BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Events - ECPv6.18.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Events
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Los_Angeles
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20250309T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20251102T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20260308T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20261101T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20270314T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20271107T090000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260726T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260727T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012229-1785027600-1785113999@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-26/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260727T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260728T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012601-1785114000-1785200399@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-27/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260728T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260729T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012602-1785200400-1785286799@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-28/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260728T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260728T130000
DTSTAMP:20260727T184317Z
CREATED:20260727T184317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260727T184317Z
UID:10015116-1785238200-1785243600@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE Seminar - "Nanoprobes for Single-Cell Surgery"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Paolo Actis\, Associate Professor of Bionanotechnology at the University of Leeds \nDescription: “Physiological and pathological processes within the human body are controlled by complex cell-cell interactions within the context of a dynamic microenvironment. The ability to dynamically measure phenotypes (i.e. gene expression\, protein activities\, ion fluctuations\, signalling) at the single cell level is key to understanding cellular behaviour in a complex environment. I will be presenting the development of nanoscale tools able to dissect the dynamic contributions of single cells to disease processes.\nI will present the application of nanopipettes for the structural characterization of biomolecules under physiological relevant conditions. I will then discuss the integration of nanopipettes with scanning probe microscopies to enable the quantitative delivery of DNA\, globular proteins\, and protein fibrils into cells with single molecule resolution and that delivery results in a phenotypic change in the cell that depends on the identity of the molecules introduced. Using experiments and computational modelling\, we also show that macromolecular crowding in the cell increases the signal-to-noise ratio for the detection of translocation events\, thus the cell itself enhances the detection of the molecules delivered.” \nReferences \n1 Chau et al\, Angewandte Chemie\, 2026\n2 Chau et al\, ACS Nano\, 2025\n3 Chau et al\, Nature Communications\, 2024\n4 Marcuccio et al\, Science Advances\, 2024 \nBio: Paolo is an Associate Professor in Bionanotechnology at the University of Leeds and his research involves the development of nanoprobes for single-cell analysis and manipulation with single molecule resolution. After graduating in 2008 with a PhD from the Grenoble Institute of Technology (FR)\, Paolo spent 4 years in California working on his tan at NASA Ames (US) and UC Santa Cruz (US) before crossing the pond again to lose his tan at Imperial College London (UK). He then spent two years at Bio Nano Consulting as a Consultant & Project Manager before joining the University of Leeds in 2014 first as Lecturer and since 2020 as Associate Professor. \nHosted by: Professor Marco Rolandi\, Jack Baskin Endowed Chair in Engineering & Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering \nWhen: Tuesday\, July 28\, 2026 @ 11:30AM PST \nLocation: Jack Baskin Engineering\, Room 330
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-seminar-nanoprobes-for-single-cell-surgery/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Actis.jpg
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260729T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260730T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012603-1785286800-1785373199@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-29/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260730T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260731T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012604-1785373200-1785459599@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-30/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260731T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260801T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012605-1785459600-1785545999@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-07-31/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260801T010000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260802T005959
DTSTAMP:20260605T221746Z
CREATED:20260416T165515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T221746Z
UID:10012606-1785546000-1785632399@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:The Dickens Universe featuring 'Bleak House'
DESCRIPTION:The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars\, teachers\, students\, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels\, usually (but not always) one by Charles Dickens. In 2026\, the Dickens Universe will feature Bleak House by Charles Dickens. \nDickens’s ninth novel\, published between 1852-1853\, shines a light on social injustice and the devastating effects of a corrupt legal system\, following the entangled lives of those caught in the never-ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case. Told in alternating narrative voices\, this rich literary experiment plays with a variety of genres from detective fiction and social realism to melodrama and satire. As characters move from city to suburb\, from mansions to slums\, we discover unexpected connections among classes\, plots\, and characters. \nNow in its 46th year of operation\, the Dickens Universe combines features of a scholarly conference\, a festival\, a book club\, and a summer camp. Participants include people of all ages and walks of life—distinguished scholars\, graduate students\, undergraduates\, retirees\, young professionals\, high school teachers\, and anyone who loves reading and enjoys long Victorian novels. \nHere are some things that make the Universe such a special experience. \n\nThe college lifestyle: participants live on campus\, eat together in the student dining hall\, and have time to meet and come to know each other in different ways.\nEveryone is reading the same book. We all have this one important thing in common.\nThe activities include formal lectures\, small discussion groups\, films\, daily Victorian teas\, performances\, and Victorian dancing.\n\nThe Universe offers a week of total immersion in the world of Victorian fiction with friendly\, like-minded colleagues in a beautiful setting. Whether we’re returning to a Dickens novel that everyone knows and loves\, or branching out into a Victorian novel by another author who might be less familiar\, during the Universe we build a community out of our passion for reading\, talking with one another\, and bringing Victorian culture to life. \n\nView the complete schedule\nRegistration options\nPlenary Lecturers and Guest Scholars
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/the-dickens-universe-featuring-bleak-house/2026-08-01/
LOCATION:Humanities and Social Sciences Facility\, 2 Hagar Drive\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Conference,Film Screening,Lectures & Presentations,Meetings & Conferences,Seminars,Undergraduate
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dickens-16-9.png
GEO:36.9965695;-122.0550866
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Humanities and Social Sciences Facility 2 Hagar Drive Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2 Hagar Drive:geo:-122.0550866,36.9965695
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260925T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260925T113000
DTSTAMP:20260921T180343Z
CREATED:20260916T211025Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T180343Z
UID:10017076-1790332200-1790335800@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE Special Seminar: "Autonomous Electric Vehicles – Data Centers on the Wheel"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Kaushik Rajashekara\, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor @ University of Houston \nDescription: “Autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs) are at the forefront of modern transportation\, merging automation with sustainability to enhance efficiency and safety while reducing environmental impact. However\, these vehicles face significant challenges in balancing the energy demands of autonomous compute systems with propulsion efficiency and vehicle range. The sensors\, LiDAR\, cameras\, and AI inference hardware required for Level 4 autonomy draw significant continuous compute power — entirely separate from propulsion. This power is comparable to a server-class GPU — making each AEV\, in effect\, a data center on wheels. This presentation explores that compute energy load\, examines how it scales across projected global AV fleets\, and compares it with the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of global data centers. The presentation concludes with current challenges and future trends in the key enabling technologies — next-generation batteries\, wide-bandgap power electronics\, high-efficiency electric machines\, and can scale without proportionally scaling its energy and emissions footprint.” \nBio: Kaushik Rajashekara (Fellow\, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science\, Bangalore\, India. He held various lead technical and managerial positions at Delphi/General Motors (1989–2006)\, serving as Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist for propulsion and power electronics systems for electric\, hybrid\, and fuel cell vehicles.From 2006 to 2012\, he was Chief Technologist and Rolls-Royce Fellow for electric systems for electric and hybrid electric aircraft at Rolls-RoyceCorporation. From 2012 to 2016\, he was a Distinguished Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is currently the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor at the University of Houston. \nHe has authored over 300 papers and one book\, holds 37 U.S. and 15 foreign patents\, and has delivered over 250 invited presentations worldwide. His honors include the Global Energy Prize\, the IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies\, and the IEEE Richard Harold Kaufmann Award. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering\, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors\, aFellow of the European Academy of Sciences\, and an International Fellow of the Indian\, Chinese\, Canadian\, and Japanese Academies of Engineering. His research interests include power conversion\, transportation electrification\, renewable energy\, offshore systems\, and microgrid systems. \n  \nHosted by: Professor Leila Parsa\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Friday\, September 25\, 2026 @ 10:30 AM PST \nLocation: E2-506 \n  \n 
