Essential tremor, a movement disorder characterized by involuntary shaking during intentional movement, can be treated by implanting an electrode in the brain for deep brain stimulation (DBS). In the current method for DBS, the implanted electrode is constantly “on” even when a patient doesn’t need it, which wastes battery life. UW researchers at the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering have developed a closed-loop system for DBS that is on only when the patient needs it. This system saves battery life and lengthens the amount of time a patient can go between surgical procedures to replace the battery.
News
June 27, 2017 | UW Today
June 26, 2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
The Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) program is transforming education in health technology design and entrepreneurship by providing a framework for engineering students and faculty to partner with clinicians and develop affordable solutions to today’s pressing health needs. Highlighted are five projects that originated through EIH and are still building momentum.
June 26, 2017
Jihui Yang, the Kyocera Professor in MSE, will take on the position of Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, starting September 1, 2017. Jihui has provided leadership in the department as chair of the undergraduate committee, and brings experience in both academia and industry that will position the department to grow and excel in the coming years.
June 26, 2017 | UW Today
A versatile light-sheet microscope, developed by a UW team including ME associate professor Jonathan Liu, can provide surgeons with real-time pathology data to guide cancer-removal surgeries and can also non-destructively examine tumor biopsies in 3-D. The microscope provides surgeons with proof that they have removed all cancerous tissue, preventing the need for further surgeries to remove cancerous cells that were missed during the initial procedure.
June 8, 2017 | UW Today
WideOpen is a new open-source tool to help advance open science by automatically detecting datasets that are overdue for publication. Its use on the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) led to the dramatic drop of overdue datasets, with 400 datasets released within the first week.
June 7, 2017 | UW Today
A team led by Xiaodong Xu, a UW professor in MSE and a member of the UW's Clean Energy Institute, and researchers at MIT has for the first time discovered magnetism in the 2-D world of monolayers, or materials that are formed by a single atomic layer. The findings, published June 8 in the journal Nature, demonstrate that magnetic properties can exist even in the 2-D realm — opening a world of potential applications. Magnetic materials form the basis of technologies that include sensing and hard-disk data storage. Researchers are always seeking new magnetic materials that are more compact, more efficient and can be controlled using precise, reliable methods.
June 2, 2017 | UW Today
SeaGlass helps detect cell phone surveillance by modeling a city’s cellular landscape and identifying suspicious anomalies.
May 30, 2017 | College of Engineering
The STARS program is designed to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who graduate with engineering degrees. STARS students participate in a “redshirt” year their first year and typically spend five years at the UW; however, three students from the first cohort have completed the program and their engineering degrees in just four years.
May 30, 2017 | UW Today
A new study finds that drone deliveries emit less climate-warming carbon dioxide pollution than truck deliveries in some — but not all — scenarios.
May 26, 2017 | Foster School of Business
UW Engineering teams took 1st, 3rd and 4th place as well as a number of other awards in this year’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition! Congratulations to Membrion (ChemE) in 1st place, LC-Tourniquet (ME) in 3rd place and Epi4All (ME) in 4th place!
May 25, 2017 | UW Today
A team of UW synthetic biology researchers have demonstrated a new method for digital information processing in living cells, analogous to the logic gates used in electric circuits.
May 19, 2017
Undergraduates Celina Gunnarsson (BioE) and Alexis Harroun (A&A) received the 2017 Dean's Medal for Academic Excellence for a combination of their grades, academic rigor, research experience, extracurricular activities, and leadership. Celina helped develop a three-dimensional model of the blood-brain barrier to study cerebral malaria while Alexis has conducted experiments on thermal protection systems and hypervelocity launching technologies.
May 15, 2017 | Department of Mechanical Engineering
EcoCAR is multi-phase challenge in which students work to convert a Camaro into a hybrid-electric car. UW Engineering’s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program supports multidisciplinary, long-term projects like EcoCAR that present real-world, experiential learning opportunities to students.
May 10, 2017 | UW Today
A recent UW study found that children who played with Wi-Fi-enable toys like Hello Barbie and CogniToys did not know their toys were recording their conversations, and some children were troubled by the idea of their conversations being recorded. Parents were worried about their children’s privacy when they played with the toys and desired more control over the toys’ connectivity.
May 8, 2017 | Department of Bioengineering
Bioengineering Professor Emeritus Allan Hoffman received two prestigious awards recognizing his contributions to the field of biomaterials. He received the 2017 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal as well as a Controlled Release Society Award in 2016.
