Profiles

New research from the University of Washington published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, shows how “microinclusions” — brief instances of positive treatment, especially from members of the dominant group — help women feel valued at work. UW News talked with lead author Gregg Muragishi, a UW postdoctoral scholar of psychology, to learn more about this research.

As the war in Sudan unfolded with escalating intensity, its repercussions were felt far beyond the nation’s borders, impacting lives even in distant corners of the globe. For one University of Washington (UW) Seattle graduate student, whose journey was abruptly disrupted by the eruption of conflict, the experience became a harrowing testament to the unpredictability of global events and travel. Meet Yasir Zaidan, whose pursuit of knowledge on port cities led him to Sudan.

At age 83, Linda Allen is graduating from the UW College of Arts & Sciences with a degree in integrated social sciences. "It's never too late to follow a dream," she says.

Sana Shetty, interested in human rights law, has a more nuanced understanding of potential careers thanks to internships.

Assunta Ng, founder and publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly, has sold the 41-year-old newspaper to a group of Seattle-area investors. Ng, who will continue to advise the partners during the transition as publisher emeritus, said she believes the buyers share the same basic mission she started out with more than 40 years ago. “So I’m excited for them to take over and see what they can achieve,” she said.

UW senior Tisbe Rinehart, a wilderness guide for UW adventures, attended a wilderness therapy program as a teen — a difficult experience she explores in her CHID senior thesis.

Jordan Jones has been appointed as the next Director and Curator of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, to begin in April 2024. In her role as Director and Curator, Jones will provide curatorial, programming, and administrative leadership and oversight in a newly renovated state-of-the-art exhibition space within the School of Art + Art History + Design at the UW Seattle campus. 

“For me, art has always been, more than anything, a container for conversation … I want [this gallery] to be a space where folks can meet and have a really vital, productive kind of social experience," said Jordan Jones. Getting to know Jacob Lawrence Gallery’s new director and curator. 

Eclipses past and present arenât just opportunities for incredible sights. Generations of researchers have used them to study phenomena ranging from the sun itself to the fabric of the universe. UW News intervewed Emily Levesque, author and associate professor of astronomy, about what scientists past and present have learned by studying eclipses.

The Standard spoke to Catalina Velasquez, a doctoral student at the UW, about being one of the few trans, queer people leading the immigrant rights movement in Washington.

Elizabeth Xiong (2024), a double major in art history and computer science, shares how she gained different and complementary skills from each major.

In Singapore’s growing microcosm of modern multiculturalism, literary translators bridge people across walks of life. These skilled story-weavers shoulder the responsibility of making our far-reaching roots accessible to readers around the world. Nazry Bahrawi, Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Literature, is quoted.

Chinese, like the other earliest inventions of writing, emerged in complex societies, where people needed to use symbols for writing. The script started as pictures, but quickly evolved to incorporate other mechanisms capable of indicating abstract concepts and grammatical structures. When Classical (or ancient) Chinese script spread, literate people in other cultures not only mastered it, but they then used it to represent their own distinct spoken languages in written form. Zev Handel, professor and department chair of Asian languages and literature at the UW, is quoted.

Five local Native American artists and cultural workers shared their feelings about how Lily Gladstone’s Oscar nomination blazes a new path for Indigenous creatives as well as the racist tropes still targeting Native Americans in the media. Charlotte Coté, professor of American Indian studies, is interviewed.

Seattle scientist and conservationist Estella Leopold has died at the age of 97. Leopold spent most of her career at the University of Washington, teaching and learning about the distant past through pollen deposits. P. Dee Boersma, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.