Events

2026 Right Livelihood International Conference
2026-04-13 08:00 - 2026-05-15 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Right Livelihood International Conference is a five-week global conference exploring how education can strengthen democracy, collective intelligence, and just futures. Bringing together Right Livelihood Laureates, students, faculty, and community partners across continents, the conference combines asynchronous learning with participatory dialogue and collaborative action. Rather than advocating specific outcomes, the conference positions education as a democratic practice and the Right Livelihood College as a steward of dialogue, student voice, and long-term institutional learning.
Registration is free and open to the public. Sign up to receive conference updates, session links, and participation opportunities.

Flow and Friction Symposium: Media Practices Across Global Asias
2026-05-15 09:00 - 18:00 | Cowell Conference Room, 257 Cowell-Stevenson Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
“Media Practices Across Global Asias,” a graduate-student research cluster working across the History of Art and Visual Culture and Film and Digital Media departments, hosts their first symposium titled “Flow and Friction.” The day-long symposium is comprised of four panels with presenters from UC Santa Cruz and universities further afield in the U.S. and abroad. Three of the panels are focused on papers, while the fourth is focused on practice as research, with a screening of three short video works followed by Q&A. Professor Lisa Nakamura will visit from the University of Michigan, where she is the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor in the Department of American Cultures, as keynote speaker for the event. Each of the symposium presentations takes up the notion of flow and friction in response to the research cluster’s open call inviting inquiries in media studies and audiovisual culture in the context of Global Asias. Global Asias offer an expansive model to consider the imaginary or symbolic Asia as a series of diasporic interpolations constituted by Asian, non-Asian, and indigenous peoples and cultures. It demonstrates that worlds are not singular, much like media and its practices, and are contingent upon the labor and bodies that engage and disengage with them.
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ADMISSION
– Attend in person at the Cowell Conference Room at UC Santa Cruz.
– FREE and open to Arts Division staff & faculty, Arts Division students, and their invited guests.
– Registration recommended here.
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PARKING
– Closest lots to the event are Lots 107, 108, 109 and 110.
– All lots require an A permit which can be purchased via UCSC TAPS.
– ParkMobile can be found at Lot 107 and 109.
– Additional parking can be found in Lot 111 or Lot 111B or East Remote Lot 104.
– 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 UC Santa Cruz affiliates consistent with state and federal law.

Run Like a Slug 5k
2026-05-15 12:00 | Upper East Field
The UC Santa Cruz Department of Athletics and Recreation is proud to announce the second annual Run Like a Slug 5k. Banana Slugs can register here for the race.
Get ready to embrace your inner Banana Slug at the Run Like A Slug 5k Fun Run! Join fellow students, staff, and faculty members for a scenic and spirited run (or walk!) through the beautiful UC Santa Cruz campus. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just looking for a fun way to get active, this event is perfect for all paces—sluggish or speedy.
Expect a laid-back, supportive atmosphere, some slug-themed surprises, and a great way to enjoy the outdoors before finals. Costumes and UCSC pride are encouraged.
Perks include fun giveaways, music, and post-race refreshments.
Lace up, take it slow (or fast), and Run Like A Slug!
Register here »
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.

Risk Services & Occupational Health's Campus Wellness Fair
2026-05-15 12:00 - 14:00 | Upper East Field
Friday, May 15, 12:00 PM -2:00 PM

Where: Upper East Field
The Risk Services & Occupational Health’s Campus Wellness Fair is a fun-filled event open to all students, staff, and faculty. It will showcase the many UCSC departments, programs, and resources on campus that help contribute to a culture of well-being on our campus. You can go visit to their tables, learn what they have to offer, grab some giveaway items, and maybe even win some prizes!
Fill out the tabling request form by Monday, April 20, to showcase how your department contributes to a culture of well-being!

To learn more, visit the Campus Wellness Fair website.
For questions, please reach out to Ashley Parker, Health and Well-being Specialist, at aseparke@ucsc.edu.

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
2026-05-15 12:00 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Visit the IAS, UCSC’s premier art galleries, for our spring exhibitions. On view April 10–August 16, 2026 are three diverse and interdisciplinary shows: Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right, the first US solo exhibition by the Colombia-based artist and medical doctor; Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj, a site-specific and immersive exploration of the Haitian kreyol conception of rasanblaj; and Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies, a mixed-media exhibition emerging at the intersections of Black poetics, performance, and visual art.
The IAS Galleries are open Wednesday-Sunday, 12 pm – 5 pm. Admission is free to the public.
Libia Posada: Everything is Going Right
Libia Posada’s first solo exhibition in the United States features installations, sculptures, and drawings meticulously constructed from surgical instruments, gauze bandages, crutches, used books, and domestic picture frames. The new and existing works in the exhibition powerfully stitch together the personal, social, and political disorders and afflictions that currently trouble the world, from the wars that resonate across the globe to the violences of aging in US prisons.
Gina Athena Ulysse: A Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements
The internationally-lauded work of humanities professor Gina Athena Ulysse is on view as a premier Faculty Spotlight Exhibition. The site-specific installation, produced in community from things collected, found, purchased and donated, centers on the Haitian concept of rasanblaj, a form of assembly and collage that transcends the formal use of materials to draw together people, spirits, and ideas.
Ronaldo V. Wilson: There Are No Words, But Melodies
Collage is both a material practice and a structural interrogation in the Faculty Spotlight Exhibition artworks by literature professor Ronaldo V. Wilson. In video, painting, and installation, layers and folds conceal and reveal, delving into the experience, both bodily and emotive, of living in times of violence.

