Artificial Intelligence in Arts & Sciences

Faculty and students across the College of Arts & Sciences are working at the leading edge of AI, innovating in the use and development of AI tools.

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The Quantum Quest

Quantum science is poised to tackle problems of mind-boggling complexity, with Arts & Sciences faculty and students among those playing a key role in quantum research.

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Kai-Mei Fu working adjusting equipment for an quantum experiment in a UW lab.

New Materials Through Chemistry and 3D Printing

Chemistry professor Alshakim Nelson and his research team use 3D-printing technology to develop new materials with potential real-world applications in medicine, engineering, and sustainability.

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UW chemistry professor Alshakim Nelson in his lab

Research

Research with Impact

Faculty and students in all four divisions of the College of Arts & Sciences -- arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences – pursue research to address to many of our world’s most pressing challenges. Their discoveries and innovative solutions have led to advances in areas from population health to quantum science to social justice and have pushed the boundaries of artistic creation.

Research Initiatives

Arts & Sciences researchers play key roles on ambitious projects that explore unresolved questions in particle physics, the origins of the universe, climate change, and more.

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Awards & Honors

Faculty in Arts & Sciences have received Nobel Prizes, MacArthur Fellowships, Sloan and PECASE awards, and many other top honors.

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Students & Research

Students work closely with faculty researchers, advancing the research in meaningful ways and gaining skills they can apply to the real world.

Ashleigh Therberge and research team members looking at equipment in her UW chemistry lab.

This Lollipop Is the Future of At-Home Health Care

For a scratchy throat, feeling unwell is bad enough. The dreaded strep throat swab that follows is no fun either, especially for kids. Professor Ashleigh Theberge’s lab in the UW Department of Chemistry has invented a gentler alternative: a strawberry flavored lollipop with tiny spiral channels that siphon off saliva for testing. The idea is that the lollipop could eventually be a part of home first aid kits for parents to test their child themselves. Learn more in this video from the Packard Foundation, which supports Theberge's research. 

Research Highlights

  • Shen Yi seated with audiology equipment to test hearing in the background.

    An earful of AI

    Hearing aid technology is improving all the time with the help of AI, thanks to researchers like Shen Yi, professor of speech & hearing sciences.

  • Portrait photo of Christopher Adolph, standing outside with foliage in the background.

    Adolph Ranked #1 Among Political Scientists for Impact

    In a global ranking of research productivity of political scientists, UW Professor Christopher Adolph was ranked first globally for recent impact, thanks to his team's research on COVID-19 policies.

  • Zev Handel photographed on the UW campus

    The Curious Journey of Chinese Characters

    Several Asian countries adapted the Chinese writing system—the oldest writing system still in use—for their own languages. In a new book, Professor Zev Handel shares how that happened.

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Spotlight on Research

Can machines learn morality?

UW researchers at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and in the Allen School are exploring the potential for training AI to value altruism.

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A&S Research in the News

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How climate swings shaped the bodies of cats, dogs and bears

Carnivorans, from mongooses to bears, evolved diverse body shapes in response to two major global cooling events, according to a study of 850 skeletons. Chris Law, a principal research scientist of biology at the UW and an affiliate curator at the UW Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, is quoted.
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3I/ATLAS makes closest approach to Earth

The comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19, according to NASA. James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.
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Teens holistic approach to school phone policies rivals adult rules

What happens if you let teens craft the rules that dictate their use of phones at school? You get policy ideas with a nuanced, holistic perspective that rival those being officially issued by the adults in leadership. The UWs Youth Advisory Board, a group of approximately 20 teens from Seattle-area schools, recently published its first memo tackling this contentious issue. The UW's Rotem Landesman, doctoral student in the Information School, and Luca Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology, are quoted.
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Arts & Sciences Research Support Team

Xiaosong Li, associate dean for research, is responsible for the strategy, operations, and implementation of the College’s research program. Li, the Larry R. Dalton Endowed Chair in Chemistry, was previously associate vice provost for research cyberinfrastructure in the UW Office of Research.

Centers and Institutes

The College of Arts & Sciences is home to more than 30 interdisciplinary centers and has ties to many others, allowing scholars in diverse fields to collaborate on complex research questions.