Events

Collaborative Communications Workshop with Aimee Ryan
2026-02-05 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Arboretum, 122 Arboretum Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Collaborative Communication Workshop Series
O.A.B.E.’s Winter 2026 Professional Development
Baskin Engineering and The Office of Access, Belonging, and Equity invite you to join us for a series of in-person workshops over two afternoons this winter quarter to come together as a community of workers and develop our skills in collaborative communication, conflict navigation, and empathic leadership with communications coach & expert Aimee Ryan.
Aimee has over 15 years of experience in mediation, conflict resolution, and team development. Her training and teaching will seek to offer a transformative learning experience designed to develop the communication skills of our faculty, staff, and researchers, to support our thriving community.
Workshop Goals:

Strengthen empathy and active listening: Learn how to listen deeply, recognize emotions and needs in conversation, and respond in ways that foster understanding rather than division.
Enhance conflict-navigation skills: Gain practical tools to engage in difficult conversations with more connection and collaboration.
Promote inclusive dialogue and depolarization: Develop a “both/and” mindset that embraces multiple perspectives.

Workshop Details
We will hold the workshops at the serene and beautiful UCSC Arboretum. Lunch will be served.
Day 1: Thursday, February 5, 2025, 12:00 pm- 4:00 pm

Foundations of Collaborative Communication
Giving & Receiving Authentic Feedback

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Day 2: Friday, February 6, 2025, 12:00 pm- 4:00 pm

Moving from Polarization to Collaboration

Collaborating Across Power Differences

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Who should attend?
The workshops are open to all Baskin Engineering faculty, staff, researchers, and postdocs who are interested in strengthening leadership, communication skills, team dynamics, synergy, and making our work environment even better than it already is!
How to participate

RSVP here before Friday, Jan 30.
Save the date now! Add to your Google Calendar using the links above
The sessions are designed as a full course. Attendees are encouraged to attend both sessions. The Day 2 workshop will only be open to attendees of Day 1.
Attendance at both sessions is required to earn the Baskin Engineering Collaborative Communication Certificate.

Seats are limited
Due to limited space, we will close registration when we reach maximum capacity.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to lead with clarity, empathy, and confidence!
Please direct your questions about the workshop to Richard Raygoza at riraygoz@ucsc.edu.

Workplace Mental Health Training for Supervisors and Managers
2026-02-05 12:30 - 15:00
The Office of Risk Services has partnered with OHSU’s Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Services to provide mental health support training to UCSC supervisors and managers.
This evidence based program teaches leaders:

To identify employee mental health struggles
Appropriate ways to respond to employee warning signs
Practical strategies to reduce employee stress

Employees whose managers and supervisors were trained in this program report:

Reduced anger and loneliness
Improved feelings of support from manager
Increased feelings of team cohesion

This training is open to all supervisors and managers at UCSC. Our next training session will take place on Thursday, January 15, and will comprise the following:

A self paced online training session
A live, virtual one hour session
A two-week voluntary virtual check in

If you would like to participate in this training on Thursday, February 5 from 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM please fill out this form. Please note that space is limited. Folks added to the waitlist will be given priority for our next training session.
To learn more, please visit the Workplace Mental Health Training for Supervisors and Managers website.
If you have any questions about this training, please reach out to Jessica Bulleri, Campus Health and Well-being Manager, at jbulleri@ucsc.edu.

Info Session: Global Seminar Mediterranean France in Marseille
2026-02-05 14:00 - 15:00
Learn more at our upcoming Information Session: Thursday, February 5, 2026, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Register Here
Earn 10 units on a summer program on the Global Seminar Mediterranean France in Marseille this summer. This program is taught by Muriam Davis, Associate Professor of History, and Thomas Serres, Associate Professor of Politics.
Quick Facts:

Locations: Marseille, France
Course:
His 170 C: France and its Empire in the 20th century (5 credits)
POLI 166: Politics of Migration (5 credits)
Led by: Muriam Davis and Thomas Serres
Eligibility: Good academic and disciplinary standing, Min Age: 18, Minimum GPA- 2.3 cumulative GPA or higher at the time of application and every quarter prior to departure, 45 units completed by the time of departure
Dates: Summer Session 1 (Exact dates to be announced)
Finances: Financial aid applies, and scholarships are available! Budget will be posted on the website when it is available.
How to apply: Visit here for instructions. Applications open on December 1 and close on March 2.
Get in touch: Email your questions to globallearning@ucsc.edu.

Program Description: Students will study French history and politics in Marseille, a port city that has a rich tradition of immigration, activism, and cultural production. By meeting with urbanists, musicians, activists, historians, and filmmakers, they will reflect on how the diverse communities have shaped French culture and politics. They will also study the lingering effects of French colonialism and immigration policy through visits to the many museums and archives located in and around Marseille. Read about Marseille here or watch this Anthony Bourdain clip here.