Rules Are Not Neutral: Play As Sense-Making, Acts Of Resistance, And Imagining Otherwise
2026-05-15 12:00 - 17:00 | Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, 11 Cowell Service Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
This exhibition brings together a range of analog games – including board, card, role-playing, and other participatory works – that engage social and political realities in different ways. The works span widely circulated commercial games to independently produced projects, one-of-a-kind artworks by artists, faculty, alumni, and students, and materials drawn from UC Santa Cruz Special Collections and Archives.
In part, the exhibition challenges the persistent assumption that games and play are detached from social and political life. On the contrary, game designers and artists across diverse perspectives and positions have long used play to engage questions of social systems, lived experience, and how power operates. This exhibition does not attempt to represent that full spectrum. Instead, it brings together a particular set of works that foreground how games can make systems visible, intervene in them, and imagine alternatives.
All games embody values, whether intentional or not.
– Mary Flanagan, game designer and scholar
Across all of these works, games are not only forms of entertainment, though they may be that as well. They are encountered in multiple ways: as objects, as systems, as artworks, and as experiences that unfold unpredictably through interaction. In each case, rules and constraints shape what participants can do. In these different forms, the works stage systems – such as housing and land ownership, capitalism, race and identity, civil rights and protest, fascism, and colonialism – in ways that are simplified and easy to see, opening space to recognize similar structures beyond the game. In this sense, the works suggest that rules are not neutral – they organize experience, distribute power, and produce meaning.
Games are the art of agency.
– C. Thi Nguyen, philosopher
The exhibition is intentionally dense. This abundance reflects the breadth of ways games operate across contexts, from activism and education to art and everyday life. While it celebrates creativity and difference, it also asks how these works engage critically with the structures that shape our lives.
Some works use rules to model systems, helping players understand how those systems operate. Others use play to rehearse action, asking players to practice navigating or challenging those systems. Still others turn toward speculation, inviting players to imagine alternative futures, worlds, and the systems that might shape them.
The imagination is an instrument of change.
– Ursula K. Le Guin, author
The focus on analog games reflects how they foreground materiality and shared physical presence. Played face-to-face, handled, read aloud, and experienced together, these works show how rules operate not in abstraction, but through lived, embodied experience.
Ultimately, the exhibition asks us to consider not only how games represent the world, but how they shape our engagement with it – and how through play, the social and political systems they model might be understood, challenged, and reimagined.
Games are not apolitical.
– Kishonna L. Gray, media scholar

Gallery Reception
May 15 from 1 to 4pm at the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery

Art Friday
Hands-on art activities drawing from the current exhibition.
ALL ARE WELCOME regardless of skill level. Art supplies and free snacks are provided!

Demystifying Failure: The Necessity of Mistakes
2026-05-15 13:00 - 13:45 | Academic Resources Center (ARC), 408 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
In this workshop, you will: In this workshop, you will: Move from “failing” to “flourishing” by learning to reframe setbacks and build resilience in academia.
The Successful Slug Workshop series, hosted by Learning Support Services Peer Coaches, are open to all UCSC undergraduate students and focus on academic skills and tools to support your success as a student. At each workshop, you will be introduced to a topic, engage in active learning, be given resources to begin implementing the same day, and have an opportunity to learn more if you are interested.
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.

STEM Culture Festival
2026-05-15 13:00 - 16:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The STEM Culture Festival is returning to UC Santa Cruz on Friday, May 15 from 1-4pm in the Baskin Engineering Courtyard. Join us!
This year, we’re expanding with even more performances, activities, and creative ways to celebrate UCSC’s vibrant, diverse, and excellent STEM culture!
What to expect:

Cuban Dance Master Susana Arenas and her troupe of Orisha dancers led by Cuban Drum Master Toribio Garcia return for a rousing, communal dance

Student performers: Los Mejicas and their traditional baile folklórico followed by an open dance lesson/performance by Slug N’ Boots

STEM-themed drag performances and spoken word poetry by student creatives

Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Equity Dr. Ebonee Williams (Chemical Engineering, University of Washington ‘04) will share an inspirational talk on “Bringing our whole selves to STEM!”

