(*14*)The 2025-26 UC Santa Cruz ARCS students.
Fourteen outstanding UC Santa Cruz graduate students in science and engineering fields earned scholarships value a complete of $180,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2025-26 tutorial 12 months.
The prestigious ARCS scholarships are awarded to students who’ve a report of previous achievement and present distinctive promise of constructing a major contribution to the scientific and technological power of the nation.
ARCS students can reap the benefits of mentoring and networking alternatives with different ARCS students and donors to the ARCS basis by means of occasions, scholar symposia, and nationwide conferences. The awardees obtain unrestricted scholarships of a minimal of $10,000 they’ll use to make progress to commencement, resembling housing, youngster care, and conferences.
The ARCS Foundation is a nationwide group that gives scholarships and fellowships for the nation’s most promising science, medical, and engineering students. Since 1976, the ARCS Northern California chapter has supported greater than 400 UCSC students with scholarships.
Meet the 2025-26 cohort of ARCS students:
Jordan Diaz, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Jordan’s analysis is concentrated on growing novel astronomical instrumentation to instantly observe exoplanets—planets outdoors our Solar System. As a first-generation Latino scholar, he’s in contributing to bridging the hole between science and society, notably for underrepresented communities.
Jessica Gagliardi, Earth and Planetary Science
Jessica is a geochronologist and geochemist who analyzes Antarctic subglacial chemical precipitates to characterize previous hydrologic exercise of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and examine its sensitivity to local weather change. She was acknowledged for her dedication to instructing with a Graduate Pedagogy Fellowship in 2025, and volunteers on the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History main geology applications for the general public.
Pierce Giffin, Physics
Pierce’s analysis bridges particle and plasma physics in exploring darkish matter plasmas. Pierce has a robust ardour for instructing and pedagogy and was awarded the Graduate Pedagogy Fellowship in 2022. He aided in founding the Santa Cruz Organization for Outreach in Physics and created a graduate-run physics assist room, mentoring students throughout ranges.
Kari Goodbar, Science Communication
Before becoming a member of the Science Communication program, Kari pursued marine mammal science in O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, growing know-how to enhance understanding of cetacean physiology. She additionally labored to translate complicated scientific ideas into partaking instructional supplies for various audiences, and has labored with environmental non-profits in Hawai‘i that middle Native Hawaiian land and ocean administration practices in neighborhood conservation and education schemes.
Mira Mastoras, Biomolecular Engineering
Mira’s analysis focuses on growing computational strategies to enhance the accuracy of genome assemblies, important for understanding the underlying biology of organisms. Mira’s work on bioinformatics instruments and purposes has been offered at main conferences, and she is devoted to mentoring junior researchers.
Olivia Maule, Science Communication
Olivia studied butterfly evolution in the Andes earlier than shifting her focus to podcasting, video manufacturing and writing to spotlight environmental and conservation efforts throughout the Americas. Her work in each Spanish and English permits for science to achieve audiences past the lab bench and mobilize environmental consciousness all through various communities.
Maya McElfish, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Maya research sensory morphology and conduct by means of the lens of foraging ecology in order to grasp how sensory stimuli contribute to foraging success. Her discipline work takes place on Santa Catalina island the place she works with rocky reef fish, notably the California moray eel. She is enthusiastic about creating extra hands-on alternatives for instructing STEM that middle empowering pupil curiosity.
Nathan McGregor, Earth and Planetary Sciences
Nathan research how planetary interiors evolve and affect floor and atmospheric dynamics, with a present give attention to Venus. He teaches GED math check prep programs with the Project for Inmate Education, volunteers as an issue skilled with the NASA Community College Network, and serves on the campus Committee on Teaching.
Cade Mirchandani, Biomolecular Engineering
Cade develops bioinformatic strategies for evolutionary and inhabitants genomics analysis, together with his present initiatives give attention to growing computational instruments for large-scale genomic evaluation, in addition to investigating evolutionary dynamics of host-symbiont interactions. His vital contributions to Snakemake, an open-source scientific workflow system important for reproducible analysis, have earned him recognition as a undertaking maintainer, and he actively mentors new students and maintains shared sources in his lab.
Allison Payne, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Allison’s analysis is concentrated on growing a novel instrument that’s connected to Northern elephant seals in order to take heed to the sounds of the deep ocean, together with the elusive whale species. In addition to being a discipline biologist, Allison is a science communicator, instructor, and mentor, and has revealed a number of papers with undergraduate mentees.
Anna Schartman, Ocean Sciences
Anna is a paleoclimatologist investigating the historical past and drivers of the savanna biome improvement by means of Earth’s previous, in order to reinforce our understanding of the response of those crucial ecosystems to local weather and environmental change. She is a non-traditional, first-generation graduate pupil who pursued a profession in English language instructing earlier than making the transition into the geosciences, which she has funded with a number of prestigious and aggressive fellowships together with by means of the NSF.
Søren Tornøe, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Søren researches materials science and skinny movie optics in the Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technology and Research Lab at UC Santa Cruz. His areas of analysis embrace protecting coatings for astronomical optics, inexperienced hydrogen from seawater electrolysis, and system electronics.
John Tressel, Chemistry and Biochemistry
John is a supplies chemist specializing in the design, manufacturing, and characterization of high-performance catalysts for water purification, by means of the degradation of natural dyes and micro organism. John has additionally beforehand been awarded a Sigma Xi analysis grant for his work on copper chlorophyllin primarily based catalysts.
Chloe Wohlenberg, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
Chloe’s present analysis is concentrated on understanding how small molecules influence the cell’s skill to acknowledge problematic mRNAs and how this crucial course of modifications with age. Chloe’s tutorial achievements led her to obtain a spot on the division’s aggressive T32 coaching grant, and she is enthusiastic about mentorship and instructing as she trains undergraduates in the lab.