Audience: General Public
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Baskaran, D. (CM) – More than Just Fun: Exploring Meaningful Play, Communities of Play, and Relatedness of Play
Play is often seen as a form of entertainment, leisure, or childhood development. However, it also acts as a meaningful experience that shapes how people connect with others and interact […]
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Yang, D. (CSE) – Inner Monologue: a Pathway to Human-Like Reasoning for Complex Tasks
A central goal on the path toward general AI is to build systems capable of deliberative reasoning before action. Such systems should inspect what they know, identify what they need, […]
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Castro, S. (CSE) – Agentic AI for Security: Adversarial Foundations for Autonomous Cyber Operations
Autonomous Cyber Operations (ACO) agents promise effective security automation with minimal human intervention, yet their deployment raises three interconnected challenges: agents must be realistic (reproducing diverse attacker sophistication), secure (preventing […]
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Paul Pena, D. (CSE) – Efficient Pattern Counting in Sparse Graphs and Hypergraphs
Pattern counting is a fundamental problem in computer science with applications in many domains. For a fixed small pattern H, we are given a large graph G and we are […]
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Zhu, R. (ECE) – From Neuromorphic Principles to Efficient Neural Language Architectures
This dissertation investigates how neuromorphic and brain-inspired principles can guide the design of efficient neural language architectures. It addresses two central limitations of modern Transformer-based language models: memory growth with […]
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Bai, G. (BMEB) – Long-read single-molecule chromatin architecture and its role in transcriptome regulation
Sequencing technologies have revolutionized our understanding of biology, yet many existing methods require fragmentation of DNA or RNA, fundamentally limiting our ability to study these molecules in their native, intact […]
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Kordonowy, S. (CS) – The Role of Circuits in Near-Term Quantum Computation
As quantum computing transitions from theory to practice, understanding which algorithms suit near-term devices becomes critical. Current quantum computers are severely constrained by limited qubit counts, short coherence times, and […]
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Lucas, J. (BMEB) – Enabling Population-Scale Analysis of Human Centromere Diversity
Centromeric DNA is critical for accurate chromosome segregation and genome stability, but due to its repetitive nature, it was only recently fully included in a human reference. Rapid evolution and […]
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Free Guided Tour of the UCSC Farm
Take a free, guided tour of the 30-acre organic UCSC Farm. Visitors can enjoy touring the organically managed greenhouses, hand-worked garden beds, orchards, row crop fields, and children’s garden, while […]
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UCSC Powwow: Sophia Robles-Garcia Memorial Powwow 2026
The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities. To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination…