🏆 NVIDIA hackathon WINNER! 🤯 Congrats to #BaskinEngineering student Preet Karia for placing first at the #NVIDIA GTC 2026 Agents for Impact Hackathon! Preet built an #AI -powered tool called Loomin that turns physics notes into 3D visualizations.💡 Read the story 🔗 bit.ly/3Q096iR

A #BaskinEngineering faculty-student team—Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Vanessa Jonsson and Ph.D. student Divya Venkatraman—will build a resource to understand ‘immune visibility’ with support from the W. M. Keck Foundation’s Bridge Funding Initiative. Learn more: bit.ly/3NQYPoH

🧠 “We’re trying to understand the fundamentals of how neurons can be adaptively tuned to solve problems,” said #BaskinEngineering Ph.D. student Ash Robbins, who helped train brain organoids to solve a goal-directed task. Via Singularity Hub: bit.ly/4bG9Mm4

🎉 A @ucsantacruz.bsky.social team placed 3rd at the '26 Mistral AI Worldwide Hackathon for their #AI cybersecurity platform! 🥉 “We were competing against YC founders, Google DeepMind researchers, Meta product managers, & other AI experts," said student Anthony Lamas. Read on: bit.ly/4bzzY1O

"Both of us have recently moved from denial to contemplation that #AI will soon be in a position to replace us," says David Haussler, distinguished prof of biomolecular engineering and J. Xavier Prochaska, prof of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Via @mercurynews.com: bayareane.ws/4sW5j4q

A team of scientists from #BaskinEngineering successfully trained brain organoids to solve a well-known engineering benchmark — demonstrating the increasing complexity of lab-grown brains. Via Popular Mechanics: bit.ly/4uo8bse

Goodbye single-use plastics!🌱 Wonderfil, a startup by #BaskinEngineering alumna Shiloh Sacks (B.S. ’21, electrical engineering) and co-founder Amelia Eichel, makes it easy to refill soap products with self-serve dispensers. Via @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social: bit.ly/47qgkCE

“We’re trying to understand the fundamentals of how neurons can be adaptively tuned to solve problems,” said #BaskinEngineering student Ash Robbins—part of a @ucsantacruz.bsky.social team who taught brain organoids to solve a goal-directed task. Via @discovermag.bsky.social: bit.ly/4uCeatV

🎉 Congrats to #BaskinEngineering grad student Eren Dogan (Ph.D. ’27, computer science and engineering), who was one of four @uofcalifornia.bsky.social students to receive the inaugural Costas John Spanos Semiconductor Manufacturing Award from CITRIS and the Banatao Institute! bit.ly/4u4oNoO

🧠 #BaskinEngineering researchers effectively coached organoids, tiny pieces of brain tissue grown in the lab, to solve the “cart-pole” problem—an engineering benchmark to measure how effective systems are at processing information. Via @futurism.com: bit.ly/4b4srGx

🧬 A #pangenome can reveal the spectrum of genome variation within a species. The toolbox for working with pangenomes is filling up, thanks to #BaskinEngineering researchers @khmiga.bsky.social, @benedictpaten.bsky.social, and @russcd.bsky.social. Via @natmethods.nature.com: go.nature.com/4spcbHb

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have trained brain organoids—tiny pieces of brain tissue grown in the lab—to solve the "inverted pendulum" or "cart-pole" problem, a fundamental benchmark used in robotics, control theory, and #AI. Via National Today: bit.ly/4lahyYj

Want to take a break from video games, but still read about them? A new book on #AnimalCrossingNewHorizons by #BaskinEngineering Prof Noah Wardrip-Fruin dives into what made the game so popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. As seen in @theguardian.com: bit.ly/3OKtc01

A new UC Santa Cruz study shows how visual-language #AI models that help control self-driving cars can be exploited or hijacked with carefully coded real-world commands—led by #BaskinEngineering researchers. Via The Drive: bit.ly/40csTO2

“If we can figure out ways in which living neural networks compute so efficiently, we would have a big breakthrough in terms of trying to find and develop a better architecture for artificial computing,” said #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor Tal Sharf. Via UNDARK: bit.ly/408zE3r

UC Santa Cruz researchers trained brain organoids—lab-grown clusters of human brain cells—to solve a goal-directed task, boosting success rates from 4.5% to 46%. Led by #BaskinEngineering faculty. Via Gadget Review: bit.ly/4slsSn1

Open Culture Science is a new startup that could transform how labs grow cells and tissues worldwide. Founded by two UCSC Genomics Institute grads, it aims to automate processes that are currently painstakingly manual. 🔬🧠 news.ucsc.edu/Open-C...

