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2023 Prospective Student News

December 20, 2023
UCSC joins as founding member of new Action Collaborative to improve pathways for women of color in tech education and careers
UC Santa Cruz has joined a new Action Collaborative on transforming trajectories for women of color in tech which was launched by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and 35 other institutions representing higher education, national laboratories, and government.
December 18, 2023
J. Mijin Cha testifies on solutions to energy poverty before congressional subcommittee
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies J. Mijin Cha shared her insights on solutions that could make electricity more affordable for low-income families across America.
December 15, 2023
Nobuhiko Kobayashi elected to the 2023 National Academy of Inventors
Nobuhiko (Nobby) Kobayashi, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
December 14, 2023
W.M. Keck Observatory appoints Rich Matsuda as director
The W. M. Keck Observatory today announced the appointment of Rich Matsuda as its next director, effective January 1, 2024.
December 07, 2023
Building community through Slug Stories at College Nine and John R Lewis
More than 200 students gathered on November 28 for Slug Stories, an annual College Nine and John R. Lewis College tradition. Live and in-person for the first time in three years, the event showcased nine impassioned students who told stories of life experiences that have shaped who they are today.
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.
December 05, 2023
THI Graduate Public Fellows champion the relevance of Humanities education in a changing world
An innovative Public Fellowship Program at the Humanities Institute (THI) is showing the important real-world impact of doctoral students’ humanities skills and expertise and offering exciting possibilities for the future of graduate education and career pathways.
December 05, 2023
Preparing the next generation of doctors
The University of California, Santa Cruz, an institution renowned for innovation, social justice, and sustainability, announces a unique Premed Postbaccalaureate Program focused on bridging looming healthcare gaps in California.
December 01, 2023
Indigenous scientists awarded $9M to establish the first RADx Tribal data repository that upholds Indigenous data sovereignty
The National Institutes of Health announced funding for an Indigenous Data Repository led by Native scientists to help improve health in tribal communities and for all Indigenous Peoples.
November 30, 2023
Smart microgrids can restore power more efficiently and reliably in an outage
A new AI model that optimizes the use of renewables and other energy sources outperforms traditional power restoration techniques for islanded microgrids, a new paper from Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Yu Zhang shows.
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.
November 28, 2023
New eDNA Explorer provides a powerful new resource for conservation
CALeDNA has launched a prototype of their new eDNA Explorer, an open-source tool that provides a powerful and easily accessible platform for sharing, exploring, and analyzing data from projects that use environmental DNA.
November 28, 2023
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Professional Education upgrades its Semiconductor and VLSI Engineering Certificate to address skilled professional shortage and industry growth
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Professional Education is proud to announce the upgrade of its Silicon Chip Design & Semiconductor Engineering Certificate program (Formerly known as VLSI and Semiconductor Engineering), aimed at alleviating the shortage of skilled professionals in the industry and meeting the growing demands of the semiconductor sector.
November 28, 2023
Dwarf planet Eris is squishier than expected
University of California, Santa Cruz Professor of Planetary Sciences Francis Nimmo recently co-authored a Science Advances paper about the internal structure of the dwarf planet Eris.
November 27, 2023
UCSC Alumnus Leo Merle wins Gold for Team USA at the 2023 Parapan American Games
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Leo Merle (Rachel Carson ’20) won the gold medal in the Men’s T38 1500-meter race at the Parapan American Games on Nov. 21.
November 21, 2023
New book shares expertise from UC Santa Cruz and beyond on preparing students to tackle environmental justice issues
A new book developed by UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff offers teaching examples, strategies, and classroom tools to help integrate environmental justice into courses in ways that center equity.
November 21, 2023
UC Santa Cruz faculty member elected president of Sociologists for Women in Society
Associate Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Sylvanna Falcón was recently elected president of Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS). Falcón’s term in the position will start at the beginning of 2024.
November 21, 2023
Campus to eliminate enrollment adjustment fees effective January
UC Santa Cruz is eliminating three long-standing enrollment adjustment fees, including the $10 Removal of Incomplete Fee.
November 20, 2023
Life Beyond the Redwoods: Maxwell Ward follows his dreams one year after UCSC graduation
One year after graduating from UCSC, Maxwell Ward (Cowell ’22, history of art and visual culture and anthropology) is pursuing a Ph.D. in anthropology with a focus on archaeology from McGill University in Quebec and is an editor at Collective Research in Anthropology Journal.
