Info Session: Global Seminar Mokuhanga Printmaking in Japan
2026-01-27 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Learn more at our upcoming Information Session: Tuesday, January 27 at 12:00-1:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Register Here
Earn 6 units on a summer program on the Global Seminar Mokuhanga Printmaking in Japan this summer. This program is taught by Jimin Lee, Professor of Art.
Quick Facts:

Locations: Tokyo, Japan
Course: ART 161J Mokuhanga: UCSC Printmaking in Japan (6 units)
Led by: Jimin Lee
Eligibility: Good academic and disciplinary standing, Min Age: 18, 45 units completed at time of departure. Minimum GPA- 2.3 cumulative GPA or higher at the time of application and every quarter prior to departure, Completion of Art 20G
Application requirement: Portfolio of 10 images
Dates: August 2-29, 2026
Finances: Financial aid applies, and scholarships are available! Budget will be posted on the website when it is available.
How to apply: Visit here for instructions. Applications open on December 1 and close on March 2.
Get in touch: Email your questions to globallearning@ucsc.edu.

Program Description: Immerse yourself in the world of Mokuhanga, the celebrated Japanese woodblock printmaking technique of Ukiyo-e, and journey from timeless tradition to cutting-edge creative exploration. Study how traditional relief printmaking techniques fuse with emerging technologies, book arts, and animation, while engaging with Japan’s vibrant cultural landscape through hands-on washi papermaking, museum and gallery visits, and exchanges with master printmakers and Tokyo Zokei University students. Through studio practice, cultural exploration, and creative collaboration, you’ll gain advanced artistic skill, deep cultural insight, and a fresh perspective on the possibilities of print media in today’s visual culture.

Ecology of Presence: Pathways to the Natural World
2026-01-27 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-28 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-29 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-30 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-31 12:00 - 17:00 | Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, 11 Cowell Service Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Norris Center Art + Science Graduate Fellowship Exhibition
Ecology of Presence: Pathways to the Natural World brings together the work of ten graduate students supported by the Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History Art + Science Fellowship, a program dedicated to creative research connecting art with the natural world. Across media – including sound, moving image, music, performance, installation, comics, social practice, photography, and storytelling – the artists in Ecology of Presence emphasize relationality and careful attention to place as essential to building relationships with environs. As accelerating environmental change and technological dependency threaten ways of belonging, the works in this exhibition maintain a steadfast commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that propose kinship with the natural world. By coming together, Art + Science Fellows artworks and social practices suggest ways of imagining human life in relation to the more-than-human world.

College Night: Back to the Past
2026-01-27 17:00 - 20:00 | College Nine and John R. Lewis Dining Hall
College Nine and John R. Lewis College, in collaboration with UCSC Dining, present “Back to the Past” an exploration of activism through the decades. Join us Tuesday, January 27 from 5–8 p.m. at the College Nine/John R. Lewis Dining Hall for a night of activities, fun, community, and a special themed menu. Standard dining hall entry pricing applies, and all students, faculty, and staff are invited.
Please note: The dining hall will be closed from 2–5 p.m. for event preparation.
Learn more about College Nights at dining.ucsc.edu/events.
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You Belong Here: 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 Policy for UC Publications.How to Use the Statement Across Communication Channels

How to Optimize Your Career Fair Experience
2026-01-27 17:30 - 18:30 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/how-to-optimize-your-career-fair-experience-2/
Interested in attending one of our upcoming career fairs but not sure what to do once you’re there? We can help with that!
Join us for this webinar on Tuesday, January 27th from 5:30-6:30 to learn about how to make the most out of the experience. You get answers to these questions

What should you do to prepare in advance?
How should you engage with recruiters and other attendees?
Are there any practices or strategies to be mindful of before, during, and after?

Plus much more…
Career fairs can be a solid way to engage with recruiters to learn about job and internship opportunities as well as get an idea of what it’s like to work in a field that you might be interested in. Having a solid understanding of how to navigate your experience can help make a huge difference.
We will provide captions for the presentation. If you have disability-related needs, please contact the Career Success office at csuccess@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4420 as soon as possible.
YOU BELONG HERE
Programs and services 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 Policy for UC Publications.

42nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
2026-01-27 17:30 - 19:30 | Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
The Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation honors and celebrates Dr. King’s legacy while addressing the ongoing struggles for equity, justice, and freedom. This year’s keynote will feature Larry McDonald, a legendary reggae percussionist whose life and career have been defined by rhythm, culture, and the power of music to unite people.
McDonald has been a musical collaborator with Taj Mahal, Peter Tosh, Gil Scott-Heron, Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Skatalites, and many more. Rooted in the vibrant sounds of Jamaica, he expanded his musical journey through time in Trinidad, Mexico, North Oakland, and many other locations before ultimately settling in New York. With each step, McDonald carries a profound respect for the Caribbean’s cultural heritage and a vision of music as a bridge across borders, generations, and struggles for justice.
McDonald will be joined by other New York City and Santa Cruz’s own musicians.
REGISTER

Petals and Pours
2026-01-27 18:00 - 19:30
Join AA/PIRC on Tuesday, January 27th from 6-7:30pm at Terry Freitas Commons to learn about the origins, history, and issues surrounding tea as we taste different teas from Asia (including Nami Matcha) and create your own tea blend! Come for the tea and stay for the warmth of community! RSVP at bit.ly/petalsandpours
You Belong Here: 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.

Drop-In Figure Drawing
2026-01-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center, Baskin Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Drop-In Draw provides a live model and room monitor. There is no formal lesson and only dry media is allowed (no paints).
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ADVISORIES
– These events contain mature content and nudity.
– Drop-In Draw is subject to the possibility of last-minute cancellation without notification, and sessions are not guaranteed.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– UCSC Art Department Room L-101
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
This series occurs weekly on Tuesday evenings during winter quarter, including the following:
Tuesday January 6, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday January 13, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday January 20, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday January 27, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 3, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 10, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 17, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday February 24, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Tuesday March 3, 2026, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Additional dates to be announced for spring quarter.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit or ParkMobile.
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event.
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS).
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

CSE Colloquium - Towards Relational Foundation Models: Zero-Shot Forecasting over Relational Databases
2026-01-28 11:00 - 12:15 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Charilaos I. Kanatsoulis, Stanford University
Abstract: Foundation models have transformed unstructured domains such as language and vision, yet relational datasets, where most enterprise knowledge lives, still rely on brittle, task-specific ML pipelines. I will begin by introducing Relational Deep Learning (RDL), a general framework for learning directly from heterogeneous multi-table data, capturing structure across entities, attributes, and relationships without handcrafted schemas or features.
Building on this paradigm, I will present the Relational Transformer (RT), a schema-invariant model pretrained across diverse relational databases that performs structural learning with in-context information and transfers zero-shot to new databases and predictive tasks. By modeling both inter- and intra-table dependencies and reframing prediction as pattern recognition inside a unified latent relational space, RT represents a concrete step toward relational foundation models that can be prompted, reused, and generalized for new problems.
Bio: Charilaos I. Kanatsoulis is a Research Scientist in the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University. He previously was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His research lies at the intersection of machine learning and signal processing, with a focus on Transformer and foundation model design for structured data, graph representation learning, tensor analysis, and explainable AI. His work has been recognized with the Best Paper Award at the KDD Temporal Graph Learning Workshop (2025) and the Best Student Paper Award at IEEE CAMSAP (2023). He co-instructs CS246 and CS224W at Stanford and previously taught ESE 5140 at Penn. He has organized several community events, including the Graph Signal Processing short course at IEEE ICASSP 2023, the Stanford Graph Learning Workshop (2024–2025), the Relational Deep Learning tutorial at ACM KDD 2025, and the New Perspectives in Advancing Graph Machine Learning Workshop at NeurIPS 2025.
Hosted by: Professor Nikos Tziavelis
Location: Engineering 2, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as coffee, pastries, and fruit will be provided.)
Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93445911992?pwd=[REDACTED]

