- In research on fidgeting, UC Santa Cruz Professor of Computational Media Katherine Isbister has found that people engage in fidgeting when they’re trying to pay attention to a task that’s taking a long time, or in a long meeting (even if at the annoyance of those around them).
- A project led by Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics Javier Gonzalez-Rocha is using drone flights and new monitoring technologies to better understand when and where farmworkers are most severely exposed to air pollution.
- IEEE Spectrum’s most popular biomedical stories of the past year centered both on incorporating new technologies and revamping old ones, featuring work from Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Katia Obraczka’s lab on using Wi-Fi to detect heartbeat.
- Fire Oracle, one of the projects developed at the Reboot the Earth hackathon hosted by the United Nations and the UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering, uses machine learning to accelerate prescribed burn planning.
- Using lab-grown brain organoids, scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz led by Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Tal Sharf found that neurons begin firing in recognizable, information-like patterns long before any sensory system is active. Additional coverage in StudyFinds and The Debrief.
- A multidisciplinary research team led by Marco Rolandi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, developed a smart bandage that could speed up wound healing by actively tracking and responding to the healing process.
- The Santa Cruz Sentinel highlighted work by Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Alex Pang and graduate student Mona Zhao to use webcams, machine learning, and 3D modeling to track how beaches shift from day to day.
- The Scientist featured work led by Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Rebecca DuBois to study how human astroviruses bind to human cells at a molecular level, which could inform new preventive and therapeutic strategies.
- KSBW featured work developed in Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Katia Obraczka’s lab that uses WiFi to wirelessly monitor heart rate.
- Lab-grown brains don’t have to inspire horror.