November 17, 2023
Fishing chimpanzees found to enjoy termites as a seasonal treat
A UCSC-led research team that copied chimpanzee tools and techniques showed that chimpanzees living in western Tanzania can only reliably fish for termites in the early wet season.
November 16, 2023
Brain-inspired AI code library passes major milestone, new paper offers perspective on future of field
UCSC Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Jason Eshraghian's open source code library for brain-inspired deep learning, called “snnTorch,” has surpassed 100,000 downloads and is used in a wide variety of projects. A new paper details the code and offers a perspective on the future of the field.
November 16, 2023
UC Santa Cruz will lead new systemwide basic needs consortium to bring together researchers and practitioners
UC Santa Cruz’s Blum Center on Poverty, Social Enterprise, and Participatory Governance will become the UC Santa Cruz Center for Economic Justice and Action, taking on a new leadership role in University of California basic needs efforts that enhance students’ access to food, housing, and other essential resources.
November 14, 2023
New open access course – data-driven animation for science communication
The Teaching & Learning Center at UC Santa Cruz is delighted to announce that Dr. Jessica Kendall-Bar has created an open access version of her Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication course, which is now freely available on the Coursera platform.
November 14, 2023
Central Coast K-16 Education Collaborative receives $18.1 million grant to revolutionize student pathways and bridge equity gaps
The Central Coast K-16 Regional Collaborative has been awarded an $18.1 million, three-year grant through California’s Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) to establish new or expand existing pathways for career opportunities and to address long-standing equity gaps for students across the region.
November 07, 2023
Celebrating Election Heroes
November 6 was Election Hero Day, a civic holiday honoring the heroes of American democracy. UC Santa Cruz wants to celebrate the tremendous contributions our students have made, ensuring a safe, secure, and accessible voting experience for everyone in the campus community.
November 07, 2023
UC Santa Cruz students win three categories at Orange County Sustainability Decathlon
An interdisciplinary team of UC Santa Cruz students, many from the Rachel Carson College Sustainability Minor program, designed and built EcoHus, an innovative, affordable, net-zero house. The EcoHus team was selected to receive a $100,000 grant to participate in the 2023 Orange County Sustainability Decathlon (OCSD) held on Oct. 5-15, where they won first place in three categories, and secured second and third place in other categories.
November 02, 2023
True or false? How uncertainty about the accuracy of information affects learning
UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral scholar Karen Arcos, Assistant Professor of Psychology Hannah Hausman, and Department Chair of Psychology Benjamin Storm published new research that explores how the process of guessing whether information is true or not might affect learning.
November 01, 2023
Immigrants targeted by scams are seeking justice. Here’s how to help them get it
Assistant Professor of Sociology Juan Manuel Pedroza's research has identified trends in what types of justice immigrants who have been targeted by scams are seeking and offers recommendations for policymakers and law enforcement agencies on how to expand access to justice.
November 01, 2023
Irene Lusztig’s Film Richland Explores a Town Grappling with its Ties to the Atomic Bomb
Irene Lusztig's latest film, Richland, tells the story of the town of the same name. The film opened at Tribeca and at the prestigious International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, it was selected to be part of the program "Signed."
October 31, 2023
Coral reefs identified as national natural infrastructure
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) approved a resolution on Oct. 26 that designates coral reefs along U.S. states and territories as national infrastructure. This resolution makes it easier to direct federal funding, particularly infrastructure, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery monies, to reef conservation and restoration to protect people, property, and livelihoods.
October 31, 2023
Slug Gaming looks to level up presence on campus
Slug Gaming, a student group for casual and competitive esports players, want to increase campus support for their players and foster a strong sense of community for gamers at UCSC.
October 30, 2023
Multidisciplinary team will develop advanced rhizosphere carbon imaging for climate change research with support of major DOE grant
A team of researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University are leading a new project in which they aim to use dynamic imaging and modeling of carbon in the rhizosphere to answer longstanding questions about how carbon moves through the soil and plant root interface.
October 24, 2023
Bacteria can enhance host insect’s fertility with implications for disease control
New research led at UC Santa Cruz reveals how the bacteria strain Wolbachia pipientis enhances the fertility of the insects it infects, an insight that could help scientists increase the populations of mosquitoes that do not carry human disease.
