BE-agtech
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Grants support DIY irrigation and smart, electric tractors for specialty crop growers
Two projects are receiving support from the USDA 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
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Greener Greenhouses — a Q&A with Katia Obraczka
UC Santa Cruz professor Katia Obraczka’s Greener Greenhouses project uses energy-efficient IoT technology to precisely monitor greenhouse conditions, helping growers reduce water and energy use while improving crop production.
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Javier Gonzalez-Rocha maps air quality with drones
UCSC engineer Javier Gonzalez-Rocha is using drones and sensors to bring advanced air quality monitoring to underserved agricultural communities on California’s Central Coast.
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CITRIS Interdisciplinary Innovation Program (I2P) funds three campus projects
The 2025-26 edition requested projects focused in three areas: Society, Media and Technology, AgTech, and EdTech.
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Grants expand UC Santa Cruz-led drone workforce development programs for Californians
Nearly $3 million in regional and state-wide grants will fund the ‘Drones Uplifting California Communities’ program, serving high schoolers, college students, and the ag tech industry.
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New air quality sensors enable community decision-making in Pajaro Valley region
Newly deployed sensors will fill in significant gaps in the area’s air quality monitoring network
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Pest prediction and management improved with better modeling
With new research, applied mathematicians at UC Santa Cruz introduce methods to improve the forecasting of pest populations
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UC Santa Cruz AgTech Alliance launches to support interdisciplinary collaboration
Building on the long history of innovation in agriculture at the campus, the AgTech Alliance will support research, education, events, and workforce development related to advancing agricultural technology in order to create more formalized opportunities for collaboration within the university and beyond.
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Researchers to develop technology for improving berry monitoring, harvesting, shipment
To investigate innovative methods to support the berry growing and harvesting process, UC Santa Cruz Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ricardo Sanfelice is launching a new agricultural technology project.
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Student team wins ‘Excellence in Safety’ award at second Farm Robotics Challenge
A team of engineering students were recognized with the “Excellence in Safety” award at the second-annual Farm Robotics Challenge
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Innovating agriculture for a greener world
UCSC’s Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows Program, wrapping up its second year, supported six undergraduate students engaging in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research aimed at improving the planet’s future. Eric Vetha uses his passion for robotics to hone in on soil moisture management practices.
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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).