All news
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UCSC desalination project will give cities the tools they need to weigh the environmental and economic pros and cons
As California’s population and economy grow, it’s just a matter of time until cities are forced to seriously consider desalination to extend their water supplies. Campus will direct Prop. 50-funded collaboration with water agencies, environmentalists, consultants, and NGOs That’s the…
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Mount Hamilton not recommended for viewing Deep Impact
People interested in seeing what happens Sunday night when NASA’s Deep Impact probe slams into Comet Tempel 1 will probably be better off sitting at their computers than gazing at the sky. One place they definitely should not be is…
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Discovery of planet with a massive core lends support to a planet formation theory
Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar planet with the largest core of any known planet. The discovery is especially exciting to planet formation theorists, because it provides extremely strong observational evidence in support of the “core accretion” theory, one of two…
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Department of Energy grants fund work on new hydrogen fuel technologies at UCSC
Nanotechnology may hold the key to developing a viable hydrogen economy, according to Jin Zhang, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Zhang will receive $535,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)…
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Voice-operated computer system developed under UC contract with NASA scheduled for space station demonstration
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will soon be testing a sophisticated voice-operated computer system designed to guide them through complex procedures. This advanced spoken-dialogue system, called Clarissa, reads the steps of a procedure to an astronaut, answers questions, and…
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UC Santa Cruz biologist receives Fulbright Scholar award
Ingrid Parker, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach and do research at the University of Panama during the 2005-06 academic year. The grant…
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New findings show persistent El Niño-like conditions during past global warming
During the most recent period in Earth’s past with a climate warmer than today, the tropical Pacific was in a stable state of El Niño-like conditions, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz.…
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UCSC takes over operation of NASA Ames Airborne Sensor Facility
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has taken over the operation of NASA’s Airborne Sensor Facility, a major program for observation and monitoring of Earth’s environment based at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field. The transfer of management strengthens…
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UCSC library announces publication of oral history, exhibit, and reception celebrating Cowell Press
The University Library’s Regional History Project has announced the publication of The Cowell Press and Its Legacy: 1973-2004. This oral history, conducted and edited by book-arts scholar and UCSC alumnus Gregory Graalfs, focuses on the history and impact of the…
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Astronomers discover the most Earthlike planet yet outside the solar system
A team of astronomers has reached a major milestone in the search for Earthlike planets with the discovery of the smallest planet ever detected beyond our solar system. About seven and a half times as massive as Earth, with less…
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Long Marine Lab’s annual ‘Whale of an Auction’ set for Friday, June 17
The Friends of Long Marine Lab will hold its 20th annual “Whale of an Auction,” the group’s popular annual fundraiser, on Friday, June 17. The event will take place in the Porter College Dining Hall on the UC Santa Cruz…
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New findings show a slow recovery from extreme global warming episode 55 million years ago
Most of the excess carbon dioxide pouring into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels will ultimately be absorbed by the oceans, but it will take about 100,000 years. That is how long it took for ocean chemistry to…
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UC Santa Cruz hosting ‘green’ campus conference
Creating “greener” campuses won’t be all talk and no action when UC Santa Cruz hosts the fourth annual statewide Sustainability Conference, June 20-21. One of the exhibitors on hand, Biosystem Solutions, will compost some of the food waste from the…
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Exploding star left no visible core
In 1987, earthbound observers saw a star explode in the nearby dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Astronomers eagerly studied this supernova–the closest seen in the past 300 years–and have continued to examine its remains. Although its blast wave…
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Patented technology captures carbon dioxide from power plants
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have invented a new method for controlling the emission of carbon dioxide from power plants. The technique, which mimics natural weathering processes, converts carbon dioxide…
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UCSC engineering dean Steve Kang wins 2005 Van Valkenburg Award
Steve Kang, dean of the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been awarded the 2005 Mac Van Valkenburg Award from the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Circuits and Systems Society (CAS). The…
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Internationally renowned Dickens Project celebrates 25th year at UCSC
San Francisco Chronicle book critic David Kipen recently observed that the Dickens Project at UC Santa Cruz “may just be literary California’s best-kept secret.” The project is nationally and internationally recognized as the premier center for Dickens studies in the…
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Class of 2005’s commencement exercises begin Friday, June 10
Commencement exercises at UC Santa Cruz will be held this year on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 10-12. A total of 2,346 students are candidates for bachelor of arts, music, or science degrees. Also this spring, 215 students are eligible…
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Week of celebration showcases student achievement at UC Santa Cruz
Everything from opera to environmental research will be on display as UC Santa Cruz celebrates Student Achievement Week May 30-June 5 with live performances, exhibitions, symposia, and an awards ceremony. “Recognition of the outstanding achievements of our students is one…
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UC Santa Cruz engineering students develop a coral reef monitoring system
Five senior engineering students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are trying to push the limits of low-power wireless transmission to facilitate the monitoring of remote natural environments. The apparatus they are building will track conditions on coral reefs…
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Seismologists publish detailed analysis of the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake
The great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, was an event of stunning proportions, both in its human dimensions–nearly 300,000 lives lost–and as a geological phenomenon. The sudden rupture of a huge fault beneath the Indian Ocean unleashed a devastating…
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Twelve community college students receive $20,000 scholarships to UC Santa Cruz
In a joyful rite of spring, the University of California, Santa Cruz, has selected 12 regional community college students who will receive $20,000 scholarships to enroll at the university this fall. This year’s recipients of the Karl S. Pister Leadership…
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UC Santa Cruz dedicates new Laboratory for Adaptive Optics facilities
Scientists in the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are developing extraordinarily precise optical systems that will enable astronomers to capture images of planets far beyond our solar system and build the next generation of…