BE Undergraduate Newsletter
Announcements
Successful Slug Workshops - Bite-Sized Steps to Success
Learning Support Services offers 30-minute workshops to all UCSC students giving them the tools to be successful at UCSC. The topics in the workshop are science-backed best practices for effective, durable learning! What you're taught at the workshops, really works!
New Course this Spring! BME118/ 218: Mathematics of the Mind
Join David Haussler for a new course this Spring - Mathematics of the Mind!
Readers and Tutors Needed for ECE 167 Sensing and Sensor Technologies
Hello, we are looking for readers and tutors for ECE 167 (Sensing and Sensor Technologies). This is a paid role with minimal time obligations (4-6h/wk, more if desired). Pay rates as follows: undergrad readers $18.40/hr; MS and beyond readers $19.28/hr; tutors $19.28/hr.
Interested applicants can find more information here: https://rta.soe.ucsc.edu/
Contact the instructor, Professor Colleen Josephson (cjosephson@ucsc.edu) with any questions.
Readers Needed for ECE 183/293: Advanced Topics in Agriculture Technology
Hello, we are looking for readers for ECE 183/293 (Advanced Topics in Agriculture Technology). This is a paid role with minimal time obligations (4-6h/wk, more if desired). Pay rates as follows: undergrad readers $18.40/hr; MS and beyond readers $19.28/hr; tutors $19.28/hr.
Interested applicants can find more information here: https://rta.soe.ucsc.edu/
Contact the instructor, Professor Colleen Josephson (cjosephson@ucsc.edu) with any questions.
Cybersecurity Workshops From Slug Security!
Are you a hacker at heart? Do you dream of cracking codes, breaking firewalls, and exposing secrets? Have you ever been curious about how the internet stays safe? Tinkered around a site, trying to find exploits? Well, then Slug Security, UC Santa Cruz's Cybersecurity Club, maybe for you!
Would you like to learn how to hack into servers, create malware, and avoid detection like a true hacker? Do you want to use a Pringles can to make directional antennas and scan for vulnerable networks? Do you want to compete in national competitions and compete against other hackers to see who is the best?
Then join us! We are a student-led cybersecurity club dedicated to fostering a community of hackers who work to improve security.
We host workshops and actively compete in CTF and national competitions such as the NSA Codebreaker Challenge.
We meet every Monday from 1-2 PM at Baskin Engineering 2 Room 506.
Visit our site (https://slugsec.ucsc.edu) for more information. If you have any questions, please visit our FAQ page or email us at slugsec@ucsc.edu.
LEED Green Associate (GA) Training - Webinar and Online self-Paced Options
Make your resume stand out with the premier sustainability designation called the LEED Green Associate! LEED is simply a sustainability scorecard for green buildings. As buildings can become LEED Certified, people can become LEED accredited! The best way to break into the sustainability space is to attain the LEED Green Associate. It also shows employers and clients you have certified knowledge in the field. Since the LEED GA exam doesn’t have a stellar pass rate, the value of the extra letters behind your name will carry even more weight.
Our engaging webinars have helped over 10K students and professionals learn the material cold AND clear the exam with a very high passing rate. The LEED Professional Designation has helped past participants attain internships and jobs and now is a great time to add this credential.
LEED Green Associate (GA) Training - Webinar and Online self-paced options:
I will be offering live webinars that can be streamed on any of the following dates:
The above options (1-7) are all identical.
Register for a live webinar or start today with our on-demand recorded workshop completed anytime at your own pace here - https://leadinggreen.com/
This course is instructed by a USGBC Faculty member and is the most effective way to pass. The USGBC charges a $100 (reduced for students) fee for the actual exam which can now be taken online from home. Save money by reserving your spot today and make a positive difference in your career!
