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Awards and Honors

UCSC faculty, staff, and students receive many distinguished awards, honors, and accolades. See below for a listing of such awards, or visit our compilation of additional distinctions.

December 22, 2011
Astronomers' pristine gas discovery among top scientific breakthroughs of 2011
Lists from Science and Physics World of the top scientific breakthroughs of the year include the discovery of primordial gas clouds by UCSC astronomers.
December 19, 2011
UC Santa Cruz astronomer Jerry Nelson to receive 2012 Franklin Medal
The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia has announced that Jerry Nelson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, will receive the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering.
December 14, 2011
Computer scientist Martín Abadi elected 2011 AAAS Fellow
Computer security expert Martín Abadi has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
December 06, 2011
UCSC Arts and Humanities faculty win USA fellowships
Two UCSC faculty are among the 50 writers, dancers, musicians, filmmakers and other artists nationwide who have been awarded $50,000 USA fellowships grants.
December 02, 2011
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz named to Silicon Valley's '40 Under 40'
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz is among 40 "rising stars" in Silicon Valley recognized by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.
November 29, 2011
Ocean scientist Tom Guilderson wins E. O. Lawrence Award
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the 2011 E. O. Lawrence Award in Biological and Environmental Sciences to ocean scientist Tom Guilderson.
November 23, 2011
UCSC gets top spot in nationwide "vegan schools" contest
UC Santa Cruz has come in first place in a heated, five-week contest to determine the "#1 vegan friendly college in the nation."
November 15, 2011
Physicist Michael Dine receives Outstanding Faculty Award
Michael Dine, distinguished professor and chair of physics, has received the 2010-11 Outstanding Faculty Award from the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences.
November 14, 2011
UCSC fundraisers honored at Silicon Valley Philanthropy Day
Two UCSC fundraising teams will be recognized by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
November 10, 2011
UCSC makes final round of the "Nation's Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges" contest
UCSC is facing off against the University of Florida in a social-network-based contest that will determine the “#1 vegan friendly college in the nation.”
November 03, 2011
Tom Pettigrew wins social psychology career award
Thomas F. Pettigrew, research professor of social psychology at UC Santa Cruz, is one of two recipients of a new Career Achievement Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP).
October 31, 2011
UCSC cholera biofilm team wins Deloitte QB3 Award for Innovation
A team of UC Santa Cruz researchers working to find new drugs to fight cholera has won a $10,000 Award for Innovation
October 11, 2011
Physicist Bill Atwood awarded Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics
The American Physical Society has awarded the 2012 Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics to physicist William Atwood.
October 07, 2011
Educational Partnership Center receives $14 million in federal outreach grants
UC Santa Cruz's Educational Partnership Center has been awarded two GEAR UP federal grants to serve students in Pajaro Valley and South Monterey County.
October 06, 2011
Geologist Casey Moore honored by Geological Society of Japan
The Geological Society of Japan has awarded its International Prize to UCSC geologist Casey Moore.
September 30, 2011
UARC scientists win best paper award
UARC scientists Matthew Daigle and Sriram Narasimhan won the Best Theoretical Paper award at the 2011 conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society.
September 30, 2011
Psychology professor wins early career award
Phillip Hammack, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded the Louise Kidder Early Career Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), a division of the American Psychological Association.
September 29, 2011
Health Center project honored by Business Journal
UC Santa Cruz received a top prize at the Silcon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's annual Structures Awards ceremony, held last week at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The campus finished first in the category of "Green Project — Public" for its sustainable design and construction efforts on the Cowell Student Health Center project.
September 20, 2011
Computer scientist Luca de Alfaro recognized for influential paper
A paper on software engineering published ten years ago by UCSC computer scientist Luca de Alfaro has received the ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper Award, which recognizes papers for their influence in the years since their publication.
September 15, 2011
Biologist Harry Noller honored by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2012 Gregori Aminoff Prize in Crystallography to UCSC molecular biologist Harry Noller and two of his collaborators.
August 30, 2011
UCSC film lecturer Leo Chiang up for Emmy Award in Sept.
Leo Chiang--a lecturer in the Social Documentation M.F.A. Program at UC Santa Cruz—has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his documentary film, "A Village Called Versailles."
August 30, 2011
Andrew Szasz wins highest honor in American environmental sociology
UC Santa Cruz sociology professor Andrew Szasz is the 2011 recipient of the Frederick Buttel Distinguished Contribution Award of the Environment, Technology, and Society section of the American Sociological Association, the highest honor bestowed in American environmental sociology.
August 10, 2011
Biologist John Pearse awarded California Academy of Sciences Fellows' Medal
The California Academy of Sciences has awarded its highest honor, the Fellows' Medal, to UCSC biologist John Pearse.
August 02, 2011
Science Communication lecturer earns Emmy nomination
Ken McLaughlin, a lecturer in news reporting for UCSC's Science Communication Program, has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his reporting on "Torn Apart," a multimedia project on immigration published in the Mercury News.
July 19, 2011
Tim Galarneau receives 2011 UC Sustainability Champion Award
Tim Galarneau – described in a 2009 Mother Jones magazine profile as “the Alice Waters of a burgeoning movement of campus foodies”, is getting systemwide recognition.
