NewsFlash is a monthly email of press items featuring our College's researchers. For a more complete and regularly updated list of COE media coverage, see In the Media.
Click on a headline to read that article on the web. Some links may require a subscription or no longer be active.
NewsFlash is a service of the UW College of Engineering and the UW Office of News and Information. If you have a newsworthy result about one month from publication, presentation or demonstration, please contact Michelle Ma at mcma@uw.edu@uw.edu or (206) 543-2580.
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NewsFlash, August 2012
Aug. 07, 2012 | The Seattle Times
UW researchers see work as step toward regenerating human heart
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Bioengineer Charles Murry and pathologist Michael LaFlamme transplanted human heart cells — derived from embryonic stem cells — into damaged guinea-pig hearts. They report that the transplanted cells synchronized and strengthened the animals' hearts, and provided protection from dangerous rhythm disturbances. |
Muscle cell grafts keep broken hearts from breaking rhythm
Aug. 21, 2012 | CNET
My cyborg sister: When life-saving gadgets break down
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A piece of silicone less than 2 inches wide keeps the writer's sister alive, by draining excess fluid from her brain. UW bioengineer Barry Lutz and pediatric neurosurgeon Samuel Browd are working on an entirely redesigned and smarter version of today's brain shunts. |
Aug. 03, 2012 | BBC
Medical tests: A throwaway idea for better health
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Scientists are developing ways to create quick and cheap diagnostic tests that can be printed onto paper. The latest step is from bioengineer Daniel Ratner, who has adapted an inkjet printer so that it prints with biochemical molecules in place of ink. |
Aug. 28, 2012 | CTV British Columbia
Jay Ingram's very personal documentary
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For a one-hour special on medical imaging, Canadian TV personality Jay Ingram swallowed a tethered camera developed by mechanical engineer Eric Seibel, so viewers could look at him -- from the inside out. |
Camera in a pill offers cheaper, easier window on your insides
Aug. 22, 2012 | USA Today
Top cities for technology start-ups
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USA Today asked the National Venture Capital Association to rank the top 10 cities for start-ups, based on dollars invested in young tech companies in 2011. Seattle, where the University of Washington produces engineering grads, ranks 10th. |
Aug. 08, 2012 | The Seattle Times
Crowdfunding company Upstart looks to universities to connect students, pros
| A UW business alum founded Upstart, a California-based startup that helps investors fund young entrepreneurs through relatively small contributions. It's expanding to five universities, including the UW. Bioengineer Matt O'Donnell and computer scientist Ed Lazowska are quoted. |
Aug. 09, 2012 | The Everett Herald
Arlington firm's cups greener than those red cups
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MicroGreen, a startup from mechanical engineer Vipin Kumar's lab, is changing the way beverage cups are made. The company's eco-friendly plastic cups are now being sold at Costco and at Amazon.com. |
Aug. 14, 2012 | The (UW) Daily
UW tech startup hopes to make online shopping easier
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Four UW alums quit their jobs and founded Decide, a company that aims to be a sort of Consumer Reports for today's generation. Co-founder Oren Etzioni, a UW computer scientist, is mentioned. |
Aug. 11, 2012 | The New York Times
How big data became so big
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This has been the crossover year for Big Data -- as a concept, as a term and, yes, as a marketing tool. In the history of Big Data, an important event was a 2008 paper co-authored by Ed Lazowska, professor of computer science & engineering. |
Aug. 22, 2012 | NPR: Markeplace Radio
The vulnerability of high-tech cars
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As cars go high-tech, possible vulnerabilities open up. But computer scientist Yoshi Kohno says don't freak out. Yet. |
Media alert: Presentation on the security of modern automobiles
Aug. 06, 2012 | Computerworld
Car-hacking: Remote access and other security issues
| It's not time for full-on panic, but researchers have already successfully applied brakes remotely, listened into conversations and more. Computer science PhD student Franzi Roesner is quoted. |
Media alert: Presentation on the security of modern automobiles
Aug. 20, 2012 | The Globe and Mail (via Reuters)
Hacker attack on your car’s computer could be lethal: experts
| Intel’s McAfee unit is one of a handful of firms looking to protect the computers and electronic communications systems that are built into every modern car. Computer scientist Yoshi Kohno and colleagues at UCSD published two landmark research papers that showed computer viruses can infect cars and cause them to crash. |
