Research

"Climate change has emerged as an important issue for the younger generation—that is, Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). Public opinion polls suggest that these cohorts are more worried about climate change and more supportive of climate policies," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

A special algorithm designed to spot dangerous near-Earth asteroids appears to be so good it has spotted its very first one during an initial test. The UW's Mario Jurić, professor of astronomy, and Ari Heinze, research scientist in astronomy, are quoted.

A skyscraper-size asteroid was revealed in year-old telescope data thanks to a new algorithm that could change the way near-Earth objects are discovered. Mario Juric, professor of astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

A new technique for finding potentially hazardous asteroids before they find us has chalked up its first success. Ari Heinze, research scientist in astronomy at the UW, is quoted.

Spend enough time with ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots and it doesn't take long for them to spout falsehoods. Described as hallucination, confabulation or just plain making things up, it's now a problem. Emily Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Big feet and short beaks have evolved in some hummingbirds that allow the birds to mooch nectar without helping the plant by transporting pollen. Alejandro Rico-Guevara, assistant professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.

An asteroid discovery algorithm — designed to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky — has identified its first “potentially hazardous” asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth’s vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on. The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today’s methods. That is important because, though scientists know of more than 2,000 near-Earth asteroids, they estimate that another 3,000 await discovery!

A new type of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system invented by Mo Li, professor of physics and of electrical and computer engineering at the UW, and his team is poised to shake up what's possible within the LiDAR realm. The team built a laser beam-steering device with no moving parts and put it on a chip, which makes it 1000 times smaller than other LiDAR devices currently available. Putting it on a chip also makes the device compact and sturdy, as well as relatively easy and inexpensive to fabricate.

Sam Altman has zero regrets about letting ChatGPT loose into the world. To the contrary, he believes it was a great public service. This is the story of the OpenAI CEO's ambitious, ingenious, terrifying quest to create a new form of intelligence. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is referenced.

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington reports that it is possible to imbue graphite — the bulk, 3D material found in No. 2 pencils – with physical properties similar to graphite’s 2D counterpart, graphene. Not only was this breakthrough unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties. If so, 2D sheets won’t be the only source for scientists to fuel technological revolutions. Bulk, 3D materials could be just as useful.

A fossil found in 2012 in the Chinese province of Liaoning appeared to show a badger-like mammal and a Labrador retriever-sized dinosaur, locked in what appears to be an eternal brawl. David Grossnickle, a postdoctoral scholar in biology at the UW, is quoted.

Amazon reported a slight drop in greenhouse gas emissions, but its total footprint remains millions of metric tons larger than past years, according to the company's sustainability report. Aseem Prakash, professor of political science and director of the Center for Environmental Politics at the UW, is quoted.

A new study from the UW found that persistent heat waves in the marine environment linked to climate change are leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds several months later. Julia Parrish, UW professor of biology and of aquatic and fishery sciences and director of COASST and lead author of the study, is inteviewed.

New electronic devices? New data storage methods? UW Physics & Materials Sciences Professor Xiaodong Xu studies the properties of single atomic layer semiconductors. He looks for new materials and new ways to control electrical conductivity.

Calls to overhaul the police go back decades. But violent episodes of police enforcement continue. So do violent outpourings on the street. Magda Boutros, assistant professor of sociology at the UW, is quoted.