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-special-seminar-autonomous-electric-vehicles-data-centers-on-the-wheel/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/KR-Landscape.jpeg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260928T104000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260928T114500
DTSTAMP:20260921T181823Z
CREATED:20260921T181641Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T181823Z
UID:10017110-1790592000-1790595900@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE 290 Seminar: "Where The Semiconductor Industry Is Headed Over The Next 5\, 10\, 20 Years?"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Dr. Victor Zhirnov\, Product Ideation Head @ Applied Materials \nDescription: “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a primary engine of socioeconomic growth in the modern world. Electronic information processing and transmission are being further accelerated by the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The adoption of AI continues to expand at an unprecedented pace\, driven by the exponential growth of data that must be generated\, moved\, stored\, computed\, communicated\, secured\, and ultimately transformed into actionable information for end users. \nToday\, ICT is undergoing several major “seismic shifts\,” as outlined in the Decadal Plan for Semiconductors. One of the most significant challenges is the growing imbalance between the energy demands of information and communication technologies and the world’s capacity for energy production. This trend introduces substantial risks to future technological progress\, particularly for AI systems\, whose computational and data-processing requirements continue to increase dramatically. Addressing these challenges will require the discovery of fundamentally new paradigms capable of delivering orders-of-magnitude improvements in energy efficiency. \nA second seismic shift is the widening gap between communication capacity and data generation. Modern society is characterized by near-ubiquitous connectivity\, enabling continuous access to information\, cloud storage\, and cloud computing resources. The ability to access data from virtually anywhere and share it globally has transformed business operations\, scientific research\, and everyday life. However\, the cloud-centric model relies heavily on the assumption of constant and reliable connectivity\, an assumption that cannot always be guaranteed. At the same time\, global data generation is growing faster than communication infrastructure can support\, creating an increasing mismatch between information storage requirements and communication capabilities. Overcoming this challenge will require radical advances in communication technologies. \nInventing the next generation of computation and communication paradigms is undoubtedly a formidable challenge. Nevertheless\, it is achievable if the right scientific questions are identified and the necessary resources are mobilized. Future ICT systems will require breakthrough innovations based on largely unexplored physical principles\, spanning materials\, devices\, circuits\, architectures\, and system-level functions. Such advances have the potential to redefine the foundations of information processing and communication\, enabling sustainable growth of AI and the broader digital economy.” \nBio: Victor Zhirnov is the Product Ideation Head at Applied Materials\, where he leads the initiation of breakthrough innovation projects with the potential to enable major technology inflections across the semiconductor industry. His work focuses on identifying and advancing disruptive concepts that can shape the future of computing\, communications\, and advanced manufacturing. \nPrior to joining Applied Materials\, Dr. Zhirnov served as Chief Scientist at the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). In that role\, he was responsible for envisioning and developing long-term research directions for the semiconductor ecosystem\, guiding collaborations between industry and academia in semiconductor technologies. \nWith more than 30 years of semiconductor experience\, Dr. Zhirnov has made significant contributions across a broad range of disciplines\, including materials science\, process technology\, device physics\, and the exploration of the fundamental limits of semiconductor technologies. \nDr. Zhirnov has played a leading role in several major international technology roadmapping efforts. He served as Chair of the Emerging Research Devices Working Group for the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) and has also led the development of both the 2030 Decadal Plan for Semiconductors and the Microelectronics and Advanced Packaging Technologies (MAPT) Roadmap. \nHe earned an M.S. in Applied Physics from the Ural Polytechnic Institute in Yekaterinburg\, Russia\, in 1989\, and a Ph.D. in Solid State Electronics and Microelectronics from the Institute of Physics and Technology in Moscow in 1992. \nDr. Zhirnov has authored or co-authored approximately 200 technical papers and numerous contributions to books\, reflecting his longstanding influence on semiconductor research\, technology strategy\, and innovation. \nHosted by: Professor Marco Rolandi & Professor Soumya Bose\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: 10:40 to 11:45 AM PST \nLocation: Classroom E2-194 \nZoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/98247592428?pwd=iUrZFuvQ8ANPqirWLxC4DokeyvIUIz.1
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-290-seminar-where-the-semiconductor-industry-is-headed-over-the-next-5-10-20-years/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Zhirnov_Victor-copy-jacket.jpg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260928T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260928T170000
DTSTAMP:20260915T205202Z
CREATED:20260915T205202Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260915T205202Z
UID:10017056-1790611200-1790614800@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:Statistics Seminar: Vecchia Approximated Bayesian Heteroskedastic Gaussian Processes
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Parul Patil\, Postdoctoral Researcher\, UC Santa Cruz \nDescription: Many computer simulations are stochastic and exhibit input dependent noise. In such situations\, heteroskedastic Gaussian processes (hetGPs) make ideal surrogates as they estimate a latent\, non-constant variance. However\, existing hetGP implementations are unable to deal with large simulation campaigns and use point-estimates for all unknown quantities\, including latent variances. This limits applicability to small experiments and undercuts uncertainty. We propose a Bayesian hetGP using elliptical slice sampling (ESS) for posterior variance integration\, and the Vecchia approximation to circumvent computational bottlenecks. We show good performance for our upgraded hetGP capability\, compared to alternatives\, on a benchmark example and a motivating corpus of more than 9-million lake temperature simulations. An open source implementation is provided as bhetGP on CRAN. \nAbout the speaker: Parul Patil is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher with Dr Paul Parker and Dr Sangwon Hyun at University of California\, Santa Cruz. She completed her PhD in May 2026 from Virginia Tech. She had previously completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Statistics in India. She works with large-scale data\, using statistical tools to model complex processes\, quantify uncertainty\, and uncover patterns. Her work lies at the intersection of statistics and machine learning with ecological applications\, focusing on scalable methods for analyzing high-dimensional and spatially structured data. \nThis seminar is hosted by Professor Yunyi Shen.
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/statistics-seminar-vecchia-approximated-bayesian-heteroskedastic-gaussian-processes/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Patil_headshot.jpg
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261001T114000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261001T131500
DTSTAMP:20261006T183106Z
CREATED:20260928T180138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261006T183106Z
UID:10017606-1790854800-1790860500@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:BME 280B Seminar: Speaker Julian Lucas; and Speaker Theo Kell
DESCRIPTION:Title of Talk 1: Enabling Population-Scale Analysis of Human Centromere Diversity \nPresenter 1: Julian Lucas\, Graduate Student in Miga Lab\, University of California\, Santa Cruz \nDescription: Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation\, yet their repetitive DNA has long been a blind spot in human genomics. Until recently\, they were largely missing from reference genomes\, and they are still omitted from many genomic analyses due to their rapid sequence divergence. Reference-quality assemblies from the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC) now make it possible to compare centromeres across hundreds of human haplotypes. I will describe how we built these assemblies and developed methods to align their repetitive satellite arrays. Together\, these form a centromere pangenome that represents variation and supports analysis such as read mapping\, making centromeres accessible to genomics. Our analysis reveals large structural differences in and around centromeres\, as well as unexpected patterns in single-base changes that offer clues to how centromeric DNA evolves. \nBio: Julian is a graduate student in Karen Miga’s laboratory at the University of California\, Santa Cruz. His research uses pangenomes to characterize variation in human centromeres\, with the goal of bringing these historically difficult-to-analyze regions into mainstream human genetics. Recently\, he helped lead the assembly effort for Release 2 of the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC)\, which produced reference-quality genome assemblies that better capture human genetic diversity. Before graduate school\, Julian worked at biotechnology startups\, most recently in non-invasive cancer detection. \nHosted by: Associate Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Karen Miga\, BME Department \n  \nTitle of Talk 2: Genomics Institute Computing Resources \nPresenter 2: Theo Kell\, Senior Systems Architect\, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute \nDescription: The backbone of the bioinformatics research at the Genomics Institute is its computing infrastructure. Members of the Genomics Institute have access to a wide array of resources\, including petabytes of storage capacity\, and a supercomputer cluster with over 7\,000 cores. There are also systems for hosting public websites\, sharing datasets with the world\, and collaborating on coding projects. The Genomics Institute IT team works with all stakeholders to make sure that the computing resources are accessible\, up-to-date\, and optimized for cutting-edge\, massively parallel bioinformatics research. \nThis presentation will give an overview of the computing assets that are available\, explain how they are used\, and elaborate on best practices. It is intended to be approachable for students who do not yet have experience with programming or using the command line\, while also providing a jumping-off point for students who are ready to dive in and begin running code. \nBio: Theo Kell is a Senior Systems Architect at the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute. After graduating from the Baskin School of Engineering’s Technology and Information Management program\, he worked as an IT System Administrator at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Cabrillo College before returning to UCSC to join the Genomics Institute IT team. He has a broad background in Linux/Unix systems\, virtualization\, cybersecurity\, networking\, and customer support.
