College of Arts and Sciences

Nicole McNichols, associate teaching professor of psychology at the UW, writes, "On November 17, my students at the University of Washington heard from someone at the center of todays most complicated conversations about sexuality, labor, and the digital world. That person was Ari Kytsya, an enormously successful OnlyFans creator whose online presence is very different from what many people imagine when they hear 'OnlyFans model.'"

As 2025 comes to a close, we're sharing some of the year's top Arts & Sciences stories.

Emily Levesque, an associate professor of astronomy at the UW who specializes in massive stars and supernovas, joined host Leah Pezzetti on The Sky Above to discuss the biggest and best discoveries to come from the James Webb Space Telescope this past year.

While some dancers only appear weightless, Rachael Lincoln—with the help of climbing technology—literally defies gravity.

Public safety in the Chinatown-International District (CID) takes an important step forward with a targeted educational campaign. More than 100 elderly residents and their family members gathered on Nov. 15 at the International District/Chinatown Community Center for CID Cares, a community safety program for one of Seattles most vulnerable populations. The event is supported in part by the UW American ethnic studies department.

A space-based wildlife tracking system that could revolutionize the study of animal migrations and behavior is set to get back online with SpaceX's recent launch. Briana Abrahms, assistant professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

The universe is full of mysteries that scientists have not yet been able to solve. And a big one has to do with what the universe is actually made of. Now physicists from the UW are taking a big swing at answering that question. Alvaro Chavarria, associate professor of physics at the UW, is quoted.

Close to 100 people gathered on Nov. 15 at the Chinatown-International District Community Center for a celebratory launch of a project more than a year in the making: a public safety pamphlet called "With Love for Our Grandparents & Seniors." The comic book-style guide provides safety tips for seniors in both English and Cantonese, including education on common scams and support resources in the event of an emergency or attack. Connie So, teaching professor of American ethnic studies at the UW, is quoted.

The University of Washington is proud to announce that 56 faculty and researchers who completed their work while at UW have been named on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list from Clarivate.

KUOW is thrilled to welcome six new members, including Andrea Woody, professor of philosophy at the UW, to the KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio Board of Directors.

Hummingbirds often seem gentle from a distance. A closer look tells a different story. Life in the forest pushes each bird to compete, react fast, and make sharp choices. Alejandro Rico Guevara, associate professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.

Theres a quantum paradox in Washington. The state has strong ingredients for a quantum technology hub: powerful giants like Microsoft and Amazon, a hardware leader in IonQ, and world-class research at UW and PNNL. Yet it may be falling behind states like Illinois, Montana and Colorado that are pushing forward on quantum. Charles Marcus, professor of materials science and engineering and of physics, is quoted.

Sixty years after one of the 20th centurys worst atrocities, three scholars gathered at the UW to confront a question that is still connected to Indonesia: What does it mean to commemorate a genocide? Nazry Bahrawi, assistant professor of Asian languages & literature at the UW, is quoted.

The green hermit hummingbird, which lives primarily in mountain forests of Central and South America, fights to win a mate. New research found that these fights have shaped the species evolution, yielding significant differences in bill shape for male and female green hermits.

Despite the Makah Tribes success in getting a waiver to carry out their exclusive treaty right for whaling, the permitting process that had dragged on for over 20 years has now been effectively delayedanother year and a half because of bogged-down federal bureaucracy. Joshua Reid, associate professor of history and of American Indian studies at the UW, is quoted.