Biology seniors Adrienne Barber and Doug Charles are engaging in an experience that is unique to a large R-1 institution like the UW - independent undergraduate research guided by phenomenal faculty. Barber and Charles are working with Assistant Professor Sharlene Santana to analyze how facial complexity and communication are related in 41 species of primates. Get the scoop here.
News
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Wed, May 15 at 4 PM
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Prof. Michael Dickinson was interviewed by KUOW to provide insight on why insects are an ideal system to model robots and other technologies after. Read the article here.
Mon, May 6 at 9 AM -
The Society of Developmental Biologists (SDB) has launched an NSF-funded initiative that aims to boost the number of diverse undergraduate students who enter graduate programs in pursuit of a research career in developmental biology. Associate Professor Veronica Di Stilio and her grad student Kelsey Galimba are initial participants in the program, and are mentors for Jesus Martinez-Gomez, a UW undergraduate researcher and SDB Fellow.
Read more about the initiative here.Tue, Apr 30 at 10 AM -
By examining newly discovered fossils from southern Pangea - what is now South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Antarctica - along with fossils already in collections, Prof. Christian Sidor's lab and collaborators found that ecologically marginalized dinosaur predecessors were able to diversify after the Great Dying, the most severe extinction event in earth's history (252.3 Mya).
Graduate student Daril Vilhena of Carl Bergstrom's lab worked with the Sidor lab to develop new ways to statistically consider how connected or isolated species are from each other, which helped the team uncover how species were distributed after the massive extinction event.
Co-authors from the UW include graduate students Adam Huttenlocker and Brandon Peecook, post-doctoral researcher Sterling Nesbitt and research associate Linda Tsuji.
Read the full article and check out the photo gallery here.
Christian Sidor excavates a fossil from the Manda beds of Tanzania. Linda TsujiTue, Apr 30 at 10 AM -
Arthur H. Whiteley was a man who greatly appreciated art and science, and generously supported both endeavors at the Friday Harbor Laboratories and in the Department of Zoology at the University of Washington. He began his career doing physiology, but later was known as a sea urchin developmental and cell biologist. Arthur died April 15th, 2013, at his home in Seattle after a short illness. He was 96 years old and touched many lives in his lifetime.
To read the entire thoughtful and illuminating obituary for Arthur, click here.
As a starting point for his oral history, in 2011 Arthur created a timeline about his life, work, and partnership with his wife Helen. Click the following link to access the timeline: AHWhiteley Timeline.
Arthur’s family has requested that any donations in his memory be made to the "Arthur H. Whiteley Memorial Fund" at Friday Harbor Labs, which will benefit the Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center. Please contact Rachel Anderson rachelea@u.washington.edu to make a donation. A memorial is planned for later in the summer.
Arthur at the tenth anniversary of the Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center at Friday Harbor Labs:
Mon, Apr 22 at 9 AM -
Post-doc John Dyhr and Prof. Tom Daniel are on the front page of BBC news for new research that provides insight into how moths are able to hover. They found that the insects pivot their abdomen up and down to fine-tune the effect of the forces that keep them airborne. This research can aid in engineering small robots that use the same principles. Read the whole story here.
Thu, Apr 18 at 2 PM -
Low doses of hydrogen sulfide, deadly at high concentrations, have been shown by grad student Ricky Dooley and Prof. Peter Ward to increase the growth rates and biomass of certain plants. These discoveries could lead to increased food and biofuel production. Click here to read more about this exciting research.
Photo credit: Frederick Dooley
A bean plant treated with hydrogen sulfide (top) is substantially bigger at two weeks after gestation than the control plant (bottom) that was untreated.Thu, Apr 18 at 1 PM -
The coelacanth, a fish that has changed little in over 400 million years, is a cousin species to the first ancestor that made the transition from living in water to walking on land. Affl. Prof. Chris Amemiya and his team found that the coelacanth's genome is comparable in size to the human genome at about 2.8 billion units, which modern technology has allowed for decoding. Led by Prof. Amemiya, the cracking of the coelacanth's genome will lead to great insights on what genetic mutations were necessary to transition a lobe-finned fish into the first land-based tetrapod.
Read more about this exciting research here.
Simon Maina/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWed, Apr 17 at 3 PM -
Congratulations to Prof. Tom Daniel and Affil. Assoc. Prof. Katie Peichel for each receiving a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship! Among a diverse group of 175 scholars, artists, and scientists for the 2013 award cycle, Daniel and Peichel were appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise out of an applicant pool of 3,000.
The purpose of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is to help provide Fellows with blocks of time in which they can work with as much creative freedom as possible, and Fellows are funded for anywhere from six to twelve months.
For more information about the Fellows, click here.Fri, Apr 12 at 10 AM -
Congratulations to Daniel lab post-doc Simon Sponberg for being one of the first recipients of the UW Graduate School's Postdoctoral Mentoring Award! The award was created to honor and acknowledge the significant role that postdoctoral researchers play in the lives and education of UW's graduate and undergraduate students.
The award comes with a $2,000 discretionary stipend to be used for research or travel. Congrats again Simon!
