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2023 Physical and Biological Sciences

June 07, 2023
Astronomers observe giant tails of helium escaping Jupiter-like planet
Heat from the host star is evaporating the atmosphere from a “hot Jupiter” exoplanet, creating some of the longest gas tails ever observed around a planet.
June 02, 2023
UC Santa Cruz announces recipients of Chancellor’s Innovation Impact Awards
The Chancellor’s Innovation Impact Awards celebrate the university’s talented faculty, researchers, staff, students, and community partners for their outstanding contributions to innovation and creativity.
June 01, 2023
UC Santa Cruz offers new major in microbiology
UCSC is offering a new major in microbiology leading to a B.S. degree, administered by the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology.
June 01, 2023
UC Santa Cruz now offers graduate degrees in materials science and engineering
The interdisciplinary program will serve students interested in developing new materials for next-generation technologies.
June 01, 2023
Study identifies boat strikes as a growing cause of manatee deaths in Belize
Belize is a stronghold of the Antillean manatee population, but increasing boat traffic poses a growing threat to this endangered relative of the Florida manatee
May 31, 2023
Astronomers map temperatures and find traces of water in a super-hot gas giant’s atmosphere
Astronomers used the Webb Telescope to make a temperature map of the “hot Jupiter” exoplanet WASP-18b, revealing dramatic temperature gradients in its atmosphere.
May 30, 2023
Associate Teaching Professor Alegra Eroy-Reveles receives Distinguished Teaching Award
Alegra Eroy-Reveles, an associate teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was honored for the positive impact she has had on her students, colleagues, and department.
May 18, 2023
Study reveals key molecular interaction that sets the timing of our biological clocks
New findings point toward a promising target for the development of therapies for sleep disorders, jet lag, and other effects of clock disruption.
May 17, 2023
Comb jellies proven to be the sibling group to all other animals
New research proves comb jellies are a unique lineage or “sibling group” whose ancestors diverged before the common ancestor of all other animals.
May 17, 2023
Salmon documentary produced by UCSC team to air on KQED
‘Southern Range’ was directed by Soc Doc alumnus Kyle Baker and produced by the Seymour Center and the Fisheries Collaborative Program at UCSC.
May 16, 2023
Excellence in Action: Celebrating UCSC’s 2023 Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award Recipients
Now in its seventh year, the Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award welcomes its 2023 cohort.
May 16, 2023
Summer programs draw visitors to Lick Observatory for music and stargazing
The Summer Series program at UC's Lick Observatory draws concert fans and astronomy devotees to the summit of Mt. Hamilton for live music, evening astronomy lectures from world-renowned scientists, and the opportunity to view celestial objects through historic telescopes.
May 16, 2023
Physical and Biological Sciences Division honors three prominent alumni
The Division of Physical and Biological Sciences is honoring three stellar alumni—atmospheric scientist Cora E. Randall, pediatrician Ramon Resa, and marine scientist Colleen Reichmuth—with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards.
May 15, 2023
Astronomers observe the first radiation belt seen outside of our solar system
High-resolution imaging of radio emissions from an ultracool dwarf show a double-lobed structure like the radiation belts of Jupiter.
May 11, 2023
Dickson Emeriti Professorships awarded to faculty in music, theater arts, and biology
Three UCSC faculty members—Kathy Foley, Edward Houghton, and Susan Strome—have been honored with Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship Awards for the 2023–24 academic year.
May 03, 2023
Geoscientist Emily Brodsky elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Emily Brodsky, professor of Earth and planetary sciences, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 27, 2023
Genome of famed sled dog Balto reveals genetic adaptations of working dogs
Still a good boy nearly 100 years after historic sled run, Balto has now helped scientists explore the genetics of working dogs and demonstrate the power of comparative genomics.
April 27, 2023
As the California sea lion population got bigger, so did male sea lions
Unlike other marine mammals, male California sea lions have gotten bigger over the past 50 years as their population has grown.
April 26, 2023
UCSC Chemical Screening Center symposium features drug discovery talks
The center will hold a Grand Reopening Celebration and Research Symposium on Friday, May 5, marking a major upgrade with new state-of-the-art equipment.
April 26, 2023
One of the planet’s most important carbon sinks is revealing its secrets
New research clarifies how tiny organisms in the Southern Ocean play an outsized role in moderating Earth’s climate.
