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News & events

News archive for 2018

Pothos ivy

Wed, 12/19/2018 | UW News

Researchers develop a new houseplant that can clean your home's air

Researchers at the UW have genetically modified a common houseplant — pothos ivy — to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it.

Paul Gibbs, a mechanical engineer at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, inspects the newest Adaptable Monitoring Package, or AMP, before a test in a saltwater pool.

Fri, 12/14/2018 | UW News

Underwater sensors for monitoring sea life (and where to find them)

A team at the University of Washington has created an underwater mechanical eye called an Adaptable Monitoring Package, or AMP. Using a combination of sensors, it watches animals and records their activity when they pass by renewable energy sites.

bee with a sensor attached

Tue, 12/11/2018 | UW News

Researchers create first sensor package that can ride aboard bees

Farmers can already use drones to soar over huge fields and monitor temperature, humidity or crop health, but drone use is limited by the power the devices need. Now, UW engineers have created a sensing system that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee.

Picture of how small protein molecules interact with one another.

Fri, 12/07/2018 | UW News

Two-dimensional materials skip the energy barrier by growing one row at a time

A new UW led study verifies Gibbs’ theory for materials that form row by row. The research uncovers the underlying mechanism, which fills in a fundamental knowledge gap and opens new pathways in materials science.

solar power graph

Wed, 12/05/2018 | Clean Energy Institute

Professor Brian B. Johnson leads Department of Energy-funded research to halve cost of solar power electronics

The Department of Energy has awarded $2.8 million to a UW-led team for research on halving the cost of power electronics in solar photovoltaic systems.

SARP team

Mon, 12/03/2018 | College of Engineering

Igniting a passion

For the UW SARP team, it really is rocket science.

UW postdoc Ivana Milovanovic (left) works with Center for Neurotechnology Young Scholars Program participant Emily Boeschoten on a sensory device.

Wed, 11/28/2018 | UW News

UW-led philosophy team receives $1.5M grant to study the ethics of neurotechnology research

UW researchers are studying how brain-computer interfaces affect whether patients feel they are in charge of their own actions.

Wed, 11/14/2018 | UW News

Scientists engineer a functional optical lens out of 2D materials

UW researchers have constructed functional metalenses out of 2D materials.

e-bike delivery staff

Fri, 10/26/2018 | UW News

Urban Freight Lab will help UPS evaluate its new e-bike delivery service in Seattle

The Urban Freight Lab is partnering with UPS to determine whether e-bike delivery will help ease Seattle's traffic congestion.

Mohamed El-Sharkawi

Thu, 10/25/2018 | UW Electrical & Computer Engineering

In memory of Mohamed El-Sharkawi

We sadly share the news of the recent passing of Mohamed El-Sharkawi. El-Sharkawi was a professor emeritus of UW Electrical & Computer Engineering, a Fellow of IEEE, an associate chair and a professor in the Clean Energy Institute. His research focused on electric and renewable energy, electric safety, electric drives, power electronics, intelligent systems and control.

Thu, 10/25/2018 | UW News

Creating curious robots: UW researchers get Honda grant to build a mathematical model of curiosity

The UW will lead an initiative to explore the mechanisms behind curiosity and seek advances in artificial cognition.

STARS students Tammy Teal and Ivan Cordero

Wed, 10/17/2018 | University of Washington

Changing the Future of Engineering

The Washington STate Academic RedShirt (STARS) program supports students from underserved high schools after they start at the UW. And it's helping.

Paul G. Allen

Mon, 10/15/2018 | Allen School

Mourning the loss of Paul G. Allen

The University, the College, and the Allen School mourn the loss of Paul G. Allen, a man of extraordinary vision, leadership and generosity whose impact on our world is profound. Just last year, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering was established. "I'm grateful for what he created during his 65 years, and for the legacy that those of us inspired by his drive and generosity will continue to build upon," noted UW President Ana Mari Cauce. "Paul was a truly remarkable person who changed the world multiple times in his lifetime," said Allen School Director Hank Levy. “We can only hope to follow his example, by searching for the most important scientific and societal challenges of our era and applying our energies to solving them."

member of the data collection team

Fri, 10/12/2018 | UW News

Could parcel lockers in transit stations reduce traffic congestion in Seattle?

UW researchers want to know if parcel lockers that aren’t owned by a specific company could alleviate traffic congestion in Seattle.

Four members of the team behind Prescience

Wed, 10/10/2018 | UW News

Helping doctors predict the future

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new machine-learning system, called Prescience, to predict the likelihood that a patient will develop hypoxemia during surgery.

3-D printed devices

Tue, 10/09/2018 | UW News

Researchers develop 3-D printed objects that can track and store how they are used

Engineers at the UW have developed 3-D printed devices that can track and store their own use without using batteries or electronics.

Mon, 10/08/2018

Dissecting disinformation

Within a rapidly evolving — and increasingly disorienting — digital arena, researchers in the emCOMP Lab analyze how false information spreads online.

Siddhartha Srinivasa and his robot

Mon, 10/01/2018 | UW News

Engineering lecture series focuses on engineering for social good

This fall, the University of Washington’s annual engineering lecture series will feature three College of Engineering faculty whose research is accelerating positive impact here and around the world.

photo collage of images

Fri, 09/28/2018 | UW News

Lunar library to include photos, books stored in DNA

People who have submitted photos to the #MemoriesInDNA project have selected images of family members, favorite places and tasty food that will be preserved for years in the form of synthetic DNA. Now this collection — which currently contains more than 3,000 images and is still growing — will be headed to the final frontier: space.

Mt Rainier

Mon, 09/24/2018 | Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Glacier melt likely to impact Pacific Northwest water supply

For the first time, a team of researchers including CEE alumnus Chris Frans and associate professor Erkan Istanbulluoglu have evaluated the hydrological impact of receding glaciers in the region.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Building

Mon, 09/24/2018 | College of Engineering

Electrical Engineering celebrates new name: Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

UW Electrical Engineering has changed its name to the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) to expand student opportunities and better reflect current teaching, research and service.

Sham Kakade

Thu, 09/13/2018 | UW News

Three UW teams receive TRIPODS+X grants for research in data science

The National Science Foundation announced on Sept. 11 that it is awarding grants totaling $8.5 million to 19 collaborative projects at 23 universities for the study of complex and entrenched problems in data science. Three of these projects will be based at the University of Washington and led by researchers in the College of Engineering and the College of Arts & Sciences.

a brain-computer interface based on an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap

Tue, 09/04/2018 | UW News

UW-based center updates name to highlight role of ‘neurotechnologies’ in healing the brain and spinal cord

Building on seven years of research that helps patients with sensory and motor neurological disorders, the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering is updating its name to the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT).

Tue, 08/21/2018 | UW News

Bus battle: Do private shuttles affect the reliability of public transit?

A recent study from researchers at UW suggests that public buses are unaffected by private shuttles most of the time.

Fri, 08/17/2018 | College of Engineering

Meal Matchup

A human centered design and engineering team is helping campus dining halls donate and deliver excess food to local homeless shelters.