Newsletter for 05/23/2021

New Announcements

Announcements

Graduate Student Survey - Now Open

The 2021 UCSC Graduate Student Survey provides you with an opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of your graduate program.  We rely on this feedback to evaluate and make improvements. The survey covers important aspects such as the quality of faculty teaching and mentorship, curriculum, TA and research training, climate, and funding.  It also includes questions about your experiences during remote learning and working this past year. To participate in the 2021 Graduate Student Survey, please go to the survey portal:

http://gradsurvey.ucsc.edu

After participating in the survey, you will have a chance to win one of ten $50 Amazon gift cards in weekly drawings or one of four $200 Amazon gift cards in grand prize drawings throughout the survey.

*PLEASE NOTE THE UPCOMING UNIVERSITY DEADLINES*

Please note the following upcoming university deadlines, and ALWAYS check the Academic and Administrative Calendar for important dates and deadlines. Bookmark this year's Academic and Administrative Calendar and refer to it regularly.

Friday, August 27th Leave of Absence Summer Deadline
Deadline to petition for leave of absence (LOA) beginning the next quarter. LOA forms must be approved/signed by your faculty advisor and submitted to the BSOE Graduate Advising office by the posted deadline.  LOA application forms are available on the Graduate Division's website. 

Supporting students with the latest Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), signed into law in late December, provided our campus with $28.8 million on March 17 to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic on the university and its students. Our Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will directly award $9.7 million of the CRRSAA funding to graduate and undergraduate students with exceptional need to help with expenses related to COVID-19 including tuition, housing, food, health care (including mental health care), and child care. 

Financial aid grants will be directly awarded to graduate and undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional need, for example very low expected family contribution levels or student parents with dependent children. Determinations will be made based on existing financial aid information. In most cases, additional applications or requests will not be necessary. Graduate students who appear eligible based on prior financial aid information but who did not complete an application this year will receive information by email on how to file a Declaration of Exceptional Need to confirm eligibility, a new requirement due to changes in this round of higher education relief funds.  

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office consulted with campus leaders, and with leadership of  the Student Union Assembly and the Graduate Student Association, on how best to award funds within program requirements and regulations. The minimum spring quarter award will be $1,000. Students identified for an award will receive an email in the next few days to ensure direct-deposit information is current. Money will be disbursed soon afterward. The CRRSAA awards are one-time grants that do not need to be paid back. 

Though CRRSAA funds are restricted to students eligible for federal aid, UC Santa Cruz will provide equivalent awards to students who have completed the California Dream Application. 

Any student experiencing a financial emergency, regardless of aid eligibility should contact the Slug Support team. 

The remaining $19.1 million will be used to cover campus expenses associated with COVID-19.  Following federal guidance, costs may include additional course offerings or sections to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements, shipping course materials to students taking remote instruction, continued technology costs supporting remote instruction, lost revenue, COVID-19 prevention such as campus vaccination services, testing services, etc.

Our thoughts are with all members of the UC Santa Cruz community as together we continue to face the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please stay safe, stay well, and stay connected. 

For more information click here

Open Call - JSMF - 2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards

2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards for Dynamic and Multiscale Systems

Application Deadline: June 11, 2021 

Overview

The fellowship is geared to students near the completion of their doctoral training and committed to acquiring new skills and experience in a multi-disciplinary field such as complex systems science. The JSMF fellowship is designed to provide students with opportunities to pursue postdoctoral training aligned with the student's interest and desire to obtain additional skills and experience that will further their pursuit of careers in complex systems science.

Eligibility:

·Students should anticipate completing their degree requirements and activating the Fellowship between May 2022 and April 2023.

·The JSMF Fellowship is a unique opportunity for students with an interest in and an aptitude for complexity science who are in the final stages of completing their Ph.D. and looking to add new dimensions to their graduate training that will either be difficult or impossible without an independent source of funding.

·Important: This Fellowship is not intended for individuals that already have completed a Ph.D. or students that have already identified a postdoctoral position and a postdoctoral mentor as traditional.

Award Details:

·$200,000 USD to be expended in no less than 2 and no more than 3 years.

·The cost of the full postdoctoral salary or stipend and fringe benefits must be paid in full from the fellowship.

·Institutions cannot request that other funding sources be used to cover the Fellow’s salary or stipend; the primary purpose of this fellowship is the independence of the postdoctoral fellow.

·JSMF does not consider dependence on institutional or research grant funding as commensurate with such independence. The fellowship is not intended to provide general support to a laboratory or department.

·If the institutional postdoctoral salary scales are set such that there are funds in excess of what is needed for stipend and benefits, the excess funds can be used by the institution to support the Fellow’s research.

Special Requirements: Please promptly submit your proposal intake form prior to the UCSC's Internal Institutional Deadlines. For proposal support, or for any questions about institutional requirements, please send requests and questions to the research development team at resdev@ucsc.edu. A proposal development specialist will field your requests. 

