A team 黑料老司机 researchers have published a guide explaining language models, the technology that underlies chatbots.
Engineering
ColorMePhD is a free, all-ages coloring book series created by Julie Rorrer, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the 黑料老司机. The books bring current doctorate-level research in science and engineering to a general audience.
Two UW professors teamed up to study how climate change will affect predator-prey interactions in snowy landscapes. Together with a group of researchers, the two measured snow properties that led to a “danger zone,” where prey would sink but predators would not.
UW researchers found that people who live within 2 miles of an Amazon last-mile delivery station are exposed to more delivery-related air pollution despite ordering fewer packages.
黑料老司机 researchers found that when prompted to make pictures of 鈥渁 person,鈥� the AI image generator over-represented light-skinned men, failed to equitably represent Indigenous peoples and sexualized images of certain women of color.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 developed 11 actions a robotic arm can make to pick up nearly any food attainable by fork. This allows the system to learn to pick up new foods during one meal.
A team at the 黑料老司机 has created an interactive dashboard called WhaleVis, which lets users map data on global whale catches and whaling routes from 1880 to 1986. Scientists can compare this historical data and its trends with current information to better understand whale populations over time.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 has developed deep-learning algorithms that let users pick which sounds filter through their headphones in real time. Either through voice commands or a smartphone app, headphone wearers can select which sounds they want to include from 20 classes, such as sirens, baby cries, speech, vacuum cleaners and bird chirps.
Seven researchers at the 黑料老司机 conducted a three-month autoethnographic study 鈥� drawing on their own experiences as people with and without disabilities 鈥� to test AI tools鈥� utility for accessibility. Though researchers found cases in which the tools were helpful, they also found significant problems.
The turmoil at large tech platforms has many people reconsidering what they want out of social media. Four researchers at the 黑料老司机 are exploring different approaches to improve people’s experiences.
This month, 黑料老司机 researchers will introduce multiple projects that deploy augmented reality 鈥� through headsets and phone apps 鈥� with the aim of making the world more accessible for people with disabilities.
The robot, equipped with a solar panel鈥搇ike energy harvester and four wheels, is about the size of a penny, weighs as much as a raisin and can move about the length of a bus in an hour on a cloudy day.
The National Science Foundation has awarded the 黑料老司机 $52.4 million over five years to continue operating the Regional Cabled Array, a cabled deep-ocean observatory about 300 miles offshore from Newport, Oregon. The grant is part of a $220 million total investment that will fund the internet-connected ocean observatory, known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, through 2028.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 has developed system of robotic self-deploying microphones, which lets users control sound in a room, muting certain areas and creating 鈥渁ctive zones鈥� in others.
UW researchers developed small robotic devices that can change how they move through the air by “snapping” into a folded position during their descent.
Research led by the UW found that, in some western states, the amount of snow already on the ground by the end of December is a good predictor of how much total snow that area will get.
A team of biomedical researchers has developed a new method for hiring engineering professors. The primary goal is to actively recruit a more diverse group of applicants and improve the rate that doctoral students from historically excluded groups go on to become faculty members.
A team at the 黑料老司机 has developed the first underwater 3D-positioning app for smart devices. When at least three divers are within about 98 feet of each other, the app tracks each user鈥檚 location relative to the leader.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 reports that it is possible to imbue graphite 鈥� the bulk, 3D material found in No. 2 pencils 鈥� with physical properties similar to graphite鈥檚 2D counterpart, graphene. Not only was this breakthrough unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties. If so, 2D sheets won鈥檛 be the only source for scientists to fuel technological revolutions. Bulk, 3D materials could be just as useful.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 has developed new bioplastics that degrade on the same timescale as a banana peel in a backyard compost bin.
