Events

Western Regional Hub: Undergraduate Success Group Meeting
2025-12-30 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | CA
Members of the hub’s working group focused on Undergraduate student success will meet to share ideas and strategize.
If you would like to be involved in the hub’s work, please contact Richard Raygoza at riraygoz@ucsc.edu

First Saturday Tour at the Arboretum
2026-01-03 11:00 - 12:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to deepen your knowledge of the Arboretum’s plant collections. Each tour is a little different depending on the time of year, the interests of the tour guide, and the people who join in. For example, you might learn about the birds and mammals that make this land their home or about the amazing physical adaptations that plants have evolved to better deal with our extreme weather and climate conditions. Tours are free with paid admission.

Bioinformatics Info Session
2026-01-05 05:00 - 18:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Lead the next wave of innovation in life sciences and data.
As biotechnology and data analytics converge, the demand for professionals who can interpret complex biological data and drive discovery continues to grow. Learn how experts in bioinformatics use computational tools, programming, and molecular biology to transform raw data into scientific and medical insights.
Your Speaker
Join us to discover what’s ahead for our program—including welcoming our program chair, Darryl León, launching updated courses, and integrating practical AI tools across the curriculum. Darryl will provide an inside look at how our courses can help you strengthen your skills in data analysis, genomics, and software tools—preparing you to contribute to advances in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare.
Sponsor
This winter info session is sponsored by the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Bioinformatics certificate program.
Claim your seat!

Ecology of Presence: Pathways to the Natural World
2026-01-05 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-06 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-07 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-08 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-10 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-01-12 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.

CM Seminar - "How Technology-Mediated Food Interactions Support Family Connection and Routine Reconstruction"
2026-01-05 12:30 - 13:30 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Presented by: Aswati Panicker
Description: “In this talk, I draw on work in human-food interaction (HFI) to examine how food can serve as a rich interaction medium for connection and routine reconstruction in long-distance families. I highlight insights from three of my studies that explore this question across different technological forms. First, I discuss how families navigate shifting meanings of “healthy eating” during life transitions, and the tensions that arise when disclosing new goals and priorities in health-sharing or tracking tools. Second, I show how family members expressed hesitations, value conflicts, and visions for cultural or playful moments when imagining embodied technology such as a social robot within their domestic spaces. Third, through a mobile app probe for teaching food knowledge and recipes, I uncover the subtleties of how family members seek to initiate, learn, guide, or be guided through everyday food practices. Throughout, I outline design implications and close by reflecting on how technology-mediated food interactions might extend to other contexts and routines beyond family life.”
Bio: Aswati Panicker is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Santa Cruz, working with Prof. Christina Chung. Her research is at the intersection of HCI and CSCW, focusing on how technologies are designed and used in social and health-related contexts. She takes a human-centered, participatory approach and draws on theories from family studies and sociology in her work. She earned her PhD in Informatics from Indiana University Bloomington in July 2025. You can read more at aswatipanicker.com

Hosted by: Professor Christina Chung
When: Monday, January 5, 2026 from 12:30PM to 1:30PM
Location:
IN-PERSON @ SVC 3212.
Viewing room @ UCSC Main Campus, E2-280.
LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED AT BOTH LOCATIONS! Faculty and students are highly encouraged to attend.
Zoom info:
https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/98742808551?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 987 4280 8551
Passcode: [REDACTED]

AM Seminar with Dr. Truong Vu
2026-01-05 16:00 - 17:00 | CA
Presenter: Dr. Truong Vu, IPAM and MSU
Description: We present a framework for the gradient flow of sharp-interface surface energies that couple to embedded curvature active agents. We use a penalty method to develop families of locally incompressible gradient flows that couple interface stretching or compression to local flux of interfacial mass. We establish the convergence of the penalty method to an incompressible flow both formally for a broad family of surface energies and rigorously for a more narrow class of surface energies.
Bio: Dr. Vu received a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Vu is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (UCLA) and a visiting faculty in the Department of Mathematics at Michigan State University.
Hosted by: Applied Mathematics

Community Day: Free Admission at the Arboretum
2026-01-06 09:00 - 17:00 | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The first Tuesday of each month, the Arboretum is open without charge to visitors. See dates and times UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden is open. NOTE: Due to limited parking at the Arboretum and the popularity of Community Day, we greatly encourage visitors to carpool, bike, walk or use public transportation as much as possible.

