Annual Report 2023-2024
Research Impact
Scientists release the first complete sequence of a human Y chromosome
For decades, the Y chromosome — one of the two human sex chromosomes — has been notoriously challenging for the genomics community to sequence because of the complexity of its structure. Now this elusive region of the genome has been fully sequenced in an effort by researchers from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, which is co-led by Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Karen Miga.
This feat finally completes the set of end-to-end human chromosomes and adds 30 million new bases to the human genome reference, mostly from challenging-to-sequence satellite DNA. These bases reveal 41 additional protein-coding genes, and provide crucial insight for those studying important questions related to reproduction, evolution, and population change.
Five UC Santa Cruz projects win California Climate Action Grant funding
In partnership with the state, the University of California awarded more than $80 million in California Climate Action Grants to four-year academic institutions across the state.
These two-year grants are designed to spur the implementation of solutions that advance climate resilience and social equity.
Five UC Santa Cruz projects secured a total of more than $9.5 million in funding through the program, and three faculty members received additional subawards totaling more than $2 million. The funding will support UC Santa Cruz and its partners in tackling some of California’s toughest climate change challenges through innovative research and community engagement.
Institute of the Arts and Sciences announces new interdisciplinary initiative on climate change
Ari Friedlaender, ocean science professor, and Rachel Nelson, director of the Institute of the Arts and Sciences, teamed up to create an interdisciplinary project that shows the effects of climate change in California, with a particular focus on marine life, through both art and science.
Their new project, An Aesthetic of Resilience, is a multiyear initiative that will display research, artworks, and exhibitions starting in spring 2025. An Aesthetic of Resilience will include three research projects in the Friedlaender Lab and art from nationally renowned artists.
Earliest, most distant galaxy discovered with James Webb Space Telescope
An international team of astronomers usingNASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered the two earliest and most distant galaxies yet confirmed, dating back to only 300 million years after the Big Bang. These galaxies mark a major milestone in the study of the early universe and were discovered by the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey team, co-led by UC Santa Cruz astronomer Brant Robertson.
Found in a region near the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the two newly discovered galaxies have been confirmed spectroscopically. In keeping with the collaboration’s standard naming practice, the galaxies are now known as JADES-GS-z14-0 and JADES-GS-z14-1. In addition to being the new distance record holder, JADES-GS-z14-0 is remarkable for how big and bright it is. JWST measures the galaxy at over 1,600 light-years in diameter.
Three professors receive Mellon Foundation Affirming Multivocal Humanities grants
The Mellon Foundation awarded three departments grants of $100,000 each for work that champions groundbreaking research in the realms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Part of Mellon’s Affirming Multivocal Humanities initiative, the grants bolster the work of the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Feminist Studies, and Latin American and Latino Studies departments.
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Professor Christine Hong, Associate Professor of Feminist Studies Madhavi Murty, and Latin American and Latino Studies Professor and Chair Catherine Ramírez were invited by Mellon to submit proposals for funding.
New public archives will share wisdom, artifacts from Dolores Huerta’s lifetime of successful social change leadership
A $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundationwill help establish new public archives documenting the legacy of social justice activist Dolores Huerta at UC Santa Cruz, through a partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
To share Huerta’s story, the University Library at UC Santa Cruz, led by University Librarian Elizabeth Cowell, will hire a project archivist for a three-year term to work in partnership with the Dolores Huerta Foundation on inventorying, organizing, and providing public access to Huerta’s personal papers and records from her work with the foundation.
UC Santa Cruz alumnus and award-winning director Peter Bratt will also grant the archiving team access to extensive research from his acclaimed documentary, Dolores.
Researchers run high-performing large language model on the energy needed to power a lightbulb
Researchers from UC Santa Cruz, led by Assistant Professor of Electrical and ComputerEngineering Jason Eshraghian, show that it is possible to eliminate the most computationally expensive element of running large language models, called matrix multiplication, while maintaining performance.
In getting rid of matrix multiplication and running their algorithm on custom hardware, the researchers found that they could power a billion-parameter-scale language model on just 13 watts, about equal to the energy of powering a lightbulb and more than 50 times more efficient than typical hardware. Even with a slimmed-down algorithm and much lower energy consumption, the new, open source model achieves the same performance as state-of-the-art models like Meta’s Llama.
When humanists met technologists
UC Santa Cruz’s new Humanizing Technology Certificate Program is helping students confront the moral and social implications of technology, harnessing the power of the humanities to envision a more just and responsible future.
This initiative offers a new set of specially designed Humanities General Education courses that address the moral and social implications of new technologies. Students work collaboratively to envision a different kind of tech future, one that addresses issues such as racism rather than perpetuating them.
UC Santa Cruz Arts Division presents Find Your Path!
Arts Professional Pathways is an initiative that helps advance the Arts Dean’s broader goals for student success. Find Your Path!, its signature event, is a two-day experience that guides students along potential career pathways through both in-person and online events.
The initiative connects students with employers, alumni, and creative practitioners in the local and national creative, entertainment, nonprofit, and technology industries.
Scientists discover first nitrogen-fixing organelle
In a groundbreaking discovery, UC Santa Cruz scientists uncovered the first known structure in complex cells that’s capable of drawing nitrogen from the atmosphere and converting it into a form that the cell can use. They’ve dubbed the newfound cell part the “nitroplast,” and it likely evolved 100 million years ago.
The nitroplast probably developed from a bacterium in the ocean, after the microbe was engulfed by an algal cell. The bacteria and algae were previously thought to be living in symbiosis, with the microbe supplying nitrogen in a form the algae could use and the algae providing the microbe with a home.
But it turns out that the microbe took on a new form long ago, becoming a full-fledged cell structure, or organelle, with a metabolism directly linked to that of the algae.