STEM Career & Internship Fair
2026-01-28 11:00 - 15:00 | Stevenson Event Center, Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Here is a chance to meet STEM recruiters in person!
If you are interested in pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering, mathematics or research, then take advantage of this opportunity to meet recruiters from companies looking to fill various positions (both technical and non-technical). Learn more about internships and full-time career opportunities. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent alumni are all welcome to attend!
Curious about how to best prepare for the fair?
1. Research the organization
Identify the top 3-5 companies you are interested in, but remember to be open to different companies you may not have heard of because they may be a startup or business-to-business organization that doesn’t directly serve consumers.
Do your research by reviewing company websites. Look for their mission, values, location, and the type of available opportunities (e.g., internships, full-time positions, etc.). Company representatives are impressed by potential candidates who take the time to do this!
2. Prepare your introduction and questions
Reflect on what it is about each company that resonates with you. Perhaps it’s the specific technology they’re developing, the research they’re leading, or the world problem they’re trying to solve. What relevant experiences do you have? How can you be of service to that organization? Exercise critical thinking skills to develop questions to ask recruiters and hiring managers.
3. Dress with confidence
Each industry and each company has different work attire expectations and organizational culture. Do your research, ask mentors in advance for advice, and dress to impress!
PLEASE NOTE: You are encouraged to check in at the student registration table in order to participate in the career fair. Bring your student ID.
Want more support?

Visit a peer coach during drop-in hours
Schedule a career coaching appointment with a Career Engagement Specialist
For PhD students looking to pursue careers in industry, explore Beyond the Professoriate
(Scroll over “Login to Platform” at the top navigation bar and click “Through your institution”)
Get career tips on demand from our Career Success YouTube video library
Stay in the loop by following Career Success on Instagram

You will receive registration and additional information in your email from Career Success via Handshake. Please make sure to check your junk/spam folder if you are not receiving any communication.

You Belong Here: 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 Policy for UC Publications.
Questions? Send to csuccess@ucsc.edu or visit Career Success at Hahn 125 East Entrance
Need accessibility support? Let us know at slugtalent@ucsc.edu at least two weeks prior to the fair date.
Career fair registrations are made without endorsement, direct or implied, by Career Success or UCSC. Career Success educates students about various opportunities and ensures equity of access to campus recruiting activities for all employers who abide by our Employer Policies. Individual students are encouraged to determine which employers align with their diverse talents, values, and interests.

Statistics Seminar: Inferring Unobserved Trajectories from Multiple Temporal Snapshots
2026-01-28 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93769232971?pwd=[REDACTED]
Presenter: Yunyi Shen, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Description: Practitioners often aim to infer an unobserved population trajectory using sample snapshots at multiple time points. E.g. given single-cell sequencing data, scientists would like to learn how gene expression changes over a cell’s life cycle. But sequencing any cell destroys that cell. So we can access data for any particular cell only at a single time point, but we have data across many cells. The deep learning community has recently explored using Schrödinger bridges (SBs) and their extensions in similar settings. However, existing methods either (1) interpolate between just two time points or (2) require a single fixed reference dynamic (often set to Brownian motion within SBs). But learning piecewise from adjacent time points can fail to capture long-term dependencies. And practitioners are typically able to specify a model family for the reference dynamic but not the exact values of the parameters within it. So I propose a new method that (1) learns the unobserved trajectories from sample snapshots across multiple time points and (2) requires specification only of a family of reference dynamics, not a single fixed one. I demonstrate the advantages of my method on simulated and real data, across applications in biology and oceanography.
Bio: Yunyi Shen is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. He works in probabilistic machine learning and statistics on problems where data are scarce or noisy, and as a result require adaptive data collection, incorporation of domain-specific structure, and careful downstream evaluation. Drawing on a background in the physical and life sciences, his work is shaped by close interdisciplinary collaborations and motivated by scientific problems in biology and physics, such as gene regulation, fluid dynamics in cells, wildlife monitoring, and time-domain astronomy.
Hosted by: Statistics Department
Zoom link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93769232971?pwd=[REDACTED]

International Market Fair
2026-01-28 13:30 - 15:00 | Classroom Unit, Classroom Unit, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, Select a Country:
Are you feeling cold and missing a piece of nostalgia from your global learning experience? International Student Services and Programming (ISSP) is excited to invite you to drop by our International Market Fair on Wednesday, January 28 from 13:30 – 15:00 at our office in Classroom Unit 101 (same floor as Global Learning). No RSVP required.

We’ll be handing out free giveaways of international snacks including:

Chili snacks from China
Indomie instant noodles from Indonesia
Kinder chocolate from Italy
Pocky from Japan
Soybean and Sesame bars from Korea
…and more!

