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2021 Press Releases

February 26, 2021
Massive debris flow swamps Big Creek Reserve as heavy rains follow summer wildfire
Boulders the size of vehicles and decades-old redwoods were ripped from the banks of the Big Creek drainage when an atmospheric river inundated the Landels-Hill Big Creek Natural Reserve on the Big Sur coast in late January.
February 26, 2021
Deep Read to present Tommy Orange in conversation with literature professor Micah Perks
Award-winning novelist Tommy Orange will be featured in conversation with literature professor Micah Perks, director of UCSC’s Creative Writing Program, in a free virtual event on Wednesday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m.
February 25, 2021
Forest monitoring efforts contribute to new understanding of climate change impacts
Data collected by student interns at UC Santa Cruz’s Forest Ecology Research Plot recently contributed to a breakthrough in understanding how climate change affects forests.
February 22, 2021
LASER talk to feature research by UCSC deans of the humanities and social sciences
The event will feature research presentations by Jasmine Alinder, Dean of the Humanities (“Representing Japanese American Incarceration”), and Katharyne Mitchell, Dean of the Social Sciences (“Sanctuary Space and Insurgent Memory”).
February 21, 2021
Bringing physical engagement into the online teaching and learning environment
A new series of videos is now available to UCSC students, faculty, and staff to help offset the increasingly sedentary lifestyle generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
February 18, 2021
Computer scientist Yang Liu wins $1M grant for research on fairness in AI
Liu’s research aims to achieve more equitable outcomes from decision-making tools based on automated machine-learning algorithms.
February 17, 2021
Oldest DNA sequences reveal how mammoths evolved
Analysis of ancient DNA sequences recovered from mammoth teeth reveal North American mammoths were descended from two earlier mammoth lineages.
February 16, 2021
Hope, mutual aid, and abolition
Activist and organizer Mariame Kaba offers a blueprint for mutually supportive communities during the 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation
February 11, 2021
Annual Jewish Studies Diller Lecture to feature award-winning author Sarah Stein
This year’s Helen Diller Distinguished Lecture in Jewish Studies will feature guest author and scholar Sarah Abrevaya Stein—in conversation with UCSC’s Neufeld-Levin Chair of Holocaust Studies, Alma Heckman—on Wednesday, February 17, at 5 p.m.
February 10, 2021
Genentech Foundation grants support UCSC STEM diversity programs
Three academic support and mentoring programs at UC Santa Cruz have received funding from Genentech’s 2020 Diverse Future of STEM Fund.
February 09, 2021
Astronomer J. Xavier Prochaska honored for top research paper in Science
J. Xavier Prochaska, distinguished professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, and his coauthors of a landmark paper describing a fast radio burst from a massive galaxy have been chosen to receive the prestigious AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize.
February 05, 2021
Troupe dynamic
UC Santa Cruz's African American Theater Arts Troupe, which is celebrating its 30-year anniversary, has not only staged plays but also taken up works that deal with issues of race, injustice, and discrimination; brought its performances into the community; and awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships.
February 04, 2021
Healthy oceans need healthy soundscapes, say marine scientists
A global team of researchers has documented the pervasive impacts of noise on marine animals and ecosystems and identified actions to return to the soundtrack of the healthy ocean.
February 04, 2021
Three UCSC film alumni recognized by International Documentary Association
Three alumni from UCSC’s Film and Digital Media Department received nominations for this year's prestigious International Documentary Association Awards (IDA).
February 04, 2021
Rob Fairlie testifies before Congress on inequality in pandemic economic impacts
Rob Fairlie testified before the House Committee on Small Business to share his latest research on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, including the disproportionate hardships faced by minority-owned businesses.
February 01, 2021
Noncoding RNA has surprising effects on immune response and sepsis, study finds
A long noncoding RNA regulates the expression of inflammatory genes and has a surprising effect on vulnerability to septic shock in mice.
February 01, 2021
Anthropologist Savannah Shange wins book award for insights on race and education
Anthropology faculty member Savannah Shange received one of the most prestigious honors in the field when she was awarded the 2020 Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology.
February 01, 2021
Green New Deal architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright will make a virtual campus visit
Gunn-Wright previewed some of the insights she'll share on climate policy and environmental justice during her February 10th event with the Institute for Social Transformation.
January 29, 2021
In Memoriam: Robert Shepherd (1938-2021)
Robert Shepherd, a teaching professor emeritus from the UC Santa Cruz Economics Department, passed away at 82 years old. Shepherd taught at UC Santa Cruz for more than 30 years and was instrumental in the development of both the accounting path and the business management economics major.
January 29, 2021
Sociology researcher seeks solutions for Public Safety Power Shutoffs
Sociology researcher Les Guliasi’s most recent paper shows how “microgrid” technologies could reduce the impact of outages, if regulatory challenges can be resolved.
January 28, 2021
UCSC awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grants to support faculty research
UC Santa Cruz has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support faculty research and writing leading to book projects.
January 26, 2021
Digital NEST founder to serve as external adviser to chancellor
Jacob Martinez is bringing his insight on economic opportunity, community empowerment and digital innovation to UC Santa Cruz as an external special adviser to Chancellor Cindy Larive.