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/bme-280b-seminar-speaker-julian-lucas-speaker-theo-kell-genomics-institute-computing-resources/
LOCATION:Physical Sciences Building\, Physical Sciences Building\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/BME-280B-Seminar-Speaker-Headshot-1.jpg
GEO:36.9996638;-122.0618552
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Physical Sciences Building Physical Sciences Building Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Physical Sciences Building:geo:-122.0618552,36.9996638
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T104000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T114500
DTSTAMP:20261005T193023Z
CREATED:20260929T200747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T193023Z
UID:10017617-1791196800-1791200700@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE 290 Seminar: "Why Do Chips Get Hot? Electro-Thermal Co-Design for Next-Generation Transistors"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Young Suh Song\, Knight-Hennessy PhD candidate @ Stanford University \nDescription: “The rapid growth of information technology (IT) has led to remarkable progress in recent semiconductor technology. Transistors have become smaller so that more transistors can be packed into a chip\, and today’s semiconductors even use technology that vertically stacks layers of transistors. Although this has led to improved electrical performance of semiconductors\, the increase in the number of transistors and interfaces in semiconductors has concomitantly worsened their thermal properties. In this talk\, I will first explain why chips get hot and introduce the materials and transistor structures used in the latest logic and memory semiconductors. Based on this\, I will discuss a range of structural and materials engineering approaches that have been explored to improve thermal properties in state-of-the-art semiconductors\, including metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and 4F 2 3D dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) technology. Finally\, I will wrap up the talk by presenting my vision of how future research could keep chips cool.” \nBio: Young Suh Song is a PhD candidate in the department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University\, South Korea. His research focuses on electro-thermal co-design for advanced semiconductor devices and systems by utilizing improved structures and emerging materials. With this focus\, he has authored and co-authored over 50 research papers in journals and conferences including Nature Nanotechnology\, ACS Nano\, and IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEEE IEDM). He previously worked as a research scientist at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center\, focusing on electro-thermal co-optimization in advanced CMOS nodes. His interdisciplinary work has been recognized with several honors\, including the outstanding reviewer award for Semiconductor Science and Technology (IOP Publishing\, 2025) and best paper awards from IEEE ICCSS (2022) and IEIE (2020). More information can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/yssong24 \n  \nHosted by: Professor Zhicong Yu\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Monday\, October 5th from 10:40 to 11:45 AM PST \nLocation: Classroom E2-194
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-seminar-why-do-chips-get-hot-electro-thermal-co-design-for-next-generation-transistors/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/unnamed.png
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T133500
DTSTAMP:20261003T055419Z
CREATED:20260928T165838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261003T055419Z
UID:10017604-1791201600-1791207300@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:CM Seminar: Speaker - Yung-Ju (Stanley) Chang "Building Intelligence Around Limited Human Attention: Our Research Trajectory Toward Attention-Aware Agentic System"
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Yung-Ju (Stanley) Chang\, Professor\, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) \nDescription: Human attention has become an increasingly scarce resource in everyday digital life. People are constantly exposed to notifications\, messages\, news updates\, social media content\, and AI-generated information\, all competing for limited attentional capacity. In this talk\, I will share our research trajectory around human attention\, highlighting how attention has served as a primary focus across our work over the past decade. I will organize this body of work around five main directions: 1) protecting attention from unnecessary interruptions\, 2) utilizing attention during opportune moments\, 3) guiding attention toward important information\, 4) saving attention by delegating routine work to intelligent agents\, and 5) tracking attention through smartphone behavior. I will highlight representative projects that illustrate how we have approached each of these directions. Building on this trajectory\, I will discuss how these lines of work are shaping our current and future exploration of agentic systems centered on human attention. \nBio: Yung-Ju (Stanley) Chang is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) and a Joint Research Fellow at the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences\, Academia Sinica\, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan\, Ann Arbor. He leads the Agentic Intelligence for Mobile Engagement and Experience (AIMEX) Lab. His research spans mobile attention and multitasking\, mobile media consumption\, human–agent interaction\, mobile crowdsourcing\, social media influencers\, and digital wellbeing. He collaborates across disciplines and has worked closely with scholars in communication to understand how people engage with different forms of media content. \nHosted by: Associate Professor of Computational Media\, Christina Chung \nZoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/94103955103?pwd=od4ueavRt06ECpwAwqvgofwn5Suyal.1 \nConfirmed Seminar Location: SVC\, Room 3212
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/cm-seminar-speaker-yung-ju-stanley-chang-building-intelligence-around-limited-human-attention-our-research-trajectory-toward-attention-aware-agentic-system/
LOCATION:Silicon Valley Campus\, 3175 Bowers Avenue\, Santa Clara\, CA\, 95054\, United States
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CM-Seminar-—-Editable-Poster-1-scaled.png
GEO:37.3796975;-121.9765484
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Silicon Valley Campus 3175 Bowers Avenue Santa Clara CA 95054 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=3175 Bowers Avenue:geo:-121.9765484,37.3796975
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261005T170000
DTSTAMP:20261005T155626Z
CREATED:20261005T155626Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T155626Z
UID:10017714-1791216000-1791219600@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:Statistics Seminar: Spatially Varying Gene Regulatory Networks via Bayesian Nonparametric Covariate-Dependent Directed Cyclic Graphical Models
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Trisha Dawn\, UC Santa Cruz \nDescription: Spatial transcriptomics technologies enable measurement of gene expression with spatial context\, providing opportunities to understand how gene regulatory networks (GRNs) vary across tissue regions. Studying spatial variation in GRNs is crucial for uncovering mechanisms governing heterogeneous cellular functions and gives rise to a challenging statistical problem: graph learning with spatially heterogeneous data. Existing methods focus on undirected graphs or directed acyclic graphs\, limiting their ability to capture feedback loops in gene regulation. Although cyclic graphs have been used to construct GRNs\, ensuring their stability (an eigenvalue constraint) remains statistically and computationally challenging\, especially while allowing graph structure to vary spatially. We propose BNP-DCGx\, a Bayesian nonparametric covariate-dependent directed cyclic graphical model for learning spatially varying gene regulatory networks (svGRNs). The key idea is to introduce a covariate-dependent random partition that discretizes the covariate space into clusters\, each with a cluster-specific stable directed cyclic graph. Through partition averaging\, we obtain smoothly varying graph structures over space while preserving stability and providing large prior support for continuously varying graphs. \nAbout the speaker: My research centers on the development of novel statistical methods mostly in causal discovery\, change-point detection and graph matching\, drawing on techniques from Bayesian nonparametrics\, optimization\, machine learning\, and high-dimensional inference. I am particularly interested in applying statistical methodology to emerging data-rich fields such as spatial transcriptomics\, single-cell multi-omics\, network analysis\, and dynamically evolving complex systems. Currently I am developing statistical methodologies to detect changes in microbial communities using cytogram data collected across varying environmental conditions and research cruise trajectories at Dr. Hyun’s group as a postdoc. I earned Ph.D. in Statistics from Texas A&M University\, jointly advised by Yang Ni and Jesús Arroyo. Prior to my doctoral studies\, I completed Master’s degree at the Indian Statistical Institute and joined as a Junior Research Fellow. I also obtained Bachelor’s degree in Statistics at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous)\, Kolkata. \nThis seminar is hosted by Professor Yunyi Shen
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/statistics-seminar-spatially-varying-gene-regulatory-networks-via-bayesian-nonparametric-covariate-dependent-directed-cyclic-graphical-models/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BE-logomark_localist.png
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261008T114000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261008T131500
DTSTAMP:20261007T221200Z
CREATED:20261006T160448Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261007T221200Z
UID:10017733-1791459600-1791465300@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:BME 280B Seminar: Dr. Paulina Tolosa Tort\, Postdoctoral Scholar\, and Erich Weiler\, Senior Systems Architect and Engineer
