Astrobiology, the study of life in the Universe, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, has recently become established as an exciting scientific field. The University of Washington's new graduate program in Astrobiology, one of the first in the world, enables students to obtain the interdepartmental background needed for careers in this field. Faculty and students focus on Earth's extreme microbial environments (hydrothermal vents, polar sea ice, abyssal microbial communities, and subterranean chemo-autotrophic systems). These extreme ecosystems, inhabited by bacteria and archaea, can serve as analogs and models for the development of extraterrestrial life. Researchers also study extraterrestrial sites and develop engineering techniques for missions to search for living or fossil microbes on other solar system bodies.

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

The geophysical fluid dynamics labortory enables the study of real fluids in the laboratory, as models of the fluid ocean and atmosphere. Research topics include: stirring, mixing and transport in fluids; flows on a rotating planet with density stratification and important potential vorticity 'geography'; convection and creation of distant water masses; Rossby wave propagators; sloping ocean boundaries as waveguides and potential vorticity sources. The laboratory serves as an educational center teaching ocean/atmosphere dynamics using "hands-on, brain-on" laboratory projects and demonstrations.

NEPTUNE: NorthEast Pacific Time-integrated Undersea Networked Experiments

The goal of the NEPTUNE project is to establish a network of underwater observatories within the depths of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. NEPTUNE’s 3000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable will provide power and communications to scientific instruments. For the first time, researchers, as well as shore-based learners of all ages, will participate in detailed studies and experiments on a wide area of seafloor and ocean for decades rather than just hours or days. UW is one of the five NEPTUNE partners and the project office is housed at the School of Oceanography

PRISM: Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model

The Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model (PRISM) is designed to advance education and research, and UW partnerships with its community using Puget Sound as a focus. Research into the air, land, water, shore, sea, people and biota is integrated into a Virtual Puget Sound. This serves as a foundation for UW educational programs and for transferring the knowledge and information about Puget Sound to the agencies, governments, schools and citizens of our region.