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.
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
- After debuting at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2025, Face Jumping won the conference’s XR Experience audience award among the 15 creators working at the intersection of technology and immersive art who participated in the XR Experience competition.
- Using CRISPR-based engineering methods to prompt stem cells to organize into embryo-like structures, scientists at UC Santa Cruz were able to create “programmable” cellular models of embryos without ever experimenting with any actual embryos.
- To address the poor performance of speech AI systems for this community, a team of researchers is studying and seeking solutions to the technical and design challenges of speech AI, as well as the policies and norms that surround this reinforcement of the existing difficulties associated with variations in speech patterns.
- A new study explores how GPT-4o, the latest model from OpenAI, evaluates and performs empathy compared to humans, and finds major gaps exist.
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
Bayesian Statistics
Communications, Signals, and Image Processing
Computer Hardware: Architecture, Chip Design, FPGAs, and Design Automation
Computer Games
Computer Security and Privacy
Computer Vision, Visualization, and Graphics
Covid-19 Research
Cyber-Physical Systems
Database Systems
Data Science
Distributed Systems
Electronic Circuits
Human-Computer Interaction
Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Analysis
Natural Language Processing
Networks
Photonics and Electronic Devices
Programming Languages
Real-time Systems
Robotics and Control
Systems Biology
Software Engineering
Storage Systems
Vaccines and Antiviral Therapeutics