Cost: $200 - Students can use the coupon code ‘green’ for $50 off (Discounted course price $150)
Save your seat by registering here for our live or self-paced options - https://leadinggreen.com/
Please contact the instructor Lorne directly with any questions at info@leadinggreen.com
CNC Machines Manufacturing Scholarship
Scholarship Name: CNC Machines Manufacturing Scholarship
Amount: $2,500
Description: This award is available for students pursuing a certification, certificate, associates, or bachelors in manufacturing or a related area of study
Closes: Sept, 29th 2022
Winner Announced: Oct 30th, 2023
Application Link: https://cncmachines.com/
Spring Opportunities in the Tech4Good Lab
The Tech4Good Lab has several positions open next quarter for undergraduate students from all majors. We are looking for people who are extremely responsible, love learning, and have a strong drive to apply technology for social good. For next quarter, we have positions doing the following types of work:
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User research: interviewing and analyzing interviews to understand user needs and context,
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UI/UX design: designing and iterating on web interfaces in Figma,
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Web development: coding an app using an Angular/NgRx/Firebase stack,
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AI & economics: modeling economic systems using multiagent reinforcement learning,
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NLP and ML: topic modeling and ML to clusters text responses or predict annotations,
You would be contributing to a variety of projects in the lab related to designing systems to better support the future of education, work, and community engagement. Some of the platforms we are working on include:
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An app aimed at scaling apprenticeship learning, which supports people in learning through micro-roles while supporting non-profits as they learn,
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An app aimed at microlearning through small groups to create learning environments supporting curiosity, creativity, and relationships,
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An app containing short activities for team/group community building, and also creating "small group networks" that can facilitate interesting collective goals,
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An app aimed at supporting chat-based career mentorship between industry professionals and groups of students,
Joining requires a commitment of 10-15 hours/week for the quarter for 2-5 credits of independent study. If you are interested, fill out the Tech4Good Lab Interest Form. Teams will mostly be determined based on applications submitted by the end of Week 7 on 2/24, but you should feel free to continue submitting afterwards if you missed the deadline (and if full, we’ll consider you for the following quarter).
P.S. Follow our Facebook or Instagram to hear about future student opportunities in Tech4Good!
Securing Open Source Software Hackathon
Deans' and Chancellor's Awards Applications are NOW OPEN!
The Deans and Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz wish to recognize excellence in research and creativity among undergraduate students as evidenced through projects and theses performed in the normal pattern of academic activity at UCSC. Click here to see a listing of current and previous winning projects.
The online application for the 2023 Deans' and Chancellor's Undergraduate Awards is NOW OPEN!
Please read the application guidelines below and contact a faculty mentor to confirm they are willing to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf.
All 2023 applications must be completed and submitted online by Sunday, April 2, 2023. All graduating Dean's and Chancellor's winners will be recognized by having their names listed in the commencement program during UC Santa Cruz's graduation ceremonies.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DEANS' UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
Dean's Awards are granted to fifty of the most excellent undergraduate research theses or projects (ten from each academic division) completed at UCSC during the academic year. Each Dean's award project will receive $100 for outstanding achievement in their division. Winners of the Dean's awards will be announced by the end of April 2023.
CHANCELLOR'S UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
Fifteen Chancellor’s Awards are granted to the most outstanding top three theses or projects from each division's Deans' Awardees. Each Chancellor's Award project will recieve an additional $500. Winners of the Chancellor's awards will be announced by the beginning of May 2023.
STECK AWARD
The Steck Award will recognize the most outstanding research project chosen from the fifteen Chancellor’s Awardees. This student (or team) will receive (or share) an award of $2,000 and the winner's mentor will receive an award of $1,000. In addition, the winning research project will be bound and copies given to the student(s), the research supervisor, the UC Santa Cruz Library, and the Steck Family whose generous contributions have made this award possible.
The Steck Award winner will be posted on the winners page of this site by the end of Student Achievement Week - early June 2023.
Winners of the Deans', Chancellor's and Steck awards will be honored during Undergraduate Student Achievement Week. The names of the 2022 winners are posted here and they were acknowledged at the 2022 UCSC College Commencement ceremonies.