Fri, Apr 12 at 10 AM -
Congratulations to our seven new NSF graduate research fellowship recipients, and our one honorable mention!
Shawn Luttrell
Audrey Ragsac
Aric Rininger
Peter Conlin
Yasmeen Hussain
Carolyn Shores
Lauren Vandepas
Frazer Meacham (HM)
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.
GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Fellows are awarded a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose. Click here for more info about the award.
Since Profs. Janneke Hille Ris Lambers and Jennifer Nemhauser instituted a grantwriting class for biology graduate students, the number of UW Biology NSF-GRFP awardees has doubled. Further, UW Biology grads secure one third of all NSF-GRFPs awarded in the life sciences at the UW, and close to 40% of current eligible Biology grads are funded through these grants. With a 15% acceptance rate for applications nationwide, our students and their mentors deserve many congratulations for being almost three times as successful at securing funding than the average applicant!Thu, Apr 11 at 11 AM -
Dr. Britney Moss, a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Jennifer Nemhauser's lab, is a finalist for a Life Sciences Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. Out of 1,000 applications, 50 finalists are chosen by the foundation and sponsors. About half of the finalists will be awarded fellowships, which are funded by the private sponsors. For more information about this prestigious award, visit http://www.lsrf.org/pages/geninfo.htm
Tue, Apr 9 at 2 PM -
What creature catches 95% of its prey, can pivot 360 degrees with 3 tiny wing beats, and is researched by the US military as an archetypal drone? UW Biology alums Stacey Combes and Robert M. Olberg, and former faculty David O'Carroll research these remarkable insects: http://nyti.ms/Y0ihKd
Mon, Apr 8 at 10 AM -
Advised by Prof. Jennifer Ruesink, Anne earned her Ph.D. in 2006. She is currently an assistant professor and marine ecologist at Simon Fraser University, and is one of five 2013 Pew Marine Fellows.
Each Pew Fellow is awarded a $150,000 grant, allocated over three years, to complete an original, research-based marine conservation project. For more information about the award, click here.
Thu, Mar 21 at 12 PM -
Countries will now be required to register the DNA of all confiscated ivory, thanks to a new ruling at the triennial Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Prof. Sam Wasser, who developed the methods to identify the origin of elephant tusks, played a major role in pushing this amendment forward. The conference was held from March 4-14 in Bangkok, Thailand. Read more here.
Wed, Mar 20 at 1 PM -
UW grad students, advised by professors in landscape architecture and environmental and forest sciences, built a temporary, fog-catching greenhouse right outside of the Botany Greenhouse. The goal: test ways to most efficiently collect fog which can be used as a water source in developing countries. Greenhouse Manager Doug Ewing collaborated with the team and shared the effective fog-producing methods that he employs. Click here to read more.
P Cromwell/U of Washington
Mon, Mar 18 at 4 PM -
Brad Dickerson, a graduate student in Prof. Tom Daniel's lab, writes about President Obama's "Brain Activity Map" intiative and the importance of basic research. Click here to read the article.
Wed, Mar 13 at 2 PM -
An increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affects the acidity of the world's oceans. Mussels use strong byssal threads as anchors, and a lower pH environment weakens those attachments. Read more about this new research out of Friday Harbor Laboratories here. Research Scientist Moose O'Donnell, graduate student Matt George, and Prof. Emily Carrington are authors on the paper that was published in Nature Climate Change.
Tue, Mar 12 at 11 AM -
Read all about the rare, brightly colored nautilus that was discovered off the coast of American Samoa.
Peter Ward/UWThu, Mar 7 at 11 AM -
Principal Lecturer Linda Martin-Morris and Adjunct Professor Martha Groom were recently featured in the Provost's report, Innovators Among Us: How UW Faculty are Enhancing Teaching with Technology.
Below are some highlights:
Linda Martin-Morris: Flipping lecture content enlivens large classes
Dr. Martin-Morris, a principal lecturer in the Department of Biology at UW Seattle, has flipped her classroom for her large Biology courses. She uses the Tegrity lecture capture tool to create online materials and uses class time to assist student groups in synthesizing information.Student reactions: “My students report enormous gains in confidence and understanding, but also that they feel they had to spend way too much time getting there.”Classroom dynamic: “Every day I walk into a very lively and exciting classroom that challenges me but challenges students at least as much. That’s exciting. Most days I have to remind students when class is over; that never happened when lecturing.” Advice for others interested in flipping: “Do not over-lecture. Be ready for a little blowback. This type of learning is challenging for students and you have to be ready to sell it every single day.”Martha Groom: Writing for Wikipedia raises the stakes and the quality of student writingDr. Groom is a professor of Ecology and Environmental Studies in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences department at UW Bothell with an adjunct appointment in the UW Seattle Biology department. Six years ago, she began asking her students to create and edit Wikipedia entries and has continued to do so ever since. Why? Students benefited, she says, “Instead of a paper that only one person read and commented on, they could strive to meet standards higher than the typical entry, and have their efforts serve a common good.”Her objective: “Helping students see the value in upping the quality of their workis my goal, and I still find that the very public and open nature of Wikipedia entrieshelps achieve this goal.”Tue, Mar 5 at 11 AM