Profiles

UW astronomer Emily Levesque will soon add a new role as editor-in-chief of the prestigious American Astronomical Society Journals to her ongoing work studying red supergiants and other stellar oddities.

A University of Washington-led center for optoelectronics technologies that combine light and electronics brings researchers from 14 universities across the U.S. together with the mission to develop new materials to transform information technology with light. Founded in 2021, NSF IMOD has received a second round of funding from the NSF to continue its work for the next five years.

Lawrence Goldman, a teaching professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has also been a member of the Lake Forest Park city council since 2022. While science came naturally to Goldman, his venture into civics was more serendipitous.

New faculty books from the University of Washington include those from the Information School, bioengineering, mathematics, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and Earth and space sciences.

The American Astronomical Society named Emily Levesque, professor of astronomy at the UW, the next editor in chief of its journals, including The Astrophysical Journal. She takes charge in August 2027.

Coral reefs provide protection for fish, and researchers are interested in how the health of the reef affects the ability of fish to communicate with each other. This fall, Jj Milan, a UW doctoral student in the biology department, and UW research scientist Bob Oxborrow are traveling to the Maldives to study how humbug damselfish communicate with each other.

A UW adjunct professor of taxation is reviving a legendary Pioneer Square coffee business while fighting cancer.

Professor Emerita Merrill Hille (Dept of Biology) played an instrumental role in establishing the Burke-Gilman Trail, which connects so many of us to the UW community. It’s remarkable that this resource began as a grassroots effort led in part by a UW professor.

The 2026 Gates Volunteer Service Award goes to Jodi Green and Mike Halperin, lifelong connectors and learners who champion the UW as a force for good.

UW Regent Dow Constantine, who has three UW degrees, was Washington's longest-serving King County Executive and now leads Sound Transit as CEO.

Pike Place Market’s famous Rachel the Pig, a creation by Georgia Gerber, ’82, turns 40 on August 17.

UW is home to 13 Nobel Prize laureates, an achievement that highlights groundbreaking, impactful efforts undertaken here in physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, and advancing peace around the world. 

Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what todays energy crises reveal about contemporary societies dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a solar-powered system.

University researchers are navigating more turbulence in federal funding. After last years cuts and disruptions, new policies brewing in Washington threaten to upend grants again. Erin Ingvalson, research associate professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW, is quoted.

UW Communication graduate (and Tacoma restaurateur) Reginald Jacob Howell, ’16, has been taking his passion for barbecue to a national audience on “Pitmasters” from the Food Network. Can he and his best friend, Denzel Johnson, take home the $50,000 prize? Only one way to find out. UW Magazine profiles Howell, from his time at Cultivate, the UW’s campus-adjacent restaurant, to the opening of GRANN, his restaurant on 6th Ave in Tacoma, and more. Check it out!