Read here about the 2021 Steck Award winner, Olivia Ross, whose project involved studying the possibility of detecting primordial black holes using pulsars. "Ross has never chosen the easier path. If anything, she always picks the steepest and most slippery slope" - Dan White (from UCSC NewsCenter).
APPLICATION GUIDELINES/POLICIES
- All research project submissions must include at least one letter of recommendation by a faculty mentor/sponsor. Once the student submits their application, a separate email to the listed letter writer will be sent automatically containing the link for them to upload the letter of recommendation.
- All undergraduate students applicants must contact their mentor/sponsor before submitting their application in order to confirm that a letter of support will be possible.
- All applications must include a Description/Abstract of their research project.
- All applications must include either an attachment of a completed thesis or completed project or performance (by URL). Research projects must be finished when the application is submitted. Projects that are still in progress, or are planned to be completed after the application deadline, should be submitted in the following application cycle. Submitted applications that are incomplete, or do not have a project attachment or link, or are projects that are not yet completed, will be rejected.
- The applicant should choose the one faculty mentor/sponsor of their project who is most familiar with the project and who will be able to provide the strongest letter of recommendation. Only one letter of recommendation is required. Mentors should be UCSC faculty/lecturers/post-docs/researchers etc that have a CruzID.
- For group projects, only one student in the group (usually the lead in the project) completes an application. They then must list the other students as project students. Each project member must approve of the application that is submitted.
- When the faculty mentor/sponsor submits their letter of recommendation, they must also approve the submitted project. As soon as the student submits their application a separate email to the designated letter writer will be generated automatically containing the link to upload the letter of recommendation as a pdf. The deadline for letters and approvals is a few days after the student application deadline. It is strongly recommended that the letter writer complete their recommendation as soon as possible after being contacted by the student.
- Foreign language projects must be accompanied by appropriate translation.
- Technical papers must include an abstract in non-technical language.
- Projects completed in spring 2022 (and therefore not submitted in last year’s competition) are eligible for the 2023 awards competition, even if the student has already graduated.
- Previous award winners are only eligible to submit projects in the current application cycle if those projects are significantly different in scope or topic from the previously awarded project.
Apply Here
Application requires use of your CruzID Gold password
Reminder! Reyna Grande Scholarship Applications are Due 3/13
Kresge College is able to offer a scholarship to one undergraduate student of any college affiliation as well as a Kresge student.
The scholarship is for creative projects—involving arts, writing, music or other creative media work—intended to advance the standing and visibility of Latinx and/or Chicanx communities. Here is the website: https://kresge.ucsc.edu/
ECE 183 Advanced Topics in Agriculture Technology Course Announcement
Undergraduates: ECE 183 Advanced Topics in Agriculture Technology has been approved as an elective for both concentrations of the Electrical Engineering BS, and as an elective for the Robotics Engineering BS. Please contact Dr. Josephson for more information and a permission code if you are interested.
Statistics 4+1 Contiguous Pathway
The Statistics 4 +1 contiguous pathway allows highly qualified undergraduate students to get a leg up in graduate school and job applications and gain a deeper understanding of statistics and data science tools by jointly completing an undergraduate major and an M.S. degree in Statistical Science.
The pathway is open to students from a wide variety of majors, including computer science, technology management, economics, mathematics, and physics. Students must declare their interest in pursuing this contiguous pathway no later than their ninth quarter of study at UCSC, and more typically at the end of the sixth or seventh quarter of enrollment. Learn more at https://grad.soe.ucsc.edu/contiguous_pathways#stat
Digital NEST: Free Career Development Conference Opportunity 5/3-5/5
We'd like to share a FREE career development conference called NEST Flight taking place May 3rd through May 5th from 4pm to 7pm. I've attached a flyer with more information and with the QR code for students to register!
If you have any questions or would like more information, please reach out to sandra@digitalnest.org.
ACE Application for Spring 2023 are Now Open!
The Academic Excellence (ACE) Program is a community of students dedicated to academic excellence who work together in problem solving sessions and peer mentoring sessions to engage in active learning and help each other master the concepts taught in class. Not only do ACE students pass their classes at higher rates, but they also tend to earn more A and B grades than non-ACE students. You may visit the ACE website to learn more about the ACE Program.
