Events

First Saturday Tour at the Arboretum
2026-05-02 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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.

Spring Exhibitions at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences
2026-05-02 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-03 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-06 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.

Visualizing Abolition Screening Series: Beyond Access
2026-05-02 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-03 12:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-06 12:00 - 17:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
On view in the IAS Screening Room is a selection of short films curated by Visualizing Abolition Visiting Faculty Fellow Dr. Pooja Rangan.
Prisons deny and censor the access of those trapped inside them—to information, to intimacy, to community, to meaningful work, to nourishment of all kinds, and perhaps most cruelly, to care. This program assembles a series of films, including works by filmmakers incarcerated in California as well as others without that lived experience. Together, these works confront the debilitating impacts of these restrictions and reveal how the disabling logic of the prison is extended to other institutional spaces (the hospital, the university), turning access into a scarce commodity by enclosing what should be held in common. Questioning the carceral and state-sponsored productions of disability and accessibility, the short films together reveal the courage of people working despite limitations to produce collective access for one another, described simply and beautifully by disability justice activist Leah-Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha as “revolutionary love without charity.”
Thanh Tran
Dying in Prison, 2022
HD Video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Carolyn Lazard
Pre-Existing Condition, 2019
HD video (color, sound), 6 minutes
Courtesy of the artist and Trautwein Herleth3
Anthony Alejandrez
Another Rainy Day, 2023
Phone video (color, sound), 3 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Jordan Lord
After…After… (Access), 2018
HD Video (color, sound), 16 minutes
Courtesy of the artist
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas
Friendly Signs, 2023
Video (color, sound) 21 minutes
Courtesy of Tommy Wickerd, Empowerment Ave & System Impact Media

Sister Warriors in Conversation: Expanding Communities of Care in CA Women's Prisons
2026-05-02 14:00 - 15:30 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
This panel discussion with Niki Martinez, Elizabeth Lozano, and Susan Bustamente of Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition will be moderated by Dr. Julissa O. Muñiz, UCLA. Organized for Visualizing Abolition, the event will talk about the movement women and gender expansive folks who have been incarcerated are building to support each other, shift power, and lead systems and policy change.

Kuumbwa Jazz Presents – Gregorio Uribe
2026-05-04 07:00 - 20:00 | Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, 95060, United States
“Colombian artist Gregorio Uribe, whose blend of contemporary cumbia and timeless charisma has marked him as an artist to watch.” – Billboard
Uribe was recognized by the Colombian government as one of “The 100 Most Successful Colombians Abroad”, and has received honors from the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts for his contribution to Latin music. He is currently recording his fourth studio album, a groundbreaking collection of songs that will take the Colombian accordion to a new level of versatility. This concert date will feature a dynamic combination of solo and band performances.

Gregorio Uribe is a Latin GRAMMY-nominated Colombian singer-songwriter and accordionist. He graduated from Berklee College of Music and has performed his music at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the New Orleans Jazz Fest, among others. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Rubén Blades, Carlos Vives, and Paquito D’Rivera, as well as with folklore masters Alfredo Gutiérrez, Carmelo Torres, and Martina Camargo.
For more information: Kuumbwa Jazz – Gregorio Uribe

Presented by the Kuumbwa Jazz Center and Co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.

