If you want something done, do it yourself. But if you want something done right, do it together. That’s the driving ethos behind Zoe Barsness’ work as chair of the Faculty Senate, the legislative body of faculty consisting of 122 elected senators who, together with the president, formulate regulations and procedures that govern and guide [...]

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Will DePaolo studies bacteria, but his science goes viral. The associate professor of medicine’s videos exploring the bacterial science behind everyday objects have amassed millions of hits on BuzzFeed and led to appearances on The Today Show, but DePaolo, the director of the University of Washington’s new Center for Microbiome Sciences and Therapeutics (CMiST), says he [...]

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Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Kathryn Topper thought she wanted to be an astronaut or astrophysicist. That was until tenth grade, when she fell in with a different crowd. This group made a habit of gathering late into the night to talk, sing, and drink—sometimes making a competition of flinging dregs of wine [...]

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Naomi Macalalad Bragin teaches dance. But you won’t find her teaching only steps. She’s more interested in what’s happening off-stage—underground and in the street. The assistant professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Bothell is a performance ethnographer whose work places her at the convergence of dance, pop [...]

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To deliver the perfect presentation, prepare to embrace your mistakes. That’s the philosophy Tim Essington brings to Applied Improvisation for Science Communication, a course the professor of aquatic and fishery sciences developed to help scientists more confidently and effectively communicate their research. “Giving a good talk isn’t just what you put on your slides, it’s [...]

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For Michelle Martin, the Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services at the University of Washington’s Information School, reading’s best lessons aren’t found in the book, but in the binding. “Sharing books is as much about relationship building as it is about skill development,” she says of literature’s connective quality. “There’s a difference between [...]

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Anaid Yerena’s textbook is out of date. But the assistant professor at University of Washington Tacoma’s School of Urban Studies wouldn’t have it otherwise. Yerena teaches the course “Housing in America” and the text in question, Introduction to Housing, was last published in 2006. “I need you to be reading this book within the context [...]

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It’s a simple question with a complicated response. “Who cares?” The search for an answer is at the core of Clara Berridge’s research at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work. The assistant professor explores the social and ethical aspects of how healthcare technologies challenge, change, and enhance care relationships—especially for older adults. “There [...]

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How do you measure a microaggression? That’s just one of the questions at the heart of Jonathan Kanter’s research at the University of Washington’s Center for the Science of Social Connection. Kanter, a research associate professor of psychology who has served as the Center’s director since 2013, believes the answer may prove essential to better [...]

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The study of literature can be wet work. Richard Watts teaches the course that proves it. In Water Crisis in Literature & Cinema, Watts, who serves as associate professor and chair of French and Italian Studies, addresses the cultural significance of water and its changing meaning as societies grow more conscious of risks posed by [...]

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Amanda Lock Swarr is an associate professor in the Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies. Since 1997, she has researched and written about people who fall outside of the gender binary in South Africa. Her current work looks at sexual violence and masculinity in particular. “African masculinities get represented in really problematic ways in international media, especially in very racist ways,” Swarr said. “I’m thinking about what it means to be in a newly democratic society since the end of apartheid, to have that new space to re-conceptualize masculinity.”