El Buen Taco and Falafel Santa Cruz will be serving delicious food, completely FREE for all attendees who engage with the student orgs and their activities

More than just your standard student organization tabling: Games, interactive demos, culturally themed activities, and opportunities to learn more about clubs from all over campus

Raffle for gift cards to be awarded every hour from 1-4pm – must be present to win!

This event will take place in the Baskin Engineering Courtyard and will be open to all UCSC students, staff, and faculty.
The STEM Culture Festival celebrates and elevates the many backgrounds, cultures, and identities that intersect with our work as scientists, engineers, educators, and members of the UCSC community. It is a rare opportunity when all of UCSC is invited to meet at the engineering school for a time of joy and togetherness. We enthusiastically invite you to attend and be in community with us – especially now in these tumultuous times of division and disunity.
This event represents a collaboration between Baskin Engineering, the Women’s Center, the Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center, El Centro Latinx and Chicanx Resource Center, the Asian American and Pacific Islander Resource Center, the Physical and Biological Sciences Division, and the Genomics Institute.

UCSC Graduate Research Symposium
2026-05-15 13:00 - 16:00 | McHenry Library, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Friday, May 15, 1:00-4:00 PM (PDT)
McHenry Library | Information Commons South on the Main Floor
We are delighted to invite you to the 22nd Annual Graduate Research Symposium!
This event celebrates and highlights the work of UCSC graduate students in all academic divisions. Any enrolled graduate student is welcome to present either a poster, talk, or mixed media presentation. The event is free and open to the public. Please see the Graduate Division website for more information.

2026 Graduate Research Symposium
2026-05-15 13:00 - 16:00 | McHenry Library, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
UCSC 22nd Annual Graduate Research Symposium
Friday, May 15, 1:00-4:00 PM (PDT)
McHenry Library | Information Commons South on the Main Floor
This event celebrates and highlights the work of UCSC graduate students in all academic divisions. Any enrolled graduate student is welcome to present either a poster, talk, or mixed media presentation. The event is free and open to the public.

Rasanblé/Rasanblaj: Call & Response
2026-05-15 17:30 - 19:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Join us for an evening of call and response between Portsha Jefferson, dancer and artistic director of Rara Tou Limen, and artist-scholar Gina Athena Ulysse. Jefferson will offer a Haitian dance response to Ulysse’s art exhibition Redwoods Rasanblaj: Origins & Disentanglements and screen her short film IMAMOU: Hotô to Shore… Agbe | Agwe. Ulysse will read from her memoir, Loving Haiti, Loving Vodou. A dialogue between Jefferson and Ulysse will follow.

NemoClaw NVIDIA x ASUS Hackathon @ UC Santa Cruz
2026-05-15 18:00 - 2026-05-16 18:00 | Kresge College, R-3 Suites, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Welcome to the premier physical AI hackathon on the West Coast. We are bringing together the top 200 AI, infrastructure, and hardware engineers to build autonomous, agentic applications on the NVIDIA NemoClaw stack.
​You aren’t just calling APIs, you are building on enterprise-grade hardware.
​The Tracks:

The Edge Track: 40 exclusive teams will be granted physical, on-site access to an ASUS DGX Spark unit to build and deploy locally.
​The Cloud Track: Teams will build the exact same stack utilizing fully sponsored cloud compute instances via Brev.dev.

​The Arsenal & Prizes: Every team builds on a unified playing field. The top projects will take home heavy enterprise hardware, including:

​NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nanos
​The ASUS Ascent (DGX Spark)
​Jensen Huang signed NVIDIA hats & premium swag
​High-value Brev.dev compute credits
​Monitors
​Internship Opportunities

​The Details:

​Who: Open to the top engineers at UC Santa Cruz and local feeder universities.
​Food: Fully catered for 24 hours. Energy, caffeine, and meals are on us.
​Special Guests*: Opening and closing ceremonies featuring VIP industry leaders (to be announced).
​Title Sponsors: Nvidia, ASUS, Baskin School of Engineering

Register today!
​Space is strictly capped at 200 builders. Registration requires application approval.
*May subject to change

CMENA’s Annual Concert Featuring Aza
2026-05-15 19:30 | Woodhouse Brewery, 119 Madrone St., Santa Cruz, United States
CMENA is proud to present AZA for our 2026 Spring concert. AZA weaves the rich musical traditions of North Africa’s Tamazight culture with contemporary global influences, creating a unique and captivating sound. Led by Moroccan-born musician Fattah Abbou, AZA blends the intricate melodies and dynamic rhythms of styles like Ahwash, Rwais, and Gnawa. The band celebrates Amazigh heritage through music, art, and education – building bridges between cultures across continents.