ECE 290 Seminar: Speaker - Dr. Jaeyoung Lim "Autonomous Information Gathering using Long Endurance Aerial Vehicles"
2026-05-04 10:40 - 11:45 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Jaeyoung Lim, Postdoctoral Scholar at the Agile Robotics and Perception Lab at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, University of California, Berkeley
Description: Monitoring large-scale environments is essential for natural hazard management, environmental process observation, and search and rescue operations. Yes, meaningful coverage of the target environment demands vast infrastructure and dense sensor networks. Unlike stationary sensors, robotic systems can navigate autonomously and actively select where measurements are taken. Autonomous systems that can reason on observations would enable efficient, targeted observation without vast infrastructure requirements.
In this seminar, we explore the challenges of enabling autonomous information-gathering using long-endurance aerial vehicles. Using avalanche monitoring in mountainous terrain as a motivating application, we examine key problems in information quantification and safe navigation for deploying autonomous systems in complex, real-world environments.
Bio: Jaeyoung Lim is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Agile Robotics and Perception Lab at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his Ph.D. in Robotics at ETH Zurich in 2024, where he focused on enabling safe navigation and autonomous information gathering using long-endurance aerial vehicles in challenging mountainous environments. Beyond his research, Jaeyoung is actively involved in the PX4 Autopilot project as a component maintainer for simulation. He received his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich in 2019 and his B.Sc. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University in 2016.
Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=[REDACTED]

Navigating Coexistence: Mountain Lion Behavior, Outdoor Recreation, and the Challenges of Managing Multiuse Landscapes in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains
2026-05-04 13:25 - 14:30
John Morgan from the UCSC Environmental Studies Department

In Person Location: ISB 221
Zoom Link
As outdoor recreation grows in popularity, its effects on wildlife remain poorly understood. This dissertation examines how outdoor recreational activity shapes the behavior of mountain lions (Puma concolor) in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains – a fragmented landscape where large carnivores persist alongside urban and suburban human communities. Using high-resolution GPS data from collared mountain lions, crowd-sourced human activity data from Strava, and long-term camera trap surveys, I investigate the mechanisms and consequences of human-carnivore interactions across multiple ecological and social scales. Specifically, I ask how outdoor recreation affects mountain lion habitat selection, movement behavior, and population abundance; whether behavioral modification strategies can reduce human-carnivore conflict; and how land managers balance the competing goals of recreation access and wildlife conservation. Together, this work contributes to a mechanistic understanding of recreation ecology and offers evidence-based guidance for managing multiuse landscapes that support both people and wildlife.

Let's Talk
2026-05-04 14:00 - 15:00 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/lets-talk-6/2026-05-04/
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: Advancing Statistical Rigor in Single-Cell and Spatial Omics Using In Silico Control Data
2026-05-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Guan’ao Yan, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University
Description: Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics technologies now let us map cellular diversity and tissue organization at high resolution, but the computational methods built to analyze these data are difficult to evaluate in a rigorous, reproducible way. Two key barriers are the lack of realistic synthetic data with known ground truth and the ambiguity in how we define biologically meaningful spatial patterns. This talk will introduce two simulation frameworks—scReadSim for single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq data, and scIsoSim for isoform-level expression and splicing—that generate realistic sequencing reads while preserving user-specified truth. These tools enable fair, controlled benchmarking of quantification and splicing methods across experimental protocols. The talk will also present a systematic review of 34 methods for detecting spatially variable genes (SVGs) in spatial transcriptomics data, proposing a new categorization of SVGs and outlining how future benchmarks should be designed. Overall, the goal is to improve statistical rigor, interpretability, and comparability in single-cell and spatial omics analysis.
Bio: Guan’ao Yan is an Assistant Professor of Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering at Michigan State University. He received his Ph.D. in Statistics from UCLA. His research focuses on statistical and computational methods for modern statistical genomics, particularly single-cell and spatial omics, with an emphasis on rigorous benchmarking, interpretability, and biomedical discovery.
Hosted by: Statistics Department