Our staff will be hosting mini international themed activities for you to earn these prizes. We hope to see you there!

Successful Slug Workshop: Habit Tracking as a Tool
2026-01-28 14:30 - 15:30 | Academic Resources Center (ARC), 408 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Habit Tracking as a Tool
Wednesday, January 28, 2:45–3:30 p.m.
Location: ARCenter 203
Learn how strategies like habit stacking and tracking can ensure you can stick to your academic and personal routines.
Successful Slug Workshop Series
Join Learning Support Services (LSS) for Successful Slug Workshops on Tuesdays at noon and Wednesdays at 2:45 p.m.
These 45-minute workshops are open to all UCSC students and offer tools and strategies to support your academic success. Each session highlights best practices for effective, long-lasting learning and is led by LSS professional staff.
To get first priority, sign up on TutorHub or simply drop in. You can also sign up on TutorHub to receive email reminders.
Learn more and sign up: learningsupport.ucsc.edu/programs/workshops/
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You Belong Here: 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 Policy for UC Publications.

Decolonizing Education with Annamarie Chavez
2026-01-28 15:00 - 17:00 | Namaste Lounge, 615 College Nine Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join our conversation with, fourth-year UCSC student Annamarie Chavez as she aims to spread awareness around colonial practices within higher educational systems like universities while challenging those institutions to bring indigenous perspectives and practices to the forefront.

Ancestral Algorithms: Indigenous Virtual Realities & the Ethics of AI
2026-01-28 16:00 - 17:35
This talk explores how Indigenous analytic and ancestral technologies, rooted in technē as craft, knowledge, and skilled practice, inform contemporary digital forms such as Virtual Reality and AI. It traces how ancestral memory is transferred, adapted, and sustained across generations through decolonial and anti-colonial frameworks, while critically engaging both the generative possibilities and the structural pitfalls of digital technologies as they shape relational, technological futures.
This event is presented as part of the Creative Interventions (CI) series and is co-sponsored by the Arts Division’s Creative Technologies program and Porter College at UC Santa Cruz.
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ADMISSION
– Free and open to UCSC affiliates.
– This is an online event.
– Registration is required here.
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– Event dates to be announced throughout the 2025-26 academic year.
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ABOUT THE SERIES
Creative Interventions addresses the interconnected work of artists, designers, activists, and knowledge workers—and the intrinsic and transformative capacity of that work to cultivate a just society. More information about the Creative Technologies program.
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This program is open to all UC Santa Cruz affiliates consistent with state and federal law.

The Sheikh's Jews: Muslim-Jewish Relations in Interwar Algeria
2026-01-28 18:00 | Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
The Center for Jewish Studies presents, The Helen Diller Distinguished Lecture in Jewish Studies.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, Algeria hosted an array of Jewish communities—some deeply-rooted, others more recently settled—that played important roles in North African society. French colonial rule, however, brought changes that profoundly reshaped Jews’ relationship to their Muslim neighbors. By the years leading up to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), these changes had created new lines of solidarity—and new tensions—that cast doubt on Jews’ place in Algeria’s future. In this lecture, Professor Joshua Schreier will explore how the most prominent figure among Algerian Ulema, ͑Abd al-Ḥamīd Ben Bādīs (1889–1940), the undisputed leader of reformist Islam in interwar Algeria and a powerful influence on Algeria’s nascent nationalist movement, understood Jews, their relationship to Muslims, and the escalating conflict in Palestine.

Joshua Schreier’s research and teaching navigate the intersection of Jewish, Middle Eastern, North African, and French colonial history. His publications explore the ways colonialism in Algeria not only transformed the relationship between Jews and Muslims but also redefined what these identifiers meant. He is the author of Arabs of the Jewish Faith: The Civilizing Mission in Colonial Algeria (Rutgers, 2010), and The Merchants of Oran: A Jewish Port at the Dawn of Empire (Stanford, 2017), which was a National Jewish Book Award Finalist.

This event is a part of The Helen Diller Distinguished Lecture in Jewish Studies.

