News and features

Big data holds tremendous opportunities to solve health challenges, Cauce tells Tsinghua forum

Posted on November 9, 2015January 20, 2026

President Cauce gives the keynote address at the Tsinghua University Innovation and Big Data Forum. Photo: Dan Schlatter

The challenges of our time cross boundaries, so universities and nations must do the same to solve them. That was the message President Ana Mari Cauce delivered during her keynote address Monday at the Tsinghua University Innovation and Big Data Forum in Beijing.

“The future health, prosperity, and well-being of our nations and our planet depend on our ability to cross boundaries and build relationships. Relationships between our students, who are the future leaders of our nations; between our faculties, who are driving innovation around the world; and between our countries, as leading players on the global stage,鈥� Cauce said.

Cauce said the opportunities of 鈥渂ig data鈥� are perhaps most evident in public health, an area that is an area of particular strength for the UW. She discussed work by both the and the to bring big data to bear on health challenges, from adverse pharmaceutical reactions to the effects of pollution.

IHME鈥檚 ongoing work with Chinese researchers and health agencies are identifying community-by-community health trends and challenges, and this enables a systematic approach to solving these challenges.

鈥淲here you鈥檙e born matters. And by harnessing big data we鈥檙e able to see for the first time just how much it matters, to identify the hidden boundaries between us, and to do something about them,鈥� Cauce said.

UW and Tsinghua deepen partnership with new GIX degree agreement

Posted on November 9, 2015January 26, 2026

UW President Ana Mari Cauce shakes hands with Tsinghua University Chairperson Chen Xu after signing an agreement Nov. 9 creating a dual degree program within the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX). Dan Schlatter Photo: Dan Schlatter

A partnership created in June with the launch of the Global Innovation Exchange was further deepened Monday in Beijing as the 乱伦社区 and Tsinghua University signed an agreement creating a 1+1 dual degree program.

The signing ceremony between President Ana Mari Cauce and Chairperson Chen Xu took place on the Tsinghua University campus after the UW delegation 鈥� including former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and Microsoft Corporate Vice President Rich Sauer 鈥� was welcomed at the historic Gong Zi Ting hall.

The will provide students with the opportunity to study in both Bellevue and Beijing, earning a master鈥檚 degree from each university.

The GIX announcement was the first of a series of events between the two universities this week, with the morning also including an Innovation and Big Data Forum. continues in Hangzhou and Shanghai, capped off by the UW Innovation Summit and the Pac-12 China game.

乱伦社区 President Ana Mari Cauce signs an agreement with Tsinghua University Nov. 9 in Beijing creating an integrated dual degree program through the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX). Dan Schlatter

Related coverage:

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Cauce, Gregoire highlight inclusive innovation in The Seattle Times

Posted on November 8, 2015January 16, 2026

President Ana Mari Cauce and former Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire highlighted how the Puget Sound鈥檚 unique spirit of inclusive innovation presents international opportunities in today’s Seattle Times. Gregoire is taking part in the UW’s events in China this week.

鈥淸T]he most meaningful innovations of the future will result from multidisciplinary, multi-institutional and multinational collaborations to address and solve some of the world鈥檚 most perplexing challenges,鈥� the two wrote.

鈥淲e believe our two great countries have much to contribute to making our world better and that we can accomplish more if we work together.鈥�

UW Department of Communication well represented during #UWinChina

Posted on November 8, 2015January 16, 2026

In a trip all about building international partnerships and bridging two cultures, it makes sense that the Department of Communication would be well represented.

This week the department聽highlighted the faculty, students and alumni taking part in the events in China.

Associate Professor Gina Neff and UW Communication Hall of Fame member and former Gov. Chris Gregoire will both speak at the UW Innovation Summit.

Meanwhile, three students and a recent graduate are聽also part聽of the week. UW junior Joe Knight, a men鈥檚 basketball player, and sophomore Jane Yang, a teaching assistant,聽are part of聽the Pac-12 China game and related educational activities, and junior Olivia Fuller and alumnus Erik Erickson are reporting on the events for and .

Cauce talks about the UW in China with Seattle, Austin media

Posted on November 7, 2015January 26, 2026

Before departing for China, President Ana Mari Cauce and other UW officials, including Head Men鈥檚 Basketball Coach Lorenzo Romar, spoke with media from Seattle, as well as the home of the Huskies鈥� Pac-12 China game opponent.

