Overloaded professors and TAs are often not able to provide the kind of feedback that students desire or deserve. One company is addressing this, by providing “virtual TAs” from all over the world who will grade your papers — for a price. But what are the costs, and benefits, really? Check out this article.   

You know the old adage: when you’re submarining through the Arctic, don’t forget your chainsaw.  …What?  Read more about this adventure, involving UW’s Applied Physics Lab, here! 

Students, staff and friends gathered to celebrate a boy named Alex, who told the Make a Wish Foundation his wish was for world peace — assisted by robots. All the robots on campus came out for a dance!   

Recently released research used the “natural experiment” conditions of the lull in ship activity after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to measure the stress effects of ship noise in right whales. They found a significant decrease in stress hormones in these endangered animals during the period of reduced ship activity. The UW’s Center for Conservation Biology‘s Sam Wasser is a co-author on the original study. 

New research that examined the entire life-cycle of tropical insects and other ectotherms (cold-blooded species) found that these animals are at a greater disadvantage with global warming. Josh Tewksbury’s research is cited. Read more here!