Business, Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities Career & Internship Fair
2026-01-29 11:00 - 15:00 | Stevenson Event Center, Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Undergraduate and graduate students and recent alumni interested in pursuing careers in business, arts, social sciences & humanities industries are welcome to attend. Get the chance to meet recruiters from many industries/firms seeking to fill internship, full-time, and part-time roles. Come take essential steps toward laying the foundation for your future career and potentially even land an interview!
Curious about how to best prepare for the fair?
1. Research the organization
Identify the top 3-5 companies you are interested in, but remember to be open to different companies you may not have heard of because they may be a startup or business-to-business organization that doesn’t directly serve consumers.
Do your research by reviewing company websites. Look for their mission, values, location, and the type of available opportunities (e.g., internships, full-time positions, etc.). Company representatives are impressed by potential candidates who take the time to do this!
2. Prepare your introduction and questions
Reflect on what it is about each company that resonates with you. Perhaps it’s the specific technology they’re developing, the research they’re leading, or the world problem they’re trying to solve. What relevant experiences do you have? How can you be of service to that organization? Exercise critical thinking skills to develop questions to ask recruiters and hiring managers.
3. Dress with confidence
Each industry and each company has different work attire expectations and organizational culture. Do your research, ask mentors in advance for advice, and dress to impress!
PLEASE NOTE: You are encouraged to check in at the student registration table in order to participate in the career fair. Bring your student ID.
Want more support?

Visit a peer coach during drop-in hours
Schedule a career coaching appointment with a Career Engagement Specialist
For PhD students looking to pursue careers in industry, explore Beyond the Professoriate
(Scroll over “Login to Platform” at the top navigation bar and click “Through your institution”)
Stay in the loop by following Career Success on Instagram

You will receive registration and additional information in your email from Career Success via Handshake. Please make sure to check your junk/spam folder if you are not receiving any communication.

You Belong Here: 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 Policy for UC Publications.

Questions? Send to csuccess@ucsc.edu or visit Career Success at Hahn 125 East Entrance
Need accessibility support? Let us know at slugtalent@ucsc.edu at least two weeks prior to the fair date.

Career fair registrations are made without endorsement, direct or implied, by Career Success or UCSC. Career Success educates students about various opportunities and ensures equity of access to campus recruiting activities for all employers who abide by our Employer Policies. Individual students are encouraged to determine which employers align with their diverse talents, values, and interests.

BME 280B Seminar: Satellite repeats encode megabase-scale transcription factor hubs
2026-01-29 11:40 - 13:15 | Physical Sciences Building, Physical Sciences Building, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Matt Franklin, Postdoctoral Researcher, Stanford University
Description: Eukaryotic genomes contain large stretches of repetitive DNA called satellite DNA, often found near centromeres and ribosomal DNA regions. In humans, alpha satellite has well-established roles in centromere biology, however the functions of other human satellite DNAs remain largely unexplored.
We recently identified the Hippo pathway effector TEAD as a novel Human Satellite 3 (HSat3) binding TF. Because HSat3 is highly enriched near ribosomal DNA (rDNA) genes, we examined whether the Hippo pathway regulates rDNA via HSat3. Our work demonstrates that HSat3 localizes the Hippo factors YAP and TEAD inside the nucleolus, where YAP directly activates ribosomal RNA (rRNA) transcription. These findings present the first evidence that the Hippo pathway factor YAP directly regulates RNA Polymerase I activity.
Disparate studies have identified examples of transcription factors that bind repetitive DNA elements through motif recognition. However, a systematic search for such factors has not been conducted. Using Telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies, we predicted and validated dozens of new satellite-binding TFs, many of which are part of highly conserved signaling pathways. Beyond revealing a direct relationship between the Hippo pathway and ribosomal DNA regulation, this work demonstrates that satellite DNA can encode a broad range of functional motifs, hinting at new roles for these enormous genomic elements.
Bio: Following his undergraduate studies, Matt conducted a 1-year research fellowship at EMBL Hamburg, where he worked on X-ray scattering methods for structural biology. He then earned his PhD in chemical engineering at Stanford University, where he investigated mechanotransduction and Hippo pathway signaling. Matt continued this research as a postdoc under Kun-Liang Guan at UC San Diego, where he discovered that Hippo pathway effectors bind repetitive DNA elements. To expand on his newfound interest in repetitive DNA, Matt returned to Stanford as a postdoctoral researcher under Nicolas Altemose, where he is studying the functions of satellite repeats as hubs for transcription factor binding.
Hosted by: Professor Karen Miga, BME Department

