Social Sciences
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Nine projects receive seed funding from the Genomics Institute
From listening to the electrical signals of fungal networks in fire-scarred forests to training AI models that can interpret the most complex regions of the human genome, this year’s cohort is using genomics in bold new applications.
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Ethan van Thillo: From student film festival to a cultural institution
Ethan van Thillo (Merrill ’92, Latin American and Latino studies) founded the first-ever Chicano Film Festival at UC Santa Cruz, the first San Diego Latino Film Festival, and San Diego-based nonprofit Media Arts Center San Diego.
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They escaped the slave trade to an island in the middle of the ocean. Almost two centuries later, science is revealing their life histories.
The origin stories of Saint Helena’s Liberated Africans come into focus in a new study combining historical methods, computer modeling, and biogeochemical and DNA analysis.
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State funding supports UC Davis/UC Santa Cruz program to train future Central Coast physicians
The UC Programs in Medical Education Central Coast (PRIME Central Coast) is recruiting for its inaugural cohort of students, who will begin their medical training in 2027
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Collaborating to support youth leadership and voice
2026 Youth & Adult Partnership Summit promotes strategies for working effectively with youth, supported by UC Santa Cruz, United Way, and All Children Thrive.
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Beach season is here—just not for everyone
Marine and social scientists at UC Santa Cruz explain why privileged people enjoy more recreational, economic, and emotional benefits of the ocean than underresourced groups, and offer holistic remedies
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La temporada de playa ya está aquí—pero no para todos
Científicos marinos y sociales de la UC Santa Cruz explican por qué las personas privilegiadas disfrutan de más beneficios recreativos, económicos y emocionales del océano que los grupos con menos recursos, y ofrecen soluciones holísticas
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More colorful songbirds face higher extinction risk
The bird pet trade seems to account for some, but not all, of this connection
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Alumna María Ramos Bracamontes champions indigenous farmworker health and justice
María Ascención Ramos Bracamontes (Merrill ’02, language studies and Latino American and Latino studies) is a certified midwife, community activist, and founder of mutual aid organization Campesina Womb Justice, advocating and supporting farmworker women’s health.
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Stem cell education platform strengthens students’ identity as scientists
Hispanic and first-generation college students are particularly positively impacted by the Braingeneers group’s technology
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Coexisting with mountain lions
Research reveals how big cats and outdoor recreation can safely share spaces
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Celebrating teaching
The Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching (COT) has selected the 2025-26 Excellence in Teaching Award recipients and the 2025-26 Distinguished Teaching Award recipient.