UC Santa Cruz NAI Chapter: From Campus to Commerce Winter Event
2026-02-05 16:00 - 18:00 | Merrill Cultural Center, 200 McLaughlin Dr, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join us for an engaging gathering at the intersection of breakthrough science and real-world impact featuring:

​A fireside chat with accomplished inventor and NAI Fellow David Schaffer – UC Berkeley Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Director of QB3, and Director of Bakar BioEnginuity Hub – with a conversation exploring translational research and commercialization successes as well as approaches to lab management and mentorship that encourage a culture of innovation impact
​Induction of new chapter inventor and honorary members
​Networking with chapter leaders and fellow campus inventors

Looking at School, Fear, and Possibilities: Imagining Futures Under Authoritarian Rule
2026-02-05 17:00 - 18:00
Please join us in a conversation around School, Fear, & Possibilities: Imagining Futures Under Authoritarian Rule, featuring two guest speakers: Manuel Espinoza Ph.D, Muhammad Khalifa!

Title: School, Fear, & Possibilities: Imagining Futures Under Authoritarian Rule Talk
Guest speakers: Manuel Espinoza & Muhammad Khalifa.
Date: Thursday, February 5th, 2026, 5-6PM
Location: McHenry 0266 or via Zoom (Meeting ID: 933 0685 4982; Passcode: [REDACTED]
Please complete this RSVP form if you plan to attend
Feb 5th guest speakers
Learn about Manuel Espinoza
Manuel is a child of desegregation and a Chicano ethnographer working in the scholarly tradition that emerged during the 20th-century struggle against racism in the U.S. As the Director and Co-founder of the Right2Learn Dignity Lab, now in its 15th year, Manuel works with an undergraduate and graduate research collective to develop two interconnected strands of research: 1) an inquiry into the historical and legal origins of educational rights and 2) a social interactional method for studying the manifestations of dignity in educational activity. Presently, the Dignity Lab is working to amend the “education clause” of the Colorado Constitution. Manuel has shared his expertise by contributing content on dignity in schools to the Cultivating Compassion for Ourselves and Others digital certificate.

Learn about Muhammad Khalifa
His research examines how urban school leaders enact culturally responsive leadership and anti-oppressive schooling practices. He is a leading expert on equity audits for school districts. He was previously a teacher and administrator in Detroit Public Schools, and he has also contributed to community-informed education projects in Africa, Latin America, and Asia in various capacities. He formerly held the endowed Beck Chair of Ideas in Education at the University of Minnesota. He has contributed to education, development, or research programs in several contexts.

We hope you can join us in this conversation with Manuel and Muhammad!

Carl Deppe Memorial Lecture with Dr. Kara Cooney
2026-02-05 17:30 - 19:30 | Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
The UCSC Ancient Studies Program presents the Carl Deppe Memorial Lecture, taking place February 5th at the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn (reception to follow). Kara Cooney will present her lecture “When Women Ruled the World”. Doors open at 5:30pm, program begins at 5:45pm.

Kara Cooney is a professor of ancient Egyptian art and architecture and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. Specializing in social history, gender studies, and economies of the ancient world, she received her PhD in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. Her books include The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt, When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, and The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World. Her latest books include Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches, Ancient Egyptian Society: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Approaches, and Coffin Commerce.

Safety Planning for ICE Raids at Work
2026-02-05 18:00 - 19:30
February 5, 2026 | 6PM-7:30PM *ONLINE*
How can workers stay safe on the job amidst increased immigration enforcement and raids that target our workplaces?
Register below to join UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program and UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Labor and Community for this hands-on, interactive workshop to develop a worker-led safety plan for ICE raids at work. A calendar invitation and Zoom link will be sent out prior to the event.
In this workshop you will:

Hear directly from rank-and-file teachers and nurses about the steps they took to make a safety plan with coworkers to prevent ICE access to their workplaces and protect targeted workers and community members.
Talk through steps to create a safety plan for your workplace.
Learn how to enforce workplace health and safety laws and immigration laws (AB 450, etc.)
Prepare to act even when your employer will not.

Register Here.
Planificación de Seguridad Ante Redadas de ICE en el Lugar de Trabajo
5 de febrero de 2026 | 6:00-7:30PM *EN LÍNEA*
¿Cómo pueden los trabajadores mantenerse seguros en el trabajo ante el aumento de las redadas y la intensificación de las operaciones de control migratorio en nuestros lugares de trabajo?
Regístrese a continuación para participar en este taller práctico e interactivo, organizado por el Programa de Salud Ocupacional Laboral de UC Berkeley y el Centro de Labor y Comunidad de UC Santa Cruz, donde desarrollará un plan de seguridad liderado por los trabajadores para hacer frente a las redadas de ICE en el trabajo. Se enviará una invitación de calendario y el enlace de Zoom antes del evento.
En este taller usted podrá:

Escuchar directamente a maestros y enfermeros sobre las medidas que tomaron para crear un plan de seguridad con sus compañeros de trabajo para impedir el acceso de ICE a sus lugares de trabajo y proteger a los trabajadores y miembros de la comunidad afectados.
Hablar sobre los pasos para crear un plan de seguridad para su lugar de trabajo.
Aprender a hacer cumplir las leyes de salud y seguridad laboral y las leyes de inmigración (AB 450, etc.).
Prepararse para actuar incluso cuando su empleador no lo haga.

