International
- March 27, 2025
Three UC Santa Cruz faculty members named 2024 AAAS fellows
Three UC Santa Cruz faculty members have been named new fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS awarded the lifetime honor to professors David Deamer, Theodore Holman, and Raphael Kudela on March 27.
- March 27, 2025
Porter College's EnCore celebrates student voices and vision
Each year, Porter College hosts EnCore, a culminating exhibition of student projects from Porter 1, the college’s core course. The event features multimedia art and handmade books exploring identity, community, and creative expression. Select works are added to the university’s special collections library.
- March 26, 2025
Artist Talk provides a deep dive into dance as rebellion
Many have seen the newest mural on campus, Danza a la Rebeldía (Dance as Rebellion), but now is the chance to learn more about it. On April 15 alumni muralists Irene Juarez-O’Connell and Victor Cervantes will join John Jota Leaños, a professor of Film and Digital Media and the assistant dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Arts Division, for a discussion about the work.
- March 19, 2025
Long-accepted theory explaining the nature of our universe may need updating, new analysis indicates
The standard model of how the universe works involves the widely accepted theory that dark energy is a fundamental constant of nature that drives the accelerating expansion of the universe. But a new analysis announced today by the international Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration raises the possibility that this theory may need to be updated.
- March 17, 2025
Workshop aims to create speech AI for all
To address the poor performance of speech AI systems for this community, a team of researchers is studying and seeking solutions to the technical and design challenges of speech AI, as well as the policies and norms that surround this reinforcement of the existing difficulties associated with variations in speech patterns.
- March 11, 2025
Whale waste helps health of oceans by funneling nutrients to the tropics, new study shows
New research shows that whales move nutrients thousands of miles—in their pee and poop—from as far as Alaska to Hawaii, supporting the health of tropical ecosystems and fish. UC Santa Cruz professors Dan Costa and Ari Friedlaender contributed their marine-mammal expertise to the study, which was published on March 10 in the journal Nature Communications.
- March 10, 2025
Jose Ramirez is helping one UC at a time
The University of California, Santa Cruz Arts Division is putting its mission into action with Art Matters, an upcoming event in Los Angeles that underscores the transformative power of the arts. The evening will bring together a dynamic mix of alumni, faculty, and supporters, including acclaimed Chicano artist José Ramírez. Ramírez, known for his vibrant and socially engaged work, has contributed a collection of prints for the silent auction and will take the stage as a featured speaker.
- March 06, 2025
Student-built app slashes weeks off brain mapping to speed up neuroscience research
UC Santa Cruz neuroscientists aiming to better understand how specific brain connectivity contributes to perception, thoughts, and behavior are leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance their study of brain function. By integrating AI, they are streamlining the process of aligning thin slices of mouse brain tissue with a reference atlas, helping to identify key details such as the brain region of origin more efficiently.
- March 05, 2025
AI chatbots perpetuate biases when performing empathy, study finds
A new study explores how GPT-4o, the latest model from OpenAI, evaluates and performs empathy compared to humans, and finds major gaps exist.
- March 03, 2025
Clinical pediatric cancer lab at UC Santa Cruz is cleared to accept and test patient samples
The UC Santa Cruz Colligan Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory has received its CLIA certificate of registration from the California Department of Public Health, which clears the way for it to begin accepting patient samples.
- February 26, 2025
Newest Genome Browser features highlight the power of generative AI and machine learning for biology
The UCSC Genome Browser has added two new datasets that leverage the power of generative AI and machine learning to interpret information about genetic variants and more rapidly assess which ones might be harmful to human health
- February 24, 2025
UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist explores the interconnectedness of art and science in 'Painting the Cosmos'
A new book by UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist and visual artist Nia Imara debuts tomorrow that explains the universe and traces how art has blended with science throughout human history.
- February 24, 2025
Commitment to the UC Santa Cruz community
I write today acknowledging the uncertainty and anxiety that many members of our community are experiencing from the federal actions over these past weeks. I share these feelings and I want to reaffirm our commitment to our mission.
- February 21, 2025
UC Santa Cruz students and SUBA partner to bring East Salinas businesses online
In East Salinas, where family-owned businesses are the backbone of the community, a collaboration is helping them build an online presence and reach more customers. Crown College’s GetVirtual program at UC Santa Cruz and the Salinas United Business Association (SUBA) have joined forces, with students leading the way.
- February 21, 2025
Opera performance highlights Spanish music and Chicanx culture
Lecturer in Music Sheila Willey is bringing Spanish-language opera to the stage. The upcoming Opera and Zarzuela Scenes performance on March 13, 2025 at the Music Center Recital Hall on campus, will bring a wider cultural look at the artform from several Spanish-speaking countries.
- February 07, 2025
SCIPP scientist Simone Mazza honored with international physics award
Simone Mazza, an assistant research scientist at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP), has won an international award that recognizes contributions in the fields of fundamental interactions of matter. Mazza received the 2024 INFN Bruno Toushek Award from the Italian Scientists and Scholars of North America Foundation.
