U.S. scientists have determined massive seaport cranes could be used more efficiently if they unloaded and loaded ships simultaneously. Studies by civil engineer Anne Goodchild show such double cycling of cranes would also save costs and conserve fuel.


SOURCE MATERIAL  
Ports could hasten freight traffic by doubling up on crane trips  |  uwnews.org release: June 2, 2007

A computer-science research project, Photo Tourism, and a Seattle software company, Seadragon, joined forces to create Photosynth, now being used by the BBC to recreate British landmarks. Photosynth creates photo-realistic 3-D models of any subject simply by scanning image databases on the Internet.

SOURCE MATERIAL  
Photo software creates 3-D world  |  uwnews.org release: Feb. 14, 2007

For the fifth year in a row, the University of Wisconsin-Madison won the National Concrete Canoe Competition, which took place this weekend in Seattle. The Wisconsin team used a 179-pound, natural gray canoe -- named the Descendent -- to capture the "America's Cup of Civil Engineering."


SOURCE MATERIAL  
National concrete canoe races come to Seattle  |  uwnews.org release: June 12, 2007

Government agencies and private firms compete to hire Seattle's transportation engineers, offering internships to freshmen, iPods and $60,000 starting salaries. Civil engineering professor Scott Rutherford and undergraduate advisor Mariko Navin are quoted.

Are highway tolls in Seattle's future? The UW’s Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington State Transportation Center, and a team of students co-authored a recent technical report that incorporates electronic tags and “smart” cards.

Tapping into some of the specialized -- and often subconscious -- computing power in the human brain may solve problems that machines can't do. Pradeep Shenoy, a computer science graduate student, and a Microsoft researcher devised a scheme using electro-encephalograph (EEG) caps to collect brain activity to sort digital pictures.

The UW's failed bid to woo a star researcher to head its Center for Nanotechnology underscores both the intense competition for star researchers in the academic world -- and the risks universities face in mounting aggressive recruitment efforts. Chemical engineer Francois Baneyx, acting director of the Center, is quoted.

Electrical engineer Alexander Mamishev is in the final stage of testing his energy crawler, a 3-inch-tall robot that checks underground high-voltage wires for potential electrical shorts, cracks and damage.

SOURCE MATERIAL  
Robotic crawler detects wear in power lines  |  uwnews.org release: Dec. 21, 2006

People who wear sunglasses may have a hard time adjusting to sudden changes in light conditions, like when going indoors. Now mechanical engineer Chunye Xu is developing the next generation of sunglasses using materials that can change color and transparency in seconds.


SOURCE MATERIAL  
'Smart' sunglasses and goggles let users adjust shade and color  |  uwnews.org release: Apr. 18, 2007

Denial-of-service attacks hit the news in May when the Russian government was accused of attacking Estonian websites. Computer scientist Tom Anderson describes a new system that may thwart such attacks.

Computer science doctoral student Ethan Katz-Bassett introduced a new tool, named Hubble, that probes the outer regions of cyberspace. Hubble's network of probes found that blocks of the Internet were occasionally unreachable. Other times, traffic coming from some portions of the Internet fall into a "routing black hole."

Today, prospectors using Petri dishes instead of gold pans have turned biotechnology and the life sciences into a 21st century gold rush – seeking cancer cures, space-age vaccines and diagnostic techniques that seem almost magical. The UW's Lee Huntsman, president emeritus and professor of bioengineering, is quoted.

Video clips of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer answering questions from UW computer scientist Ed Lazowska and the audience at the Seattle-based Technology Alliance's annual luncheon.

This summer patients at Fort Lewis’ Madigan Army Medical Center will venture into a mock combat zone where they can see, hear and even smell the war in Iraq. Doctors hope that the use of virtual-reality therapy can ease or curb the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The UW's Hunter Hoffman, who developed virtual-reality therapy for survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks, is quoted.


SOURCE MATERIAL  
Researchers turn to virtual reality to treat 9/11 post traumatic stress  |  uwnews.org release: Sept. 9, 2003