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2023 Experiential Learning

December 05, 2023
Cloud technologies bring organoids into undergraduate classrooms for the first time
For the first time, remote education tools have allowed undergraduate students to gain direct experience experimenting with cortical organoids grown at UC Santa Cruz.
November 29, 2023
UCSC’s 2023 iGEM team grabs fourth consecutive gold medal and nomination for best software tool at international competition
A team of UC Santa Cruz students won a gold medal at the 2023 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Grand Jamboree, marking their fourth consecutive year of bringing home the prize, and were nominated as best software tool for the first time.
October 23, 2023
Creative Technologies, new online major in Arts Division, first of its kind on any UC campus
The Arts Division’s new Creative Technologies online major is the first of its kind on any UC campus.
October 16, 2023
Slugworks welcomes students across campus to new creative space
Slugworks, a new creatorspace on campus located in the Jack Baskin Engineering building, is open to the campus community.
October 09, 2023
Cal-Bridge awarded $4 million to diversify STEM
The Cal-Bridge program, which supports students from historically underserved backgrounds in STEM, was recently awarded $4 million in the 2023-2024 California state budget. The funding will provide scholarships, mentorship and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students around the state in physics and astronomy, computer science, and math.
October 04, 2023
UCSC iGEM 2023 addressing harmful algal blooms through synthetic biology
A team of UCSC undergraduate students is designing and assembling a plasmid that targets the toxic genes of a type of freshwater bacteria responsible for harmful algal blooms.
September 26, 2023
UC Santa Cruz welcomes new faculty to campus
UC Santa Cruz welcomes 54 new faculty members to campus who bring a wide array of expertise in research and creative scholarship that will open new areas of investigation and expression and expand existing areas of work.
September 01, 2023
GREAT program creates new opportunities for students to participate in research
This summer, the “Genome Research Experiences to Attract Talented Undergraduates into the Genomics Field to Enhance Diversity” (GREAT) programmed welcomed six students from California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) to an intensive eight-week research program at UC Santa Cruz.
August 18, 2023
Undergraduate research funding available through Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP)
LAEP is a form of work-study that funds 100% of eligible student wages for on-campus, research-focused employment.
August 07, 2023
A childhood cancer survivor becomes a cancer researcher
This summer, 15-year-old Robert McCabe helped to sequence and analyze a tumor sample in the lab of the UC Santa Cruz Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative.
July 31, 2023
UCSC students behind bus tracking app selected as only U.S. team in Google Solution Challenge’s top 10
The competition, which invites thousands of students worldwide to compete, tasks students to come up with technical solutions that contribute to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development goals.
July 10, 2023
Volunteer who helped keep the Seymour Center open is honored
Dale Bieser, one of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center's long-time volunteers, was recognized with the Be the Difference Award - Individual Honoree by the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County. Over the past 12 years, she has become a vital member of their team.
June 27, 2023
Q&A with John MacMillan, vice chancellor for research
After nearly two years as the interim Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR) for UC Santa Cruz, John MacMillan was appointed to the permanent VCR role on June 1, 2023, after a nationwide search. Here he discusses his vision for UC Santa Cruz and its research enterprise.
June 22, 2023
UC Santa Cruz receives $10 million grant to cultivate diverse food and agriculture professionals
The United States Department of Agriculture awarded the University of California, Santa Cruz a $10 million grant to lead a transformative five-year project. The funding will be leveraged to serve and uplift a broad range of students and community members, ensuring a lasting impact on the food and agriculture sector.
June 15, 2023
Interdisciplinary team wins Small Farm prize in first-ever Farm Robotics Challenge
An interdisciplinary team of students and researchers created an autonomous weeder which was recently recognized with the Small Farm prize at the inaugural Farm Robotics Challenge.
June 08, 2023
UCSC team wins third place in first-ever Amazon SimBot challenge
A team of UC Santa Cruz computer science and engineering (CSE) Ph.D. students won third place in the first-ever Amazon Alexa Prize SimBot Challenge, a university competition focused on advancing virtual assistant technology.
May 22, 2023
Huerta Center naming inspires full-circle gift
The naming of the Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas hits close to home for a UCSC staff member with a family connection
April 17, 2023
Banana Slugs seek to advance conversational AI in all three Amazon Alexa Prize challenges
Three teams of UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering students are developing next-generation, multimodal AI-powered systems for a chance to win $500,000 or more per challenge.
April 12, 2023
Undergrad Samantha Contreras wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
Samantha Contreras, a junior majoring in physics at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
March 30, 2023
New program advises UCSC Ph.D. students on their path to entrepreneurship and venture capital
Many student-led innovations never make it out of the lab. A new program at UC Santa Cruz aims to change that by mentoring Ph.D. students in the life sciences on alternative career pathways outside academia: entrepreneurship and venture capital.
February 13, 2023
Designing the digital user experience to meet research needs - Meet Jessica Waggoner
Jessica Waggoner, the user experience librarian, and her students work to understand information-seeking behaviors so the campus community can easily access the resources they need to be successful in their classes and push the boundaries of research.
January 31, 2023
Improving the student experience: aligning Colleges, Housing, and Educational Services within the Division of Student Affairs and Success
In an effort to improve the student experience, Colleges, Housing, and Educational Services (CHES) is moving from the Division of Finance, Operations, and Administration (FOA) to the Division of Student Affairs and Success (DSAS).
January 31, 2023
Learning-Aligned Employment Program Launches; provides 100% funding for on-campus, student research positions
LAEP is a nine-year, state-funded, work-based learning program similar to federal work-study. The program offers eligible students the opportunity to earn money to help defray their educational costs while gaining education-aligned, career-related employment.
January 23, 2023
Five student teams embark on tech for social good projects
Five student teams will take on tech for social good projects with funding from the UCSC CITRIS and the Banatao Institute and the UCSC Institute for Social Transformation.