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On Jan. 11 at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, a team led by scientists at the University of Washington and the Center for Computational Astrophysics reported something unexpected about the distinct populations of stars that make up the Triangulum galaxy: In this satellite galaxy, a close companion of the much larger Andromeda galaxy, old and new stars occur in separate parts of the galaxy's structure, something not seen in galaxies like our own and so far not reporter for other satellite galaxies.

University of Washington astronomers were on the lookout for “stars behaving strangely” when an automated alert from pointed them to Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually brightened over a 2 1/2-year period. But follow-up analyses indicated that Gaia17bpp wasn’t changing. Instead, the star is likely part of a rare type of binary system. Its apparent brightening was the end of a years-long eclipse by an unusual, "dusty" stellar companion.

Z Yan Wang, Assistant Professor in Psychology and Biology, discusses her research and what she looks forward to at the University of Washington.

Gabriel Cher discusses their research and what they look forward to at the University of Washington.

Gabriel Cher, Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, discusses their research and what they look forward to at the University of Washington.

Sama Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Psychology, discusses his research and what he looks forward to at the University of Washington.

Nathan Jones (2015) tells stories through animation. Both of his UW degrees — creative writing and art — are reflected in is his work. 

Community and mentorship made all the difference to Sherri Berdine (2008) as an Alaska Native (Aleut & CIRI Descendent) UW student. Now she's the University's Director of Tribal Relations.

Jeff Lin (2012), obsessed with video games as a child, now leads teams of game developers at Horizon Metaverse — with the help of his UW PhD in psychology.

Launching this initiative offers opportunities for us to collectively consider what higher education can be when we design it for today and for the near future, writes Dean Harris.