Climate & Sustainability
Exploring the edges of science
Alumnus Jonathan Trent is a marine biologist and former NASA scientist whose groundbreaking work spans ocean research, space science, and sustainable technology.
After graduating from UCSC, Jonathan Trent got a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, worked abroad for some years in microbiology, and worked at NASA for 21 years.
Key takeaways
- Trent’s scientific journey began at UC Santa Cruz, where an open curriculum and inspiring mentors shaped his path.
- He spent 21 years at NASA, leading interdisciplinary research and delivering a TEDGlobal talk with over a million views.
- Now, he’s tackling climate and resource challenges through his startup, UpCycle Systems.
For Jonathan Trent (Porter ’75, biology), UC Santa Cruz was more than a college—it was a launchpad for a brilliant, globe-spanning scientific career. Inspired by ocean-loving professors and UCSC’s radical spirit, Trent went on to earn a Ph.D. from Scripps, conduct postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute, and hold prestigious positions from Yale to Tokyo before spending 21 years at NASA. His groundbreaking work—spotlighted in a TEDGlobal talk with over a million views—continues today with UpCycle Systems, a bold venture addressing food, water, and energy security. Through it all, he’s carried the values UCSC instilled: curiosity, rigor, and the joy of discovery.
“UCSC combined the natural beauty I loved with a bold educational experiment—the pursuit of truth in the company of friends,” Trent said.
Trent was drawn to UCSC for its radical, ungraded approach to education, renowned professors, the redwoods, and the spirit of freedom the university fostered. He was also intrigued by the “pass or no-record” evaluations, and as a young diver and surfer, he found the location near Monterey Bay irresistible. Trent credits UCSC professors John Pearse and Mary Silver with transforming his love of the ocean into a lifelong passion for science.
“They taught me to do science with enthusiasm and rigor, two things I have aspired to maintain my whole career.”
Inspiring UCSC Experiences
As a student at UCSC, Trent found the intellectual freedom he craved, embracing the university’s open curriculum to explore everything from theoretical linguistics to marine biology.
“It was the freedom available to me there to explore widely, follow my instincts, and learn without the fear of grades that was so important in my education,” Trent said.
Inspired by courses with Professors William Shipley and John Grinder, Trent developed a lifelong appreciation for how language shapes behavior. But it was his passion for the ocean that ultimately charted his course. An experienced diver, Trent convinced Professor John Pearse to let him join an advanced subtidal ecology course despite lacking prerequisites, an opportunity that redirected his curiosity toward marine science.
That spirit of exploration led Trent and his friend Alan Shanks to pioneer a bold new approach: using SCUBA to observe plankton in the open ocean.
“Most plankton is microscopic and traditionally collected with fine-mesh nets or water bottles from research ships. But I was curious about the larger, visible plankton like jellyfish, and wondered: ‘What if we could dive offshore and see them in their natural habitat?’” Trent explains.
Trent and his friend Alan Shanks pitched the idea to Professor Mary Silver, who was teaching a pelagic ecology course.
“Amazingly, she gave us the key to UCSC’s 16-foot Boston Whaler and told us to give it a try.”
After taking the boat about a mile offshore in Monterey Bay, their dive experience included sinking fast, heavy pressure build-up in their ears, and water so dark they could barely see.
“Just before we broke the surface, I caught a glimpse of a bizarre rainbow-colored jellyfish-like creature the size of a grapefruit, a ctenophore, though I didn’t know it at the time.”
(photo credit: John Mattison)
This launched what became a long, rewarding career.
That glimpse of a rainbow-colored ctenophore grew into years of open-ocean research, spanning the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and even dives in the legendary Alvin research sub.
One of his proudest early milestones came when he co-authored Marine Snow: Microplankton Habitat and Source of Small-Scale Patchiness in Pelagic Populations, published in Science—a landmark moment made possible, he says, by UCSC’s unique blend of freedom, encouragement, and academic rigor.
A family affair
Trent’s UCSC journey was shared with his mother, the late Miriam Ellis, a passionate lifelong learner who became a beloved figure on campus. They arrived together in 1971—he as an undergraduate, she as a graduate student in French and Spanish literature—and supported each other as they built a new life in Santa Cruz.
(photo credit: Knud Johansen)
“My mother and I visited the campus together and instantly fell in love with UCSC,” Trent said. “While raising our family in the San Fernando Valley, my mother took courses in everything from Russian to geology at Pierce College, then earned her MA in literature from Valley State. UCSC, with its natural beauty and radical academic culture, felt like a perfect fit for us both.”
Ellis went on to teach French, theater, and opera at UCSC, eventually founding the Miriam Ellis International Playhouse, a language-through-theater program that continues her legacy of inspiring students long past her retirement in 2004 and her passing in 2022.
Trent’s younger sister Vicki later followed in their footsteps and attended UCSC. Vicki graduated in 1992 with a degree in language studies.
Trent’s Danish wife, Susanne, who he met at the University of Copenhagen, attended UCSC in 1991 as an exchange student before transferring to Yale University to reunite with Trent, who was then working at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine.
Journey at NASA
In 1998, Trent joined NASA Ames Research Center as part of their Astrobiology Institute to study potential life forms on other planets. His research initially focused on organisms that thrive in extreme environments like near-boiling sulfuric acid. This work later evolved into nanotechnology research, where he used heat-resistant proteins as templates to create functional nanostructures. From 2010-2013, Trent led the OMEGA project (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae), which tested floating pods designed to serve multiple purposes: treating wastewater, capturing carbon dioxide, and producing biofuels. Trent presented this innovative project in his TEDGlobal talk.
Today’s Passion: Making a Difference
In 2019, as part of his commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment, Trent founded UpCycle Systems (UCS). The culmination of his academic and professional experiences, UCS currently focuses on putting data centers into a symbiosis with water treatment and waste management. The goal is to support the development of data centers by using their waste heat to expand the availability of potable water, keep organic waste out of landfills, and provide energy for the community. UCS tackles the strain that data centers place on water and energy resources by cooling them with non-potable water and using their heated wastewater to purify water and generate carbon-neutral electricity.
The result: data centers that help support water and energy systems while cutting greenhouse gas emissions—a win for communities, the environment, and the tech industry.
Trent’s career has been driven by curiosity, exploration, and a willingness to challenge conventions—all qualities that took root during his college years in Santa Cruz and continue to shape his life.