Faculty
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UC Santa Cruz researchers awarded grant to develop faster, cheaper DNA sequencing
A team including researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received a major grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to develop new technology for genome sequencing. The grant is part of a NHGRI program to develop “revolutionary genome sequencing technologies” that will enable a human-sized genome to be sequenced for…
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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 main theories for how giant planets form. The findings were made by a consortium of…
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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) for his part in two research projects aimed at developing new technologies for the production…
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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 will support Parker’s work on a project titled “Applied plant ecology in Panama: Building intellectual…
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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 the links between NASA and UCSC and will enhance the campus’s remote sensing capability and…
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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 recover from a massive input of carbon dioxide 55 million years ago, according to a…
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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 lit up surrounding clouds of gas and dust, the supernova appears to have left no…
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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 gas into soluble compounds that can be disposed of in the oceans. Any strategy for…
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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 world and is one of the leading sites for research on 19th-century British culture. A…
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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 tsunami. It was the largest earthquake in the past 40 years and was followed by…