DESCRIPTION:Welcome to the second week of our BME 280B seminar series\, a weekly seminar covering topics of current research in computational biology\, and bioinformatics. \nOpen to all\, food will be provided. Class enrollment is not required. \n  \nPlease join us this week to learn more about the works of Erich Weiler and Dr. Paulina Tolosa Tort: \nSpeaker 1 at 11:40 AM: Erich Weiler\, Senior Systems Architect and Engineer\, University of California\, Santa Cruz Genomics Institute \nTitle: Mastering HPC Workload Orchestration: A Strategic Guide to Slurm \nDescription: As high-performance computing (HPC) demands grow\, efficient workload orchestration and resource allocation become critical for maximizing cluster throughput and hardware return on investment. This presentation provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and leveraging the Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management (Slurm) within distributed HPC environments. Attendees will explore the core architecture of HPC clusters—including login nodes\, compute nodes\, and shared storage fabrics—alongside the central daemons (slurmctld\, slurmd\, and slurmdbd) that power execution\, control\, and accounting. \nThe talk breaks down the job execution lifecycle for both interactive and batch workloads\, detailing how Slurm evaluates job priorities using a multifactor system driven by job age\, size\, partition constraints\, and Fair Share algorithms (such as Fair Tree). Key operational focus areas include partition design\, backfill scheduling\, and the severe performance impacts of over-requesting CPU cores\, RAM\, GPUs\, and walltime. Practical best practices—such as I/O hygiene\, local scratch utilization\, and avoiding common resource bottlenecks—are highlighted to help researchers and engineers navigate queue mechanics\, optimize job scheduling\, and ensure equitable\, high-throughput cluster utilization. \nBio: Erich Weiler is a Senior Systems Architect and Engineer with over two decades of expertise in high-performance computing\, enterprise storage architectures\, and high-availability infrastructure. He currently serves as Genomics Systems Architect at the University of California\, Santa Cruz Genomics Institute\, where he manages multi-petabyte parallel file systems\, GPU-accelerated computing clusters\, and hybrid cloud environments supporting advanced comparative genomics and computational biology. Erich also provides specialized systems architecture consulting for prominent academic institutions and research facilities across the country\, including Johns Hopkins University\, Northeastern University\, and Claremont McKenna College. \nWith a deep background spanning Linux/UNIX systems administration\, cluster workload management via Slurm\, and complex high-speed networking\, Erich specializes in designing resilient\, scalable infrastructure for data-intensive research environments. His past work includes architecting a $5 million\, 5-petabyte high-performance storage installation for the NIH/NCI-funded Cancer Genomics Hub\, as well as engineering secure\, FISMA-compliant data deployment platforms. Erich holds a B.A. from Southwestern University. \n  \nSpeaker 2 at 12:25 PM: Dr. Paulina Tolosa Tort\, Postdoctoral Scholar\, University of California\, San Francisco \nTitle: Understanding Heterogeneity in Neurodegenerative Disease through Genomics: From Patients to Genomes \nDescription: Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are becoming increasingly prevalent as populations age worldwide. These disorders show substantial heterogeneity across individuals in susceptibility\, clinical presentation\, and progression. Understanding the biological basis of this variation is important for clarifying disease mechanisms\, characterizing risk\, and identifying opportunities for prevention and treatment. This talk will examine how human genomics can be used to investigate heterogeneity in neurodegenerative disease\, from shared genetic architecture across disorders to variation in individual susceptibility. \nUsing Alzheimer’s disease and primary open-angle glaucoma as examples of neurodegenerative diseases\, the first part of the talk will focus on shared genetic architecture and pleiotropy between the two disorders\, integrating large-scale genomic and   data to identify shared genetic signals. The second part will examine how genetic susceptibility\, including polygenic risk\, operates in the context of clinical and potentially modifiable risk factors to shape cognitive outcomes and dementia risk. Together\, these approaches examine different sources of heterogeneity in neurodegenerative disease\, from shared biological processes across disorders to the interplay of genetic and non-genetic risk factors across individuals. \nFinally\, this talk will outline future directions exploring how long-read sequencing and pangenome-based representation may expand both the characterization and representation of human genomic diversity\, creating new opportunities to connect genomic variation with clinically meaningful differences in disease susceptibility and risk. \nBio: Paulina Tolosa-Tort\, MD\, PhD\, MPH\, is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California\, San Francisco\, whose research focuses on the genetic and non-genetic determinants of heterogeneity in neurodegenerative disease. Her research perspective emerged from clinical training in medicine and ophthalmology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)\, where differences in disease onset\, presentation\, and progression motivated questions about the biological basis of individual susceptibility. She subsequently completed a Master of Public Health in Quantitative Methods at Harvard University and pursued doctoral training in Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale University\, where she used cross-disease genetic approaches to investigate biological processes shared between Alzheimer’s disease and primary open-angle glaucoma. At UCSF\, she investigates how genetic susceptibility interacts with clinical and environmental exposures to shape cognitive outcomes and dementia risk. \nHosted By: Professor of Biomolecular Engineering\, Dr. Benedict Paten
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/bme-280b-seminar-100826/
LOCATION:Physical Sciences Building\, Physical Sciences Building\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/100826-BME-280B-Seminar-Speaker-Headshot-100726-Edit.jpg
GEO:36.9996638;-122.0618552
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Physical Sciences Building Physical Sciences Building Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Physical Sciences Building:geo:-122.0618552,36.9996638
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261012T104000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261012T114500
DTSTAMP:20261005T193034Z
CREATED:20261005T192533Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261005T193034Z
UID:10017723-1791801600-1791805500@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE 290 Seminar: "Photon Counting Detectors for X-Ray Imaging"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Jin Zhang\, Chief Engineer @ iRay Group \nDescription: “Photon-counting detectors measure individual X-ray interactions\, enabling fine spatial sampling and energy-resolved imaging. This seminar connects semiconductor signal formation and readout electronics to imaging benefits and practical limitations in medical and industrial applications. It examines charge sharing\, pulse pileup\, calibration drift\, and material decomposition\, then surveys clinical PCCT systems and detector technologies from Siemens\, GE\, Canon\, Varex\, CERN\, DECTRIS\, and iRay. Examples span diagnostic CT\, industrial inspection\, and laboratory and synchrotron measurements. The discussion concludes with research priorities in sensor manufacturing\, high-rate electronics\, module integration\, and quantitative validation. The central question is how to preserve useful spatial and spectral information at realistic flux\, dose\, and throughput\, and demonstrate improvements through fair\, task-specific comparisons.” \nBio: Jin Zhang\, Ph.D.\, is an engineering and R&D leader with more than 20 years of experience in medical imaging\, semiconductor detectors\, and AI-enabled sensing. Currently Chief Engineer at iRay Group\, he previously held leadership roles at Varex Imaging\, Quanergy\, and PerkinElmer\, leading global teams across North America\, Europe\, and Asia. His expertise spans photon-counting detectors\, image processing\, and bringing advanced imaging technologies into commercial products. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and completed postdoctoral research at Stanford University. He has authored more than 40 publications and holds a granted U.S. patent. \n  \nHosted by: Professor Zhicong Yu\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Monday\, October 12th from 10:40 to 11:45 AM PST \nLocation: Classroom E2-194
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-seminar-photon-counting-detectors-for-x-ray-imaging/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/JZ-Headshot.jpeg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T114000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T131500
DTSTAMP:20261012T162618Z
CREATED:20261012T162215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T162618Z
UID:10017742-1792064400-1792070100@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:BME 280B Seminar: Dr. Kiley Graim "Beyond the Majority: Correcting for Genetic Ancestry Bias in Disease Genomics"
