Faculty

  • Increased flow of groundwater after earthquakes suggests oil extraction applications

    The most obvious manifestation of an earthquake is the shaking from seismic waves that knocks down buildings and rattles people. Now researchers have established a more subtle effect of this shaking–it increases the permeability of rock to groundwater and other fluids. The enhanced permeability caused by seismic shaking could potentially be harnessed to help extract…

  • UC Santa Cruz summer session has special option for those over 55

    Summer classes at UC Santa Cruz are open to all, but those 55 and older have an especially sweet deal. For just $25, these nontraditional students may purchase a Summer Senior Audit Card allowing them to sit in on summer session courses as often as they wish, pending approval by the instructor. Even better, these…

  • Astronomer Sandra Faber awarded Harvard Centennial Medal

    Sandra Faber, University Professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been awarded the Centennial Medal of the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). The Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the 100th anniversary of the GSAS, honors alumni for contributions to society that have emerged…

  • Study shows earthquake shaking triggers aftershocks

    A new analysis of earthquake data indicates that aftershocks are triggered by the shaking associated with the mainshock, rather than by the added stress on nearby faults resulting from rearrangement of the Earth’s crust. The triggering of aftershocks by shaking may seem obvious, but is in fact a surprising result, said Emily Brodsky, assistant professor…

  • Academic Senate announces 2005-06 Excellence in Teaching Awards

    Seven faculty members and 10 teaching assistants have been honored with 2005-06 Excellence in Teaching Awards for their exemplary and inspiring teaching. Selected by the UCSC Academic Senate Committee on Teaching and the Graduate Council, the winners of the 2005-06 Excellence in Teaching Awards awards were recognized by Chancellor Denice D. Denton and Committee on…

  • Individual UCSC student volunteers, organizations honored for service

    Thirty-four student volunteers and eight student organizations were honored at the annual Service Recognition Awards Ceremony for their efforts helping others. “It is one of the most valuable partnerships we are able to make, linking UCSC students with the greater Santa Cruz community,” Chancellor Denice D. Denton said at the May 31 ceremony in the…

  • UC Santa Cruz honored for providing transportation alternatives

    UCSC’s popular bike shuttle program has received a sustainable transportation award and the campus has made a national listing of “Best Workplaces for Commuters.” The bike shuttle ferries up to 14 bikes at a time up Bay Street and onto campus. Last fall, average daily ridership in the program was 153.4 passengers–the highest ever recorded.…

  • UCSC receives $1 million gift of photographs by acclaimed American photographer Brett Weston

    UC Santa Cruz has received a major donation of photographs by acclaimed American photographer Brett Weston (1911-1993), valued at more than $1 million. The photographs are a gift from Oklahoma collector Christian Keesee, who acquired the Brett Weston Estate in 1996 and describes Weston as “one of the true American masters of photography.” The gift…

  • Two geographic sites in Antarctica named in honor of UCSC biologists

    Costa Spur and Terrie Bluff, once nameless features of the austere Antarctic landscape, have now been officially named in honor of Daniel Costa and Terrie Williams, professors of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Both scientists have done extensive field research on marine mammals in Antarctica. The U.S. Board on…

  • Professor contributes to Katrina report documenting environmental inequities in rescue

    As the next hurricane season quickly approaches, the Gulf Coast’s low-income communities of color are still left behind. For them, “days of hurt and loss are likely to become years of grief, dislocation, and displacement,” said Manuel Pastor, codirector of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Pastor…

  • Stephen Thorsett named dean of physical and biological sciences at UCSC

    The University of California, Santa Cruz, has appointed Stephen Thorsett to serve as dean of the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences. The UC Board of Regents approved the appointment today, effective July 1. Stephen Thorsett Photo by Andrea Michels Thorsett, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics, has served as acting dean of physical and…

  • Two UCSC faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Two faculty members at the University of California, Santa Cruz, were elected to the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering, and Stan Woosley, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, are among 72 new members of the academy elected this…

Last modified: Mar 18, 2025