Thrilled to see Ash Robbins, a #BaskinEngineering electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student leading this research—it's the first rigorous demonstration of goal-directed learning in brain #organoids and extends their usefulness for studying brain diseases. 🧠

🎉 Congrats to #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Vanessa Jonsson who received a UCSC Innovation Catalyst grant! Her team is developing a single single nasal swab test that can detect multiple viral infections and a person's immunity. Read on: bit.ly/4cHyRxE

Proud to see #BaskinEngineering #ComputerScience alumus Jules Kadher Kabore launch yourUSA.ai, an AI-powered, web-based form-filling assistant designed to make immigration and government paperwork simpler, clearer, and less stressful. 👏 Via Business Insider: bit.ly/4aJH8yL

🌎 #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics @ashesh6810.bsky.social will build #AI models to project extreme Earth-system events with the support of the highly competitive Sloan Research Fellowship. Learn more: bit.ly/40f0UND

Greenhouses are essential to feeding a growing global population, but often come with real environmental costs. #BaskinEngineering Professor Katia Obraczka is developing tech to monitor greenhouse conditions with precision—reducing water and energy use while improving crop production. bit.ly/3OGkQ9y

🏆 Baskin Engineers made a HUGE splash at CruzHacks 2026, winning in sustainability, justice, and education projects! The event offers students the opportunity to design, build, and present original technology “hacks” for prizes equivalent to $500. Learn more about the projects: bit.ly/4aCET1c

🏆 Congrats to #BaskinEngineering alumna Saumya Bhatnagar (M.S. Computer Science), named a Top 50 Woman Chief Product Officer of 2026! She’s also a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum and one of IBM’s Top 100 Women in Tech. bit.ly/4qpRKs9

“...better and safer bike lanes, pedestrian options, trains, metro systems and the like," said Anne Criss, director of climate & sustainability initiatives at #BaskinEngineering. "There’s a lot that governments can do, both at federal, state and local levels, to facilitate that.” bit.ly/4kmkQYh

New research led by #BaskinEngineering faculty Alvaro Cardenas and Cihang Xie presents the first academic exploration of environmental indirect prompt injection attacks against embodied #AI systems. Read the full story: bit.ly/3YYAoaN #ArtificialIntelligence #Cybersecurity

🌪️⛈️ Weather #forecasting is computationally demanding—that's why #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor @ashesh6810.bsky.social aims to use #AI to predict extreme weather using a fraction of the time, energy, and #computing power of today’s methods. Via @uofcalifornia.bsky.social: bit.ly/3ZrNDAU

Artificial intelligence is beginning to have serious real-world impact on a global scale. That’s why #BaskinEngineering experts are developing innovative solutions to steer #AI in the right direction. Learn about their work: bit.ly/4qQ6Vf1 #StandUpForUC @uofcalifornia.bsky.social

🎉 Congrats to #BaskinEngineering professors Holger Schmidt, David Deamer, Marcella Gomez, and alum & current Ph.D. student Ash Robbins, who were named "Titans" by SantaCruzWorks - recognizing their impact on our region’s technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem. bit.ly/4jQ9DyP

📣 Mark your calendars! Join #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics @javigr.bsky.social for his @ucsantacruz.bsky.social KRAW Lecture ➡️ Sensing the Unseen: How Drones and Ground Sensors Reveal the Hidden Air Quality Impacts of Climate Change. 🗓️ Jan 21. Register: bit.ly/49FAlWj

“The folks contributing the least to climate change are the ones bearing the most of the brunt,” said #BaskinEngineering Professor @javigr.bsky.social, who is using drones to help empower farmworker communities impacted by air pollution. Via @mercurynews.com: bayareane.ws/49hZtSM

We made the top 6 @spectrum.ieee.org stories of 2025! Featuring #BaskinEngineering Professor Katia Obraczka's Pulse-Fi technology - which uses low cost WiFi devices to detect heart rate.💡 bit.ly/4jxj8D6

In his latest book, @baskinengineering.bsky.social Professor of Computational Media Noah Wardrip-Fruin explores why Animal Crossing: New Horizons became the comfort game of 2020, and what it revealed about comfort, community, care, and capitalism: https://bit.ly/4q4ck1J