DESCRIPTION:Welcome to the 3rd week of our BME 280B seminar series\, a weekly seminar covering topics of current research in computational biology and bioinformatics. \nOpen to all\, food is provided. Class enrollment is not required. \nPlease join us this week to learn more about the works of Dr. Kiley Graim: \n  \nPresenter: Dr. Kiley Graim\, Assistant Professor of Computer & Information Science & Engineering\, University of Florida \nDescription: Advances in high-throughput sequencing have transformed disease genomics\, yet persistent sampling biases continue to confound downstream analyses. Omics datasets remain overwhelmingly enriched for individuals of European ancestry\, introducing population stratification that is frequently conflated with disease-relevant signals. This is compounded by the fact that local adaptation has shaped allele frequency distributions differentially across ancestral populations\, producing lineage-specific variants that modulate both disease susceptibility and drug response. AI models often fail to generalize across populations\, exacerbating disparities in precision medicine. I will present approaches for mitigating these confounds by integrating population-scale genomic resources (e.g.\, gnomAD\, 1000 Genomes) with comparative evolutionary genomics across species\, enabling ancestry-aware and cross-species-informed modeling strategies for more generalizable disease genomics. \nBio: Dr. Kiley Graim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering at the University of Florida. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in Biomolecular Engineering from the University of California\, Santa Cruz\, followed by postdoctoral training at the Simons Foundation and Princeton University. Her research combines biology\, genomics\, and computer science to develop multi-omic artificial intelligence methods for identifying the molecular drivers of human disease. Her lab’s research spans cancer evolution across mammalian species\, precision medicine\, equitable AI\, and sepsis. \nHosted by: Professor of Biomolecular Engineering\, Dr. Benedict Paten
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/bme-280b-seminar-101526/
LOCATION:Physical Sciences Building\, Physical Sciences Building\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/101526-BME-280B-Seminar-Speaker-Headshot-Kiley-Graim.jpg
GEO:36.9996638;-122.0618552
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Physical Sciences Building Physical Sciences Building Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Physical Sciences Building:geo:-122.0618552,36.9996638
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261015T170000
DTSTAMP:20261012T195741Z
CREATED:20261012T193244Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T195741Z
UID:10017760-1792080000-1792083600@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:Statistics Seminar: A Latent Factor Multivariate Point Process Model for Inferring the Neural Code
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Reza Ramezan\, Associate Professor\, Teaching Stream (Research Active)\, University of Waterloo \nDescription: Neural spike trains are electrochemical signals that are localized in time and serve as the primary means of communication among nerve cells. The analysis of simultaneously recorded spike trains from multiple neurons presents substantial statistical and computational challenges. In this talk\, I will introduce a biologically inspired multivariate point process model for analyzing such data\, formulated as a continuous-time latent factor model (LFM). To the best of our knowledge\, this is the first continuous-time multivariate LFM developed to investigate neuronal interactions and functional connectivity using neural spike trains. By leveraging the computational advantages of approximate Bayesian inference\, I will demonstrate that the proposed model can accommodate larger neuronal ensembles than existing methods\, thereby providing an efficient framework for studying population coding. I will also discuss an application to experimental data from a classical conditioning study of the rat prefrontal cortex\, illustrating how the proposed approach can enhance our understanding of the neural encoding of cue and outcome values. \nAbout the speaker: Reza Ramezan is an Associate Professor\, Teaching Stream (Research Active)\, in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo\, where he is also a core member of the institution’s Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience. His methodological research focuses on developing computationally efficient stochastic\, multivariate\, and high-dimensional models\, with applications in neuroscience. Reza earned his PhD in Statistics from the University of Waterloo in 2014. He subsequently joined the Department of Mathematics at California State University\, Fullerton\, before returning to Waterloo in 2017. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his teaching and research. His professional leadership includes serving as the former President of the Business and Industrial Statistics Section of the Statistical Society of Canada. \n\n\n \n\n\n\nThis seminar is hosted by Professor Yunyi Shen
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/statistics-seminar-a-latent-factor-multivariate-point-process-model-for-inferring-the-neural-code/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Reza-Ramezan.jpeg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261016T144000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261016T154500
DTSTAMP:20261016T153215Z
CREATED:20261014T172120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261016T153215Z
UID:10017803-1792161600-1792165500@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:CSE Colloquium: From Syntax to Taste
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Titus Winters\, Adobe \nAbstract: \nComputing education has long emphasized intelligence\, knowing how a thing works\, over wisdom\, knowing when to use it. We teach syntax\, functional correctness\, and the internals of classic data structures\, while giving students little guidance on tradeoffs\, quality\, and judgment. Generative AI makes this old critique urgent: source code is becoming a secondary artifact\, and competent implementation is available on tap. This talk argues that the skills now at a premium are design before code generation and testing after it\, both of which rest on conceptual vocabulary\, architectural judgment\, and domain knowledge. It considers what this means for curricula: assuming AI use\, grading process over output\, replacing single-right-answer assignments with open-ended ones\, and deciding what we are willing to stop teaching. Absent that reinvention\, CS risks becoming a service discipline rather than the center of computing education. \nBio:  \nTitus is a Senior Principal Scientist at Adobe\, focusing on Developer Experience. He has served on the C++ standards committee\, chairing the working group for the design and evolution of the C++ standard library. He has also served on the ACM/IEEE/AAAI CS2023 steering committee\, helping set curriculum requirements for Computer Science undergraduate degrees\, focusing on the requirements for software engineering. Titus was a thought leader at Google for many years\, focusing on C++\, software engineering practice\, technical debt\, and culture. He is the lead author for the book Software Engineering at Google. \nHosted by: Professor Daniel Fremont and Professor Leilani Gilpin \nDate and Time: Fridays from 2:40 pm – 3:45 pm \n(The CSE Social will take place after the Colloquium until 5:30 pm) \nLocation: Engineering 2\, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as fruit\, pastries\, coffee\, and tea will be provided.) \nZoom Option: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/95300285113?pwd=62tnEPUtRrsmbW7SHTavaRbaF2afSr.1 \n\n  \n 
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/cse-colloquium-from-syntax-to-taste/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/BElogoWHITE.png
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T104000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T114500
DTSTAMP:20261012T193720Z
CREATED:20261012T193634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T193720Z
UID:10017788-1792406400-1792410300@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE 290 Seminar: "Photon Counting CT: How Counting X-Ray Photons Enables a Major Advance in Medical Imaging"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Adam Wang\, Assistant Professor of Radiology @ Stanford University \nDescription: “Computed tomography (CT) is a mainstay of medical imaging\, but its capabilities are constrained by radiation dose and the information captured by conventional x-ray detectors. Photon-counting CT (PCCT) measures individual x-ray photons and their energies\, creating new opportunities for high-resolution\, low-dose\, and quantitative imaging. Realizing these benefits requires addressing challenges that span detector physics\, system design\, reconstruction\, and image analysis. \nThis talk will introduce the principles of photon-counting CT\, explain how it differs from conventional CT\, and discuss its advantages and practical limitations. These technical benefits are contributing to clinical advancements and applications in neuro\, chest\, cardiac\, abdominal\, and musculoskeletal imaging. Throughout\, I will highlight how engineering choices affect imaging performance and clinical utility\, and discuss ongoing research in translating photon-counting measurements into reliable diagnostic information.” \nBio: Adam Wang\, PhD\, is an Assistant Professor of Radiology and\, by courtesy\, of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University\, where he leads the Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging research group. His research includes photon-counting detectors\, spectral imaging\, and low-dose techniques for x-ray and CT imaging. His group’s work spans imaging system design\, computational modeling\, image reconstruction\, and quantitative image analysis\, with the goal of improving diagnostic information while reducing radiation dose. \n  \nHosted by: Professor Zhicong Yu & Professor Shiva Abbaszadeh\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Monday\, October 19th 2026 from 10:40 to 11:45 AM PST \nLocation: Classroom E2-194
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-290-seminar-photon-counting-ct-how-counting-x-ray-photons-enables-a-major-advance-in-medical-imaging/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AdamWang.jpg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T133000
DTSTAMP:20261013T203230Z
CREATED:20261013T203030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261013T203230Z
UID:10017796-1792413000-1792416600@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:CM Seminar: Professor Jim Whitehead - "Sides Taken: Generative Artists Made by Generative AI"
