Read more about Robert Fleagle on the Seattle Times website, or below as remembered by two former students and colleagues, Bob Brown and Nick Bond. From Bob Brown, Research Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences I met Bob in 1966, when half his life was over; the learning half? He was involved in the new Geophysics graduate program and I became the first student in this PhD program. 

As announced in yesterday’s “Conversation on Science Communication”, the College of the Environment will be hosting a 2-day science communication training event for college faculty. Held on October 16-18, this intensive retreat will provide the opportunity to meet and work with 3-4 leading science and environmental journalists from around the country, and with nationally-recognized communication trainer Nancy Baron. Eighteen to twenty-two faculty will attend this training, a compressed version of the Leopold Leadership Program that will provide critical insights into the power of making your science accessible to wider audiences, the culture of traditional and social media, and message development and delivery in a variety of formats. 

Dan Jaffe, atmospheric science professor with UW-Bothell and adjunct professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money so that he could research whether coal dust may be harmful to our health. Seattle Times wrote a story about it, and within a day the project was funded — to the tune of over $18,000. Read more about Jaffe’s project and how it broke records for crowdfunding in this Seattle Times follow-up story . 

Cecilia Bitz, a UW associate professor of atmospheric sciences, was awarded the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel Award. The $10,000 award honors early- to mid-career ocean scientists who have made significant and growing impacts during the previous decade. Read more about Bitz’s work in this UW News story; congratulations professor Bitz! 

On Saturday, May 11th, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, the MATE Pacific Northwest Regional ROV Challenge will see teams of middle school, high school, and college students, compete using underwater robots known as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) they designed and built. The event will be held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way (650 SW Campus Dr) and is free to all.