2020
University News
- January 04, 2021
Giving Tuesday: A day of generosity
Giving Tuesday exemplified the generosity that Banana Slugs displayed in 2020. The one-day event raised money for the UC Santa Cruz Fund, allowing campus leadership to address UC Santa Cruz students’ most pressing needs.
- December 21, 2020
Steven Ritz stepping down after 10 years as director of particle physics institute
Jason Nielsen, professor of physics, will take over as director of the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) in the new year.
- December 18, 2020
Research partnership explores bonds between mothers and nonspeaking autistic children
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Virginia have been collaborating to better understand behaviors and beliefs that may strengthen relationships between mothers and children with nonspeaking autism.
- December 18, 2020
Focus on access and equity for students guides changes physical education
The UC Santa Cruz Athletics and Recreation Department is committed to offering programs and activities that promote leadership, lifelong wellness, and experiential learning.
- December 16, 2020
Coming full circle
Alumnus Darren Thompson, an accomplished chemist and student mentor, overcame a dark turn in his life with help from his determination, his Christian faith, and a UC Santa Cruz professor.
- December 16, 2020
$3.7M NIH grant funds development of novel biosensor technology for diagnosing viral infections
Electrical engineer Ali Yanik is leading a team of infectious disease experts developing a low-cost, easy-to-use platform for diagnosing viral infections in point-of-care settings.
- December 15, 2020
‘How Pac-Man Eats’ explores how games work and how they can create meaning
In a new book, Computational Media Professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin shows how the fundamental mechanics of games shape their capacity to address important topics.
- December 15, 2020
UCSC expands COVID-19 testing during surge to support community needs
A gift from Bud and Rebecca Colligan will expand testing capacity and help fund a new, dedicated laboratory space to house the diagnostic lab in the Genomics Institute’s facilities at the Westside Research Park.
- December 15, 2020
UC Santa Cruz continues to meet, exceed community commitments
The campus continues to make advancements in the areas of housing, transportation, and water conservation.
- December 14, 2020
New cryo-electron microscopy facility a boon for UCSC structural biologists
With major funding from NIH, researchers at UC Santa Cruz have acquired powerful imaging tools for studying the structures of biomolecules and their roles in disease.
- December 11, 2020
UCSC arts professor documents spread of COVID-19 inside prisons, jails, and detention centers
A new Interactive web project by film and digital media professor Sharon Daniel creates a cumulative public record and evolving history of the pandemic’s impact on those incarcerated
- December 10, 2020
UC Santa Cruz Nobel laureate delves into the world of telomeres in Kraw Lecture
In her Kraw Lecture this week, Nobel laureate and UC Santa Cruz distinguished professor of MCD biology Carol Greider explored the world of telomere research, with links to cell death, cancer research, and degenerative diseases.
- December 10, 2020
New serological assay provides rapid, accurate testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
Using optical biosensor technology, the test provides quantitative measurements of antibodies in blood plasma in less than 20 minutes.
- December 10, 2020
Narinder Kapany, known as the ‘father of fiber optics,’ dies at 94
Narinder Singh Kapany, a pioneering scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who served as a Regents Professor at UC Santa Cruz and a trustee of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, died December 3.
- December 09, 2020
Surge in online grocery shopping brings a quantity-over-quality jobs shift
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated emerging labor market trends associated with e-commerce in the grocery industry, creating mixed implications for jobs, according to a new report led by UCSC professor Chris Benner.
- December 04, 2020
Resiliency is the name of the game for UC Santa Cruz Athletics and Recreation
The department has scored wins in many of the challenges of the pandemic by supporting students remotely, pivoting to online programming, and developing innovative ways to empower student-athletes and student support staff.
- December 04, 2020
National Academies report on sustainability education features UC Santa Cruz expertise
UC Santa Cruz professor Anne Kapuscinski chaired the committee that developed the report, and campus initiatives were highlighted within as examples of innovative sustainability education.
- December 03, 2020
Marine mammals’ adaptations to low oxygen offer new perspective on COVID-19
Humans are poorly adapted for oxygen deprivation, making us vulnerable to long-term effects from a disease that disrupts the body’s oxygen supply pathway.
- December 02, 2020
Slugs lauded as Hometown Heroes
UC Santa Cruz is well represented at this year’s Santa Cruz Works Hometown Heroes awards ceremony, with Chancellor Cynthia Larive, a host of faculty and staff members, and numerous alumni slated to be honored.
- December 02, 2020
UCSC offers new M.F.A. degree program in Environmental Art and Social Practice
The UC Santa Cruz Art Department is now accepting applications for a new M.F.A. degree program in Environmental Art and Social Practice (EASP), set to begin in fall quarter of 2021.
- December 01, 2020
AXA Chair at UC Santa Cruz funds efforts to build coastal resilience naturally
Marine scientist Michael Beck was awarded the chair to support his work on natural defenses to enhance coastal resilience to flooding, erosion, and sea level rise.
- November 30, 2020
UCSC iGEM team wins gold, nominated for best environmental project
Thirteen undergraduates were recognized for their research accomplishments at the world’s largest competition in synthetic biology.
- November 30, 2020
Psychology research shows ‘water cooler talk’ can have big benefits
In settings where people are working together on a task, making time for small talk allows for a newly-described behavior called "reciprocity in conversation," which is associated with higher levels of task enjoyment.
- November 24, 2020
An unflinching look at America’s tragic past
Journalist and bestselling novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates drew an audience of 1,200 for a live discussion about his new novel, the legacy of slavery, and the aftermath of the presidential election.
- November 24, 2020
Two UCSC professors elected 2020 AAAS Fellows
Linguist Matthew Wagers and microbiologist Fitnat Yildiz have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- November 24, 2020
UC Santa Cruz celebrates its first Rhodes Scholar
Spring 2020 graduate Garima Desai was named among the top 32 scholars from across the U.S. who will have all of their expenses paid to attend graduate school at Oxford University through a Rhodes Scholarship.
- November 23, 2020
Direct visualization of quantum dots reveals shape of quantum wave function
UCSC researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope to visualize quantum dots in bilayer graphene, an important step toward quantum information technologies.
- November 19, 2020
'Living in a Frayed Democracy': Ethics lecture to feature noted alumnus Ezra Klein
UC Santa Cruz will present "Living in a Frayed Democracy," a trans-Atlantic public dialogue, featuring noted UCSC alumnus and journalist Ezra Klein and London political economist William Davies, as part of the Humanities Division’s Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series on Dec. 5.
- November 19, 2020
Materials theorist Yuan Ping wins grant from Air Force Young Investigator Program
Ping’s research on spin dynamics in two-dimensional materials has applications for spintronics and quantum information technologies.
- November 17, 2020
Approval of Proposition 14 boosts funding for stem cell agency
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has provided major funding for research and training at UC Santa Cruz since its creation in 2004.
- November 17, 2020
Interim chief to focus on listening, building understanding
Lt. Mary Garcia, who will serve as interim police chief at UC Santa Cruz beginning Dec. 5, said she wants to strengthen the relationship between the campus community and the UCSC Police Department by increasing understanding, continuing to be open, and listening.
- November 16, 2020
UC Santa Cruz leads interdisciplinary consortium for astrobiology research
With funding from NASA, the UCSC-led team will lay the foundation for detecting the signatures of life in the atmospheres of other planets.
- November 16, 2020
Two UC Santa Cruz programs win funding for public interest technology
The Human Rights Investigations Lab and Everett Program at UC Santa Cruz will receive new grant funding through the Public Interest Technology University Network.
- November 12, 2020
Humanities Institute to host acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates in special post-election event
Coates will be in conversation with Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic magazine, to discuss his acclaimed novel "The Water Dancer"—as well as the state of the country after the election
- November 12, 2020
Research breakthrough achieves fish-free aquaculture feed that raises key standards
A new aquaculture feed formula eliminates conventional fish meal and fish oil ingredients by combining ingredients derived from two species of marine microalgae.
- November 12, 2020
Computer scientist Lise Getoor receives research funding from Google
A new project on recommender dialogue systems led by Getoor and her collaborators at UC Santa Barbara and USC will receive $1 million in funding over three years.
- November 11, 2020
New genome alignment tool empowers large-scale studies of vertebrate evolution
Important new studies of the evolution of birds and mammals relied on Progressive Cactus, a genome alignment tool developed at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.
