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2019 Gifts and Grants

December 12, 2019
New system will capture and reuse scarce helium for critical lab instruments
As helium becomes increasingly expensive and difficult to obtain, a new recovery system will help ensure a reliable supply of the element needed for powerful research instruments.
December 06, 2019
UCSC team chosen again to compete in Amazon's Alexa Prize Challenge
With funding and other support from Amazon, university teams compete to advance conversational AI.
December 05, 2019
UC Santa Cruz establishes new Center for the Middle East and North Africa
A new interdisciplinary Center for the Middle East and North Africa, directed by associate professor of history Jennifer Derr, will focus on the culture, history, and politics of the region.
November 26, 2019
UC Santa Cruz researchers funded to develop new technology for monitoring toxic algae
As the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms increases along the California coast, ocean scientist Raphael Kudela is working to improve the technology for monitoring them.
November 12, 2019
UC Santa Cruz collaborates on $14M project to advance cryptographic computing technologies
Computer scientist Owen Arden will lead the UCSC effort in the Baskin School of Engineering.
October 31, 2019
First generation, lasting impact
Funding from Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation is helping first-generation students succeed and generating research on practices that can support students across the country
October 24, 2019
Boosting diversity, inclusion, and representation in science journalism
Science Communication Master's Program empowers the next generation of science journalists with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
October 21, 2019
Biophysicist David Kliger investigates how a protein goes wrong and causes blindness
Abnormal versions of the protein rhodopsin lead to blindness in people with the genetic disease retinitis pigmentosa.
October 08, 2019
$8.5 million gift supports UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute
An anonymous gift of $8.5 million to UCSC establishes the Healthier World Fund for the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.
October 01, 2019
Biologist Upasna Sharma wins NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
The prestigious $1.5 million grant will fund Sharma’s research on how environmental effects can be passed down from parents to their offspring.
September 24, 2019
NIH funds new centers to expand and diversify the human reference genome
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will play a leading role in the ambitious new Human Pangenome Reference Sequence Project.
September 23, 2019
Jack Baskin at 100
UC Santa Cruz celebrates the centenary of Jack Baskin, a pivotal donor whose generosity has shaped the university and benefited causes throughout the Monterey Bay area
September 23, 2019
ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students
Fourteen UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $158,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.
September 05, 2019
Switzer Environmental Fellowship awarded to UCSC graduate student
Melissa Cronin, a Ph.D. candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology, has been awarded a Switzer Environmental Fellowship from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation.
September 05, 2019
Postdoc Hanh Lam awarded prestigious NIH grant
Hanh Lam, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, has received the NIH Pathway to Independence Career Development Award.
August 16, 2019
Theater Arts professor Gerald Casel receives National Dance Project grant
Associate professor of theater arts Gerald Casel has received a grant from the National Dance Project to create a new work titled "Not About Race Dance." His project is one of 20 selected for funding to support the creation of new dance works that will tour the United States in 2020.
August 13, 2019
Two UCSC graduate students win HHMI Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study to two UC Santa Cruz graduate students, Apple Cortez Vollmers and Donna Poscablo.
July 23, 2019
St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant funds Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative
Emily Beazley Kures for Kids Fund Hero Award provides $400,000 for efforts at UC Santa Cruz to bring comparative genomics analysis to pediatric cancer patients.
June 06, 2019
A winning combination
Chancellor’s Undergraduate Internship Program provides students with work experience while campus benefits
May 24, 2019
Astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz appointed to endowed chair for diversity in astronomy
The May 22 investiture ceremony honored Ramirez-Ruiz as the inaugural holder of the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair for Diversity in Astronomy.
May 14, 2019
UCSC engineers to participate in research center on autonomous systems
Professor Ricardo Sanfelice will provide expertise in hybrid and cyber-physical systems to a consortium led by the University of Florida and funded by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
May 13, 2019
NSF grant supports training of math and science teachers at UC Santa Cruz
The $1.45 million grant continues NSF support for UCSC's Cal Teach program, funding an integrated pathway to recruit and train new teachers for the Central Coast region.
May 08, 2019
Chemist Alexander Ayzner wins NSF CAREER Award
Major grant supports Ayzner's research on soft self-assembling systems for harvesting energy from light.
May 07, 2019
NIH grant funds research on role of prion proteins in neurodegenerative diseases
The prestigious NIH MIRA grant funds biochemist Glenn Millhauser to expand his research on the function of prion proteins and their role in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.
May 01, 2019
Microscope expert develops powerful new tools for biologists
With Sara Abrahamsson's arrival in the Baskin School of Engineering, UC Santa Cruz is becoming a hotbed of advanced microscopy and microscope development.
April 29, 2019
Air Resources District funds air pollution research and teaching at UC Santa Cruz
Partnership between UCSC and the Monterey Bay Air Resources District supports a new course on air pollution and research on high-tech sensors to detect pollutants.
April 25, 2019
Biologist Olena Vaske wins major grant from American Association for Cancer Research
The 2019 AACR NextGen Grant for Transformative Cancer Research will support Vaske's research on pediatric cancer genomics.
April 16, 2019
Biologist Joshua Arribere wins prestigious Searle Scholars grant
Funding from the Searle Scholars Program will support Arribere's research on cellular quality control mechanisms that catch mistakes in gene expression.
February 21, 2019
Biologist Olena Morozova Vaske appointed to endowed chair in pediatric genomics
At an investiture ceremony, Vaske was honored as the inaugural holder of the Colligan Presidential Chair in Pediatric Genomics.
February 04, 2019
UCSC engineers collaborate with Western Digital to accelerate genome sequencing
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute and Baskin School of Engineering have entered into a multi-year, joint research and development agreement with Western Digital.
January 24, 2019
Engineer Ali Yanik wins National Science Foundation CAREER Award
Grant will support Yanik's research into phononic metamaterials and their use in acousto-microfluidic technologies for biomedical applications.
January 15, 2019
Seed-funding innovation
The UC Santa Cruz Foundation Board of Trustees seeks interesting new projects to fund.
January 09, 2019
Biologist Jeremy Sanford awarded prestigious $1.85 million grant from NIH
MIRA grant funds Sanford to extend his studies of the mechanisms of RNA processing and RNA-binding proteins, which are involved in inherited diseases and cancer.