Research
UC Santa Cruz research improves lives and livelihoods—help us safeguard the future of innovation.
Engineers have the power to create new things and the responsibility to use our knowledge for good.
Our faculty and students pursue novel, visionary research that leads to positive societal impact.
R1
Designated Research 1 University
(Carnegie Research Foundation)
60
patents awarded
(2022-24)
$47.2M
in new research funding
(2024)
11
research institutes and centers
(2024)
What’s trending
Researchers run high-performing large language model on the energy needed to power a lightbulb
UC Santa Cruz researchers show that it is possible to eliminate the most computationally expensive element of running large language models, called matrix multiplication, while maintaining performance.
Celebrating 25 years of genomics innovation
July 2025 will mark the 25th anniversary of the UC Santa Cruz Genome Browser, one of the most widely used resources for genomics worldwide.
Bold new solutions to society’s most complex issues
Explore research by impact areas
Undergraduate research
Research opportunities abound for Baskin Engineering students. The world-recognized Genomics Institute provides a hands-on and immersive environment for students interested in genomics. You can join clubs and student groups to explore genomic research and collaborate on projects with your peers. Baskin Engineering is also home to a nationally ranked computer game design major, recognized as one of the top 10 undergraduate programs in the country. Undergraduates work with faculty on innovative projects in areas like cyber-physical systems, security, and artificial intelligence—just a few of the many ways to get involved and make an impact.
Latest research news
- UC Santa Cruz's eDNA Explorer secures $1 million to bring ecosystem-assessment tool to British Columbia
- The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute celebrated the 25 year anniversary of the human genome draft sequence and UCSC Genome Browser with a symposium celebrating the future of genomics in medicine
- New study tests neural networks’ ability to handle ‘gray swan’ events.
- UC Santa Cruz researchers are studying the ways certain genetic elements hide and make copies of themselves, so they can propagate within a species’ DNA, or even hop from one species to an unrelated one in a process called “horizontal gene transfer."
Research with impact
Innovating autonomous vehicles, space exploration, and robotics with Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ricardo Sanfelice.
Additional areas of expertise
Algorithms, logic, and complexity
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Artificial intelligence and ethics
Bayesian statistics
Communications, signals, and image processing
Computer hardware
Computer security
Computer vision, visualization, and graphics
Database systems
Data science
Data privacy
Data privacy
Distributed systems
Generative AI
Mathematical modeling and numerical analysis
Natural language processing
Networks
Programming languages
Real-time systems
Systems biology
Software engineering
Storage systems