College of Arts and Sciences

"Asian communities in Washington are changing, and our state’s century-old Asian languages department must change as well. Comparison of the U.S. 2020 Census results with the previous 2010 Census demonstrates that Asian demographics in our state and region are undergoing dramatic changes," writes Zev Handel, professor and department chair of Asian languages and literature at the UW.

You don’t interrupt your quiet life in a Seattle suburb and book a plane ticket to war-torn Sudan unless you have a really good reason. Not right now, in the middle of a brutal conflict between rival forces that’s killed more than 12,000 people and displaced 7 million. Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

Colleen J. McElroy, a nationally known poet and the first Black woman to serve as a full-time faculty member at the UW, died of natural causes Dec. 12. She was 88. Frances McCue, a teaching professor of English at the UW, is quoted.

According to a 2021 survey by Vox and Data for Progress, 37% of Americans think billionaires are terrible role models, and 49% said they have overall negative feelings towards them. And the heat is felt most prominently by the big-name tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.

The Chinese government has for decades periodically announced the imminent abolition of its decades-old household registration system, or hukou. The Ministry of Public Security fanned hopes in August of the beginning of the end of hukou by announcing the government would scrap its restrictions in cities with populations of 3 to 5 million. But Chinese policymakers are now backpedaling on that plan. Kam Wing Chan, professor of geography at the UW, is quoted.

"For some people, social media is inconsequential — a cat photo here, a banana slip TikTok there. For others, it’s all-consuming — a helpless catapult into a slurry of anxiety, self-harm and depression...But social media use also differs by race and ethnicity — and there’s far less discussion of that," writes columnist Pamela Paul. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

Researchers led by Jiun-Haw Chu, a University of Washington associate professor of physics, and Philip Ryan, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energyâs Argonne National Laboratory, have found a superconducting material that is uniquely sensitive to outside stimuli, enabling the superconducting properties to be enhanced or suppressed at will. This discovery could enable new opportunities for switchable, energy-efficient superconducting circuits.

While the seasons and our genetic dispositions play a role in our ability to feel happiness, our daily actions and choices also have a significant effect, experts say. Milla Titova, assistant teaching professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

Tom Mara, who helms the Seattle International Film festival, is making history by transforming the Cinerama into SIFF Cinema Downtown. While at the UW, Mara studied broadcast journalism, which pointed him toward work in public radio.

Milla Titova, assistant teaching professor of psychology and director of the Happiness and Well-Being Lab at the UW, offers strategies for joy this holiday season.

Three new faculty books from the University of Washington cover wide-ranging topics: life in the Rio Grande Valley, fossils of Washington state and the colonial roots of contemporary intersex medicine. UW News talked with the authors to learn more. Collection highlights life in Rio Grande Valley “Puro Pinche True Fictions” is a collection of short...

As several athletic programs announce their move to a new conference, a group of sleep and circadian scientists and physicians dive into the impacts of increased travel on student-athletes. The UW's Horacio de la Iglesia, professor of biology; Dr. Russ Van Gelder, professor of ophthalmology; and Michael Dillon, associate athletic director for health and wellness, are quoted.

"The toll of my husband’s hearing loss can be invisible—even to me. But a new wave of tech could change everything," writes Seattle Met editor, Allecia Vermillion. Yi Shen, associate professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW, is quoted.

"In today’s American criminal legal system, courts impose fines and fees as a means to punish people and hold them accountable for legal violations," co-writes Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW.

The dual pandemics of COVID-19 and the racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 changed us. While we may be ready to move on, bearing witness for one another can teach us about ourselves, our resilience and our communities. Timeka Tounsel, assistant professor of Black studies in communication at the UW, is quoted.