UW Oceanography ranks No. 1 in Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
UW
University of Washington’s School of Oceanography ranks No. 1 globally out of 4,000 universities and 52 subjects analyzed.
The University of Washington’s School of Oceanography is ranked No. 1 in the world on the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects list for 2018. The ranking, released this week, was conducted by researchers at the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The group ranked more than 4,000 universities around the world in 52 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences. Other subjects at UW’s College of the Environment included in the ranking are atmospheric sciences (No. 7) and Earth sciences (No. 13). Ecology, which has programs across the University — including UW Environment, came in at No. 29.
“It’s an honor to be recognized for the excellence of our talented scholars and faculty across so many fields of expertise. Teaching, learning and discovery are at the heart of our mission and this ranking reflects the profound impact that our University is having on these vital fields of study,” said President Ana Mari Cauce.
LGBT STEM Day: UW Environment Dean says it's time to talk about it
College of the Environment Dean Lisa J. Graumlich
UW Environment Dean Lisa J. Graumlich shares her thoughts about LGBT STEM Day, celebrated July 5th, on the American Geophysical Union’s From the Prow blog.
“So, why do we need a special day for LGBT STEM? The data speak for themselves. According to a 2013 study in Nature, 43 percent of our scientific community is not comfortable being out at work,” Graumlich says. “It breaks my heart because I know what it’s like to live in that shadow. I suspect that those individuals are paying the price for their silence in reduced creativity, collegiality, and mental health.”
Dean Graumlich hopes we will all acknowledge LGBT STEM Day through starting a conversation, quoting data or expressing empathy.
Graumlich became one of AGU’s Board of Directors in 2017.
Aquatic and Fishery Sciences' Daniel Schindler elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
University of Washington
Aquatic and Fishery Sciences’ Daniel Schindler.
Daniel Schindler, a professor at the College of the Environment’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, is one of 14 UW scientists elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2018. According to a statement released by the organization, the new members were selected for “their outstanding record of scientific achievement and willingness to work on behalf of the academy in bringing the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”
Schindler, an ecologist who studies the causes and consequences of dynamics in aquatic ecosystems and how they affect the goods and services that aquatic systems provide, was elected by current members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
In all, UW professors make up nearly half of the 29 new members, who will be formally inducted in September during an annual meeting at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
Incorporated by legislation in 2007, the Washington State Academy of Sciences initially had just 105 members. With this new crop of members from UW and other institutions around the state, the academy’s total membership will rise to 286. The academy’s mission is “to provide expert scientific and engineering analysis to inform public policymaking in Washington, and to increase the role and visibility of science in the state.”
As Atlantic Ocean circulation shifts gears, global warming will reaccelerate
Shaun Quinlan
In coming years, Atlantic Ocean circulation will no longer send more of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases deep into the North Atlantic.
A huge circulation pattern in the Atlantic Ocean took a starring role in the 2004 movie, “The Day After Tomorrow.” In that fictional tale, the global oceanic current suddenly stops and New York City freezes over.
While many aspects of the movie are unrealistic, oceanographers are concerned about the long-term stability of Atlantic Ocean circulation, and previous studies show that it has slowed dramatically in the past decade. New research from the University of Washington and the Ocean University of China finds the slowdown is not caused by global warming but is part of a regular, decades-long cycle that will affect temperatures in coming decades. The paper was published July 18 in the journal Nature.
“Climate scientists have expected the Atlantic overturning circulation to decline long-term under global warming, but we only have direct measurements of its strength since April 2004. And the decline measured since then is 10 times larger than expected,” said corresponding author Ka-Kit Tung, a UW professor of applied mathematics with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.
Study identifies which marine mammals are most at risk from increased Arctic ship traffic
Kristin Laidre/University of Washington
Beluga whales in the pack ice in West Greenland. Ships using the Northwest Passage would travel through Baffin Bay off Greenland’s west coast.
In recent decades, parts of the Arctic seas have become increasingly ice-free in late summer and early fall. As sea ice is expected to continue to recede due to climate change, seasonal ship traffic from tourism and freight is projected to rise. A study from the University of Washington and the University of Alaska Fairbanks is the first to consider potential impacts on the marine mammals that use this region in autumn and identify which species will be most vulnerable. The study is published the week of July 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We know from more temperate regions that vessels and whales don’t always mix well, and yet vessels are poised to expand into this sensitive region,” said lead author Donna Hauser, a research assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who completed the work as a postdoctoral researcher at the UW. “Even going right over the North Pole may be passable within a matter of decades. It raises questions of how to allow economic development while also protecting Arctic marine species.”
The study looked at 80 subpopulations of the seven marine mammals that live in the Arctic and identified their risks on or near major shipping routes in September, a month when the Arctic Ocean has the most open water. The most vulnerable marine mammals were found to be narwhals, or tusked whales. These animals migrate through parts of the Northwest Passage to and from their summertime habitats.
Student’s augmented reality game takes players to UW campus under altered climate scenarios
The Other World
Augmented reality in UW student’s The Other World video game shows Red Square under water.
University of Washington Bothell’s Andrew McDonald, a student in the interactive media design program, has long been passionate about video game design. Then he heard about EarthGames, a group of researchers, game developers and students based at UW who create games to inspire climate action and accountability.
“I had done some work with augmented reality before, but had never worked with it to EarthGames’ scale,” McDonald said.
Today, having collaborated with the EarthGames team and honed his own expertise in the group’s studio class (ATMS 495), McDonald is celebrating the release of a game he wrote, coded and licensed.
The Other World, available for free download on iOS and Android devices, is a story-driven, location-based scavenger hunt that uses augmented reality to reinforce issues around climate justice. In the game, players traverse the University of Washington’s Seattle campus. Along the way, they see computer-generated severe weather, flooding, and more. In one scene, UW’s iconic Red Square is completely submerged under rising waters.
“It’s amazing to me that Andrew was able to make such important statements about environmental justice within a fun and playful context,” Frierson said. “The Other World is a unique new way to communicate that environmental problems disproportionately affect those who are least equipped to deal with them.”
The Other World was inspired in part by McDonald’s November 2016 trip to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, during the Sioux-led Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
“It taught me a lot about how intrusive and destructive environmental policies can be on indigenous communities and how it can lead to the erasure of indigenous cultures by separating people from their land and each other,” McDonald said.
McDonald believes his game is ideal for anyone who’s interested in protecting the environment and has half an hour to spare.
“The storyline will resonate with people and stay with them after it’s all said and done,” McDonald says.
After graduating from UW, McDonald plans to pursue a software development job. Eventually, he’d like to start his own game development studio. With The Other World available publicly, McDonald has no immediate plans to jump into a new video game project.
“But you never really know. We could surprise you!”
Study shows why eastern U.S. air pollution levels are more stagnant in winter
Lyatt Jaeglé/University of Washington
Particulate haze over eastern Pennsylvania in winter, as seen from the WINTER campaign aircraft.
The air in the United States is much cleaner than even a decade ago. But those improvements have come mainly in summer, the season that used to be the poster child for haze-containing particles that cause asthma, lung cancer and other illnesses.
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and led by the University of Washington explains why winter air pollution levels have remained high, despite overall lower levels of harmful emissions from power plants and vehicles throughout the year.
Viral Shah, who did the work as part of his UW doctorate in atmospheric sciences, found that air pollution particles follow different pathways during different seasons. Until this study, air quality models preformed well in the summer, but were less reliable in the winter. This work allows scientists and others to understand and improve wintertime air quality in much of the United States and perhaps elsewhere.
