Humanities program provides rewarding research experience—and also crucial career prep

Undergraduate researchers are gaining invaluable hands-on experience through the Employing Humanities initiative at UC Santa Cruz. From analyzing Paraguayan Spanish and Guaraní with Madeleine Powell to tracing the history of antiquities markets or exploring AI and human imagination, students are connecting coursework to real-world applications. Supported by major grants, the program helps students develop skills in leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving—preparing them for impactful careers.

A group of people gathers around a kitchen table preparing food together. One person mixes ingredients in a bowl, while others observe and assist. Various ingredients, including chopped herbs, eggs, and dough, are laid out on the table.

Undergraduate Research News

A coastal scene with turbulent waves flooding a walkway beside a building. The water crashes against posts along the path, and the sky is overcast, suggesting stormy weather. The building appears close to the water, highlighting the impact of high tides or rough seas on coastal areas.

UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience partnering with EY on Open Science Data Challenge on Coastal Resilience for students

Climate change is here, and so are its impacts on our communities. Globally, coastal hazards produce increasing costs, often to the most vulnerable populations. That’s why UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) and the University of California Disaster Resilience Network (UCDRN) are partnering with EY on its 2024 Open Science Data Challenge, focused on coastal resilience.

CITRIS UC Santa Cruz Tech for Social Good Program’s student project teams kick off

The CITRIS Tech for Social Good program had three student teams at UC Santa Cruz develop innovative solutions to social problems. The teams developed information technology that aimed to address inequities for formerly incarcerated people, technology at the UCSC Farm, and greenhouse technological advances. The teams presented their progress in an event at the end of Spring quarter 2024, and could receive up to $5,000 dollars for research and $1,000 dollars for events.

An artistic representation of a black hole.

Students search for hidden black hole activity

Graduate student Sierra Dodd mentored two undergraduate students from the Lamat Institute in an astrophysics research project that aimed to investigate black hole activity. The Lamat Institute is designed to uplift and support students from underrepresented and underserved communities in astrophysics and STEM at large.

Undergraduate Public Fellows Program connects humanities studies with real-world impact

The 2023-2024 THI Undergraduate Public Fellows Program offers undergrads the opportunity to learn tangible skills in the humanities through a myriad of partnerships with local museums, businesses, non profits, and even Lookout Santa Cruz. This program is an exciting feature of UCSC’s Experiential Learning Program.

A new cohort of drone pilot students start in the 2024 CIDER Drone Pilot Training Program

In January of 2024, a new cohort of undergraduate students began in the 16-week CITRIS Initiative Drone Education and Research (CIDER) program. This year’s program featured two tracks; agricultural and general. For the first 8 weeks of the program, students are guided as they obtain their FAA commercial pilot licenses. Then, they begin an autonomous drone operation project in small groups.

Interdisciplinary team wins Small Farm prize in first-ever Farm Robotics Challenge

An interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students created an autonomous weeder (or, alternatively put, a self-driving tractor) and won the first-ever Farm Robotics Challenge. UCSC’s team, comprised of Joshua Gamlen, Katherine Rogacheva, Mauricio Chavez, and Oliver Fuchs were supervised by Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Dejan Milutinovic and Executive Director at the UCSC Center for Agroecology Darryl Wong and won the Small Farm prize. They competed against 19 other teams of undergraduates at universities around the nation, who were presented with real-life farm automation problems to develop creative solutions for.

A lab scene where a person sits with their head positioned in an eye-tracking device, looking at a screen. Another person stands beside them, pointing at a laptop connected to the setup.

Computer engineering research prompts bug fixes, updates to major GPU frameworks

UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Tyler Sorensen led a team including PhD student Reese Levine and two undergraduate students that developed a suite of tests major web browsers and companies can use to determine whether or not programming languages are running safely and effectively. Having collaborated with Google on the project, now whenever you access Google Chrome, you view a webpage that has passed tests developed by Sorensen and his team.

Five student teams embark on tech for social good projects

Five student teams were selected and received funding to work to develop innovative solutions to social problems, supported by CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. Their work revolved around the Tech for Social Good program, and their projects were showcased in June 2023 to demonstrate their progress.

Undergraduates in UC Santa Cruz’s Human Rights Investigations Lab fight for migrant rights

Launched in 2019, the Human Rights Investigations (HRI) Lab at UCSC, within the Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, has a team of undergraduates conducting open-source research that has led to their advocacy against Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy that expelled upwards of a million Latin Americans who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.