A team led by scientists and engineers at the 黑料老司机 has announced a significant advancement in developing fault-tolerant qubits for quantum computing. In a pair of papers published June 14 in Nature and June 22 in Science, they report that, in experiments with flakes of semiconductor materials 鈥� each only a single layer of atoms thick 鈥� they detected signatures of 鈥渇ractional quantum anomalous Hall鈥� (FQAH) states. The team鈥檚 discoveries mark a first and promising step in constructing a type of fault-tolerant qubit because FQAH states can host anyons 鈥� strange 鈥渜uasiparticles鈥� that have only a fraction of an electron鈥檚 charge. Some types of anyons can be used to make what are called 鈥渢opologically protected鈥� qubits, which are stable against any small, local disturbances.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 has created an app called FeverPhone, which transforms smartphones into thermometers without adding new hardware.
Danli Luo, a UW doctoral student of human centered design and engineering, developed a toolkit of sensors and controllers that helped her re-create three dishes from growing up in China: rice wine, tofu and spring roll wrappers.
Two 黑料老司机 researchers are using very different methods to investigate the issue of marine microplastics. For Earth Day, UW News asked them to discuss their research.
Leaders from Washington higher education institutions met with national policymakers April 4 to discuss opportunities provided by the CHIPS and Science Act. U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan visited the 黑料老司机 campus to talk about the legislation, which provides more than $100 billion to fund scientific research and workforce training. The UW and other Washington colleges and universities are poised to receive funds from the CHIPS and Science Act to invest in chip…
Scientists at the 黑料老司机 are pursuing multiple quantum research projects spanning from creating materials with never-before-seen physical properties to studying the 鈥渜uantum bits鈥� 鈥� or qubits (pronounced “kyu-bits”) 鈥� that make quantum computing possible. UW News sat down with Professor Kai-Mei Fu, one of the leaders in quantum research on campus, to talk about the potential of quantum R&D, and why it鈥檚 so important.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 studied how artificial intelligence could help people on the platform TalkLife, where people give each other mental health support. The researchers developed an AI system that suggested changes to participants’ responses to make them more empathetic. The best responses resulted from a collaboration between AI and people.
Researchers at the 黑料老司机 have detected “toxic” small aggregates of a particular protein in the blood of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in individuals who showed no signs of cognitive impairment at the time the blood sample was taken, but who developed it at a later date. This blood test picks up oligomers — or small, misfolded aggregates — of the amyloid beta protein, which scientists believe triggers the development of Alzheimer’s.
黑料老司机 researchers examined 44 3D tours in 44 states across the U.S. to look for potential security issues when personal details were included in the tour.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 has created a new hearing screening system that uses a smartphone and earbuds.
A team led by researchers at the 黑料老司机 compared three potential strategies for reducing fine particulate matter pollution disparities across the contiguous U.S.
UW researchers developed UnlockedMaps, a web-based map that allows users to see in real time how accessible rail transit stations are in six metro areas. UnlockedMaps shows which stations are accessible and which ones are experiencing elevator outages.
黑料老司机 Professor Joan Sanders and her team are creating a new type of prosthetic leg: one that automatically adjusts its fit throughout the day. Their latest prototype detects in real time how well the prosthesis socket and amputation site are fitting and responds by automatically changing the size of the socket, without the need for adjustments to padding or user action.
Yejin Choi, 黑料老司机 professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, has received a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Choi uses natural language processing to develop artificial intelligence systems that have the ability to reason and can understand the implied meanings in human language.
The 黑料老司机’s annual Engineering Lecture Series will feature research with potential to transform brain therapeutics from infancy to late adulthood.
Researchers dropped technology developed at the 黑料老司机 off the coast of Florida this week to measure ocean waves in the path of Hurricane Ian. The test is one part of a broad effort to improve forecasts for these fast-moving and deadly systems.
The 黑料老司机 has joined the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience (ATN), a long-term research partnership between academia and industry geared to transform the fight against brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system. Launched in 2021 by the University of California, San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Genentech 鈥� a member of the Roche group 鈥� and Roche Holding AG, the ATN seeks to accelerate the development of new therapies for a broad range of brain and central nervous system conditions.
In a proof-of-principle study, 黑料老司机 and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
UW researchers have created a reactor that can completely break down hard-to-destroy chemicals.
The 黑料老司机 received a nearly $500,000 grant to run one of NASA鈥檚 Artemis Student Challenges in which participants turn a model lunar lava tube into a habitat suitable for housing humans on the moon or Mars.