October 24, 2023
Remembering the grave injustices to Japanese-Americans in the 1940s through female activism
On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Cowell College’s Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery launched a two-month exhibition entitled “Never Again is Now: Japanese American Women Activists and the Legacy of the Mass Incarceration.” The exhibit — on display through Dec. 2 — features artwork and historical renderings of women’s memories surrounding this time period, including challenges to racial and gender stereotypes, promotions of intergenerational ties, and developed coalitions of years past.
October 23, 2023
Working to improve clarity for patients assessing their genetic breast cancer risk
A project to expedite the analysis of variants on the BRCA 1 and 2 genes, the most commonly affected genes in breast cancer cases, will help more people to better understand their cancer risk.
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 12, 2023
FUTURE in Biology program receives NSF grant to explore field courses as a tool for equity
A group of researchers at UC Santa Cruz recently received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the impacts of these field courses and develop best practices for making them more accessible.
October 10, 2023
Three climate resilience projects supported by 2023 CITRIS Interdisciplinary Innovation Program
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute and the Innovation & Business Engagement Hub collaborated to fund three projects focused on climate resilience and that align with developing solutions that address some of the California's most pressing climate challenges.
October 09, 2023
System-wide leaders visit campus to discuss next steps in Agricultural Experiment Station designation
A group from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources visited UC Santa Cruz to discuss implementation for the campus’s official designation as an Agricultural Experiment Station.
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 09, 2023
Statement on Israel-Hamas conflict
We have watched with deep sadness the unfolding violence in Israel and Gaza, and we are gravely concerned at the escalating conflict across the region. Our hearts go out to everyone in harm’s way and all who have been affected.
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.
October 03, 2023
UC Santa Cruz releases new strategic plan, forms implementation executive committee
Marking the culmination of a year-long campuswide conversation to craft a shared vision for the future, UC Santa Cruz today is launching "Leading the Change: The UC Santa Cruz Strategic Plan" and has formed an executive committee to guide and support its implementation.
October 03, 2023
Welcome Week brings events, energy and enthusiasm to campus community
In celebration of the start of the fall quarter and in an effort to empower a new class of students to connect with campus, UCSC hosted an array of high-energy and highly attended, Welcome Week activities. This story provides highlights from those activities and events.
October 02, 2023
Biotech founder and hero of the Human Genome Project joins UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute as Executive Director
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute has selected scientist, entrepreneur, and executive Lauren Linton as their new Executive Director.
October 02, 2023
Genome study reveals 30 years of Darwin’s finch evolution
A study led by UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral scholar of Genomics & Bioinformatics Erik Enbody paints a dynamic picture of how species adapt to changing environments.
September 28, 2023
US Department of Agriculture visits UC Santa Cruz to learn about research and workforce development projects
UC Santa Cruz faculty, staff, and students shared information about USDA-funded research and education projects on campus with special guests from the USDA.
September 28, 2023
Anthropology faculty members partner on new National Science Foundation Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science
UC Santa Cruz anthropology faculty members Tsim Schneider and Jon Daehnke received a more than $500,000 subaward through a new National Science Foundation (NSF) center that aims to address climate change by equitably combining insights from Indigenous knowledges and mainstream "Western" sciences.
September 27, 2023
UCSC’s David Deamer and Mark Akeson honored for invention of nanopore sequencing
UCSC's David Deamer and Mark Akeson won the AAAS Golden Goose award for the invention of nanopore sequencing, a transformational technology for reading DNA and RNA.
September 27, 2023
Research partnership will turn power plant emissions into fish feed
UC Santa Cruz’s ecological aquaculture research team will partner with the company Global Algae Innovations to test whether a microalgae grown using captured carbon dioxide emissions could be an effective feed ingredient for rainbow trout.
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 19, 2023
Reimagining digital presence, UC Santa Cruz debuts new homepage
Creating a digital presence that reflects excellence and impact, UC Santa Cruz debuted today a new homepage with a modern and responsive design, crisp language, stunning photos, and compelling videos.
September 18, 2023
UC Santa Cruz Computer Game Design program ranked top five in the nation by U.S. News and World Report
The Computer Game Design program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was listed in the top five best game/simulation development programs in the nation according to rankings released today by U.S. News and World Report.
September 11, 2023
2023 ARCS Foundation scholarships support UCSC graduate students in the sciences and engineering
Sixteen UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $175,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2023-24 academic year.