- November 10, 2020
Radioactive elements may be crucial to the habitability of rocky planets
Earth-size planets can have varying amounts of radioactive elements, which generate internal heat that drives a planet’s geological activity and magnetism.
- November 09, 2020
The 2020 new Slug reality: Handling adversity and transitioning to a virtual learning experience
Remote learning has its challenges, but the newest class of Banana Slugs is making the most out of this uncharted experience.
- November 09, 2020
Stories in the ashes
Radio producer and alumna Nikki Silva teams up with photographer Shmuel Thaler to collect stories evoked by objects salvaged from the wreckage of homes destroyed in the CZU August Lightning Complex fire
- November 08, 2020
Elaine Sullivan awarded American Historical Association prize for innovation in digital history
UCSC associate professor of history Elaine Sullivan and alumnus Vincent DiGirolamo have each received a 2020 prize from the American Historical Association.
- November 08, 2020
Arts professor micha cárdenas wins IndieCade Award for climate art game
Sin Sol (No Sun), an art game by UCSC assistant professor of Art & Design: Games and Playable Media, micha cárdenas, has won the Impact Award at the 2020 IndieCade International Festival of Independent Games.
- November 06, 2020
Film professor Jennifer Taylor’s new documentary to screen online at DOC NYC film festival
America’s largest documentary film festival will be screening 'For the Love of Rutland'—the new documentary feature by UCSC associate professor of film and digital media Jennifer Maytorena Taylor—online throughout the U.S. this month.
- November 05, 2020
Computer science grad student wins LaunchPad Fellowship for startup
Fatemeh Mirzaei, a graduate student in computer science and engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering, is one of 40 student entrepreneurs selected for the Fall 2020 LaunchPad Fellowship program.
- November 05, 2020
Expanding the lines of communication
Muratcan Cicek, a Ph.D. candidate in computer engineering who won a prestigious 2020 Google Ph.D. fellowship, is working to improve head-based pointing methods for those who cannot use a mouse or trackpad.
- November 04, 2020
Award-winning poet Morgan Parker to read at 11th annual Morton Marcus memorial event
Acclaimed poet, essayist, and novelist Morgan Parker will be the featured guest at the 11th annual Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Reading, which takes place this year as a virtual event on November 12.
- November 04, 2020
Quantitative ecologist wins Tansley Medal for plant science contributions
Environmental studies assistant professor Kai Zhu was recently chosen from a global field as one of two recipients of the Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science, presented by the journal New Phytologist.
- November 03, 2020
Student housing environmental review affirmed by the courts
A UC Santa Cruz project that will significantly increase campus housing options for current graduate and undergraduate students has cleared a crucial hurdle in the courts.
- November 02, 2020
Novel technique spotlights neuronal uptake of amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease
Study finds a short section of the amyloid beta protein is recognized by the cellular prion protein, which mediates its uptake into neurons and subsequent toxicity.
- November 02, 2020
Wildfire brings destruction and opportunity to researcher’s field site
Hydrologist Margaret Zimmer has received NSF funding to study the impact of wildfire on the site where she has been studying how water moves through the landscape.
- October 29, 2020
Spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon aren’t as different as they seem
Genetic analysis of Klamath River Chinook salmon finds a simple genetic variant determines the timing of migration, and seasonal runs are otherwise the same fish.
- October 28, 2020
Genetic analysis system yields new insights into bacterial pneumonia
Using a CRISPR interference system to study virulence genes in a mouse model of pneumonia, scientists observed surprising variability in how the disease progresses.
- October 26, 2020
Scientists discover how a common mutation leads to ‘night owl’ sleep disorder
A small change in a key component of our biological clocks lengthens the clock period, causing people to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning.
- October 26, 2020
MacArthur 'genius' grant winner reflects on early influences at UC Santa Cruz
Forrest Stuart has built his career pursuing burning questions about the societal underpinnings of poverty and criminalization across disciplines. Stuart said his research focus has been influenced both by his childhood and the formative experiences of his undergraduate education at University of California, Santa Cruz, where he earned his bachelor’s in politics in 2004.
- October 23, 2020
UCSC Library completes project to make 670 Cabrillo Music Festival recordings available to public
The project preserves and now makes available live Festival performances from 1964 to 1990, featuring works by such experimental artists as John Cage, Annea Lockwood, and Lou Harrison.
- October 23, 2020
UC Santa Cruz iGEM team seeks a solution to plastic waste
Through campus shutdowns, wildfires, and a two-week quarantine, 13 UCSC students have been finding ways to research a solution to agricultural plastic pollution.
- October 21, 2020
Feminist studies Ph.D. student receives American Association of University Women fellowship
The program aims to tackle barriers women face in education by recognizing recipients whose academic work and community projects empower women and girls.
- October 21, 2020
UCSC alumna Traci Chee named finalist for 2020 National Book Award
'We Are Not Free,' a work of historical fiction by UC Santa Cruz alumna Traci Chee, has been named a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
- October 21, 2020
Physical and Biological Sciences Division honors three prominent alumni
The PBSci Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize contributions to society by graduate and undergraduate alums.
- October 19, 2020
HSI grant to support graduate students
The grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help the campus increase the readiness of Latinx, low-income and students of color from UC Santa Cruz and CSU Monterey Bay to apply and succeed in graduate programs.
- October 19, 2020
Doctoral candidate wins Switzer Fellowship for environmental justice research in El Salvador
James Alejandro Artiga-Purcell, a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Studies, was recently selected for the 2020 Switzer Environmental Fellowship as part of a cohort of 20 top scholar-activists from around the country.
- October 19, 2020
‘Be the Difference’ Award honors UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab
The award recognizes UCSC’s efforts to provide local testing for coronavirus infections.
- October 16, 2020
The savior of the opera
With dampened prospects for in-person classes, rehearsals, and performances this pandemic year, UC Santa Cruz’s opera program is adapting with help from donor Scott Lord
- October 16, 2020
'Response, recovery, and resiliency'
Threatened with wildfires in August and September, an army of UC Santa Cruz employees worked hard to keep their community safe, fed, and housed.
- October 15, 2020
‘Visualizing Abolition’ series kicks off with conversation featuring Angela Davis and Gina Dent
The UCSC Institute of the Arts and Sciences has joined forces with associate feminist studies professor Gina Dent to offer a year-long online series featuring artists, activists, scholars, and lawyers united by their commitment to the struggle for prison abolition.
- October 15, 2020
Founding campus leader Hal Hyde dies at 97
Harold A. (Hal) Hyde, who, as the first vice chancellor for business and finance at the University of California, Santa Cruz, helped create a world-class campus on a sprawling cattle ranch, died peacefully of natural causes Oct. 12 at 97.
- October 15, 2020
Anemic star cluster breaks metal-poor record
In a surprising discovery, astronomers have found a globular star cluster in the Andromeda galaxy that contains a record-breaking low amount of metals.
- October 13, 2020
Challenging how we see the prison-industrial complex
An ambitious two-part exhibit, titled Barring Freedom and Visualizing Abolition, organized by the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences, combines art and activism to address prison and policing issues.
- October 13, 2020
UCSC seeks clarity on water access
After many meetings and years focused on resolving the disagreement, involving the courts will not impact the strong, productive partnership the campus has with the city, particularly as it relates to water conservation.
- October 13, 2020
UC Santa Cruz Human Rights Lab investigates social unrest in Chile
Human Rights Investigations Labs at UCSC and UC Berkeley collaborated on open source research focused on the human rights crisis in Chile, which began with massive anti-government demonstrations a year ago that prompted a swift and sometimes brutal government crackdown on protestors.
- October 12, 2020
Ocean scientist Christina Ravelo honored as a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences
Christina Ravelo, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz, has been selected by the California Academy of Sciences to join the ranks of Academy Fellows.
- October 08, 2020
University Library to launch new documentary podcast series about Loma Prieta earthquake
The Library will celebrate the launch of 'Stories from the Epicenter'—a new documentary podcast series about the Loma Prieta Earthquake in Santa Cruz County—with a free online event on Oct. 16.
- October 07, 2020
10-screen film installation and photo exhibition by professor Isaac Julien opens at McEvoy Arts
The McEvoy Foundation for the Arts in San Francisco will present the West Coast debut of 'Lessons of the Hour,' a moving image and photography exhibition about the life of Frederick Douglass by British filmmaker, installation artist, and UC Santa Cruz professor of the arts, Isaac Julien.