AM Seminar: Engineering the Earth’s Climate
2026-05-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Dr. Pulkit Dubey, Postdoc, UC Santa Cruz
Description: Neural climate emulators such as NeuralGCM and LUCIE offer efficient, differentiable alternatives to General Circulation Models (GCMs), producing climate predictions at a fraction of the cost. While work to date has focused largely on predictive accuracy, we leverage differentiability to study control of long-horizon climatological targets. Classical GCMs approach this via adjoint-based optimization. Backpropagation through time (BPTT) is its neural-network analog and inherits the same chaotic gradient explosion at long rollouts. We combine BPTT-based sensitivities with receding-horizon optimization to mitigate the chaotic divergence and enable meaningful control over climatological targets. We illustrate with two candidate climate-cooling strategies and close by sketching reinforcement-learning extensions.
About the speaker: Pulkit Dubey is a postdoc in the Department of Applied Mathematics at UC Santa Cruz. He earned his PhD at the University of New Hampshire on the simulation and modeling of turbulent flows, where he developed hybrid solvers for 2D turbulence. He joined UCSC in September 2025, where he works on control strategies for neural climate emulators, enabling long-horizon control over statistical targets in chaotic dynamical systems.
This seminar is hosted by Professor Nilah Ioannidis.

Analyzing AI Security and Vulnerabilities in the Current Landscape
2026-05-04 17:00 - 19:00 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Interested in careers in AI and cybersecurity? Then don’t miss this highly informative workshop covering today’s most relevant trends in this space.

In this 2-part session, you’ll get expert insight from security leaders at Microsoft. Here’s a breakdown of each part:

When AI Breaks, Be the One Who Notices
Speaker: Raji Vanninathan
Discover how AI Security and AI Safety vulnerability research can lead to real‑world impact, public credit, and a competitive edge in the current job market. This talk focuses on how students can understand what qualifies as a real AI vulnerability, how meaningful findings are assessed and validated, and how responsible disclosure, CVEs, and bug bounty programs translate research into recognized impact across the industry We will also explore emerging challenges facing bounty programs as AI-assisted discoveries drivers higher volume and how the signal‑to‑noise problem of “AI slop” is reshaping vulnerability triage and detection.
Reimagining Security for the Agentic AI
Speaker: Neta Haiby
As AI evolves from tools into autonomous agents that can plan, act, and collaborate, traditional security models start to break down. This session explores how agentic AI changes the rules of trust, access, and accountability – introducing challenges like agent sprawl, permission misuse, and unintended actions across systems.
Building on foundational AI security concepts, we’ll dive into practical strategies for securing and governing AI agents covering identity, access control, monitoring, and human oversight. Students will leave with a clear mental model for securing agent-based systems and the skills to think critically about the next generation of AI security architectures.

Don’t miss this highly relevant and compelling event! And be sure to register as space is limited!

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.

Launch of the new Shadow Indigenous Worlds (SIW) initiative
2026-05-04 18:00 - 19:30 | Communications Building, 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Shadow Indigenous Worlds (SIW) is a global initiative that highlights Indigenous worldviews of inquiry. By focusing on researchers, practitioners, and artists at work (in the field, studio, and classroom), it invites the audience to participate and reflect on the meaning of knowledge, theory, pedagogy, and social change. SIW is a student-focused program and highlights the contributions of Indigenous knowledge and scholars across disciplines and practices.
The launch of the SIW initiative will be a 90-minute hybrid (in-person+virtual) event on Monday, May 4 starting at 6:00 PM PDT. The in-person component of the event will take place in Communications 150 (Studio C) on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. The virtual component of the event will be on Zoom.
Dolly Kikon (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies at UCSC), Raja GuhaThakurta (Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics), and the CREST team will host the launch.
We plan to record the Zoom call.
The SIW launch is being co-sponsored by the following UCSC organizations:

CREST
Indigenous Faculty Network (IFN)
American Indian Resource Center (AIRC)
Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS)
Film and Digital Media (FDM) Department