April 20, 2023
Elephant seals drift off to sleep while diving far below the ocean surface
Brainwave patterns show elephant seals take short naps while holding their breath on deep dives, averaging just 2 hours of sleep per day while at sea.
April 20, 2023
UC chemistry departments gather at UCSC to discuss DEI issues
The first UC-wide conference on diversity, equity, and inclusion in chemistry, held April 15 at UCSC, brought together chemistry faculty and students from across the UC system to discuss challenges and share ideas.
April 19, 2023
Biologist Beth Shapiro elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
April 18, 2023
Indirect cost recovery changes for fiscal year 2024
Attention Principal Investigators: UC Santa Cruz recently updated its federal Facilities and Administration (F&A) agreement approving indirect cost recovery rates for sponsored contracts and grants.
April 17, 2023
Annual climate change event takes aim at heat and human health for 2023
The ninth annual Confronting Climate Change event gathered top scholars to discuss the health impacts of climate change and the social and economic transformations needed to address them.
April 13, 2023
Study pushes back the emergence of African grasslands by more than 10 million years
An international team of scientists has documented the earliest evidence for local abundance in eastern Africa of the types of grasses that now dominate grassland and savannah ecosystems in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
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.
April 03, 2023
Big Questions: Astronomer Father and Artist Daughter
An astrophysicist, musician, mentor, and inspiration, Bill Mathews died in September 2021. His daughter, Amey Mathews, began drawing portraits of him in his memory.
April 03, 2023
NASA’s search for life in the cosmos is focus of April 17 lecture and discussion
‘Whispers from Other Worlds,’ a public lecture and discussion at the Rio Theater, features NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen and science journalist Nadia Drake.
April 03, 2023
Ocean scientist Kenneth Bruland recognized for pioneering research paper
The 2023 John H. Martin Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography celebrates an influential 1998 paper on the role of iron in coastal ecosystems.
March 30, 2023
Grad student Huazhi Ge wins postdoctoral fellowship for planetary science research
Huazhi Ge, a doctoral candidate in planetary science at UC Santa Cruz, has won a prestigious 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation to support his postdoctoral research.
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.
March 22, 2023
JWST’s first direct spectrum of planetary-mass object reveals dynamic atmosphere
The most detailed spectrum ever for a planetary-mass object outside our solar system covers an unprecedented range of wavelengths, providing a wealth of new insights.
March 21, 2023
Collaboration with NASA uses eDNA technology to monitor biodiversity
UCSC scientists collected environmental DNA samples in South Africa as part of the BioSCape project.
March 21, 2023
Scientists, policy leaders, and insurance experts meet to address climate risks
The Coastal Climate Resilience Symposium held at the Seymour Center focused on integrating nature-based solutions into risk management and insurance.
March 20, 2023
UCSC names astronomer Bryan Gaensler dean of Physical and Biological Sciences
UC Santa Cruz has appointed internationally recognized astronomer Bryan Gaensler to serve as dean of the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, effective August 15.
March 15, 2023
Young Supernova Experiment releases first set of transient survey data
UC Santa Cruz astronomers organized the survey, which has discovered thousands of cosmic explosions and other transient events of interest to astronomers and astrophysicists.
March 13, 2023
Minke whales are as small as a lunge-feeding baleen whale can be
Research on the feeding behavior of Antarctic minke whales found that a smaller whale could not capture enough food to survive using the lunge-feeding strategy of baleen whales.
March 13, 2023
Winning Grad Slam presentation highlights disease threat to Hawaiian birds
Ecology and evolutionary biology graduate student Christa Seidl will compete in the UC systemwide Grad Slam in May, presenting her research on avian malaria.
March 13, 2023
Planetary scientist Myriam Telus wins NSF CAREER Award
Myriam Telus, assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her research on the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets.
March 09, 2023
First images released from James Webb Space Telescope’s largest general observer program
Mosaic images from the COSMOS-Web program offer a treasure trove of early galaxies, including dazzling examples of spiral galaxies, gravitational lensing, and evidence of galaxy mergers.
March 08, 2023
Marine mammal reproduction rests on a precarious tipping point of ocean resources
A study of northern elephant seals reveals a threshold at which a small decrease in the amount of prey females can find during foraging migrations could lead to a sudden drop in reproductive success.
