University of Washington, Seattle
AC-9: Academic Research

Below is a list of faculty engaged in sustainability research: Neil Abernethy, Biomedical Informatics & Medical Education, Health Services Thomas Ackerman, Atmospheric Sciences James Agee, Environmental and Forest Sciences Jonathan Alberts, Biology Becky Alexander, Atmospheric Sciences Alberto Aliseda, Mechanical Engineering Susan Allan, NW Center for Public Health Practice Graham Allan, Environmental and Forest Sciences Edward Allison, Marine & Environmental Affairs Ernesto Alvarado-Celestin, Environmental and Forest Sciences Gina Alvino, Genome Sciences Ricardo Amoroso, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Ann Anagnost, Anthropology James Anderson, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Christopher Anderson, Aquatic & Fishery Scienes Ginger Armbrust, Oceanography David Armstrong, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Stanley Asah, Environmental & Forest Sciences Kerim Aydin, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Olivier Bachmann, Earth and Space Sciences Kevin M Bailey, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Joel Baker, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Jonathan Bakker, Environmental and Forest Sciences Theo Bammler, Environmental Health Megan Bang, Ed Psych/Learning Sciences John Banks, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences James Barker, Law John Baross, Oceanography David Battisti, Atmospheric Sciences Benita Beamon, Industiral & Systems Engineering David Beauchamp, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences David Beck, Chemical Engineering Bonnie Becker, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences B Bekemeier, School of Nursing Philip Bell, Learning Sciences Michelle Bell, Health Services (Maternal & Child Health) Basia Belza, Biobehavioral Nursing & Health Systems Carl Bergstrom, Biology Julie Beschta, Global Health Stephen Bezruchka, Health Services Kenneth Bible, Physiology and Biophysics Nicholas Bigelow, Chemistry Cecilia Bitz, Atmospheric Sciences Paul Bodin, Earth and Space Sciences Susan Bolton, Environmental and Forest Sciences Nicholas Bond, Atmospheric Sciences E Bond, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems Morgan Bond, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Ann Bostrom, Public Affairs Joanne Bourgeois, Earth and Space Sciences D Boutain, Psychosocial & Community Health J.S. Bowman, Oceanography, Astrobiology Chloe Bracis, Quantitative Ecology & Resource Management Gordon Bradley, Environmental and Forest Sciences Trevor Branch, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences John Bransford, Education W.J. Brazelton, Oceanography Christopher Bretherton, Atmospheric Sciences Michael Brett, Civil and Environmental Engineering Robert Brown, Atmospheric Sciences Sally Brown, Environmental & Forest Sciences J. Michael Brown, Earth and Space Sciences Sharon Browning, Biostatistics Brian Browning, Medicine, Medical Genetics Neil Bruce, Economics A.P. Bruckner, Aeronautics & Astronautics Chris Bryson, General Internal Medicine Rebecca Buchanan, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Dedra Buchwald, Medicine Lauren Buckley, Biology Diana Buist, Epidemiology Elizabeth Bukusi, Obstetrics & Gynecology Renata Bura, Environmental and Forest Sciences Thomas Burbacher, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Sheryl Burgstahler, JISAO David Butterfield, JISAO Lee Campbell, Epidemiology Thomas Campbell, Medicine Daniel Carlson, Evans School of Public Affairs Emily Carrington, Friday Harbor Labs G. Casassa, Occupational Therapy David Catling, Earth & Space Sciences Rose Cattolico, Biology Airlie Chapman, Aeronautics & Astronautics Robert Charlson, Atmospheric Sciences Sujay Chattopadhyay, Microbiology Cynthia Chen, Civil & Environmental Engineering Donald Chi, Oral Health Sciences PATRICK JOHN CHRISTIE, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and the Jackson School of International Studies Derek Churchill, Environmental & Forest Resources Brian Collins, Earth and Space Sciences Frederick Connell, Health Services Loveday Conquest, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Douglas Conrad, Health Services, Finance & Business Economics Howard Conway, Earth and Space Sciences Joseph Cook, Evans School of Public Affairs Joyce Cooper, JISAO Jeffery Cordell, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Lucio Costa, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences - Toxicology Darrel Cowan, Earth and Space Sciences Trevor Crain, Mechanical Engineering Kenneth Creager, Earth