Jul 7, 2015

College of the Environment scientists named 2015 CoMotion Presidential Innovation Fellows

University of Washington Interim President Ana Mari Cauce recently announced the appointment of 17 new members to the university’s prestigious CoMotion Presidential Innovation Fellows program, including two scientists from the College of the Environment. As part of the 2015 class of fellows, the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences’ Ivan Eastin and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences’ Cliff Mass were chosen for fostering a culture of innovation at the UW through initiating groundbreaking programs, collaborating with industry professionals, and by sharing their ideas, knowledge, and entrepreneurial thinking with other visionaries at the UW.

Jul 6, 2015

Scientists weigh in on carbon emissions' effect on future ocean conditions

Ahead of major climate talks at COP21 this year in Paris, scientists are offering insights to the far-reaching effects of rising carbon dioxide levels on the ocean. Spearheaded by the Oceans 2015 Initiative, which brought together 22 scientists and policy experts from nine different countries, the results were published this week in the journal Science and focus on how warming waters, rising seas, and ocean acidification drive changes to the global ocean.

UW scientists engage the next generation of oceanographers through STEM partnership

A participating teacher works to build an underwater temperature sensor.

For nearly 40 Washington State teachers attending the Olympic STEM Pathways Partnership workshop at the University of Washington in late-June, it was like Christmas had come early. Each educator sifted through a toolkit full of techy gadgets—a breadboard, ribbon cables, wires, antennas, and a microprocessor. The teachers used their cache of materials to assemble a powerful, data-collecting underwater sensor; and over the next several years, they’ll develop an approach to bring their new expertise back into the classroom.