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Washington Engineer - August 2009

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Matt O'DonnellDean's Message

Matt O’Donnell congratulates undergraduate and graduate students honored this year, and discusses a new direct-admit program for freshman engineers enrolling this fall. More »


Research News

portion of Vanish logo This article will self-destruct: A tool to make online personal data vanish
A team of UW computer scientists developed a prototype system called Vanish that can place a time limit on Web text. After a set time a message written using Vanish will, in essence, self-destruct. See how it works in this video.
The New York Times | The Economist | NPR
A quantum dot encapsulated in a gold shell A Swiss Army knife for medical imaging: A multipurpose nanoparticle
An article in Nature Nanotechnology explains how, for the first time, UW bioengineers were able to combine two medical-imaging nanoparticles in one tiny package.
photo, closeup of chitosan and polyester fibers woven at the nanometer scale Crustacean shell with polyester creates mixed-fiber material for nerve repair
Mixing chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, with an industrial polyester creates a promising new material for the tiny tubes that support repair of a severed nerve.

Campus News

illustration excerpt: view from the Johnson Hall courtyard looking northwest at the new Molecular Engineering Building Making way for new Molecular Engineering Building
Occupants of Cunningham Hall and Johnson Hall Annex are moving out this month, and Cunningham itself will be moving later this summer to make way for the new Molecular Engineering Building on the site.
image of hands holding a Kindle Test Driving the Kindle DX
This Fall each incoming Computer Science & Engineering graduate student will receive a Kindle DX, Amazon's newest wireless reading device. The UW is one of the universities participating in a pilot project testing the device.
The student rocket blasts off. (Photo by Gregory Rixon) Student-built rocket blasts more than two miles high
The UW’s Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics held its first hands-on graduate course focused on rocket design and construction. Watch the launch and learn about the UW team's medal-winning performance at a Utah rocket competition.
photo of Michael Hochberg Hochberg honored with presidential early career award
UW electrical engineering professor Michael Hochberg is among 100 outstanding early-career scientists named by President Obama. Hochberg was one of four UW recipients this year. See also the White House press release.

Coming Events

UWEB logo UWEB Summer Symposium: Biomaterials, Entrepreneurship, Innovations, Translation
August 26-28, 2009

Scientist-entrepreneurs will showcase the latest biomaterials-based technologies that are moving from research laboratories to industry and ultimately to reach patients.

In the Media

photo of sensor that attaches to water pipe (photo credit: Shwetak Patel) Sensors for tracking home water use
Technology Review | June 30 2009
Flexible dye-sensitized solar cell Research on solar-powered Air Force drones
takes off

The New York Times | July 15, 2009
An example of the Indus script - a stamp seal that measure one or two inches per side. Courtesy of J. M. Kenoyer / Harappa.com Can computers decipher a 5,000-year-old language?
Smithsonian magazine | July 20, 2009