INNOVATION NEWS
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When an AI Agent Asks "What Did You Mean?", Who Answers?
A UCSC student team working with Scale AI has found a soft spot in agentic AI: ambiguity. At New Tech on November 5, they'll show how attackers exploit it and how to defend against it.
Is a Master's in Quantitative Economics on Your Radar? UCSC Wants to Hear From You
UC Santa Cruz's Economics Department is exploring whether its one-year MS in Quantitative Economics & Finance could serve working professionals in Santa Cruz County, and it's asking our community to weigh in.
Joby’s Success in the Monterey Bay Region Didn’t Happen by Accident
Joby Aviation's rise in the Monterey Bay region is often told as a story about one company. It's really a story about a region that spent years building the workforce infrastructure making that success possible, long before most people were paying attention.
UCSC, Santa Cruz, and Water: The Deal Was Made a Long Time Ago
Santa Cruz promised UCSC water in the 1960s to win the campus, and an appeals court has upheld that deal. The real question isn't whether UCSC gets water. It's how growth can use less.
Santa Cruz's Next Economic Opportunity May Already Live Here
Santa Cruz County's greatest economic asset isn't something we need to attract. It's already here: a workforce more educated than California's. The opportunity now is building local jobs worthy of it.
Women in Venture Capital Panel and Networking Event
The fourth semi-annual Women in Venture Capital event gathered founders, investors, and allies at UC Santa Cruz on September 17. Four UCSC-affiliated startups showcased, and a Hilary Bryant–moderated panel tackled closing the funding gap, elevating female check-writers, and building intentional mentorship.
Santa Cruz Can't Punish Joby by Breaking Its Own Promise
A candidate for mayor has told UCSC students the City should walk away from its agreement with Joby Aviation. Here's what the agreement actually says — and why breaking it would cost Santa Cruz, not Joby.
The Physics of Feel: A UCSC Thesis Puts Numbers to a Surfboard’s Soul
A new UC Santa Cruz thesis pairs wave-pool experiments with cloud CFD to prove what shapers have felt for decades: bottom contour quietly governs how a surfboard turns — and “feel” is measurable.
The Central Coast Is Playing a Long Game. Most Regions Don't.
A Dutch-California drone exchange lands in Santa Cruz this month — and buried inside the coalition-building and workforce jargon is a genuine economic strategy that most regions are too fragmented, too timid, or too late to pull off.
UC Santa Cruz Honors Three Alumni with 2026 Science Division Distinguished Awards
The UC Santa Cruz Science Division has named three alumni as recipients of its 2026 Distinguished Alumni Awards, celebrating careers that have reshaped medicine, healthcare policy, and our understanding of the cosmos.
UCSC Gets Green Light for Major Student Housing Expansion
UCSC announces their ambitious undergraduate housing project has been approved by the UC Board of Regents, as a part of their plan to increase student housing by 40% within the next ten years.
LaunchPad 2026 Spotlighted the Next Generation of Student Founders
LaunchPad 2026 brought college and high school founders into the spotlight, with student-built startups winning awards across health tech, AI, social impact, accessibility, civic tools, and more.
NSF I-Corps Hub Planetary Course Applications Close Today!
If your goal is to bring a new technology to market, the NSF I-Corps Hub Northwest is offering a free, virtual course focused on planetary health — applications CLOSE May 29, 2026!
Chaos, Black Holes, and Quantum Mechanics: A Free Public Lecture at UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Cruz's Department of Physics invites the public to the Stanley Flatté Memorial Lecture, featuring Stanford professor Stephen Shenker. The talk, titled Chaos, Black Holes, and Quantum Mechanics, takes place at the 418 Project's Large Theater, with refreshments beginning at 5:00 PM and the lecture at 6:00 PM. Admission is free and open to all.
From the Redwoods to Governors Island: UCSC Alum M Sanjayan to Lead New York's Climate Future
UCSC alumnus Dr. M. Sanjayan steps into a defining role — named CEO of The New York Climate Exchange, leading a first-of-its-kind climate campus on Governors Island to turn bold ideas into global solutions.
KZSC 88.1 FM: Fundraising for Student-run Community Radio
KZSC Santa Cruz 88.1 FM broadcasts 20,000 watts reaching over 3.2 million people across Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties — now they need your help! KZSC is hosting their Spring Fundraiser and hopes to raise $25,000 to help fund operational costs for the 2026-2027 school year.
UCSC Presents: Planetary Health & Innovation Panel
Join visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and sustainability experts for an interactive panel exploring the intersection of environmental stewardship and cutting-edge innovation. Stay after for a networking reception to connect with industry leaders and fellow changemakers. Hosted in partnership with the UCSC Innovation & Business Engagement Hub. Virtual attendance available — panel begins at 4:45 PM.
UCSC's 2025 Chancellor's Innovation Impact Awards Celebrate Regional Changemakers
UC Santa Cruz has named its 2025 Chancellor's Innovation Impact Award recipients — honoring breakthroughs in coastal climate resilience, brain-computer interfaces, forensic genomics, and regional entrepreneurship. Among the honorees is Bud Colligan, a founding board member of Santa Cruz Works.
What Can DNA Do for a Dying Species? Come Find Out.
Join us for an afternoon at the cutting edge of conservation genomics as we explore everything from de-extinction to searching water samples for viral genomes, with researchers from the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute who are turning DNA into a tool for protecting life on Earth.
UC Santa Cruz Named Among World’s Top Research Powerhouses in Clarivate Analysis
UC Santa Cruz is among the world’s leading research institutions identified in Clarivate’s latest analysis of the 70 organizations most frequently home to Highly Cited Researchers for 2025.