- October 06, 2020
Giving Day raises $600K for worthy causes
Despite being postponed because of the pandemic, UC Santa Cruz's annual online giving event in support of student and faculty projects was a smashing success.
- October 01, 2020
UCSC publishes online collection of 10,000 photos documenting over a century of Santa Cruz history
The University Library at UC Santa Cruz announced today the online publication of the Santa Cruz County Historic Photograph Collection, featuring original photographs and copy prints from 1866 to 1995.
- October 01, 2020
Fall quarter kicks off with new students, programs
UC Santa Cruz students are excited to start their college journey, despite the challenges created by a global pandemic that has reshaped society. Faculty and staff are ready to provide students with the best experience possible and the support to help them succeed.
- September 29, 2020
Rising from the ashes
Archaeological researchers from UC Santa Cruz are among the volunteers searching through rubble for homeowners who lost their loved ones’ cremains in the fires that ravaged Oregon and California.
- September 29, 2020
Convocation celebrates new students, academic year
Chancellor Cynthia Larive, interim Vice Chancellor Jennifer Baszile, SUA President Shivika Sivakumar, college provosts, resource center directors and the president of the UC Santa Cruz alumni council welcomed new Banana Slugs to their college journey in a video released today.
- September 25, 2020
Alumna Martha Mendoza wins Emmy for work on child detention documentary
‘Kids Caught in the Crackdown’ documentary from PBS Frontline and Associated Press investigates the detention of migrant children in federally-funded shelters.
- September 24, 2020
Bioelectronic device achieves unprecedented control of cell membrane voltage
A closed-loop biohybrid device driven by a machine learning algorithm maintained a set membrane voltage in human stem cells for 10 hours.
- September 23, 2020
Hope in the time of dystopia
The celebrated author Margaret Atwood offered some words of cautious encouragement and measured during her virtual dialogue with alumna and author Kate Schatz. The event was part of the Humanities Division’s annual Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series.
- September 22, 2020
Giving Day 2020: Coming together to enrich the student experience
Giving Day, a high-octane, 24-hour online event of nonstop giving, will be held on Wednesday, September 30. This playful but impactful philanthropic event will have an all-online format this year, due to COVID-related safety concerns.
- September 22, 2020
Astrophysicist Jonathan Fortney awarded 2020 Farinella Prize
Jonathan Fortney has been awarded the 2020 Paolo Farinella Prize from the Europlanet Society for his contributions to the understanding of the structure, evolution, and atmospheric dynamics of giant planets.
- September 21, 2020
UC Santa Cruz alumna Maya Rudolph wins two Emmy Awards
Last night, UC Santa Cruz alumna Maya Rudolph picked up her second Emmy of the week for her impression of California senator and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live
- September 16, 2020
The global land rush
In her new book, 'Fields of Gold, Financing the Global Land Rush,' Madeleine Fairbairn looks at forces and players that have transformed farmland into a novel financial asset class.
- September 16, 2020
New federal funding supports student success, equity
Five years of federal funding from the Title V Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program will support a new project, "Graduating and Advancing New American Scholars (GANAS) - Career Pathways."
- September 15, 2020
2020 Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture to feature visionary author Margaret Atwood
Award-winning poet, novelist and essayist Margaret Atwood will be featured in conversation with UCSC alumna Kate Schatz, the New York Times bestselling author of "Rad American Women A-Z," as part of the Humanities Division’s annual Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series.
- September 15, 2020
UCSC engineers developing all-electric power train for future aircraft
Funding from the Department of Energy for the UCSC team is part of a major effort to develop carbon-neutral hybrid electric aviation.
- September 14, 2020
Outstanding Staff Award honoree is a passionate advocate for STEM diversity
Yulianna Ortega, the campus's STEM Diversity Programs director, has earned the trust and respect of fellow staff members, faculty, and students across divisions. Ortega, this year's Outstanding Staff Award recipient, is cares deeply about student academic success and well-being.
- September 14, 2020
ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students
Sixteen UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $160,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.
- September 14, 2020
UC Santa Cruz ranks again as a top university for social mobility
The ranking (No. 4) speaks to the campus’s success in offering a world-class education to low income and first-generation students.
- September 10, 2020
New art game explores intersection of personal trauma and climate induced wildfires
Sin Sol (No Sun) is an augmented reality game that allows players to experience the feelings of a climate change event. Set 50 years in the future, it tells the story of environmental collapse from the past—which is our present in 2020.
- September 10, 2020
High-fidelity record of Earth’s climate history puts current changes in context
A continuous record of the past 66 million years shows natural climate variability due to changes in Earth’s orbit around the sun is much smaller than projected future warming due to greenhouse gas emissions.
- September 09, 2020
Summer Session helps students earn degrees
UC Santa Cruz staff and faculty have been steadily working to increase summer session enrollment, leading UCs in online offerings and working with departments to offer the classes students need to graduate.
- September 09, 2020
Cooperative research effort documents northward migration of kelp forests
From Alaska to Mexico, warming waters are driving widespread changes in these highly productive coastal ecosystems.
- September 08, 2020
Year in Review: Campus successes tied to Principles of Community
While adapting to a global pandemic and responding to a massive wildfire, UC Santa Cruz has achieved some historic success.
- September 08, 2020
Election series looks at critical moment in time
The four-part series will address how social movements on the left and right have shaped what is at stake in the election, what institutional barriers to democracy exist in America’s political system, and how patterns of civic engagement are influencing the election.
- September 01, 2020
In the line of fire
Alumnus Adam Lowdermilk had built a career as a musician, but the tragic 2018 Camp Fire prompted a change of heart and a leap into firefighting.
- September 01, 2020
New data science institute includes a focus on ethics and algorithms
The Institute for Foundations of Data Science is a collaboration between UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Chicago.
- August 31, 2020
John R. Lewis College: Providing the tools to stand up against injustice and create change
John R. Lewis College students take on social justice issues while pushing for positive growth and progress in society.
- August 31, 2020
Rising to the Eco-Challenge
Two Slug alumni were part of a grueling, 11-day, 416-mile adventure race called Eco-Challenge Fiji, caught in a 10-episode series streaming on Amazon Prime.
- August 31, 2020
History professor Eric Porter examines musical improvisation as a response to crisis
"Playing for Keeps: Improvisation in the Aftermath" is an exploration of the various ways that musical improvisation can be used as a method for responding to crisis and dealing with trauma and stress.
- August 27, 2020
UCSC partners in institute to explore the role of AI in education
The NSF AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming envisions intelligent computers in classrooms working side-by-side with groups of students.
- August 26, 2020
New observations of black hole devouring a star reveal rapid disk formation
The first clear confirmation of accretion disk formation in a tidal disruption event without x-ray emissions supports theoretical predictions.
- August 25, 2020
Threatened by wildfire, UC Santa Cruz campus shows it is 'Slug Strong'
Fast thinking and teamwork are keeping the UC Santa Cruz campus community safe during the devastating Lightning Complex fires as staff across campus coordinate in evacuating, relocating, and feeding displaced campus residents.
- August 24, 2020
Marine mammals show off their training in evacuation from Long Marine Lab
All of the resident marine mammals at UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory are safe and well after a successful evacuation effort.
- August 22, 2020
Research buildings saved as wildfire sweeps across Big Creek Natural Reserve
Fire preparedness and hard work by fast-moving fire crews and UC Santa Cruz staff is being credited for saving research and residential buildings at the Landels-Hill Big Creek Natural Reserve on the Big Sur coast.
- August 20, 2020
UC’s Lick Observatory threatened by fire
Residences on Mt. Hamilton sustained some damage, but fire crews have so far been able to protect the observatory’s telescope domes and visitor center.
- August 19, 2020
Alaska’s salmon are getting smaller, affecting people and ecosystems
A comprehensive study of four salmon species across all regions of Alaska finds salmon are returning to rivers smaller and younger than in the past.
- August 12, 2020
UCSC historian Greg O’Malley awarded NEH grant for research on slavery in early America
UCSC history professor Gregory O’Malley has received a Public Scholars Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to write a biography of David George, who was born a slave in 1743 and whose pursuit of freedom intersects with major events of the Revolutionary Era.
- August 12, 2020
UCSC partners with CSUMB for postdoctoral training and mentorship program
A $4.2 million NIH grant to UCSC’s Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells is funding an innovative program to address underrepresentation of minorities in biomedical faculty.