and Space Sciences Juliet Crider, Earth and Space Sciences Allison Crollard, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Kristina Crothers, Medicine Penelope Dalton, Washington Sea Grant Eric D'Asaro, Oceanography M.B. Dauer, Genome Sciences G. Dawson, Psychology A.B. De Castro, Nursing & Health Studies (UWB) A De Castro, Psychosocial & Community Health Horacio de la Iglesia, Biology Janice Decosmo, JISAO John Delaney, Oceanography Thomas DeLuca, Environmental and Forest Sciences Jody Deming, Oceanography George Demiris, Biobehavioral Nursing & Health Systems Chloe Deodato, Biology Megan dethier, Friday Harbor Labs douglas Deur, Environmental and Forest Sciences Curtis Deutsch, Oceanography Allan Devol, School of Oceanography Walton Dickhoff, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Yonn Dierwechter, Urban Studies Russell Dills, Environmental Health sarah Doherty, JISAO Nives Dolsak, Marine and Environmental Affairs Sharon Doty, Environmental & Forest Sciences Miriam Doyle, JISAO Glen Duncan, Epidemiology, Nutritional Sciences Maitreya Dunham, Genome Sciences Dale Durran, Atmospheric Sciences Alison Duvall, Earth and Space Sciences Ivan Eastin, Environmental and Forest Sciences Robert Edmonds, Environmental and Forest Sciences Todd Edwards, Health Services Dawn Ehde, Rehabilitation Medicine Steven Emerson, Oceanography Charles Eriksen, Oceanography Timothy Essington, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences A. Estes, Speech & Hearing Sciences Gregory Ettl, Environmental and Forest Sciences Kern Ewing, Environmental and Forest Sciences Brian Fabien, Mechanical Engineering Federico Farin, Environmental Health Elaine Faustman, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Trevor Fayer, Mechanical Engineering Richard Fenske, Occupational Health Sciences Cole Fitzpatrick, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Annette Fitzpatrick, Epidemiology Abraham Flaxman, Global Health David Fluharty, Marine and Environmental Affairs Victoria Foe, Friday Harbor Labs David Ford, Environmental and Forest Sciences Kevin Ford, Biology, Climate Science Eric Foss, Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease Ralph Foster, Physics Julie Fox, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Robert Francis, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Jerry Franklin, Environmental and Forest Sciences Gary Franklin, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences James Fridley, Environmental and Forest Sciences Carolyn Friedman, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Dargan Frierson, Atmospheric Sciences Howard Frumkin, Public Health Qiang Fu, Atmospheric Sciences Wenqing Fu, Genome Sciences Clement Furlong, Department of Medicinal Genetics Alexander Gagnon, Oceanography Emmanuela Gakidou, Global Health Lisa Gallagher, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Vincent Gallucci, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Daniel Gamelin, Chemistry Indroneil Ganguly, Environmental and Forest Sciences Stephan Gardiner, Philosophy Matthew George, Biology David Giblin, Burke Museum Alan Gillespie, Earth and Space Sciences David Ginger, Chemistry Dean Glawe, Environmental and Forest Sciences Stephen Gloyd, Global Health, Health Services Virginia Gonzales, Global Health Tim Gould, Civil & Environmental Engineering Charles Granger, Marine Programs Office James M Grassley, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Lisa Graumlich, College of the Environment Donald Grayson, Anthropology Carla Greenbaum, Diabetes Clinical Research (Benaroya) Frank Greulich, Environmental and Forest Sciences William Griffith, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Christian Grue, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Daniel Grunbaum, Oceanography Eliezer Gurarie, Statistics Richard Gustafson, Environmental and Forest Sciences Renee Ha, Psychology James Ha, Psychology, Primate Center Amy Hagopian, Global Health Gregory Hakim, Atmospheric Sciences Bernard Hallet, Earth and Space Sciences Charles Halpern, Environmental and Forest Sciences Alan Hamlet, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences William Hardin, Biology Erika Harnett, Earth & Space Sciences Stevan Harrell, Environmental and Forest Sciences Robert Harrison, Environmental & Forest Sciences Dennis Hartmann, Atmospheric Sciences Lorenz Hauser, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Susan Hautala, Oceanography S Hecker, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Dean Hegg, Atmospheric Sciences Brian Henn, Civil Engineering Steve Herbert, Geography, and Law, Societies & Justice Albert Hermann, JISAO Russell Herwig, JISAO Barbara Hickey, Oceanography Ray Hilborn, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Robert Hilt, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Thomas Hinckley, Environmental and Forest Sciences Laura Hinkelman, JISAO Irl Hirsch, Medicine Daniel J Hively, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Kevin Hodgson, Environmental and Forest Sciences Gordon Holtgrieve, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Robert Holzworth, JISAO Rachel Horak, Oceanography John Horne, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences M. Horner-Devine, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Heidi Houston, Earth and Space Sciences Robert Houze, Atmospheric Sciences Shiu-Lok Hu, Pharmaceuticals Deborah Huang, General Internal Medicine George L Hunt, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Katharine Huntington, Earth and Space Sciences Takato Imaizumi, Biology Anita Ingalls, Oceanography Lyatt Jaegle, Atmospheric Sciences D.A. Jaffe, Atmospheric Sciences Lekelia Jenkins, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Ashley Jochim, Engineering Harlan Johnson, Oceanography Grace John-Stewart, Global Health, Medicine, Epidemiology, Pediatrics Laurie Juranek, JISAO Matt Kaeberlein, pathology David Kalman, Environmental Health Marina Kalyuzhnaya, Microbiology Catherine Karr, Pediatrics, Pediatrics-Division of General Pediatrics/Occ Env Med Progra Director, Ped Env Health Specialty Unit, Env. & Occ. Health Sciences N.J. Kassebaum, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine Joel Kaufman, Environmental & Occupational Health Science, Epidemiology, Medicine Terrance Kavanagh, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Darren Kavanagh, Geography Mitsuhiro Kawase, Oceanography Richard Keil, Oceanography Julie Keister School of Oceanography Deborah Kelley Oceanography Ryan Kelly Marine and Environmental Affairs Brian Kennedy Biochemistry Benjamin Kerr Biology Soo-Hyung Kim Environmental & Forest Sciences Sun-Young Kim Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Ann Kimball Epidemiology Teri King Marine Programs Office Dagmara Kisiela Microbiology John Kissel Environmental & Occupational Health Science Terrie Klinger Marine and Environmental Affairs Terrie KLINGER, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Christopher Knight Medicine Jane Koenig Environmental Health C. Kooperberg Biostatistics Kenneth Kopecky Biostatistics Michelle Koutnik Earth and Space Sciences Meade Krosby College of the Environment Antoinette Krupski Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Kristin Laidre Physics Tim Larson Civil & Environmental Engineering Joshua Lawler Environmental and Forest Sciences K Leach Psychosocial & Community Health Craig Lee Oceanography Hyun-Boo Lee Mechanical Engineering (Nanotechnology) Liliana Lengua Psychology THOMAS LESCHINE School of Marine and Environmental Affairs & Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Evelyn Lessard Oceanography Dennis Lettenmaier JISAO Dennis Lettenmaier Civil & Environmental Engineering Mary Lidstrom Chemical Engineering Marvin Lilley Oceanography Stephen Lim Global Health Peter Lisi Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Karen Litfin Political Science Jeremy Littell JISAO R Logsdon Psychosocial & Community Health W.T. Longstreth Neurology Rafael Lozano Global Health Jessica Lundquist JISAO Jessica Lundquist Civil & Environmental Engineering James Lutz Environmental & Forest Sciences Michael MacCoss Genome Sciences Parker MacCready Oceanography Nathan Mantua JISAO Roger Marchand JISAO Ruth Martin Earth & Space Sciences Ben Marwick Anthropology John Marzluff Environmental and Forest Sciences Clifford Mass Atmospheric Sciences Peter May Political Science C McCahon School of Nursing R. McClell& Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health Michael McDonell Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Russell McDuff Oceanography Lynn McMurdie Atmospheric Sciences Socorro Medina Atmospheric Sciences Hendrika Meischke Health Services Edward Melvin Marine Programs Office Victor Menaldo Political Science Mehran Mesbahi Aeronautics & Astronautics Edward Miles JISAO Bruce Miller JISAO Marc Miller Marine and Environmental Affairs Aaron Miller Genome Sciences Meryl Mims Aquatic & Fishery Sciences David Montgomery Earth and Space Sciences Suresh Moolgavkar Epidemiology, Biostatistics Calvin Mordy JISAO Megan Moreno Child Health Behavior & Development Robert Morris School of Oceanography Ludmilla Moskal Environmental and Forest Sciences