• Ramollari, H. (ECE) – An Optofluidic Spectrometer and Applications in Biosensing

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
    Hybrid Event

    Miniaturized spectrometers have the potential to replace bulky and expensive benchtop models. We have previously demonstrated a multimode interference (MMI) waveguide-based spectrometer that achieves high performance while minimizing its footprint. In this talk, the integration of the MMI spectrometer into an optofluidic device is proposed. This integration opens up applications such as the detection of […]

  • Torres, S. (ECE) – An Integrated Platform for Real-time Monitoring and Support of 3D Tissue Growth

    Virtual Event

    Organoids are three-dimensional tissue cultures that model real organs and serve as valuable tools for studying development, disease, and treatment response. Traditional methods, which rely on manual handling and incubators, limit consistency and real-time monitoring. To address these issues, we developed a modular microfluidic platform that integrates automated feeding, live fluorescence imaging, and environmental control […]

  • ECE 290 Seminar: Fundamental Nanopower Analog Circuits

    Presenter: Joey Sankman, Analog/Power Designer, Analog Devices Description: With the rising interest in edge computing, and the addition of AI/ML functionality, nanopower circuits are in great demand to reduce the quiescent power consumption of remote sensors. In this tutorial, fundamental building blocks for nanopower circuits will be covered, including startup-less low-voltage references, low-frequency clocks, and […]

  • de Priester, J. (ECE) – Hybrid Reinforcement Learning

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
    Hybrid Event

    Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a machine learning paradigm that trains a decision maker, or policy, by learning from interaction with an environment. The power of RL lies in its ability to learn complex strategies without explicit human instruction, which can lead to better solutions that human designers overlook in domains ranging from robotics to scientific […]

  • Zhu, R. (ECE) – From Neuromorphic Principles to Efficient Neural Language Architectures

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
    Hybrid Event

    While Large Language Models exhibit remarkable capabilities, their reliance on the standard Transformer architecture imposes prohibitive computational costs and quadratic memory complexity. To bridge the gap between biological efficiency and high-performance AI, we have established foundational work in linearizing attention and maximizing hardware utilization through architectures such as RWKV and MatMul-Free networks. Addressing the remaining […]

  • Singh, A. (ECE) – Quantum Key Distribution Using Entangled Pairs with Random Grouping

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA
    Hybrid Event

    Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) provides information-theoretic security for cryptographic key establishment, but existing protocols exhibit limited noise tolerance, restricting their applicability in practical quantum channels with finite resources. This work introduces a QKD protocol based on entanglement swapping that significantly enhances error tolerance and key generation rates. The protocol encodes six-bit classical symbols into six-qubit […]

  • Be Inspired: Explore Graduate Studies in STEM

    Not sure if graduate school is right for you? Join us to learn what graduate school is really about and explore whether it’s the right path for you. We’ll cover topics such as qualifying exams, funding options, common misconceptions, and more! Click the link below to register for the event: https://ucsc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_31OHhwc7QPqJ7nSyiuAUNg

  • ECE Seminar: Tactile sensing: At the boundary between mechanical and computational intelligence in robotic grippers

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Dr. Hannah Stuart, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley Description: Robot grippers typically include mechanical intelligence (e.g., underactuation, compliance) or computational intelligence (e.g., fully actuated with a wide array of sensors). Next generation grippers and hands will require both intelligences to work in concert across applications with […]

  • ECE Seminar: Advanced Packaging as the Engine of the AI Systems Era

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Tolga Acikalin, System and Package Architect, Lumilens Description: The rapid rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning—most notably recent breakthroughs in large language models—is reshaping the trajectory of the semiconductor industry and ushering in a new era of system innovation. As performance scaling at the device level slows, heterogeneous integration (HI) has emerged as […]

  • ECE Seminar: Integrated Micro- and Nanosystems for Biosensing, Neural Therapy, and Nanotoxicity

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

  • ECE 290 Seminar: High-Frequency Circuits for Next-Generation Communication: From Beyond-5G mm-Wave MIMO to Co-Packaged Optics

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Susnata Mondal, Research Scientist, Intel Description: Rapid growth in wireless connectivity, cloud computing, and AI infrastructure is driving an urgent need for communication systems that can deliver higher data rates with improved energy efficiency. Meeting these demands requires advances in high-frequency circuit design across both wireless and wireline domains, spanning millimeter-wave radios to optical […]

  • Transform Your Future Pop-Up (Cookies Included!)