Presented by the Center for the Middle East and North Africa

Who Can I Run To?, by Alyssa Windom—2026 Dharma Grace Creative Writing Award and Theatrical Production
2026-05-15 19:30 - 21:00 | Second Stage, Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Through their belief in Ifá and the divine, three generations of women grow their relationships with each other and navigate living within their African diasporic identities in undergraduate student Alyssa Windom‘s award-winning script, Who Can I Run To? Windom is a 3rd year History of Art and Visual Culture (HAVC) major with the Arts Division at UC Santa Cruz and is the recipient of the 2026 Dharma Grace Creative Writing Award. The award includes a full theatrical production of their script.
In a modern, undisclosed time and a familiar yet unvisited space within the Americas, the audience meets four women, Lucia, Esme, Naia, and Aviva, three generations of the Sanderson family. The play follows each woman as they navigate how to live within the African diaspora, as well as grow their relationships with each other. Families are complex, but audiences learn this family does not have to figure out this life alone. Their belief in Ifá, and the divine, connects each woman with a guiding orisha that aids them in discovering themselves and their life paths.
Who Can I Run To? is directed by Theater Arts graduate student Darren Jackson-Wilkins.
The character of Mrs. Sanderson is played by hip hop artist, poet, producer, playwright, performer, and Assistant Professor akua naru from the UCSC Music Department.
There will be music and light refreshments on opening night and a talk-back with the production team after each Saturday performance.
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ADVISORIES
– Content includes: strobe lighting effects, electronic cigarettes, loud noises, and strong language.
– This presentation is approximately 1hr. 15 min. with no intermission.
– To request accessibility accommodations, or for more information, contact theaterartstickets@ucsc.edu.
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ADMISSION
– Attend in person at UCSC’s Theater Arts Second Stage.
– Free for UCSC undergrads (ticket required).
– General admission “Pay What You Like” options $5–20.
– Tickets issued online through Eventbrite only.
– Follow the Dept. of Performance, Play & Design on Eventbrite for notifications and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
This production has seven performances over two weekends between May 15 and May 24, 2026, with 7:30 p.m. evening performances Thurs.–Sat., and Sun. matinees at 2:00 p.m., including:
– Fri. May 15, 7:30 p.m. (7:00 p.m. opening night celebration before the show)
– Sat. May 16, 7:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. talk-back after the show)
– Sun. May 17, 2:00 p.m. matinee
– Thu. May 21, 7:30 p.m.
– Fri. May 22, 7:30 p.m.
– Sat. May 23, 7:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. talk-back after the show)
– Sun. May 24, 2:00 p.m. matinee
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PARKING
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event.
– $5 ParkMobile Arts Special Event flat rate; cash/credit via parking attendant when present in the lot; or by valid UCSC permit.
– Before arriving to UCSC, we recommend downloading the ParkMobile App on Google Play or Apple App Store and setting up a profile with license plate and payment information.
– 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.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services.
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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
The 2026 Dharma Grace Creative Writing Award recipient, Alyssa Windom, is currently the chair of the Student Union Governance Board and co-Chair of the Black Student Union at UC Santa Cruz. Outside of organizing, she is a resident advisor for African, Black and Caribbean housing, a volunteer with Engaging Education, a frequenter in Cultural Arts and Diversity Resource Center (CADrc) spaces—such as Rainbow Theater and the African American Theater Arts Troupe—and is a member of Kasama, a Filipino Ballroom Dance Troupe. Windom is a 3rd year History of Art and Visual Culture major at UC Santa Cruz.
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ABOUT THE AWARD
Established in 2005, the Dharma-Grace Foundation Creative Writing Award Fund, an endowed fund, provides an award for an outstanding script, written by a junior or senior undergraduate student (from any discipline) who is in good academic standing. The award is designated to provide funding for a full production of the script. Eligible candidates for the award are selected by a faculty committee of the Department of Performance, Play & Design and recommended to the Dean of the Division of Arts for final approval. UCSC students interested in submitting a dramatic work to the 2028 award cycle are invited to learn more at the PPD website here.
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

UCSC Concert Choir
2026-05-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
UCSC Concert Choir, directed by Nathaniel Berman, presents music by Morten Lauridsen and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Lauridsen’s Lux Eterna centers on themes of light and peace. Completing the program is the final movement of Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, a celebration of peace after conflict.
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ADMISSION
– Attend in person at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz.
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– General admission tickets available through Eventbrite.
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– 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.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– 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.