Media alert: Presentation on the security of modern automobiles
Aug. 22, 2012 | seattlepi.com
UW's Formula Motorsports race car finishes strong
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The UW Formula Motorsports Team had two strong finishes this summer, including first place for best-designed car in a national competition of 80 teams, and 14th overall in an international competition of 77 teams in Hockenheim, Germany. About fifty UW students from the mechanical engineering department's Formula SAE Team put in over 15,000 hours of work to build the car from scratch. |
Aug. 10, 2012 | GeekWire
Student rocket soars using hybrid propulsion system
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With their rocket the DAQ Destroyer, University of Washington students snagged the top prize in the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition’s advanced category. |
Student-built rocket with experimental motor blasts to 1st-place finish
Aug. 01, 2012 | The (UW) Daily
UW students develop online teaching game
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Together with colleagues at the Center for Game Science, computer science students Erik Andersen, Yun-En Liu and Eric Butler developed the game Refraction, which teaches fractions. They will release a more adaptive version of the game in September. |
Aug. 16, 2012 | New Scientist
Augmented reality kitchens keep novice chefs on track
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Computer science PhD student Jinna Lei has also installed depth-sensing cameras in the kitchen to watch over novice chefs. Cameras record the shape and appearance of kitchen objects, allowing them to track cooking actions, such as whether a particular ingredient has been added to a bowl, and warn of mistakes. |
Aug. 20, 2012 | The Oregon Register-Guard
Oceanic power project approved
| Federal officials have given the green light to begin installation of 10 electricity-generating buoys off the Oregon Coast, clearing the way for what will be the first wave energy station in the United States. UW engineers and colleagues at Oregon State University formed the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, which is developing a testing infrastructure for wave energy devices, known as the Pacific Marine Testing Center. |
Assessing the environmental effects of tidal turbines
Aug. 15, 2012 | UT-San Diego
Drought, heat test nuclear energy's limits
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This summer, a Connecticut nuclear plant had to shut down a reactor because seawater was too warm to cool it. It was the first time in the plant's 37-year history that the water pulled from the Long Island Sound was too warm to use. Research by civil and environmental engineer Dennis Lettenmaier is noted. |
Nuclear and coal-fired electrical plants vulnerable to climate change
Aug. 02, 2012 | The Spokesman Review
State won’t fund phosphorus research in Spokane River
| The Washington Department of Ecology has opted not to pay for additional research by civil and environmental engineer Michael Brett, whose earlier work suggested not all the phosphorus discharged into the Spokane River leads to rampant algae growth and poor water quality. |
Aug. 03, 2012 | NBCNews.com: Body Odd blog
How do people find the superhuman strength to lift cars?
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A recent event prompts the question: How can a regular person lift something that weighs more than a ton? Actually, most people "can lift six to seven times their body weight," says Michael Regnier, professor and vice chair of bioengineering. A former weightlifter, Regnier once ripped a car door off to save someone trapped inside. |
Aug. 06, 2012 | KING TV
'Mohawk Guy' of Mars mission graduated from UW
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Among those celebrating at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory after the successful landing of the Mars rover Curiosity was Bobak Ferdowsi -- the man wearing a Mohawk. He graduated in 2001 from UW's aeronautics and astronautics program. Professor Adam Bruckner recalls him being a 4.0 student. |
Aug. 07, 2012 | Science: Careers blog
Curiosity about the NASA mohawk guy
| Want to become an Internet sensation? How's this for a clever strategy: Get a bachelors in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at the University of Washington and a masters at MIT, then work for nine years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
Aug. 28, 2012 | Korea Times
POSTEC aims to be top global science school
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When former faculty member Yongmin Kim returned to Korea after nearly 30 years at the UW, he had a self-imposed mission: to build a truly world-leading university in Korea. In less than a year, the Korea Times reports, the president of Pohang University of Science and Technology has already made strides toward that goal. |
If you have a newsworthy result about one month from publication, presentation or demonstration, please contact Hannah Hickey. Notice of student and faculty awards and grants is also welcome.