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Join Baskin Engineering to celebrate National Engineers Week with a sweet stop at the Transform Your Future Pop-Up (Cookies Included!) 🍪☕ This year’s Engineers Week theme, Transform Your Future, is a powerful reminder that engineering doesn’t just shape our world—it shapes our opportunities, our communities, and the futures we can imagine for ourselves. Swing by […]

  • AI and Security 101

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Join us for an informative conversation with Neta Haiby, Head of Product | AI Security at Microsoft! Artificial Intelligence is transforming both cyber defense and cyber offense. It creates unique risks in how we build, deploy, and operate AI apps and Agents. This session examines how AI can be attacked or misused – through techniques […]

  • Exploring Research Pathways at Baskin Engineering

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Curious how being part of a research lab can supercharge your experience as a Baskin Engineer?   Join us for this informative event to learn about opportunities to solve open-ended problems, build deeper technical skills, and learn how to think like an engineer. We’ll kick things off with a quick overview of the kinds of research […]

  • BE Club Bash – Engineers Week

    Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Discover innovation at the Baskin Engineering Club Bash, an event celebrating National Engineers Week! Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 26, 12–2 PM in the BE Courtyard! The BE Club Bash brings together student organizations across all engineering disciplines to showcase their projects, demos, and interactive activities. Stop by to: Explore hands-on booths and demonstrations from student organizations Learn about engineering opportunities on […]

  • Semiconductor Career Summit – From Campus to Silicon Valley

    Stevenson Event Center Stevenson Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    A SEMI Professional Development Seminar organized by the SEMI Silicon Valley Chapter – Connecting College Students to the Semiconductor Industry. Learn about career opportunities in high tech and acquire valuable, practical information that will help you choose career directions and plan for your success.

  • Robbins, A. (ECE) – How to train your organoid: goal-directed learning in biological neural networks

    Hybrid Event

    Artificial neural networks can now learn to play games, control robots, generate language, and solve complicated reasoning tasks, yet we still lack a clear understanding of how to directly guide learning in biological neural networks. We show that brain organoids can learn to solve a fundamental control task, balancing an inverted pendulum, through closed-loop electrophysiology. […]

  • ECE 290 Seminar: Dynamical Signatures: Harnessing the Hidden Language of In-Space Electric Propulsion

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Dr. Christine Greve, Research Engineer,  Edwards AFB Description: Low-thrust space electric propulsion systems offer long propulsion system lifetimes for satellite maintenance maneuvers. These thrusters operate by generating and accelerating plasmas, making the thrusters throttleable, propellant-efficient, and scalable from low-to-high power operations. This talk will focus on efforts to leverage the underlying time-dependent dynamics of […]

  • ECE 290 Seminar: Speaker Dr. Josh Star-Lack – Photon Counting Detectors for X-Ray Computed Tomography

    Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA

    Presenter: Dr. Josh Star-Lack, Principal Scientist and Research Manager, Varex Imaging Inc Description: X-ray computed tomography (CT) provides rapid, detailed 3D imaging of internal organs, bones, and vasculature. By enabling the swift diagnosis of cancer, cardiac disease, neurological disorders, and other pathologies, CT has revolutionized medicine—reducing the need for invasive exploratory surgeries and facilitating precise […]

  • Kraw Lecture: At the Forefront of AI: Innovation and Discovery

    The Quad Conference Center 2400 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA, United States

    Artificial intelligence is transforming how we understand and solve the world’s most complex challenges—while at the same time causing new challenges and concerns. We invite you to join us for a special UC Santa Cruz Kraw Lecture showcasing the faculty whose groundbreaking research in artificial intelligence is transforming science, technology, and society. From advances in […]