BE Undergraduate Newsletter
Announcements
Fall Opportunities at NeurotechSC
Hi everyone,
We are the official Neurotechnology club at UCSC! We focus on project building and education covering the topics of brain-computer interaction, neuroscience, and AI, and every year we submit a project to the NeurotechX competition. This year our project will be using SSVEPs as a means to alternatively communicate through the input of visual responses.
Our five teams consist of hardware, machine learning, data, software, and publication. To get involved join our discord: https://discord.gg/fjgDDGfFGG or send us an email at neurotechsc@gmail.com.
Some more about our club, we received 1st place in the U.S. in the NeuroTechX Student Competition for a silent-speech interface that takes in user EMG signals from the jawline area and predicts if a user is thinking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with 90% accuracy. If the subject interests you, we welcome you to connect with us at our weekly meetings, we usually meet Tuesdays at 7 pm so watch out on discord for updates on our next meeting!
P.S. Don’t forget to check us out on instagram: @neurotechsc or on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/neurotechsc
Software Research Opportunity
Focused ultrasound (FUS) or "curing with sounds” is a revolutionary non-invasive medical therapy. It sends harmless sound waves to treat over 150 medical conditions, such as cancer treatment with no surgery or chemotherapy, and brain modulations without opening the skull, to name a few. We, at Yektasonics, are developing a novel hardware-software co-designed Phased Array to be used in Focused Ultrasound medical devices. We also plan to utilize our technology in other non-medical applications, where we recently shipped our single channel Power Module to a non-medical company.
Our technology is an order of magnitude lower cost, and it has performance breakthroughs. Yektasonics has received numerous awards/recognitions, such as the recent award from the UC Santa Cruz Chancellor at Launchpad 2022, being a company in residence at UC Berkeley Citris Foundry, a finalist of UC Big Ideas Competitions, a NSF I-Corps recommended team, ASU Venture Devils cohort member, and being part of American Heart Association.
We have an interesting and challenging Software Research position, where a strong candidate will contribute to our existing software or will develop new modules, such as Yektasonics Operating System, our end user package, our embedded computing interface, and more. The work will be done mostly in C/C++. The work is hosted at UC Santa Cruz BSOE. The candidate should enroll for research credits, and the hours can be paid later from our sale.
If you are interested, please email your resume as well as your transcript to Navid Gougol at ngougol@ucsc.edu, who is the CEO/Founder of Yektasonics and a doctorate student at UCSC. You can check out the company website for more information at www.yektasonics.com.
Join Bioinformatics Club!
Begin your school year by joining the Bioinformatics Club!
We offer valuable workshops such as programming and bioinformatics tools essential in academic research and the industry. We will also be hosting career and academic panels to gain insights into the different future pathways of Bioinformatics after graduation. Lastly, we will also be hosting social events such as our hiking event that is coming up on the 24th of September, more details will be posted on discord, please join our channel to be a part of the community: https://discord.gg/kXRzvbqHU4
We will also be at Cornucopia on Sept. 20th from 4pm - 7pm. Feel free to stop by as we are looking forward to meet you!
New STEM, Pharmacy & Health Professions Scholarships Available
Please see below for three scholarships ($2500 each) that we have launched this year:
Scholarship for single parents/children of single parents who are future healthcare professionals:
https://trumedical.co.uk/true-
Scholarship for female students in STEM:
https://trumedical.co.uk/true-
Scholarship for female students in Pharmacy: https://trumedical.
Students need to submit an essay to apply. All citizenships welcome. The deadline is December 20, 2022. We will announce the winners on January 20, 2023.
34th Annual Great Minds in STEM Conference - October 5th-8th in Pasadena, CA
Great Minds in STEM holds the GMiS Conference every year. The conference focuses on providing STEM students the opportunity to network with STEM professionals, fellow students, and recruiters from fortune 500 companies. We host events such as interactive seminars, competitions, various networking events with recruiters, and a career fair with companies and organizations that are highly motivated to hire STEM students. You can learn more at our website https://gmisconference.org
2023 Hertz Fellowship Application Open through Oct 28th
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2023 Hertz Fellowship awards. Hertz Fellows receive five years of funding, which offers flexibility from the traditional constraints of graduate training and the independence needed to pursue research that best advances our nation’s security and economic vitality.
The Hertz Fellowship is an influential network of more than 1,200 fellows, creating lifelong connections that will accelerate your career, and have the opportunity to take part in mentoring, scientific symposia, and professional development workshops.
The deadline is October 28, 2022. You can learn more about the fellowship and apply at https://www.hertzfoundation.org/apply.
Seeking Readers/Tutors for CSE 50 (Business Information Systems) Fall 2022
Did you enjoy CSE 50 or former TIM50? Did you do well and want to take the next step? Do you enjoy reading case studies? Do you like helping others? We need Graders (Readers) and Tutors.
Graders will be responsible for grading students' work related to case studies. We are looking for students who are detail-oriented, conscientious, and punctual. We really do care about the quality of grading.
Tutors are expected to hold tutoring sessions. We need people who are interested in business and are good at communicating with others and are confident in their ability to explain core concepts of MIS.
Steps for the Student Applicant
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Log in to the Reader Tutor Application (RTA) system using your CruzID and Blue password.