Berry U-Pick at the UCSC Farm
2026-05-16 09:00 - 12:00 | UCSC Farm, 152 Farm Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Come enjoy picking your own organic strawberries and/or blueberries at the campus farm! Our delicious, organic berries will be plentiful this spring and we hope you can come enjoy the bounty.
When: U-picks will take place on Saturdays from 9am to 12pm while supplies last. Blueberries will be available approximately through June, and strawberries will be available into the summer season. PLEASE NOTE that u-picks will not occur on Saturday, June 13 due to campus commencement ceremonies that will impact traffic and parking.
Where: Free parking will be available in the Hay Barn lot or lot 115/116 during u-pick hours. Please do not park in the dirt lot at the farm’s back gate. Please walk to the pinned location at the farm to pre-pay and collect your u-pick container(s). We will have directional signage displayed. There is one ADA parking spot on the farm. The UCSC Farm has uneven, hilly terrain. If you require accommodations to fully participate, please email agroecology@ucsc.edu and we will do our best to accommodate.
Cost: UCSC students with valid ID get 25% off.

Strawberry pints – $4 each
Strawberry flats (12 pints) – $44
Blueberry pints – $4.50 each
Blueberry flats (12 pints) – $50

Payment: Credit card payments only (you will need a smartphone to scan a QR code and enter your card info manually).
Dogs are not allowed on the UC Santa Cruz campus (service animals are OK).

Cantú Pool Party at East Field House
2026-05-16 12:00 - 16:00 | East Field House, East Field House, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The 4th Annual Cantú & Athletics Pool Party!
Come celebrate our 4th annual pool party hosted by the Cantú Queer Center and the Athletics and Recreation Department on May 16 from noon–4 p.m.!
This event is all about building community and creating a welcoming, low-stress day for everyone. It’s a perfect chance to relax, meet new people, and enjoy the pool together. Come down, make a splash, and enjoy the day. We hope to see you there!

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.

Opening Celebration for Visions from Within: Resilience
2026-05-16 14:00 - 16:00 | Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, 1817 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, 95062, United States
Join us at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos for the opening celebration of Visions from Within: Resilience.
Visions From Within is a continued series of art exhibitions dedicated to uplifting and platforming artists who are currently system impacted. The series is curated by Anthony Alejandrez and Sonny Trujillo, Transitions Fellows for Visualizing Abolition.

La Alegria del Mariachi with guest artist Lupita Infante
2026-05-16 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Audiences are invited to Alegria Del Mariachi, featuring international guest artist/composer Lupita Infante, granddaughter of the legendary Pedro Infante, and students performing with the UCSC Mariachi Ensemble and Mariachi Eterno de UCSC.
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ADMISSION
– Attend in person at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz.
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– General admission tickets $5–12.
– Tickets online through Eventbrite only.
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– 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.

OLLI at UCSC Sunday Speaker Meeting
2026-05-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Colleges Nine and John R. Lewis College Multi-purpose Room, 615 College Nine Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
OLLI Hosts Michael Hutchinson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Santa Cruz invites the public to an in-person presentation from 10:00 to noon on Sunday, May 17th, in the Colleges Nine/Lewis Multipurpose Room at UCSC.
Join us for a social hour and a presentation.
OLLI at UCSC is a community of adults from diverse educational, occupational, and geographic backgrounds who are devoted to the pursuit of learning. This event is free and open to the public. Bring a friend. Coffee and nibbles will be served.
For directions and free parking information, visit: https://olli.ucsc.edu/monthly-gatherings/location-directions-and-parking/
Free and open to the public

Presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Santa Cruz.

UCSC Powwow: Sophia Robles-Garcia Memorial Powwow 2026
2026-05-17 10:30 - 18:00 | Kaiser Permanente Arena, 140 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, United States
Traditionally, the AIRC hosts an annual event called Indigefest during the spring quarter. Our annual event celebrates the culture, songs, dances, and arts of Indigenous people in a “pan-tribal” atmosphere of fellowship, trust, respect, and empowerment. . Through this event, we also celebrate the life of Sophia Garcia Robles, a Native woman who served UCSC for 27 years in the Financial Aid office. She was actively involved with American Indian communities, and we wish to demonstrate our deepest appreciation for her support. This year, the AIRC will reach a larger audience in the greater Santa Cruz and Monterey communities by hosting a pow wow at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in downtown Santa Cruz. Vendors from throughout the State of California will be present with cultural items for sale, dancers will contest dance for prize money, and the recipients of the E. A, Forssgren Scholarship will be recognized for their achievement. The UCSC Pow Wow 2026 will be a unique opportunity for UCSC students and affiliates to engage directly with and celebrate Native American cultures.
The event will be open to the public, supporting the AIRC’s mission of serving as a vital link between UCSC students/staff/faculty/affiliates and the local American Indian community. This project will generate positive visibility for the University as it demonstrates a commitment to the values of the institution – for example, those outlined in our Principles of Community.
This project will directly serve the Native American/First Nations/indigenous communities within the city of Santa Cruz and throughout the greater Monterey Bay Area. Specifically, it will serve Native students, yet it is inclusive of all identities as pow wows are considered gatherings where individuals of many different backgrounds are welcome.

