While most of his days are spent unraveling the intricacies of weather patterns and atmospheric dynamics, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Dale Durran has embraced metal work to express his passion for the natural world. With a curiosity that reaches far beyond the confines of the laboratory, Durran crafts works that infuse the interplay of science and creativity into each unique piece.
Read more »REBURN: A new tool to model wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and beyond
In 2006, the Tripod Complex Fire burned more than 175,000 acres in north-central Washington. The fire, which was within the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, was more than three times the size of Seattle. Yet while considered severe at the time, even larger wildfires in 2014, 2015 and 2021 have since dwarfed Tripod. Past research shows that large and severe wildfires like these were much rarer in the western U.S.
Read more at UW News »Are wildfires really getting worse? A Q&A with Brian Harvey
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.
Read more »In the Field: UW team to spend six weeks visiting deep-ocean observatory
The University of Washington’s large research vessel, the R/V Thomas G. Thompson, will embark Aug. 13 from Newport, Oregon. A team of dozens of UW students, researchers and engineers will visit sites hosting a unique, National Science Foundation-funded, underwater observatory. For almost six weeks the team will send a remotely operated vehicle, ROV Jason, to recover and deploy more than 100 instruments as far as 2 miles below the ocean’s surface, all connected to a cable that supplies power and internet connectivity.
Read more at UW News »Governor Inslee appoints Maggie Walker to UW Board of Regents
Governor Jay Inslee appointed Maggie Walker to the University of Washington Board of Regents, where she will serve out the remaining term of Libby Gates MacPhee who resigned in late June. Walker, a longtime supporter of the UW College of the Environment and the University, will bring a depth of knowledge and experience as a local and national leader to bear on the UW’s governing body.
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