May 2, 2017 | UW Today
A new study finds that smartphone apps to track menstrual cycles often disappoint users with a lack of accuracy, assumptions about sexual identity or partners, and an emphasis on pink and flowery form over function and customization.
April 26, 2017 | UW Today
A new study from University of Washington researchers describes how some people turn to posting photos on Instagram to track food intake or to be held accountable by followers in meeting healthy eating or weight loss goals.
April 24, 2017 | UW Today
A new scientific discovery game, Mozak, is allowing video gamers to significantly speed up reconstructing the intricate architecture of brain cells, a fundamental task in 21st century brain science.
April 19, 2017 | UW Today
CSE professor Tom Anderson was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. This latest honor follows Anderson’s induction last year into the National Academy of Engineering.
April 14, 2017 | UW Today
The UW and Japan’s Tohoku University have agreed to create an Academic Open Space (AOS) to foster collaborations and academic exchanges between these two leading research institutions of the Pacific Rim. The AOS will build upon current collaborations in aerospace design and materials, as well as launch new science and engineering partnerships. Fumio Ohuchi, UW professor and MSE interim chair, will serve as director of the AOS and oversee UW-based efforts and activities.
April 13, 2017 | UW Today
The College of Engineering is taking a significant step to improve undergraduate engineering students’ educational experiences by offering Direct to College admission beginning with the entering freshman class of 2018. This change will assure incoming freshman students who are admitted into the college and their families that they will be able to pursue an engineering degree at the UW.
April 11, 2017 | UW Today
Pacific Northwest engineers have developed a new, automated technology to analyze the potential for rockfalls from cliffs onto roads and areas below, which should speed and improve this type of risk evaluation, help protect public safety and ultimately save money and lives.
April 3, 2017 | UW Today
University of Washington researchers have shown that Google’s new tool that uses machine learning to automatically analyze and label video content can be deceived by inserting a photograph periodically and at a very low rate into videos.
March 31, 2017 | UW Foster blog
Congrats to UW Engineering student teams that won the second place and clean energy prizes at the 2017 Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge! The Airy team, out of UW Electrical Engineering, won the $10,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation prize for their battery-free, wireless home security solution that uses sensors mounted on doors or windows to harvest energy. Membrion, from UW Chemical Engineering, took the UW Clean Energy Institute clean energy prize with their low-cost, high-performance membranes for advanced batteries, fuel cells, and reverse osmosis water desalination applications. UW Engineering teams also received "Judges also really liked" awards: Membrion, UW Hyperloop (ME, CEE, EE), and GreenFeed (ChemE). Twenty-one student teams from seven colleges and universities around the Northwest addressed environmental and cleantech issues.
March 30, 2017
Congratulations to Greg Miller (CEE) for receiving the David B. Thorud Leadership Award, which honors two University of Washington leaders who champion positive change in our workplace, our state and throughout the world.
Pages
February 22, 2017 | The Daily
Reaching for the STARS: UW program empowers underserved students to pursue engineering degrees
The Daily presented a profile of the STARS program, explaining how the specialized STARS curriculum helps economically disadvantaged students successfully pursue rigorous engineering degrees. STARS will enter its fifth cohort in autumn 2017, and thanks to a grant from Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, the cohort will be double the size of previous years.
February 10, 2017 | UW Today
College of Engineering’s STARS program wins $2.2M to improve access for low-income students
The Washington STate Academic RedShirt (STARS) program, which offers engineering students from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds extra academic support, will receive a one-time grant of $2.2 million from the Opportunity Expansion Fund passed by the Washington Legislature and funded by Microsoft.
The 3-year grant is expected to significantly increase the number of students the program can serve during that time period. The expanded STARS initiative will offer supplemental instruction in the math, chemistry and physics courses that are part of the standard engineering curriculum, as well as culturally-aware advising, professional development and career services.
Related articles: Led by Microsoft's Brad Smith, program gives out $6M in STEM grants in Washington (Puget Sound Business Journal) | Tech, science programs at 3 Washington universities win grants (Seattle Times)
February 8, 2017 | LinkedIn
Unique partnerships can help close the gap between students and jobs
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft Corporation, discusses the challenges facing the state of Washington in the drive to graduate more students with STEM degrees. One solution is the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), which provides funds for the expansion of STEM programs. STARS received a $2.2M WSOS grant to expand program capacity and boost the success of economically disadvantaged students obtaining computer science and engineering degrees.
