Baskin School of Engineering Projects

UCSC NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS (NSBE)         

The UCSC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is dedicated to  increasing the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.  By fostering a supportive environment, NSBE helps Black engineers develop professional skills, create networking opportunities, and maintain academic excellence and confidence. Your support can drive significant change, promoting a more inclusive and innovative future in engineering and technology. Contributions help bridge the diversity gap and expand career development opportunities such as career fairs, workshops, and conferences, empowering students to succeed in their engineering careers.

Tech4Good Student Programs

We do research in social computing, exploring the intersection of computational systems and social interaction. Our mission is to develop systems--integrating design, modeling, and algorithms--to support individual and societal flourishing in work, education, community engagement, and governance.

Autoslug Funding for AI, ML, and CV research

We are a club focused on research and development in the sections of AI, ML, and CV. Our first project is an innovative computer vision model that translates real-time American Sign Language (ASL) into human-readable English, fostering communication between the deaf and hearing communities. The second project is called ModBot which features an autonomous modular machine with a custom swerve drivetrain, allowing it to navigate through crowded environments and diverse terrains while adapting its components for optimal performance in different scenarios. Our third project is working in tandem with Steve McGuires lab to properly simulate a Unitree B1 dog.

Formula SLug

Our mission is to empower the next generation of engineers by providing hands-on experience through the design and development of electric vehicles as part of the Formula SAE competition. We strive to foster innovation, teamwork, and technical excellence, preparing our members for successful careers in engineering and beyond. We would use funding to purchase equipment, components, and materials necessary for building our electric vehicle as well as travel to competition.

UCSC Blueprint

UCSC Blueprint is a student-run organization that helps build websites and mobile apps for local nonprofits at no cost, bridging the gap between innovation and social impact right here at UCSC.. Your donation would help us further our mission by helping us upgrade our tools and resources for more robust project development, host workshops and events to enhance our skills and strengthen the Blueprint community, cover costs for essential services that keep our projects running smoothly, and continue hosting our annual Blueprint for Change Summit. This summit helps showcase our yearly projects, highlight local nonprofits, and give community members a chance to connect with various speakers.

Genomics Institute Research Mentoring Internship program!

Support our Research Mentoring Internship program (RMI) raise funds to propel diversity and excellence in STEM education (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)! The RMI program is open to all majors who have an interest in genomics. Its goal is to foster an interdisciplinary and diversified approach to both research and data collection and promote inclusive representation in STEM. Your donation will go directly towards supporting:

Scholarships
Professional Development
Developing  Research Skills
Conference Attendance

This will have a direct impact on first generation students from marginalized communities in STEM fields, with an emphasis on genetics and genomics.

UC Santa Cruz Rocket Team

The Rocket Team is the first student-run organization devoted to all things aerospace and rocketry at UC Santa Cruz. Each school year, the team participates in the world's largest rocketry competition: the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC).  Students participating with the Rocket Team gain valuable skills in practical engineering, aerospace research, and extensive team projects. Through the process of designing and building rockets each year, our members gain valuable experience working in teams to tackle the problems posed in rocket flight. As a team, our mission is to design and build high-power model rockets that model current challenges in space exploration and aerospace engineering and see UC Santa Cruz lead the way on developing sustainable and effective rocketry.

Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)

Help us promote equity and inclusion in STEM! The goal of WiSE at UC Santa Cruz is to advance women and historically excluded groups in STEM fields both in percentage and position, in the face of historical, present, and future challenges. Your donation supports the many programs and activities organized by WiSE, including events for K-12 students, for UCSC undergraduate and graduate students, and for the greater Santa Cruz community. These include STEM education, professional development workshops and mentoring opportunities, social gatherings, and more. Visit our website at https://wiseucsc.wixsite.com/wise to learn more about what we do, and sign up for our weekly newsletter!

Association for Computing Machinery(ACM)

Your support will play a key role in creating an incredible experience for our participants and advancing the mission of ACM.
ACM empowers students through:
- Community events and professional development workshops
- Cutting-edge projects like Slug Loop, SWE developments, and the Undergraduate AI Research Lab
- Industry connections via company tours and conferences
- Hosting impactful hackathons and much more!

Baskin Day

Baskin Day an annual student-organized event dedicated to celebrating achievements and community within the School of Engineering at the Baskin Courtyard. Each year we host a variety of activities throughout the day: many UCSC's Baskin Engineering and Academic clubs table to recruit new members and spotlight their achievements, attendees get free snacks and swag, several faculty research talks occur through the day to highlight research at UCSC, and local industry professionals participate in a panel to discuss diversity in careers.

iGEM 2026

The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition brings together interdisciplinary undergraduate teams from around the world to tackle pressing global challenges through synthetic biology. Our team of dedicated UC Santa Cruz students is working over 40 hours a week to design, build, and present a student-led project that combines molecular engineering, bioinformatics, and real-world problem-solving. iGEM provides hands-on experience that goes beyond the classroom, cultivating leadership, collaboration, and innovation. By engaging in every aspect of the project—from lab work to outreach—our students are becoming the next generation of scientists and changemakers.

