When imagining the future of technology, sometimes all we need to do is look out the window — or into a microscope.
Our researchers take inspiration from nature to redefine what a computer can be, from data storage using synthetic DNA, to sensors modeled on insects and leaves. We also advance technologies to help solve biology’s biggest mysteries, such as computational approaches for understanding the mechanisms of disease and brain-computer interfaces that can restore or augment physical function and mobility.
Research Groups & Labs
Sensor Systems Laboratory
The Sensor Systems Laboratory invents new sensor systems, devises new ways to power and communicate with them, and develops algorithms for using them, with applications in the domains of bioelectronics, robotics, and ubiquitous computing.
Mostafavi Lab
The Mostafavi Lab develops machine learning and statistical methods that combine evidence across multiple types of molecular/genomics data and disentangle spurious from meaningful correlations for new insights into mechanisms of health and disease.
Faculty Members
Centers & Initiatives
Computing for the Environment (CS4Env) at the University of Washington supports novel collaborations across the broad fields of environmental sciences and computer science & engineering. The initiative engages environmental scientists and engineers, computer scientists and engineers, and data scientists in using advanced technologies, methodologies and computing resources to accelerate research that addresses pressing societal challenges related to climate change, pollution, biodiversity and more.
Society + Technology is a cross-campus, cross-disciplinary initiative and community at the University of Washington that is dedicated to research, teaching and learning focused on the social, societal and justice dimensions of technology.
Highlights
Allen School News
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction recognized Fogarty’s leadership and contributions to human-computer interaction research including ubiquitous computing, interactive machine learning, accessibility and personal health informatics.
Allen School News
For her groundbreaking research on explainable AI for biology and medicine, Lee, who directs the UW’s AI for bioMedical Sciences Lab, was named a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB).
Agents of Tech
Nivala, co-director of the Molecular Information Systems Lab (MISL), discusses the groundbreaking potential of DNA-based data storage and its role in the future of AI.