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News & events

[em]Washington Engineer[/em] - October 2014

In the October 2014 issue:

  • Dean's Message
  • Research - Smartphone Jaundice Check; Fusion Reactor; SideSwipe App
  • Campus News - Gollakota Honor; OneBusAway Enhancement; EcoCAR 3
  • Events - Lecture Series; Hadi Partovi; Reinterpreting Genetic Code
  • In the Media - Gamers & Ebola; HIV Prevention; Oso Landslide


Dean's Message

The dean touches on game science that could help stop Ebola, our fall lecture series, a big data research grant, and an alumna who has won a MacArthur "genius" award. Read message »

Michael Bragg

Research

taking a picture of a baby with a smartphone

New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes
Engineers and physicians at the UW have developed a smartphone application that checks for jaundice in newborns and can deliver results to parents and pediatricians within minutes.
KING 5 | NBC News | GeekWire | Huffington Post | Gizmodo | Q13 Fox

shiny inner workings of a UW fusion reactor

UW fusion reactor concept could be cheaper than coal
Researchers in aeronautics and astronautics have designed a concept for a fusion reactor that, when scaled up to the size of a large electrical power plant, would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output.
NBC News | Gizmag | KVI Radio | Crosscut | EE Times

an open-palmed hand over a smartphone

Reflected smartphone transmissions enable gesture control
A new form of low-power wireless sensing technology developed at the UW called "SideSwipe" lets users train their smartphones to recognize and respond to specific hand gestures near the phone.
MIT Technology Review | KING 5 | Discovery Channel | Gizmag

Campus News

Shyam Gollakota

Shyam Gollakota named one of world’s top innovators under 35
Shyam Gollakota, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has been named one of this year's "Innovators Under 35" by global media company MIT Technology Review.
GeekWire

people at a Metro bus stop

StopInfo for OneBusAway app makes buses more usable for blind riders
A UW study found that StopInfo, a new hub for bus stop information in the OneBusAway app, is helpful for blind riders and can promote spontaneous and unfamiliar travel. A team of students and faculty launched the program recently in collaboration with King County Metro.
Fox News / Reuters

EcoCAR 2 team member gives young students a look under the hood

UW students to build hybrid-electric muscle car in EcoCAR 3 contest
The UW is one of 16 schools invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co. EcoCAR 3 competition that spans four years with stand-alone contests each spring. Their challenge in this next competition is to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car.

Events

lecture series brochure cover image - young woman near microscopes recording data Engineering the Heart: From Cell Therapy to Computer Technology

Attend the two remaining lectures in the College of Engineering's annual fall lecture series, presented in partnership with the UW Alumni Association. Register »

Tuesday, Nov. 4 | 7 p.m. Kane Hall
Get a Grip: Cell Biomechanics in Cardiovascular Health
Nate Sniadecki, Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering
Nathan White, Emergency Medicine, Bioengineering

Tuesday, Nov. 18 | 7 p.m. Kane Hall
Cutting the Cord: Wireless Power for Implantable Devices
Joshua Smith, Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering


Hadi Partovi


Computer Science: Changing the World vs. Making Money
Tuesday, Oct. 28 | 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Paul G. Allen Center Atrium

Hadi Partovi, co-founder of the nonprofit organization Code.org, will share his perspective on the societal impact of the field as part of Computer Science & Engineering's Distinguished Lecture Series.
David Tirrell Allan S. Hoffman Lecture: Reinterpreting the Genetic Code – From Polymers to Proteomics
Thursday, Oct. 30 | 3:30 p.m.
Magnuson Health Sciences Center T, Room T-625

David A. Tirrell of the California Institute of Technology will speak about how scientists are able to "reinterpret" the genetic code, leading to powerful new approaches to materials design and analysis of biological processes.


In the Media

closeup of protein representation in Foldit

Gamers helping UW in Ebola research
The Seattle Times | Aug. 25, 2014
Players of the online computer game Foldit are helping UW researchers in their efforts to develop a protein that could stop the Ebola virus.

magnified image of dissolvable fabric fibers

How a dissolvable fabric could one day help women stop HIV
NPR | Aug. 14, 2014
Researchers at the UW have come up with a new way for women to protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The method is not unlike a technology familiar to many women: the tampon.
See also: UW Today

aftermath of Oso landslide with flag at half staff

Guest column: How to avert the next Oso landslide disaster
The Seattle Times | Sept. 18, 2014
Public officials can do a better job of identifying vulnerable communities and averting a landslide disaster like Oso, writes guest columnist Joseph Wartman, a UW associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
See also: UW Today