- August 11, 2020
Economist's research cited in bill to strengthen federal minority business agency
When the COVID–19 pandemic hit, Professor Rob Fairlie knew he needed to shift his research to the economic impact of the crisis.
- August 07, 2020
County, UCSC partner to expand local testing capacity
UC Santa Cruz has received CARES Act funds from Santa Cruz County to enable the purchase of new equipment for the UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab.
- August 07, 2020
Going with the flow—famed Ocean Explorers Summer Camp heads online
COVID-19 compelled the Seymour Marine Discovery Center to take its popular Ocean Explorers Summer Camp virtual after running the program in person for 21 years—a successful experiment that presented both challenges and opportunities.
- August 05, 2020
UCSC linguists receive $400,000 NSF grant for research on rarely studied languages
UC Santa Cruz linguistics professors Maziar Toosarvandani, Ivy Sichel, and Matthew Wagers have been awarded a $411,058 grant from the National Science Foundation to support research on endangered languages.
- August 05, 2020
Calcium-rich supernova examined with x-rays for first time
An international team has obtained unprecedented observations of a rare calcium-rich supernova.
- August 05, 2020
Influential marine biologist John Pearse dies at 84
A leading authority on marine invertebrates and intertidal ecology, Pearse was a beloved teacher and mentor to generations of marine biologists.
- August 04, 2020
College Nine: Embracing world cultures and developing tomorrow’s leaders
College Nine encourages students to take part in experiential learning opportunities and inspires them to become global citizens.
- July 29, 2020
New Sikh and Punjabi Studies chair to enhance Asian Studies with focus on social justice
Associate professor of literature Guriqbal Singh Sahota has been appointed the new Sarbjit Singh Aurora Endowed Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies.
- July 29, 2020
Toy or therapy device? Researchers study effectiveness of fidget tools
The study will assess whether a high-tech fidget device increases focus and relieves anxiety in adults with ADHD, which is particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- July 29, 2020
Sparking girls’ interest in computing through ‘social wearables’
NSF grant funds development of a summer camp for middle school girls focused on designing wearable technologies to support social interactions in role-playing games.
- July 28, 2020
UC Santa Cruz, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County partner to expand access to COVID-19 testing
The campus is testing 200-400 samples every week collected by Salud Para la Gente and Santa Cruz Community Health. UCSC is providing the tests on a cost recovery basis and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will be paying for the cost of the tests.
- July 23, 2020
Humanities Institute and Cabrillo Festival to celebrate fight for equal voting rights
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz has teamed up with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Bookshop Santa Cruz to present "Celebrating Woman Suffrage and the Struggle for Voting Rights"—a live Zoom panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
- July 22, 2020
Report exposes rampant illegal fishing in North Korean waters
Ground-breaking study reveals hundreds of vessels fishing illegally in one of the world’s most contested ocean regions, contravening UN sanctions and fueling overfishing.
- July 22, 2020
New study shows retreat of East Antarctic Ice Sheet during previous warm periods
Evidence of glacial retreat in the Wilkes Basin 400,000 years ago suggests ice loss in this region could add 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters) to future global sea level rise.
- July 20, 2020
Virtual Dickens Universe to spotlight link between Victorian and African American studies
For nearly four decades, the Dickens Project at UC Santa Cruz—the largest multi-campus consortium on Victorian studies in the world—has presented the Dickens Universe, a week of intense study and festivities among the redwoods. But this year, due to the pandemic, it will instead be hosting a weeklong "Virtual Dickens Universe."
- July 17, 2020
Is COVID-related reduction in marine traffic reducing stress in whales?
Whale researchers are taking advantage of changes in boat traffic in Monterey Bay during the pandemic to collect data on stress hormones in humpback whales.
- July 16, 2020
How galaxies die: New insights into the quenching of star formation
A simple model explains a wide range of observations by describing a contest between galaxy halos and their central black holes that eventually turns off star formation.
- July 16, 2020
UC Santa Cruz admits a strong, diverse cohort for fall
Nearly a third of admitted first-year students earned a GPA above 4.13 and 55 percent earned a GPA between 3.6 and 4.12. The campus also significantly increased the number of students admitted from low-income families, underrepresented groups, and those who will be the first in their family to earn a four-year degree.
- July 15, 2020
Astrophysics graduate student Diana Powell wins 2020 Ford Fellowship
Powell won a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to support her work as she completes her Ph.D. thesis on exoplanets.
- July 14, 2020
Scientists achieve first complete assembly of human X chromosome
The first end-to-end (‘telomere-to-telomere’) completely gapless DNA sequence of a human chromosome is a major milestone for genomics research.
- July 14, 2020
CITRIS UCSC funds new pandemic-related research projects
The campus seed funding program is providing $40K grants for three new projects to address the challenges of COVID-19.
- July 13, 2020
New film by Jennifer Taylor portrays Vermont town as microcosm of divided America
"For the Love of Rutland," a new documentary by UCSC film professor Jennifer Taylor, is an exploration of the multiple problems now faced by rural America--most notably the opioid epidemic, income inequality, racism, and xenophobia.
- July 08, 2020
UC welcomes our next president: Michael V. Drake, M.D.
The University of California Board of Regents has appointed Michael V. Drake, M.D., as the 21st president of UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three nationally affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff.
- July 08, 2020
UC Santa Cruz leads research center on botanical dietary supplements
A new $5 million NIH grant supports a collaborative research program to understand the cellular mechanisms by which botanical natural products may affect human health.
- July 07, 2020
Karen Yamashita offers dazzling short stories about growing up in Japanese America
Sansei and Sensibility, the latest book by UC Santa Cruz emerita professor of literature Karen Tei Yamashita is a dazzling collection of short stories about growing up and living in Japanese America.
- July 06, 2020
White dwarfs reveal new insights into the origin of carbon in the universe
A new analysis of white dwarf stars supports their role as a key source of carbon, an element crucial to all life, in the Milky Way and other galaxies.
- July 06, 2020
Connecting on campus
Social psychologist Rebecca Covarrubias documents the experiences of students who are the first in their family to attend college.
- July 02, 2020
A call for caution, personal responsibility
If people simply wait around for federal, state, and local governments to save them from the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than take precautions to keep themselves and their communities safe, “we will lose the economy and our lives,’’ said infectious disease expert A. Marm Kilpatrick this week.
- June 30, 2020
Merrill College: Embracing individuality and cultural identities
Merrill College values diversity, inclusion, and experiential learning.
- June 28, 2020
UCSC collaborates with Santa Cruz Shakespeare for virtual Shakespeare Summer Series
The Humanities Institute and Shakespeare Workshop at UC Santa Cruz are joining forces with Santa Cruz Shakespeare to present their first virtual Shakespeare Summer Series.
- June 26, 2020
Seymour Center director to retire
During Julie Barrett Heffington’s 21-year term as director, the center has established widely appreciated public programs and served nearly 1.5 million visitors
- June 23, 2020
Hellman Fellows Program and UC announce $125 million commitment to faculty research
The Hellman Fellows Program and the University of California announced a plan to permanently support the Hellman Fellows Program on all 10 campuses in the UC system.
- June 23, 2020
Michael Soulé, father of conservation biology, dies at 84
Michael Soulé, a professor emeritus of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz who was widely considered the "father of conservation biology," died on June 17. He was 84.
- June 22, 2020
Evidence supports ‘hot start’ scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto
A new study suggests that Pluto and other large Kuiper belt objects started out with liquid oceans which have been slowly freezing over time.
- June 22, 2020
A new challenge for engineering students’ capstone projects—COVID-19
Engineering students always face obstacles in completing their senior capstone projects, but the pandemic created unique challenges for this year’s teams.
- June 18, 2020
Raising a glass (and funds) for research
The father and uncle of the virologist Rebecca DuBois, UC Santa Cruz Cruz associate professor of biomolecular engineering, are honoring and helping to fund her research through sales of their "Going Viral" wine.
- June 17, 2020
Steck Award recipient helps discover protein involved with circadian clock timing
Afred Freeberg assisted the Partch lab in studying the molecular basis for circadian rhythms - biological processes that occur naturally in line with the Earth’s 24-hour daily rotation cycle.
- June 16, 2020
Building bridges out of prison walls
Student Alyssa Tamboura began a student-run, volunteer program called Walls to Bridges that mediates meetings between those jailed and their families as a way to work their way back to better relationships.
