Inquiry Magazine
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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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Meet this historian of alien worlds
With equations and simulations, astronomer Ruth Murray-Clay is working to understand how distant planets form, evolve and could offer conditions to support life.
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Art confronts climate: A creative force in the environmental conversation
Groundbreaking art and science collaborations are reimagining how we understand—and survive in—a warming world.
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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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From Space to Soil, Alexie Leauthaud Bridges Cosmology and Environmentalism
UC Santa Cruz astronomer Alexie Leauthaud is bringing her cosmology expertise to climate action through Seed Spoon Science, a community-based gardening program focused on environmental justice and sustainability.
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A Lifeline for Salmon: UCSC and NOAA Join Forces to Secure a Future for California’s Most Iconic Fish
A decades-long collaboration is giving Central California’s dwindling coho salmon population a fighting chance.
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Streamlining desalination to save drinking water
Sea level rise means fresh groundwater will increasingly become salty. Yat Li explains how his novel 3D-printed desalination tool can offer a solution.
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Serious Games and Artificial Intelligence with UCSC’s Presidential Chair
Magy Seif El-Nasr is using games and AI to transform education. As UC Santa Cruz’s Presidential Chair, she’s leading efforts to teach thoughtful, human-centered use of technology.
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Scheduling smarter: Combining technology and policy for more pleasant, equitable commuting
As housing costs push workers farther from their jobs, UCSC researchers are developing smart scheduling technology to ease commutes and reduce traffic in Santa Cruz. By combining real-time data, public policy, and community input, the project aims to create a more equitable and sustainable public transportation system.
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At the Crossroads of Language and AI
As technology advances in English, a UCSC professor is making sure Indigenous languages don’t get left behind.
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A Justice-Focused Perspective on the Clean Energy Transition
Chris Benner investigates lithium extraction at the Salton Sea, and what it means for community groups and the future of clean energy.