Launch of the new Shadow Indigenous Worlds (SIW) initiative
2026-05-04 18:00 - 19:30 | Communications Building, 7487 Red Hill Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Shadow Indigenous Worlds (SIW) is a global initiative that highlights Indigenous worldviews of inquiry. By focusing on researchers, practitioners, and artists at work (in the field, studio, and classroom), it invites the audience to participate and reflect on the meaning of knowledge, theory, pedagogy, and social change. SIW is a student-focused program and highlights the contributions of Indigenous knowledge and scholars across disciplines and practices.
The launch of the SIW initiative will be a 90-minute hybrid (in-person+virtual) event on Monday, May 4 starting at 6:00 PM PDT. The in-person component of the event will take place in Communications 150 (Studio C) on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. The virtual component of the event can be accessed via the Zoom link below:
https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/96471117617?pwd=[REDACTED]
Dolly Kikon (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies at UCSC), Raja GuhaThakurta (Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics), and the CREST team will host the launch.
We plan to record the Zoom call.
The SIW launch is being co-sponsored by the following UCSC organizations:
– CREST
– Indigenous Faculty Network (IFN)
– American Indian Resource Center (AIRC)
– Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS)
– Film and Digital Media (FDM) Department

May Slugs and Steins with Professor Soraya Murray
2026-05-04 18:30 - 20:00
TECHNOTHRILLER: Film and the American Imagination
In this presentation, visual culture scholar Soraya Murray (Film + Digital Media Department, UCSC) shares her new book, TECHNOTHRILLER: Film and the American Imagination (MIT, Feb 2026). In TECHNOTHRILLER, Soraya Murray reveals how popular American films after the 1960s, in which technology assumes a central role—mainly biotech, military, and computational—channel our cultural anxieties, dreams, and convictions about the power and meaning of advanced technology. Along with iconic adaptations from technothriller novels by Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton, such as The Hunt for Red October and The Andromeda Strain, Murray considers Westworld, Rollerball, Demon Seed, WarGames, Ex Machina, Tenet, M3GAN , and The Creator, as well as the Terminator and Mission: Impossible franchises. Through these films and others, she traces deeply embedded popular beliefs about technology and innovation—and then asks what this tells us about the mechanics of power within our technological lives. Her work finds in technothrillers a new way of thinking about the troubled, sometimes catastrophic, relationships between humans and their inventions.
REGISTER

Community Day: Free Admission at the Arboretum
2026-05-05 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.

Rules Are Not Neutral: Play As Sense-Making, Acts Of Resistance, And Imagining Otherwise
2026-05-05 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!

Let's Talk
2026-05-05 13:00 - 14:00 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/lets-talk-2/2026-05-05/
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.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 831 459 2572
Password: [REDACTED]
Facilitator: Erica Lopez, LMFT (831) 459-2572
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.

Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods Book Talk
2026-05-05 17:30 - 19:00 | Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
Join us for a conversation with co-editors Liz Carlisle and Aubrey Streit Krug and contributor Tim Crews about their new book Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods. Following the conversation, we’ll enjoy a tasting of perennial treats, and copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Living Roots makes the case for putting perennial foods at the center of our farms and our plates, to add flavor and nutrients to our diets while reducing emissions and making our food system more resilient to climate change and economic uncertainty. With contributions from James Beard Award-winning chefs, Macarthur genius grant-winning scientists, and a host of farmers who are leading the way on perennializing agriculture, the book takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the largest food forest in the United States, the test plots developing the first commercial perennial grains, and the vast grasslands where Indigenous communities are returning bison to their prairie homelands. In the process, each contributor shares their unique story of learning with these long-lived plants about how to root deeper in the face of existential challenges, speaking directly to readers charting their own path on a rapidly changing planet.
RSVP

Learn more about high school health pathways
2026-05-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Silicon Valley Campus, 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara, CA, 95054, United States
At this interactive info session about our new program for college-bound high schoolers, Dr. Deepthi Nair, senior director of the UC Santa Cruz Premed Postbacc Program, will talk about the UC Santa Cruz High School Health Pathways Summer Academy, a six-week session of transformative learning, in-person, at the Silicon Valley Campus of UC Santa Cruz.
Get hands-on learning in diverse topics such as:

Human biology
Microscopy
Public health advocacy
Expert mentorship
Field experiences
Capstone project

Attend to learn more about the program and how to apply. Applications are due May 16th.
Who should attend?
High school students, parents, and advisors are invited to join the discussion and bring questions.
Sponsor
This session is sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Premed Postbacc Program.
Claim your seat.