March 06, 2023
Graphene quantum dots show promise as novel magnetic field sensors
Physicists found that speeding electrons trapped in circular loops in graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields.
March 03, 2023
Astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz wins 2023 AAAS Mentor Award
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has awarded the 2023 AAAS Mentor Award to Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.
February 27, 2023
Shrinking age distribution of spawning salmon raises climate resilience concerns
Study suggests changes in hatchery practices could help increase population stability for Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon, the backbone of California’s salmon fishery.
February 21, 2023
RNA Rescue challenge invites players to solve puzzles and advance RNA therapeutics
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a new puzzle challenge for the online game Eterna, enlisting players to help design a novel RNA drug to treat hemophilia A.
February 21, 2023
Major expansion of Lick Observatory education programs will benefit Bay Area students
Scientific Teaching through Astronomy Research (STARs), a suite of new outreach and education programs at UC’s Lick Observatory, will reach a diverse population of K-12 and college-age students.
February 03, 2023
Funding opportunity to develop university innovations
The Innovation & Business Engagement Hub is now accepting applications for its new Innovation Catalyst Grant; a proof-of-concept program focused on providing targeted gap funding, training, mentorship, and support to UC Santa Cruz researchers in order to help de-risk and/or validate the implementation and adoption potential of early-stage technology innovations.
February 03, 2023
UC Santa Cruz leads DOE program to train computational high-energy physicists
The Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) at UC Santa Cruz is leading a consortium of western research universities and national laboratories in a new program to train the next generation of computational high-energy physicists.
February 02, 2023
Astronomers observe light bending around an isolated white dwarf
The first detection of gravitational lensing for a single, isolated star other than our sun comes 100 years after a landmark experiment using the sun to confirm Einstein’s prediction.
February 01, 2023
Three UCSC faculty win prestigious NSF CAREER awards
The CAREER Awards are NSF's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
January 30, 2023
Disclosing foreign collaborations in research projects
In order to comply with evolving federal regulations related to disclosing foreign collaborations and other support, the Office of Research has updated Cayuse to include screening questions. These questions are meant to trigger information that needs to be disclosed on all applications and progress reports for projects with federal funding.
January 30, 2023
Two new species of rare succulents found in Mexico named by UCSC botanist
A retired staff botanist at the UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Garden studied the rare plants found on an island off the coast of Baja California and identified two new species of dudleya.
January 30, 2023
NIH grant funds research on a powerful new approach to drug development
A new NIH MIRA grant funds biochemist Scott Lokey’s efforts to develop complex, membrane-permeable molecules as next-generation therapeutic agents.
January 23, 2023
McKenna Smith: Pursuing biological sciences
McKenna Smith was awarded the Keeley Coastal Scholars Award in 2022. Learn more about how scholarships support students at UC Santa Cruz.
January 23, 2023
UCSC leads new multicampus initiatives on climate change and bilingualism
UC Santa Cruz faculty are leading two new collaborative programs funded by grants from UC’s Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI) program.
January 23, 2023
Study reveals influence of krill availability on humpback whale pregnancies
Data from Antarctica show more humpback whales get pregnant after years with abundant krill than after years when krill were less plentiful.
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.
January 20, 2023
Vulnerability of red sea urchins to climate change depends on location
Scientists found that red sea urchin populations are adapted to local environments, but some populations will suffer more than others as conditions change in the future.
January 16, 2023
Study finds active galactic nuclei are even more powerful than thought
A new study indicates that scientists have substantially underestimated the energy output of active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes because their light is dimmed by dust.
January 11, 2023
Earth scientist James Zachos honored for climate change research
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Climate Change category recognizes Zachos and fellow paleoclimatologist Ellen Thomas of Yale University.
January 09, 2023
Astronomers find the most distant stars in our galaxy halfway to Andromeda
A search for variable stars called RR Lyrae has found some of the most distant stars in the Milky Way’s halo a million light years away.
January 03, 2023
UC Santa Cruz Cal Teach program connects area STEM majors with local public schools
Established in fall 2005, the UCSC Cal Teach program is one of nine in the UC system, with a goal to recruit and support undergrads in the STEM field to become teachers in K-12 schools.