Sunday, May 17
11 a.m. – 6 p.m. (doors open at 10:30 a.m.)
Kaiser Permanente Arena
UCSC Shuttle will run a direct route from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
This is a drug and alcohol free event.
Contact airc@ucsc.edu with questions or accommodation requests.
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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.

D.M.A. Student Recital—Maisha Lani
2026-05-17 15:00 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Graduate student Maisha Lani debuts new compositions composed over the course of two years in the D.M.A. Music Composition program at UC Santa Cruz. The pieces range in instrumentation and style: from a blues to a post-tonal work, consisting of vibraphone and stringed instruments, to afrobeat inspired compositions, to graphic scores and improvisation. Audiences are invited to an afternoon of emotional exploration and incantations in this graduate student recital.
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ADMISSION
– Free and open to the public
– Attend in-person at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz
– Open admission (no ticket or registration required)
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PARKING
– Parking by UCSC permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/check/credit via the on-site parking attendant at the event.
– 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.

ECE Seminar: From Plumes to Produce: Leveraging Atmospheric Modeling and Smart Sensing for Food Safety
2026-05-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Derek Hollenbeck, postdoctoral research scholar, University of California, Merced
Description: Advances in drone-based environmental sensing, atmospheric modeling, and intelligent monitoring systems are creating new opportunities for addressing emerging challenges in food safety and agricultural resilience. This talk explores how methodologies originally developed for methane emission detection and quantification could be translated toward agricultural and food safety applications. The presentation begins with an overview of research experiences in autonomous sensing and environmental monitoring, including work associated with the inaugural CITRIS Aviation Prize before outlining some key potential areas for food safety with drones. Then, the talk overviews previous research on the topics related to drone-based environmental monitoring, Digital Twins, and Smart Sensing – with a focus on methane emission source quantification, atmospheric transport modeling of a point source, and inverse problem methodologies for real-time parameter estimation. Finally, the talk examines how these concepts may be adapted to food safety research questions, as well as highlight opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration alongside emerging priorities from organizations and certification frameworks.
Bio: Derek Hollenbeck is a postdoctoral research scholar at the University of California, Merced (UCM), where he serves as the manager of the Center for Methane Emissions Research and Innovation (CMERI) under the supervision of Dr. YangQuan Chen. He earned his B.Sc. (2016) and Ph.D. (2023) in Mechanical Engineering from UCM, where he conducted research in the Mechatronics Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab.

His work sits at the intersection of fluid mechanics, controls, dynamics, and inverse problems, with a focus on developing intelligent environmental monitoring systems using small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). His research integrates machine learning and physics-based modeling to detect, localize, and quantify methane emissions in complex environments.

Dr. Hollenbeck is the author of Smart Sensing with Digital Twins: Methane Emission Source Determination with sUAS, which presents a framework for combining digital twins, inverse modeling, and autonomous sensing to improve environmental observability. His work emphasizes how data-driven and physics-informed approaches can be fused to optimize sensor placement, enhance estimation accuracy, and enable real-time decision-making in single/distributed mobile sensing systems.
Hosted by: Professor Marco Rolandi, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96727838511?pwd=[REDACTED]

ECE 290 Seminar: AI for Enhancing Power Grid Resilience Against Extreme Weather Events
2026-05-18 10:40 - 11:45 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Masood Parvania, Roger P. Webb Endowed Professor, University of Utah

Description: Many communities across the world are experiencing more frequent and severe extreme weather disturbances such as wildfires, heatwaves, drought, storms, rising sea levels, and flooding, which not only pose threats to human health, and the environment but also affect the ability of the power grid to continue powering the communities. This requires upgrading the operation of power grid from passive and manual applications to making complex decisions in real-time to facilitate the automated recovery of the system after major disturbances. This talk will review the application of various AI and ML techniques for detection, response and mitigation of cyber anomalies and extreme weather events in power distribution systems.

Bio: Masood Parvania is the Roger P. Webb Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Director of Utah Smart Energy Laboratory (U-Smart) at the University of Utah. Dr. Parvania is the Principal Investigator and Director of the U.S.-Canada Center on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid (NSF WIRED Global Center), co-funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He is also the Founder and President of the Energy-AI company, Grid Elevated, which specializes on developing and commercializing AI technology for resilient and efficient power grid operation.

Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=[REDACTED]

The Sensory Arcade: Food as Language
2026-05-18 13:00 - 15:00 | Graduate Student Commons, 420 Hagar Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Are you looking for a unique way to connect with your peers and experience art and food together? Our team is thrilled to invite you to a special, immersive event hosted by your fellow international graduate students: The Sensory Arcade: Food as Language.

When & Where:

Date: Monday, May 18
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Graduate Student Commons
Free Admission & Free Food

Please RSVP here to let us know you’re coming!