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Submit your application. You will receive an email confirming that you have applied. An application is not a guarantee of employment.
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If your application is approved, you will receive a formal offer of employment via email. You must accept the formal offer in the RTA system within two days.
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After accepting the offer, you will receive an acknowledgment notice with instructions to complete employment paperwork.
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You are not permitted to begin working before completing the required employment forms and work authorization documents.
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Any questions, please contact the instructor by email.
Readers and Tutors Needed for CSE 163 (Data Programming for Visualization)
The course uses D3 Interactive Visualization Software. The student must be familiar with D3.
If there are no applicants with prior experience in D3, then applicants with strong academic record and willingness to learn D3 fast-track will be considered. Students with web skills such as HTML, CSS, Javascript. EcmaScript, and familiarity or interest in geomapping will be preferred. Attendance of all classes MW 5:20-6:55 is required.
Number of hours for the whole quarter (Fall 2022) will be roughly 150 hours that can be adjusted between readership and tutorship depending upon the skill of the applicant. Hourly wage rate is roughly $17/hr. If interested, please send an email to lodha@soe.ucsc.edu with Subject: Reader-Tutor for CSE 163. Please describe your preparation/skill for the course and/or academic transcripts.
Job and Internship Finding Tool for UCSC Students
With recruiting season kicking off, finding jobs and internships can be stressful and time-consuming. Simplify is a free browser extension that helps you autofill job & internship applications anywhere on the web in seconds – think of it like Honey for jobs.The platform also has a database of over 100,000 open positions and includes curated job lists like Top Summer 2023 Internships and Tech Internships for Freshman.
The founders are super excited to help UCSC students get hired so they made a dedicated email for UCSC students to directly contact them at ucsc@simplify.jobs. Best of luck on your search and go slugs!
Get started here: https://simplify.jobs
Explore Faculty Research in Computing / Design
Interested in exploring computing / design research? Join CMPM 15, a 1-credit course that introduces to research areas that UCSC faculty are actively engaged in, all of whom are looking to involve undergraduate students, and some of which accept all students who have taken CMPM 15. Topics this quarter include 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 informational document and/or the instagram post.
We will accept all students off of the waitlist up until the first day of class.
Recruiting for Rural Commute Study
Hi all!
We are researchers with Baskin Engineering at UCSC conducting a study to explore the experiences and challenges of people who commute to/from rural areas of San Lorenzo Valley (e.g., Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Bonny Doon) and sub/urban areas. This study involves an approximately 1 hour interview. Upon successful completion of the study, participants will receive a $40 gift certificate at either Amazon, Target, Starbucks or Walmart. Your participation will be anonymous. If you can devote 1 hour worth of your time and if you are eligible for our interview, we’d really appreciate your time and effort. If interested, please sign up on the link : tinyurl.com/2tz983xx (or scan the QR code) provided in the poster to be considered for the study.
Flyer: Ruralsuburban_commute.png
Explore Faculty Research in Computing / Design
Interested in exploring computing / design research? Join CMPM 15, a 1-credit course that introduces to research areas that UCSC faculty are actively engaged in, all of whom are looking to involve undergraduate students, and some of which accept all students who have taken CMPM 15. Topics this quarter include 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 informational document and/or the instagram post. We will accept all students off of the waitlist up until the first day of class.
Once you’ve registered for CMPM 15, fill out the Intro survey to tell us your preferences for themes.
Now Open - The Science Coalition Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge!
Did you know UCSC is a member of The Science Coalition? Together with research universities across the country, we’re working to spread the word to Congress about why science matters—and we need your help!
The Science Coalition recently launched its annual Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge, which is a great opportunity for students and researchers on campus to get involved in science advocacy and earn cash prizes! The challenge is open now until October 17. The power of a great story can change the world, and now more than ever, it’s important we share the value of science to advocate for increased federal funding for research.
Cash prizes from $500 to $1,000 will be awarded to the top three graduate and undergraduate student winners, with an additional opportunity for finalists to earn more through the People’s Choice Award. You don’t have to be a scientist to enter—if you’re passionate about science, we want to hear from you. It’s time to fund it forward.
Enter today! More details can be found on the website, and questions can be directed to tsc@sciencecoalition.org.
GDA (Game Development and Art Collaboration)
GDA is a club that seeks to give students hands on experience in the game development process. Students will have the opportunity to work on a game in any department of their choosing: Design, Programming, Production, Art, Writing, and Sound. During Fall Quarter, members have the options to pitch a game idea. The winning game idea then gets worked on during Winter and Spring quarters. GDA is a great way for students to practice their craft, meet new people, and gain valuable experiences to put on their resumes/portfolios.
In addition, GDA also hosts the following events/programs:
- Guest Speaker Talks/Q&As with professionals from the gaming industry and UCSC Alumni
- Workshops on various different aspects of game development (art, sound, design, etc)
- Community nights where members can interact with each other (Movies and Games)
- Short game jams (including Global Game Jam)
GDA will operate in a hybrid format this year. In order to keep up with GDA announcements and activities, it is necessary to join the discord server. No further steps are required for membership.
The first meeting will occur on Friday 9/30, 6PM. Students will be able to learn more about the club and ask questions. The exact location of this meeting has yet to be decided, and so it is recommended to join the discord server in order to be up to date with latest developments.