This Spring, ACE will be supporting a variety of STEM courses, listed on the ACE Session Schedule page. Check out the student testimonials video to see what students have to say about ACE!
To apply: visit the Online Application
Applications are due on Friday, March 17th at 6:00pm
Space is limited, so we recommend applying sooner rather than later!
Johns Hopkins University CTY Summer 2023 Jobs
Computer Science Teaching Assistants
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is seeking teaching assistants for our summer programs. CTY offers challenging academic programs for highly talented elementary, middle, and high school students from across the country and around the world. Positions are available at residential and day sites at colleges, universities, and schools on the East and West coasts.
We are currently seeking individuals with expertise in a number of computer science-related subjects, including:
- Introduction to Robotics
- Introduction to Programming
- Fundamentals of Computer Science
- Data Structures and Algorithms
A full list of courses can be found at On-Campus Summer Programs Courses | Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) (jhu.edu)
Why teach for CTY?
- share your passion for computer science with highly motivated and talented students
- be a part of an intellectual community
- develop your teaching skills in a supportive, collegial environment
- work alongside dedicated educators from around the world
- limited class size, plus an instructor and assistant for each class, ensures a low student-teacher ratio
- competitive salary plus room and board at our residential sites
2023 Program Core Dates
- Session 1: June 22-July 15
- Session 2: July 15- August 5
*Santa Cruz runs one week later than the dates above
Desired Qualifications
·Teaching assistant candidates are generally graduate or undergraduate students with experience tutoring or as a TA.
Other positions such as Resident Assistant, Health Assistant, Instructor, and Residential Program Assistant are available.
Apply: Fill out an online application at JHU Jobs
Questions? Contact us at ctysummer@jhu.edu.
Women Got Game - Gaming & ESports Summit
Women Got Game: WGG
Date:
- Gamers Developers Conference – San Francisco, CA (Friday, March 24, 2023)
- Women’s Final Four – Dallas, TX (Thursday, March 30, 2023)
- Morris Brown College – Atlanta, GA (Saturday, April 15, 2023)
Start Time:
- Summit: 1PM – 5PM EST
- Tournament: 6PM – 9PM EST
Theme: “Unlimited Opportunity”
A summit consisting of conversations, connections, and competitions; introducing Women of color high school college students to diverse female corporate partners & entrepreneurs in the gaming/esports industry. WGG is the first-ever property of its kind, where successful Women of color corporate executives and entrepreneurs educate, mentor & pay it forward to Women of color college & high school students interested in the gaming & esports industry. The summits will take place during Women’s History Month.
Explore Faculty Research in Computing / Design in a 1-Credit Course
Want to explore new ideas in computing / design research, meet motivated peers, or have interesting things to talk about in interviews? Join CMPM 15, a 1-credit course that introduces research areas that UCSC faculty are actively engaged in, many of whom are looking to involve undergraduate students, and some of which accept most students who have taken CMPM 15. Topics this quarter include brain-inspired neural networks, sustainable sensor networks, explainable AI, accessible technology, 3D modeling, autonomous vehicles, design research, and educational technologies. All students are welcome! (first years, all majors, grad students, etc.).
For more information, take a look at the Spring 23 faculty themes and follow @tech4good.ucsc on Instagram. We will accept all students off of the waitlist up until the first day of class.
Undergraduate Internship Opportunity for Electrical Engineering/Other Majors
Do you love plants? Specifically cacti? Specifically the prickly pear cactus? Do you also want renewable energy that will help the environment and our ecosystems in the future? Well, the Living Solar Panels Team here at UCSC headed by ENVS Ph.D. student Charlie Chesney is trying to make solar panels out of these fascinating succulents! If that piques your interest, then reach out to us because we're looking for 2 Electrical Engineering Majors with any of the skills mentioned above. Soldering skills are not required but adequacy in working with circuits/circuit boards and some coding knowledge are highly needed. If you're interested in a very interdisciplinary lab environment where you may learn subjects way different from your major, then come join us! Send your resume and why you would be perfect to join our team to: cmchesne@ucsc.edu
Spring 2023 Pathways to Grad School
What: MERR 35A: Pathways to Graduate School - Phase 1, 2 Units.
