up to 15 percent—potentially saving $100 million in electricity costs each year.
October 6, 2011 | UW Today
Turning Slash Piles into Soil Benefit
Students at the University of Washington have teamed up on a startup that promises to turn slash piles of forest refuse into biochar, a crumbly charcoal-like product for farmers that helps their soil hold water and nutrients.
September 30, 2011 | UW Today
New Leader for Electrical Engineering
The UW Department of Electrical Engineering has appointed Vikram Jandhyala, professor of electrical engineering, as its new chair. Professor Jandhyala has been a UW faculty member since 2000 and directs the applied computational engineering lab. He succeeds Leung Tsang, who has been chair since 2007.
September 26, 2011 | UW Today
Dieter Fox to Co-lead New Intel Science and Technology Center
UW computer scientist Dieter Fox will co-lead an Intel Science and Technology Center that will focus on "pervasive" computing, which aims to incorporate computing and sensing into everyday devices and environments.
September 23, 2011 | Intel
CSE Student Awarded Prestigious Intel Fellowship
Joe Devietti, a doctoral student in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, has been awarded a 2011 Intel PhD Fellowship. Joe works on making multiprocessors easier to program by leveraging changes in both computer architecture and parallel programming models. The Intel PhD Fellowship program focuses on research in Intel's technical areas and supports the training of future technology leaders. Twenty-one fellowships were awarded this year.
September 20, 2011 | UW Today
Proton-based Transistor Could Let Machines Communicate with Living Things
Materials scientists at the University of Washington have built a novel transistor that uses protons, creating a key piece for devices that can communicate directly with living things. The study is published online this week in the interdisciplinary journal Nature Communications.
September 19, 2011 | MacArthur Foundation website
Shwetak Patel Wins MacArthur "Genius" Award!
Assistant professor in CSE and EE, Shwetak Patel has invented a series of sensor technology systems for home environments with the goal of saving energy and improving daily life through a broad range of applications. Patel is also exploring their potential for home security or elder care, as they serve the related function of sensing human activity and monitoring movement throughout a building's rooms.
See also: Seattle Times, UW Today, YouTube
September 19, 2011 | PC Magazine
Foldit Gamers Help Crack HIV Enzyme Puzzle
Foldit players were able to determine the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that scientists and computer models could not find for a decade. The results provide new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs. The "fun-for-purpose" Foldit game was developed under the leadership of CSE's Zoron Popovic to direct the ingenuity of game players to solve a wide range of scientific problems.
See also: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology | Yahoo! Games
Recommended: Zoran Popopvić CNN interview
September 12, 2011 | EurekAlert!
Rice, UW Win $2 Million Grant for Synthetic Biology Research
A new four-year, $2 million research program at Rice University and the University of Washington aims to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by modifying run-of-the-mill bacteria with sophisticated genetic circuits. UW Engineering's Georg Seelig and Eric Klavins are among the co-principal investigators.
August 31, 2011 | UW Today
AMTAS in Spotlight for Creating Composites, Jobs
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) held a press conference on the UW campus last week to recognize a federally funded research center that helped Boeing develop the first commercial airplane made largely from composite materials, or carbon fiber. The UW's Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures (or AMTAS) is funded through federal and private-sector sources. The lab helped in certifications of the compression-molding technique that Boeing used to manufacture many of the large composite parts used in the Dreamliner.
August 24, 2011 | UW Today
Scented Laundry Products Emit Hazardous Chemicals Through Dryer Vents
UW professor Anne Steinemann, who used chemical sleuthing to uncover what's in scented products, now has turned her attention to the air wafting from household laundry vents. Air from laundry machines using the top-selling scented liquid detergent and dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals, including two that are classified as carcinogens.
August 11, 2011 | UW Bioengineering
BioE's Yongmin Kim to Lead South Korean Technology Institution
Professor Yongmin Kim was named President of POSTECH-Pohang University of Science and Technology in his native South Korea.
August 10, 2011 | UW Today
"Emerging Leader" Designation for CEE's Jessica Lundquist
Diversity MBA Magazine named CEE assistant professor Jessica Lundquist one of its "Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders." The leaders were selected based, in part, on their scope of responsibility, community service work and education achieved.
August 3, 2011 | UW Today
Historical Mystery Set in UW Electrical Engineering Lab
A UW alumnus has written a mystery book set in a UW electrical engineering lab in the year 1901. Two fictional engineering professors feature as the victim, the main suspect, and the main sleuth.