- June 15, 2020
UCSC’s SocDoc graduate documentary films to be screened online June 15 to August 31
UC Santa Cruz will present the premiere of thesis films by nine graduating M.F.A. students in the field of social documentation this year—in a special online presentation from June 15 to August 31.
- June 15, 2020
A commencement like no other at UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz students, faculty, and staff couldn't gather in mass on campus for this year's commencement celebrations. But they still managed to celebrate their achievement and mark the occasion with stirring speeches, activism, and creativity.
- June 15, 2020
Seymour Center taking a fresh look at visitor experience
The center was already planning a refresh this year. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, the center is set to answer even bigger questions.
- June 09, 2020
THI presents acclaimed writer Pico Iyer in conversation with history professor Alan Christy
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz and Bookshop Santa Cruz will present an online event featuring bestselling author Pico Iyer in conversation with UCSC history professor Alan Christy.
- June 08, 2020
A sporting new look for the Banana Slug
Athletics and Recreation has just revealed a brand-new riff on the Sammy Slug character, with a sleek and immediately recognizable design that is meant to evoke the department’s core values: inclusivity, ambition, and progressive values.
- June 05, 2020
Social Sciences recognizes students amid unprecedented times
The Social Sciences Division announced the recipients of its annual student achievement awards.
- June 05, 2020
Royal Geographical Society publishes special COVID-19 issue
A virtual special issue of Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers features Politics Professor Matt Sparke's article, "Contextualizing Coronavirus Geographically," and provides free access to additional articles that provide perspective on the pandemic.
- June 05, 2020
UC COVID-19 seed funding supports UCSC coronavirus genome browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute’s Genome Browser Team has received UC seed funding for its work on the UCSC Genome Browser for SARS-CoV-2.
- June 04, 2020
Historian Greg O’Malley awarded ACLS grant to expand Intra-American Slave Trade Database
UC Santa Cruz associate history professor Gregory O’Malley has received a 2020 Digital Extension Grant from The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to expand coverage of the Intra-American Slave Trade Database.
- June 04, 2020
Campus, Santa Cruz Community Health unite to test underserved community members
As news outlets published stories about celebrities and athletes unnecessarily getting tested for COVID-19, UC Santa Cruz scientists and staff saw an opportunity to provide fast testing for the community's most vulnerable residents who too often do not have access to the same medical services.
- June 03, 2020
Give revolution a chance
History of Consciousness Professor Massimiliano Tomba's prestigious Princeton University fellowship will enable him to spend the next year advancing his reinterpretation of the concept of revolution
- June 03, 2020
New method predicts spin dynamics of materials for quantum computing
A universal first-principles approach will accelerate the identification and design of materials for quantum information science and other spintronics applications.
- June 03, 2020
NOAA funds new Cooperative Institute for Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Systems
CIMEAS supports the ongoing collaboration between UC Santa Cruz and the National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
- June 02, 2020
UCSC poet, lecturer, and alumnus Gary Young receives Dizikes Teaching Award in Humanities
Literature Department lecturer Gary Young has been selected as the 2019-20 recipient of the John Dizikes Teaching Award in Humanities.
- June 02, 2020
Alumna Kathy Sullivan embarks on another first, this time to the ocean’s depths
The first American woman to walk in space, Sullivan is now aiming to be the first woman to visit the deepest spot in the oceans.
- June 01, 2020
Two vital buffers against climate change are just offshore
A new study underscores the need to conserve and restore mangroves and coral reefs for coastal protection.
- June 01, 2020
Detection of Crab Nebula shows viability of innovative gamma-ray telescope
A new prototype telescope opens doors for future discoveries at the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array.
- June 01, 2020
New optical technique provides more efficient probe of nanomagnet dynamics
Data storage devices and other emerging technologies use magnetic elements smaller than 100 nanometers, but studying their magnetization dynamics can be a challenge.
- May 28, 2020
Emerald predators: Ohlone tiger beetles reclaim territory with the help of local scientists
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists released 43 Ohlone tiger beetles to a new home in Santa Cruz County earlier this year with the help of UC Santa Cruz students and reserve managers
- May 28, 2020
Physicist Tesla Jeltema wins Mentorship Award from American Physical Society
An accomplished astrophysicist, Jeltema is also a champion for diversity and a dedicated supporter of students at all levels.
- May 27, 2020
Universe’s ‘missing matter’ finally found in the space between galaxies
An international team of astronomers has solved the decades-old mystery of the ‘missing matter’ long predicted to exist in the universe but never before detected.
- May 27, 2020
Protecting vulnerable children and families during the pandemic
In addition to experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death, the most vulnerable among us are losing ground in schooling, learning, and development, according to the authors of a new policy brief aimed at lawmakers.
- May 26, 2020
UCSC faculty and alumni win Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships from Santa Cruz Community Foundation
A dance lecturer and two alumni from the UC Santa Cruz Arts Division have been awarded Rydell Visual Arts Fellowships for 2020 and 2021 from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County.
- May 26, 2020
Astronomers create cloud atlas for hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets
Giant planets in our solar system and circling other stars have exotic clouds unlike anything on Earth, and the gas giants orbiting close to their stars—so called hot Jupiters—boast the most extreme.
- May 21, 2020
Eminent biologist Carol Greider to join UC Santa Cruz faculty
Known for her pioneering work on telomeres, Nobel laureate Carol Greider brings exceptional research and leadership skills to her appointment in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology.
- May 20, 2020
Astronomers discover a massive rotating disk galaxy in the early universe
The discovery by an international team of astronomers of a massive rotating disk galaxy, seen when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, challenges traditional models of galaxy formation.
- May 19, 2020
Virtual art galleries created to exhibit works of 13 Irwin Scholars
This year’s exhibition of artwork by 13 Irwin Scholars typically would be installed at the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at Porter College. But, with campus closed and a physical exhibition out of the question, Irwin 2020 has gone virtual.
- May 19, 2020
Field courses boost STEM diversity, study reveals
The challenge of diversifying STEM fields may get a boost from the results of a new study that show field courses help build self-confidence among students—especially those from underrepresented groups.
- May 18, 2020
Taking care of business
UC Santa Cruz students are helping to keep area businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. They're part of a program called GetVirtual, which doubles as an online entrepreneurship course and nonprofit consulting firm pairing students with local businesses hoping to transition to online orders and sales.
- May 18, 2020
Tracing neurons in the visual cortex sheds light on brain’s circuitry
Researchers used a combination of techniques to identify different neuronal cell types and trace their connectivity within the mouse visual cortex.
- May 18, 2020
Outbreak inquiry
Faculty have developed two undergraduate classes that are focusing on the effects and experiences of the coronavirus pandemic, even while the pandemic is under way.
- May 18, 2020
Campus team a finalist in Amazon's Alexa challenge
UC Santa Cruz’s Team Athena is one of five teams remaining in the Alexa Prize Socialbot Grand Challenge from a field of 375 applicants from around the world.
- May 14, 2020
COVID Catalyst Fund supports work on rapid serology test at UC Santa Cruz
Biomolecular engineer Nader Pourmand is evaluating the use of a novel nanosensor to provide rapid, low-cost, and accurate serology tests for coronavirus antibodies.
- May 14, 2020
Cowell College: Blazing the trail to lifelong learning
UC Santa Cruz’s first college prides itself on academic rigor and the spirit of community, living up to its motto: “The pursuit of truth in the company of friends.”
- May 14, 2020
Washington Post's depictions of autism shift from "cause and cure" to acceptance, study finds
The Washington Post's depiction of autism has shifted over the years from a focus on "cause and cure" toward one of acceptance and accommodation, say the authors of a new study.
- May 13, 2020
Innovative technologies to address COVID-19 funded by UC’s CITRIS
Three projects led by UC Santa Cruz researchers are among the 25 awards in the initial round of funding from CITRIS and the Banatao Institute.
- May 12, 2020
Powerful new AI technique detects and classifies galaxies in astronomy image data
UCSC researchers developed a deep-learning framework called Morpheus to perform pixel-level morphological classifications of objects in astronomical images.
- May 08, 2020
Focus on patients led alumna to nursing
Even in the midst of COVID-19, Hannah Miller said she continues to do the same job—caring for patients when they are at their most vulnerable.
- May 07, 2020
Planting trees is no panacea for climate change, says ecologist
Restoration ecologist Karen Holl has a simple message for anyone who thinks planting 1 trillion trees will reverse the damage of climate change: "We can't plant our way out of climate change."