Yoga as Healing Series
2026-05-05 18:00 - 19:30
Yoga as Healing is a 7-session trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness program hosted by UCSC’s CARE office. Spring Quarter classes will be held Tuesdays, 6:00–7:30 p.m. from March 31–May 12. Classes are free for students.
Each class facilitated by CARE Advocate Abbey Wise (she/ella), includes gentle, trauma-informed movement, breathwork, meditation and reflective journaling to support survivors in reconnecting with their bodies, building confidence and being present. Mats, blocks, blankets and journals are provided. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and bring a water bottle.
CARE aims to build a consistent group of 8-10 survivors who can attend all 7 classes to foster the community, predictability and safety core to the trauma-informed structure of the program.
If you are interested in participating submit an application and a CARE Advocate will get back to you with further information. Location will be provided upon approval to participate.
Check out our schedule for the series:
3/31 — Orientation and Intention
4/7 — Safety & Grounding
4/14 —Self-Care as Daily Practice
4/21 — Embodied Boundaries
4/28 — Self-Compassion
5/5 — Inner Strength & Trust
5/12 — Cultivating Community
If you have previously attended Yoga as Healing, we would love to hear from you. Please complete our short, anonymous survey —your feedback helps us grow and improve our programming.
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.

The 60th Faculty Research Lecture, featuring Professor Patty Gallagher, department of Performance, Play & Design
2026-05-05 18:30 - 19:30 | Theater Arts Mainstage, 411 Kerr Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Character: A Nongenue’s Guide to a Beautiful Life in the Theatre
This talk explores the predicament and privilege of the character actor. What acts of creativity and compassion are necessary to embody the oddball, the creature, the clown?
Patty Gallagher‘s research and performance practice focuses on the concept of the Stranger in a Strange Land. Using examples from Beckett, Shakespeare, Homer, and Balinese performance, she will discuss how to imbue outsider characters with heart and dignity. Ultimately the transformative work of the “non-genue” actor is a space of beauty and wonder.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
UCSC Theater Arts Center Mainstage, 411 Kerr Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Cake reception to follow
About this event:

This event is free and open to the public. Seating will begin at 6:00 p.m
The lecture will be held in person and also available to view via livestream.
Registration link

Parking:

Parking permits will be available for purchase for $11 cash/credit in the Performing Arts lot 126.
Park Mobile options are available in this same lot. Please follow the event signage at the base of campus and a parking attendant will assist you.
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)

UCSC Orchestra
2026-05-05 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join the UC Santa Cruz Orchestra, conducted by Bruce Kiesling, for a Spring concert.
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ADMISSION
– General admission
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– Tickets will be available here 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.
—
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.

Wang, Q. (STAT) - Modern Statistical Methods for Modeling Spatial and Temporal Processes
2026-05-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Jack Baskin Engineering, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Modern scientific studies increasingly rely on complex datasets exhibiting spatial and temporal dependence, particularly in social, environmental, and climate applications. This dissertation develops statistical models and computational methods for analyzing such data, with an emphasis on capturing dependence structures, nonlinear dynamics, and uncertainty quantification.
A spatial deep learning framework is developed to extend classical geostatistical models by incorporating convolutional neural network architectures, allowing for flexible modeling of complex and nonstationary spatial dependence The proposed approach preserves principled uncertainty quantification alongside improved predictive performance for large and heterogeneous spatial datasets.
In the temporal domain, a Bayesian hierarchical echo state network model is introduced for count-valued time series, providing a flexible alternative to traditional autoregressive approaches. By embedding reservoir computing within a hierarchical probabilistic framework, the model accommodates nonlinear temporal dynamics while enabling coherent inference and uncertainty quantification, which are typically absent in standard neural network approaches.
Alongside these model-driven developments, we conduct a data-driven analysis of Northern Hemisphere snow cover using weekly satellite-derived observations from 1972 to 2024. A spatio-temporal modeling framework is developed that combines a seasonal two-state Markov structure for temporal dynamics with a Besag–York–Mollié (BYM) formulation to capture spatial dependence, allowing both trend and seasonal effects to vary across space. Covariates including temperature, latitude, and elevation are incorporated to explain observed patterns. The analysis reveals substantial spatial heterogeneity and pronounced seasonal structure, including week-specific trends and a coherent wave-like pattern of snow cover changes across continents.
Together, this thesis addresses key limitations of classical approaches to spatial and temporal data analysis, which often rely on restrictive assumptions that limit their ability to capture complex dependence structures and nonlinear dynamics. By integrating modern machine learning techniques with statistical modeling and complementing these developments with data-driven scientific analysis, this dissertation provides a flexible and principled framework for understanding complex spatio-temporal processes while maintaining uncertainty quantification.

