Newsletter for 04/21/2024

New Announcements

Announcements

Spring 2024 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.

Thursday, April 11th Graduate Student Enrollment & Fee Payment

If you have not paid your registration fees or enrolled in the minimum number of courses by this date, you will be charged a $50 late fee.  Please keep in mind that pending aid (Fellowship, GSR, TA) will not credit your account until you are enrolled in at least 5 units. 

Thursday, April 11th Graduate Student Part-Time Status

This is the deadline to apply for reduced course load and fees.  Part-time status forms must be approved/signed by your faculty advisor and submitted to the BSOE Graduate Advising office by the posted deadline.  Part-time application forms are available on the Graduate Division's website.

Thursday, April 11th Deadline To Apply For Degree

If you plan to complete your MS or PhD this quarter (Spring 2024), the degree application needs to be submitted to BSOE Graduate Advising office. This is also the deadline to pay for filing fee, if applicable. More guidelines for graduating are available on the Graduate Advising website.

Friday, April 19th Deadline to Add/Drop/Swap Courses

This is your last day to add, drop and swap courses.  You will not be able to drop or withdraw from courses after this deadline has passed. If you are enrolled in a placeholder class, you MUST drop it by this deadline. More information on how to add, drop, and swap classes is available on the registrar website.

Friday, May 31st Grade Option

This is your last day to change your grading option for any courses you are enrolled in.

IMPORTANT: The system defaults to Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading.  Instructions for how to change your grading option to letter grades (ABC) can be found here.

Saturday, April 20th Late Add with Fee Deadline

The Add by Petition form requires the signatures of both the instructor and the department adviser and needs to be submitted to the Office of the Registrar.

Wednesday, February 14th Leave of Absence Spring 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. 

2024-25 Guru Gobind Singh Fellowship Competition

In 1988 the University received a bequest from the late Mr. Karam Singh Maughan to establish an endowment
to support graduate fellowships (named for Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikh religious leader) to be awarded to
graduates of universities in a specific area of India and Pakistan for the purpose of pursuing graduate study at the
University of California. Formerly administered by the Office of the President, this endowment has been
reallocated to the Santa Cruz campus, and I am writing to invite your nomination for the 2024-25 fellowship
award.

To be eligible, a student must (1) be a graduate of an Indian or Pakistani university in the designated area1,
(2) be committed to returning to their country of origin after receiving the degree, and (3) not have engaged
previously in graduate study at any other institution of higher learning in the United States. Mr. Maughan also
specified that individuals already holding the master’s degree will have preference.

Students at any stage of graduate study may be nominated, provided that the nominating campus will commit to
providing a Non-resident Tuition Fellowship, if applicable, for the Singh Fellow, as needed, for the duration of
the Fellow’s program (assuming continued satisfactory academic progress) commencing with the year following
the Singh award year. Other things being equal, however, I will give preference to students who have reached
the dissertation stage, and especially to those who have exhausted the normal sources of financial support.

For 2024-25, the amount of the Singh Fellowship award will be $30,000. The award will be made based on
the strength of the student’s academic record and supporting documents; these should include up to three letters
of reference (one from the student’s faculty sponsor), university transcripts, and any other documents that may
serve to support the candidacy. Please indicate the current status of the student, advanced to candidacy or not,
and planned completion date. In addition, please include a statement of how the student proposes to use their
graduate education in their home country.

Please submit the aforementioned documents to your department's graduate advisor by May 1, 2024 to be considered.

UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program Request for Proposals, Award Year 2025

UC Research Initiatives in the UC Office of the President is pleased to issue the UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program Request for Proposals for the award year 2025. This year’s competition offers two distinct funding opportunities:

• The UC Multicampus-National Laboratory Collaborative Research and Training (CRT) Award
• The UC-National Laboratory In-Residence Graduate Fellowship

The Requests for Proposals (RFP) can be found on each award’s webpage, linked above.

In addition to program guidelines and eligibility, each RFP includes:

• Instructions for submitting the required Letter of Intent
• Program contacts at the UC Laboratory Fees Research Program and National Laboratories
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

CRT Thematic Area - Research Advancing Microelectronics
This targeted opportunity is intended to spur novel collaborations in topics of scientific and national security importance that will position UC as a leader in the critical area of research advancing microelectronics. The workshop report from the 2024 LFRP Workshop on Research Advancing Microelectronics highlights some priorities for consideration in which UC-national lab collaborations can leverage the complementary strengths of UC and the national labs and advance the field; applicants are encouraged to refer to this report, regardless of attendance at the workshop.