DESCRIPTION:Welcome to the second Computational Media seminar of the fall quarter. Open to all\, class enrollment is not required. Food will be provided. \nPlease join us in-person at E2-280 or via Zoom to learn more about the works of Professor Jim Whitehead: \n\nTitle: Sides Taken: Generative Artists Made by Generative AI \nPresenter: Dr. Jim Whitehead\, Professor of Computational Media and Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Experience in the Baskin School of Engineering\, University of California\, Santa Cruz \nDescription: Can generative AI be creative? Skeptics call large language models “stochastic parrots” that recombine their training data; others grant them creativity but find it pedestrian; a third camp sees genuinely original work. This talk offers evidence for you to weigh. \nSides Taken is a framework for creating autonomous generative artists. Each artist is endowed with dossiers on a few human artists (among them Vera Molnár\, Jim Campbell\, Okazz\, and Verena Loewensberg)\, notes on craft\, and a contract for its code. When creating an artwork\, the artist is presented with the most recent pieces in its archive and ability to view the rest. The artist has one obligation: every piece must take sides\, writing what it builds upon and what it argues against. When executed\, each artwork creates a time-varying interactive display on a 64×64 pixel LED panel. Each artwork thus exists in three media: an argument\, software\, and a time-varying (interactive) light display. Over time\, artists accumulate a lineage of variations and contrasts\, record lessons learned from their own successes and failures\, and eventually name themselves through an evidence-gated ceremony. \nI will present work by two artists\, Wake (apprentice name Saccade) and Register (apprentice name Selvedge)\, trace how each developed distinct themes from different influences\, and compare output across language models. Finally\, I will observe that Sides Taken performs search without an explicit objective function\, with the use of argumentation against an archive achieving similar goals as novelty search. The approach may prove useful well beyond art. \nBio: Jim Whitehead is a Professor of Computational Media and Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Experience in the Baskin School of Engineering. Jim leads the Augmented Design Lab which explores generative art\, mixed-initiative co-creative systems\, and procedural content generation. Within Baskin Engineering\, Jim has helped create the Slugworks creatorspace\, and the Experiential Learning Program which holds the Pathways to Research and Lead By Design/Early Design-Build programs. Jim received his PhD from UC Irvine in 2000 with a dissertation on hypertext versioning. \n\n\nZoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/94103955103?pwd=od4ueavRt06ECpwAwqvgofwn5Suyal.1Meeting ID: 941 0395 5103 \nPasscode: 124806
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/cm-seminar-101926/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BE-logomark_localist.png
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T170000
DTSTAMP:20260921T164141Z
CREATED:20260921T164141Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T164141Z
UID:10017107-1792425600-1792429200@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:Statistics Seminar: Advancing Science on the Sea and Stars with Modern Statistical Techniques
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: J. Xavier Prochaska\, Professor\, UC Santa Cruz \nDescription: I will present two current and challenging research problems from the domains of astrophysics and oceanography which are leveraging standard Bayesian methods. After describing the datasets\, scientific goals\, and currently methodology\, I will welcome a discussion on ways to improve\, advance\, and/or replace the current approaches. Ideally within the realm of tradiational/modern statistics\, but I will welcome soluation with machine learning/AI approaches. I will then conclude by describing forthcoming\, large datasets that could leverage expertise from members of the Department of Statistics. For those who wish a preview of the data and current techniques\, I will circulate a README a day or two in advance of the seminar. \nAbout the speaker: PhD Physics — UC San Diego; Professor Astronomy & Astrophysics and Ocean Sciences — UC Santa Cruz \n\n\n\n\n\nThis seminar is hosted by Professor Yunyi Shen.
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/statistics-seminar-advancing-science-on-the-sea-and-stars-with-modern-statistical-techniques/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/x-prochaska-300-1.jpg
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T170000
DTSTAMP:20260922T181210Z
CREATED:20260922T181210Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260922T181210Z
UID:10017559-1792425600-1792429200@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:AM Seminar: Analysis of Flagellar Gait Changes Across Fluid Viscosities
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Dr. Kelli Gutierrez\, CSU Monterey Bay \nDescription: Many microswimmers propel themselves using flagella\, which are thin\, threadlike filaments that beat in a periodic wavelike motion. The flagellar beat emerges from the coupled interactions between the surrounding fluid and the active and passive responses of the flagellum. Previous studies have observed the qualitative shape of the flagellar waveform and the swimming speed to change with fluid viscosity. We quantify changes in the flagellar waveforms of \textit{Chlamydomonas reinhardtii} in response to changes in fluid viscosity using (i) shape mode analysis and (ii) a full swimmer simulation to analyze how shape changes affect the swimming speed. By decomposing the gait into the time‑independent mean shape and the time‑varying stroke\, we find that the time-independent mean shape changes substantially in response to viscosity\, while the changes in the time-varying stroke are more subtle. \nAbout the speaker: Dr. Gutierrez received her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from UC Davis. She joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics Department at Cal State Monterey Bay in 2026. Her research interests include mathematical biology\, fluid dynamics\, and applied mathematics. \nThis seminar is hosted by Applied Mathematics.
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/am-seminar-analysis-of-flagellar-gait-changes-across-fluid-viscosities/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/KGutierrez_Headshot-scaled.jpg
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261019T193000
DTSTAMP:20261006T165803Z
CREATED:20260917T183243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261006T165803Z
UID:10017081-1792432800-1792438200@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:North Stars of Emancipation: Navigating Movements and Institutions to Change Food Systems
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Antonio Roman-Alcalá has been participating in food and farming movements in California for over two decades. He’s founded urban farms\, taught organic horticulture\, and made documentary films about why food systems continue to be unsustainable.  \nMore recently\, he’s turned towards participatory\, movement-based research to develop an understanding of what “emancipation” might mean for those who’ve long faced the brunt of food systems injustices\, especially in a context of rising right wing\, racist politics at the national level. \nThe result is North Stars of Emancipation: California’s Diverse Food and Farming Movements in Times of Racial Reckoning\, Antonio’s book now out on MIT Press. You can find info on the book here. \nThe book describes a shift in recent decades of US food movement politics – driven by the greater inclusion and influence of people of color – towards more radical political ideals of anti-capitalism and anti-colonialism\, and skepticism of the state as a tool for emancipation. North Stars tackles questions of social movement convergence amidst the recent right wing rise\, and offers strategic and scholarly lessons based on decades of experience and analysis. \nCome join Antonio in conversation with other thinkers and doers\, about organizing for food systems transformation\, fraught times of political regression\, reckoning with legacies of racism\, and holding onto radical visions for a world otherwise. \nFeaturing: \nLeonard Diggs\, Long time Farmer and Educator\nMireya Gomez-Contreras\, Esperanza Farms\, Community Farm in Watsonville\nMaywa Montenegro de Wit\, Critical agrarian studies scholar at UCSC
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/north-stars-of-emancipation-navigating-movements-and-institutions-to-change-food-systems/
LOCATION:Hay Barn\, 94 Ranch View Road\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064\, United States
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Untitled-design-33.png
GEO:36.9817736;-122.0569624
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Hay Barn 94 Ranch View Road Santa Cruz CA 95064 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=94 Ranch View Road:geo:-122.0569624,36.9817736
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261022T114000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261022T131500
DTSTAMP:20261019T190211Z
CREATED:20261019T182418Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T190211Z
UID:10017832-1792669200-1792674900@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:BME 280B Seminar: Valery Ortiz and Joseph Cruz