Support Real-World Cybersecurity Skills at UCSC

Support Slug Security, UCSC's premier cybersecurity club, as we continue building our Cyber Range program. We're expanding hands-on learning opportunities where students practice real cybersecurity skills in a safe environment. Students work together on attack and defense exercises, learning from each other while gaining practical experience. This year we're focused on creating more learning scenarios and supporting additional students who want to dive into cybersecurity. Your support helps us grow this program and give more students the hands-on training they need for cybersecurity careers.

Slugworks

Slugworks is UC Santa Cruz’s campus-wide creatorspace, open to students of all majors who want to design, build, and explore hands-on projects. Located in the Jack Baskin Engineering Building, Slugworks supports student-led innovation through workshops, experiential learning classes, and collaboration with engineering clubs like Formula Slug, Slugbotics, and the Rocket Team. We are raising funds to improve access to tools, upgrade materials for workshops, and expand inclusive programs that welcome students of all skill levels. Your gift will directly support creative learning experiences that help students turn their ideas into reality.

Baskin Engineering: Dean's Opportunity Fund

By investing in the Dean’s Opportunity Fund, you enable us to use unrestricted funds to meet compelling needs and help promising projects and programs come to fruition. Gifts to this fund help achieve significant dividends for Baskin Engineering: our faculty and students accomplish dynamic, ground-breaking research, and our graduates leave the campus with skills that prepare them to make a difference in the world. The Dean’s Opportunity Fund plays a key role in this. We encourage you to help us build on 25 years of excellence and innovation

Girls in Engineering

Girls in Engineering is an interactive engineering camp for middle school girls* designed to build confidence and spark a lifelong passion for engineering and problem solving. The program inspires and demystifies pathways that lead to the study of engineering and careers in STEM.

Girls in Engineering is offered at no cost to participants and seeks to serve local middle school girls from schools with large percentages of students who are low-income, first-generation, or underrepresented in higher education. To further remove barriers to participation, Girls in Engineering offers free daily shuttle transportation to and from camp, free lunch, free snacks, and provides all materials. Each year, we have to turn away eager students because the camp fills so quickly. Your support will help us add additional camp sessions to serve more students in summer 2026 and beyond.

During the program, students create their own robots, tinker with circuit boards, program their first computer-controlled video game, envision themselves as computer scientists, and

Slugworks

Slugworks is a dynamic, student-centered makerspace in the heart of the Baskin School of Engineering. Open to all UCSC students—regardless of major or experience—Slugworks empowers creativity, collaboration, and hands-on learning through inclusive, accessible, and diverse programming.

Your support fuels free access to high-impact tools like CNC machines, sewing equipment, laser cutters, and more. It also helps fund weekly student-led workshops at the intersection of art, design, and technology.

Help us keep this space thriving—every gift helps unlock innovation for every Banana Slug.

First Generation Engineering Scholarships

Support the success of students who will be the first in their families to graduate from college by giving to the First-Generation Engineering Scholarship fund. This undergraduate scholarship allows students to reduce or eliminate loans, as well as the time they spend on non-career-advancing jobs necessary to pay for housing, meals, and tuition. Reducing outside work obligations opens up time for students to study, participate in an engineering club or lab, and experience the full range of Baskin Engineering opportunities while building their future professional network. The more time a student devotes to their major and related programs, the more likely they are to complete their degree and to finish it within a realistic timeline. By donating to this scholarship, you are creating the opportunity for a student to better focus on their academic efforts and graduate with less debt. This, in turn, sets the stage for more career choices and greater economic mobility.

Support Girls Who Code’s Tech Conference Fund

Girls Who Code at UCSC is a student-led organization open to all students and is dedicated to supporting underrepresented students in tech through skill-building, mentorship, and community. We are raising funds to help our members attend leading conferences like the Grace Hopper Celebration, WECode, and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) conference. These events offer hands-on learning, career-building opportunities, and invaluable exposure to the broader tech community. Donations will go directly toward registration, travel, and lodging costs–removing financial barriers so students can fully engage in these incredible opportunities.

Improving engineering through community, ETC, Engineering Teaching Community

Your support for ETC, the Engineering Teaching Community of Baskin, is one way to say “yes” you want to see learning experiences improve for students in engineering. All donations will be used to promote inclusive teaching practices and support all students to learn, regardless of background or prior experience. Thank you for your gift and for helping to change the culture of learning in engineering to be welcoming, inclusive, and engaging.