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Why you should join us:
This hands-on workshop and exhibition invites you into a softly-lit, immersive environment to explore how food designers use tactile, computational, and narrative tools to reimagine how we connect with one another. Through interactive installations, artist talks, and a shared rice-themed lunch, participants will experience food not just as a source of nutrition, but as a medium for conversation, play, and community.
Our event will include:

Rice-themed ice breaker game

An interactive food installation converting physical touch into acoustic sound

An exhibition and artist sharing session featuring works at the intersection of food design and Computational Media

Communal rice ball lunch

Whether you’re interested in design and technology or just want to enjoy a creative lunch break, we’d love to see you there!
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Learn about our hosts below:
Eunsol Choi is an interaction designer and PhD student at UC Santa Cruz whose work centers on multisensory and edible interfaces. Drawing inspiration from food and flavor, she designs tangible experiences that expand how we sense and interact with the world. Her research has been published and presented at ACM UIST, CHI, and CHI PLAY.
Leyu Li is a London-based interdisciplinary artist and food designer whose practice spans installation, narrative props, and criteunical writing. Working across conceptual and speculative design, she explores hybrid food systems and cross-cultural narratives through a research-driven lens. Her work has been exhibited at the London Design Festival, Milan Design Week, and Dutch Design Week, and featured in ARTNews, Dezeen, and Mold Magazine.
Jiangyue Leah Wu is an artist and researcher at UC Santa Cruz working at the intersection of computational media and food design. She explores how multisensory intervention can create new modes of sociality and collaboration, drawing on experience at Disney, ByteDance, and Central Saint Martins. Her work has been shown at Milan Design Week.

Seminar Series | Is the Farm a Digital Factory?: Labor, Leafy Greens, and the Limits of Automation with Summer Sullivan
2026-05-18 13:25 - 14:30 | Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Host:Madeleine Fairbairn
Silicon Valley investors, entrepreneurs, and engineers are increasingly interested in agriculture as a site to disrupt and improve upon with their technologies. The nearby Salinas Valley – known as the Salad Bowl of the World – might be considered a “ground zero” for these operations of technological introduction, with some calling it the Silicon Valley of Agriculture. This exit talk showcases my research on the evolving context in which new technologies are transforming social and environmental relations, especially for already exploited, racialized workers in the Salinas Valley. I trace the uneven ways in which agricultural automation is unfolding, but also its profound limits within the region’s delicate, leafy farming systems. Through interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and historical analysis, I will show how the materiality of crops such as lettuce continues to organize labor and limit full automation. Contributing to critical analysis of the uneven racial, class, and gender dynamics of the “future of work,” this project centers emergent, uncertain relationships among farmworkers, the plants they care for, and the fragile futures of capitalism.
In person and on Zoom
Meeting ID: 949 5253 7079
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Let's Talk
2026-05-18 14:00 - 15:00 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/lets-talk-6/2026-05-18/
Need to talk? We’re here to listen! Drop in for a confidential chat with a professional counselor who can provide support, advice and information.
Zoom Meeting Link
Meeting ID: 870 435 8865
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Facilitator: Niki Severson, LCSW (831) 459-2628
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.

Statistics Seminar: Unifying Regression-Based and Design-Based Causal Inference in Time-Series Experiments and Crossover Experiments
2026-05-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Peng Ding, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley
Description: I will present some recent results on unifying regression-based and design-based causal inference in time-series experiments and crossover experiments. Part I: Time-series experiments, also called switchback experiments or N-of-1 trials, play increasingly important roles in modern applications in medical and industrial areas. Under the potential outcomes framework, recent research has studied time-series experiments from the design-based perspective, relying solely on the randomness in the design to drive the statistical inference. Focusing on simpler statistical methods, we examine the design-based properties of regression- based methods for estimating treatment effects in time-series experiments. We demonstrate that the treatment effects of interest can be consistently estimated using ordinary least squares with an appropriately specified working model and transformed regressors. Additionally, we show that asymptotically, the heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent variance estimators provide conservative estimates of the true, design-based variances. This part is based on https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.22864
Part II: Crossover designs randomly assign each unit to receive a sequence of treatments. By comparing outcomes within the same unit, these designs can effectively eliminate between-unit variation and facilitate the identification of both instantaneous effects of current treatments and carryover effects from past treatments. They are widely used in traditional biomedical studies and are increasingly adopted in modern digital platforms. However, standard analyses of crossover designs often rely on strong parametric models, making inference vulnerable to model misspecification. We unify the analysis of crossover designs using least squares, with restrictions on the coefficients and weights on the units. Based on the theory, we recommend specifying the regression function, weighting scheme, and coefficient restrictions to assess identifiability, construct efficient estimators, and estimate variances in a unified manner. This part is based on https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.09215
About the speaker: Peng Ding is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics at UC Berkeley. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Statistics, Harvard University in May 2015 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health until December 2015. Previously, he received his B.S. in Mathematics, B.A. in Economics, and M.S. in Statistics from Peking University.
This seminar is hosted by Professor Allen Kei.

