UC Santa Cruz faculty and graduate students have recently received a range of research funding and academic support through UC Alianza MX, supporting cross-border collaboration between University of California campuses and Mexican institutions. The awards span joint research, strategic projects, faculty travel, postdoctoral fellowships, and graduate student exchanges, highlighting the university’s growing role in engagement in Mexico.
Joint Research Funds
Joint Research Funds support two-year binational research collaborations between UC and Mexican institutions. Each proposal includes at least two UC principal investigators and Mexican partners, is developed alongside Mexican institutions in targeted thematic calls, and aims to build long-term institutional partnerships.
UC Santa Cruz faculty are represented in two of the three initiatives selected for funding in partnership with Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), a UCSC partner.
Social-Ecological Monitoring for Coastal Resilience in Baja California (2025–27)
Principal Investigators:
- Mark Carr, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz
- Kyle Cavanaugh, Geography, UC Los Angeles
- Luis Malpica Cruz, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, UABC Ensenada
- José Alberto Zepeda Domínguez, Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, UABC Ensenada
Mapping Energy Poverty Through Interactive Media (2025–27)
Principal Investigators:
- Elin Carstensdottir, Computational Media, UC Santa Cruz
- Magy Seif El Nasr, Computational Media, UC Santa Cruz
- Marcos Eduardo González Trevizo, Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño, UABC Ensenada
- Karen Estrella Martínez Torres, Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño, UABC Ensenada
Strategic Research Projects
Strategic Research Projects can receive up to $200,000 in seed funding for up to 24 months to UC-led, multi-campus research teams partnered with institutions in Mexico. These projects are expected to engage non‑academic stakeholders and deliver action‑oriented insights into shared U.S.–Mexico challenges.
A UC Santa Cruz faculty member will lead one of four initiatives selected for funding.
Robotic Solutions for Sustainable Berry Harvesting (2024–26)
- Principal Investigator: Ricardo Sanfelice, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC Santa Cruz.
- Collaborators: UC Merced & Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico.
Small Grants for Conferences & Faculty Travel
Small Grants Support allows UC researchers to request up to $5,000 to fund short‑term activities such as conference presentations in Mexico or hosting Mexico‑related events on UC campuses. These grants aim to initiate long-term collaboration, with two application rounds per year.
Three UCSC faculty were awarded support to build binational scholarly dialogue.
Heritage Spanish Speaker Research (Fall 2024 & Winter 2025)
- UCSC faculty: Mark Amengual, Languages & Applied Linguistics
- Location: Universidad de Guadalajara (UDG)
UCSC-UADY Research Collaboration Workshop (Fall 2024 & Winter 2025)
- UCSC faculty: Matt Sparke, Global & Community Health
- Location: Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY), Mérida
Literature and Society: The Crónica as Discursive Practice (Spring & Summer 2025)
- UCSC faculty: Juan Poblete, Literature
- Location: (UNAM), Mexico City
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships support researchers who have completed a doctoral or terminal degree at a Mexican institution of higher education or at the University of California, and whose work is directly relevant to US-Mexico research collaboration.
UC Santa Cruz scholars represent two of the five selected to participate in the 2025 cohort.
Gamma-Ray Bursts and Supernovae via Numerical Simulations (2025–27)
- Fellow: Gerardo Urrutia Sánchez, UC Santa Cruz
- UC Host: Enrico Ramirez Ruíz, Astronomy & Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz
Building Coastal Aquaculture Resilience (2025–27)
- Fellow: Racine E. Rangel, UC Santa Cruz
- UC Host: Kristy Kroeker, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz
Short-Term Research Stays for Graduate Students
Research Stays support UC graduate students (Master’s and PhD level) to conduct short-term research—lasting up to three months—at partner institutions in Mexico. Research focuses on Mexican-specific themes, U.S.–Mexico or California–Mexico relations, or binational challenges like climate change, health, and migration.
Eight UCSC graduate students received support for short-term research:
- Caison Packard Warner (Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology): Plasmid Sequencing in E. coli (2024–25)
- Elena Losada (Sociology): Zapatismo and Urban Political Desire (2024–25)
- Emanuel Suarez Jimenez (Education): Digital Justice in Education (2024–26)
- Stephanie Valadez (Music): Nahua Resilience and Colonial Reverberation (2024–25)
- Cole Shanks (Biomolecular Engineering): Immune Repertoire Sequencing in the Mexico Biobank (2025–26)
- Jenica Moore (Politics): Art as Activism (2025–26)
- Petria Russell (Biomolecular Engineering): HLA Diversity and Pathogen-Driven Selection (2025–26)
These awards reflect UC Santa Cruz’s leadership in fostering inclusive, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural research efforts through UC Alianza MX.
Learn more about Alianza MX research funding and awards.