CRT Applicant Webinar:
We encourage all applicants to attend the webinar.

• Tuesday, April 16, 10-11am Pacific Time (Register here).

In-Residence Graduate Fellowship
This is a funding opportunity for UC graduate students in any field of study that aligns with the missions of Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.

Fellowship Program Information Webinars:
We will hold two Program Information Webinars, featuring current fellows and national laboratory liaisons, to provide interested applicants with more information about the program. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of the available sessions:

• Monday, April 22, 10-11am Pacific Time (Register here)
• Thursday, April 25, 1-2pm Pacific Time (Register here)

Please review the RFP carefully and visit the program website for key dates and other program announcements. For questions on program scope and priorities, please contact UCRI@ucop.edu. Administrative questions regarding the application process may be directed to RGPOGrants@ucop.edu.

Piatt Fellowship 2024-25

We are pleased to announce the launch of Limited Submission - Piatt Fellowship 2024-2025. Click on the link below to view more information. Thank you! A joint announcement from the Graduate Division and the Office of Foundation Relations Deadline: April 26, 2024 Funder: Capitola Aptos Rotary Foundation Opportunity: Henry and Vera Piatt Fellowship UCSC Contacts: Peter Biehl, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies, pbiehl@ucsc.edu Almut Wolf, Foundation Relations, awolf2@ucsc.edu Overview Underwritten by the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Foundation, the Piatt Fellowship will provide a single award of $15,000 to a graduate of a Santa Cruz County Public High School who is pursuing a graduate degree at UC Santa Cruz in one of the science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) disciplines during the 2023-24 academic year. Eligibility Applicants must meet the following criteria: Be a US citizen. A graduate of a public high school in Santa Cruz County and possessing a Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Pursuing a Ph.D. in the science, math, technology or mathematics (STEM) disciplines. If no suitable Ph.D. candidate can be found, then a second-year Master’s student is acceptable. Student recipient must be in good academic standing and in successful pursuit of their graduate degree. Ranked priority for qualified recipients shall be given to a student who: Is in the final stages of their graduate degree, i.e. conducting original research and preparing their dissertation, Has passed their qualifying exam(s) and is advanced to candidacy, Is a second or third-year student, or Is a student entering a graduate program in the appropriate disciplines at UCSC. To apply To be considered, graduate student applicants should submit their materials to the internal campus competition via InfoReady. Select “Apply” from the menu and submit the following materials: Completed Piatt Fellowship Application/Information Sheet form. (attached) A letter of recommendation from the department chair, faculty advisor, or faculty sponsor that describes the student’s academic merit and how the student will benefit from the award. Unofficial Transcripts (Optional) Relevant material that would assist with the selection process - in the past this has included visual aids (charts, diagrams, formulas), research results, published articles/reports – Please limit optional material to 10 single spaced pages or 1 published article/report. Selection Process and Distribution of Funds The Graduate Division will convene a committee of faculty members from STEM disciplines to select the Piatt Fellowship awardee in May 2024. Piatt Fellowship funds will be awarded for the 2024-25 academic year and can be used for all costs related to successful pursuit of the graduate degree, including but not limited to fees, tuition, research, equipment, childcare or living expenses, etc. The Piatt Fellow will receive their award prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year, probably in September 2025. Please note: The selected student is required to attend at least 1 (maybe two) meetings of the Capitola Aptos Rotary Club. Typically, in March or April 2025, the Piatt Fellow will give a presentation to the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club on their research supported by this award. This is an in-person event. Piatt fellows are strongly encouraged to participate in the Grad Slam event and the Graduate Symposium celebrated in the spring of 2025. Timeline April 26, 2024 Applications Due May 7, 2024 Piatt Scholar selected and notified May 31, 2024 All forms signed and collected June 3, 2024 Submission to the Capitola Aptos Rotary Club

EY Open Science Data Challenge

Want to help fight climate change and win $10K? Check out the EY Open Science Data Challenge!

Are you interested in data, artificial intelligence, and the fight against climate change? Join UC Santa Cruz and EY’s Open Science Data Challenge. You could win $10,000 and a trip to Athens, Greece! 

This year’s challenge, sponsored by UCSC’s Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, involves downloading datasets to build a machine-learning model to identify and detect “damaged” and “undamaged” coastal infrastructure based on the impact of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and cyclones.

