College of Arts and Sciences

Long before the 2024 presidential election took place, scholars at the UW knew that post-election processing would be necessary, regardless of the outcome. So, on Jan. 15, the UW’s Office of Public Lectures held “Autopsy of an Election: What We Lost, What We Won, and How to Fight for the Future,” a talk led by Megan Ming Francis, an associate professor of political science at the UW.

Astronomers announced last week that they had completed a decade-long, meticulous effort to assemble a full portrait of our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda. The result is a stunning panoramic view that provides the most detailed image yet of the entire galaxy; its science-packed features could revolutionize our understanding of how spiral galaxies across the universe form and evolve. The UW's Zhuo Chen, a postdoctoral scholar of astronomy, and Ben Williams, research associate professor of astronomy, are quoted.

The full image includes some 2.5 billion pixels compiled from observations spanning more than 1,000 orbits around Earth. Ben Williams, research associate professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

The Year of the Snake begins Jan. 29. It’s the first time Lunar New Year is a legislatively recognized (though unpaid) holiday in Washington state, thanks to a bill signed into law last March. Chan Lü, associate professor of Asian languages and literature at the UW and coordinator of the UW's Chinese program, is quoted.

I can be part of this journey that humankind is on," recalls University of Washington astronomer James Davenport. "It was amazing." Now an astronomy professor at the University of Washington, Davenport is still enthralled by the search.

At the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. The project was called SETI@home. The hope was that with the power of millions of computers, researchers could comb through radio signals hitting Earth from outer space to find a hint of something unusual. James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is interviewed.

A podcast for curious kids (and adults) about a collection of spectacular specimens and the stories they can tell us about life on Earth. The first three episodes are available on January 21. Hosted by Paige Browning and Brandi Fullwood. 

A massive 70-member choir belted out “Hallelujah” to open a Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day service Monday at his former congregation in Atlanta, followed by a stern message from his youngest daughter warning against anti-woke rhetoric. Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication at the UW, is quoted.

"As Donald Trump’s second inauguration fast approaches, concerns he threatens American democracy are rising yet again. Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine or malign institutions meant to constrain any president, and a combative style that strives to stretch executive power as far as possible," writes Victor Menaldo, professor of political science at the UW.

Dr. Bobby Wilson was awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. Dr. Wilson is a leading researcher in Harmonic Analysis, Dispersive PDE and Geometric Measure Theory, and has been at the UW since 2018.

The Hubble Space Telescope has generated the most comprehensive survey yet of the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest galactic neighbor to the Milky Way. The new mosaic of about 2.5 billion pixels yields new clues to the galaxy's history. UW astronomers presented the findings Jan. 16 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Though we know it by its colloquial name, the West Seattle Bridge is steeped in Jeanette Williams' legacy.

Three exotic new species of superconductivity were spotted last year, illustrating the myriad ways electrons can join together to form a frictionless quantum soup. Matthew Yankowitz, assistant professor of physics and of materials science & engineering at the UW, is quoted.

Giant ships that transport everything from coffee cups to clothes across the ocean are often so large they can’t tell when they collide with a whale. Now, research out of the Northwest could help these massive vessels avoid collisions with whales around the world. Anna Nisi, a postdoctoral scholar of biology at the UW, is quoted.

New research suggests that most of the atoms within the human body likely spent part of their lives drifting beyond the Milky Way on a cosmic "conveyor belt," before eventually returning to our galaxy. The UW's Samantha Garza, a doctoral student of astronomy, and Jessica Werk, professor and chair of astronomy, are quoted.