ANDREAS MUEHLBAUER JISAO Andreas Muehlbauer JISAO Helen Murphy ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES James Murray School of Oceanography C.J.L. Murray Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation Robert Naiman Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Kerry Naish Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Jennifer Nemhauser Biology Elizabeth Nesbitt Earth & Space Scienes Deborah Nickerson Genome Sciences Susan Nielsen Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Bart Nijssen Civil & Environmental Engineering Charles Nittrouer Oceanography Carolyn Noonan Biostatistian, Epidemiology Arthur Nowell Oceanography H Nuhsbaum Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems Brook Nunn Medicinal Chemistry Jeffrey Nystuen Oceanography Kathleen O'Connor Anthropology Andrea Ogston Oceanography Julian Olden Aquatic and Fishery Sciences KIERAN O'MAHONY LIFE Center Jennifer Otten Health Services Gwen Ottinger Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences Fernan Pacheco de Resende Environmental and Forest Sciences Julia Parrish Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Jerome Patoux Atmospheric Sciences Donald Patrick Health Services Sandip Paul Microbiology Dorothy Paun Environmental and Forest Sciences Robert Pearlman Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Gerontology Ann Pearson Art John Perez-Garcia Environmental and Forest Sciences David Peterson Environmental and Forest Sciences James Pfeiffer Global Health Theodore Pietsch Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Aseem Prakash Political Science GIORA PROSKUROWSKI Oceanography Andre Punt Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Wei Qin Civil Engineering Paul Quay Oceanography Thomas Quinn Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Sergey Rabotyagov Environmental and Forest Sciences M.K. Raghuraman Genome Sciences Kristen Rasmussen Atmospheric Sciences Rebecca Woodgate Oceanography Sarah Reichard Environmental and Forest Sciences Per Reinhall Mechanical Engineering Peter Rhines Oceanography Francois Ribalet Oceanography Jeffrey Richey Oceanography Rebecca Richter Medical Genetics Jerry Ricks Pathology James Riley Mechanical Engineering Stephen Riser Oceanography Steven Roberts Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Gabrielle Rocap Oceanography Russell Rodriguez Biology Gerard Roe Earth and Space Sciences Luke Rogers ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES Mark Roth Biochemistry Jennifer Ruesink Biology Carolyn Rutter Biostatistics Clare Ryan Environmental and Forest Sciences Julian Sachs Oceanography Brian Saelens Pediatrics Eric Salathe Science and Technology Program (Bothell), Dept of Atmospheric Sciences, JISAO Climate Impacts Group Thomas Sanford Oceanography Sheela Sathyanarayana Pediatrics Andrew Schauer Earth & Space Sciences Daniel Schindler Aquatic and Fishery Sciences David Schmidt Earth and Space Sciences Beryl Schulman Health Services Ellen Schur Medicine Daniel Schwartz Oceanography Jeanne Sears Health Services Kenneth Sebens Aquatic and Fishery Sciences James Seeb Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Lisa Seeb Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Noah Seixas Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Bettina Shell-Duncan Anthropology Jay Shendure Genome Sciences Lianne Sheppard Biostatistics, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Andy Shouse UW Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Ronald Shreve Oceanography Christian Sidor Biology Nicholas Siler Atmospheric Sciences Julie Silverman Medicine Charles Simenstad Aquatic and Fishery Sciences John Skalski Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Ron Sletten Earth and Space Sciences Amy Snover JISAO Jessica Snyder Comparative Medicine Evan Solomon Oceanography Young Song Biology Rolf Sonnerup JISAO Amy Sprenger Physics David Stahl Civil & Environmental Engineering Eric Steig Earth and Space Sciences Anne Steinemann JISAO H Stensel Civil and Environmental Engineering Jennifer Stevenson Rehailitation Medicine John Stone Earth and Space Sciences Bert Stover Environmental Health Eric Strachan Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Stuart Strand Civil & Environmnetal Engineering C Strickland Psychosocial & Community Health Caroline Stromberg Biology Becky Suess Atmospheric Sciences Margaret Sullivan JISAO Adam Summers Friday Harbor Labs Abigail Swann Atmospheric Sciences Terry Swanson Earth and Space Sciences Willie Swanson Genome Sciences Susan Taylor Pharmacy Veronika Tchesnokova Microbiology Fang-Zhen Teng