Research

  • Americans dislike tech billionaires, but still want to be like them

    According to a 2021 survey by Vox and Data for Progress, 37% of Americans think billionaires are terrible role models, and 49% said they have overall negative feelings towards them. And the heat is felt most prominently by the big-name tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, is quoted.
    12/27/2023 | CNBC
  • Scientists reveal superconductor with on/off switches

    Researchers led by Jiun-Haw Chu, a University of Washington associate professor of physics, and Philip Ryan, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energyâs Argonne National Laboratory, have found a superconducting material that is uniquely sensitive to outside stimuli, enabling the superconducting properties to be enhanced or suppressed at will. This discovery could enable new opportunities for switchable, energy-efficient superconducting circuits.
    12/19/2023 | UW News
  • Holiday blahs? Why social connection, even talking to strangers, can help

    Milla Titova, assistant teaching professor of psychology and director of the Happiness and Well-Being Lab at the UW, offers strategies for joy this holiday season.
    12/12/2023 | UW News
  • New faculty books: Story and comic collection, Washington state fossils, colonial roots of intersex medicine

    Three new faculty books from the University of Washington cover wide-ranging topics: life in the Rio Grande Valley, fossils of Washington state and the colonial roots of contemporary intersex medicine. UW News talked with the authors to learn more. Collection highlights life in Rio Grande Valley “Puro Pinche True Fictions” is a collection of short...
    12/11/2023 | UW News
  • Sleep experts, physicians address impacts of increased travel on student-athletes as colleges leave Pac-12 conference

    As several athletic programs announce their move to a new conference, a group of sleep and circadian scientists and physicians dive into the impacts of increased travel on student-athletes. The UW's Horacio de la Iglesia, professor of biology; Dr. Russ Van Gelder, professor of ophthalmology; and Michael Dillon, associate athletic director for health and wellness, are quoted.
    12/06/2023 | KHQ
  • The quiet part loud: Our life with my husband's hearing loss

    "The toll of my husband’s hearing loss can be invisible—even to me. But a new wave of tech could change everything," writes Seattle Met editor, Allecia Vermillion. Yi Shen, associate professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW, is quoted.
    12/06/2023 | Seattle Met
  • Analysis: Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay — two experts on legal punishments explain why

    "In today’s American criminal legal system, courts impose fines and fees as a means to punish people and hold them accountable for legal violations," co-writes Alexes Harris, professor of sociology at the UW.
    12/05/2023 | The Conversation
  • Why didn't more Washingtonians vote in the 2023 election?

    Turnout for this year’s November election was the lowest on record since Washington started keeping track in 1936. Statewide, 36.41% of registered voters returned their ballot in 2023. That beats the previous low of 37.1%, held in another odd-year election — 2017, and the one before that, 38.52% in 2015. Mark Smith, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.
    12/05/2023 | KUOW
  • Still Fascinated by Physics

    "The questions are long-term questions," emeritus professor Marshall Baker says of his theoretical physics, which he is still pursuing at age 91. 

    December 2023 Perspectives
  • Small UW study on alcohol, caffeine, sleep yields ‘unexpected finding’

    UW researchers discovered an “unexpected finding” while studying the effects of alcohol and caffeine on sleep. Frank Song, a doctoral student of psychology at the UW, is quoted.
    The Seattle Times
  • Opinion: Welcome to the new economics of tipping

    "Why do you tip? And have your reasons for tipping changed lately? Is there less gratitude in the mix and more — shall we say — fear?" writes columnist Peter Coy. Anthony Gill, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.
    The New York Times
  • The pandemic disrupted adolescent brain development

    Early research presented at the leading brain conference suggests that the pandemic changed the brains of teenagers. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.
    Scientific American
  • How lockdowns affected teen brains

    Pandemic-related lockdowns were hard on everyone, but a growing body of research suggests they were especially hard on young people. Now a new study scanning adolescent brain seems to be backing some of those suspicions. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is interviewed. [This interview is part of a roundup and begins at 27:05]
    CBC Radio
  • UW study asks: Can caffeine and booze cancel each other out at bedtime?

    Researchers from UW’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences discovered that drinking your morning coffee and then an alcoholic beverage before bed cancels the negative effects on your sleep. Frank Song, a doctoral student of psychology at the UW, is quoted.
    KIRO 7
  • Cheetahs become more nocturnal in extreme heat, study finds

    Hunting later at night may force the big cats to surrender their prey to larger carnivores, such as lions and leopards. Kasim Rafiq, a UW postdoctoral researcher in biology, is quoted.
    Smithsonian Magazine