Registrese Aqui

Science in the Neighborhood: Innovations for building coastal resilience locally, nationally, and globally
2026-02-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
Science In the Neighborhood
A public lecture series hosted quarterly by the UC Santa Cruz Science Division
Innovations for building coastal resilience locally, nationally, and globally
Presentation by Mike Beck, Director, UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate Resilience
Q&A with Stefano Profumo, Professor, UC Santa Cruz
Coastal risks are growing from climate change, development, and habitat loss. The Center for Coastal Climate Resilience assesses coastal risks, promotes nature-based adaptations, and identifies innovative solutions to reduce risks to people, property, and the environment. Dr. Beck will describe recent successes in bridging ecology, engineering, and economics to develop solutions at the intersection of science, policy, and finance.
He will show some of the latest innovations, presenting examples from Santa Cruz, across the country, and internationally. These include new policies that open funding for nature as natural infrastructure; the development of nature-positive insurance; and the use of game-engine technology to communicate the cost effectiveness of nature-based solutions.
The event is in-person only. Register here.
Thursday, February 5, 2026 | 6-7:30 p.m.
Seymour Marine Discovery Center, La Feliz Room
100 McAllister Way
Santa Cruz 95060

Info Session: Global Seminar Food Study, Field Study in London
2026-02-06 10:00 - 11:00
Learn more at our upcoming Information Session: Friday, February 6 at 10:00-11:00 a.m. via Zoom.
Register Here
Earn 12 units on a summer program on the Global Seminar: Food Study Field Study in London this summer. This program is taught by Melissa L. Caldwell, Professor of Anthropology and Anthropology Instructor Rikki Brown. It is a great opportunity to fulfill Anthropology requirements and/or units towards graduation!
Quick Facts:

Location: London, United Kingdom
Courses: ANTH 161 Anthropology of Food – 6 units (satisfies PE-H); and ANTH 151 Workshop in Ethnography – 6 units
Led by: Professor Melissa L. Caldwell and Instructor Rikki Brown
Eligibility: Open to students from any major who have completed 45 units by time of departure and have a minimum of a 2.3 GPA
Dates: July 27-August 29, 2026
Finances: Financial aid applies, and scholarships are available! Budget will be posted on the website when it is available.
How to apply: Visit here for instructions. Applications open on December 1 and close on March 2.
Get in touch: Email your questions to globallearning@ucsc.edu.

Program Description: How do anthropologists learn about a place? Using contemporary ethnographic methods, they cultivate their senses to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste the stories and worlds around them. In this dual course summer program taught by a UCSC Anthropology Professor, London will become a living laboratory to learn how anthropologists study and practice ethnographic methods, with a focus on how and why food is an especially important gateway to understanding culture, power, exchange, memory, identity, histories of colonialism, and postcolonial futures. Immersive learning activities will provide exceptional opportunities to experience London’s multicultural food traditions firsthand. Discover more here.

Johnstone, J. (AM) - The Effects of Asymmetry on Overshooting and Magnetic Pumping from Compressible Convection Zones
2026-02-06 11:00 - 12:00 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
We present a comprehensive numerical investigation examining how vertical asymmetry in compressible convection affects overshooting and the transport of large-scale magnetic fields from convective to stably stratified regions. Using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations, we systematically vary the superadiabaticity and stratification of a convective layer to control the vertical asymmetry of the flow and analyze its influence on overshooting depth and magnetic pumping efficiency. We extend previous work by Tobias et al. (2001) and draw guidance from the asymmetry regimes identified by John & Schumacher (2023), investigating whether similar asymmetric convecting regimes emerge in our overshooting model that incorporates a stably stratified region below. We find that vertical asymmetry increases significantly with stratification at a moderate, fixed Rayleigh number, while superadiabaticity contributes primarily through enhanced downflow velocities, with both combined leading to increasing overshooting depths reaching approximately 0.46 − 0.7 pressure scale heights. Magnetic pumping efficiency initially increases with stratification but unexpectedly decreases at higher stratification, despite increasing overshooting depths. We find that this behavior arises from the increasing thermal and magnetic diffusivities that result from increasing stratification at fixed Ra. When instead either holding these diffusivities constant or increasing Ra sufficiently, we find that then both overshooting and magnetic pumping depths both decrease with increasing stratification. This behavior is explained by a change of dynamical state from one of laminar downflows to one of turbulent downflowing plumes leading to a high degree of turbulent mixing and entrainment. We thus find two distinct regimes that might be described as a microscopically diffusive regime and a turbulently diffusive one. These results suggest that, in the highly turbulent regime expected in the Sun, magnetic pumping efficiency may decrease with increasing stratification due to enhanced turbulent entrainment, with important implications for solar dynamo theory and the transport of large-scale magnetic fields in the solar interior.

