• Zhou, K. (CSE) – Toward Safer Frontier AI: From Evaluation and Red-Teaming to Alignment and Oversight

    Virtual Event

    This dissertation investigates how to make modern AI systems safer as they grow more capable. It addresses two central sources of risk: malicious misuse, in which adversarial users coerce models into harmful behavior, and internal misalignment, in which models themselves pursue goals that diverge from human intent through deception, sandbagging, or other covert behaviors. The […]

  • Zhu, R. (ECE) – From Neuromorphic Principles to Efficient Neural Language Architectures

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

    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 context length and high computational cost from dense matrix multiplication. Through studies of spiking neural networks, linear-recurrent language models, hybrid attention architectures, MatMul-free models, and […]

  • STANLEY FLATTÉ MEMORIAL LECTURE: CHAOS, BLACK HOLES, AND QUANTUM MECHANICS

    The 418 Project 155 River St S, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

    CHAOS, BLACK HOLES, AND QUANTUM MECHANICS The world is a chaotic place. Even if we know the rules of nature, we often find it difficult to predict the future – forecasting the weather is a notorious example. Recently, we have understood that chaos plays a central role in the behavior of black holes, some of […]

    FREE
  • Making an Exoneree Showcase

    Digital Arts Research Center 407 McHenry Rd, Santa Cruz, CA

    Audiences are invited to Making an Exoneree, a reception and film screening featuring the premiere of five student-made short documentaries that reveal the facts—and falsehoods—of wrongful conviction cases from around the country. Over the Winter and Spring quarters, 15 UCSC undergraduate students in the Making an Exoneree course dedicated themselves to uncovering the truth about […]

    FREE and open to the public
  • UCSC MEIP XXIII, May 29, 30, and 31st, at 7:00 PM in the Stevenson Event Center-Performances in French, Japanese and Spanish. FREE-ALL WELCOME

    Stevenson Event Center Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    fully-staged performances in French, Japanese, and Spanish, with English super-titles projected above the stage. The program will be directed by Language lecturers and performed by Language students.

    French: Dur dur la torture (Pure Torture), written by the students, directed by Renée Cailloux.

    Japanese: “きぼうのうた” (Song of Hope), directed by Naoko Yamamoto.

    Spanish: “Noble campaña” (A Lofty Cause), Based on a short story by Gregorio López y Fuentes directed by Carolina Castillo-Trelles and Sandra Malone.

    Free
  • SOAR— Los Mejicas Grupo Folklórico

    Grupo Folklórico Los Mejicas
    Theater Arts Mainstage 411 Kerr Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Come enjoy Los Mejicas’ 54th Anniversary Spring Show: Aqui Estamos y No Nos Vamos, Con Amor a Mi Mexico on Friday, May 29th and Saturday, May 30 at the UCSC Theater Arts Mainstage. — ADMISSION – Doors open at 7:00 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. – Please note that seating is not […]

    TICKETS REQUIRED; General Admission
  • Rooted in Identity — Mixed Identity Retreat

    Crown Provost House 660 Crown Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Join the Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center on Saturday 5/30 from 10:30am-1:30pm at the Ethnic Resource Centers (located at the Crown Provost House) to explore the unique experiences of those with mixed racial and cultural identities within the AA/PI/SWANA communities! This event will include affinity spaces, a book-club style discussion, and a zine-making activity to connect with other students and reflect on […]

  • Herbs and Tending the Inner Garden

    UCSC Farm 152 Farm Rd, Santa Cruz, CA

    The way to care for humans and gardens have lots of similarities. We will explore the realm of self care, health maintenance and disharmony management through the lens of herbal medicine and metaphors of organic garden management. This class will be an herb walk where we will visit common garden plants, “weeds” and medicinal plants […]

  • Office Hours Under the Sea

    Institute of the Arts and Sciences 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States

    Join Ronaldo Wilson and special guests for a site-specific, endurance performance as part of there are no words, but melodies. The exhibition emerges at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art toshuttle between verbal and non-verbal forms of language, rendering the boundaries of identity and meaning slippery. Drop in and visit Wilson’s office […]

  • Go Bananas! Carnival

    Get ready to turn the field yellow! Presented by the Division of Student Affairs and Success Leadership and Involvement Team Join us for the ultimate end-of-year bash as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Banana Slug as our official mascot. We’re transforming the East Field into a high-energy carnival packed with thrills, food, and […]

  • Arts Staff Live!

