Impact Series

Microsoft and Seahawks help lead new initiative connecting Washington students to remote learning

As the vast majority of Washington’s kids are returning to school this month via Zoom conferences and online assignments, a… Read More

How Pacific Science Center ran safe, successful summer camps — in-person — despite COVID-19

Seattle’s Pacific Science Center took its own messages about innovation and ingenuity to heart this summer and created a slate… Read More

7-year-old boy saves Seattle from robot invasion — with help from VR engineers and Make-A-Wish

While you were perhaps working from home or on vacation this week, Price Shaw was saving Seattle from a robot… Read More

Nonprofit takes D&D digital to help kids who struggle socially, and to study its own impact

For Game to Grow, 2020 was going to be a year of opportunity. The founders of the nonprofit had gathered… Read More

‘What does it mean to be an ally?’ Black Designers at Microsoft helps others explore the idea

The Seattle Design Festival is now under way, marking its 10th anniversary. The almost entirely free event runs Aug. 15… Read More

Microsoft talks trash: Tech giant aims for zero waste by 2030 in latest environmental initiative

Microsoft is rolling out details of its third sustainability focus area: waste reduction. The Redmond, Wash.-based cloud and software behemoth… Read More

Study finds that smart charging strategies can help U.S. prepare for surge in electric vehicle usage

If you’ve got the dough to buy an electric vehicle, Washington state and the rest of the Western U.S. should… Read More

What the science says about reopening schools: Experts call for nuanced approach, based on data

As University of Washington epidemiologist Brandon Guthrie sifts through mounds of research in his Seattle home office, seeking to better… Read More

Pioneering study uses traffic cameras and AI to predict future, promising to save lives and money

In an effort to prevent deaths and injuries caused by crashes between vehicles, bikes and pedestrians, the city of Bellevue,… Read More

Voting justice group Common Power turns to tech in time of COVID to reimagine outreach

When Charles Douglas III showed up for a meeting for a newly formed voter empowerment group, he nearly turned around… Read More

Gates Foundation CEO on COVID vaccines and the pandemic’s potential silver linings

The head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says he’s hopeful that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available by… Read More

Solace app helps transgender people map and follow the journey through gender transition

When Robbi Katherine Anthony came out as a transgender woman more than five years ago, she knew that transitioning to… Read More

Founders Unfound: How this podcast is using personal stories to circumvent racial bias in tech

One of the often-cited reasons for why people of color are passed over for startup funding and tech roles is… Read More

Two efforts fill surprising tech gap between restaurants, donors and those who are hungry

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Seattle’s Vanessa Dyce saw her community coming undone and wanted to help. Dyce, a… Read More

Grad student ‘ambassadors’ offer free clean-energy lessons and DIY solar kits to K-12 students

In a normal spring, dozens of University of Washington graduate students in science would be ramping up their visits to… Read More

Innovative sleep apnea fix takes home $25K prize at University of Washington student startup contest

Ryan Yousefian had an advantage in the 2020 Dempsey Startup Competition for student entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest. The University… Read More

As mental health needs surge, this Seattle startup offers AI-powered analysis of therapy sessions

The novel coronavirus has brought with it fears of infection, massive job losses, the challenges of teaching kids at home,… Read More

$1k Project makes direct, anonymous matches between sponsors and families suddenly in need

The coronavirus has left us awash in numbers about infections and deaths, layoffs and closed businesses. The recently launched $1k… Read More

New ‘Decarbon8-US’ impact fund lets anyone make a philanthropic gift to climate-saving entrepreneurs

You’re already recycling and composting, driving an all-electric Model 3 and donating to an environmental nonprofit like The Nature Conservancy… Read More

Seattle startup WattBuy shines a new light on electric rates by plugging into public energy data

Want to know the cost difference between driving an electric Tesla or Chevy Bolt compared to a gas-burning car? Or… Read More

UW and Microsoft release contact-tracing app, aiming to battle COVID-19 while preserving privacy

Microsoft and University of Washington researchers have teamed up on a new app that promises to alert people automatically if… Read More

To survive the pandemic, dance, theater and opera go digital to provide fans a lifeline to the arts

While the coronavirus pandemic has focused us on fulfilling basic needs and actions — procuring toilet paper and flour, finding… Read More

As coronavirus consumes world, Microsoft unveils biodiversity initiative to address challenges that will outlast COVID-19

Microsoft today announced a new environmental initiative focused on biodiversity, seeking to address the growing but often overlooked threat of… Read More