Presenter: Nadia Polikarpova, UCSD Abstract: AI-assisted programming has rapidly moved from novelty to default. Today, most developers use AI coding tools, and increasingly rely on agentic systems capable of making multi-step design and implementation decisions with minimal human guidance. While these systems boost productivity, they also introduce new risks: developers may disengage from the reasoning behind […]
Presenter: Danny Chou, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford University Description: Since its discovery in 1921, insulin has been at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs. From its amino acid sequencing to the revelation of its three‐dimensional structure, the progress in insulin research has spurred significant therapeutic breakthroughs. In recent years, protein engineering has introduced innovative chemical […]
As multimodal artificial intelligence systems become increasingly embedded in everyday technology, there is a growing need to design human-centered AI agents that support and amplify human capabilities rather than replace them. This dissertation investigates how to build human-centered multimodal AI agents, framing human-centeredness as an agent-level objective that requires both accessible, assistive interaction and reliable, […]
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are commonly organized as modular pipelines that transform raw sensor measurements into low-level actuation commands through perception, planning, and control. While learning-based methods have achieved state-of-the-art performance in perception and environment modeling, the planning layer remains a key bottleneck for reliable autonomy. Highway driving in particular requires long-horizon reasoning and socially […]
Register transfer level (RTL) simulation is an invaluable tool for developing, debugging, verifying, and validating hardware designs. However, the performance of RTL simulation has long been a limiting factor in industry. Despite the inherent parallelism of hardware, current RTL simulators have not achieved practical performance gains due to fundamental challenges in communication, synchronization, memory bandwidth, […]
Game analysts face a significant challenge in understanding problem-solving and decision-making processes from the vast and complex sequential data generated by modern video games. Existing visualization tools often fail to adequately support the exploration, suffering from issues of visual clutter, inflexible cohort construction, and a lack of interactive depth. To address this gap, this dissertation […]
Presenter: Yuyin Zhou, Assistant Professor, UCSC Description: Medical AI is undergoing a profound transformation, evolving from simple pattern recognition to systems capable of complex clinical reasoning. This talk will chart this evolution across three dimensions: data, models, and evaluation. I will first highlight the shift from limited, unimodal datasets to massive multimodal resources. In particular, […]
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!
The Future of Work in the Age of AI: Chaos, Adaptation, or Growth? Artificial intelligence has reignited an old debate: are we approaching mass technological unemployment, or simply the next phase of economic evolution? Public discourse swings between dystopian predictions of human obsolescence and confident assurances that “new jobs will replace old ones.” This lecture […]
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!
The BME Department and Genomics Institute are once again hosting our annual Next Wave of Faculty in Genomics Symposium, which will be held on April 7th from 11:40–1:15 in E2 180. Please join us to hear cutting-edge genomics talks from outstanding postdocs from around the country! A burrito reception catered by Alebrije’s will follow immediately after the talks. Registration is free, but […]
Lead innovation as a machine learning engineer Want to learn what’s new in AI? Join Praveen Krishna, chair of the Artificial Intelligence Application Development certificate program, in an informal discussion about the AI topic of the month and an open Q&A. You’ll get an insider’s look at what you need to know for where you […]
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!
Undergraduate and graduate students and recent alumni interested in pursuing careers in business, arts, social sciences & humanities industries are welcome to attend. Get the chance to meet recruiters from many industries/firms seeking to fill internship, full-time, and part-time roles. Come take essential steps toward laying the foundation for your future career and potentially even land an interview!
Join your classmates back at UC Santa Cruz for Alumni Reunion Weekend, April 24–26, 2026. This annual celebration honors the pioneering classes of 1965–1976 and the mark you have left on our campus and the world. Reconnect with classmates, celebrate your achievements, and enjoy time among the redwoods. Whether you never left or you haven’t […]
Join the UCSC Genomics Institute in our annual celebration of DNA!
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!
Join us for a celebration of UCSC’s vibrant, innovative, and diverse STEM community featuring: Musical performances Dance lessons STEM-themed drag shows Inspirational talks Student organization tabling Student-led games & activities FREE tacos This is a rare opportunity for UCSC to come together at Baskin Engineering for an exuberant and colorful celebration – don’t miss out! […]
This quarter, make time for you, for reflection, and for community!