Event Host: Jason Johnstone, Ph.D. Student, Applied Mathematics
Advisor: Nic Brummell
Zoom- https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/5428987373?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode- 778899

Waste Fest: a Sustainability Office event
2026-02-06 12:00 - 15:00 | Porter College Quad
The UCSC Sustainability Office is excited to announce Waste Fest, a fun, interactive event focused on reducing waste on campus! 🌱♻️ Join us for free food, tabling from campus organizations, free thrifting, and a book swap, plus learn about waste sorting, reuse, and sustainable living at UCSC. Come hang out, grab some goodies, and discover how you can help make our campus more zero-waste. We can’t wait to see you there!
⭐️ RSVP here: https://forms.gle/V63uVeKWsunrjy5XA
For any questions please email: dsanai@ucsc.edu or khallac@ucsc.edu

GDAC Portfolio Workshop
2026-02-06 12:15 - 13:00 | Cultural Center – Merrill College, 641 Merrill Rd, Santa Cruz, 95064, United States
Workshop

Part of the GDA Conference on campus – come and learn best practices for creating a portfolio to use in the gaming industry!

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

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.
Online Safety Tips
UC Santa Cruz Career Success〡Hahn 125
Email Career Success: csuccess@ucsc.edu
Visit Career Success Website: https://careers.ucsc.edu

Interview Preparation Workshop
2026-02-06 13:00 - 14:30 | Career Success Student Lounge (125 Hahn), 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
Ready to sharpen your interview skills?
Join Career Success for an interactive workshop on Interview Best Practices, followed by Mock Interview Practice!
We will provide captions for the presentation. If you have disability-related needs, please contact the Career Success office at csuccess@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-4420 as soon as possible.
YOU BELONG HERE
Programs and services are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities. To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

Yang, J. (CSE) - Towards Controllable and Compositional Generative Vision
2026-02-06 16:00 - 18:00
Diffusion-based text-to-image models can generate impressive images, but they largely treat an image as a single, flat output, which makes precise editing of individual elements difficult. This proposal studies layered generative representations that align with professional editing workflows, enabling users to manipulate foreground objects while preserving the rest of the scene. A central focus is visual effects such as shadows and reflections, which are essential for realistic composition yet are often missing or inconsistent in current generative pipelines. This proposal outlines a research program toward controllable, compositional image generation that supports practical, edit-ready content creation.
Event Host: Jinrui Yang, Ph.D. Student, Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Yuyin Zhou
Zoom- https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/91510964517?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode- 544143

Lunar New Year First Friday with Santa Cruz Mahjong Club
2026-02-06 17:00 - 20:00 | Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States
Celebrate the Year of the Horse on Friday, February 6, at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences for a night of student-led craft activities and (beginner-friendly) mahjong play hosted by the Santa Cruz Mahjong Club. Craft materials and light refreshments will be provided at this family friendly event.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– Attend in person at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences on the Westside in Santa Cruz, Calif.
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PARKING
– The entrance to the Institute of the Arts and Sciences is on Delaware St. and has an accessibility ramp.
– Free self-parking is available on Panetta Ave. and High Rd., immediately adjacent to the building.
– Accessible parking is on High Rd.
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Blueberries for the Home Garden and Small Farm
2026-02-07 10:00 - 12:30 | Hay Barn, 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
Learn about varietal selection, site selection, planting, pruning and general care of blueberries in the home garden
Join UC Santa Cruz Farm Garden Manager Christof Bernau as he covers the fundamental information you need to know to successfully grow and harvest blueberries in the home garden. Beginning in the Hay Barn at UCSC, Christof will discuss a brief history and origin of these crops, their primary cultural requirements, site selection and soil preparation, pruning systems, protection from bird predation, varietal selection and sourcing. The group will then walk up to the farm and look at each of these crops in three dimensions, using the living plants to illustrate key terminology and plant physiology and discuss seasonal care requirements and the specifics of winter pruning. Pre-registration is required for this workshop.

