Natural Sciences Division

Top leadership is shifting at the UWs Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, as Director Magdalena Balazinskas term concludes after nearly seven years. Dan Grossman, professor of computer science and engineering and vice director, will take over as interim director.

A new study using data from NASAs Hubble Space Telescope found that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.

Elias Plaster, Zahra Hassan and Leo Freedman are three graduates from the class of 2026 who have been honored for their contributions to the UW.

Researchers at the University of Washington are investigating how genetic changes impact the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. A new study supports the idea that deletions in genes that regulate early brain and neuron development are associated with more severe features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, particularly lower cognitive abilities.

Researchers at the University of Washington and partners at Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating on a new project to help scientists use artificial intelligence to better understand the universe.

Eight University of Washington researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2026-2027 and will pursue studies around the world. Fulbright Scholars are college and university faculty, administrators and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, who build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues. This years UW cohort represents a variety of disciplines, including sciences, engineering, business, environmental sciences, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science.

After nearly two years of engaging Black young adults through culturally grounded research and community conversations, the Black Adult Resilience Study has reached a major milestone. Priscilla Lui, associate professor of psychology at the UW, and Nia Jones, research coordinator and UW graduate, are quoted.

About 75% of public schools in Washington state have implemented some limitations on cell phones. Gov. Bob Ferguson would like to see limitations at all of them.Luca Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

The UWs CoMotion program announced 10 startups that secured UW-licensed intellectual property over the past year. Eight are in healthcare, spanning diagnostic tools, medical devices and new therapeutics. The other two focus on K-12 education or climate change. The UW's Michael Malone, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, Jan Whittington, associate professor of urban design and planning, Min Sun, professor of education, Scott Kennedy, associate professor of pathology in the UW School of Medicine, Dr. Ian Bennett, professor of family medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the UW School of Medicine, Dr. Misbah Keen, professor of family medicine at the UW School of Medicine, Larry Mauksch, clinical professor emeritus of family medicine, Jae-Hyun Chung, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Andrea Stocco, associate professor of psychology, and David Baker, professor of biochemistry in the UW School of Medicine and director of the UW Institute for Protein Design, are mentioned.

John Gottman, professor emeritus of psychology at the UW, found that the couples who stayed together weren't the ones who avoided conflict. They were the ones who knew how to interrupt it before it became destructive.

One of the most endangered sea creatures of the Pacific Ocean is getting a leg up in the kelp forests of Washingtons San Juan Islands: a 24-armed sea star called the sunflower star. Researchers are working with the Samish Indian Nation to bring this pizza-sized predator back from the brink of extinction after a vast underwater pandemic. Jason Hodin, a research scientist at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, is quoted. Tess Chapman, Chloe Schwab and Julia Knopf, all research assistants at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, are mentioned.

David J. Masiello, professor of chemistry, has been named an AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in recognition of “scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.” 

Nia Brice’s undergraduate experience wasn’t just about one major, one course, one project or one grade. It was about finding joy, challenging herself and redefining what it means to be resilient.

Explore recent research from the University of Washington: low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately impacted by air pollution, an unfathomably fast chemical reaction, ups and downs in the methane record, and the cigar galaxy pictured at high resolution.

The Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSFDOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its ten-year survey of the southern sky, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.