September 06, 2023
Novel device combines nanopores with electronic signals for disease detection
Research led by UC Santa Cruz Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Marco Rolandi shows the power of bioprotonic nanopores for disease detection.
September 05, 2023
Campus leaders showcase innovation, entrepreneurship efforts to special Regents committee
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive and other campus leaders showcased the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives to a group of UC regents and external advisors on Monday.
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 31, 2023
New blood test for noncoding RNA significantly improves cancer detection
Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Daniel Kim and his lab are developing more accurate and powerful liquid biopsy technologies that take advantage of signals from RNA “dark matter,” an understudied area of the genome.
August 31, 2023
Five UC Santa Cruz projects win California Climate Action Grant funding
Millions of dollars in new funding will support UC Santa Cruz and partners in tackling some of California's toughest climate change challenges through innovative research and community engagement.
August 30, 2023
Coastal fisheries show surprising resilience to marine heatwaves
Researchers found that fish biomass often increased or was unaffected in the year following a marine heatwave.
August 29, 2023
The sky’s the limit: Becca Fenwick gives research and education a new perspective with drone tech
The CITRIS principal investigator and director of the CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research at UC Santa Cruz advances wildland management, ecology research and workforce development with uncrewed aerial vehicles and remote sensing systems
August 23, 2023
10 mysteries of the Y chromosome
Researchers have just completed the first full sequence of a Y chromosome — what will we learn?
August 23, 2023
Scientists release the first complete sequence of a human Y chromosome
Scientists have completed the first full sequence of a human Y chromosome, completing the set of end-to-end human chromosomes and helping researchers to better understand human reproduction, evolution, and population change.
August 17, 2023
Nearly $1 million in USDA grants will support 3 UCSC-led agricultural technology projects
Three UC Santa Cruz research teams led by engineering faculty will pursue innovative agriculture technology projects with the support of seed grants from the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
August 15, 2023
UCSC computer science student selected into Major League Hacking’s top 50 list
Rising second-year computer science student Marina Lee was chosen out of a community of 150,000 hackers for her outstanding work in developing accessible STEM education programming and building an inclusive hacking community.
August 15, 2023
Marine scientists explore the future of open data science
Alexa Fredston, an assistant professor of ocean sciences considers open science to be a vital part of their academic career and a key way to make the field of marine science more transparent and inclusive. They recently published an article in the journal Annual Review of Marine Science about improving open data science practices within marine science.
August 15, 2023
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences presents West Coast Premiere of Maria Gaspar: Compositions
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences, is opening a new exhibition beginning on September 26, 2023 that goes through March 3, 2024. Entitled Maria Gaspar: Compositions, it is the first West Coast solo exhibition by the Chicago-based, Guggenheim-winning artist.
August 10, 2023
Researchers’ tool finds bias in state-of-the-art generative AI model
UCSC researchers introduce a new tool to measure bias in text-to-image AI generation models, which they have used to quantify bias in the state-of-the-art model Stable Diffusion.
August 08, 2023
UC Santa Cruz welcomes vibrant and talented incoming class
The University of California, Santa Cruz is preparing to welcome more than 5,500 new Banana Slugs to campus this fall, reflecting its commitment to providing equitable access and a transformational experience.
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.
August 03, 2023
Student-supported global research compares regional relationships with Big Pharma
Recent UC Santa Cruz graduates helped to author a study on the strategies governments use to attract and manage the biopharmaceutical industry, focusing in particular on the different types of economic value and health value that these efforts provide, or fail to provide, to citizens.
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 31, 2023
Golden-crowned sparrows return to overwintering sites in part because of their friends
Golden-crowned sparrows return to the same wintering sites each year after migrating thousands of miles. But their precision — which is often within the tens of meters — depends in part on the return of their friends.
July 28, 2023
Engineering faculty take on innovative climate resilience projects
Engineering professors are leading three major projects to address climate crisis issues with funding from UCSC’s newly launched Center for Coastal Climate Resilience.
July 26, 2023
NSF graduate fellowship winner reflects on successes at UC Santa Cruz
Graduating senior and NSF-GRFP recipient Valery Ortiz shares about her experience at UC Santa Cruz, her involvement with STEM Diversity, and what she hopes for the future.
