Natural Sciences Division

Professor Ann Nelson, who held the Kenneth K. Young Chair of Physics and was a tireless advocate for diversity in the field, died from a fall while backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on August 4, 2019. Professor Nelson was a brilliant theoretical physicist who specialized in particle physics and cosmology and had been at the University of Washington since 1994. She was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was a recipient of the J.J. Sakurai prize for theoretical particle physics from the American Physical Society.

New research shows that, in Willapa Bay, the water washing over the tidal flats during high tides is largely the same water that washed over the flats during the previous high tide

Lukasz Fidkowski, an assistant professor of physics at the UW, is one of the winners of a 2020 New Horizons in Physics Prize from the Breakthrough Foundation. 

Learn more about the study led by Kinsey Bice, a postdoctoral fellow in the UW Department of Psychology and the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences. 

Assistant Professor of Astronomy Jessica Werk describes the evolution of galaxies from gas in the early universe to the present

The theoretical particle physicist Ann Nelson, who died on August 4 at age 61, was a font of brilliant ideas and a champion of ending discrimination in the field.

New research from astronomers at the UW.

Chemistry doctoral candidate Erin Jedlicka takes time out from her research to volunteer in K–12 classrooms across the state, inspiring the scientists of tomorrow.

Celebrate the accomplishments of the 2019 Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities undergraduate researchers, attend Bulrusher - directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, and more!

UW researchers report that they have designed and tested an experimental system that uses a near-infrared laser to actively heat two gold nanorod antennae to different temperatures.

Right after the turn of the century, Pat Kuhl, who studies speech and hearing at the UW, ran a pair of experiments with English-speaking nine-month-old babies. 

Eight exceptional Arts & Sciences students have been selected as 2019 Dean's Medalists and Graduate Medalists.

Christopher Phillips, a research specialist in the Department of Physics, explains why there will be ideal conditions for stargazing in August. 

From becoming an accomplished physicist to summiting mountains, Dr. Nelson spent her life focused on the next goal — and on giving others a hand along the way.

Doctoral student Jared Canright is exploring the potential of virtual reality to explain physics concepts to UW undergraduates.