Earth & Space Sciences Thomas Terry Forest Resources Joshue Tewksbury Biology John Thompson Medicine, Division of Oncology Luanne Thompson Oceanography Joel Thornton Atmospheric Sciences Emma Timmins-Schiffman Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Jason Toft Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Tari Topolski Health Services Christian Torgersen JISAO Sandor Toth Environmental and Forest Sciences Charles Treser Environmental Health Piper Treuting Comparative Medicine Alan Trimble Biology Kathy Troost Earth and Space Sciences Ka-Kit Tung Applied Mathematics Eric Turnblom Environmental and Forest Sciences Glen VanBlaricom Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Sverre Vedal Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Edward Verrier Cardiothoracic Surgery Divison John Vidale Earth and Space Sciences Daniel Vogt Environmental and Forest Sciences Kristina Vogt Environmental and Forest Sciences Theo Vos Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation Edwin Waddington Earth and Space Sciences Edward Wagner Health Services Michelle Wainstein Marine Programs Office John Wallace Atmospheric Sciences Judd Walson Global Health, Medicine Steven Walters Earth and Space Sciences Peter Ward Earth and Space Sciences Mark Warner Oceanography Stephen Warren Atmospheric Sciences Steven Warren Earth and Space Sciences Samuel Wasser Biology Raechel Waters Marine Programs Office Susan Waters Biology Nathaniel Watson Neurology S.J. Webb Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Miranda Wecker Environmental and Forest Sciences Chang Wei Environmental and Forest Sciences Noel Weiss Epidemiology Scott Weissman Pediatrics Simon Werrett History Anne Wessells Urban Studies Stephen West Environmental and Forest Sciences Peter Westley Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Elizabeth Wheat Program on the Environment Samuel White Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Susan Whiting Political Science William Wilcock Oceanography Daniel Williams Marine Programs Office Kevin Williams Oceanography Peter Williams Biochemistry Kayleen Williams Biostatistics Rhonda Williams Clinical Psychologist, Rehailitation Medicine Nathalie Williams International Studies & Sociology Douglas Wills Business S Wilson Family and Child Nursing Gregory Wilson Biology Mark WINDSCHITL Curriculum and Instruction Dale Winebrenner Earth and Space Sciences Robert Winglee Earth & Space Sciences, Eronautics & Astronautics, Physics, Astronomy Aaron Wirsing Environmental and Forest Sciences John Withey Environmental and Forest Sciences Kathleen Wolf Environmental and Forest Sciences Hendrik Wolff economics S Wolpin Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems Robert Wood Atmospheric Sciences S.E. Wood Earth & Space Sciences Margaret Wylie Philosophy, Anthropology Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria Friday Harbor Labs Michael Yost Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Graham Young Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Darlene Zabowski Environmental and Forest Sciences Jing Zhang Pathology Jinlun Zhang Physics Chuan Zhou Pediatrics

Being a large research university created challenges in conducting a research inventory given the amount and breadth of research being undertaken by very diverse departments and researchers, especially given the initial challenge of defining sustainbiity-related research. We created a methodology that would be systematic and replicable, knowing that the methodology might underreport research numbers. We are working with the Office of Research to develop a better way of identifying sustainability-related research. To create our research inventory we utilized the same keywords used to identify academic courses to select classifications in the Human Experimental Research Data (HERD) classification system developed by NASA for reporting that indicated sustainability-related research. This allowed us to identify sustainability-related research, as well as faculty and staff associated with that research. The bulk of research identified fell within the College of the Environment, College of Built Environments, The Applied Physics Lab (atmospheric sciences and climate change research), and several College of Engineering departments (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Bioengeering). We acknowledge that research in areas such as business, public health, and arts & sciences may thus be under-represented and we are working with Office of Research to develop a system to identify research in these areas in a systematic and replicable way.