The challenge is open to undergraduate and graduate students, postdoc researchers, and alumni with less than two years of professional experience. It starts on Feb. 1 and ends on April 21. 

Build a team and register online: challenge.ey.com/2024. 

Good luck, Slugs!

UCSA & UCGPC Optional Fees

Did you know that you can opt out of the UCSA or UCGPC Association charges by submitting an online form before the third-week deadline of the affected quarter? If you opted out and wish to opt-in, you will need to complete the same form. Follow the navigation below to access the form in your MyUCSC portal.

Instructions:
MyUCSC >> Graduate Student eForms tile >> UCGPC Registration Fee Opt-out link in the left navigation

Reminder: After the third week of instruction (the Add/Drop/Swap Deadline on the Academic and Administrative Calendar) you are no longer able to opt out of the fees for the current quarter, but you may opt out for future quarters. A refund of current fees may be directed to the UCSA or UCGPC.

Events

UCSC Graduate Symposium

REGISTER FOR THE 2024 UCSC GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: MAY 3, 2024, 12:00 PM PACIFIC (NOON)

The Graduate Division hosts the Graduate Symposium annually in the spring at McHenry Library. All graduate students are eligible to participate and may do so in person or virtually via Zoom. (Recipients of qualifying fellowships are required to participate.) The event is free and open to the public. Judges representing UCSC staff, postdoctoral scholars, graduate student alumni, UCSC Foundation trustees, and community members determine an overall best presentation and five academic division best presentations.

For more detailed information please see: https://graddiv.ucsc.edu/calendar/grad-symposium/index.html

Jobs

3newable Paid Internship

3newable Paid Internship

3newable is a small company located in the San Francisco Bay Area working on wave energy converters and ultraviolet biofouling inhibitors for oceanographic applications. This internship will focus on testing 3newable's WEC, with new control electronics, on 3newable's recently-upgraded laboratory WEC tester. Operating parameters will be chosen to optimize performance for an upcoming test deployment off the coast of Oregon. Motor control programming and mechanical assembly will be required.

Qualifications:

• Currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from, a bachelor's or master's degree program in

• Mechanical, Electrical, Ocean or Aeronautical Engineering, Physics or similar, having completed at least the first two years, or a combination of relevant technical education and experience

• Desirable experience:

  • Experience assembling mechanical equipment (can be a hobby)

  • Experience programming a microcontroller or other controller, or a course in control systems

  • Rudimentary electronic circuits and measurement experience

  • Some familiarity with mechanical CAD such as Autodesk Inventor

• This position has physical requirements that most students will be able to meet. They will be discussed with candidates reaching the interview stage, but any candidate may request a list earlier.

Learn more at 3newable.com. To apply for this position, please send a cover letter, resume and dates available to jefouquet@outlook.com. (More information may be requested from candidates who look like a good fit.)

SIP 2024 - Call for Paid Mentors (Summer Funding Opportunity!)

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to be paid over the summer to mentor motivated high school students as they assist in advancing your research projects!

The Science Internship Program (SIP) engages high school students, ages 14-17, in university-level open-ended research projects in a variety of academic disciplines, including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. SIP interns work in small groups of three or more, and each group is supervised by a PhD student, postdoc, or research staff. Interns will develop research skills, begin building a sense of identity within the research area, and hone their critical thinking skills.

More information about the program is below. 

• 2024 SIP program dates: Sunday, June 23, 2024, through Saturday, August 10, 2024

  • Monday, June 10 - 21: Research prep weeks (minimal email contact w/ interns)

  • Sunday, June 23, 2024: Kickoff and orientation

  • Saturday, August 10, 2024: Presentation Day

  • Mentors must be available for a minimum of 6 weeks to participate

• Please apply by: Friday, April 26, 2024 

• Mentor Application: Please fill out the SIP 2024 Mentor Application to submit your project for consideration for the 2024 SIP program.

• Stipends: The stipend amount for 2024 is $4,750 for graduate students (up to 100% of summer salary in the combination of all UCSC summer appointments) and $2,750 for postdocs and researchers (in place of PTO). Questions about mentor stipends should be directed to SIP staff - ucsc-sip@ucsc.edu.

• Mentors spend 15 hours per week mentoring SIP interns.

• SIP will be an in-person program at the UCSC campus this year. Remote projects may be accepted by exception only. 

We encourage you to watch our short SIP visual story and visit the SIP website to learn more about the program.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the SIP staff at ucsc-sip@ucsc.edu. We look forward to an exciting program this summer.