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2020 Awards and Honors

December 11, 2020
Biologist Carol Greider elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors
Carol Greider, distinguished professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
December 08, 2020
Two UCSC engineers elected IEEE Fellows
Leila Parsa, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Lise Getoor, professor of computer science and engineering, have been elected Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
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.
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 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 18, 2020
List of most highly cited researchers features 19 UCSC scientists and engineers
A new list of the world's most highly cited researchers includes 19 scientists and engineers at UC Santa Cruz.
November 18, 2020
Geologist David Rubin elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union
David Rubin, a researcher in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
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 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 05, 2020
Biology Teaching Labs wins honorable mention for Freezer Challenge 2020
Julio Harvey, biology teaching laboratories manager in the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department, has won an honorable mention in the 2020 Freezer Challenge.
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 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.
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 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
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
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 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.
September 29, 2020
Two UCSC physicists elected Fellows of the American Physical Society
Physicists Onuttom Narayan and Stefano Profumo were honored by APS for their exceptional contributions to physics.
September 28, 2020
Strategic sourcing manager honored with first women in supply chain award
Kathleen Rogers, senior strategic sourcing manager for UC Santa Cruz, has been awarded Supply & Demand Chain Executive's first Women in Supply Chain Award.
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 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 21, 2020
LALS doctoral candidate Candy Martínez awarded Native American Scholars Initiative Fellowship
Candy Martínez, a PhD. candidate in Latin America Latino Studies, has been named a 2020-2021 Andrew W. Mellon Native American Scholars Initiative Fellow at the American Philosophical Society.
August 20, 2020
Coastal scientist Borja Reguero awarded Early-Career Research Fellowship
The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has awarded a 2020 Early-Career Research Fellowship to IMS researcher Borja Reguero.
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.
July 21, 2020
Computer scientist Luca de Alfaro wins ‘test of time’ awards for influential papers
Luca de Alfaro, professor of computer science and engineering, received 2020 Test-of-Time Awards from the IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS) and the International Conference on Embedded Software (EMSOFT).
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 10, 2020
STEM Diversity Programs honored by ‘Insight into Diversity’ magazine
'Insight into Diversity' magazine has recognized the STEM Diversity Programs at UC Santa Cruz with its 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.
July 01, 2020
Researchers honored for work in UCSC-NOAA Fisheries Collaborative Program
Three researchers affiliated with the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) at UC Santa Cruz have received awards from the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center for their outstanding contributions to research in 2019.
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 15, 2020
Committee on Teaching recognizes innovative, dedicated instructors
The UC Santa Cruz Committee on Teaching has announced the eight recipients of the 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award.
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 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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 02, 2020
Physics undergraduate wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
Elizabeth Yunerman, a junior studying physics and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
March 26, 2020
Grad student wins support for Joshua tree research
Daniel Hastings, a graduate student in environmental studies, has received a research fellowship award to support his work studying the effects of climate change on the Joshua tree.
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 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 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 26, 2020
Geographers recognize Guthman book, Wilted, about the strawberry industry
Julie Guthman has been awarded the 2019 Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography for her book, Wilted.
February 25, 2020
Five UC Santa Cruz astronomers are among the first class of AAS Fellows
The American Astronomical Society has designated an initial group of more than 200 Legacy Fellows, including five faculty members in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
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
Mathematician François Monard wins NSF CAREER Award
Grant supports research on problems in integral geometry, the mathematics behind medical imaging and other applications.
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 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 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.