- May 07, 2020
Team reveals genomic history of ancient civilizations in the Andes
An international research team has conducted the first in-depth, wide-scale study of the genomic history of ancient civilizations in the central Andes mountains and coast before European contact.
- May 05, 2020
Already vulnerable, gig economy workers in San Francisco suffer during coronavirus pandemic, survey reveals
A new survey of app-based ride-hailing and food and grocery-delivery workers in San Francisco underscores the financial vulnerability of workers in the gig economy—and the coronavirus has made their plight much worse.
- May 04, 2020
Alumnus leads massive effort to ramp up COVID-19 testing
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Joe DeRisi is one of the leading scientists in the fight against the novel coronavirus, helming a massive effort to ramp up state-of-the-art clinical laboratory testing for COVID-19 throughout California, while pioneering large-scale testing in Bay Area communities.
- May 04, 2020
Eleven human genomes sequenced and assembled in nine days
The dawn of good, fast, and cheap human genome assembly has arrived, thanks in part to collaboration and innovation by an international team led by UC Santa Cruz researchers.
- May 01, 2020
Slug Support provides a lifeline in the COVID-19 crisis
Emergency student assistance program rapidly shifts to remote work while fielding increased caseload and providing crucial help to some of campus's most vulnerable students
- May 01, 2020
Engineer Ricardo Sanfelice receives ‘test of time’ award for influential paper
Ricardo Sanfelice, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has received the 2020 Test-of-Time Award from the Hybrid Systems: Computation and Control (HSCC) conference.
- April 29, 2020
Zavella authors new book about reproductive justice
Pat Zavella, professor emerita of Latin American and Latino studies, has published a new book about the reproductive justice movement that blends research, history, theory, and memoir.
- April 28, 2020
Double fellowships
History of Consciousness Associate Professor Banu Bargu will use two fellowships to complete her book on human bodies, violence and political expression
- April 28, 2020
Watching the flow of water through oak woodlands at Arbor Creek Experimental Watershed
To understand how California's beloved oak woodlands will fare in a rapidly warming climate, UCSC researchers are putting a headwaters stream in the Diablo Range under a hydrological microscope.
- April 27, 2020
Alumnus sews up $1 million prize on TV's Making the Cut
Graduate Jonny Cota, competing against international designers, makes a splash on reality-style fashion show produced by model Heidi Klum and fashion consultant Tim Gunn.
- April 27, 2020
Crabeater seal data used to predict changes in Antarctic krill distribution
Tracking the feeding behavior of crabeater seals allowed researchers to build an oceanographic model of krill habitat and project how it is likely to change in the future.
- April 27, 2020
Economist Nirvikar Singh joins panel of experts
Professor of economics Nirvikar Singh has joined a panel of experts convened by the government of Punjab to oversee the revival of the state in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- April 27, 2020
UC Santa Cruz diagnostic lab to begin coronavirus testing May 1
The UCSC Molecular Diagnostic Lab will be conducting tests for coronavirus infections for the Student Health Center and local medical providers.
- April 27, 2020
Planetary scientist Francis Nimmo elected to National Academy of Sciences
Francis Nimmo, professor of Earth and planetary sciences, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
- April 24, 2020
Lecturer Ryan Coonerty named UC Free Speech Fellow
Ryan Coonerty, a longtime lecturer in the Legal Studies program at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2020-21 fellow of UC’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.
- April 24, 2020
'Seeds of Something Different' explores campus's trailblazing history
The 925-page book was inspired by a desire to share the rich treasure trove of oral history and collection of photos and campus posters with the public. It features more than 200 narrators as well as 250 images.
- April 23, 2020
Momentum builds for COVID-19 Slug Support fundraiser
The COVID-19 Slug Support campaign is a runaway success, and its momentum keeps building day by day, with a fundraising total of nearly $150,000.
- April 23, 2020
Biologist Upasna Sharma wins prestigious Searle Scholars grant
Funding from the Searle Scholars Program will support Sharma’s research on how environmental effects can be passed down from parents to their offspring.
- April 23, 2020
Astronomer Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Other new members of the class of 2020 include singer Joan Baez, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and poet and playwright Claudia Rankine.
- April 23, 2020
Watch UCSC participants talk about hope during TEDx Santa Cruz
Last December, TEDx Santa Cruz hosted a day-long extravaganza of talks curated around the theme of "The Art of Hope." Those talks, including ones by several UCSC affiliates, are now available for online viewing.
- April 21, 2020
UC Santa Cruz theater arts costume shop steps up to combat COVID-19
Just a couple of weeks ago, Brent Foland never imagined he'd be building face masks for his fellow UC Santa Cruz employees.
- April 21, 2020
Art in the time of COVID
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences offers shelter-in-place relief with a new, virtual museum called Art Without Distance, featuring sights, sounds, words, curricula, and even a quirky campus tour.
- April 21, 2020
Agroecology major available this fall
Beginning this fall, students will have an opportunity to enroll in a new agroecology major, an interdisciplinary program housed in the Environmental Studies Department.
- April 21, 2020
Delivery and ridehailing workers lack critical protections from coronavirus
Chris Benner led an online survey of app-based workers in San Francisco, and preliminary results reveal significant financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- April 20, 2020
Cholera studies reveal mechanisms of biofilm formation and hyperinfectivity
A series of publications from microbiologist Fitnat Yildiz’s lab provides new understanding of cholera biofilms and why the bacteria in biofilms are so highly infectious.
- April 20, 2020
New high-throughput approach yields libraries of probes for immunological assays
Technical innovation enables rapid assessment of T cell repertoires for research and diagnostics, with potential applications in studying COVID-19 immune responses.
- April 16, 2020
UC Santa Cruz joins the Association of Pacific Rim Universities
Joining the organization offers UC Santa Cruz another opportunity to widen institutional partnerships and relationships on a critically important international stage.
- April 14, 2020
Planetary scientist Myriam Telus wins NASA Early Career Award
Myriam Telus, assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences, has received funding from NASA through the Planetary Science Early Career Award program to support her research in cosmochemistry, the chemical analysis of extraterrestrial materials.
- April 13, 2020
New formation theory explains the mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua
A new scenario based on computer simulations accounts for all of the observed characteristics of the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system.
- April 13, 2020
Slugs help high school students choose higher education
Student organizers of SIO Weekend had to cancel their in-person event in February when COVID-19 began impacting campus. But instead of pulling the plug altogether, organizers opted to serve their respective communities in a different way through a Student Initiated Outreach Yield Panel.
- April 12, 2020
Art Torres: UC Santa Cruz’s fifth alumni regent
Art Torres (Stevenson, ‘68, government), a former California state senator and former chair of the California Democratic Party, was named the fifth UC Santa Cruz alumnus to represent the campus on the Board of Regents.
- April 10, 2020
Mathematics Professor Martin Weissman wins 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship
Martin Weissman, professor of mathematics at UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2020.
- April 10, 2020
Broadcasting opportunity
Alumnus Rizal Aliga takes the KZSC model to his high school alma mater, establishing a student-run broadcasting club that builds school spirit while providing students with career and communications skills.
- April 09, 2020
New isomer separation method a boon for research on protein oxidation
UCSC chemists have developed an easy way to separate the stereoisomers of an oxidized amino acid that has important functions in protein biology.
- April 07, 2020
On a mission for masks
Catherine Sonquist Forest is on an urgent mission to crowdsource, manufacture, and deliver cloth masks to those who need them the most in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties during the COVID-19 crisis.
- April 07, 2020
New program advances global and community health
As countries across the globe fight the coronavirus pandemic, UC Santa Cruz is creating a new program that will prepare students and provide research to solve current and future global health problems.
- April 06, 2020
COVID-19: Economist helps build "contact tracing" app for Peru
In an effort to protect people from COVID-19, economist Kristian López Vargas helped lead the development of an app the Peruvian government has launched to improve "contact tracing" .
- April 02, 2020
Raising funds for students in need
Hundreds of donors have kicked in more than $81,000 to boost the ongoing COVID-19 Slug Support Campaign, which is helping students in dire need because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
- April 02, 2020
Discrimination, governance, and trust in the age of COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily life around the world, and is simultaneously triggering challenging questions of discrimination, governance, and trust, says sociologist Jenny Reardon.