July 26, 2023
First DNA analysis of Machu Picchu residents offers insight into Inca society
DNA analysis, conducted largely at UC Santa Cruz's Paleogenomics Lab and led by Anthropology Professor Lars Fehren-Schmitz, suggests that servants at Machu Picchu were a uniquely diverse group, and the geographic extent of ancestral origins may even challenge historical narratives about how and when the Inca Empire expanded.
July 25, 2023
St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant will expand pediatric cancer research at UCSC
A new $100,000 grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will provide UC Santa Cruz’s Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative funding to expand efforts to study rare pediatric cancers.
July 13, 2023
To support Hispanic women in STEM, UC Santa Cruz hosts inaugural HSRU Alliance conference
Convened by the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, an inaugural cohort from universities, government, foundations, and industry met at UC Santa Cruz to discuss and develop a framework to support the advancement of Hispanic women in their academic and professional STEM careers.
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.
July 06, 2023
UCSC Alumna Madison Nguyen prepares for 2024 Santa Clara Board of Supervisors run
Madison Nguyen (Rachel Carson ’97, History) was born in Vietnam. When she was four, she and her family escaped in a fishing boat, eventually arriving in California. With support from her community, family, and UCSC, she has forged a strong and inspiring career in service.
July 06, 2023
UC Santa Cruz’s global impact grows as campus becomes next leader of Right Livelihood College network
As the Global Secretariat of the Right Livelihood College, UC Santa Cruz students and faculty to work directly with some of the world’s leading advocates in social justice and sustainability on education, scientific research, and practical activities that spread and upscale their work.
June 29, 2023
Study shows significant decline of snow cover in the Northern hemisphere over the last half century
Professor and Statistics Department Chair Robert Lund collaborated on a new study that uses rigorous mathematical models and statistical methods and finds declining snow cover in many parts of the northern hemisphere over the last half century.
June 29, 2023
Statement on Supreme Court decision regarding college admissions
Taken together with other federal and state actions across the country, today’s decision is not simply about admissions, but the latest attempt to dismantle evidence-based efforts aimed at reducing systemic barriers to opportunity experienced by historically marginalized populations, including communities of color.
June 29, 2023
UC Santa Cruz models accessible and inclusive admissions
The University of California, Santa Cruz has long employed holistic methods to recruit, evaluate, and support applicants through the decision making process, aiming to enroll a student body that reflects the diverse population of California to prepare alumni to become global citizens.
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 27, 2023
White House cites economist Rob Fairlie’s research on Native American entrepreneurship
The Biden-⁠Harris Administration cited research by UC Santa Cruz Economics Professor Rob Fairlie on the coronavirus pandemic’s impact for Native American-owned businesses.
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
Katia Obraczka appointed director of CITRIS at UC Santa Cruz
Katia Obraczka, professor of Computer Science and Engineering, has been appointed director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC Santa Cruz
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 13, 2023
Novel deep learning-based software detects and tracks individual cells with high precision
Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Ali Shariati and doctoral student Abolfazl Zarageri together with several student researchers in the Shariati lab have developed and released a new deep learning model called “DeepSea,” one of the only tools with the ability to segment cells, track them and detect their division to follow lineages of cells.
June 08, 2023
UC Santa Cruz joins Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative
The initiative provides campus leadership with a comprehensive program to foster a campus climate in which Jewish students feel comfortable expressing their identity free of antisemitism, harassment, or marginalization.
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.
June 08, 2023
Alumna Stephanie Foo discusses her newest book
Stephanie Foo, longtime journalist and radio producer released her first book, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma, in February 2022
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 06, 2023
New exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences bring innovative, socially engaged art to the Central Coast
Carolina Caycedo and David de Rozas: The Blessings of the Mystery and Sadie Barnette: Family Business, a multi-sited exhibition with the San José Museum of Art, will be on view at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences April 28 - September 3, 2023.
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.
May 31, 2023
Judit Moschkovich joins two national leadership programs for mathematics education
Moschkovich is now a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction and a co chair of the National Academy of Education's Equity in Math Education Research Grants (EMERG) Program.
May 31, 2023
Crucial organic farming issue addressed by UC workshops, collaborations
UC Santa Cruz-based organic production specialist Joji Muramoto collaborated on a UC Cooperative Extension workshop series for organic vegetable and fruit growers on how to manage nitrogen.