August 3, 2011 | UW Today
Web Search Is Ready for a Shakeup, Says UW Computer Scientist
Oren Etzioni is calling on experts to "think outside the keyword search box." In a provocative commentary published in the journal Nature, this UW professor of computer science and engineering issues a challenge to take search to a new level of intelligence.
August 2, 2011 | UW Today
FaceMovie Can Turn Portraits into a Movie
CSE prof. Steve Seitz and postdoc Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman turn hundreds or thousands of digital portraits into an animated movie of the person's face.
July 27, 2011 | UW Today
Aloft and Afloat: Students Study at NASA's 'Microgravity University'
Eight students lurched, tumbled and floated through an unforgettable final lab project last month. Participants in NASA’s Microgravity University in Houston spent the last week of their undergraduate careers carrying out an experiment they designed for testing in a reduced-gravity environment.
July 25, 2011 | UW Today
Materials Scientist John Cahn Awarded International Kyoto Prize
A Kyoto Prize was recently awarded to John Cahn, a UW affiliate professor in Materials Science & Engineering. The award noted Cahn's contributions to understanding the behavior of mixed materials and how they tend to separate at the microscale — for an equation which he wrote in 1961. Although his original contribution was for metals, half a century later people are using the identical concept and applying it to organic solar cells.
See also: Business Wire
July 20, 2011 | UW Today
John Sahr: Professor, Associate Dean, Zombie Killer
Professor of electrical engineering and associate dean of undergraduate academic affairs John Sahr finds time to relate to students outside the classroom. He and fellow EE professor Eve Riskin participate in the campus Humans vs. Zombies Tag game. Both claim to be incompetent at the game, but they do look good in orange.
July 19, 2011 | UW Today
Race Matters When Recruiting, Retaining Undergraduate Women Engineers
A new study of female engineering students’ perceived challenges finds significant differences between black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-American and white women. The findings could help institutions better attract and retain particular underrepresented student populations.
July 14, 2011 | UW Today
UW Will Lead $18.5 Million Effort to Create Mind-Machine Interface
The National Science Foundation today announced an $18.5 million grant to establish an Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering based at the University of Washington. The new center brings together leaders in robotics, neuroscience, computer science, and other disciplines to advance the integration of technologies with human neural systems. The center launches this month and will be based in Russell Hall on the UW's Seattle campus.
July 12, 2011 | UW Today
Wireless Power Could Cut Cord for Patients with Implanted Heart Pumps
A new system to send electricity over short distances has been shown to reliably power a mechanical heart pump. The system could free patients from being tethered to a battery or external power source, lowering their chance of infection and improving their quality of life.
June 22, 2011 | UW Today
Elegance, Engineering Combine in Maya Gupta's High-end Jigsaw Puzzles
Maya Gupta noticed unusual jigsaw puzzles one day and got an idea she could do better. Now this associate professor of electrical engineering runs Artifact Puzzles, her own company, selling high-end jigsaw puzzles of great art, laser-cut from quarter-inch wood.
May 31, 2011 | UW Today
Code Green: Energy-efficient Programming to Curb Computers’ Power Use
A new system called EnerJ helps computer programmers go green, potentially reducing a program's energy consumption by 50 percent or more. Developed by Computer Science & Engineering's Luis Ceze and colleagues, the system allows designated sections of code to tolerate tiny errors due to changes in voltage or other causes. A tenfold increase in battery life is a long-term goal.
May 27, 2011 | GeekWire
Clean Water Startup PotaVida Takes Top Prize at UW Business Plan Competition
PotaVida, a venture that provides an inexpensive device indicating when water disinfected by the sun is safe to drink, has won the $25,000 grand prize in 2011 UW Business Plan Competition. Electrical Engineering PhD student Charlie Matlack says the win confirms the goal to make PotaVida into a company. Another team with UW Engineering graduate students, LodeSpin Labs, won a finalist prize. LodeSpin Labs manufactures tracers for magnetic particle imaging. See also the Business Plan Competition results page.
May 15, 2011 | UW Today
Digital Imaging Software Creates a 'Google Earth' View of the Bladder
Eric Seibel, research associate professor of ME, co-authored a proposition for a bladder scan system that cuts costs and improves comfort and convenience in bladder cancer detection. The system would use the UW's ultrathin laser endoscope with software that stitches together images to create a 3-D panorama of the bladder interior.
May 15, 2011 | College of Engineering
Dean Matt O'Donnell has awarded Alfred "Johnny" Deichsel and Melanie Drake the 2011 engineering dean's medals. Deichsel, a senior in CEE, chose to study civil engineering to solve problems and looks forward to working outdoors. Drake graduates this spring from ChemE. She will continue her studies and energy-related research at UC Berkeley in the fall.