The stories all encompassed the full range of activities 鈥� from academics and innovation to athletics 鈥� that will take place during the week. Follow all the events聽on Twitter at .

Media roundup:

Geekwire:
Seattle Times:
The Daily / HUA Voice Radio:
Austin American-Statesman:

A cultural exchange with fellow UW students in China

Posted on November 6, 2015January 16, 2026

Kim Boudreau聽served as a Husky Presidential Ambassador this summer, traveling to China to study abroad and mentor incoming international freshmen. For this senior from Spokane, the trip was a chance to leave North America for the first time and share her Husky Pride with incoming freshmen.聽She聽came back聽with new friends and fresh perspectives.

Exploring Beijing

I loved exploring China with the freshmen students. Meeting them in their home country opened my world and theirs. I was matched with Qingyuan and Leo in Beijing, and with Zhicheng and Danni in Shanghai. One of my favorite memories is visiting the crowded, windy Hutongs of Beijing. The Hutongs are a series of old, narrow alleyways, not an ideal place for a big group. Our group of eight UW students was having so much fun that we decided to stick together anyway. Miraculously, we managed not to lose anyone.

I gained as much from the experience as the freshmen students did. I had traveled outside the U.S. only once before, on a trip to Montreal to visit family. This experience was on a whole new level. The Chinese students asked a ton of questions about life at the UW and in the United States. What are the professors like? Which classes should I take? Where鈥檚 the best place to eat? If I didn鈥檛 know the answer, I asked a fellow Husky Presidential Ambassador.聽This showed the freshmen students that peers are very useful resources. For my part, I learned that Chinese students are a lot like me. They have the same questions and worries that I had when I first started college. When I started at the UW I was very nervous, and I was only moving from Spokane. I can鈥檛 imagine moving halfway across the world. This experience totally changed my perspective on international students.

Back on campus

My study abroad experience was so much richer because I had the opportunity to participate in this cultural exchange. Being with someone who spoke the language and knew the culture made exploring Beijing and Shanghai much easier, but more importantly, I had new friends with me who could answer questions, and tell me about these new places from their perspective.

I didn鈥檛 want our time in China to end. At the same time, I was so excited to get back to Seattle because that meant I was one step closer to welcoming the Chinese students to the 乱伦社区. This quarter, we have class together every Friday. I鈥檓 excited for us to explore our University together.

Innovators preview their UW Innovation Summit presentations

Posted on November 4, 2015January 28, 2026

In addition to keynote speeches from Ralph Haupter, CEO of Microsoft鈥檚 Greater China Region, and Jian Wang, co-founder and president of BGI International, the inaugural 乱伦社区 Innovation Summit will also feature four UW innovators, who previewed their presentations this week:

Gina Neff.

鈥淒ata empathy鈥� is a concept is studying, and refers to how organizations can better meet the expectations people have for how their personal data will be used. Neff, an associate professor of communication, says the health-care system has examples that the technology industry can learn from, such as how providers now use patient data to not only build a relationship with patients, but also spur better health outcomes.

Shwetak Patel. Much of that data may be collected by sensors in development by . His research involves using sensors to improve health and sustainability, including the sensors on mobile phones 鈥� namely microphones and cameras. Patel, the Washington Research Foundation Entrepreneurship Endowed Professor in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering, has been developing tools that utilize these everyday sensors to diagnose everything from pulmonary conditions to infant jaundice. He鈥檚 also researching how energy and water usage can be better managed through residential sensing technology.

The innovators featured at the Summit aren鈥檛 exclusively faculty members. In fact, entrepreneurship and innovation are hallmarks of the UW student experience, as evidenced by a second pair of presenters:

Ben Waters. , a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering, has focused his research around wirelessly powering the technologies that are playing an increasing role in shaping 鈥� and even saving 鈥� our lives. One of his innovations provides a way to wirelessly power left ventricular assist devices, which keep patients alive while awaiting heart transplants. Currently, these must be powered through a wire that pierces the skin, heightening the risk of infection. He’s also developing ways to power mobile robotics, from drones to robotic vacuum cleaners.

Adina Mangubat.

And a personal tragedy served as the inspiration for , CEO of Spiral Genetics and a 2009 UW graduate with a degree in psychology. The death of her grandfather from lung cancer has driven her to innovate in the area of personalized medicine, specifically by creating a company that develops software for large-scale DNA sequencing. Such sequencing enables the genetic factors for certain conditions to be identified more quickly and for treatments to be personalized for maximum effectiveness.

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