May 30, 2023
Students find support, success through Next Generation Scholars in Applied Mathematics program
Students have found success through the Next Generation Scholars in Applied Mathematics program, which provides students scholarships and additional support such as counseling and career readiness workshops
May 23, 2023
UC Santa Cruz engineers join major transportation cybersecurity project
Researchers from UC Santa Cruz will play an important role in protecting the United States’ transportation systems against cybersecurity threats as part of a new national center
May 18, 2023
Karen Miga named 2023 Searle Scholar to study uncharted regions of the human genome
Karen Miga, assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2023 Searle Scholar.
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 16, 2023
UCSC ranked number two on Wall Street Journal list for top public colleges for high-paying jobs in engineering
New rankings from the Wall Street Journal place UC Santa Cruz as the number two public school for high-paying jobs in engineering, just behind UC Berkeley, and the number nine public school for high-paying jobs in data science and software.
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
Meeting with California lawmakers, UC Santa Cruz leaders highlight impact of teaching, research
UC Santa Cruz leaders met last week with California lawmakers to highlight the University of California's critical role in educating the state's students, conducting cutting-edge research, and ensuring the state remains a worldwide economic powerhouse.
May 16, 2023
Mark Fathi Massoud awarded Berlin Prize
Massoud's Berlin Prize fellowship will allow him to focus on research about perceptions and experiences of shari‘a in the United States.
May 12, 2023
UC Santa Cruz ranked No. 2 Best Public University for Making an Impact by Princeton Review
For the second year in a row, UC Santa Cruz has been ranked as the No. 2 Best Public University for Making an Impact by Princeton Review.
May 10, 2023
Human pangenome reference will enable more complete and equitable understanding of genomic diversity
UC Santa Cruz scientists, along with a consortium of researchers, have released a draft of the first human pangenome—a new, usable reference for genomics that combines the genetic information of 47 individuals from different ancestral backgrounds to allow for a deeper, more accurate understanding of worldwide genomic diversity.
May 09, 2023
UC Santa Cruz honored for innovative online Orientation Course
UC Santa Cruz’s online summer Orientation Course has been recognized for its innovative and inclusive approach to preparing entering students. The Orientation Course was awarded the 2023 Regional II Innovative Program Award from the Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education.
May 09, 2023
UC Santa Cruz to lead data collection center for major federal project on genetic underpinnings of neurological conditions
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will run the Data Coordination Center for the Scalable and Systematic Neurobiology of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Risk Genes (SSPsyGene) Consortium.
May 05, 2023
UCSC prepares alumna for Peace Corps path
Alyssa Scarsciotti (Stevenson ’20, Sociology and Linguistics) dreamed of joining the Peace Corps since she was a child. After graduating from UCSC, Scarsciotti is making her dream a reality.
May 04, 2023
Center for Agroecology will support new USDA Regional Food Business Center
The University of California, Santa Cruz will support the establishment of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Regional Food Business Center to support resilient food systems.
May 03, 2023
Ed Green named QB3-Santa Cruz Scientific Director
Richard (Ed) Green, professor of biomolecular engineering, has been selected to serve as the next director of the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at UC Santa Cruz.
May 02, 2023
Deep neural network provides robust detection of disease biomarkers in real time
Holger Schmidt's lab has developed a deep neural network that improves the accuracy of their unique devices for detecting pathogen biomarkers.
May 02, 2023
Meet UCSC’s new Chief of Police Kevin Domby
UC Santa Cruz’s newly appointed Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Kevin Domby credits his high school art teacher with introducing him to the idea of a career in public service. "Throughout my career, whether it was when I was a teacher or as a peace officer, I've enjoyed mentoring, training and teaching," Domby said.
May 02, 2023
UC Santa Cruz and United Way invest in youth perspective in researching mental health throughout local communities
Beginning in early 2021, UC Santa Cruz partnered with the United Way of Santa Cruz County’s Youth Action Network, seeking to support youth empowerment and leadership. As part of that vital work, the partners were recognized as the United Way Partner of the Year.
April 24, 2023
Electrical engineer wins award to support improvement of efficient, low-cost agricultural soil sensor systems
UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Colleen Josephson is a recipient of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research’s (FFAR) 2022 New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award.
April 21, 2023
New stable isotope map of Angola helps archaeologists trace individual life histories across the African Diaspora
UCSC researchers' methods could provide significantly more detail and certainty in identifying first-generation enslaved individuals in the Americas and tracing back their origins within Africa than was previously possible through strontium isotope analysis work or genetic analysis.
