UW News and Information Web     |     UW News     University Week UW News+Community     John Stamets An office in the sky The view (right) may be spectacular, but the job requires concentration on the Molecular Engineering Building below. Click here to find out more about what it's like to be a tower crane operator. VOLUME 27, NUMBER 35   |   8/19/2010  –  9/29/2010  |   UWEEK.ORG Save the date: Emmert to be feted Sept. 27 The UW community is invited to a farewell celebration for President Mark Emmert on Sept. 27. Next issue of 'University Week' is Sept. 30 This is the last issue of University Week for summer quarter. See you in September. Integrating dance: different bodies, different abilities Twenty-two dancers converged on the UW Aug. 9-14, five of them in wheelchairs. The occasion was the Integrated Dance Summer Intensive, and the aim was to share processes whereby dance can be made more accessible to those with disabilities. Young artists to parade heady summer creations Elementary school artists from UW Outreach's Summer Youth Programs made big, tall, colorful headdresses in class and then paraded their creations through the Quad on Friday. Deaf, hard-of-hearing students do first test of sign language by cell phone University of Washington engineers are developing the first device able to transmit American Sign Language over U.S. cellular networks. The tool is just completing its initial field test by participants in a UW summer program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It’s about the kids: Refocusing central school district offices with teaching and learning in mind UW profs urge central school district office personnel to get out to the schools in a new education report. “The transformation was phenomenal,” said one school superintendent who put the research into practice. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation launches landmark survey to discover the impact of disease worldwide With so many products aimed at making people look and feel younger, it might be surprising to learn that not everyone wants to live forever. Report: Math, science teachers tend to earn less than colleagues in Washington state high schools Despite the fact that Washington’s state legislature and governor last session passed a law intending to accelerate the teaching and learning of math and science, the system is hardwired to do the opposite, says a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education. Nanoscale DNA sequencing could spur revolution in personal health care In experiments with potentially broad health care implications, a research team led by a UW physicist has devised a method that works at a very small scale to sequence DNA quickly and relatively inexpensively. This could lead to more effective individualized medicine such as creating blueprints of genetic predispositions for specific conditions and diseases, such as cancer, diabetes or addiction. Genetic alterations common to Kabuki syndrome discovered through streamlined DNA sequencing Finding stems from a National Human Genome Research Institute-funded effort to identify genes for 20 disorders National Research Council endorses project in which UW is a major player The National Research Council has endorsed a Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which is expected to photograph the visible Southern Hemisphere sky every three nights. The UW is one of four founding institutions for the project. Slow-moving ‘earthquake’ under Olympic Peninsula will be well recorded UW seismologists are recording a slow-moving, unfelt seismic event under the Olympic Peninsula, and it promises to be the best-documented such event in the eight years since the regularly occurring phenomena were first discovered. “It appears to be right on time,” said Steve Malone, a UW Earth and space sciences professor, of the most recent of what are termed episodic tremor-and-slip, or slow-slip, events. Researchers discover genetic link between immune system, Parkinson's disease A team of researchers has discovered new evidence that Parkinson's disease may have an infectious or autoimmune origin. "Common genetic variation in the HLA region is associated with late-onset sporadic Parkinson's disease" appears online in Nature Genetics. Etc.: Campus news & notes Celeste Gilman is honored by the Washington State Department of Transportation; Fleet Services named among the top 100 fleets in the country; Bruce Burgett is appointed vice president of the Cultural Studies Association; Alexandra McKenzie and Bruce Taylor read their writing; and the Baltic Studies Program gets a healthy donation. Official Notices A small grant opportunity, a regents meeting, several blood drives and two notices of rule making. A different, greener way of making things — call it ‘humblefacture’ The story of a UW industrial designer and his passion for the localizing of producing goods. We can address economic problems and more by choosing to make things in a different way, Dominic Muren says. “This is not something I want to make happen. This is a consequence of information availability.” Late UW pediatrician Dr. Robert Deisher advocated for street kids and disabled youth Dr. Deisher was instrumental in establishing what is now the Center for Human Development and Disability. He also created free clinics for homeless teenagers. UW named one of America’s 20 “coolest” schools by Sierra Magazine Sierra Magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, has named the UW one of the top 20 colleges and universities for its initiatives to operate sustainably and limit its contributions to global warming. This is the third year the UW has been named to this elite group. And for the second year in a row, the UW is ranked within the top five schools for campus sustainability. 