Three University of Washington experts are among the authors of the newly released Fifth National Climate Assessment, an overview of climate trends, impacts and efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the nation. The assessment is produced roughly every four years, led by the U.S. Global Change Research Program and mandated by Congress. The fifth edition, released Nov. 14, assesses current and future risks posed by climate change in 10 regions.
Six University of Washington subjects ranked in the top 10, and atmospheric sciences maintained its position as No. 1 in the world on the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects list for 2023. The ranking, released at the end of October, was conducted by researchers at the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, a fully independent organization dedicated to research on higher education intelligence and consultation.
The project, a collaboration between the University of Washington and Chief Leschi Schools, sought to simultaneously create leadership opportunities for students, and cultivate a lasting partnership between the academic community and the largest of seven tribal schools in the state of Washington.
In spring of 2023, University of Washington undergraduates loaded a curious-looking, brightly-colored machine onto a boat and headed out into Puget Sound. The machine, an autonomous underwater vehicle known as a Seaglider, looked like a cross between a torpedo and a rocket ship, and would be tasked with collecting a variety of important data about our oceans. What’s more, this particular launch would represent the first successful deployment of a Seaglider by UW students.
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.
The American Geophysical Union announced Sept. 13 that five University of Washington faculty members, including several from the College of the Environment, have been elected as new fellows, representing the departments of astronomy, Earth and space sciences, oceanography, global health and environmental and occupational health sciences.
The Fellows program recognizes AGU members who have made exceptional contributions to Earth and space sciences through a breakthrough, discovery or innovation in their field.
New research from the University of Washington and Polar Bears International in Bozeman, Montana, quantifies the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the survival of polar bear populations. The paper, published online Aug. 31 in Science, combines past research and new analysis to provide a quantitative link between greenhouse gas emissions and polar bear survival rates.
A warming Arctic is limiting polar bears’ access to sea ice, which the bears use as a hunting platform.
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.
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.
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.
In June 2021, the “heat dome” that struck the Pacific Northwest sent temperatures in Seattle to an unprecedented 107 degrees Fahrenheit and set 128 all-time high temperature records across the state. The event was partly due to climate change. As the climate continues to warm, these hotter stretches are projected to hit the region with increasing frequency.
Two years after that event — the deadliest weather-related disaster in state history — a collaborative effort led by two University of Washington teams, the Climate Impacts Group and the Center for Health and the Global Environment, or CHanGE, has drawn up recommendations for how people and groups across the state could prevent future heat-related illness and save lives.
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.
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.
Join us for an afternoon of games, food and merriment as we celebrate our outstanding College community! All College faculty, staff, students, postdocs and their guests are invited to attend.
UW College of the Environment Spring Celebration
Thursday, May 25, 2023, 2:30 – 4 pm
Fishery Sciences Building (FSH), 1122 NE Boat Street
We also celebrate the College of the Environment award recipients at the 2023 Spring Celebration.
Congratulations to four College of the Environment students recognized in the 2023 Husky 100!
The Husky 100 actively connect what happens inside and outside of the classroom and apply what they learn to make a difference on campus, in their communities and for the future. Through their passion, leadership and commitment, these students inspire all of us to shape our own Husky Experience.