NewsFlash: College of Engineering in the Media | Vol. 2, No. 7 | October 28, 2008 | A publication of the College of Engineering and uwnews.org, the UW Office of News and Information

UW College of Engineering NewsFlash | Vol. 2, No. 7 | October 28, 2008

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 Hannah Hickey at (206-543-2580, hickeyh@uw.edu).

Oct. 23, 2008 | The New York Times
Researchers find problems with RFID passport cards
RFID tags used in two new types of border-crossing documents in the U.S. are vulnerable to snooping and copying, a researcher said on Thursday. United States Passport Cards issued by the U.S. Department of State and EDLs (enhanced driver's licenses) from the state of Washington contain RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags that can be scanned at border crossings without being handed over to agents.

Oct. 23, 2008 | KOMO4
UW researchers uncover gap in border security

Technology to help you get across the border faster could also put your identity at risk and let the wrong person into the country. The risk, which was discovered by a group of researchers at the University of Washington, now has the Department of Homeland Security on the defense

	Oct. 23, 2008 \| The Wall Street Journal Border-Crossing Cards Can Be Copied New U.S. border-crossing cards can be copied and remotely disabled with off-the-shelf equipment, researchers said, the latest finding of security weaknesses in wireless technology.

Oct. 21, 2008 | Computerworld
Dear Mr. President: Let's talk tech

Science and technology may not have been the focus of the recent debates between presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama, but both candidates have outlined some broad policy proposals and goals. That's a good thing, because, as some of the top technology thinkers in the United States, including UW computer science and engineer’s Ed Lazowska, today recently shared with Computerworld, the next president will have to tackle the country's ongoing decline in global technological competitiveness.

Oct. 17, 2008 | The San Francisco Chronicle
Environmental hazards around the house

We like to think of our homes as havens, but how safe are they? Everything from the furniture we buy, to the fragranced products we use, to the dry-cleaned clothes, to the soil our homes are built upon may contain toxic and cancer-causing pollutants.

RELATED MATERIAL
Toxic chemicals found in common scented laundry products, air fresheners | July 23, 2008

Oct. 14, 2008 | Scientific American
Protein Computer Games: Me Fold Pretty One Day

I'm sitting at my computer, playing a game. It's not a typical game: I'm using human spatial reasoning and puzzle-solving know-how to manipulate and shape virtual proteins. The game—FoldIt—is an exercise in molecular origami.

SOURCE MATERIAL
Computer game's high score could earn the Nobel Prize in medicine | May 8, 2008

Oct. 13, 2008 | The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
UW scientists report success in herb enhanced to fight cancer

Seattle scientists have developed a new technique for improving a common Chinese herb's ability to attack cancer cells that they say appears, in laboratory tests at least, to be much more precise and less likely to cause the kind of toxic side effects accompanying most standard chemotherapy drugs today.

SOURCE MATERIAL
Scientists develop new cancer-killing compound from salad plant | Oct. 13, 2008

Oct. 13, 2008 | The Seattle Times
Alliance may one day aid paralyzed, amputees Building on tech-robotic link

The Northwest's economic future seemed promising Friday, if you were inside a certain conference room at Microsoft's advanced research center in Redmond. While markets crashed and investors sobbed, certified genius Yoky Matsuoka and 140 of her friends were at the center for a workshop, brainstorming how to make the region a world center for neuroengineering.

SOURCE MATERIAL
Media Advisory: Professionals to discuss the melding of neuroscience and engineering | Oct. 6, 2008

	Oct. 7, 2008 \| Xconomy A Clear Choice on Science, Technology, and Innovation In an op-ed piece, Ed Lazowska, professor of computer science, looks at the "stark differences between how John McCain and Barack Obama would steer our nation's science and technology enterprise and how those differences will affect our economy."

	Oct. 7, 2008 \| New York Times (Freakonomics Blog) LoJack for Laptops (the Free Version) If you’re reading this post on a laptop computer, rest easy. Your computer may have just become far less appealing to thieves. SOURCE MATERIAL Just in time for school: Free Adeona service tracks stolen laptops \| Sept. 25, 2008

Oct. 6, 2008 | The Seattle Times
UW creates a computer mouse driven by sound

Oct. 6 Say "ahh" and the cursor zips toward the northeast corner of the computer screen. "Ooo" sends it shooting straight south. Want it to head southeast? Say "ohh." So goes the University of Washington's "Vocal Joystick" software, which uses sounds to help people with disabilities use their computers.

SOURCE MATERIAL
Generating 'oohs' and 'aahs': Vocal Joystick uses voice to surf the Web | Oct. 9, 2007

Oct. 1, 2008 | Conservation Magazine
Robofish

Researchers have spent years hunting for a more efficient way to track targets that travel underwater. Now, the University of Washington’s Kristi Morgansen may have found a better solution: autonomous, robotic fish that could be dispatched to monitor everything from whales to pollution spills.

SOURCE MATERIAL
School of Robofish provides basis for teams of underwater robots | June 5, 2008

Oct. 1, 2008 | Xconomy
Director of Intel Research Seattle Focuses on Game-Changing Technologies, Opening New Markets

On a clear day, David Wetherall can see Mount Rainier from his desk. On a clearer day, he can see the future of Intel.

Sept. 30, 2008 | Technology Review
Tracking Laptop Thieves Safely

Nowadays a lost or stolen laptop can often be recovered thanks to software that automatically transmits the location of the device back to a central server. However, some experts worry that, without additional security measures, this kind of tracking technology could inadvertently make users more vulnerable to spying.

SOURCE MATERIAL
Just in time for school: Free Adeona service tracks stolen laptops | Sept. 25, 2008

Sept. 30, 2008 | Top Tech News
Cell Phones and Cancer: More Research Needed

On Sept. 25, while many legislators on Capitol Hill were debating how best to confront potential dangers of the financial crisis, a handful of lawmakers and physicians were airing concerns over a different would-be danger: prolonged use of cell phones. Their conclusion is that more research is needed, especially when it comes to kids. UW research is mentioned.

Sept. 29, 2008 | International Herald Tribune
The brains behind a blade runner

If it sounds far-fetched for a man without lower legs to become one of the fastest runners on the planet, how about typing by just thinking the words or staying sporty well into old age? Yoky Matsuoka is quoted.

RELATED MATERIAL
UW computer engineer wins MacArthur Foundation 'genius' award | Sept. 24, 2007

	Sept. 25, 2008 \| KING5 UW researchers create LoJack for your laptop Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego have come up with a virtual watchdog for your laptop. SOURCE MATERIAL Just in time for school: Free Adeona service tracks stolen laptops \| Sept. 25, 2008

If you have a newsworthy result about one month from publication, presentation or demonstration, please contact Rachel Tompa, rtompa@u.washington.edu. Notice of student and faculty awards and grants is also welcome.