May 2, 2011 | UW Today
College Students' Use of Kindle DX Points to e-Reader's Role in Academia
The UW last year was one of seven U.S. universities that participated in a pilot study of the Kindle DX. While some of the study's findings were expected, the authors found other challenges that e-readers will need to address in cracking the college market.
April 28, 2011 | GeekWire and UW Foster School of Business
Sixteen Budding Businesses to Watch, from the UW Business Plan Competition
GeekWire reports on the "Sweet 16" teams advancing after the UW Business Plan Competition investment round. UW Engineering students participate in at least five of those teams:
- Aqueduct Neurosciences - Erik Feest, BioE grad student
- LodeSpin Labs - Shivang Dave, BioE grad student; Matt Ferguson and Amit Khandhar, MSE grad students
- Point of Care Technologies - Ben Dulken, BioE undergrad
- PotaVida - Charlie Matlack, EE grad student
- Pterofin - Nicholas Wang, ChemE undergrad
April 25, 2011 | UW Today
Michael K. Young Selected as New UW President
The UW Board of Regents offered the presidency of the university to Michael K. Young, current president of the University of Utah. The agreement is subject to approval by the Board. Under Young's leadership, the University of Utah's annual budget grew from $1.6 to $2.6 billion and the number of spinoff companies from the university's research leads the nation. Private giving has climbed significantly and the number of donors more than doubled.
April 21, 2011 | UW Today
Engineering Discovery Days happening April 22-23
Don't be surprised if walking across campus you encounter someone playing an invisible drum kit or a swimming pool filled with robotic fish. Tomorrow and Saturday, the UW campus will be filled with engineering exhibits on display for the Engineering Discovery Days, formerly known as Engineering Open House.
April 21, 2011 | UW Today
UW Awards of Excellence Recipients Announced
UW Engineering is well represented among the honorees announced for this year's UW Awards of Excellence. Stuart Reges, a principal lecturer in Computer Science & Engineering, will receive the Distinguished Teaching Award. Natasha Jones, a graduate teaching assistant in Human Centered Design & Engineering, will receive the Excellence in Teaching Award. And David Prince, of UW Engineering's student academic services, is the recipient of the James D. Clowes Award for the advancement of learning communities. Congratulations to all the honorees!
April 13, 2011 | UW Today
Computer Science & Engineering Students Win National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
This weekend in San Antonio, eight students from the UW's Department of Computer Science & Engineering won the trophy in the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. The team was started four years ago by doctoral students Alexei Czeskis and Karl Koscher and others. This is their first national title.
April 4, 2011 | UW Today
UW Researchers Combine High-Dose Oxygen with Natural Cancer Treatment for Better Results
Henry Lai, a UW research professor of bioengineering, has combined the compound artemisinin – isolated from the plant commonly known as wormwood – with high-pressure oxygen environment for a 50 percent increase in artemisinin's effectiveness against cancer cells in laboratory tests.
April 1, 2011 | UW Foster School of Business
UW Environmental Innovation Challenge 2011 Awards Announced
Finalists in the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge made their last pitches yesterday at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. After scoring by nearly 100 judges, two teams with strong ties to UW Engineering—Voltaic and PotaVida—placed first and second, collecting awards of $10,000 and $5,000.
March 31, 2011 | UW Engineering
Four Engineering Faculty Named UW Entrepreneurial Fellows
The UW has honored its eight most entrepreneurial faculty researchers and four of them are Engineering faculty: Oren Etzioni (CSE), Vikram Jandhyala (EE), Yoky Matsuoka (CSE) and Buddy Ratner (ChemE, BioE). The new honor, Entrepreneurial Faculty Fellows Program, conveys the University's commitment to commercialization and entrepreneurial efforts by our faculty. More »
March 31, 2011 | UW Engineering
Two Bioengineering Undergraduates Receive Goldwater Scholarships
Juniors Ben Dulken and Cameron Turtle are among 300 students to receive the prestigious national award. Dulken conducts research in Dr. Suzie Pun's lab. He hopes to pursue an MD/PhD in biomolecular engineering and the discovery of novel drug delivery mechanisms to mitigate the adverse effects of pharmaceutical drugs. Turtle studies the mechanisms of cardiac function in Dr. Michael Regnier's lab. He plans to pursue a PhD in Bioengineering and a career in medical research.
