• Wang, Q. (STAT) – Modern Statistical Methods for Modeling Spatial and Temporal Processes

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
    Hybrid Event

    Modern scientific studies increasingly rely on complex datasets exhibiting spatial and temporal dependence, particularly in social, environmental, and climate applications. This dissertation develops statistical models and computational methods for analyzing such data, with an emphasis on capturing dependence structures, nonlinear dynamics, and uncertainty quantification. A spatial deep learning framework is developed to extend classical geostatistical […]

  • CSE Colloquium – Evaluating AI Agents in the Real World: Lessons from Two Benchmarks

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Tanya Roosta, AMD Abstract: Autonomous research and web-navigation agents — OpenAI Deep Research, Gemini Deep Research Max, OpenAI Operator — are now shipping to millions of users. Yet independent evaluation finds leading agents reach less than 68% rubric compliance, and recent work shows that 14+ points of MMLU “performance” disappears once contamination is removed […]

    Free
  • Servingness en Acción: Nurturing Student Leadership Rooted in Cariño, Cultura, y Comunidad

    HSI Equity Talks
    Virtual Event

    Presented by El Centro Lead Student Coordinators, Joselyn Salgado Lomeli and Giovanna Fernandez This is the 1st session of a 2-part Student-led HSI Equity Talks Series titled “From Voice to Power: Students as Leaders, Knowledge Holders, and Change Agents.” El Centro interns are student leaders who draw upon their cultural strengths and lived experiences to […]

  • The Annual Maya K. Peterson Memorial Lecture

    “Colonizing Water: Empire, Commodification, and Appropriation in Africa” Matthew Bender, Professor of History, The College of New Jersey Friday, May 8, 2:30-4:00pm; Alumni Room @ UCSC’s University Center In early 2018, […]

  • Johns, M. (CMPM) – Playing Together in a Co-Designed Future: Building Resilience Through Community-Centered Gameful Design

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

    Complex societal problems (e.g. wicked problems) such as those brought on by climate change can be addressed through a combination of Research through Design (RtD), co-design, and Serious Games (SG) by inviting affected communities to take part in developing iterative, experimental solutions and exploring their potential impact. In the course of my research, I have […]

  • AM Seminar: Column Subset Selection: Theory, Structure, and Algorithms

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Anil Damle, Associate Professor, Cornell University Description: The column subset selection problem is a classical topic in numerical linear algebra, with renewed interest driven by applications in computational quantum chemistry, integral equations, model reduction, and model compression in machine learning. This talk surveys recent advances that clarify how structural properties of a matrix influence […]

  • Statistics Seminar: Learning under Constraints and Extremes: Methods and Applications in Energy Systems

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Yu Zhang, Associate Professor, ECE Department of UC, Santa Cruz Description: Modern cyber-physical systems present statistical learning problems that deviate significantly from standard i.i.d. supervised settings. In particular, two challenges frequently arise: (i) learning under hard structural constraints, and (ii) learning under severe distributional imbalance and rare events. In this talk, I present two […]

  • Chen, Q. (CSE) – New Approximation and Online Algorithms using Novel Combinatorial Structures

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

    Most optimization problems face the challenge of computing an optimum solution requiring superpolynomial time. In particular, they are classified as NP-hard problems that have no polynomial-time algorithm to date. Instead, computer scientists turn to find an approximate solution and create numerous elegant algorithms. However, in the modern era, computational environments have changed drastically, and we […]

  • Inspirando the Colega Mindset: Co-creating Change through Equitable Partnerships

    Virtual Event

    This is the 2nd session of a 2-part Student-led Equity Talks Series titled “From Voice to Power: Students as Leaders, Knowledge Holders, and Change Agents.” Student Advisory Equipo, launched in 2025 through the HSI Title V CULTURA grant, is made up of six undergraduate student advocates. Grounded by their lived experience and experiential knowledge, they […]

  • FINS: Fisheries Insights Narratives and Stories seminar series featuring Melissa Mahoney

    Ocean Health Building McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA

    Please join us for the fourth talk in the FINS: Fisheries Insights Narratives and Stories seminar series featuring Melissa Mahoney giving her talk, “The Future of Blue: Co-Creating a Thriving Seafood Economy in Monterey Bay”.

    Melissa Mahoney brings over two decades of experience at the intersection of sustainable seafood, fisheries policy, and marine innovation along the U.S. West Coast. Since August 2022, Melissa has served as Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, where she leads initiatives to stabilize local fishing operations, expand community seafood access, and revitalize Monterey Bay’s working waterfront.

    Preceding the talk please join us for a networking coffee hour (snacks provided) and a student-only lunch after the talk.

  • CSE Colloquium – The EU’s Cybersecurity Framework: what it is, what it means

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Lothar Determann, Pieter T.J. Wolters Abstract: The European Union has enacted a comprehensive cybersecurity framework (the “Framework”) that imposes far-reaching obligations on developers of standalone software and connected products. This Article describes the European legislative approach before turning to a description of the Framework. Anchored by the Cyber […]

    Free
  • Ehrlich, D. (CM) – Designing Open Microscopy Tools for Neuroscience Research

    Virtual Event

    Advances in microscopy have transformed our understanding of biological systems, yet the high cost and limited accessibility of commercial imaging platforms continue to re- strict their use in many research settings. This thesis presents the design and development of open hardware microscopy tools for neuroscience research, with a focus on integrating user- centered design principles […]

  • Thriving in Transition: A Mental Fitness Toolkit for What’s Next

    Life After Graduation Series Hosted by UC Davis, open to recent alumni and rising seniors of all UC campuses. The Cal Aggie Alumni Association is kicking off its Life After Graduation Series with an engaging virtual session, “Thriving in Transition,” on Wednesday, May 13 at 1 p.m. (Pacific Time). The transition from college to post-graduate life can bring […]

    Free
  • Building Belonging Program Student Showcase 2026

    Seymour Marine Discovery Center 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA

    Join us for the Institute for Social Transformation’s annual student showcase, celebrating the incredible work of our Building Belonging Fellows! This special event highlights the achievements of undergraduate research fellows. Each student will give a 2-minute lightning talk about a research project they worked on with a Social Sciences faculty mentor. The event will be […]

  • Chat with the Chair: Conversations on AI

    Silicon Valley Campus 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, United States

    Curious about the newest developments in artificial intelligence? Join us for Chat with the AI Chair, a monthly drop-in conversation designed for professionals who want to stay ahead of emerging AI trends. Event details Praveen Krishna, chair of the Artificial Intelligence Application Development certificate program, will lead the informal discussion about what this technology means for […]

  • What is Mythos? Conversations on AI

    Silicon Valley Campus 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, United States

    What do we know about Mythos? Anthropic’s Claude Mythos, a next-generation, general-purpose AI model with 10 trillion parameters, is the most powerful AI developed to date. It is highly capable of advanced reasoning, coding, and autonomously identifying and exploiting complex software vulnerabilities, creating significant cybersecurity risks. Join us for Chat with Praveen Krishna, chair of our AI program, […]

  • Shadmon, R. (CS) – Proximal Byzantine Agreement

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

    Research on fault-tolerance protocols for approximate Byzantine agreement (ABA) has largely focused on ensuring that distributed processes remain consistent despite fewer than 1/3 faulty processes. Yet in many real systems, consistency is only useful when it enables processes to make accurate decisions from replicated, noisy, and potentially adversarially corrupted data relative to an ideal fault-free […]