Congratulations to #BaskinEngineering faculty David Deamer and David Haussler, who have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors—the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors! Read more about their decades of impact: bit.ly/4aJCBxK @ucsantacruz.bsky.social

Genomics #postdocs: applications are open for our Next Wave of Faculty in Genomics Symposium (due Jan 15)!. Come share your science in Santa Cruz, home of redwoods, ocean views, and the world’s most unbothered mascot:🐌🌲🌊. Link: genomics.ucsc.edu/calendar_eve... @baskinengineering.bsky.social

Mentioned by @forbes.com! 50 student innovators at @ucsantacruz.bsky.social spent two days developing #AI powered solutions for wildfire mitigation and climate resilience at the “Reboot the Earth” hackathon co-hosted by the United Nations and #BaskinEngineering. bit.ly/4rE8iyt

New research led by #BaskinEngineering Prof @talsharf.bsky.social suggests the brain might be preloaded with a kind of internal template for reading the world, even before the world reaches us - via @discovermag.bsky.social bit.ly/4rFJMx8

Congrats to the 2025 @ucsantacruz.bsky.social iGEM team for placing 2nd at this year's iGEM competition!🥈 The team of #BaskinEngineering undergraduates developed a novel, accessible method for removing aflatoxin B1—a common microtoxin—found in fruits, nuts, rice and grains. Read on: bit.ly/4pmdjdH

🧠 Are we born with built-in instructions for navigating the world? #BaskinEngineering Prof Tal Sharf found that early brain activity occurs in structured patterns before outside input—suggesting our brains are preconfigured with instructions for understanding the world! 🤯 Read on: bit.ly/3K8dr19

Inspiring Change: Help us invest in expanding life-changing educational opportunities and advance world-changing ideas and solutions that benefit all of us💫

In a new opinion piece, #BaskinEngineering Dean Alexander Wolf highlights growing concerns about the U.S. government-university-industry ecosystem and calls on our community to come together and address the challenge. bit.ly/4i8gpyW

UC Santa Cruz was ranked the #1 public research university in the world for highly cited researchers over the past 10 years (2014-2024) by Clarivate.

Jenya Meydbray, a #BaskinEngineering alum, has spent two decades focused on how quality and reliability shape #solar commercialization. After founding Kiwa PVEL and holding roles at Cypress Creek Renewables and Nevados Engineering, he now serves as a vice president at Nextpower.⚡️ bit.ly/4p9Q6Ld

😷 Ever had a stomach bug? New #BaskinEngineering research brings us one step closer to stopping one of its viral causes! Prof Rebecca DuBois's lab revealed how human astroviruses—a cause of the stomach bug—bind to human cells, paving the way for future therapies and vaccines. bit.ly/3JfDrqY

Can lab-grown brain tissue learn like #AI? 🧠🤖 @ucscgenomics.bsky.social researchers led by #BaskinEngineering prof Tal Sharf will explore whether brain organoids can learn from experience, respond to feedback, and solve tasks in real time. bit.ly/4howct5

From @baskinengineering.bsky.social, ​​Arsema Moges (College Nine, technology and information management) is a product manager at Apple, and Ricardo Esquivel (John R. Lewis, computer science) is a software engineer at Microsoft.

👋 BIG news! We're collaborating with the United Nations to bring the “Reboot the Earth” hackathon to the West Coast for the first time! The event will gather aspiring developers to create open source technological solutions to address the climate crisis. 🌎 Learn more and get involved: bit.ly/3J8VrD3

Thank you to all who joined us for the #SFTechWeek event " #AI Frontier: Data, Agents & Robots” co-hosted by #BaskinEngineering GenAI Center! Major themes emerged during discussions including #cybersecurity, #verifiability, and #scalability. Learn more: bit.ly/4nLwNaB

🌊 Research led by #BaskinEngineering Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics @ashesh6810.bsky.social shows that regional ocean dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico can be better emulated with #AI models—offering new possibilities for navigation and extreme weather monitoring. Read on: bit.ly/4n0AHvj

Exciting news! UC Santa Cruz has been named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research by the U.S. National Security Agency. This recognition highlights #BaskinEngineering's research and educational contributions to advancing #cybersecurity. Read more: bit.ly/3VO9xN7