DESCRIPTION:Welcome to the 4th week of our BME 280B seminar series\, a weekly seminar covering topics of current research in computational biology and bioinformatics. \nOpen to all\, food is provided. Class enrollment is not required. \nPlease join us this week to learn more about our two speakers\, Valery Ortiz and Joseph Cruz: \n  \nTitle: Structural Insights into the Infection Mechanism of Mycobacteriophages Using Cryo-Electron Tomography \nPresenter: Valery Ortiz\, 4th Year Ph.D Candidate in the Chemical & Biological Science Program\, Scripps Research Institute \nDescription: Mycobacterial infections\, including tuberculosis (TB) and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) diseases\, remain a major global health threat\, worsened by the rise of multidrug-resistant strains. This study investigates the potential of therapeutic phages\, particularly Fionnbharth (FB)\, to target drug-resistant Mycobacterium infections. Optimizing phage therapy requires a basic understanding of phage structural and mechanistic properties. Using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc² 155 (M. smegmatis) as a model organism\, we used cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to visualize phage-host interactions in near-native conditions\, focusing on attachment\, intracellular replication\, and structural organization. Samples were prepared at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 300 for attachment studies and MOIs of 3–15 for replication time points ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours post-infection. Cryo-focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) milling generated ~200 nm-thick lamellae\, enabling visualization of the bacterial interior. Tomographic imaging revealed a temporal progression of intracellular replication intermediates\, including procapsids\, empty capsids\, and DNA-filled capsids\, demonstrating capsid formation and maturation over time. Organized arrays of tail filaments were also observed\, providing direct structural evidence of the FB replication cycle inside M. smegmatis. Subtomogram averaging of ~500 FB particles revealed two major tail-tip conformations at the bacterial surface: a rounded tail-tip positioned near the membrane at various angles and a flat\, tightly aligned complex perpendicular to the membrane. These preliminary data suggest distinct pre- and post-attachment states. Together\, these results highlight the power of cryo-ET to investigate structural changes in therapeutic phages throughout infection\, advancing our broader understanding of the structural virology underlying phage-host interactions. \nBio: Valery Ortiz is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Chemical and Biological Sciences Program at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology\, where she conducts her doctoral research in Dr. Raphael Park’s lab. Her research focuses on therapeutic bacteriophages that infect mycobacteria and uses structural biology approaches\, including cryo-electron tomography and single particle Cryo-EM\, to understand how phages interact with and infect bacterial cells. Through this work\, she hopes to contribute to the development of phage-based therapies for difficult-to-treat mycobacterial infections\, including tuberculosis. \nValery earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Santa Cruz\, where she conducted undergraduate research in Dr. Needhi Bhalla’s lab studying meiosis and chromosome biology in C. elegans. During her time at UCSC\, she was also a MARC Scholar through the STEM Diversity Programs\, which played an important role in her development as a researcher and in her preparation for graduate school. \nValery is a first-generation student who began her academic journey at Monterey Peninsula College before transferring to UC Santa Cruz. While attending community college\, she participated in the ACCESS summer research program at UC Santa Cruz\, where she gained her first hands-on research experience. This opportunity introduced her to scientific research and ultimately helped shape her path toward transferring to UCSC. Valery is deeply committed to mentorship\, outreach\, and creating supportive pathways into STEM. She is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow (NSF GRFP) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)  Gilliam Fellow and is the founder and president of the Scripps Research Institute SACNAS Chapter\, where she helps lead efforts focused on community building\, mentorship\, professional development\, and increasing access to opportunities in science.\n  \nTitle: Structural Characterization of HCV Entry-Fusion and Neutralizing Antibody Epitopes for Immunogen Design \nPresenter: Joseph Cruz\, Ph.D Candidate in Chemical & Biological Sciences\, Scripps Research Institute \nDescription: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infects liver cells through a multistep entry process that has remained a major virological and immunological challenge for three decades. HCV first attaches to the host receptor scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-BI) via the E2 HVR-1 region\, then binds a second receptor\, CD81\, before being internalized through clathrin-mediated endocytosis in a process that also involves the entry factors claudin-1 and occludin. Despite this established sequence of events\, the molecular structures underlying these interactions and how they physically drive viral entry remain undefined. Once inside the cell\, fusion occurs within endosomes\, where low pH triggers a poorly understood structural change in the viral envelope glycoprotein complex\, E1E2\, that allows the virus to merge with the host membrane. While E1E2 was originally thought to resemble fusion proteins found in related viruses like dengue and Zika\, recent evidence suggests it instead represents a unique class of fusion proteins. This further supported by the newly resolved structure of E1E2 as a dimer of heterodimers showing a envelope organization different from Zika and Dengue virus. However\, this structure’s appearance on intact viral particles remains unconfirmed. HCV’s ability to evade the immune system and resist neutralizing antibodies has made vaccine development equally difficult. One promising strategy for addressing both challenges is to define the molecular structure of E1E2 during entry and fusion\, alongside the epitopes and mechanisms used by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) capable of blocking many different HCV strains. I am currently using cryo-electron tomography and single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to structurally characterize E1E2’s interactions with host entry factors\, its pre- and post-fusion states\, and in complex with bnAbs. Together\, these structural insights will provide a mechanistic understanding of antibody neutralization to guide rational vaccine design. \nBio: Joseph Cruz is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical and Biological Sciences at Scripps Research Institute\, where he studies entry-fusion mechanisms and broadly neutralizing antibody responses against Hepatitis C Virus\, working under the mentorship of Dr. Mansun Law and Dr. Donghyun (Raphael) Park. As a first-generation college student\, Joseph began his scientific training in biochemistry at Mt. San Antonio Community College before transferring to the University of California\, Santa Cruz (UCSC)\, where he completed his B.S. in Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics. While at UCSC\, he was involved with the SACNAS chapter and the STEM Diversity Programs’ MARC program\, where he trained under Dr. Rebecca DuBois’s mentorship\, focusing on the structural characterization of Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive Antigens (COBRAs) for Influenza A virus. Joseph’s research has consistently focused on the intersection of structural biology and virology\, and his current work aims to inform the development of more effective vaccines against Hepatitis C Virus. \n  \nHosted by: Professor of Biomolecular Engineering\, Rebecca Dubois\, and Director of STEMDIV Research Programs\, Yuli Ortega
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/bme-280b-seminar-102226/
LOCATION:Physical Sciences Building\, Physical Sciences Building\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/102226-BME-280B-Seminar-Speaker-Headshot.jpg
GEO:36.9996638;-122.0618552
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Physical Sciences Building Physical Sciences Building Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Physical Sciences Building:geo:-122.0618552,36.9996638
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261023T144000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261023T154500
DTSTAMP:20261016T153543Z
CREATED:20261015T174218Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261016T153543Z
UID:10017824-1792766400-1792770300@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:CSE Colloquium: Relational Attention for Data-Efficient Language Modeling
DESCRIPTION:Title: Relational Attention for Data-Efficient Language Modeling \nPresenter: Adrian Brasoveanu\, UCSC Linguistics (Joint work with Ece Takmaz and Jakub Dotlačil) \nAbstract: We present Relational BabyLM\, a system submission to the BabyLM 2026 challenge that combines two cognitively motivated inductive biases in a single decoder-only Transformer. Architecturally\, we replace standard self-attention with a Dual Attention Transformer (DAT)\, which separates the routing of object-level (“sensory”) lexical features from structural/relational information (Altabaa and Lafferty\, 2025; Altabaa et al.\, 2024; Webb et al.\, 2024; Kerg et al.\, 2022; Webb et al.\, 2021). Relational attention (RA) disentangled from self-attention greatly increases data efficiency and out-of-training-sample generalization on purely relational tasks\, but language modeling requires object-level and relational information to be integrated as well as disentangled\, and RA-based LMs have remained largely unexplored. BabyLM’s data-constrained training and comprehensive evaluation is an ideal testing ground for whether that data efficiency transfers. As a training intervention\, we add a Next-Latent Prediction (NextLat; Teoh et al. 2026) objective that encourages hidden states to compress history incrementally into a dense belief state. Architecture is the dominant factor for structural linguistic generalization; the objective is secondary but still significant. DAT’s three relational attention types (full RA vs. the simpler RCA and DisRCA variants) are largely interchangeable at 10M words; full RA pulls ahead at 100M. We also introduce a novel symbol-retrieval mechanism (RoPE-based\, as opposed to learned\, relative symbols) that matches learned symbol libraries while adding no parameters. On the strict (100M-word) track\, our best model ranks 6th of 55 overall and 3rd of 55 on the leaderboard’s NLP-task subset at the time of writing; our two strongest models outperform the GPT-2 baseline on most benchmarks\, with one attaining the highest EWoK score among strict-track entries. \nPaper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20530 \nCode: https://github.com/abrsvn/babylm_dat_2026 \nBio: I am a  professor in computational (psycho)linguistics focusing largely on natural language semantics and pragmatics at UCSC. I was also associate campus provost (tout court for 2 years\, then of strategic initiatives for 1 year) in the UCSC EVC office between 2021 and 2024.  For some more of my recent work\, see https://github.com/abrsvn/. \nHosted by: Professor Daniel Fremont and Professor Leilani Gilpin \nDate and Time: Fridays from 2:40 – 3:45 pm \nLocation: Engineering 2\, Room E2-180 (Refreshments such as fruit\, pastries\, coffee\, and tea will be provided.) \nZoom Option: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/95300285113?pwd=62tnEPUtRrsmbW7SHTavaRbaF2afSr.1