15 UW students, alumni selected for Fulbright Scholarships Fifteen UW alumni and students have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships, joining the more than 1,500 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-11 academic year through the Fulbright Student Program. It’s the largest number of UW undergraduate Fulbright awardees ever. UW Tacoma a top choice for veterans The UW Tacoma is in the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools offering opportunities and support for military veterans, according to the new Military Friendly Schools list released by G.I. Jobs. State Route 520 to be closed for inspections this weekend, Aug. 20-22 Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews will spend this weekend inspecting and making repairs to the aging State Route 520 floating bridge to make sure it will continue to carry traffic safely through winter weather. While the bridge is closed — 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 23 — drivers should allow extra time to travel across or around Lake Washington. Site work brings UW Construction Management interns back to campus Students in the Construction Management program must all do internships, and sometimes those eventually lead the students right back to the UW. “We learn a lot in the classroom, but seeing stuff in the field is a whole different ball game,” said Holly Nichols, who graduated in 2009 and now works for Sellen Construction, builder of the new Paccar Hall. UW Tacoma opens new Student Health Services clinic UW Tacoma has opened a new student health clinic that will be run in partnership with the Franciscan Medical Group and supported entirely by student fees. The new clinic opened Aug. 16. UW Bothell announces biology as a new degree option The Higher Education Coordinating Board recently approved UW Bothell’s proposal for a Bachelor of Science degree offering in biology. The degree will be administered by UW Bothell’s new Science and Technology Program. UW Nurse Camp creates collegiate opportunities for minority and low-income high school students This summer 24 teens explored nursing as a possible career by learning basic clinical skills and seeing professional options open to nurses. U.S. Department of Education award prepares new nurse educators The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need grants are given to reduce the pending national shortage of faculty in nursing schools and other fields. Surf your way to a deep ocean research expedition You can click yourself aboard a ship 300 miles off the Washington-Oregon coast and dive nearly a mile deep into the ocean as scientists and 20 students use underwater robots to explore, map and sample methane ice deposits, an underwater volcano and seafloor hot springs spewing water up to 570 degrees F. It’s all brought to you via the Internet. Of music and the mind: Conference for Music Perception and Cognition at UW this month What’s the evolutionary purpose behind music? What are the benefits of musical engagement for infants or people with neurological disorders? How does visual information affect the way we hear music? Those are some of the questions to be discussed at the Conference for Music Perception and Cognition, set for Aug. 23-27 on campus. There's a movie being filmed on campus -- want to be an extra? A film titled Judas Kiss started filming on the UW campus on Aug. 18 and will continue through Sept. 3. The producers are looking for extras -- is this your moment? UW Medicine palliative care program receives funds to care for terminally ill people lacking primary care UW Medicine’s new program at Harborview Medical Center receives $100,000 grant from The Regence Foundation. Husky football coverage takes over Mondays on UWTV UWTV and Husky Athletics will televise live press conferences with Husky football coach Steve Sarkisian and team quarterback Jake Locker beginning Monday, Aug. 30 at noon. Consortium of Universities for Global Health 2010 annual conference to be held at UW Sept. 19-21 "Transforming Global Health: The Interdisciplinary Power of Universities" is the theme of the Consortium's second annual meeting. Italy’s foreign minister to deliver address at UW’s Rome Center Franco Frattini, Italy’s minister of foreign affairs, will deliver an address titled Immigration and the Rights of Immigrant Workers at the UW’s Rome Center, Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. The visit is being sponsored by the UW Office of Global Affairs and the UW program of Law, Societies, and Justice. Can you guess where this photo was taken? Guess correctly, and you might win a gift certificate to the University Book Store!