- April 02, 2020
Grow your own veggies? Orin Martin offers tips for novice gardeners
Orin Martin is delighted that people are responding to the coronavirus pandemic with a desire to grow their own veggies, and he has lots of knowledge to share—as well as one plea: Be sure to plant some flowers, too.
- April 01, 2020
Careers of distinction
The recipients of this year’s UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Graduate Student Alumni awards are leaders in their fields, advocating for the humanities, pioneering sustainable food practices, making breakthroughs in biology and statistics, and nurturing the careers of future composers.
- April 01, 2020
UCSC researchers are taking on the coronavirus challenge on multiple fronts
From developing diagnostic tests to conducting surveys of infection prevalence, campus researchers are doing what they can in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- March 31, 2020
Fighting on the front lines of COVID-19
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Jon Mark Hirshon is an emergency doctor in Baltimore, fighting COVID-19 in a large metropolitan area that is just starting to feel the brunt of coronavirus.
- March 26, 2020
California Sea Grant funds sustainable aquaculture project
Pallab Sarker, an associate research professor in environmental studies, has received support from the Coastal Sea Grant program to fund his research into the development of sustainable feed for farmed fish.
- March 25, 2020
UCSC grad students win funding for research on salmon and coastal resilience
California Sea Grant has awarded funding to two UC Santa Cruz graduate students for research projects involving restoration of salmon populations and management strategies for resilient coastal communities.
- March 25, 2020
Orin Martin recognized for 'Fruit Trees for Every Garden'
Orin Martin's book 'Fruit Trees for Every Garden' has been recognized by the American Horticultural Society as one of the outstanding gardening books of 2019.
- March 24, 2020
Recruiting raptors for rodent control along the Pajaro River levee
UCSC’s Predatory Bird Research Group is working with the Santa Cruz County Flood Control District to encourage hawks and owls to patrol the levee for rodent control.
- March 24, 2020
Thousands move out as campus transitions to remote learning
As finals week wrapped up, more than 6,800 students had notified UC Santa Cruz that they planned to move off-campus for spring quarter. Another 1,300 told housing officials they planned to remain in campus housing. About 500 students have not yet shared their plans.
- March 18, 2020
Tracking data used to identify biodiversity hot spots in Southern Ocean ecosystems
An international team of scientists used electronic tracking data from birds and marine mammals to identify areas of ecological significance in the waters around Antarctica.
- March 17, 2020
New understanding of immune modulator interleukin-2 guides drug discovery
A new study shows how IL-2’s flexible structure governs its effects on the immune system, providing crucial information for harnessing its therapeutic potential.
- March 17, 2020
How to #keepteaching and #keeplearning during a pandemic
Jody Greene is eager—almost desperate—to help her colleagues who are facing the unprecedented challenge of shifting to remote instruction for the entire spring quarter.
- March 16, 2020
UC Santa Cruz campus was ready for its close-up
Producers of 'Devs,' the new sci-fi thriller that premiered March 5 on Hulu, were looking for just the right location to depict a high-tech corporate campus with a tinge of dystopia. It needed to look like Northern California — sort of Silicon Valley-ish — and it needed to say science and tech. UC Santa Cruz was the right place at the right time.
- March 16, 2020
Timing is key for parents who want to help children learn at museums, say researchers
Children's museums can be a challenging environment for parents who feel the urge to explain the science behind all the novel activities that dazzle youngsters. New research suggests that timing is key to supporting children's learning in these environments.
- March 16, 2020
Two programs will support undergrads in research, service learning, and peer mentoring
Undergraduates in the Division of Social Sciences will soon benefit from two programs that will provide paid opportunities to do research, engage in service learning, and mentor their peers.
- March 16, 2020
Study shows widely used machine learning methods don’t work as claimed
Researchers demonstrated the mathematical impossibility of representing social networks and other complex networks using popular methods of ‘low-dimensional embeddings’.
- March 12, 2020
New book debunks myths about who causes crime and why
Craig Haney, a distinguished professor of psychology, is the author of the new book Criminality in Context: The Psychological Foundations of Criminal Justice Reform, a comprehensive analysis of 40 years of research into the root causes of criminal behavior.
- March 11, 2020
UCSC thin-film expertise to help develop NASA’s next generation of space telescopes
Engineer Nobuhiko Kobayashi's expertise in thin-film technology could improve the performance of NASA’s next generation of space telescopes.
- March 10, 2020
Astronomers use slime mold model to reveal dark threads of the cosmic web
The problem-solving prowess of a simple slime mold has been harnessed to trace the large-scale structure of the universe.
- March 10, 2020
Research shows mangrove conservation can pay for itself in flood protection
A new global study shows that mangroves provide billions of dollars worth of flood risk reduction benefits every year.
- March 10, 2020
Grad student Melissa Cronin wins Seafood Sustainability Contest
The $45,000 prize will support Cronin’s efforts to to reduce the mortality of manta rays and devil rays incidentally caught during tuna fishing.
- March 09, 2020
Pandemics expert: We need leadership, creative thinking, and government accountability as coronavirus spreads
Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter Laurie Garrett calls for communities to work together to cope with the coronavirus, caring for the most vulnerable and fighting back against misinformation.
- March 05, 2020
Mapping it out
A book by two Science Communication Program alumni celebrates the human fascination with maps, displaying more than 200 maps across history (and even fiction) and exploring the intriguing stories behind them.
- March 05, 2020
Fun Run returns to Alumni Weekend
The fourth annual Fun Run is a chance for alumni, family, friends, staff, faculty, and community members to run through the rolling campus’s iconic spots
- March 04, 2020
Elaine Sullivan uses 3D technologies to peel away the layers of history
A new "born-digital" publication by UC Santa Cruz associate history professor Elaine Sullivan takes a fresh look at the ancient Egyptian burial site of Saqqara to demonstrate how it has evolved over more than 2,500 years.
- March 03, 2020
Karen Holl publishes a "primer" on ecological restoration
Karen Holl has introduced hundreds of undergraduates to ecological restoration, and now she has published the book she wishes had been available when she first stepped into the classroom.
- March 02, 2020
Engineer Heiner Litz wins NSF CAREER Award for data storage research
Heiner Litz, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- February 28, 2020
Nostalgia, celebration, and literary star power on tap for Alumni Weekend
Alumni Weekend returns to UC Santa Cruz from Friday-Sunday, April 3-5, featuring college get-togethers, lectures, a beer and wine reception, and a special appearance by Margaret Atwood at the Quarry Amphitheater.
- February 27, 2020
UC Santa Cruz leads collaboration to speed wound healing with a novel smart bandage
With up to $16 million in funding from DARPA, UC Santa Cruz engineers will work with doctors and scientists at UC Davis and Tufts University to develop bioelectronic intelligent control of wound regeneration.
- February 24, 2020
Heising-Simons Foundation supports exoplanet imaging projects at UC Santa Cruz
Three new grants totaling $2.4 million will fund work at UCSC on new instruments and technologies to support research on planets beyond our solar system.
- February 21, 2020
UC Santa Cruz joins national "tech for social good" network
UC Santa Cruz has been accepted into a new national network of colleges and universities that have made an explicit commitment to developing technology that will advance the public interest.
- February 20, 2020
Campus conference to inaugurate new ‘Helene Moglen Lecture in Feminism and Humanities’
UC Santa Cruz will present Writing for Living, a conference in honor of emeritus dean of humanities and literature professor Helene Moglen (1936-2018), on March 13-14 at the Humanities Division.
- February 20, 2020
Aquaculture to benefit people and the environment
Two graduate students have received a one-year, $150,000 grant to create environmentally sound seaweed and sea cucumber farms on the coasts of Kenya and The Gambia.
- February 20, 2020
Norris Center aims to inspire naturalists across campus
Jessica Correa has loved insects since she was a little girl. Today she is an instructor with the Bird School Project. The Norris Center for Natural History gave her the support that launched her career in environmental education.
- February 19, 2020
Digital NEST founder receives distinguished award for leadership and vision
The James Irvine Foundation is honoring the visionary Digital NEST founder Jacob Martinez for providing workforce training and high tech skills for youth in underserved rural areas. He is one of six recipients of the 2020 awards.
- February 19, 2020
Researchers get a ‘whale’s-eye view’ of Antarctic sea ice
Cameras attached to a rare species of Antarctic whale are giving scientists an unprecedented view of how the whales survive in their sea ice habitat.