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/cse-colloquium-relational-attention-for-data-efficient-language-modeling/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Adrian.jpg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T104000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T114500
DTSTAMP:20261019T182637Z
CREATED:20261019T182637Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T182637Z
UID:10017833-1793011200-1793015100@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE 290 Seminar: "Learning Dexterous Manipulation: From Simulation to Human Demonstrations"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Joe Dong\, Co-Founder & CTO @ Chestnut Robotics \nDescription: “Learning dexterous manipulation requires robot hardware\, training environments\, and data to work together. This talk explores two complementary approaches to making robotic hands learnable: training in simulation and learning from human demonstrations.\nFirst\, I will present Aero Hand Open\, an open-source tendon-driven hand developed with a simulation and reinforcement learning stack. I will discuss its design\, transmission modeling in MuJoCo\, the actuation mapping between simulation and hardware\, and experimental validation\, including an in-hand cube rotation policy transferred to the physical hand without policy fine-tuning. \nSecond\, I will introduce the newer Aero Hand and Aero UMI\, a robotic hand and wearable demonstration interface developed as a matched pair. I will discuss how co-designing the hand and capture interface connects human demonstrations to robot actions\, with particular attention to motion\, contact sensing\, calibration\, and data alignment. Through experimental results and demonstrations\, the talk will examine the engineering tradeoffs and open research questions in connecting robot embodiment with the simulation and data used to train it.” \nBio: Xu (Joe) Dong is cofounder and CTO of Chestnut Robotics\, where he develops robotic hands and the data\, simulation\, and learning infrastructure for physical AI. He previously worked on autonomous driving at Waymo and XPeng Motors\, including learning-based motion planning and production end-to-end driving models. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech\, and a B.S. in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China. Personal Website: http://joedong.ai/ \n  \nHosted by: Professor Zhicong Yu\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Monday\, October 26th from 10:40 to 11:45 AM PST \nLocation: Classroom E2-194
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-290-seminar-learning-dexterous-manipulation-from-simulation-to-human-demonstrations/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/joe-headshot-ucsc.png
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261026T170000
DTSTAMP:20261019T173811Z
CREATED:20261019T173616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T173811Z
UID:10017831-1793030400-1793034000@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:Statistics Seminar:  Calibration Methods for Generative Models with Application to Protein Structure Modeling
DESCRIPTION:Presenter: Brian Trippe\, Assistant Professor\, Stanford University\, Department of Statistics \nDescription: Generative models frequently suffer miscalibration\, where the statistics of their generations deviate from desired values. Protein structure diffusion models\, for example\, produce highly realistic samples but often underestimate the probabilities of important modes. These deviations are not addressed by existing fine-tuning methods for image and text generation. We frame calibration of generative models as a constrained optimization problem that we seek to solve by fine-tuning. Because the natural objective is intractable\, we introduce two surrogate objectives for which we can compute low-variance gradient estimates amenable to stochastic optimization. The resulting procedures reduce the majority of calibration error across hundreds of simultaneous constraints and models with up to nine billion parameters. Lastly\, we describe an application for assimilating thermodynamic measurements to calibrate a generative model of protein structure Boltzmann ensembles. \nAbout the speaker: Brian Trippe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at Stanford. Previously he was a visiting researcher at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington where he worked with David Baker\, and a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. He completed his Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology at MIT in 2022. His recent research has developed statistical machine learning methods to address challenges in biotechnology and medicine\, with a focus on generative modeling and inference algorithms for protein engineering. \nThis seminar is hosted by Professor Yunyi Shen.
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/statistics-seminar-calibration-methods-for-generative-models-with-application-to-protein-structure-modeling/
LOCATION:Jack Baskin Engineering\, Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Lectures & Presentations,Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/brian-trippe_0.jpg.webp
GEO:37.000369;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Jack Baskin Engineering Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Baskin Engineering 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.000369
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261030T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261030T120000
DTSTAMP:20261009T184943Z
CREATED:20261009T184943Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261009T184943Z
UID:10017768-1793356200-1793361600@live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io
SUMMARY:ECE Special Seminar: "Bilevel Optimization for Agentic AI: From Theory to Retrieval-augmented Agentic Reinforcement Learning"
DESCRIPTION:Presented by: Quan Xiao\, PhD Candidate @ Cornell University \nDescription: “Agentic AI systems combine large language models with system-level design choices such as post-training data selection\, retrieval\, tool use\, and memory management in augmented inference. Training these systems involves multiple coupled objectives beyond task success\, including safety\, retrieval quality\, and adaptation efficiency. Sequential tuning can cause catastrophic forgetting\, while direct objective mixing training can introduce unit mismatch and obscure credit assignments across components. \nIn this talk\, I will present bilevel optimization as a framework for jointly learning LLM parameters and agentic-system design variables. I will introduce an efficient first-order penalty formulation that replaces lower-level optimality with a merit constraint\, avoiding Hessian inverses and differentiation through full inner trajectories. By turning the bilevel problem into a penalized objective with analyzable structure\, this formulation enables landscape analysis that leads to global convergence guarantees. \nI will conclude with an application to bilevel retrieval optimization for tool-using agents\, where retrieval enables LLMs to access up-to-date information and manage external memory. In this setting\, landscape analysis also guides the design of memory-efficient variants of the penalty method tailored to the application. Experiments on multi-hop and medical question-answering tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of jointly optimizing retrieval and the LLM. Using only a 3B LLM backbone\, the proposed approach outperforms direct inference with GPT-5.6 Luna\, as well as methods based solely on agentic reinforcement learning or retrieval optimization.” \nBio: Quan Xiao (https://jenniferquanxiao.github.io) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. She received her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2023\, and her B.S. in statistics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2020. Her research focuses on the theoretical foundations of bilevel and multi-objective optimization\, as well as their applications to generative\, agentic AI and hardware-algorithm co-design. Her work has appeared in leading machine learning and signal processing venues\, including NeurIPS\, ICML\, and IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing\, with papers selected for oral and spotlight presentations. \nQuan has received several awards\, including the IEEE Signal Processing Society Scholarship in 2024 and the Belsky Award for Computational Sciences and Engineering in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2023. Her research has also received supports from industries\, including Google and Lambda Research. \n  \nHosted by: Professor Yu Zhang\, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department \nWhen: Friday\, October 30th from 10:30AM to 12:00PM \nLocation: Engineering 2\, Room 506
URL:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/event/ece-special-seminar-bilevel-optimization-for-agentic-ai-from-theory-to-retrieval-augmented-agentic-reinforcement-learning/
LOCATION:Engineering 2\, Engineering 2 1156 High Street\, Santa Cruz\, CA\, 95064
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://live-events-ucsc.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/headshot_quan.jpg
GEO:37.0009723;-122.0632371
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Engineering 2 Engineering 2 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=Engineering 2 1156 High Street:geo:-122.0632371,37.0009723
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR