Climate Solutions – Baskin School of Engineering

Aerial view of ocean at West Cliff Dr, looking inland with UCSC in the distance

Baskin Engineering researchers are leading major projects to address climate crisis issues, including green computing, conservation genomics, more efficient greenhouses, smart power, climate-wise agricultural technology, wildfire management and more. These initiatives leverage engineering expertise and partnerships to provide meaningful contributions that are improving our resilience to climate change. Innovative technical solutions are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helping communities adapt, and providing a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change.

United Nations and Baskin Engineering to host West Coast’s first ‘Reboot the Earth’ hackathon

Baskin Engineering and the UC Santa Cruz Open Source Program Office will support the United Nations’ Reboot the Earth hackathon, empowering aspiring developers to create open source software solutions that address the climate crisis.

The California event will focus on the locally relevant challenges of wildfire detection, response, and impact. The goal is to build solutions that can become a digital public good, serving community needs.

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Climate focused education

COURSE CLOSE-UP

Empowering students to take positive action in the face of climate change

The innovative UC-wide course Bending the Curve: Climate Education for All is designed for students interested in climate change and environmental and social justice. Open to all majors, the course helps students learn practical steps for making a positive difference.

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BE climate courses

CMPM 20: Psychosocial and Planetary Resilience in the Age of the Climate Crisis

ECE 80G: Creating and Financing a Sustainable Startup in the Global Economy

ECE 80H: Bending the Curve Solutions to Climate Change

ECE 80S: Sustainable Engineering and Practice

ECE 177: Power Electronics

ECE 222A: Special Topics in Agricultural Technology

ECE 275: Energy Markets, Modeling, and Pricing

ECE 180J: ***PE-E Advanced Renewable Energy Sources, Storage, & Smart Grids

ECE 280Z: Seminar on Smart Grids & Data Analytics

STAT 7: Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences

Course information

Research in action

Aerial view of Gray swan extreme weather events that cause local devestation, like Hurricane Lee in 2023, pictured. Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Harnessing AI for extreme weather prediction

AI weather models can accurately predict everyday weather but often fail to forecast rare, unprecedented events like Category 5 hurricanes. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz are developing new methods to improve the accuracy of AI models for extreme scenarios.

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.

Games promote preparedness and build community resilience to wildfire

When a wildfire strikes, evacuation decisions must be made in minutes—which can impact safety, property loss, and even emergency response. Baskin Engineering researchers are are using game design to help people think about stressful topics and initiative individual preparedness.

Multidisciplinary team will develop advanced rhizosphere carbon imaging for climate change research

Researchers are focused on exploring the ongoing debate surrounding the rhizosphere’s contribution to the global carbon cycle.

New data-driven model helps prevent ecosystem collapse

A new model developed by UC Santa Cruz and NOAA researchers can forecast what happens to ecosystems after they cross tipping points, helping scientists plan interventions before irreversible damage occurs.

Innovative techniques aim for climate-safe restoration of Ms. Blue

After decades of exposure to the elements, the iconic blue whale skeleton Ms. Blue had cracks in her bones that needed repairs, which would normally be expensive and involve materials harmful to the environment. A team of researchers developed a climate safe bone-repair putty made of materials from the ocean.

BE experts

For media inquiries contact: Emily Cerf, Engineering Writer and Media Relations Specialist: ecerf@ucsc.edu

Using technology and games to build climate resilient communities

Linda Hirsch, a computational media postdoctoral fellow, developed an interactive game to increase flood preparedness in the local Santa Cruz community—demoing the game at the UC Santa Cruz Seymour Marine Discovery Center.

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Specialty areas

AgTech

Innovations in agricultural technology that contribute to addressing climate impacts and supporting sustainability are examples of Baskin School of Engineering’s priority of developing technology for societal benefit and UC Santa Cruz’s long history of thoughtful leadership in agroecology and sustainable food systems.

Green computing

Smart innovations, like spiking neural networks that emulate the brain and biological systems to process information more efficiently, are addressing the environmental impact of the energy demands of AI-related neural networks and large language models.

Power systems and energy engineering

Advancements in power systems and energy engineering are improving efficiency, integrating renewable sources, and enhancing grid resilience. These innovations support climate solutions by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping build energy systems that are cleaner, smarter, and more resilient.

Smart power

Baskin Engineering researchers are developing innovative strategies to optimize energy efficiency and sustainability in power systems by integrating artificial intelligence and data analytics technologies, as well as new materials and hardware solutions.

Coastal Climate Resilience at UCSC

Cliff meets the ocean with a sunset in the background

Strengthening coastal resilience, UCSC is collaborating with local partners, developing future leaders, and innovating solutions to address the impacts of climate change.

Center for Coastal Climate Resilience