    Digital Arts Research Center 407 McHenry Rd, Santa Cruz, CA

    UCSC Arts Staff Live! 2

    FREE and open to the public
  • Lavender Graduation Celebration

    Hay Barn 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

    For over 20 years, The Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center has proudly honored the accomplishments of graduating students at UCSC.  At the annual Lavender Graduation Celebration, graduates of all academic levels and programs are celebrated in a uniquely queer way.   Graduating students receive a lavender or rainbow stole in addition to enjoying refreshments, music, and […]

  • The Deep Read – A Conversation with Merlin Sheldrake

    Upper Quarry Amphitheater 15 McLaughlin Drive, Santa Cruz, CA

    Join us for a free, public conversation with British mycologist and author, Merlin Sheldrake, at UC Santa Cruz’s Quarry Amphitheater on May 31, 2026. He’ll discuss his New York Times bestseller, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds, and Shape our Futures with Associate Professor of History Benjamin Breen and the Deep Read community. […]

  • Book Talk: Learning to Lead with Dr. Veronica Terriquez

    Rachel Carson College Red Room

    The Center for Labor and Community and UCSC Sociology Department welcome Dr. Veronica Terriquez for a discussion on her recently published book, Learning to Lead: Youth Organizing in Immigrant Communities. The event will take place on Monday, June 1 at 12pm at the Rachel Carson Red Room. Children of immigrants make up more than one […]

    Free
  • Seminar Series | What you may not know about groundwater management in California with Ruth Langridge

    Interdisciplinary Sciences Building 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Host: ENVS Personnel Committee Groundwater is a critical source of California’s water supply. Many basins in critical overdraft are now being managed under the 2015 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to support state goals of sustainable and equitable management. However, court adjudicated basins that encompass over 8,000 square miles and are home to nearly 11 […]

  • AM Seminar: Using Math and Experiments to Study the Control of Cell Metabolism

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

    Presenter: Denis Titov, Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley Description: Cells run thousands of chemical reactions simultaneously, and these reactions must be precisely controlled—like a thermostat that prevents overheating. When this control fails, diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver disease result. One key control mechanism is allosteric regulation, where a small molecule binds […]

  • International Grad End-of-Year Celebration

    Graduate Student Commons 420 Hagar Drive, Santa Cruz, CA

    What a remarkable year it has been for our international graduate community! To celebrate your hard work and achievements, ISSP and the International Grad Peer Mentors invite you to join us for one final gathering before the academic year concludes. Stop by to enjoy a catered lunch from Fusion Fare, connect with fellow peers, and unwind […]

  • Chamber Music Concert with UCSC Music Ensembles —Percussion, Celtic, Classical Guitar, Horns, Central Asian, Experimental

    Music Center Recital Hall 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Audiences are invited to a free spring quarter chamber music concert featuring a variety of student ensembles. — ADMISSION – Attend in person at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz – UCSC Affiliates only – Open seating (no ticket required). – Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start […]

    FREE
  • Global Cafe: Slug Celebrations 2026

    Classroom Unit Classroom Unit, Santa Cruz, CA, Select a Country:

    Hi everyone! As the Spring quarter winds down, International Student Services and Programming (ISSP) and Global Learning invite you to our final gathering of the year: Slug Celebrations 2026. Join us to wrap up the academic year, look forward to summer, and connect with fellow international and global learning students. Our staff will also be there to provide any summer […]

  • Bi-weekly GenAI Meetup at UC Santa Cruz

    E2-506 Build 2, Baskin Engineering, Santa Cruz, United States

    We are excited to invite you to the second session of the GenAI Meetup at UC Santa Cruz, which will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 3:15 PM in E2-506. This session will feature a student talk and demo by Akhilesh Thite, a Master’s student, on local LLMs in the PeerSky Browser. To describe the session in the […]

    Free