- February 18, 2020
Art professor’s exhibition in Spain addresses algae and climate change
UC Santa Cruz art professor Jennifer Parker believes that algae are an “unsung hero of the planet”--noting that these photosynthetic organisms produce one half of the total global oxygen, while absorbing one third of the carbon dioxide produced worldwide...
- February 14, 2020
Van Williams, vice chancellor of information technology, talks diversity
In recognition of Black History Month, UC's Office of the President interviewed Vice Chancellor of Information Technology Van Williams, a UC thought leader on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- February 13, 2020
Molecular switch mechanism explains how mutations shorten biological clocks
Understanding the molecular mechanisms of our internal clocks may enable the development of therapies for sleep disorders and other effects of clock disruption.
- February 13, 2020
Using isotopes to reconstruct life histories within the transatlantic slave trade
Four hundred years after the displacement of millions of Africans began, anthropologist Vicky Oelze wants to use isotope biogeochemistry to trace back and identify the origins of individuals who were abducted and perished in the Americas.
- February 11, 2020
Bringing new perspectives to astronomy
An array of grants from the Heising-Simons Foundation is helping UC Santa Cruz accelerate astrophysics and other sciences while changing what we think an astrophysicist looks like
- February 07, 2020
Coronavirus genome posted on the UCSC Genome Browser
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute is facilitating research into the novel coronavirus that has infected thousands of people since an outbreak began in Wuhan, China, last year.
- February 06, 2020
Humanities Institute launches new ‘Deep Read’ initiative with spotlight on Margaret Atwood
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz has launched “The Deep Read,” a new initiative that invites the campus—and the community at large—to take a deep dive into literature, art, and the most pressing issues of the day.
- February 06, 2020
Women's Rugby celebrates 40 years
The UC Santa Cruz Women's Rugby team celebrates its 40-year history, including numerous titles and hundreds of friendships.
- February 06, 2020
Stevenson College: An inclusive, collaborative social atmosphere
Stevenson College was built on a legacy of responsibility, engagement, and mutual understanding, preparing students to become leaders and to make positive social change in their communities.
- February 06, 2020
Proposed hydropower dams pose threat to Gabon’s fishes
Proposed hydropower dams in Gabon pose a substantial threat to the African nation’s most culturally and economically important fishes, according to a new study.
- February 05, 2020
Unprecedented study yields most comprehensive map of cancer genomes to date
Pan-Cancer Project discovers causes of previously unexplained cancers, pin-points cancer-causing events, and zeros in on mechanisms of development.
- February 03, 2020
Craig Haney testifies before committee charged with revising state's penal code
Craig Haney, distinguished professor of psychology, was the only witness to testify during the first meeting of the newly formed Committee on Revision of the Penal Code.
- January 29, 2020
UCSC taking art/science LASER talk series downtown for special evening at Rio Theater
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, the Institute of the Arts and Sciences will bring its local LASER—now in its seventh year of quarterly talks on campus—downtown for a special evening at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, beginning at 7 p.m.
- January 27, 2020
Study connects marine heat wave with spike in whale entanglements
Entanglements of humpback whales in fishing gear along the U.S. West Coast increased dramatically during the 2014 to 2016 marine heat wave known as the ‘warm blob’.
- January 27, 2020
Seismic biomarkers in Japan Trench fault zone reveal history of large earthquakes
Researchers found multiple faults with evidence of more than 10 meters of slip during past large earthquakes in the region hit by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami.
- January 27, 2020
Chancellor announces two new programs to support graduate students
In a message to the campus community, Chancellor Cynthia Larive said the programs are designed to ensure UC Santa Cruz can attract the best qualified and most innovative graduate students by increasing support for doctoral and MFA students.
- January 24, 2020
Jenny Reardon named a fellow of The Hastings Center
Jenny Reardon, professor of sociology and the founding director of the Science and Justice Research Center, has been named a fellow of The Hastings Center, a leader in the field of bioethics.
- January 24, 2020
Graduate student funds for travel to Latin America available through RCA
New funding is available for graduate students traveling to Latin America to conduct preliminary research, thanks to a grant from the Tinker Foundation and matching funds from the university that were received by the Research Center for the Americas.
- January 24, 2020
Mathematician François Monard wins NSF CAREER Award
Grant supports research on problems in integral geometry, the mathematics behind medical imaging and other applications.
- January 23, 2020
Questions That Matter: Reporting the Middle East and the future of investigative journalism
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz will present "Reporting the Middle East and the Future of Investigative Journalism"—the sixth installment of its Questions That Matter series—on Feb. 4 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in downtown Santa Cruz.
- January 22, 2020
The power of research
Wilfrido Hernández Flores discovered social science research in the Culture and Achievement Collaborative, and it changed his life
- January 21, 2020
Linguistics grad student focused on understudied languages
Vishal Arvindam is particularly interested in psycholinguistics, the study of how humans acquire, use, and understand language. Much research has been done on the world's major languages, with others left unstudied.
- January 16, 2020
In death of dinosaurs, it was all about the asteroid — not volcanoes
Volcanic activity did not play a direct role in the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, according to an international team of researchers.
- January 16, 2020
Breaking down barriers to success
First-gen student Reina Garay-Solis is doing undergraduate research to help identify common challenges for first-gen and underrepresented students and find effective institutional practices to address them
- January 16, 2020
The carbon footprint of dinner: How "green" are fish sticks?
Fish sticks may be a tasty option for dinner, but are they good for the planet? A new study of the climate impacts of seafood products reveals that the processing of Alaskan pollock into fish sticks, imitation crab, and fish fillets generates significant greenhouse gas emissions.
- January 16, 2020
$2.6 million grant funds program to increase diversity of conservation leaders
New funding for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UC Santa Cruz builds on the program’s successes in training the next generation of diverse conservation leaders.
- January 15, 2020
‘We The Enemy’ solo show by artist Carlos Motta explores the politics of borders
'We the Enemy,' the first West Coast solo exhibition of artworks by internationally acclaimed artist Carlos Motta, opens at the Sesnon Gallery on Jan. 23. It will be accompanied by 'Bodies on the Border,' a symposium at UCSC and SFMOMA, organized by the artist in collaboration with UCSC's Institute of the Arts and Sciences.
- January 14, 2020
Engineer, philanthropist Jack Baskin dies at age 100
Jack Baskin, an entrepreneur and major philanthropic supporter of UC Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz community, died at his home in Carmel on January 12.
- January 14, 2020
Global study of street networks reveals growing urban sprawl
Local streets of the world’s cities are becoming less connected, part of a global trend that is driving urban sprawl and discouraging the use of public transportation.
- January 10, 2020
Astronomer Sandra Faber awarded Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal
The Royal Astronomical Society has awarded its Gold Medal in Astronomy to Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
- January 10, 2020
Public conversation about race and racial reconciliation on Jan. 22
Racial reconciliation and the future of race in America will be the subject of a public conversation with scholars Alondra Nelson and Herman Gray on Wednesday, January 22, at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
- January 09, 2020
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor to kick off ‘Beyond the End of the World’ lecture series
The Humanities Institute and the Center for Creative Ecologies at UC Santa Cruz will launch the "Beyond the End of the World" lecture series with award-winning author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, on January 23, at the Music Center Recital Hall.
- January 09, 2020
Better protection from the flu could be on the horizon
Biomolecular engineer Rebecca DuBois is collaborating on a large multi-institutional NIH project to create a universal vaccine for influenza.
- January 08, 2020
Arts professor’s anthology named one of 'Best Art Books of the Decade'
'Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology'--a diverse collection of essays edited by UCSC history of art and visual culture professor Jennifer González--has been named one of the "Best Art Books of the Decade" by ArtNews.
- January 08, 2020
$1 million gift creates William Wallace Campbell Director’s Fund for Lick Observatory
A new endowment honoring the third director of Lick Observatory will support current and future directors’ priorities for the observatory.
- January 07, 2020
Biologist Jordan Ward wins NSF CAREER Award
Jordan Ward, assistant professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation.
- January 06, 2020
UC Santa Cruz helps develop Egyptian Center of Excellence for Water
UC Santa Cruz is partnering with the American University in Cairo, nine other Egyptian and U.S.-based universities, and industry partners to help Egypt make the most of its limited water supply.
- January 06, 2020
Food and anti-corporate globalization activist Vandana Shiva coming to campus Jan. 25-26
The public is invited to attend two events with legendary food activist Vandana Shiva, who will be at UC Santa Cruz on January 25 and 26.
