News

Melissa Jurica, Harry Noller, and Sarah Loerch are among the users of UCSC’s new cryo-EM facility. (Photo by C. Lagattuta)

New cryo-electron microscopy facility a boon for UCSC structural biologists

December 14, 2020
With major funding from NIH, researchers at UC Santa Cruz have acquired powerful imaging tools for studying the structures of biomolecules and their roles in disease.

CruzHacks 2021 to be held virtually January 15 to 17

December 14, 2020
Applications now open for hackers, mentors, and judges
A new serological assay for measuring antibody levels in blood samples uses an optical biosensor to provide complete quantitative results in less than 20 minutes. (Image credit: R. DuBois)

New serological assay provides rapid, accurate testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

December 10, 2020
Using optical biosensor technology, the test provides quantitative measurements of antibodies in blood plasma in less than 20 minutes.
Narinder Kapany

Narinder Kapany, known as the ‘father of fiber optics,’ dies at 94

December 10, 2020
Narinder Singh Kapany, a pioneering scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who served as a Regents Professor at UC Santa Cruz and a trustee of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, died December 3.
© MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Image available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

UC Santa Cruz scientists discuss how the mRNA vaccine works

December 10, 2020
The COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time with brand new technology. We asked some UCSC researchers about this new vaccine and how it differs from older ones.
Leila Parsa

Two UCSC engineers elected IEEE Fellows

December 8, 2020
Leila Parsa, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Lise Getoor, professor of computer science and engineering, have been elected Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Leila Parsa

Electrical engineer Leila Parsa elected IEEE Fellow

December 8, 2020
Leila Parsa, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Campus publishes sixth edition of “inquiry@UC Santa Cruz” research magazine

December 8, 2020
The stories, crafted by alumni of the world-renowned UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Master’s Program, cover projects across the five academic devisions.
Covid-19 and wildfires made lab work especially challenging for the students on this year’s iGEM team. Above, co-captain Sophia Sneddon and team member Faith Williams meet on campus. Below, team members Kyra Eyerman and Rachel Mace work on the project in the lab.(Photos by Carolyn Lagattuta)

UCSC iGEM team wins gold, nominated for best environmental project

November 30, 2020
Thirteen undergraduates were recognized for their research accomplishments at the world’s largest competition in synthetic biology.

List of most highly cited researchers features 19 UCSC scientists and engineers

November 18, 2020
A new list of the world's most highly cited researchers includes 19 scientists and engineers at UC Santa Cruz.
Camilla Forsberg and Lindsay Hinck are co-directors of the Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells at UCSC.

Approval of Proposition 14 boosts funding for stem cell agency

November 17, 2020
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has provided major funding for research and training at UC Santa Cruz since its creation in 2004.
Professor C. Seshadhri

Mathematical solution could improve network analysis

November 16, 2020

A team of UC Santa Cruz researchers led by computer science Professor Seshadhri Comandur have completely characterized the kind of six-person plus complex patterns that can be efficiently counted on a network. This has important applications beyond the realm of mathematics, including epidemic spread and tracking the spread of disinformation on a social network.

Lise Getoor

Computer scientist Lise Getoor receives research funding from Google

November 12, 2020
A new project on recommender dialogue systems led by Getoor and her collaborators at UC Santa Barbara and USC will receive $1 million in funding over three years.
Comparative genomics sheds new light on the diversity of birds and other vertebrates. (Image credit: Jon Fjeldsa/Josefin Stiller/University of Copenhagen)

New genome alignment tool empowers large-scale studies of vertebrate evolution

November 11, 2020
Important new studies of the evolution of birds and mammals relied on Progressive Cactus, a genome alignment tool developed at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.
Sammy the Slug practicing social distancing while learning remotely. Photo by Carolyn Lagattuta.

The 2020 new Slug reality: Handling adversity and transitioning to a virtual learning experience

November 9, 2020
Remote learning has its challenges, but the newest class of Banana Slugs is making the most out of this uncharted experience.
Fatemeh Mirzaei

Computer science grad student wins LaunchPad Fellowship for startup

November 5, 2020
Fatemeh Mirzaei, a graduate student in computer science and engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering, is one of 40 student entrepreneurs selected for the Fall 2020 LaunchPad Fellowship program.
Muratcan Cicek is a Ph.D. candidate in computer engineering at UC Santa Cruz and one of only 50 people from thousands of applicants to win a prestigious 2020 Google Ph.D. fellowship.

Expanding the lines of communication

November 5, 2020
Muratcan Cicek, a Ph.D. candidate in computer engineering who won a prestigious 2020 Google Ph.D. fellowship, is working to improve head-based pointing methods for those who cannot use a mouse or trackpad.
Capital T in front of Gothic window

Project Supporting Casual Creators Graduates CROSS Incubator

November 5, 2020

The CROSS funded Tracery and Chancery project, which focused on computational support for casual creators, officially graduated from the Center’s incubator program after the October 5, 2020, Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) meeting.

Big Ideas contest offers up to $20,000 for big ideas in social innovation

October 26, 2020
Big Ideas contest, open to all UC students, seeks student-led, early-stage projects or ideas with a social impact focus.
Covid-19 and wildfires made lab work especially challenging for the students on this year’s iGEM team. Pictured here are Taylor Ziccardi (above) and Rachel Mace (below). (Photos by C. Lagattuta)

UC Santa Cruz iGEM team seeks a solution to plastic waste

October 23, 2020
Through campus shutdowns, wildfires, and a two-week quarantine, 13 UCSC students have been finding ways to research a solution to agricultural plastic pollution.
Tebyani and Spaeth's robot

Braingeneer group publication explores neurological control of flexible robots

October 21, 2020
Controlling a robot’s movement typically requires laborious programming. A team of UC Santa Cruz researchers in the Braingeneers group are applying a different approach.

Neel Sundaresan’s Internship Tips

October 20, 2020
Neel Sundaresan, adjunct professor of computer science and engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, and VP of engineering at Microsoft, Cloud & AI shared some advice for UC Santa Cruz engineers interested in applying to internships during the junior year.
The novel tunable light source

Applied Optics Lab creates novel on-chip laser source useful for biodetection

October 12, 2020

Santa Cruz, CA—A team led by Holger Schmidt, professor of electrical and computer engineering and Narinder Kapany Chair of Optoelectronics at the University of California, Santa Cruz have demonstrated a new on-chip laser and its integration into optofluidic chips. 

“This novel tunable light source can add another functional component to our optofluidic bioanalysis chips,” Schmidt said, “adding both flexibility and simplicity and moving us closer to a fully integrated lab on a chip.

The results will be published in Optics Letters.

Tech for Social Good student project funding now open for applications

October 9, 2020
Students can get up to $5,000 in funding for projects looking to solve societal challenges.
Ricardo Sanfelice, professor of electrical and computer engineering

Engineer Ricardo Sanfelice awarded $1.2M grant for Constraint Aware Planning and Control for CPS systems

October 6, 2020
The NSF’s Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program has awarded $1.2 million to a team led by Ricardo Sanfelice to develop and demonstrate algorithms capable of autonomously adapting their motion plan and control actions.