- February 04, 2025
UC Santa Cruz scientists slither into the history books with first complete genome of a banana slug
Not only is the banana slug the endearing mascot for UC Santa Cruz — making the project fitting for campus researchers — but the slugs’ unique slime was a particularly challenging undertaking for UCSC’s experts in genomics.
- February 03, 2025
New research and art installation demonstrate the viability of using fog as a water source
In a state known for its droughts, where the southern half recently experienced devastating fires, understanding California’s natural water sources is more important than ever. Three University of California, Santa Cruz professors have teamed up to create a multipart scientific and artistic research study, Art+Fog as a collective,
- January 31, 2025
New grant funds effort to uncover therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatric disorders
A $10.3 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s stem cell agency, will fund a multi-UC effort to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders.
- January 31, 2025
Explorer society honors Roxanne Beltran for advancing scientific field research, education equity
Roxanne Beltran, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, is among 50 people from around the world being honored this year for “doing remarkable work to promote science and exploration.”
- January 30, 2025
Innovative techniques aim for climate-safe restoration of Ms. Blue
A new project is underway to give Ms. Blue another life, this time enabling her to teach the community about the power of climate-safe innovation
- January 30, 2025
The Institute of Arts and Science curates two revolutionary exhibitions
The Institute of the Arts and Sciences (IAS) is starting the new year with two imaginative and heartfelt exhibitions exploring liberation and justice. EDELO and Our Bedrock, both of which run from Jan. 31 – April 20
- January 29, 2025
Climate change reshuffles species like a deck of cards, new study finds
A new study led by UC Santa Cruz ecology and evolutionary biologist Malin Pinsky finds that temperature changes due to climate change have a doubly detrimental impact: Not only do they destabilize animal populations, but the impacts accelerate as temperatures change more rapidly.
- January 28, 2025
UC Santa Cruz AgTech Alliance launches to support interdisciplinary collaboration
Building on the long history of innovation in agriculture at the campus, the AgTech Alliance will support research, education, events, and workforce development related to advancing agricultural technology in order to create more formalized opportunities for collaboration within the university and beyond.
- January 27, 2025
UC Santa Cruz Innovation Catalyst Grant program propels research into real-world solutions
UC Santa Cruz has announced the Innovation Catalyst Grant proof-of-concept program awardees, showcasing the campus’s commitment to fostering transformative research with significant societal benefits.
- January 24, 2025
Long read sequencing reveals more genetic information while cutting time and cost of rare disease diagnoses
A new study shows that long-read sequencing has the potential to improve the rate of diagnosis while reducing the time to diagnosis from years to days — in a single test and at a much lower cost.
- January 21, 2025
John Jota Leaños selected as new Interim Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the UC Santa Cruz Arts Division
The University of California, Santa Cruz brought on a new Interim Assistant Dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Arts Division. John Jota Leaños, a professor of Film and Digital Media (FDM) and Guggenheim Fellow, is a Mexican/Italian-American and Chumash-award winning interdisciplinary artist, documentarian, animator, and social art practitioner whose work engages the intersections of history, memory, and power through a social justice lens.
- January 17, 2025
Hubble Telescope images combined into giant mosaic of neighboring Andromeda Galaxy
Astronomers are celebrating the completion of a 2.5-billion-pixel panoramic picture of the entire Andromeda Galaxy. The team includes several UC Santa Cruz researchers who made significant contributions to the enormous photomosaic that combines some 600 snapshots taken by the Hubble Space Telescope over more than a decade and 1,000 orbits.
- January 17, 2025
New exhibition explores Afrofuturism through a look at the past
The newest exhibition at the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery explores African history and Afrofuturism through the art of current PhD candidate Aaron Samuel Mulenga. Ukupupuka: An Exploration of Transcendence integrates Mulenga’s doctoral dissertation research on World War I porters called TengaTenga with the concept of the Afronaut to explore concepts of mobility, transcendence and divinity.
- January 15, 2025
Coral-reef restoration can be cost-effective for saving lives, money
A new study co-led by the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) at UC Santa Cruz shows coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico could save thousands of lives and prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and economic interruption each year.
- January 13, 2025
Dean of Arts Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s newest work addresses sexuality and the importance of higher education and relationships between women in forging one’s power
Renowned filmmaker, film scholar, distinguished professor, and Dean of the Arts Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Celine Parreñas Shimizu will premiere her latest film at the 27th San Francisco’s Independent Film Festival on Friday, February 7, 2025 at the Roxie Theater.
- January 10, 2025
Researchers link mysterious cosmic signals to collapsed stars
An international team of scientists has provided the clearest evidence yet that some fast radio bursts (FRBs)—enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio waves from space—originate from neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that have exploded in a supernova.
- January 08, 2025
Researchers to develop technology for improving berry monitoring, harvesting, shipment
To investigate innovative methods to support the berry growing and harvesting process, UC Santa Cruz Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ricardo Sanfelice is launching a new agricultural technology project.