April 18, 2023
Two film and digital media faculty receive 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship Awards
Sharon Daniel and Anna Friz were among 171 artists, scholars, scientists and writers selected from nearly 2,500 applicants for the award.
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 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 14, 2023
Rebecca London testifies in support of bill that would guarantee recess for California students
Associate Professor of Sociology Rebecca London testified before the California State Senate Education Committee on April 12 in support of SB 291, which would guarantee at least 30 minutes of recess per day for California students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
April 12, 2023
Naming system for transfer RNA fragments will increase research productivity, standardization
UC Santa Cruz Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Todd Lowe and his group created a new naming scheme for tRNA fragments aimed at standardizing research.
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 11, 2023
Colombian all-female team uncovers naturalist Elizabeth Kerr’s long-forgotten legacy
Many fields of study have long been dominated by men but a team of eight female Colombian researchers are committed to uncovering the story of naturalist pioneer Elizabeth Kerr, whose legacy had remained invisible despite her vast contributions to ornithology.
April 06, 2023
Two major stem cell research projects supported with more than $2.6 million in funding
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will provide more than $2.6 million in total funding for two major stem cell research projects led by scientists at UC Santa Cruz, the organization announced.
April 05, 2023
Food system researcher Julie Guthman wins distinguished career award
Professor of sociology and community studies Julie Guthman was recognized with the Distinguished Career Award by the Cultural and Political Ecology speciality group of the American Association of Geographers.
April 04, 2023
White House cites Rob Fairlie’s research in annual economic report
Economics Professor Rob Fairlie’s research on race and ethnicity in higher education was cited in the 2023 Economic Report of the President.
April 04, 2023
Milestone land acknowledgement event brings campus, local tribe and community members together
On Wednesday, April 12, the campus will host its first Land Acknowledgment event, recognizing the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and its place in the local history of the land and the creation of UC Santa Cruz. The event will aim to answer the community’s questions about land acknowledgments, and the importance of such events moving forward.
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 28, 2023
A scholar in his own community: Kevin Weatherwax
Computational Media Ph.D. student Kevin Weatherwax's research is supported through the Piatt Fellowship, a scholarship for doctoral students from Santa Cruz County.
March 28, 2023
Improving access to Early Start Summer Edge Program
This year, to advance access to a summer start, the Division of Undergraduate Education has removed the Summer Edge $50 registration fee, which is one of several initiatives taken to encourage new admits, and particularly transfer students, to take advantage of the opportunity to make degree progress before their first fall.
March 25, 2023
Grant funds Sarker's aquaculture sustainability research
Pallab Sarker received a foundation grant fund from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, amounting to $170,947 over three years to strengthen his lab’s ecological aquaculture work.
March 25, 2023
Pedroza received Russell Sage Foundation Pipeline Grant
Assistant Professor Juan Manuel Pedroza aims to learn more about these challenges and speak to them, with the help of a recently awarded grant from the Russell Sage Foundation.
March 21, 2023
Center for Labor and Community opens on UC Santa Cruz campus
Scholars studying the economic and social impacts of a variety of labor and employment issues facing workers in Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay Area just announced the opening of a new center on campus that will provide timely and policy-relevant labor research, will educate the next generation of labor and community leaders and will advance labor, community, and occupational health initiatives.
March 21, 2023
Computer engineering research prompts bug fixes, updates to major GPU frameworks
A new suite of GPU tests developed by Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Tyler Sorensen and his students led to changes to an important GPU framework for programming web browsers.
March 17, 2023
Black Studies minor builds momentum
The Black Studies minor at the University of California, Santa Cruz has grown in size and influence at a time when the United States continues to grapple with its long history of racism.
March 14, 2023
Researcher solves nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma
Dejan Milutinovic has solved a nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma called the wall pursuit game, with implications for better reasoning about autonomous systems such as driverless vehicles.
March 09, 2023
New project will develop safer, highly accurate GPS alternative
Ricardo Sanfelice, UCSC professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his team of graduate students and researchers are designing a new and resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) system.
March 07, 2023
SpikeGPT: researcher releases code for largest-ever spiking neural network for language generation
Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Jason Eshraghian and two students recently released the open-sourced code for the largest language-generating spiking neural network ever, named SpikeGPT.