Call sent: March 12, 2021 

The Office Foundation Relations is a unit of University Relations. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations and corporations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits.

For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website.  FR Calls for Funding

Magic Leap University Graduate Program Opportunities Newsletter Pending

Magic Leap is looking for PhD and Masters students to join our team for a 3 month Summer Program for Underrepresented Students in Engineering. In partnership with STEM departments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Women In Engineering Institutions, and broader universities we are committed to empowering and elevating diversity of thought, experience, and background in our workforce and in our pipeline of future researchers!

More Information: Magic_Leap.pdf

Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL) Teaching for Equity Graduate Certificate Program - Spring 2021

Registration opens Monday, February 22 at 9:00am Pacific Time: bit.ly/TeachForEquity2021

Are you passionate about promoting equity in higher education? CITL’s Teaching for Equity Graduate Certificate Program is a unique professionalization curriculum designed to enhance your understanding and implementation of best practices in equity-focused pedagogy. Through engaging conversations and structured learning activities, we’ll explore key issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in college classrooms. You will be guided in developing teaching strategies shown to foster the equitable learning outcomes that inspired so many of us to pursue higher education as a calling.

This intimate learning community of graduate students from across campus will meet bi-weekly (5 sessions total) during Spring quarter. Included among the topics we’ll cover: identifying common institutional barriers to learning; teaching to cultural strengths; implementing Universal Design for Learning; embracing identity and difference in the classroom; promoting active and collaborative learning; using emotional connection to motivate learning; and scaffolding assignments to benefit student success.

Depending on your personal teaching goals, you will be supported through the process of developing components of an equity-focused course syllabus, along with associated lesson plans and learning activities. 

This program is a commitment -- but we promise you’ll come away from the experience with an invaluable toolkit of equitable teaching strategies that will shape your course design and teaching practices for years to come. Please join us!

Program Dates: Five live Zoom sessions on every other Friday in Spring 2021, at 10:00am-12:00pm Pacific Time:

• Friday, April 2 (Week 1)

• Friday, April 16 (Week 3)

• Friday, April 30 (Week 5)

• Friday, May 14 (Week 7)

• Friday, May 28 (Week 9)

How to Participate: Graduate students in any discipline and with any level of prior teaching experience are welcome to register. The certificate program is limited to 30 participants. Participants commit to attending all 5 workshops and to completing teaching-related projects with the structured support of the learning community.

Registration opens on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 9:00am Pacific Time and will remain open until Monday, March 1 at 9:00am Pacific Time.

Registration link: bit.ly/TeachForEquity2021

A waitlist will automatically open after 30 people have registered. CITL will contact people on the waitlist in the order in which they sign up if any spots become available.

Find this information online at: https://citl.ucsc.edu/programs/graduate-certificate-programs/

Summer GSRs for Salton Sea Project

Here are announcements for 3 GSR positions for this summer, with a total of 5 openings. GSRs will be working with PI Brent Haddad on a project that will be reviewing proposals for the restoration of the Salton Sea.

Graduate students in Environmental Studies, Economics, Engineering, GIS, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and related fields are encouraged to apply.

Please see each of these announcements for more information about the individual positions, deadlines, etc.

Announcements: GSR_Information.pdf

NASA Fellowship Activity (Fellowships 2021)

This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), titled NASA Fellowship Activity 2021, is seeking student-authored and independently conceived graduate research proposals responding to a NASA Notice of Funding Opportunity listed in the solicitation. The NASA Fellowship Activity 2021 is designed to support OSTEM objectives and provide academic institutions the ability to enhance graduate-level learning and development. NASA Fellowship Activity 2021 is an omnibus announcement that can include various NASA science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fellowship opportunities for graduate students. Specific Program Elements will be issued periodically throughout the year as Appendices to this solicitation with individual requirements and milestones.

The following Appendix to NASA Fellowship Activity 2021 has been released:

Appendix L: Program Element Two - Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and Non-MSI Fellowships 2021 - Proposals are due June 30, 2021 at 11:59pm ET

This opportunity is open to all graduate institutions. To be eligible to submit a proposal, candidates must hold a bachelor's degree earned before Aug. 31, 2021; candidates must be enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program no later than Sept. 1, 2021, and intend to pursue a research-based Masters or Ph.D. program in a NASA-relevant field.

For each Fellow, his or her institution receives up to a $55,000 annual award ($50,000 for Master’s student and $55,000 for Doctoral student).

A Pre-Proposal Teleconference for Program Element Two will be  held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 1:00pm ET. Pre-registration link will be posted on the MSI & Non-MSI Fellowships 2021 page. Pre-registration to participate in the webinar will be required.

For full program details, visit NASA Fellowship Activity 2021 page on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) website and click on ‘List of Open Program Elements’.

To submit a question to be addressed during the webinar please contact Carolyn Knowles at NASA.fellowships@nasaprs.com.