AM Seminar: Dissecting Complex Disease Mechanisms with Causal Inference and Deep Learning
2026-05-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Dr. David A. Knowles, New York Genome Center & Columbia University
Description: Many human diseases have a substantial genetic component, which association studies are increasingly capable of characterizing, empowered by ever-growing sample sizes. These associations have the potential to elucidate complex disease biology and prioritize therapeutic interventions. However, it is challenging to determine the impacted genes, pathways and cellular states since most risk variants are noncoding. I will describe strategies we have explored to address this challenge, particularly in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. We have mapped genetic effects on expression, splicing and RNA editing in over 10k postmortem brain samples, enabling interpretation of common variant associations. We developed a Mendelian randomization-based causal network inference method to estimate how genetic effects propagate through the gene network to converge on disease risk. We show that deep learning models of pre- and post- transcriptional regulation can refine functional fine-mapping, improve the portability of polygenic risk scores across ancestries, and increase power in novel annotation-aware noncoding rare variant association studies. Finally, we designed a CRISPR/Cas13-based strategy to perform isoform-specific knockdown, opening the door for isoform-resolved functional characterization of putative disease-causal transcriptomic changes.
About the speaker: Dr. Knowles studied Natural Sciences and Information Engineering at Cambridge before obtaining an MSc in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology at Imperial College London. During his PhD in the Cambridge University Machine Learning Group under Zoubin Ghahramani he worked on variational inference and Bayesian nonparametric models. He was a postdoc at Stanford developing methods for functional genomics with Daphne Koller (CS), Sylvia Plevritis (Computational Systems Biology/Radiology) and Jonathan Pritchard (Genetics/Biology). At Columbia, he is an Associate Professor of Computer Science, an Interdisciplinary Appointee in Systems Biology and an Affiliate Member of the Data Science Institute. He is also a Core Faculty Member at the New York Genome Center. His group develops methods to better understand the genetic basis of human disease.

This seminar is hosted by Professor Nilah Ioannidis.

ECE Seminar: Multiscale Sensing for Specialty Crop Systems: From Field Monitoring to Food Safety Application
2026-05-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Eve Laroche-Pinel, Postdoctoral Researcher, California State University, Fresno
Description: Advances in remote sensing, drone platforms, and data analytics are enhancing the ability to monitor agricultural systems at fine spatial and temporal scales. This presentation will highlight applied research using multispectral and hyperspectral data from satellites, drones, aircraft, and ground platforms to assess crop water status, detect disease, and estimate fruit composition. These efforts are developed in collaboration with growers and industry partners, with an emphasis on methods that are robust under field conditions and scalable across production systems. Building on this foundation, the talk will examine how similar sensing approaches could be extended to address food safety challenges in California agriculture, particularly in systems transitioning toward organic and regenerative practices . By linking environmental variability, water dynamics, and landscape features with potential contamination pathways, sensing technologies may support improved risk assessment and monitoring.
Bio: Eve Laroche-Pinel is a researcher specializing in the application of sensing technologies to agricultural systems, with a focus on translating data-driven methods into tools that support decision-making in real production environments. Her work sits at the intersection of agricultural engineering, remote sensing, and applied machine learning.
She holds a PhD from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse (France), completed in partnership with industry, where she developed an operational service to monitor vineyard water status using satellite imagery. This work fostered a strong emphasis on applied research, system integration, and technology transfer to end users.
She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at California State University, Fresno, contributing to a research program that uses multispectral and hyperspectral data collected from satellites, drones, aircraft, and ground-based platforms. Her work addresses plant water status, disease detection, and crop composition, combining field measurements, laboratory analyses, and predictive modeling. These projects are conducted in collaboration with growers, industry partners, and multidisciplinary academic teams, with the objective of producing methods that are robust under field conditions and scalable across production systems.
She plans to increasingly focus on how sensing technologies could contribute to food safety challenges in specialty crops. By linking environmental variability, crop condition, and landscape features with potential contamination pathways, her future work would aim to support improved risk assessment and monitoring strategies, particularly in systems transitioning toward organic and regenerative practices.
Extension and stakeholder engagement are central to her approach. She works closely with growers and partners to co-develop field trials, adapt methodologies to operational constraints, and translate technical outputs into actionable guidance. Her work includes participation in workshops, training activities, and collaborative projects that connect research with practice.
Her long-term goal is to build integrated research and extension programs that combine drones, spectral sensing, and environmental monitoring to support safe, resilient, and technology-enabled agriculture.
Hosted by: Professor Marco Rolandi, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96727838511?pwd=[REDACTED]