March 02, 2023
Leaf wetness sensor will enable better plant disease forecasting and management
An interdisciplinary team of researchers created a new type of sensor for more accurately measuring leaf wetness which will enable better plant disease forecasting and management.
February 24, 2023
UC Santa Cruz sees record number of first-year applications
The University of California, Santa Cruz has begun the process of building the fall 2023 class of students seeking to learn and thrive at an institution that leads at the intersection of innovation and social justice. The competition to earn a spot at UC Santa Cruz remains strong this year, with a record number of applications received.
February 21, 2023
Researcher wins inaugural NHGRI award for DEIA Innovation in the Genomics Workforce
Ann Mc Cartney received the National Human Genome Research Institute’s (NHGRI) inaugural Staff Award for DEIA Innovation in the Genomics Workforce.
February 13, 2023
Arts Division to break ground on new state-of-the-art Social Documentation Lab
UC Santa Cruz’s Division of the Arts will soon begin construction of a world-class production and post-production facility in support of its Social Documentation (SocDoc) MFA program.
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.
February 10, 2023
Big data expert to headline MLK Convocation
Dr. Talithia Williams, a mathematician and big data expert who seeks to “STEMpower” underrepresented groups to enter STEM fields, will address the 39th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation, a virtual event on February 21.
February 09, 2023
Bots and Broadway: Technology and theater go hand-in-hand for UCSC professor
Using AI-generated text to produce dialogue during a live performance may seem like a wild idea to some, but not to performance and new media professor Marianne Weems. Weems, co-founder and artistic director of New York-based multi-dimensional theater company The Builders Association, is used to pushing the envelope with her ground-breaking work at the intersection of technology, media, and theater arts.
February 07, 2023
UCSC joins FAA/ UAS Collegiate Training Initiative
UC Santa Cruz is now the first UC- or CSU-member of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/ Unmanned Aircraft Systems’ (UAS) Collegiate Training Initiative program.
February 03, 2023
UCSC receives NEH awards that will further research in anthropology and musicology
On January 10, the NEH announced $28.1 million in grants toward 204 humanities projects nationwide. Two of this year’s recipients are part of the Slug family themselves, and their new grants will help to further their research in both anthropology and musicology at UC Santa Cruz.
January 31, 2023
Three UCSC faculty named 2022 AAAS fellows
Three UC Santa Cruz professors received the distinction of 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the association announced today.
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
University launches new center, Campus + Community, to facilitate engaged scholarship
After more than 50 years of engagement in the region, UC Santa Cruz is launching a new center to coordinate campus and community connections for action-oriented scholarship that advances social justice.
January 31, 2023
John Bollard named associate vice chancellor for student health and wellness and chief well-being officer; joins Division of Student Affairs and Success
The Division of Student Affairs and Success is excited to announce John Bollard has been hired as the associate vice chancellor for student health and wellness and chief well-being officer. He will begin his appointment Thursday, February 2.
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 31, 2023
The university invites campus community to come together for SlugUnity: A Space for Healing
In the wake of numerous, horrific acts of violence that have recently unfolded across the country, UCSC invites students, staff, and faculty to gather together in the Quarry Amphitheater this Thursday, February 2 from noon to 1 p.m..
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 17, 2023
Researchers produce first-ever toolkit for RNA sequencing analysis using a ‘pantranscriptome’
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz introduce the first-ever method for analyzing RNA sequencing data genome-wide using a “pantranscriptome.”
January 17, 2023
UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of the Arts and Sciences to open new, off campus galleries
The state-of-the-art facility will showcase the Institute of the Arts and Sciences’ groundbreaking exhibitions and programs, highlighting the work of major national and international artists working to address the most pressing issues of our day at the intersection of the arts and social justice.
January 17, 2023
Announcing Teenie Matlock as special adviser to the chancellor for Indigenous matters
Teenie Matlock, most recently Vice Provost for Academic Personnel at UC Merced, has officially joined UC Santa Cruz as Special Adviser to the Chancellor on Indigenous Relations.
January 12, 2023
Sensorium, a new project of UC Santa Cruz’s Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, to be an unprecedented experience of the world ocean
A new project in development by UC Santa Cruz’s Center for the Study of the Force Majeure will give the public a transformative opportunity to interact with the world’s ocean ecosystem in a fully immersive work of environmental art entitled Sensorium.
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.