Event Host: Qi Wang, Ph.D. Candidate, Statistical Science
Advisor: Paul Parker
Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97486222296?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode: [REDACTED]

CSE Colloquium - The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program
2026-05-06 11:00 - 12:15 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenters: Prof. Karl-Erik Arzen (Co-Director of WASP and Lund University), Dr. Paul Townend (WASP Graduate School management and Umeå University), and Carl Magnus Bruhner (Linkoping University)
Abstract: The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems, and Software Program (WASP) is the largest research initiative in Swedish history, with a budget of over $700M and a research focus AI and autonomous systems acting in collaboration with humans. The program funds over 500 current PhD students, has recruited over 70 international faculty, engages with over 80 companies and organizations, and has formal agreements with academic organizations including Stanford, UC Berkeley, MIT, Caltech, ETH Zurich, and Imperial College London.
As part of its internationalization efforts, WASP has organized a visit to the Bay Area for 13 PhD students and 2 faculty – all of whom specialize in Cloud and AI systems and software. Topics studied by the students include modeling and predicting network dynamics, verification and accountability in agentic AI systems, using underwater robotic systems to inspect and maintain subsea data infrastructures, compliance engineering with the EU AI act, runtime requirements conflict management in AI-driven autonomous systems, and cloud-native traffic management for mobile networks.
Bio: The talk will be led by Prof. Karl-Erik Arzen (Co-Director of WASP and Lund University), Dr. Paul Townend (WASP Graduate School management and Umeå University), and Carl Magnus Bruhner (Linkoping University). We will present the program in detail, and discuss potential opportunities for collaboration and future research visits from our students. More information on WASP can be found at: https://wasp-sweden.org
Hosted by: Professor Alvaro Cardenas
Date and Time: Wednesday, May 6 from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Location: Engineering 2, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as fruit, pastries, coffee, and tea will be provided.)
Zoom Option: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93445911992?pwd=[REDACTED]

IRB Webinar: Secondary use in research
2026-05-06 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/92134850429?pwd=[REDACTED]
Join our upcoming IRB webinar exploring key considerations for research involving the secondary use of data, samples, and publicly available datasets. During this session we will discuss regulatory, institutional, and practical insights. Whether you are new to this type of research or looking to advance your understanding, this session will offer valuable guidance.

Off-Campus Housing Resource Fair
2026-05-06 12:00 - 15:00 | Cowell Founders Glen, Cowell College Circle, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join UCSC Community Rentals Wednesday, May 6, 12 – 3 p.m. at Cowell Founders Glen to meet local landlords, learn about the rental process, and explore off-campus housing & resources!
Drop by and get info to help your housing search! Housing staff and local landlords/property managers will be on-site to answer questions.
Get tips about:

Searching for rentals
Making your rental application packet
What landlords are looking for
The Renters Workshop, and more!

Learn more by visiting communityrentals.ucsc.edu
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.