January 25, 2021
Energy spent avoiding humans linked to smaller home ranges for male pumas
New research shows that fear of humans causes mountain lions to increase their energy expenditures as they move through the landscape, and this can ultimately limit the size of the home ranges they’re able to maintain.
January 25, 2021
A year of generosity
In 2020, UCSC donors demonstrated how giving can make a positive difference even in a period of turmoil.
January 25, 2021
Seymour Marine Discovery Center offers new marine science virtual expeditions
“Scientists Saving the Oceans” program begins with a behind-the-scenes look at how marine mammal researchers are working to protect dolphins and whales from ocean noise.
January 22, 2021
New book by arts professor takes fresh look at controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
UCSC history of art and visual culture professor Derek Conrad Murray offers the first dedicated book-length critical study of Mapplethorpe's lesser-known still life flower photographs.
January 20, 2021
Italian newspaper ranks sociology professor among top women of the year
Camilla Hawthorne is being recognized for shedding light on emergent Afro-Italian identities and activism during a time of racial reckoning in Italy and beyond.
January 19, 2021
UC Santa Cruz economic impact provides foundation for thriving region
When adjusted for the size of the Monterey Bay regional economy, UC Santa Cruz’s economic impact is second only to UC Davis in the Sacramento/Tahoe region and ahead of UC Santa Barbara in what is defined as the Central Coast of California.
January 19, 2021
Grant funding will advance aquaculture research in UCSC’s new state-of-the-art facility
Researchers won a USDA grant in support of their efforts to develop a more ocean-friendly feed formula for farm-raised rainbow trout. This work will take place in the team's new aquaculture facility at the UCSC Farm.
January 14, 2021
Humanities Institute launches 2021 Deep Read with Tommy Orange’s novel ‘There There’
Following the success of last year’s Deep Read with guest author Margaret Atwood, The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz has announced the second installment of its new program that invites the campus and community to think deeply about literature, art, and the most pressing issues of the day.
January 13, 2021
UCSC’s Osterbrock Leadership Program goes national
The National Osterbrock Leadership Program provides experiences and opportunities for astronomy graduate students to develop leadership and management skills.
January 12, 2021
Study of flowers with two types of anthers solves mystery that baffled Darwin
Some flowers use a clever strategy to ensure effective pollination by bees, doling out pollen gradually from two different sets of anthers.
January 11, 2021
UC Santa Cruz offers virtual tours of Younger Lagoon Natural Reserve
Prompted by the temporary suspension of in-person tours due to COVID-19, the new virtual tours are available in English and Spanish.
January 08, 2021
Two UCSC geophysicists honored by Royal Astronomical Society
Thorne Lay and Emily Brodsky, both professors of Earth and planetary sciences, are receiving the Gold Medal for Geophysics and the Price Medal, respectively.
January 08, 2021
New analysis highlights importance of groundwater discharge into oceans
A global assessment of the impact of groundwater on ocean chemistry is important for understanding the weathering of rocks and its effects on climate.
January 08, 2021
UCSC’s Living Writers Series a place to shelter in the storm
“Shelter and Place” is the theme of the 2021 winter installment of the Living Writers Series at UC Santa Cruz. Curated by Micah Perks, professor of literature and director of the Creative Writing Program, the now virtual series will run from January 14 through March 4, on Thursday nights throughout the winter quarter.
January 08, 2021
Professor recognized among the art world’s top influencers for 2020
Anthropology professor Anna Tsing won international acclaim for an interdisciplinary project that documents drivers of the Anthropocene in creative new ways.
January 07, 2021
Students, staff, faculty contribute nearly 160,000 meals through Holiday Food and Fund Drive
UC Santa Cruz students, staff, and faculty contributed nearly $40,000 to the 2020 Holiday Food and Fund Drive sponsored by the Staff Advisory Board, enough to provide nearly 160,000 meals to local residents.
January 07, 2021
UCSC imagines campus 20 years from now, releases roadmap for its future and accompanying environmental review
The draft 2021 Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP) and accompanying draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) released today lays out a framework for the campus’ evolution and reflects years of collaboration with campus and community members.
January 07, 2021
Graduate student advances university access for Latinx students
Valeria Alonso Blanco wants to do anything she can to help Latinx transfer students have a successful experience at UC Santa Cruz.
January 05, 2021
Friends of Lick Observatory helps fund wildfire recovery efforts
The group has designated $75,000 for the emergency support of wildfire relief efforts at Lick Observatory, where telescopes were saved but infrastructure was damaged.
January 04, 2021
UC Santa Cruz scholar of Chinese American history Judy Yung dies at 74
Judy Yung, a pioneering author and scholar of Chinese American and women's history, died on December 14, 2020.
January 04, 2021
Uncovering the social factors lurking within diabetes risk
Assistant professor of sociology James Doucet-Battle's new book challenges assumptions about race within diabetes research and delves into the issue through the lens of African American experience.
January 04, 2021
Shedding light on one of environmental policy’s most under-the-radar strategies
Associate professor of environmental studies Sikina Jinnah studies the environmental provisions contained within trade agreements and wants to help policymakers better navigate this space.