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On Oct. 8, David Baker was already an accomplished biochemistry professor in the University of Washington School of Medicine: a computational biologist with more than 640 peer-reviewed research papers, 100 secured patents, and 21 biotech start-ups. But none of that prepared him for the 2 a.m. phone call from Sweden, when Baker learned he’d joined the upper echelon of prestigious international honorees as a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Baker is now the eighth UW faculty Nobel laureate.

Explore recent research from the University of Washington: nectar-stealing Hawaiian honeycreepers, ChatGPT and anxious attachment, the cost of nursing for marine mammals, new magnetic nanomaterials, and a new strategy to subdue finicky plasma.

Rob Rhee, associate professor in the School of Art + Art History + Design, has been named a 2026 Joan Mitchell Fellow, a coveted prize for visual artists.

UW Communication graduate (and Tacoma restaurateur) Reginald Jacob Howell, ’16, has been taking his passion for barbecue to a national audience on “Pitmasters” from the Food Network. Can he and his best friend, Denzel Johnson, take home the $50,000 prize? Only one way to find out. UW Magazine profiles Howell, from his time at Cultivate, the UW’s campus-adjacent restaurant, to the opening of GRANN, his restaurant on 6th Ave in Tacoma, and more. Check it out!

UW alumni and renowned poets Derek Sheffield and Erin Malone have been recognized for their work in poetry.

Kara Patajo, Communication and Political Science ’19, is a travel blogger and author of “52 Weekends in the Pacific Northwest,” a collection of year-round travel destinations.

UW English major Piper Sorensen ('27) shares why the humanities matter, particularly in our polarized society, and how studying the humanities has shaped her world view. 

An unusual raccoon in Seattle has become a global internet sensation. Jimothy, the raccoon with short spine syndrome, rocketed to fame after a woman in Ballard posted a video of him on Instagram in mid-July. Stephen Groening, associate professor of cinema and media studies at the UW, is interviewed.

After decades of refining her own artistic voice while navigating ever-shifting cultural, economic and aesthetic tides, Valerie Curtis-Newton is embracing her role as an elder states-artist, retiring from her UW role and looking toward the future.

Researchers at the University of Washington are investigating how genetic changes impact the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. A new study supports the idea that deletions in genes that regulate early brain and neuron development are associated with more severe features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly lower cognitive abilities.