This is the first part of a 2-part class series guiding students from graduate school exploration through application and preparing for the grad school environment. The second course (MERR 35B) is offered in the fall.
When: Spring 2023, Thursdays from 3:20-4:55
Where: On campus, in-person, Merrill Academic 132
Who: Sophomores and juniors in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Latinx, EOP, and other underrepresented students are prioritized and especially encouraged to express interest in the course.
How: Students who would like to be part of the course, can fill out the interest form to request a permission code.
For more information:
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Check out our webpage and ongoing list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s).
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Contact Sara Sanchez with any further questions at: ggrad2@ucsc.edu.
CodePath - Summer Courses Available
CodePath.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization reprogramming higher education to create the most diverse generation of software engineers, CTOs, and founders.
In 2022, CodePath partnered with 68 colleges and universities across the country. Within those partnerships, we enrolled 6,900 students in our courses; 70% of them identified as Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, first-generation, and/or low-income. We achieved all this through our no-cost Silicon Valley-backed courses for CS students.
This summer, we are offering courses in:
- Intro to Software Engineering – Introduces software engineering and computer science concepts to students with little to no programming experience. Primarily taught in Python programming language and focuses on beginner topics from conditional, loops, big O notation, dictionaries, strings, and arrays.
- Technical Interview Prep — Ace the technical interview, students will gain a preview of real-world software topics and be prepared to solve challenging algorithmic problems in whiteboard and coding interviews. Geared towards juniors and seniors - ends with a virtual career fair.
Latino Role Models 2023 Conference is on 3/25
MathWorks & Quanser Interactive Seminar on Tuesday 3/14
Let’s have the conversation about the integration of software & hardware – together!
MathWorks & Quanser are hosting a session on Tuesday, March 14th at 4-5:20pm in E2-180. This interactive session will be a presentation by both companies focusing on what is new and bridging the gap between theory and simulation. We also will ask attendees to bring their questions and share about projects that they are working on as well.
Food and swag will be provided by Quanser & MathWorks. Please do share with your community on campus! You can optionally register here (drop down menu will allow you to choose your campus) to receive a reminder email will be sent to all registrants with room details closer to the event date.
As today’s systems have grown ever smarter, embedded software has taken on an increasingly significant role in integrating a diverse range of electrical and mechanical components to make what seems like magic happen. Developmental testing guides the software design process to optimal system performance, while continuous operational testing assesses the quality and identifies any necessary upgrades. As we all know, more and better testing always helps! But how do you iterate the build and test process and remain fast?
Simulink enables you to replace prototypes with simulations that directly support the software design process. Once hard constraints on time and money for prototypes are relaxed, see what great ideas can come to life in the form of new and better systems! We will cover the following topics in our session:
- Model Mechanics
- Model Electronics
- Design Control
- Deploy to hardware through C Code Generation
Digital NEST: Career Development Conference - Updates to Share!
Thank you to those who have already shared our free virtual conference with all of your slug students and colleagues. We have two very exciting updates to share with you!
We're so happy to welcome Jeremy Almond as our opening keynote speaker for NEST Flight 2023. Jeremy is the co-founder and CEO of Paystand, a Fin-tech company based in Scotts Valley, CA. Jeremy was raised in Stockton, CA and was the first to graduate college and attend graduate school from his family. Students can join us at NEST Flight 2023 to hear his inspiring story and connect with him. His company is growing & hiring!
We will also be offering the first 70 attendees to register a swag bag that we will mail out post-conference. This does apply to folks who have already registered! Make sure to share out with students today so they can secure a seat and a swag bag!
Attaching our conference recruitment flyer below for you. Students can register here: https://www.accelevents.com/e/
Deadline Closing: Travel Scholarships! ✈️
