Voices of Baskin

Alec Dektor: Alumnus

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Alec Dektor

Degree Program: Applied Mathematics, Ph.D.
Department: Applied Mathematics
Undergraduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Advisor: Daniele Venturi

“As a researcher, I am constantly trying to think of new ideas. Most of them take a lot of effort to explore and oftentimes they do not work. One day, I decided to carry out an idea that had popped into my head. I quickly coded it into my computer and pressed “run.” I sat there and watched the animations appear on the screen, proving that my new idea worked even better than I had anticipated. It was such a good feeling to achieve this research breakthrough from an original idea.”

Abigail Kaun: Staff

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Abigail Kaun

Department: Baskin Engineering Dean’s Office
Graduate Institution: UCLA, Linguistics, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: UCSB, Linguistics, B.A.

“I’ve worked with students my whole career, in all sorts of settings and with all sorts of objectives in life, but I have never worked with students who were more creative, collaborative, and dedicated than the engineering students at UC Santa Cruz.”

Sammy Tesfai: Undergraduate Student

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Sammy Tesfai

Degree Program: Computer Engineering, B.S.
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA

“What I like best about being an engineering major would be the amount of flexibility we are given to express our creativity into creating solutions to problems individuals can use in the real world.”

Noopur Raval: Postdoctoral Researcher

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Noopur Raval: Postdoctoral Researcher

Graduate Institution: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Cinema Studies, M.Phil., Arts & Aesthetics, M.A.; UC Irvine, Informatics, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: Christ University, (3 majors) Media Studies, English Literature, and Psychology, B.A.
Advisor: Norman Su
Department: Computational Media

“It’s important to learn by doing, take chances, and grow from those individual experiences.”

Amber Sargeant: Alumna

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Degree Program: Serious Games, M.S.
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Department: Computational Media

“I wanted to get an M.S. in serious games because I want to make games that explore topics important to me, such as climate change and mental health. I think these topics need more recognition in the media, and what better way to show it than through interactive media?”