Science
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UC Santa Cruz students win three categories at Orange County Sustainability Decathlon
An interdisciplinary team of UC Santa Cruz students, many from the Rachel Carson College Sustainability Minor program, designed and built EcoHus, an innovative, affordable, net-zero house. The EcoHus team was selected to receive a $100,000 grant to participate in the 2023 Orange County Sustainability Decathlon (OCSD) held on Oct. 5-15, where they won first place…
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Alumna Alexis Jackson takes the lessons from the Pacific Coast near UCSC to the environmental policy tables of California
Alexis Jackson is coming up on an anniversary in her professional life. Jackson, a 2014 Ph.D. graduate of UC Santa Cruz’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program, has been with The Nature Conservancy for nearly seven years, and is currently the California Chapter’s Ocean Policy and Plastics Lead based out of San Francisco. Looking back to…
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Coral reefs identified as national natural infrastructure
The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) approved a resolution on Oct. 26 that designates coral reefs along U.S. states and territories as national infrastructure. This resolution makes it easier to direct federal funding, particularly infrastructure, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery monies, to reef conservation and restoration to protect people, property, and livelihoods.
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Scientists use Hawaiian fossils to study the past and future of climate change
This month, an international team of researchers returned to shore after a two-month-long ocean expedition exploring fossil coral reefs off the coast of Hawai’i. The fossils provide a record of past climate conditions, so scientists are using them to learn about environmental changes throughout geologic history and make predictions about the future.
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Bacteria can enhance host insect’s fertility with implications for disease control
New research led at UC Santa Cruz reveals how the bacteria strain Wolbachia pipientis enhances the fertility of the insects it infects, an insight that could help scientists increase the populations of mosquitoes that do not carry human disease.
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Following decades in a harsh coastal climate, blue whale skeleton undergoes 3D scan prior to safety-related descent to the ground
For nearly half a century, Ms. Blue–an 87-foot-long whale skeleton—has welcomed over a million visitors to Long Marine Laboratory and the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, spurring interest in marine science. After decades of exposure in harsh coastal conditions, the metal structures supporting Ms. Blue have deteriorated to an unsafe condition.
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Record-breaking fast radio burst is most distant ever detected
Scientists have discovered an eight-billion-year-old fast radio burst (FRB) – the most ancient and distant located to date.
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Rebates can offer solutions to California’s groundwater woes
Many aquifers in California and around the world are being drained of their groundwater because of the combined impacts of excess pumping, shifts in land use, and climate change. However, a new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, published on Oct.18 in Nature Water, may offer a solution – it describes…
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FUTURE in Biology program receives NSF grant to explore field courses as a tool for student success
A group of researchers at UC Santa Cruz recently received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the impacts of these field courses and develop best practices for making them more accessible.
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Three climate resilience projects supported by 2023 CITRIS Interdisciplinary Innovation Program
CITRIS and the Banatao Institute and the Innovation & Business Engagement Hub collaborated to fund three projects focused on climate resilience and that align with developing solutions that address some of the California’s most pressing climate challenges.
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System-wide leaders visit campus to discuss next steps in Agricultural Experiment Station designation
A group from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources visited UC Santa Cruz to discuss implementation for the campus’s official designation as an Agricultural Experiment Station.
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Cal-Bridge awarded $4 million to diversify STEM
The Cal-Bridge program, which supports students from historically underserved backgrounds in STEM, was recently awarded $4 million in the 2023-2024 California state budget. The funding will provide scholarships, mentorship and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students around the state in physics and astronomy, computer science, and math.