Research

Members of the UW Math AI Lab traveled to Rio de Janeiro for ICLR 2026, where undergraduates Luke Alexander, Evan Wang, Rohan Pandey, and Simon Chess joined Vasily Ilin, Math PhD student and Math AI Lab Director, to present five papers on AI for Math. The lab is also celebrating Vasily’s paper being accepted as an ICML 2026 main-conference spotlight paper (top 2.2%).

At the brand-new Quantum Technologies Training and Testbed lab, researchers from across the UW probe the spooky mysteries of quantum phenomena.

Fatal police violence against Indigenous people in the United States is significantly concentrated in and around reservations, a new study found.Theresa Rocha Beardall, associate professor of sociology at the UW, is quoted.

Thousands of asteroids including hundreds of distant worlds located out beyond the orbit of Neptune and dozens of previously unknown near-Earth objects have been detected by astronomers. Mario Juri, professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

A simple act like drinking nectar can hide an unexpected scientific story. Sunbirds, small and colorful birds found in many parts of the world, have surprised researchers with a completely new way of feeding. This discovery shows that even well-known animals can still teach us something new about nature. Scientists continue to study such behaviors to better understand how animals adapt and survive. UW research is mentioned.

A neural network based on a nematode worms connectome can puppeteer a digital fruit flys body, a new preprint shows. The work comes just two weeks after Eon Systems, a neurotechnology company based in San Francisco, announced that it had uploaded a fly brain and released a video of that brain controlling a biomechanical fly model in a virtual world. Bing Wen Brunton, professor of biology at the UW, and John Tuthill, professor of neurobiology and biophysics at the UW, are quoted.

The threat of rare, butdeadly diseaseis rising alongside mosquito populations in the Northwest. In response, scientists areresearchinghow mosquitoes detect a common compound in natural repellents. Jeff Riffell, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

New research reports that sunbirds use suction from their tongue to sip nectar. The find is the first example of any vertebrate drinking through suction generated by the tongue alone, rather than by changing the shape of its mouth. A UW research project is mentioned.

New research at the University of Washington could help scientists develop better mosquito repellents as mosquito season grows longer in parts of the Northwest. Jeff Riffell, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted. This story was republished in numerous outlets.

Using preliminary data from the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the NSFDOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids in our solar system. The findings include hundreds of distant worlds beyond Neptune as well as 33 previously unknown near-Earth objects.

Chemistry professor Matthew Golder and his research team are exploring ways to alter the chemical structure of plastics to keep them out of landfills.

A strange crocodile relative once grew up in a very surprising way. As a young animal, it walked on four legs. As it became an adult, it stood on two legs like a bird. Research from the UW is referenced.

An astronomical alert system developed at the UW could flag potentially significant changes in the southern night sky in real time. On its first night of testing at the Rubin Observatory in Chile, the system fired off 800,000 alerts. Eric Bellm, research associate professor of astronomy at the UW, is interviewed.

Explore recent research from the University of Washington: the habits and habitats of Nautilus and Allonautilus, how green clay tennis courts remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, why temperature dynamics matter to mussels and what prompts bacteria to attack diatoms.

Four University of Washington researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to an announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 449 newly elected fellows from around the world, who are recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements in science and engineering.