Silicon Chip Design & Semiconductor Engineering Info Session
2026-01-06 18:00 - 19:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Build the semiconductors powering the future.
With the global demand for advanced chips on the rise, engineers who can design, simulate, and optimize integrated circuits are highly sought after. Learn how professionals in Silicon Valley develop digital and analog systems, apply verification methodologies, and leverage modern EDA tools to bring innovative designs from concept to silicon.
Speaker
Join Arvind Vidyarthi, chair of the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Silicon Chip Design & Semiconductor Engineering program, for an inside look at how our courses provide hands-on experience, industry-relevant skills, and the practical knowledge needed to pursue careers in chip design, verification, and semiconductor engineering.
Sponsor
This winter info session is sponsored by the Silicon Chip Design & Semiconductor Engineering program.

Register today!

Drop-In Figure Drawing
2026-01-06 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.

Engineering Teaching Community (Faculty)
2026-01-07 12:00 - 13:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
During the chaos of a quarter, is it hard to find time to reflect and improve as an instructor? Would you like to be a part of an inclusive, supportive group of engineering instructors who do this in community? ETC is for sharing teaching experiences, classroom ideas, research on learning, and methods that support instructors and students. All are welcome, and lunch is provided. Please reach out to Jenny Quynn with questions.

Macroeconomics and International Finance Seminar Series: Wenting Song
2026-01-08 08:00 - 17:00 | CA
Macroeconomics and International Finance Seminar
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Time: 1:40-3:00 p.m.
Location: E2-499

Speaker: Wenting Song
Affiliation: University of California Davis
Host: Hikaru

Seminar title: TDB

ABSTRACT:

BME 280B Seminar: Nature’s Miniature Masterpieces - Nanobodies as Small but Mighty Antibodies for the next Pandemic
2026-01-08 11:40 - 13:15 | Physical Sciences Building, Physical Sciences Building, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Katja Hanack, Founder and CEO, New/Era/Mabs
Description: Nanobodies combine remarkable simplicity with surprising power. Their small size allows them to reach targets that remain inaccessible to conventional antibodies, while maintaining high specificity and stability. Their compact architecture allows them to access targets that conventional antibodies cannot reach, yet they preserve the specificity and power that make antibody therapeutics so transformative. In this talk I will introduce the science behind selma, a cell based discovery platform developed over more than a decade to rapidly identify high quality antibodies and nanobodies. I will explore why these tiny binders matter, how they differ from classical antibodies, and what their unique biology enables for diagnostics and therapeutics.
The presentation will conclude with my current project on immune infrastructure and how pre validated nanobody archives can shift the pandemic response from a reactive model to proactive preparedness for future outbreaks.
Bio: Katja Hanack, PhD, MBA, is the Founder and CEO of new/era/mabs and a leading expert in antibody discovery for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, with a particular focus on nanobody technologies. With more than 20 years of experience, she has developed pioneering platforms that enable the efficient generation and selection of next-generation monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies. She holds a Biology degree from Humboldt University of Berlin and a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Potsdam. As a former Professor of Biochemistry and Biology at the University of Potsdam, she built and led a research group of 25 scientists, secured over €16 million in external funding, and authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. Since 2017, Dr. Hanack has contributed to translational innovation as an industrial advisor for SPARK Stanford and SPARK Berlin, supporting academic teams in bringing biomedical discoveries to patients.
Hosted by: Professor Rebecca Dubois, BME Department

AI Application Development Program Info Session
2026-01-08 18:00 - 19:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
Lead Innovation as a Machine Learning Engineer.
As AI becomes central to products and services across industries, there’s a growing demand for professionals who can design, build and deploy intelligent services & systems. Learn how you can preprocess data, develop Machine Learning models, apply Deep Learning techniques, and create AI solutions that solve real‑world problems.
Speaker
Join Praveen Krishna, chair of the Artificial Intelligence Application Development program, for an inside look at how our courses provide hands‑on experience, industry‑driven projects, and the technical foundation you need to advance your career as an ML Engineer, MLOps Engineer, or Applied AI Researcher.
Sponsor
This winter info session is sponsored by the AI Application Development program.

Register today!

Opening Reception for Ecology of Presence
2026-01-10 14:00 - 17:00 | Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, 11 Cowell Service Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join us to celebrate this collaborative exhibition with the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery and the Ken Norris Center Art + Science Graduate Fellowship.
Light refreshments will be served.
Remarks begin at 3pm
Parking
ADA parking and ParkMobile parking available in Lots 107 & 108

Interactive Parking Map

Career Success Drop-In Coaching at the EOP Office - Winter 2026
2026-01-12 13:30 - 15:00 | Academic Resources Center (ARC), 408 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Drop-in with Career Coach & Engagement Specialist Bridge Kennedy to discuss Career Exploration, Job Search Strategy, Interview Prep, Grad School Prep, or whatever’s on your mind related to your career success!
Time: 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Dates: Mondays, Weeks 2, 4, 6, & 8 of Winter Quarter 2026
1/12, 1/26, 2/9, 2/23
Location: Academic Resource Center, EOP Lounge
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.