March 17, 2011 | UW Engineering
UW Engineers Help Assess Risks in Wake of Japan Disasters
UW engineers are helping assess continuing risks in Japan as well as risks here at home. Charles Roeder, a UW professor of structural engineering and mechanics, is featured in the King 5 News story Modern Buildings Built to Sway During Earthquakes. Norm McCormick, a UW professor emeritus of mechanical engineering and previously a professor of nuclear engineeing, was quoted in the MSNBC story If There's a Meltdown, Then What? See also a list of UW earthquake, tsunami, nuclear experts available to talk with reporters.
March 15, 2011 | multiple publications
Report: Cars' Electronics Vulnerable to Remote Takeover
Computer scientists at UCSD and UW, including UW Computer Science & Engineering's Yoshi Kohno, have demonstrated that it is possible to take over basic functions of a vehicle using its built-in wireless technology. Their report, delivered Friday to the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board, has generated extensive media coverage. See stories in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Technology Review.
March 15, 2011 | UW Today
Controlling a Single Molecule’s Reaction with Light Could Improve Solar Cells
In new research published in Science, engineers at UW and UCLA used nanotechnology to control and observe how molecules react when excited by ultraviolet light. They plan to use their method to develop more efficient solar molecules.
See also: full text of the paper in Science
March 10, 2011 | UW Today
UW Nanotoxicology Center to Look at Nanoscale Product Safety
Nanomaterials can be found in many commercial products, including sporting goods, stain-resistant clothing, and electronics. However, cautions are being voiced about the unknown health consequences from exposure to nanomaterials. UW engineers are among the lead researchers at the UW Nanotoxicology Center, which will assess toxicity of nanomaterials and ways to make them safer.
February 24, 2011 | UW Today
Dimmable Windows with Solar Panels Could Power Zero-energy Buildings
UW engineers and architects are collaborating on smart windows that can change transparency depending on conditions and actually harvest energy from the sun's rays. The principal investigator is Minoru Taya, a UW professor of mechanical engineering.
February 24, 2011 | UW Today
Annual Faculty Lecture to Discuss the Future of Bioengineering
Buddy Ratner, professor of bioengineering and chemical engineering, will deliver the 35th Annual Faculty Lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, in 130 Kane Hall. The talk is entitled "Regenerate, Rebuild, Restore—Bioengineering Contributions to the Changing Paradigm in Medicine."
February 23, 2011 | UW Today
2010 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Ei-ichi Negishi, Speaks this Week at UW
Ei-ichi Negishi, a 2010 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and professor of chemistry at Purdue University, will speak Friday, Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m. in Kane Hall room 210.
February 16, 2011 | TechFlash
In the wake of the recent victory of IBM's "Watson" over two Jeopardy! champions, TechFlash interviews Oren Etzioni, a UW professor of computer science and engineering. Among his responses: "...it's a victory for humans."
February 15, 2011 | UW Today
Three UW Engineering Faculty Awarded Sloan Research Fellowships
Three UW Engineering faculty are recipients of the 2011 Sloan Research Fellowships, which "seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise." The new fellows are assistant professors Anup Rao (CSE), Georg Seelig (CSE and EE), and Paul Wiggins (BioE and Physics).
February 8, 2011 | UW Today
UW's Hank Levy Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Henry "Hank" Levy, professor and chair of the UW's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Election to the NAE is the highest honor for an engineer. Also elected was Mechanical Engineering alumnus Frank Robinson.
February 1, 2011 | UW Today
New Center Aims to Dramatically Lower Barrier to Making Silicon Photonic Chips
The new OpSIS program, co-funded by Intel Corp., aims to make it dramatically easier and cheaper to manufacture silicon chips that combine light and electronics, enabling the next generation of computer chips. OpSIS will provide access to high-end semiconductor manufacturing, enabling any researcher in the world to build integrated electronic-photonic circuits in silicon.
See also: Wall Street Journal Digits blog | OpSIS in the News
January 26, 2011 | UW Today
Engineers Without Borders Hosts Dessert and Wine Fundraiser, Silent Auction
The UW chapter of Engineers Without Borders hosts its biggest fundraiser of the year, a dessert and wine tasting and silent auction, on Monday, Jan. 31. See a slide show of the group's work in Bolivia.
January 20, 2011 | UW Today
Encouraging Women Scientists in Industry, Government to Enter Academia
The On-Ramps into Academia workshop at the UW aims to attract women researchers working in government, industry or as consultants to academic positions. Applications for the second workshop, this spring, are due Feb. 15.
January 3, 2011 | UW Today
Engineering Students Hack Kinect for Surgical Robotics Research
The University of Washington’s Biorobotics Laboratory is experimenting with its new Kinect. In case you somehow missed it during the holiday season, this new add-on for the Xbox 360 ditches the controller by detecting a person’s gestures and interpreting them as commands.
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