Ben Verdery, classical guitarist—with the UCSC Guitar Ensemble
2026-02-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Audiences are invited to Some Towns and Cities, a concert with internationally-recognized classical guitarist, composer, and educator Benjamin Verdery. The concert includes original compositions such as “Ellis Island,” featuring the UCSC Classical Guitar Ensemble, directed by Chris Mallett, and the world premiere of a composition called “Santa Cruz,” with William Coulter and Chris Mallett. Learn more about Benjamin Verdery on his website here.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– Open seating (no ticket required)
– First-come, first-served
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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.

ECE Seminar: Integrated Micro- and Nanosystems for Biosensing, Neural Therapy, and Nanotoxicity
2026-02-09 10:40 - 23:45 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Dr. Ke Du, Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside
Description: Miniaturized micro- and nanofluidic systems, integrated with biochemistry, microscopy, nanomaterials, and computer vision algorithms, provide powerful platforms for diverse biomedical applications, including molecular diagnostics, biophysics, and optogenetics. In this presentation, we introduce a pneumatically controlled nano-sieve device with nanolithography-defined microstructures designed to enhance target capture efficiency in bodily fluids. This system incorporates sheath flow configurations, surface-enhanced Raman probes, and CRISPR reactions for the sensitive and multiplexed detection of drug-resistant bacteria in nanoconfined environments. We also highlight our recent advancements in implantable devices for adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery and the treatment of neurological disorders in mouse models. These devices, fabricated via high-resolution 3D printing, utilize total internal reflection at the liquid–air–microstructure interface to efficiently stimulate neurons. Finally, we integrate experimental approaches with molecular dynamics simulations to study the interactions between arbitrary nanoparticles and living cells—advancing our understanding of nanotoxicity and guiding the design of next-generation drug delivery systems.
Bio: Dr. Ke Du is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. He established his independent research lab in 2018 following postdoctoral training with Richard Mathies at the University of California, Berkeley, and Holger Schmidt at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research team focuses on molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases such as sepsis, in vivo bioimaging, and nanotoxicology. Dr. Du has received numerous honors, including the EIPBN Inaugural Early Career Award (2024) and the NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (2021). He was recognized as an Emerging Investigator by Lab on a Chip (2024) and Nanoscale (2025), and named a Global Rising Star in Sensing by ACS Sensors. His research is supported by federal agencies and industry partners, including NIH NIGMS, NIH NIAID, NSF CBET, NSF CMMI, USDA, DOE, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Mammoth Biosciences, and Biological Mimetics. Beyond his research activities, Dr. Du serves as an Early Career Editorial Advisory Board member for Biomicrofluidics (AIP Publishing) and Sensors and Actuators Reports (Elsevier).
Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department
Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=[REDACTED]

CM Seminar - “The ‘Social’ Side of Social Virtual Reality”
2026-02-09 12:30 - 13:30 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presented by: Bree McEwan
Description: One of the potential use cases of virtual reality is to create spaces where humans can interact with each other or virtual agents across distances. However, despite many of the technological challenges of social VR being solved, social VR does not see poised for widespread adoption. Multi-user social VR needs to be perceived not just as a technology to be solved but an emerging communication channel. Social science approaches, particularly from communication scholars, are needed to truly understand the way that humans engage with VR and each other in these new environments. McEwan’s talk will outline a program of research using qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand communication processes, effects, and user perceptions of VR design to deepen our understanding of how people engage with environments and each other in social VR.
Bio: Bree McEwan is a Professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, an associate director of the Data Sciences Institute, and a faculty affiliate of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society at the University of Toronto. She is a co- organizer and founder of the Questioning Reality conference, a social VR research incubator. McEwan authored Navigating New Media Networks and co-authored Interpersonal Encounters. She directs the McEwan Mediated Communication Lab which researches the intersection of technology and social interaction. McEwan has published on relational maintenance on social network sites, perceived social affordances of communication channels, linguistic patterns in online communities, and the diffusion of information through social media. In addition, McEwan has metascience interests focused on transparency and replication in the social sciences. Current studies of the McMC Lab focus on affordances of social virtual environments, cognition and heuristics related to learning in VR spaces, and nonverbal communication patterns of avatars and agents.
Hosted by: Professor Katherine Isbister
When: Monday, February 9, 2026 from 12:30PM to 1:30PM
Location:
IN-PERSON @ UCSC Main Campus, E2-280.
Viewing room @ SVC 3212.
LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED AT BOTH LOCATIONS! Faculty and students are highly encouraged to attend.
Zoom info:
https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/91469785121?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 914 6978 5121
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Li, X. (CSE) - Compute-Efficient Scaling of Fully-Open Visual Encoders
2026-02-09 13:00 - 14:30
Vision encoders have demonstrated significant performance gains in visual generation and multimodal reasoning. These improvements are primarily attributed to the scaling of data, model capacity, and compute. However, this progress is becoming less accessible due to a lack of transparency in data curation and training recipes. In combination with the high compute requirements of foundation-scale pre-training, these factors hinder independent reproducibility.
In this dissertation, we democratize large-scale visual encoder training by developing compute-efficient, reproducible training recipes for video encoders, vision-language models (VLMs), and multimodal large language models (MLLMs). First, we challenge the common belief that scaling necessarily requires proportionally more resources. Specifically, we show that decoupled pre-training separates key factors such as space/time and token length, and learns strong priors first. This design yields dramatic efficiency gains across image, video, and generative modeling. Next, we address the challenge of undisclosed or inaccessible training data by releasing and systematically studying the curation of high-quality, large-scale datasets. We demonstrate that high-quality synthetic captions at scale enable vision-language models to learn stronger visual representations, especially when paired with training frameworks that unify contrastive and generative objectives. Lastly, building on these findings, we develop fully open vision encoders with complete training data, recipes, and checkpoints, and show that transparency can enable rather than hinder state-of-the-art performance as an MLLMs’ visual backbone.
Together, these contributions establish that openness and efficiency are mutually reinforcing, providing a reproducible foundation for the next generation of visual intelligence.
Event Host: Xianhang Li, Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science and Engineering
Advisor: Cihang Xie
Zoom- https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/95801462664?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode- 782017

AM Seminar: Data Driven Modeling for Scientific Discovery and Digital Twins
2026-02-09 16:00 - 17:00
Presenter: Dongbin Xiu, Professor, Ohio State University
Description:We present a data-driven modeling framework for scientific discovery, termed Flow Map Learning (FML). This framework enables the construction of accurate predictive models for complex systems that are not amenable to traditional modeling approaches. By leveraging data and the expressiveness of deep neural networks (DNNs), FML facilitates long-term system modeling and prediction even when governing equations are unavailable. FML is particularly powerful in the context of Digital Twins, an emerging concept in digital transformation. With sufficient offline learning, FML enables the construction of simulation models for key quantities of interest (QoIs) in complex Digital Twins, when direct mathematical modeling of the QoIs is infeasible. During the online execution of a Digital Twin, the learned FML model can simulate the QoIs without reverting to the computationally intensive Digital Twin simulation model. As a result, FML serves as an enabling methodology for real-time control and optimization for complex systems.
Bio: Dongbin Xiu received his Ph.D degree from the Division of Applied Mathematics of Brown University in 2004. He joined the Department of Mathematics of Purdue University in 2005 and moved to the University of Utah in 2013. In 2016, He joined The Ohio State University as Professor of Mathematics and Ohio Eminent Scholar. He received NSF CAREER award in 2007 and was elected to SIAM Fellow in 2023. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Computational Physics and the founding Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Machine Learning for Modeling and Computing (JMLMC). His current research focuses on developing efficient numerical methods for scientific machine learning, data driven discovery and digital twins.
Hosted by: Daniele Venturi, Applied Mathematics

Building Brotherhood with the Khalil Center
2026-02-09 17:30 - 18:30
Join AA/PIRC, SWANA, & the Khalil Center for a conversation about mental health for men in the Southwest Asian & North African (SWANA) community. This event centers SWANA men & is open to all students. Food will be provided! Please RSVP here.
The Khalil Center is a wellness center that integrates Islamic spiritual approaches into professional psychology to help achieve optimal, holistic health by providing a wide variety of mental health services.
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.

February Slugs and Steins with Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Brown Childs
2026-02-09 18:30 - 20:00
Kings of Infinite Space: Courageous Compassion Among Men in Soledad Prison

“I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself king of infinite space…”
–Hamlet
When I reflect on the expansively creative, compassionate, and transformational minds and actions of the incarcerated men with whom I have worked as a volunteer teacher of what I call “transcommunal peace and cooperation,” for some twenty years first in DVI Prison, and mostly Soledad Prison, the central image that strikes me is the first part of Hamlet’s statement, in the Shakespeare play, wherein he says, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space….” The men with whom I work, despite their incarceration in narrow, constraining, routinized circumstances, are nonetheless able to reach out to, and draw from a wide and deep universe of humane love for all. Their organizing group, Cemanahuac (an Indigenous Nahuatl word meaning “One World”-all races, cultures, faiths, regions, and perspectives); is the foundation for the success of transcommunality. My book Transcommunality, from the Politics of Conversion to the Ethics of Respect, (Temple University Press, 2003), that is the basis for my teaching in Soledad and elsewhere, emphasizes ways of achieving mutual respect among diverse, even opposing vantage points, with an emphasis on being able to disagree over key matters while still working together. The concept of “transcommunality” is rooted in the brilliant, ancient Indigenous philosophy of the Haudenosauunee (“Iroquois”) Peacemaker, Deganawidah. Similarly, rather than being simple stereotyped negatives; these Soledad men are positives, who are providing important foundations for building bridges in a time of overall societal division, and emphasizing, in the midst of the national cauldron of hate, the healing power of love.
REGISTER