September 9, 2016 | The Seattle Times
Promising ‘academic redshirt’ program for future engineers to expand
The Seattle Times explains how STARS has been so successful that the National Science Foundation is expanding the program. The University of Washington is part of a $5 million grant, which will make more scholarships available to the underrepresented students that STARS supports. The grant also provides funds to research ways to make the program more effective and evaluate student outcomes.
May 16, 2016 | The Trend
Engineering student success through STARS
The UW College of Engineering's The Trend alumni newsletter spotlights the successes of the STARS program's success in fostering a community designed to increase the retention rate of students with economically- and educationally-disadvantaged backgrounds. 83% of STARS students have been retained in engineering to their sophomore year, compared to just 53% eligible but non-participating students.
February 26, 2016 | UW Trends in Higher Ed
The UW Provost's office features the STARS program that helps students adjust to the rigorous engineering curriculum by fostering a supportive community, focusing on core academics, and showcasing options and opportunities to help them choose the engineering path that is right for them.
April 22, 2015 | Seattle Times
UW’s STARS helps low-income students shine
Columnist Jerry Large talks to Eve Riskin, professor of electrical engineering, and Sonya Cunningham, who leads the STARS program, about the successes and fine-tuning in the second year of STARS. Cunningham makes sure students know how to negotiate college and fit in with the culture. And she does proactive advising to head off potential problems, partly by molding them into a supportive community. Riskin, who is also associate dean of diversity and access for UW engineering, said 11 of the 30 STARS students made the dean’s list winter quarter.
November 30, 2014 | Seattle Times
Rewind: Chat on diversity in STEM education
Video from a video chat about diversity in STEM and what UW and other universities are doing to help more people of color and first-generation students earn degrees in engineering. Features an adviser and a student from UW Engineering.
November 30, 2014 | The Seattle Times
UW gives future engineers a 'redshirt season'
In an idea borrowed from college athletics, the University of Washington boosts promising engineering students — many of them women and minorities — with an extra year of academic work.
May 8, 2013 | The National Science Foundation
NSF Joins Forces with Intel and GE to Move the Needle in Producing U.S. Engineers...
"Engineering education needs to adapt to the tortoises, not just the hares," said Eve Riskin, principal investigator of STARS. "We're talking about investing an extra year in what will hopefully be a 30-year engineering career."
May 8, 2013 | GeekWire
Wash. colleges debut 5-year engineering program for low-income students
"The first year of the program... will be used as a bridge of sorts to help the students get accustomed to the college environment before diving into the rigorous university workload. Then, they will receive extra advising and start in a regular four-year engineering program the following year."
May 8, 2013 | Seattle P-I
UW, WSU launch 'academic redshirt' program for engineering
"Washington needs young engineers to maintain the skilled workforce essential for high-tech employers such as Boeing. The National Science Foundation awarded $970,000 to UW and $700,000 to WSU for the program. The grants are part of $10 million that the foundation, partnered with Intel and General Electric, provided to nine schools."
May 8, 2013 | The Chronicle of Higher Education
Companies Finance University Efforts to Improve Science Education
"It's the latest in a series of efforts by the federal government, universities, and businesses to tackle shortfalls in science education, which have led President Obama to set a goal of producing one million university graduates in the sciences over the next decade."
May 13, 2013 | KPLU.org
Wash. universities look to 'redshirt' freshman engineers for one year
"UW Engineering Professor and Associate Dean Eve Riskin says a lot of disadvantaged students come in with no exposure to college-level academics. Many are in for a shock, which may explain why 72 percent of low-income students on Pell Grants seeking engineering degrees at UW and WSU don't get one." (1:13 audio)
May 20, 2013 | Inside Higher Education
With an eye on UC Boulder's GoldShirts success, the University of Washington and Washington State University have announced that they will be collaborating on their own respective redshirting programs.
May 21, 2013 | IEEE Spectrum
'Redshirt' Programs Could Help Generate More Engineers
"The University of Colorado at Boulder's engineering school spearheaded the academic redshirting concept with its GoldShirt program in 2009. The five-year curriculum allows high school students to spend the first year catching up on math, science, and humanities courses before tackling undergraduate engineering courses."
: 
Joyce Yen
Linda Bushnell
Allan Hoffman
Alvin Cheung
Ali Farhadi
Katharina Reinecke
Franziska Roesner
Thomas Rothvoss
Emina Torlak
Gregory Miller
Sreeram Kannan
Cole DeForest
Cecilia Aragon
Anthony Waas
James Hermanson
Shwetak Patel
Kelly Stevens
Steve Shen