Slugbotics: UC Santa Cruz's Robotics Club!

Slugbotics is UC Santa Cruz’s Robotics Club!We work on projects ranging from combat robotics to underwater robotics, among other projects. We strive to foster an inclusive space where students can participate in robotics with a motivated community behind them to see their ideas come to life.

Our club is an integral part of Baskin Engineering; we allow students to supplement what they learn in class by applying their robotics knowledge to varying robotics projects, gaining hands-on experience.

Funds will help purchase necessary tools and equipment, and cover travel stipends to competitions and conferences we participate in, including MATE ROV World Championship, Open Sauce, and NorCal Smackdown.

SlugSat

SlugSat is a student-run engineering club with the goal of building and launching a small satellite known as a cubesat into low Earth orbit. By working towards this goal, we are furthering our education across several disciplines including (but not limited to): Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics Engineering, and even some disciplines that aren’t offered as programs at UCSC; the most obvious of these being Aerospace Engineering. Your funding would pay for a vast range of expenses: basic components, off-the-shelf hardware, travel costs for going to conferences, and (most significantly) launch costs. If you wish to see UC Santa Cruz become an extraterrestrial institution, donate today!

CruzHacks 2026 – UCSC's Premier Hackathon

CruzHacks is UC Santa Cruz’s largest student-run hackathon, bringing together a diverse community of students to build real-world tech solutions for challenges in education, health, sustainability, and justice. Open to all skill levels, the event offers free access to mentorship, hands-on workshops, meals, and tools that support learning and collaboration. With your support, CruzHacks 2026 will grow equity-centered programming, expand industry mentorship, and remain free and accessible for every student. Your gift directly funds technology, venue costs, and meals that keep participants energized and inspired throughout the weekend.

SHPE UCSC: STEM, Growth, Unity

At UC Santa Cruz, our SHPE familia is an inclusive space that supports, nurtures, and empowers underrepresented engineering students in STEM. In 2025, we had 13 members attend the SHPE National Convention and 8 of them got job and internship offers after going through some of the best professional workshops that we were fortunate to host with alumni and industry leaders. We also bring our familia together through some of our signature study jams where over 15 members got together to study, share knowledge, and create deep, life-long friendships. Your generous support will help us to continue to send over 10 students to the 2026 SHPE Convention by covering registration, travel, and lodging; and will also allow us to continue bringing food and school supplies to these community building events. Every dollar you contribute helps our familia feel seen, supported, and ready to thrive in spaces where we have a reputation for being underrepresented.

Support “SCAI Is No Limit,” UCSC’s AI Competition!

Since 2022, every quarter we hold "SCAI Is No Limit," a quarter-long AI competition at UC Santa Cruz, where students develop AI projects based on a theme, supported by weekly workshops and judged presentations for prizes. These workshops are integral as they promote accessibility by covering everything needed to build a Neural Network from scratch, making the competition accessible even to those with little prior knowledge in the field. By equipping participants with comprehensive skills from the ground up, these sessions not only level the playing field but also empower students to effectively utilize this powerful tool in their future endeavors. Most of our winners are new to learning AI, highlighting that this initiative not only addresses the industry relevance of AI but also underscores the importance of accessible education at UCSC, fostering innovation among its diverse student body. Your donation supports prizes, technology, and a collaborative environment, aiming to establish "SCAI Is No Limit" as a premier collegiate competition that champions both learning and practical application in artificial intelligence.

Support the Science of Safer AI with the AI Explainability and Accountability (AIEA) Lab

The AI Explainability and Accountability (AIEA) Lab is dedicated to making artificial intelligence systems more transparent, trustworthy, and aligned with human values. Our team of 9 PhDs and postdocs, 20+ Master's students and 50+ undergraduate students develops tools and frameworks that help people understand how AI makes decisions and when it fails. By supporting the AIEA Lab, you're empowering a new generation of scientists to build safe, responsible, explainable AI for all.

Santa Cruz Artificial Intelligence

SCAI is the AI club at UCSC. We focus on education and teaching people about, and how to use AI through instructional meetings where we teach about different AI models and algorithms and quarterly competitions to make one's own ML model supported by weekly workshops. These along with more competitions and events help bring people in the space together and help facilitate learning about, and how to create ML.

Improving learning in engineering through teacher education in community

If you want to improve student success learning in engineering, improve the experiences and practices of teachers. This is the focus of ETC. Your donation is put toward teacher training and incentivicing best teaching practices. Last year, because of your donations, we were able to recognize 12 Baskin Engineers who innovate ...