2026 Pre-Health School Fair
2026-02-10 11:00 - 14:00 | Colleges Nine and John R. Lewis College Multi-purpose Room, 615 College Nine Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Here is a chance to meet the recruiters in person!
If you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine or other health professions, then take advantage of this opportunity to meet recruiters from health professional schools. Learn more about their respective health professional programs, including medical schools, and discuss ways in which to stand out in the application process.
Undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent alumni are all welcome to attend!
Curious about how to best prepare for the fair?
1. Research the organization
Identify your top 3-5 pre-health and medical schools you’re interested in (but be sure to stay open to engaging with multiple programs at the event). Do your research by reviewing school websites (what’s the pre-health or medical school program mission? values?), admissions process and requirements, and perhaps check out their social media for the latest news from the university/school. Pre-health and medical school representatives are impressed by potential candidates who take the time to do this!

2. Prepare your introduction and questions
Reflect on what about each program resonates with you. Perhaps it’s the specific the curriculum they’re developing, research they’re leading, or the career path a specific degree program can lead you on. What relevant experiences do you have? How can you be of service to the pre-health or medical school? Exercise critical thinking skills to develop questions to ask recruiters.
3. Plan your time
Be sure to manage the time you have to ensure you’re able to connect with the pre-health and medical school programs you’re most interested in, but remember to also be open to different schools you may not have heard of because they may be a smaller or out of area pre-health or medical school program.
Want more support?

View our Pre-Health page
Visit a peer coach during drop-in hours
Schedule a career coaching appointment with a Career Engagement Specialist
Stay in the loop by following Career Success on Instagram

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

You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

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

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

Continuing Student Housing Info Session
2026-02-11 10:00 - 12:00 | https://ucsc.zoom.us/meeting/register/NkGSdQM0RNK0VmYaXUeiNA
Interested in university housing for next year?
Join us for an information session about university housing options for the 2026-27 academic year. Led by knowledgeable housing staff, this is a great opportunity to learn about the different housing options available, the housing application and Room Selection processes, ways to improve your chances of getting a space, and more.
The session will be held on Zoom and will include breakout rooms for individual colleges and housing communities, allowing you to get more specific information about your housing options.
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026
Time: 10 a.m.–12 noon
Location: Zoom (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.

CSE Colloquium: Incentivized Alignment for Strategic Agents (Human and Otherwise)
2026-02-11 11:00 - 12:15 | Engineering 2, Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presenter: Grant Schoenebeck, University of Michigan
Abstract: Advances in machine learning enable new forms of human-AI collaboration, but collaborative settings typically involve agents with divergent objectives and private information. This will become increasingly critical in the emerging world of agentic AI, where ML-powered agents act on behalf of individuals or institutions with conflicting goals. I use the term incentivized alignment to describe the approach of combining both machine learning and incentive design to achieve alignment of system outcomes despite misaligned agents. This talk presents two case studies of incentivized alignment showing how machine learning can make mechanism design scalable and practical, and how mechanism design can make machine learning strategically robust. First, I examine the use of LLMs as judges for rating subjective responses. While LLMs perform well on existing datasets, they are highly susceptible to manipulation. I propose adapting peer-prediction mechanisms to create strategically-robust scoring mechanisms that incentivize honest reporting. Beyond ensuring high-quality inputs to AI systems, these mechanisms can potentially eliminate reward hacking in ML training pipelines. Second, I consider collective decision-making where agents hold different objectives and private information. The goal is to design mechanisms that incentivize strategic agents to select outcomes that would be optimal under full information sharing, according to certain criteria. Both case studies demonstrate solutions for incentivized alignment in multi-agent systems employing the combination of incentive design and machine learning, a theme likely to be central to the future of collaborative AI.
Bio: Grant Schoenebeck is an associate professor at the University of Michigan in the School of Information. His work has recently focused on developing and analyzing systems for eliciting and aggregating information from a diverse group of agents with varying information, interests, and abilities by combining ideas from machine learning and economics (e.g. game theory, mechanism design, and information design). More generally, his recent work has been about incentives and (machine) learning in a variety of contexts. His research is supported by multiple NSF grants including a CAREER award and spans publications in top venues including NeurIPS, ICLR, EC, WINE, the Web Conference, STOC, and FOCS. His former PhD students and postdocs now hold tenure-track positions at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Peking University, George Mason University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He recently served as Program Committee Co-chair for WINE, Theory Track Co-chair for EC, and Economics and Computation Track co-chair at the Web Conference. Grant received his PhD at UC Berkeley, studied theology at Oxford University, and received his BA in mathematics and computer science from Harvard.
Hosted by: Professor Nikos Tziavelis
Location: Engineering 2, Room E2-180
*Light refreshments such as coffee, pastries, and fruit will be available.
Zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/93445911992?pwd=[REDACTED]

