By Erin Malsbury

UC Santa Cruz students win three categories at Orange County Sustainability Decathlon

An interdisciplinary team of UC Santa Cruz students, many from the Rachel Carson College Sustainability Minor program, designed and built EcoHus, an innovative, affordable, net-zero house. The EcoHus team was selected to receive a $100,000 grant to participate in the 2023 Orange County Sustainability Decathlon (OCSD) held on Oct. 5-15, where they won first place in three categories, and secured second and third place in other categories.

By Erin Malsbury

Cal-Bridge awarded $4 million to diversify STEM

The Cal-Bridge program, which supports students from historically underserved backgrounds in STEM, was recently awarded $4 million in the 2023-2024 California state budget. The funding will provide scholarships, mentorship and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students around the state in physics and astronomy, computer science, and math.

By Haneen Zain

Alumna Kathryn Sullivan enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame

Kathryn Sullivan (Cowell ’73, Earth sciences) was the first American woman to walk in space, the first woman to reach the deepest point of the ocean floor, and the only person to ever do both. On Sept. 22, she was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Washington, DC.

By Renee Wall

Eric Palkovacs is awarded the 2023 Excellence in Fisheries Education Award

Eric Palkovacs has been awarded the 2023 Excellence in Fisheries Education Award by the American Fisheries Society, the organization announced. This award is presented to an individual to recognize excellence in organized teaching and advising in some aspect of fisheries education.