Technology

"As a writing teacher based in college classrooms around Seattle, I find myself returning to a question each time I prep for a new quarter: How should I use or refuse technology?" writes Joe Concannon, part-time lecturer of English at the UW.

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.

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.

Nowadays, musicians finding the most success are not only refining their musical skills, but also business, publicity, and technical skills like studio recording and production. With the latter in mind, the University of Washington School of Music is stepping up their offerings. The UW's Ted Poor, associate professor of music; and Andrew Munsey, assistant professor of music and technology, are quoted. Jol-Franois Durand, director of the UW School of Music and professor of composition, is mentioned.

An astronomical alert system developed at the UW started off with a bang this week, sending out 800,000 notifications about moving asteroids, exploding stars and other celestial changes detected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. Eric Bellm, research associate professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, when the Vera C. Rubin Observatory a wide-field telescope in Chile fitted with the worlds largest digital camera detected 800,000 cosmic changes in a single night. Eric Bellm, research associate professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has issued its first real-time alerts of changes in the night sky. The ultrafast alerting system, developed at the UW, will eventually detect up to seven million changes in the cosmos every night and notify scientists around the world.

During this year's Super Bowl on Sunday, some blind and low-vision fans will be able to experience football more directly thanks to tactile devices that vibrate to indicate the position of the ball on the field.

The devices, which are designed by OneCourt, vibrate in dif­fer­ent ways for dif­fer­ent plays like tackles, touchdowns, and field goals. OneCourt is a Seattle-based startup founded by Industrial Design alum Jerred Mace (BDes 2023).

Various companies from Google to Blue Origin to smaller startups are looking to Earth's orbit as the next data center frontier. And companies in Seattle are leading the charge. Today, how close are we to actually putting data centers in space? Saadia Pekkanen, professor of international studies at the UW, is interviewed.

Arts & Sciences weigh in on their own use of AI and what they see as the benefits and drawbacks of AI use in undergraduate education more broadly. 

Three College of Arts & Sciences professors discuss the impact of AI on their teaching and on student learning. The consensus? It’s complicated.

New research supported by Yingjie Cheng, a University of Washington postdoctoral researcher in astronomy, uncovered a contender for one of the earliest observed spiral galaxies containing a stellar bar a notable visual feature that can play an important role in the evolution of a galaxy.

UW School of Music alum Andrea Roberts, an audio engineer, has worked with recording artists in a wide range of genres — including Beyoncé.

With the recent arrival of generative AI programs that can write conversationally, produce vivid imagery, and perform myriad tasks for us, some technologists believe the superintelligent machines of science fiction are right around the corner. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted. This story was originally published in National Geographic.

The comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 19, according to NASA. James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.