Campus News
Nominations open for Chancellor’s Innovation Impact Awards
The Innovator of the Year Award recognizes a faculty member and their project team, which may include staff and students, for an innovation that in the past 12 months has demonstrated measurable societal impact or reached a critical milestone toward near-term impact.
Dear Campus Community,
I am pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2026 Chancellor’s Innovation Impact Awards Program Innovator of the Year category. This program honors UC Santa Cruz faculty, researchers, staff, students, and community partners whose work is shaping new solutions to global challenges and opening new avenues of expression. Innovation and creativity are flourishing across every division, from the arts and humanities to engineering, the physical and biological sciences, and the social sciences.
The Innovator of the Year Award recognizes a faculty member and their project team, which may include staff and students, for an innovation that in the past 12 months has demonstrated measurable societal impact or reached a critical milestone toward near-term impact. The lead faculty member’s lab or project will receive a $10,000 research award to help advance this work. The awardee in this category may also be advanced as a nominee for the next cycle of the UC Regents Innovation Awards.
Nominations are open to all UC Santa Cruz faculty, staff, and students. Self-nominations are not accepted. The deadline is November 20, 2026, and awardees will be announced in winter.
I encourage you to help celebrate the creativity and achievements of our community by submitting a nomination for the Innovator of the Year.
Please share this information broadly and help the university celebrate the innovative and creative work happening at UC Santa Cruz and its impact far beyond by submitting a nomination.
Sincerely,
John
John MacMillan
Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor