College of Arts and Sciences

International migration continues to drive population growth in King County, and experts say employment-based visas for specialized workers are an important part of that trend. Sara Curran, director of the UW's Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology and professor of international studies, of sociology and of public policy and governance, is quoted.

As students, teachers and employers wrestle with the demands of an increasingly AI-powered world, the UW has a new proposition: an interdisciplinary AI minor, with an anthropologist and a computer scientist at the helm. The UW's Magdalena Balazinska, professor and director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and Ben Marwick, professor of anthropology, are quoted.

Burrowing shrimp dig into the sand and make tunnels underground. In doing so they kick up about a handful of sand up to the surface everyday, and bury clams and oysters.Thats a problem for shellfish farmers. Jennifer Ruesink, professor of biology at the UW, is interviewed.

Across the globe, human activities are changing the way our planet smells. Jeff Riffell, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

While the majority of the world just wants to swat mosquitoes, three University of Washington researchers find these insects fascinating. They told UW News what it's like to study mosquitoes and why these critters are actually really important.

Ron Krabill, a professor in UW Bothells School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and director of the Global Sport Lab in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, is co-leading this years UW Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities Seattles World Cup: Storytelling Through Community Mapping. Krabill talked with UW News about his plans for participating students, his background in sports scholarship, what hell be watching during Seattles tournament games and more.

Every summer, UW researchers head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment. UW News asked a few team members to describe their plans for this summer.

Two biologists at UW believe they have found a nontoxic method to control burrowing ghost shrimp. Jennifer Ruesink, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Mary Brunkow graduated from UW with a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology in 1983 before pursuing a Ph.D. in the same field at Princeton University. 

A hummingbird darts up to a flower, slips in its long, thin beak and drinks. The whole visit lasts a fraction of a second, and for years scientists assumed the bird simply sucked the sweet liquid up and swallowed. Alejandro Rico-Guevara, associate professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is mentioned.

For decades, scientists have understood that plants can release volatile organic compoundsessentially airborne chemical signalsto attract the natural enemies of the things that eat them, like caterpillars. What we didnt know was exactly how a plant translates the physical act of being eaten into a specific, predator-summoning distress signal. Adam Steinbrenner, an associate professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Five years ago, Nikki Lorenzo bought a small embroidery machine. Now, she runs an embroidery studio where joy and community are stitched into every piece.

Included in this science round up is a story about how plants call wasps to their defense. Adam Steinbrenner, an associate professor of biology at the UW, is interviewed.

Bean plants have been recruiting wasps to fight their battles for them since long before anyone noticed. A caterpillar bites down, the plant releases a chemical signal, and predatory wasps come flying in to finish it off. That part biologists already knew. What they couldnt explain was how the plant told the difference between a caterpillar and a rainstorm. Adam Steinbrenner, an associate professor of biology at the UW, is mentioned.

UW researchers examined almost 3,000 science guidelines and assessment questions for any connections to society. Of the approximately 200 elements that had real-world implications, many discussed ethics and public health issues.