Academics & Research


June 29, 2020

Eight graduate students receive Fulbright 2020-21 research grants

China, Germany, Nigeria, and Sweden are just some of the countries where UW graduate students and alumni will be conducting research next year, as eight students and alumni were awarded grants through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2020-2021 school year.  UW Graduate and professional students and alumni can apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program…


June 22, 2020

Strategies to take your research to market impact

In May 2020, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and UW CoMotion co-hosted a virtual professional development event focused on helping postdocs explore ways to commercialize your research products (check out the full recording). Four scientists in various entrepreneurial stages shared their insights on how to effectively take their research from discovery to market.  Briefly, there are…


May 4, 2020

Lecture library

Video Lectures Morris Dees: Responding to Hate: Voices of Hope and Tolerance After witnessing firsthand the painful consequences of prejudice and racial injustice, Morris Dees co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in 1971 — a nonprofit organization specializing in lawsuits involving civil rights violations and racially motivated crimes. In this talk, Dees discusses his…


January 16, 2020

Pursuing passion projects: One way to make the most out of postdoc training

In the December 2019 newsletter, we shared why and how we can pursue our passions. Here, we introduce one way of pursing your passion without burning you out – through passion projects. Passion projects refer to projects that you pursue, typically in your spare time, to enrich your life. There are many reasons to start…


October 30, 2019

Critical Language Scholarship Awardee Kelsey Bilek Studies Swahili in Tanzania

Kelsey Bilek spent the summer studying Swahili as an awardee of the 2019 U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program.  The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS scholars gain critical language and cultural skills in languages that are less…


October 19, 2019

Elevator Speech: An Effective Way to Communicate Your Work

Have you heard about the concept of an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator:…


October 15, 2019

Isy Okafor on building language skills through fellowships

Have you ever had a goal or dream so ambitious it felt impossible to reach? Many of us have stepped away from an ambition simply because the steps to reach it were unclear. Isy Okafor, a recent graduate who earned her master’s in materials science & engineering, has set an example for how small steps —…


October 10, 2019

Use an Elevator Pitch to Effectively Communicate Your Work

Have you heard an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator: you will need a…


Use an Elevator Speech to Communicate Your Work Effectively

Have you heard of an “elevator speech”? It’s a brief summary of who you are, what you do, and your career or project goals—with an emphasis on brief. Imagine running into the CEO of the dream company you’d like to work for, while waiting in line for coffee or taking an elevator: you will need…


October 3, 2019

Mastering Out — How and When?

“Mastering Out….What’s the best way to do this? Who do you tell first? Your advisor? An administrator in the program? When is the right time?” –Anonymous The following people and online forums were invaluable in writing this blog post: Elba Moise, Ph.D. candidate, College of Education Jaye Sablan, assistant director, Core Programs Rebecca Aanerud, former…



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