UW campus with Drumheller Fountain and buildings

Perspectives Newsletter

October 2026 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

Daryl Maeda smiles on the UW Quad.

A Conversation with Dean Maeda

Dean Daryl Joji Maeda reflects on his vision for the College and the importance of a broad liberal arts education in the 21st century.

A group of individuals wearing hard hats shovel dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony.

Chemical Sciences Building Reflects Future of Chemistry at the UW

The Chemical Sciences Building will usher in a new era of interdisciplinary science at the UW. Learn how this building will support students, faculty, and researchers across campus.

Arianna Long in the UW Planetarium, with galaxies projected on the screen overhead.

Massive Galaxies & Mentorship

Astronomy professor Arianna Long studies massive and extreme early galaxies, some dating back 13 billion years, and mentors future generations of scientists. 

Opportunities to Explore

  • Paola Ramos poses in a sun-drenched office.

    The Office of Public Lectures presents: A Conversation with Paola Ramos

    October 14, 6:30 p.m.
    Town Hall Seattle + Livestreaming
    Emmy Award winning journalist, Paola Ramos, in conversation with UW Political Science faculty member Sophia Jordán Wallace, explores the evolving landscape of Latino voter engagement and political participation.

  • Dr. Stephon Alexander poses in front of a forest.

    Frontiers of Physics Public Lecture Series: The Jazz of Physics

    October 16, 7:30 p.m.
    Kane Hall 130
    Stephon Alexander, director of the Center for Theoretical Physics and Innovation at Brown University, explores the deep interconnection between music and the evolution of astrophysics and cosmology in this talk.

  • An artistic rendering of a woman in a green dress laying across the horns of a bull.

    Phèdre

    November 5 –15 2026
    Meany Hall – Studio Theatre
    Phèdre is a queen and a mother who has been cursed by the Gods. She receives news that the king, Theseus, is dead. Encouraged by her lady-in-waiting, Oenone, and fueled by her own feelings Phèdre confesses to the King’s son and heir, Hippolytus that she is in love with him. Soon after, King Theseus returns, alive and well, setting off a series of unforeseen consequences. Tickets on sale now!

  • Artwork for UW 2026 Dawg Dash event, with a running Husky in the center.

    Join the College for Dawg Dash

    October 18
    UW Seattle Campus
    Lace up your sneakers for Dawg Dash, a run through the heart of the UW that’s part campus tour, part reunion, and all Dawg pride. Choose from the 10K run, 5K run/walk, or Husky Pups Run. Sign up to join the College of Arts & Sciences team and you’ll receive an Arts & Sciences bandana! A portion of your registration fee will support the UW Alumni Association’s general scholarship fund.

Looking for more events? Visit ArtsUW and the UW Alumni Association website. 

In The News

  • Q&A: UW researchers are studying how coral reef fish work as a community to respond to threats

    Coral reefs provide protection for fish, and researchers are interested in how the health of the reef affects the ability of fish to communicate with each other. This fall, Jj Milan, a UW doctoral student in the biology department, and UW research scientist Bob Oxborrow are traveling to the Maldives to study how humbug damselfish communicate with each other. 

    UW News

  • Opinion: Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype 

    It’s been a busy few months for AI hype. At the end of April, Anthropic claimed that its model Claude Mythos is better at finding software vulnerabilities than most security experts. Then we had the OpenAI–Hugging Face hacking incident, after which Anthropic (proudly) and Meta (reluctantly) disclosed similar incidents involving their models. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics, co-writes this article. 

    MIT Technology Review

  • A 66-million-year-old feather trapped in dinosaur poop might help explain why some birds survived mass extinction

    Discovered in Montana in 2016, the cherry-size coprolite contains feathers, bones and evidence of the bird’s last meal before the creature was eaten by a theropod. David DeMar Jr., a research scientist in biology at the UW and the Hell Creek Project collections manager at the Burke Museum, is quoted. 

    Smithsonian Magazine

Editor

Nancy Joseph
nancyj@uw.edu

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