AM Seminar: Science in the Age of Foundation Models
2026-01-12 16:00 - 17:00 | https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96136632376?pwd=[REDACTED]
Presenter: Dr. Danielle Robinson, AWS AI
Description: In this talk, I will discuss the large impact of foundation models within the sciences with a particular focus on the importance of physical constraints and uncertainty quantification. First, I will detail our novel ProbConserv framework for enforcing hard constraints within black-box deep learning models. ProbConserv provides uncertainty quantification, and can be used to enforce conservation law constraints as well as other nonlinear constraints. Next, I will discuss its extensions to ensembles of Neural Operators and out-of-distribution (OOD) estimations, as well as how it can be used in constrained generative modeling of PDEs. I will then show applications of our work in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), including weather forecasting, aerodynamics and chaotic systems. Lastly, I will conclude with a forward-looking view of the next steps for designing a physics foundation model that can be applied across various types of flows, geometries and boundary conditions, and what is needed for such a model to be developed.

Bio: Danielle Maddix Robinson is a Senior Applied Scientist in the Machine Learning Forecasting Group within AWS AI. She graduated with her PhD in Computational and Mathematical Engineering from the Institute of Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME) at Stanford University. She was advised by Professor Margot Gerritsen and developed robust numerical methods to remove spurious temporal oscillations in the degenerate nonlinear Generalized Porous Medium Equation. She is passionate about the underlying numerical analysis, linear algebra and optimization methods behind numerical PDEs and applying these techniques to deep learning. During her PhD, she also did an internship at NVIDIA with Joe Eaton and Alex Fender, and implemented an efficient and load-balanced sparse matrix vector multiplication (spmv) in cuSPARSE and nvGRAPH libraries. She is excited to be back at NVIDIA today. After graduating, Danielle joined AWS in 2018, and has been working on developing statistical and deep learning foundation models for time series forecasting including Chronos. Over the last several years, she has been leading the research initiative on developing models for physics-constrained machine learning for scientific computing on the DeepEarth team. In particular, she has researched how to apply ideas from numerical methods, e.g., finite volume schemes, to improve the accuracy of black-box ML models for PDEs with applications to ocean and climate models, aerodynamics and chaotic systems.

Hosted by: Applied Mathematics

Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96136632376?pwd=[REDACTED]

Kathleen Schmidt: Sequential Experimental Design for Materials Strength Model Calibration
2026-01-12 16:00 - 17:00 | CA
Presenter: Katie Schmidt, UQ & Optimization Group Leader, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Description: Due to the time and expense associated with physical experiments, there is significant interest in optimal selection of the conditions for future experiments. Selection based on reduction in parameter uncertainty provides a natural path forward. We consider this type of optimal sequential design in the context of Bayesian calibration of materials strength models with the strength model characterizing the evolving resistance of a material to permanent strain. This problem is particularly challenging because different types of experiments and associated diagnostics are employed across strain rate regimes. For lower-strain-rate experiments, stress-strain curves can be measured directly. For higher-strain-rate experiments, strength must be inferred (e.g., from the deformation of a cylinder of material in a Taylor cylinder experiment). We employ data fusion in our sequential design methodology to incorporate these multiple experimental modalities.
LLNL-ABS-835231 This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
Bio: Katie Schmidt is the UQ & Optimization Group Leader at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She joined LLNL in 2016 after earning a PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University. During her time at the lab, Katie has been involved in a variety of uncertainty quantification problems related to national security as well as outreach and education through LLNL’s Data Science Institute. Her research interests include mixed-effects models, Bayesian inference, sequential design, and sensitivity analysis.
Hosted by: Statistics Department

Clinical Trials Design and Management Info Session
2026-01-12 17:00 - 18:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
This event has been moved to Jan. 12.
Advance your career in the global clinical research industry.
As the demand for safe, effective therapies grows, so does the need for professionals who can lead clinical trials with scientific precision and regulatory expertise. Learn how experts design and manage studies that bring medical innovations from the lab to the marketplace—applying biostatistics, good clinical practices, and international regulations to ensure safety and compliance.
Speaker
Join Karim Sajwani, chair of the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Clinical Trials Design and Management program, for an inside look at how our courses prepare you to coordinate cross-functional teams, oversee global trials, and navigate complex approval processes that shape the future of healthcare.

