College of Arts and Sciences

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of HistoryLink.org, Pacific NW Magazine lists 10 key events in Seattle's history. Harold Tobin, professor of Earth and space sciences, and Josh Reid, associate professor of American Indian studies at the UW, are quoted, and the founding of the UW Black Student Union is mentioned.

The traveling salesperson problem is one of the oldest known computational questions. Despite seeming simple, the problem is notoriously difficult. Recent work using geometric tools has created a new, faster algorithm, making the biggest runtime leap in decades. Co-developer Thomas Rothvoss, professor of mathematics and of computer science and engineering at the UW, is quoted.

Sonia Fereidooni, who earned bachelorâs and masterâs degrees from the University of Washington, was selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Fereidooni, 22, will receive a full-cost scholarship to pursue doctoral work in Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge, England. The highly competitive scholarship brings recognition of accomplishments and future promise. This year, 26 students...

Some H.I.V. experts worry that the public health focus on prevention medication has accelerated a decline in condom use. Steven Goodreau, professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

Frank Herbert designed his beloved story, “Dune,” as a critique of our own world and a cautionary tale for the future. Herbert's time as a UW student is mentioned, and Jesse Oak Taylor, associate professor of English at the UW, is quoted.

Admitted students and families can engage with the College of Arts and Sciences through several department and program specific events over the next few weeks.

Many terms in the Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) field are frequently used but rarely understood fully. A 10 part video series, entitled “On Our Terms,” was released by the Burke Museum, aiming to reflect on these DEAI terms and offer community-based definitions.

"UW is making exciting inroads in data science and data studies, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this interdisciplinary effort, which spans from the humanities to the social and physical sciences and beyond," says Mia Bennett, assistant professor in the Department of Geography.

"The death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, announced on Feb. 16, 2024, lays bare to the world the costs of political persecutions. Although his cause of death remains unknown, the 47-year-old died while serving a 19-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony," writes James Long, professor of political science at the UW.

Ada Limón is no stranger to good news. In 2022, she was appointed the 24^th poet laureate of the U.S. Last spring, she was granted a two-year second term. And in October came the announcement that she’d won a MacArthur “genius” grant. Ada Limón, UW School of Drama alumna, is featured.

A new study led by researchers at the UW and Northwestern University found about 80% of parents spoke to their children about the Black Lives Matter movement within a year of the murder of George Floyd. Andrew Meltzoff, professor of psychology and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

You might not know it, but some moths can smell just as well as dogs. The nighttime insects use their antennae to sniff out flowers heavy with pollen up to a mile away. New research from the UW shows pollution in car exhaust can blunt the flowers’ scent – making it hard for pollinators to find the blossoms. The UW's Jeff Riffell, professor of biology, and Joel Thornton, professor of atmospheric sciences, are quoted.

Air pollution is making it hard for some Washington state flowers to get pollinated, according to a new study in the journal Science. Jeff Riffell, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

An international team of scientists has blazed a new trail for studying how atoms respond to radiation, by tracking the energetic movement of electrons when a sample of liquid water is blasted with X-rays. Xiaosong Li, professor of chemistry at the UW, is quoted.

Scientists at this University of Washington facility in the San Juan Islands are working to help sunflower stars — a type of sea star — grow and thrive once again after their populations along the West Coast were devastated by a mysterious disease. Jason Hodin, research scientist in the UW Department of Biology, is quoted.