Research Lunch & Learn: NAGPRA, CalNAGPRA, and UC Repatriation policy overview
2026-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | https://events.ucsc.edu/event/research-lunch-learn-nagpra-calnagpra-and-uc-repatriation-policy-overview/
This presentation provides an overview of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and UCSC’s responsibilities in compliance with federal law, CalNAGPRA state-specific law, and the UCOP policy regarding repatriation. Join Victoria Jennings, UCSC’s Repatriation and Tribal Collaborations Coordinator, on February 11, 2026, 12-1 p.m., to learn more about where NAGPRA intersects with research activities and how we can show respect for tribal sovereignty in our day-to-day actions on and off campus.
Join: Zoom link for this session.

On the Margins of Empire: The Archaeology of Social Complexities in Lower Akinyele, Southwest Nigeria Ca. 18th- 20th centuries
2026-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Social Sciences 1, Social Sciences 1, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Presentation Abstract: My research examines the materiality of everyday life in non-urban spaces between the 18th and 20th centuries. I seek to articulate the nature of social complexities that may have characterized these spaces, with particular attention to the domestic domain. In my study at Lower Akinyele, I aim to investigate how social agents negotiated their daily lives within complex historical processes such as imperial control, conflict, migration, and resettlement, and how these dynamics shape their lived experience and are reflected in the archaeological record over this extended period.
Combining an interdisciplinary approach, my research employs ethnography, archaeological field survey with geospatial analysis, and material science-based analysis. Drawing on theories of agency, practice, and feminist perspectives, I move beyond a monolithic view that privileges urban centers as the primary sites for studying social complexity. Instead, my work advocates for a more nuanced understanding that captures the varied scales of human interactions within these communities.
About the Presenter: Boluwaji Ajayi is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at UCSC. Ajayi’s research examines the social complexities that shaped the everyday lives of settlements located on the peripheries of early cities and empires in the Yoruba-Edo region of Southwestern Nigeria from the precolonial era to the twentieth century.

Centering the Experiences of Undocumented Transfer Students at HSIs: A Brown Bag Presentation by Valeria Alonso Blanco
2026-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Huerta Center Conference Room (Casa Latina), 641 Merrill Rd, Santa Cruz,, CA, 95064
The Huerta Center is proud to present a brown bag presentation by Graduate Student Research Awardee Valeria Alonso Blanco. She will present on a qualitative study that explores how undocumented Latinx transfer students navigate institutional support, belonging, and barriers at a four-year Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Findings reveal gaps between institutional commitments and student realities, and she offers actionable recommendations for more equitable, transfer-receptive practices.

Faculty Forum — The Residential College System and the First-Year Student Experience
2026-02-11 13:30 - 15:30 | Stevenson Event Center, Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Faculty Forum: The Residential College System and the First-Year Student Experience
UC Santa Cruz was founded on a residential college system that combines living and learning. A core goal of our system has always been to use a shared learning experience built around the college theme to create a sense of belonging and community among first-year students. The campus has changed dramatically over the last quarter century: the shift to letter grades and a new approach to general education; growth of the undergraduate population; an increasingly diverse student body (HSI recognition in 2012, AANAPISI in 2014, APRU in 2020, HSRU in 2022); and recognition as one of the top research universities in North America (AAU membership in 2019).
The college system has changed incrementally over that time, but we have not had a comprehensive, campus-wide discussion of what today’s students need from our college system and how best we might serve them; and Senate faculty engagement with the colleges has dwindled. As important, UCSC has not been meeting predicted graduation rates in comparison to the academic preparation of entering first-year students. This forum is the first step in engaging the faculty in thinking about how we can ensure that our college system serves our students and meets our obligations to the state and our aspirations as a research university.
The forum will feature four speakers who will offer brief comments and then engage in a panel discussion, largely addressing questions from the audience.

Kimberly Lau, UC Santa Cruz, Professor of Literature and Chair of the Council of College Provosts, on our current college system.
Laura Arroyo, UC Santa Cruz, Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Colleges, Housing, and Educational services, on co-curricular approaches to college engagement.
Daniel Friedman, Univ. of South Carolina, AVP University 101 and National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, on the South Carolina first-year model
John Moore, UC San Diego, Professor of Linguistics and Dean of Undergraduate Education, on the UC San Diego college model

All faculty are invited to join us for this important conversation.
Hosted by:
Kimberly Lau
Professor of Literature
College Provost of John R. Lewis College
Chair of the Council of College Provosts
Matthew McCarthy
Professor of Ocean Science
Chair of the Academic Senate
Paul Koch
Distinguished Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences
Interim Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor
Richard Hughey
Professor of Computer Science & Engineering and Biomolecular Engineering
Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education and Global Engagement
