College of Arts and Sciences

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 Trumps second inauguration fast approaches, concerns he threatens American democracy are rising yet again. Some warnings have cited Trumps 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, associate 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 cant 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.

"A new report further documents the evisceration of Washingtons capitol press corps as the states news industry shrank in recent years," writes Brier Dudley, an editor at The Seattle Times. A report from the UW is referenced and Matthew Powers, associate professor of communications at the UW, is quoted.

The materials that make up your body are intergalactic voyagers that have existed beyond the limits of the Milky Way. The UW's Samantha Garza, a doctoral student of astronomy, and Jessica Werk, professor and chair of astronomy, are quoted.

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha writes with balance: violence and liberation, bias and truth, destruction and possibilities.

The carbon that is a key component of the human body and all other lifeforms on Earth may have traveled outside the galaxy after being created before returning on a cosmic "conveyor belt," an author of a new study has suggested. Samantha Garza, a doctoral student of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

The carbon on the Earth and therefore, in us probably spent some time outside the Milky Way galaxy before forming our planet, according to a new study. The UW's Samantha Garza, a doctoral student of astronomy, and Jessica Werk, professor and chair of astronomy, are quoted.