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact the NSPIRES Help Desk at nspires-help@nasaprs.com or call 202-479-9376 between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Submit your grad photos to the Baskin Engineering Commencement 2021 Photo Contest

With Commencement 2021 being held virtually, we want to see how our graduates are celebrating in place! Send us your graduation photos to be entered into a Baskin Engineering gift card giveaway. Photos submitted can take many forms. Feel free to share a photo of you and your family members and/or a beloved pet, you in your cap and gown, an image of your decorated cap, or a photo of your day-of celebrations. 

We have FOUR $50 VISA gift cards to award in the following categories:

1) Most creative cap / regalia photo
2) Best family / celebration photo
3&4) Two random drawings from all eligible participants 

You do not need to have official UCSC regalia to enter, but photos must be visibly commencement-related to be entered for a prize (e.g., family holding signs of congratulations, etc. Get creative!).

DEADLINE to submit a photo is 11:59 PM on Tuesday, June 15: https://forms.gle/LsfPWZWpq6acm4MU8

We'll post photos on https://graduation2021.soe.ucsc.edu in the "Pictures from Past Celebrations" section. 

Bakersfield College Teaching Assistant Diversity Recruitment

Application Components:

• A letter of interest specifying why the candidate is interested in teaching students at Bakersfield College. The letter should also discuss how the candidate’s educational experiences have prepared them to teach at a community college with a diverse student body, like Bakersfield College.
• An updated curriculum vitae with at least three professional references and contact information listed, one of the references needs to be from a current or former supervisor.
• College/university transcript (unofficial transcripts will be accepted), including all college units attempted.
• One signed letter of recommendation written within the last six months specifically for the Bakersfield College Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program from an individual who has provided post-secondary academic instruction to the applicant.
• Link to application: https://careers.kccd.edu/postings/13765

PowerPoint Presentation: Bakersfield_College_Recruitment_Presentation.pdf

Events

Herbie Lee: Fine-Tuning the Diversity Statement: Review and Feedback Interactive Workshop

Have a draft diversity statement you want professionally reviewed? Attend this workshop to share your draft and receive immediate feedback in a supportive environment of other graduate students and postdoctoral scholars seeking the same.

Fine-Tuning the Diversity Statement

Review and Feedback, Interactive Workshop

Dr. Herbert Lee, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Tuesday, May 25

12:30-2:00 p.m. PDT

Via Zoom

Draft your diversity statement. You will have the opportunity to share your screen to receive Dr. Lee's suggestions. This Zoom meeting will not be recorded, and the rules of engagement are:

• Respect the privacy of the information fellow attendees share in their diversity statements.
• In any discussion of anyone's diversity statement, offer positive, supportive, constructive comments.

REGISTER HERE

Antiracist Teaching Workshop

Antiracist Teaching Workshop

Antiracist Teaching Workshop

NIH Fellowships: Overview and Logistics, June 22

Get an overview of F-series grants and the UCSC process for applying for graduate students and join breakout rooms hosted by current and former F-series grant fellows and a breakout room hosted by two UCSC postdoctoral scholars who are current K99/R00 grant fellows.

NIH Fellowships: Overview and Logistics

Graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty invited.

Tuesday, June 22

10:00-11:30 a.m. PDT

Via Zoom

REGISTER HERE

Jobs

Computer Science Job Opening at Santa Clara University

We're seeking an Academic Year Adjunct Lecturer to teach 7 quarter courses next year. It's a full-time job in a friendly teaching environment. We have a long tradition of helping our Lecturers grow as teachers in a supportive environment. It's quite possible that this would be the perfect next step for one of your students.

Information about the job appears at the SCU HR portal:

https://wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recruiting/scu/scu/job/Santa-Clara-CA/Academic-Year-Adjunct-Lecturer-in-Computer-Science_R1198

USGS Santa Cruz Student Contractor Opportunities

There is an opportunity for a paid student contract with the Remote Sensing Coastal Change project team at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. The Project is hiring two students or recent graduates to build a datasets and techniques for use in Machine Learning characterization of remotely sensed imagery and derivative products. More details about these opportunities can be found in the attached contract description.

The Project is led by Daniel Buscombe and Dr. Phil Wernette. We can be reached directly by interested candidates at email: pwernette@usgs.gov and dbuscombe@contractor.usgs.gov

More Information: StudentContractor.pdf

Vassar College Visiting Assistant Professor Position

The Computer Science Department at Vassar College has recently opened a search for a two-year Visiting Assistant Professor in Computer Science.  We are attempting to attract a diverse pool of candidates, and as part of this effort we are reaching out to you.  If you are aware of any qualified candidates who might be interested in teaching at an outstanding liberal arts institution, please share the attached job ad with them and encourage them to apply.  The job ad may also be found at the following link:  https://employment.vassar.edu/postings/1793.

Flyer: Vassar_College_Visiting_Professor_Ad.pdf