Allen van Gelder Memorial
2026-01-29 13:00 - 16:30 | University Center, University Center, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
You are cordially invited to an event celebrating the life and research legacy of Allen van Gelder, who passed away in April 2025 after 37 years of dedicated service to the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC Santa Cruz.
Thursday, January 29, 2025
Reception begins 1pm, Program begins 1:30pm
Alumni Room, University Center, UC Santa Cruz
Please RSVP via the following link:
https://forms.gle/iyFTL2aAxLMWdRMU9
The gathering will include three presentations reflecting on Allen’s contributions to computer science, followed by an opportunity for attendees to share remembrances and stories
On Allen’s contributions to databases and logic programming
Jeff Ullman, Stanford W. Ascherman Professor of Computer Science (Emeritus), Computer Science Department, Stanford University
On Allen’s contributions to computer graphics and visualization
Claudio Silva, Institute Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York University
On Allen’s contributions to satisfiability
Olaf Beyersdorff, Professor of Theoretical Computer Science, Institute of Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Whether you were a colleague, student, or friend, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating Allen’s career and its impact.

UC Center Sacramento Information Session
2026-01-29 15:30 - 16:30 | Classroom Unit, Classroom Unit, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, Select a Country:
A representative from the UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) program will be at UCSC to host a UCCS overview information session. If you are interested in learning more about this impactful experiential learning opportunity, we encourage you to join!

Location: Classroom Unit Bldg., Conference Room 101
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Program Quick Facts:
– Location: Sacramento, California
– Courses: UCCS students take a full term’s worth of courses in addition to their internships. Earn 16 units in the fall, winter, or spring program; or, 14 units in the summer program.
– Dates & Deadlines
– Eligibility:

Must be a current, UC degree-seeking undergraduate student in good academic standing
Junior or Senior standing. Sophomores with a B or better in upper-division courses (at least two in any subject) may apply.
Transfer students with 1 completed quarter at their UC campus are eligible to apply.
International students and DACA/AB540/Undocumented students are eligible to apply
3.0 GPA or above.

– Finances: Financial aid applies, and scholarships are available! Budget with program fees and expenses are posted on the website.
– How to apply: Visit here.
– Get in touch: Email your questions to globallearning@ucsc.edu
Program Description:
UC Center Sacramento is the University of California’s premier teaching, research, and public-service site located one block from the State Capitol Building in Sacramento, California. Operated by UC Davis, UCCS offers a distinctive academic internship program in public policy, combining academics, research, and public service. The program allows students to engage with public policy and policymaking at all levels of government, in a diverse number of fields. It is an unparalleled opportunity for students to expand their professional network with University of California peers as well as a range of professionals in a variety of industries!

Unlock Your Career: 10 Essential Strategies for Success in an AI-Driven World
2026-01-29 17:30 - 18:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Are you ready to thrive in today’s fast-moving professional world — especially in one shaped by innovation, technology, and AI? Success in today’s AI-driven economy requires more than technical skills—it demands the right mindset, habits, and career strategy. Whether you’re early in your career, navigating a transition, or pushing for your next breakthrough, this workshop will help you accelerate your professional impact with confidence and clarity.
In this Dean Series workshop, Dean PK Agarwal shares practical, real-world insights drawn from leadership roles across industry, academia, and government. Participants will learn how to create value in any role, stay relevant as careers evolve, and build professional resilience in times of change.

Identify the traits and mindsets that separate high performers from the rest
Learn how to add value and stand out in any organization
Explore strategies for continuous learning in an AI-enabled workplace
Pick up tips to build and leverage professional networks effectively
Gain insight into managing up and taking ownership of your career trajectory
Examine your brand, both in person and online

This event is part of the Dean Conversations: Pathways to professional success series.
Claim your seat!

