Teaching old fish new tricks

A CT scan of the spotfin hatchetfish from the openVertebrate project.

How much can you really learn from a dead herring in a jar? Housed in the UW College of the Environment, the Burke Museum’s Ichthyology Collection is home to more than 13 million preserved fish specimens from around the world, many dating back over a century. By far the largest collection of its kind in North America, it includes over 300 different samples of Pacific herring — an ideal species for researchers aiming to look back in time. 

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NSF funds internet-connected ocean observatory through 2028

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced Sept. 21 that it is awarding a coalition of academic and oceanographic research organizations a new five-year cooperative agreement to operate and maintain the Ocean Observatories Initiative. The University of Washington, Oregon State University and project lead Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will continue operating the OOI, a science-driven ocean observing network that delivers real-time data from more than 900 instruments to address critical science questions regarding the world’s oceans. 

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Are wildfires really getting worse? A Q&A with Brian Harvey

a wildfire burns in California

Whether you live in a rural community that grapples with annual threats of destructive wildfires or in a city that now spends part of every summer inundated with smoke, many across North America have found themselves wondering: what happened to cause such a sudden change in the way our forests burn? We sat down with Brian Harvey, assistant professor of environmental and forest sciences in the UW College of the Environment, to discuss some of the most frequently asked questions we encounter about the causes of wildfires, how they’re changing and what we can do to limit their impacts on human health and property. 

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Doing our part for the planet

Illustration of a person holding a windmill in a flower pot

At the College of the Environment, we often say that the challenge of climate change requires all hands on deck. The simple fact is that we can tackle the world’s biggest global threat only by engaging every single person, resource and bit of expertise available to us.

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Corey Garza to serve as Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Corey Garza has agreed to serve as the UW College of the Environment’s Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, effective September 1. In this role he will work closely with Dean Maya Tolstoy, College leadership, faculty, postdocs, staff, students and other community members to integrate an equity and justice lens into the College’s work, and advance our shared vision that excellent science, teaching and scholarship can only be achieved in a community which is inclusive and supportive of people of all backgrounds and identities. 

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