Association for Computing Machinery for Women (ACM-W)

ACM-W at UC Santa Cruz is a club that supports women in computing through community and resources. We’re currently raising funds to provide scholarships for students to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. GHC offers valuable networking, educational talks, and career opportunities for women in tech. Last year, thanks to Giving Day and Spring Give, we funded four students to attend GHC 2025. With your support, we hope to send even more in 2026—help us make this life-changing opportunity accessible to more women in computer science.

Game Design and Art Collaboration

The Game Design and Art Collaboration (GDA) is a student-led game development community with over 100 active members every year. For the past 10+ years, GDA has promoted the collaborative work of students across creative and technical disciplines, with an emphasis on networking and skill-sharing. Funding helps us run programs like workshops, industry guest speakers, and our annual 20-week game development project!

Slug Gaming – UCSC Gaming for All

Slug Gaming is UC Santa Cruz’s student-run gaming & esports organization, building community through casual and competitive gaming by providing a welcoming atmosphere regardless of background or skill level. We are raising funds to support our player's collegiate esports journeys; covering tournament fees, travel, jerseys, and more. With over 300 active members, our club provides opportunities for students to grow socially, competitively, and professionally. Your support helps create inclusive spaces for all students in the UCSC gaming community.

GDGC Community Events

Google Developer Group on Campus at UC Santa Cruz is a part of the global GDGC community, offering an inclusive, collaborative space for anyone interested in exploring technology. We host technical workshops, fun socials, and two, quarter-long team project competitions, where members build and present software applications, followed by a presentation to judges and other members of the club. With your support, you can help us continue building a strong community of students with valuable technical and professional skills. Thank you for being so supportive by helping us maintain our community!

A Handheld Non-invasive Nanopore Test to Detect Cancer Early: Powered by UCSC Undergrads

Early detection is one of the most powerful tools in the fight against cancer- it can mean the difference between a chance at life and a terminal diagnosis. We are a team of undergraduate researchers in the Daniel Kim Lab at UC Santa Cruz developing a portable, low-cost test that detects cancer-specific RNA in blood using handheld nanopore sequencing. This non-invasive approach has the potential to transform early cancer screening and make it accessible to all. Your support will directly accelerate the development of this life-saving technology- join us in making early detection equitable and possible for everyone.

Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative Mentorship Program

Children with cancer need more treatment options. The UCSC Treehouse team has developed an innovative RNA analysis that provides answers that similar DNA tests can miss, and now, with our newly certified clinical lab, we can scale up our analysis to make it available to more kids.

Part of scaling up is training more students in computational biology and our team's specialized approaches—and that's where you come in! This Giving Day, you can support the Treehouse Undergraduate Bioinformatics Immersion (TUBI) program, where we mentor students as they contribute to the search for new cancer treatments, allowing them to make a real impact while they gain invaluable research and career training.

Your gift to TUBI will help prepare a member of the next generation of scientists to join us in our mission of defeating childhood cancer.

UCSC NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS (NSBE)         

The UCSC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is dedicated to  increasing the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.  By fostering a supportive environment, NSBE helps Black engineers develop professional skills, create networking opportunities, and maintain academic excellence and confidence. Your support can drive significant change, promoting a more inclusive and innovative future in engineering and technology. Contributions help bridge the diversity gap and expand career development opportunities such as career fairs, workshops, and conferences, empowering students to succeed in their engineering careers.

Tech4Good Student Programs

We do research in social computing, exploring the intersection of computational systems and social interaction. Our mission is to develop systems--integrating design, modeling, and algorithms--to support individual and societal flourishing in work, education, community engagement, and governance.

Autoslug Funding for AI, ML, and CV research

We are a club focused on research and development in the sections of AI, ML, and CV. Our first project is an innovative computer vision model that translates real-time American Sign Language (ASL) into human-readable English, fostering communication between the deaf and hearing communities. The second project is called ModBot which features an autonomous modular machine with a custom swerve drivetrain, allowing it to navigate through crowded environments and diverse terrains while adapting its components for optimal performance in different scenarios. Our third project is working in tandem with Steve McGuires lab to properly simulate a Unitree B1 dog.

Formula SLug

Our mission is to empower the next generation of engineers by providing hands-on experience through the design and development of electric vehicles as part of the Formula SAE competition. We strive to foster innovation, teamwork, and technical excellence, preparing our members for successful careers in engineering and beyond. We would use funding to purchase equipment, components, and materials necessary for building our electric vehicle as well as travel to competition.

UC Santa Cruz Bioinformatics Club

Our club facilitates a space for students interested in Bioinformatics. We provide an engaging and uplifting environment for members to build connections with like-minded peers. Through hackathons, speaker events and technical workshops we help students gain insight into the industry and research opportunities available on campus.

The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.

To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy Statement for University of California Publications Regarding Student-Related Matters.