Sponsor
This winter info session is sponsored by the Clinical Trials Design and Management program.
Note: This event was formerly scheduled for Jan. 5.
Claim your seat.

Be Inspired: Explore Graduate Studies in STEM
2026-01-12 17:00 - 18:30 | CA
Not sure if graduate school is right for you?
Join us to learn what graduate school is really about and explore whether it’s the right path for you. We’ll cover topics such as qualifying exams, funding options, common misconceptions, and more!
Click the link below to register for the event:
https://ucsc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_31OHhwc7QPqJ7nSyiuAUNg

January Slugs and Steins with Professor Marco Rolandi
2026-01-12 18:30 - 20:00
Slugs & Steins is a monthly series of informal discussions highlighting UC Santa Cruz’s amazing faculty members. Talks are held on the 2nd Monday of each month with topics ranging from organic artichokes to endangered zebras, self-driving cars to Shakespeare. This month, we welcome Professor Marco Rolandi.
Marco Rolandi is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Santa Cruz, where he holds the Jack Baskin Endowed Chair in Engineering. He is also the co-founder and advisor of CruzFoam, which creates sustainable packaging solutions. His research focuses on bioelectronic systems and devices, biological control in regenerative medicine and synthetic biology, and their translational applications. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, the BBC, and others. He currently leads a team on a multicampus multimillion dollar program to accelerate wound regeneration using bioelectronics. Rolandi holds a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford.
REGISTER

Coffee & More with Merrill Provost Aims McGuinness
2026-01-13 09:00 - 11:00 | Merrill College Office, 641 Merrill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Grab a cup to go or stay and join the conversation. Provost Aims McGuinness is here to answer your questions, provide support . . . and hand out FREE coffee, cocoa, tea, and breakfast snacks.

Coffee with Provost Aims McGuinness
2026-01-13 09:00 - 11:00 | Merrill College Office, 641 Merrill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
FREE fresh hot coffee, tea, cocoa and snacks. Featuring Alta Organic Fair Trade coffee; locally & woman owned.

Info Session: Global Seminar Art in a Globalized World: UK
2026-01-13 12:00 - 13:00 | CA
Learn more at our upcoming Information Session: Tuesday, January 13 at 12:00-1:00 pm via Zoom.
Register Here.
Earn 6 units on a summer program on the Global Seminar: Art in a Globalized World: UK. The program is taught by Dee Hibbert-Jones, Professor of Art, Digital Art, and New Media.
Quick Facts:

Location: Falmer, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom
Courses: ART 186 Art and Globalization (6 units)
Dates: June 29-July 17, 2026
Eligibility: Open to students who are an Art Major or Minor (or with special instructor approval), have completed at least 45 units by the time of departure, and have at least a 2.3 GPA.
Finances: Financial aid applies, and scholarships are available! The budget with program fees and expenses is posted on the website.
How to apply: Visit here. Applications open on December 1 and close on March 2.
Get in touch: Email your questions to globallearning@ucsc.edu

Program Description: In this studio art, students create site-responsive artworks across media created in response to our visits to museums, galleries, sites, and exhibitions in London and Brighton, UK. Studio work and research explore what it means to make art in a global art world (sculpture, drawing, zines, graphic works, animation, photography, installation and/or performance). We will work in the new media studios at the University of Sussex, and students will live on campus at the University. This class includes art making, lectures, docent tours, museum visits, discussions and critique by UK artists and a final gallery exhibition on campus. More information can be read here.

Diabetes Prevention Program
2026-01-13 12:00 - 13:00 | CA
The UCSC Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is a 1-year lifestyle change program designed for non-diabetic individuals who are at risk for either prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes from progressing fully to Type 2 Diabetes.
Over the course of a year, trained lifestyle coaches and group support are utilized to help you strive toward your health goals. The classes are held via Zoom and includes discussions on nutrition education, ways to increase physical activity, ideas to stay motivated, and stress management tools.
Fill out the DPP Informational Session registration for the Zoom link. The informational session will be recorded, and a link to recording will be sent out after the session. Note that the program requires live participation when it starts, and is not available for recording.
Visit the UCSC DPP website for more information.
For questions, reach out to Health and Well-being Specialist, Ashley Parker, at aseparke@ucsc.edu.