July 15, 2011
Jin Zhang named Fellow of American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has named Jin Zhang, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC Santa Cruz, to the 2011 class of ACS Fellows.
June 17, 2011
Campus IT leader wins service award
Mary Doyle, vice chancellor for information technology, has been named the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) 2011 Distinguished Service Award Recipient.
June 14, 2011
Bioinformatics expert David Haussler awarded Oxford's Weldon Memorial Prize
David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering, has been chosen to receive the 2011 Weldon Memorial Prize given by the University of Oxford.
June 07, 2011
President Obama meets astronomer Jerry Nelson and other Kavli Prize winners
President Barack Obama met in the Oval Office with UCSC astronomer Jerry Nelson and other recipients of the 2010 Kavli Prizes.
May 26, 2011
Earth scientist James Gill receives Humboldt Research Award
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has elected Earth scientist James Gill to receive a Humboldt Research Award.
May 23, 2011
Vaccine expert Phillip Berman named finalist for Health Care Heroes Award
The Silicon Valley Business Journal has named vaccine expert Phillip Berman a finalist for the 2011 Health Care Heroes Award.
May 20, 2011
TiE Service Award recognizes UCSC entrepreneurship
UCSC was honored with a TiE Service Award for efforts to promote entrepreneurship.
May 20, 2011
Sociological association awards Tom Pettigrew distinguished career award
Thomas F. Pettigrew, research professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has been named winner of the William Foote Whyte Distinguished Career Award of the Sociological Practice and Public Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.
May 18, 2011
Psychology professor awarded prestigious Spencer fellowship
Phillip L. Hammack, assistant professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2011-2012 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow.
May 13, 2011
Irene Hansen Osterbrock named Patron of the AAS
The American Astronomical Society has named Irene Osterbrock a Patron of the Society to recognize her lifetime contributions.
May 10, 2011
Clarity and vision: scholars impress judges at Graduate Research Symposium
The 7th annual Graduate Research Symposium on Friday, May 6, gave graduate students a chance to show off their projects and highlight their far-ranging achievements.
May 04, 2011
Education graduate student wins grant for dissertation research in India
A UC Santa Cruz graduate student in education has won a grant from the Rotary Foundation to help fund her dissertation research in India.
May 03, 2011
UCSC Foundation president elected to Glaucoma Research Society
UC Santa Cruz Foundation President Gary Novack was recently selected as a member of the Glaucoma Research Society.
April 26, 2011
Two Cowell students awarded scholarships for study abroad
Two students were recently awarded Cowell College Scholarships for their upcoming study abroad experiences.
April 19, 2011
Three UCSC professors elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Three UCSC faculty are among 212 leaders in the sciences, arts, humanities, business, public affairs, and nonprofit sector, who have been elected this year as fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
April 18, 2011
UCSC Literature professor Karen Tei Yamashita wins California Book Award
Karen Tei Yamashita--professor of literature and co-director of the Creative Writing Program at UC Santa Cruz--has been honored with a 2011 California Book Award.
April 13, 2011
Bioinformatics expert Ed Green awarded Searle Scholars grant
The Searle Scholars Program has awarded a $300,000 research grant to Richard E. (Ed) Green, assistant professor of biomolecular engineering.
March 14, 2011
Bettina Aptheker delivers 17th Annual Du Bois Lecture
Professor of feminist studies and history Bettina Aptheker delivered the 17th annual Du Bois Lecture on February 28, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
February 28, 2011
Electrical engineer Claire Gu named Optical Society Fellow
Electrical engineer Claire Gu has been elected a Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA).
February 16, 2011
Bioinformatics expert Richard Green wins Sloan Research Fellowship
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship to Richard E. (Ed) Green, assistant professor of biomolecular engineering.
February 14, 2011
Computer engineering professor wins Technical Achievement Award
The IEEE Computer Society has awarded a 2011 Technical Achievement Award to computer engineer J. J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves.
February 07, 2011
UCSC's Richard Green honored for top research paper in Science
Bioinformatics expert Richard Green has won the Newcomb Cleveland Prize for his paper on the Neanderthal genome.
February 07, 2011
Anthropology graduate student wins prestigious Paper Prize
Sarah Bakker, a graduate student in anthropology, is the first UC Santa Cruz student to win the prestigious Paper Prize from the Society for the Anthropology of Europe.
January 21, 2011
Physicist Bill Atwood shares Rossi Prize for work on gamma-ray telescope
The 2011 Bruno Rossi Prize has been awarded to UCSC physicist Bill Atwood, Stanford physicist Peter Michelson, and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope's Large Area Telescope (LAT) team.
January 18, 2011
Sandra Faber honored by American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society has awarded the 2011 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship to astronomer Sandra Faber.
January 11, 2011
Two UCSC engineering professors elected 2010 AAAS Fellows
Two professors in the Baskin School of Engineering at UCSC have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
January 07, 2011
Three students awarded Gilman Scholarships
Three UCSC undergraduate students who are studying abroad during spring 2011 received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships.