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 2011
Aug. 02, 2011 | KING TV
Faces age through time with 'Face Movie'
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University of Washington computer scientists are putting a new face on face recognition software. Postdoctoral researcher Ira Kemelmacher has created a program that takes a collection of still photos and brings them to life. |
Digital photos can animate a face so it ages and moves before your eyes
Aug. 02, 2011 | MSNBC: Cosmic Log blog
Software traces faces through time
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Leave it to the computer scientists to turn baby pictures into a slick animation that traces faces through the years. Computer scientist Steve Seitz and postdoc Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman have made a first step in that direction, in a tool already being put to use on Google's Picasa photo-sharing website. |
Digital photos can animate a face so it ages and moves before your eyes
Aug. 03, 2011 | New Scientist: One Per Cent blog
Create an animated biography from your photos
| Remember the end of Michael Jackson's 1991 music video "Black or White," in which a series faces morph into one other? Now, thanks to computer scientist Steve Seitz and postdoctoral researcher Ira Kemelmacher, you can create the same effect at home with your own digital photo collection. |
Digital photos can animate a face so it ages and moves before your eyes
Aug. 25, 2011 | Puget Sound Business Journal
Boeing 787 certification hinged on molding technology
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Boeing’s new 787 might have never been completed without a unique collaboration at the UW Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures. Mechanical engineer Mark Tuttle and aeronautical engineer Jim Hermanson are quoted, and materials science grad students Ashley Tracey and Curtis Hickmott are mentioned. |
Aug. 17, 2011 | Q13 Fox News
Medical apps for your smartphone: healthy or hurtful?
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Not feeling well? Maybe your smartphone can help. Bioengineer Buddy Ratner talks about regulatory issues and new research funded by the Gates Foundation, and computer scientist Gaetano Borriello talks about implications for the developing world. |
Cell phones become handheld tools for global development
Aug. 04, 2011 | The New York Times: Bits blog
A call to rethink Internet search
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In an editorial in Nature, computer scientist Oren Etzioni writes that "we could soon view today’s keyword searching with the same nostalgia and amusement reserved for bygone technologies such as electric typewriters and vinyl records." |
Web search is ready for a shakeup, says UW computer scientist
Aug. 03, 2011 | seattlepi.com
It’s time for a revolution in Web search, UW professor says
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Search box. Blue links. Keywords. Yuck. Now is the time for a revolution in Web search, says computer scientist Oren Etzioni. The way of Google and Bing, he says, is the way of the past. |
Web search is ready for a shakeup, says UW computer scientist
Aug. 03, 2011 | CTV (Canada) News
Prof says tech world must 'revolutionize' web search
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An American computer scientist says too much time is being wasted looking for information on the Internet while users sort through endless data streams that are not relevant to their queries. In the latest issue of Nature, Oren Etzioni argues that search mechanisms should be redesigned to give direct answers to specific questions, so that users can make better use of their time online. |
Web search is ready for a shakeup, says UW computer scientist
Jul. 30, 2011 | The New York Times
Can Microsoft make you 'Bing'?
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Microsoft’s assault on Google in Internet search and search advertising may be the steepest competitive challenge in business today. Trying to go head-to-head with Google costs Microsoft upward of $5 billion a year. Computer scientist Oren Etzioni is quoted, and his Farecast tool, now part of Bing, is mentioned. |
Web search is ready for a shakeup, says UW computer scientist
Airfare analyzer could save big bucks by advising when to buy tickets
Aug. 29, 2011 | KUOW Radio
Researchers hope to harness tides for energy
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The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the strongest tides in the country. What does a windmill do when you put it 200 feet below the surface of Puget Sound? Civil and environmental engineer assistant professor Jim Thomson and mechanical engineering graduate student Chris Bassett are quoted. |
Assessing the environmental effects of tidal turbines
Aug. 15, 2011 | San Diego Union-Tribune
Ocean wave power projects seek solid footing on West Coast
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The cancellation of three ocean wave-energy projects leaves a proposal north of Oceanside as the only one of its kind off California’s coast. Tidal energy projects in Washington, and a renewable marine energy research center shared by Oregon State University and the University of Washington, are mentioned. |
Assessing the environmental effects of tidal turbines
Jul. 31, 2011 | The New York Times
Progress hits snag: Tiny chips use outsize power
| In a recently presented paper, researchers fear Moore's Law is about to meet its limits. The problem is not that they cannot squeeze more transistors onto the chips, but that all those transistors could require too much power -- the so-called "dark silicon" problem. First author is UW computer science doctoral student Hadi Esmaeilzadeh. Lead author is Doug Burger of Microsoft Research, a UW affiliate professor of computer and science and engineering. |
Aug. 10, 2011 | PC World (via IDG News)
Work on home sensors targets energy efficiency
| Homeowners who want to know which electrical device in their house consumes the most energy will soon be able to find out, thanks to the research of computer scientist and electrical engineer Shwetak Patel. He is one of this year's recipients of Microsoft's Research Faculty Fellowships |
UW energy- and water-sensing technology acquired by Belkin
Aug. 08, 2011 | The Seattle Times
Nonstop ideas fill no-frills Facebook Seattle office
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The Facebook Seattle office — the company's first development center outside of its Palo Alto headquarters — ends its first year with about 50 engineers. Computer scientist Ed Lazowska is quoted about the company's appeal to UW computer-science graduates, and graduate student Cullen Walsh, a Facebook intern, is pictured. |
Aug. 08, 2011 | TampaBay.com (via Dallas Morning News)
Schools, beware the e-book bandwagon
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Print books have an important advantage over digital ones, encouraging more attentive reading. An essay quotes from a research paper by UW human centered design and engineering's Charlotte Lee and PhD student Alex Thayer. |
College students’ use of Kindle DX points to e-reader’s role in academia
Aug. 09, 2011 | Consumer Reports
Back to school: Is an e-book reader right for you?
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Is an e-book reader really a useful tool for school? That's still open to debate. A study by human centered design and engineering's Charlotte Lee and PhD student Alex Thayer indicates that e-readers aren't ideal for all students—yet. |
College students’ use of Kindle DX points to e-reader’s role in academia
Aug. 16, 2011 | The Globe and Mail
Social studies: Do e-books make the grade?
| In a study last year at the University of Washington, a group of graduate students were given Kindles, and their use of the devices was monitored through diary entries and interviews. |
College students’ use of Kindle DX points to e-reader’s role in academia
Aug. 16, 2011 | MSNBC
"Fruit Ninja" helps stroke patients slice through recovery
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Australian neuroscientists have found a new way to help spice up the recovery from stroke — with the medicinal powers of the game "Fruit Ninja." A virtual reality game to help manage pain developed by mechanical engineer Hunter Hoffman is mentioned. |
Virtual reality significantly reduces pain-related brain activity
Sep. 01, 2011 | Seattle Business
Play time
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The Center for Game Science, housed in the UW's department of computer scientist and engineering, is where scientists and scholars apply gaming principles to projects as diverse as biology, education and nanotechnology. Director Zoran Popovic is quoted. |
Aug. 03, 2011 | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Heart pump goes wireless, and UPMC's part of it
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A wireless, implantable heart pump that could provide unprecedented freedom for patients is drawing national acclaim. Electrical engineer and computer scientist Josh Smith and a heart surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are working to perfect the device and begin testing. |
Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps
Aug. 04, 2011 | USA Today (via Associated Press)
Insulin pumps, monitors vulnerable to hacking
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Even the human bloodstream isn't safe from computer hackers. An independent security researcher who is diabetic has identified flaws that could allow an attacker to remotely control insulin pumps and alter the readouts of blood-sugar monitors. Computer scientist Yoshi Kohno is quoted. |
Aug. 19, 2011 | Scientific American: Observations blog
Hacked in 60 seconds: Thieves could steal cars via text messages
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An interesting viral video making the rounds since the Black Hat cybersecurity conference earlier this month depicts two researchers from iSEC Partners (a San Francisco-based security firm) breaking into a 1998 Subaru Outback via their PC. Research by computer scientist Yoshi Kohno is noted. |
Media alert: Presentation on the security of modern automobiles
Aug. 24, 2011 | The (UK) Guardian
Inside the secret world of hackers
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Guardian columnist Heather Brooke writes about hacking culture. Jacob Appelbaum, staff research scientist in computer science and engineering, is quoted. |
Aug. 24, 2011 | Kitsap Sun
Researchers study micropollutants in wastewater
| UW civil and environmental engineers are learning to form specialized armies of bacteria that can seek and destroy micropollutants lurking in sewage effluent. Research scientist Heidi Gough is quoted. |
Aug. 25, 2011 | CBS News
Scented laundry products release carcinogens, study finds
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Scented laundry detergent and dryer sheets make laundry smell great - but do they cause cancer? A small study by civil and environmental engineer Anne Steinemann suggests scented laundry items contain carcinogens that waft through vents, potentially raising cancer risk. |
Scented laundry products emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents
Aug. 25, 2011 | San Francisco Chronicle: Thin Green Line blog
Scented laundry detergents emit carcinogens and VOCs
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A new study, published online this week in Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, found that the air released through the dryer vent while a load washed with the top-selling scented liquid laundry detergent and a scented dryer sheet contains more than 25 volatile organic compounds and two carcinogens. |
Scented laundry products emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents
Aug. 07, 2011 | MSNBC (via Self)
Toxic or not? A guide to everyday products
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From germ-fighting soap to nonstick pans, learn what to toss and what to tolerate. Research by civil and environmental engineer Anne Steinemann is cited in the item recommending eliminating room fresheners. |
Scented consumer products shown to emit many unlisted chemicals
Aug. 24, 2011 | MSNBC
Rebuilding the poor oil-rich country of Libya
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Despite rich oil reserves, building a healthy, diverse economy in a post-Gaddafi Libya will require an overhaul. Gamal Khalil, an affiliate professor of aeronautics and Libyan native, is quoted on corruption in the country. |