April 2025 Newsletter
Perspectives is a monthly newsletter that highlights the accomplishments and latest news from the College of Arts & Sciences community. Learn about unusual courses, student projects, faculty research, alumni careers, and more.
Featured Stories This Month
Through Chemistry and 3D Printing, New Materials Emerge
A research team led by Alshakim Nelson uses 3D-printing to develop bioplastics with potential applications in medicine, engineering, and more.
A Gift to Honor a Beloved Professor
Emeritus professor Lawrence Bliquez was stunned — and touched — to learn that alumna Laura Matz wanted to create an endowment in his honor.
Celebrating Black Composers
A video project led by School of Music professor Stephen Price highlights the work of Black composers for organ in a historical context.
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Highlighting Music in Powwow Culture
In an interdisciplinary course, students learn about historic and contemporary powwow practices and participate in the annual First Nations@UW Spring Powwow.
Opportunities to Explore
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How We Got Here: Critical Reflections on Racism, Deportation, and Transphobia
April 11, 12:30 – 3:30 pm
Kane Hall, Room 225 (Walker-Ames Room)
Faculty from six Arts & Sciences departments — American Ethnic Studies; American Indian Studies; Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies; History; Jewish Studies; and Middle East Studies — and the Law School come together for this “teach-in” to frame and understand the current moment. Open to the public, but registration is required. -
UW Astrobiology Lecture Series
Kane Hall, room 120, with Zoom option
The UW Astrobiology Program 25th anniversary lecture series features cutting-edge research in astrobiology. Two lectures are still upcoming, with RSVPs required for both in-person and Zoom attendance:April 16: Exploring Mars with the Perseverance Rover
April 23: The Climatic Effects of the UWAB Program on the Habitability of My Environment
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The Science of Altruism
April 23, 7:00 pm
Kane Hall, room 110
The 17th Annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lectures presents an interdisciplinary panel of leading experts from psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and animal behavior to explore the biological, cognitive, and social foundations of altruistic behavior, with KUOW Host Bill Radke as moderator. -
Improvised Music Festival (IMPFest)
April 25-26, 7:30 pm
Meany Hall – Studio Theatre
The School of Music and the student-run Improvised Music Project (IMP) present IMPFest, featuring UW Jazz Studies students and faculty performing with special guests, including renowned guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist Josh Johnson, and bassist (and School of Music alum) Luke Bergman. -
Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery
May 3, 7:30 pm
Meany Hall – Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater
This Grammy-winning percussion quartet and composer collective creates exciting and unexpected performances that “push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners” (NPR). The ensemble will be joined by Jessie Montgomery in a program that showcases her excellence as a composer and violinist. Presented by Meany Center for the Performing Arts. -
MFA Dance Concert
May 14 – 17, 7:30 pm
May 18, 2:00 pm
Meany Hall – Studio Theatre
Presented by the Department of Dance, this concert features original works by current MFA students who explore humanity from multiple angles — apocalyptic, hopeful, intimate, communal — using a variety of movement languages. Sixty undergraduate dancers, two graduate students, and one faculty member perform their works.
Editor
Nancy Joseph
nancyj@uw.edu