Lectures & Presentations

Events for May 20, 2026

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Three silhouetted figures talking, overlaid with graphics of digital data, charts, and technology interfaces.

Maram, S. (CM) – Scripture To Console: The Nexus between Religion and Digital Play

Virtual Event

Religion has historically been a profound force for global mobilization, shaping geopolitics, economies, and geography. Similarly, contemporary interactive media, with video games at the forefront, has moved beyond mere entertainment to become a powerful vehicle for communication, narrative, and inspiration, reaching millions worldwide. This dissertation investigates the intersection of these two influential forces: religion and […]

Abstract digital illustration featuring gears and interconnected technology elements.

Lucas, J. (BMEB) – Enabling Population-Scale Analysis of Human Centromere Diversity

Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz
Hybrid Event

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 sequence diversity in these regions limit the utility of one reference sequence, however. Integrating centromeric and pericentromeric satellite DNA – which together constitute over 5% […]

Baskin Engineering logo

CSE Colloquium – Safety Alignment of LMs via Non-cooperative Games

Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz

Presenter: Arman Zharmagambetov, Meta Abstract: Ensuring the safety of language models (LMs) while maintaining their usefulness remains a critical challenge in AI alignment. Current approaches rely on sequential adversarial training: generating adversarial (harmful) prompts and fine-tuning LMs to defend against them. We introduce a different paradigm: framing safety alignment as a non-zero-sum game between an […]

Free

Digital flyer for an “HSI Equity Talk.” The background is beige with subtle tree silhouettes and an orange border along the top and bottom. Large orange text reads: “IT TAKES AN ECOSYSTEM: STAFF AND FACULTY LEADERS DRIVING EQUITY AT UCSC.” On the left are four logos stacked: “UCSC HSI Initiatives,” “El Centro Chicanx Latinx Resource Center UC Santa Cruz,” “Collaborative Research for Equity in Action (CREA), University of California, Santa Cruz,” and a “YOU BELONG HERE – All are welcome to attend – Division of Student Affairs and Success” banner. On the right are two circular headshots: Rebecca Covarrubias, smiling and wearing a white blouse, and Xiomara López, smiling and wearing a dark blouse. Beneath their photos are captions: “Rebecca Covarrubias, Professor of Psychology, and Faculty Director of the Collaborative Research for Equity in Action (CREA)” and “Xiomara López, El Centro and Latiné Student Success Director.”

It Takes an Ecosystem: Staff and Faculty Perspectives on Collaboration at UC Santa Cruz

HSI Equity Talks
Virtual Event

Funded through a Department of Education Title V grant, a team at UC Santa Cruz launched CULTURA (Centering Undergraduate Latine Thriving with University Racial-Equity Action) in 2024 as a bold, campus-wide effort to reimagine how we can collectively advance student success and equity. At its core, CULTURA asks: What becomes possible when we intentionally invest […]

Donna Haraway

The Helene Moglen Lecture in Feminism and Humanities: Donna Haraway

Merrill Cultural Center 200 McLaughlin Dr, Santa Cruz

Donna Haraway, “Staying with the Trouble for Still Possible Times” Wednesday May 20, 2026, 5:30 p.m. There will be refreshments from 5– 5:30 p.m., the talk at 5:30 – 7 p.m., and a reception at the very end. Merrill Cultural Center In-person only The sky has not fallen – yet. In troubled times, this lecture […]

Tulip in front of kid soldiers

VMCC Talk with Salar Mameni—Blood of Tulips

Porter College D-Building, Santa Cruz

What counts as life in the midst of war, genocide, and planetary destruction? What is death and how do ideas around martyrdom and sacrifice contribute to our understanding of sacred ecologies? In this talk, Mameni engages these questions based on research for his second book project focusing on ecologies of war and martyrdom in the […]

FREE and open to the public

CMENA

Tripoli: A Tale of Three Cities—reception, screening, and discussion with the filmmmaker

Communications Building 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz

While living abroad, a filmmaker returns to Tripoli, Lebanon, to confront a hometown that once rejected him as a queer child. With a microphone in hand, he walks around coffee shops, public squares, and a park to ask the city’s inhabitants about their cultural and social beliefs and their embrace of new ideas. Gradually, he […]

FREE and open to UCSC affiliates