Fanon in Documentary Film: Algerian Legacies
2026-01-29 17:30 - 20:00 | Communications Building, 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Film Screening and Panel Discussion: 5:30-7pm, Communications 150, Studio C
Reception: Communications 139, 7-8pm
Marking the centenary of Frantz Fanon’s birth, the Center for Middle East and North Africa is hosting a film screening of True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital, the recent film by Algerian director Abdenour Zahzah that focuses on his time in the psychiatric hospital in Blida, Algeria. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Meryem Belkaïd (Bowdoin College), Isaac Julien (UCSC), and Mark Nash (UCSC) on the representation of Fanon’s work and life in film, from Julien and Nash’s classic 1998 documentary, Black Skin White Masks, to more recent films that focus on how Fanon’s time in Algeria shaped his intellectual and political commitments.
Meryem Belkaïd is the Harriet Sara Walker and Mary Sophia Walker Associate Professor of Humanities at Bowdoin College. Trained in both literature (PhD from La Sorbonne) and political science (Master degree from Science Po, Paris), her research focuses on a decolonial approach of North African cinema and literature. She is the author of From Outlaw to Rebel: Contemporary documentary in Contemporary Algeria (Palgrave 2023). Her works have appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of North African Studies, Fixxion and Expressions maghrébines. She is a regular contributor of the online magazine Orient XXI.
Mark Nash is a distinguished independent curator, film historian, and filmmaker with a specialization in contemporary fine art moving image practices, avant-garde, and world cinema. He holds a PhD from Middlesex University and an MA from Cambridge University. He is a professor in History of Consciousness at UC Santa Cruz, where he founded the Isaac Julien Lab with his partner and long-time collaborator, Isaac Julien. His most recent publication, Curating the Moving Image (Duke UP, 2023), outlines several key concepts that range from exhibition architecture and curating as an affective and artistic practice to post-cold war aesthetics and contemporary Chinese art.
Isaac Julien is a filmmaker and installation artist who has been making films and producing film installations for over forty years. Recent works include All that Changes You. Metamorphosis (2025), Once Again… (Statues Never Die) (2022), Lina Bo Bardi – A Marvellous Entanglement (2019), and Lessons of the Hour – Frederick Douglass (2019). A retrospective of his work, Isaac Julien: I Dream a World, was exhibited at the De Young Museum in 2025. In 2018, Julien joined the faculty at the UC Santa Cruz where he is a Distinguished Professor of the Arts and Humanities and leads the Moving Image Lab together with Mark Nash. Julien is the recipient of The Royal Academy of Arts Charles Wollaston Award in 2017. In 2022, he was awarded a Kaiserring Goslar Award in 2022, and he was granted a knighthood as part of the Queen’s Honours List.

Presented by the Center for the Middle East and North Africa and co-sponsored by the Film and Digital Media Department.

Pesticide Impacts in and around Monterey Bay lecture
2026-01-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
The short- and long-term health impacts of pesticide use for local communities on land as well as in the ocean are addressed in a conversation with Yanely Martinez, Katherine Gabriel-Cox, Adam Scow and Logan Pallin.
This event is presented as part of as part of the Intersections of Climate Change series, and is organized with the Friedlaender Lab, in conjunction with the Weather and the Whale exhibition, at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences.
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– Thu., Jan. 29, 6:00 p.m.: Pesticide Impacts in and around Monterey Bay
– Thu., Feb. 5, 6:00 p.m.: Climate Justice and the Moss Landing Battery Fire
– Wed., Feb. 11, 6:00 p.m.: The California Firefighter Cancer Research Study with Shehnaz Hussain and Fire Captain Jamie Gabriel
– Thu., Feb. 26, 6:00 p.m.: The Whale Liberation Front—An electroacoustic performance and artist talk
– Wed., March 4, 6:00 p.m.: Unexpected Returns: The Historic Entanglements of Fire, Settlement, and Stewardship in the Santa Cruz Mountains
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– Attend in person at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences on the Westside in Santa Cruz, Calif.
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PARKING
– The entrance to the Institute of the Arts and Sciences is on Delaware St. and has an accessibility ramp.
– Free self-parking is available on Panetta Ave. and High Rd., immediately adjacent to the building.
– Accessible parking is on High Rd.
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

AI Workshop Series: AI in the Semiconductor Industry
2026-01-30 10:00 - 16:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the semiconductor industry—from design to manufacturing.
In this AI workshop, students will examine how AI is being applied to chip design, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), and production workflows, with a focus on real-world use cases and emerging industry trends. Through expert insights and practical examples, this session highlights how generative AI and advanced analytics are improving efficiency, yield, and innovation across the semiconductor lifecycle.

Apply AI tools to modern semiconductor design and manufacturing
Identify high-impact generative AI use cases in chip development
Understand how AI is reshaping Electronic Design Automation (EDA)
Leverage AI for yield improvement, defect detection, and process optimization
Stay informed on key trends shaping the future of AI in semiconductors

Format:
This is a hybrid course, offered both in person and via Zoom. Participants are expected to attend and actively engage during the scheduled class time. Remote attendees are encouraged to keep cameras on to support an interactive learning experience. In-person participants should bring a laptop to each class session.
This course is part of the Winter 2026 AI Workshop series.
Enroll in this workshop.

Creating a LinkedIn Profile
2026-01-30 15:30 - 16:30 | https://ucsc.joinhandshake.com/events/1881544/share_preview
Join us to learn why having a LinkedIn profile is beneficial to advance your career and gain tips on how to create or update your LinkedIn profile. This session is for students who are new to LinkedIn or have not updated their profile in a while. The session will have a presentation and time for Q&A.
We will provide captions for the presentation. If you have disability-related needs, please contact the Career Success office at csuccess@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4420 as soon as possible.
YOU BELONG HERE
Programs and services 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 Policy for UC Publications.

Connect To Your Roots: BIPOC Herbalism
2026-02-01 12:00 - 15:00 | UCSC Farm, 152 Farm Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The People of Color Sustainability Collective invites you to Connect To Your Roots!
We will be sharing and connecting with generational knowledge and empowering BIPOC to take control of their own food systems, particularly medicinal herbs, through a variety of educational hands-on activities. We aim for this event to enhance BIPOC visibility on campus, and cultural awareness and preservation. Light refreshments provided!

Salve making
DIY tea/scent bags
Recycled plant propagation
Native plant bundling

Join us Sunday, February 1st, 2026 from 12:00PM to 3:00PM at the Community Herb Garden within UCSC Farm.

For accommodations or questions: pocsc@ucsc.edu
RSVP at bit.ly/BIPOCHerbalism

ECE Seminar: Advanced Packaging as the Engine of the AI Systems Era
2026-02-02 10:40 - 11:45 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Tolga Acikalin, System and Package Architect, Lumilens
Description: The rapid rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning—most notably recent breakthroughs in large language models—is reshaping the trajectory of the semiconductor industry and ushering in a new era of system innovation. As performance scaling at the device level slows, heterogeneous integration (HI) has emerged as a foundational technology to sustain advances in computing and communication. By integrating separately manufactured components with diverse functions into a single system, HI enables new levels of functionality, performance, and efficiency that are no longer achievable through traditional scaling alone.
Realizing the full potential of heterogeneous systems demands a shift toward holistic system-level co-design, with advanced packaging assuming a central and strategic role. This talk will briefly review the evolution of packaging technologies and then focus on advanced packaging architectures that enable heterogeneous integration.Topics will include advances in 2D and 3D interconnect technologies, the introduction of novel packaging materials such as glass substrates, and the growing role of photonic links, including co-packaged optics enabled by silicon photonics. The talk will conclude with a discussion of power delivery and thermal management as system-level challenges and opportunities that will shape the next generation of high-performance, energy-efficient systems.
Bio: Tolga Acikalin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
He joined Intel in 2007 as a Research and Development Engineer, working on assembly and test pathfinding projects within the Technology and Manufacturing Group in Chandler, Arizona. From 2013 to 2025, he was a Principal Engineer at Intel Labs in Santa Clara, California, where he led and influenced innovative strategies for heterogeneous system integration, spanning package- to wafer-scale solutions, with a strong emphasis on next-generation interconnect technologies. Tolga is currently a System and Package Architect at Lumilens, where he focuses on next-generation photonic interconnect solutions, ranging from near-packaged optics to co-packaged optics.
His technical interests include co-packaged optics and silicon photonics, optical and sub-THz to THz RF high-speed interconnects and the associated advanced package architectures, novel advanced packaging solutions such as glass substrates, and optical computing. Tolga has authored or co-authored more than 15 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications in leading APS, ASME, and IEEE venues, including best paper awards at IEEE RFIC and JSCC. He holds nine issued patents and more than 27 additional patent filings.
Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=[REDACTED]