Name: Marina Alberti Department: College of Built Environments Accomplishment: That humans and the cities we build affect the ecosystem and even drive some evolutionary change in species’ traits is already known. The signs are small but striking: Spiders in cities are getting bigger and salmon in rivers are getting smaller; birds in urban areas are growing tamer and bolder, outcompeting their country cousins. What’s new is that these evolutionary changes are happening much more quickly than previously thought, and have potential impacts on ecosystem function on a contemporary scale. Not in the distant future, that is — but now. Marina Alberti's article in the February 2015 issue of the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution suggests that if human-driven evolutionary change affects the functioning of ecosystems — as evidence is showing — it “may have significant implications for ecological and human well-being.” http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/02/18/fearless-birds-and-big-city-spiders-is-urbanization-pushing-earths-evolution-to-a-tipping-point/ Name: Evan Solomon Department: Oceanography Accomplishment: Researchers found that water off the coast of Washington is gradually warming at a depth of 500 meters, about a third of a mile down. That is the same depth where methane transforms from a solid to a gas. The research suggests that ocean warming could be triggering the release of a powerful greenhouse gas. While scientists believe that global warming will release methane from gas hydrates worldwide, most of the current focus has been on deposits in the Arctic. This paper estimates that from 1970 to 2013, some 4 million metric tons of methane has been released from hydrate decomposition off Washington. That’s an amount each year equal to the methane from natural gas released in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout off the coast of Louisiana, and 500 times the rate at which methane is naturally released from the seafloor. http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/12/09/warmer-pacific-ocean-could-release-millions-of-tons-of-seafloor-methane/ Name: Jan Newton Department: Applied Physics Laboratory Accomplishment: Increasing carbon dioxide in the air penetrates into the ocean and makes it more acidic, while robbing seawater of minerals that give shellfish their crunch. The West Coast is one of the first marine ecosystems to feel the effects. UW Researchers have developed new tool that is being used by NOAA to allow scientists to better understand what’s happening and provides ongoing data to help the shellfish industry adapt to these changes. http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/11/21/uw-made-tool-displays-west-coast-ocean-acidification-data/ Name: Megan Bang Department: Educational Psychology/Learning Sciences Accomplishment: Is nature something we enjoy when we visit a national park, something we feel a need to “preserve,” or do we think of ourselves as being a part of nature? Are a bird’s nest and a house both part of nature? The answers to such questions can reflect different cultural orientations and have an effect on how well science and scientific concepts are communicated, according to new research from UW and Northwestern University published in the September 2014 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research builds on broader inquiries on cultural differences in the understanding of and engagement with science. Native Americans, for example, traditionally see themselves as part of nature and tend to focus on ecological relationships, while European-Americans tend to see humans as apart from nature, the researchers found previously. http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/10/15/science-communication-should-consider-cultural-perspectives/ Name: Diane Pearce Department: Economics Accomplishment: A Washington family of four must spend 46 percent more on average to make ends meet today than 13 years ago, according to a new report from the University of Washington. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2014, released Thursday (Nov. 20), provides a sobering look at how much it costs individuals and families statewide to meet basic needs — and how far short they’re falling. Authored by UW Researcher Diana Pearce, Director of the Center for Women’s Welfare at the UW School of Social Work, the study found that Washington families with two adults, a preschooler and a school-aged child saw the costs of meeting their most basic requirements jump as much as 72 percent between 2001 and 2014, depending on where they live. The self-sufficiency standard differs from the federal poverty measure by factoring in a range of costs, family composition and geography. The federal poverty level, still the most commonly used benchmark for determining who is defined as poor or in need of public assistance, was created in the 1960s and is based primarily on estimates of minimal food costs. The level is the same nationwide, whether one lives in Manhattan or Mississippi. http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/11/20/cost-of-meeting-basic-needs-rising-faster-than-wages-in-washington-state/